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What am I doing wrong?

JMLSZ
JMLSZ Posts: 65 Member
edited November 30 in Social Groups
Am I doing something wrong? Should I be doing something differently?

Okay, so my plan is LCHF, not necessarily keto, and pretty much paleo. I feel good, energy level is great, asthma went away, lost 7 kg in the first 3 weeks. BUT, for the last week, the scale has not moved a bit.

I checked my calories (set to 1250 because I am sedentary and 47 years old) and my macros. For the last 2 weeks, my averages are cal:1123 carb:49 fat:67 protein:83. I have read the posts about "what you may be doing wrong" and I'm not doing any of the self-sabotaging things listed there (can't find it right now...).

Any advice or encouragement?

Replies

  • sault_girl
    sault_girl Posts: 219 Member
    Sounds like you're not doing anything wrong. The scale won't move every week. Carry on!
  • cdebracy
    cdebracy Posts: 91 Member
    Low carb for me means hitting at least a trace amount of ketosis, which will limit me to < 100g of carbs a day.

    I do like the advice of doing 2 weeks at about 20g of carbs just so you get past the worst of the cravings.

    I used to try for deep ketosis by limiting carbs as much as possible but couldn't keep it up. I'd binge and hated how I felt after.

    When I shot for just a trace amount of ketosis and maintain it, over time my desire for sweets has gone down. I make my own trail mix and the chocolate content is < 1/2 of where I started and I'm good with it.

    I've managed ~40lbs doing this so far, but your mileage may vary.

    I'm at a bit of a plateau right now but I need to do another DEXA scan to see if my lean body mass has gone up from the TRX training I'm doing. I see improvements in measurements so I'm hoping that's what's doing it.

    Aside from that, sometimes your body just needs to be at a new weight for some period of time so it can adjust to the new set point. If you can add some exercise in, that should help.
  • Sunny_Bunny_
    Sunny_Bunny_ Posts: 7,140 Member
    I have a pretty detailed explanation as to why this is normal and doesn't mean anything in this thread.
    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10344759/needing-direction#latest
  • Sunny_Bunny_
    Sunny_Bunny_ Posts: 7,140 Member
    And here
    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10343997/losing-weight-too-quickly#latest
  • Sunny_Bunny_
    Sunny_Bunny_ Posts: 7,140 Member
    And here
    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10344058/even-with-goof-up-days-shouldnt-i-be-losing-weight#latest
  • Sunny_Bunny_
    Sunny_Bunny_ Posts: 7,140 Member
    And here
    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10342518/need-a-general-advice-weight-not-moving#latest

    Whew! Now I have them all in one place. Lol
  • klkateri
    klkateri Posts: 432 Member
    Had the same issue. I started eliminating things that could be trip ups like too many nuts, too much snacking, not enough water... I have found sometimes you just have to play around and see what happens.
  • mahirawad
    mahirawad Posts: 1 Member
    Have you considered intermittent fasting to aid with your weight loss strategy?
  • JMLSZ
    JMLSZ Posts: 65 Member
    Sunny_Bunny_ wrote: »
    And here
    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10342518/need-a-general-advice-weight-not-moving#latest

    Whew! Now I have them all in one place. Lol

    Thanks for all the links, I read through them all! I guess I just have to accept that this is normal. I have no desire to eat differently - weight loss is not my only reason - so I'm not tempted to go off plan, but I do want to know if I should change something. It's looking like there's not really anything I need to change.

    Thanks!
  • JMLSZ
    JMLSZ Posts: 65 Member
    klkateri wrote: »
    Had the same issue. I started eliminating things that could be trip ups like too many nuts, too much snacking, not enough water... I have found sometimes you just have to play around and see what happens.

    That's what I was thinking...I always weigh my almonds so I don't eat too many, lol! I hadn't thought about snacking being bad if it's good food, but someone wrote that too many meals in a day is bad for insulin levels...but I don't like eating huge meals. Any thoughts about number of meals/healthy snacking?
  • JMLSZ
    JMLSZ Posts: 65 Member
    mahirawad wrote: »
    Have you considered intermittent fasting to aid with your weight loss strategy?

    I haven't, my calories are already very low (1250, a 22-25% deficit). What is the benefit of intermittent fasting? Do you up your calories for non-fasting days a bit in that case?
  • JMLSZ
    JMLSZ Posts: 65 Member
    cdebracy wrote: »
    Low carb for me means hitting at least a trace amount of ketosis, which will limit me to < 100g of carbs a day.

    I do like the advice of doing 2 weeks at about 20g of carbs just so you get past the worst of the cravings.

    I used to try for deep ketosis by limiting carbs as much as possible but couldn't keep it up. I'd binge and hated how I felt after.

    When I shot for just a trace amount of ketosis and maintain it, over time my desire for sweets has gone down. I make my own trail mix and the chocolate content is < 1/2 of where I started and I'm good with it.

    I've managed ~40lbs doing this so far, but your mileage may vary.

    I'm at a bit of a plateau right now but I need to do another DEXA scan to see if my lean body mass has gone up from the TRX training I'm doing. I see improvements in measurements so I'm hoping that's what's doing it.

    Aside from that, sometimes your body just needs to be at a new weight for some period of time so it can adjust to the new set point. If you can add some exercise in, that should help.

    Thanks for your answer. I wasn't intially shooting for ketosis, but I am thinking about buying some test strips, out of curiosity, because I've managed to keep my carbs a lot lower than I'd planned at first. I don't have any cravings, so that's not an issue. I'm not even hungry enough to eat my 1250 cal every day...if I went by my hunger, I'd eat about 800, which probably would be stupid.

    Unfortunately I can't exercise at all right now due to multiple injuries from a car crash. I'm waiting to start rehab/PT, until then I am at home 95% of the time (great for tracking food, not great for exercise!) I got tired of waiting to be able to exercise and figured I'll do what I can to lose weight in the meantime.
  • JMLSZ
    JMLSZ Posts: 65 Member
    sault_girl wrote: »
    Sounds like you're not doing anything wrong. The scale won't move every week. Carry on!

    Thanks for the encouragement!
  • klkateri
    klkateri Posts: 432 Member
    I watch my 600lb life 1. For Inspiration and 2. the diets are very similar so it's like getting tips as well and Dr. Now once said there is no such thing as a healthy snack... eat only 3 meals a day. That's what I'm now doing.

    I also noticed I'm a mindless snacker so I can eat a can of almonds (1000 calories plus) and not even think about it.
  • JMLSZ
    JMLSZ Posts: 65 Member
    klkateri wrote: »
    I watch my 600lb life 1. For Inspiration and 2. the diets are very similar so it's like getting tips as well and Dr. Now once said there is no such thing as a healthy snack... eat only 3 meals a day. That's what I'm now doing.

    I also noticed I'm a mindless snacker so I can eat a can of almonds (1000 calories plus) and not even think about it.

    Wow, that's interesting...I will have to look into the reasons for not eating several smaller meals..I'd never really thought about it before.
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