Question for keto people

macchiatto

Just curious: How long were you on keto before weight loss slowed down? Plateaued? Mine has been great so far (it does tend to plateau or bounce up for several days at times but then drop again, which I know is normal) but I'm only 2.5 weeks in.

I know everyone is different but just wondering if there tend to be patterns for people starting this WOE. I guess I also want realistic expectations since I dropped 8.6 lbs in the first two weeks and I know it can't always be that fast.

Kitnthecat

My weight seems to drop off in steps. I started in early March and each month has seen different results. I did have a substantial initial loss of 13 pounds in March, but soon plateaued..... Or I thought I plateaued. I have lost between 0 and 13 pounds monthly, each month has been a little different. I might stay around the same weight for 6 weeks bouncing up and down by 3 pounds or so, and then I'll see a loss of 10 or 11 pounds from out of the blue.

I have stopped worrying about attaining a certain rate of weight loss by this point. I now consider that my plateaus give my body a chance to get accustomed to my weight loss and repair my body set point and also gives me a chance to emotionally get used to being smaller and learn what maintenance might feel like. It doesn't serve me well to fret over a plateau. I don't want to consider a stall " a failure " and jeopardize my chances of sustainable life long weight loss. I am in this for the long haul. I need to be gentle on myself yet realistic while keeping mindful of my long term goals. I plan to lose 30 pounds by summer, since my average rate has been 5 pounds per month so far. But I am preparing myself emotionally to cut myself some slack. If it takes me longer to lose the last few pounds, I need to be completely accepting of that.

baconslave

I had 102lb to lose. I lost pretty steadily for the first 3 months. Stalled then, so I started to count calories as well. I started slowing down big-time at the 6 month mark. Every few months it got slower. At this point I'm so close to goal that things are very hard. My calories are so low when I go for a what I call a "sprint" that it's difficult for me to stay on long. So I sprint for about 2 or 3 weeks and then go on maintenance cals for a week or 2. Rinse and repeat. Eeking out part of a pound here and there.
Frustrating.

wabmester

Around 6 months seems to be the plateau for just about everybody, regardless of diet. For me, it was closer to 9 months. Maybe because I didn't restrict as much and my weight loss was slower.

Your body starts defending remaining fat reserves at some point. Call it the set point if you like. Getting there is a function of exponential decay -- i.e., you gradually lose less and less till the losses approach zero.

Like Isaac here:

Sunny_Bunny_

I know I often hear people mentioning a slow down or stall after a few weeks, but I think it's usually more of a slow in comparison to the initial water+fat losses in the very beginning. So, it's not really a stall, just appears to be slower for that reason. Sometimes first time ketoers start to wonder if they're doing something wrong when it happens, but I think it's just normal and fairly common.
I have had decreasing loss from one month to the next all along, but I also started with less than 40 lbs to lose. My rate of loss seems to be on par with wabmester's example. Going from losing over 9 lbs the first month to losing about 1.5 lbs per month currently. I'm 9 lbs to goal and over 6 months on Keto, it may take me the next year to lose that as the slow down continues the closer I get.

baconslave

Sunny_Bunny_ wrote: »

I know I often hear people mentioning a slow down or stall after a few weeks, but I think it's usually more of a slow in comparison to the initial water+fat losses in the very beginning. So, it's not really a stall, just appears to be slower for that reason. Sometimes first time ketoers start to wonder if they're doing something wrong when it happens, but I think it's just normal and fairly common.
I have had decreasing loss from one month to the next all along, but I also started with less than 40 lbs to lose. My rate of loss seems to be on par with wabmester's example. Going from losing over 9 lbs the first month to losing about 1.5 lbs per month currently. I'm 9 lbs to goal and over 6 months on Keto, it may take me the next year to lose that as the slow down continues the closer I get.

Yes, entirely normal!

And I'd like to point out that stalls and slows aren't exclusive to the keto WOE. (Not saying you are saying that, @Sunny_Bunny_ . I just want to be clear to any who might be mistaken.) It happens with every single weightloss plan under the sun. The body's job is to maintain homeostasis. And it's going to do it to everyone eventually whether you eat a lot of carbs or a little.

So that's why we say KCKO. Stalls WILL happen. Bank on it. Stay on-plan. Consistently do what you are supposed to. And if 4-6 weeks later, the scale is still being stupid and your measurements or clothes-fit aren't improving, maybe you should tweak something and try that for 4-6 more weeks. Take it from me, constant tweaking doesn't do anything but muddy the water, make you insane, and keep you from being able to pinpoint anything with certainty, because you're changing too many variables at once.

nvmomketo

I didn't really stall. I started eating more and that shut my weight loss right down. LOL

From late June until early/mid October, I lost close to 35lbs. It worked out to close to 10 lbs per month, with it being a bit more in that first month (12lbs?).

Then I was a busy and tired, I could see a stall coming on (losses were slowing), so I added 500-1000 extra calories to each day and maintained for about a month. Part of my problem may have been adding more carbs. My carbs were usually between 30 and 50 g per day. I think I slipped out of ketosis and I was hungrier.

Over the last week or so I tightened up my carbs and dropped my calories back to goal (just over 1400 kcal per day) and promptly lost a few more pounds.

So, at about 3-4 months, my losses slowed, but rather than work through it I went to manitenance caloric levels for a month (with a few too many carbs). when I jumped back on the lower calorie wagon, the weight jumped off with a bit of a whoosh. It's almost like I never stopped "dieting".

I'm quite close to goal now. About 12 lbs up. I'm hoping to lose 2-3 pounds per month now (rather than -10lb ). I'm hoping I'll lose the last 12 lbs in the next 4 months, by the end of March.

Sunny_Bunny_

@baconslave that's a very good point to remind us all of. The slow down/stall hits us all. It's just a normal part of the progress. The best thing to do, is decide from the start how you will deal with it emotionally, WHEN it happens and be prepared so you can keep on track and not let it derail you.

nicintime

20 grams total carbs per day, and 5 and a half months in my loss is still about 2 lbs per week, so I'm at that 6 month place that Wabs was talking about. So, we shall see!

I'm happy with my weight loss (how could I NOT be?!?), but a bit concerned that the visceral fat seems slow to go (health concerns, not vanity at this point).

I'm trying to be more intentional to eat my minimum protein grams to maintain non-fat body mass (90 to 145 grams for me). Fat consumption is easy, getting my minimum protein has been a challenge.

Restricting calories is not difficult on this WOE.

I have also come to the conclusion that since I want to stay in Ketosis for life that stalls need not be major concerns. As long as I keep my head space OK, and as long as I'm monitoring what I need to monitor and not allowing carb creep, I don't really need to worry about a stall. I'm not eating this way temporarily, but plan on some version of nutritional ketosis as my way of eating for life.

macchiatto

Thanks so much for the responses! Very helpful.