Long term ketoers (1 yr or above)
melluc2
Posts: 92 Member
I've been doing this for a year now consistently. I had about 25 lbs to lose and I successfully (but slowly) lost 15 in the first 6 months at a 20 percent deficiency. I thought if I got to my preferred weight I would go to maintainance. But I never got there, I just hung around at 10lbs above.
I have been running and heavy lifting consistenyl. But even so, my weight hasn't budged and actually increased. I've gained 10lbs since Xmas. My inches haven't decreased and in some cases increased...which is sad.
So my question : what do you guys do? So you carb load? Increase calories? Cycle with maintainance? I've heard them all, but I want everyone's input here because this was on other forums that aren't necessarily keto.
I'm sorry for always asking for help so much here now but for the first time in a year I'm actually really upset and confused about this diet. I feel like, what's the point? I've been trying so hard and my body is literally doing the opposite. My husband and I also converted 10 ppl in our lives to this way of life and I really want to be a good example for them. Because if I'm having this issue, then they will most likely will come across this problem too.
Thank you in advance, and if you want any more info, I can provide. Feel free to private msg me too or add me as a friend.
I have been running and heavy lifting consistenyl. But even so, my weight hasn't budged and actually increased. I've gained 10lbs since Xmas. My inches haven't decreased and in some cases increased...which is sad.
So my question : what do you guys do? So you carb load? Increase calories? Cycle with maintainance? I've heard them all, but I want everyone's input here because this was on other forums that aren't necessarily keto.
I'm sorry for always asking for help so much here now but for the first time in a year I'm actually really upset and confused about this diet. I feel like, what's the point? I've been trying so hard and my body is literally doing the opposite. My husband and I also converted 10 ppl in our lives to this way of life and I really want to be a good example for them. Because if I'm having this issue, then they will most likely will come across this problem too.
Thank you in advance, and if you want any more info, I can provide. Feel free to private msg me too or add me as a friend.
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No expert here, but have you considered all your working out has increased muscle as your fat level decreased? That could explain why you have plateaued. I would check your body mass index and compare it to when you started. Maybe try intermittent fasting and try not to eat any extra fat macros. I used IF along with just eating my carb & protein macros and broke through my plateau.2
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No expert here, but have you considered all your working out has increased muscle as your fat level decreased? That could explain why you have plateaued. I would check your body mass index and compare it to when you started. Maybe try intermittent fasting and try not to eat any extra fat macros. I used IF along with just eating my carb & protein macros and broke through my plateau.
I've never gotten an initial reading as I don't know where to do that where I live (as I'm not in or near a major city by any means). So that probably wouldn't help except give me an idea where I'm at now. I figured I did increase in some muscle. But 10lbs is definitely extreme. Especially while eating at a deficiency.
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With your exercise program, my guess is increased muscle too. It can cause a lot if water and glycogen retention too. A few years ago I had to stop lifting and all exercise due to an injury. Without changing calories, I list 10 lbs in as many days. It wasn't fat. Just water weight.
If you are gaining fat, that means too many calories. Are you measuring and logging all of you food? Including butter on veggies, cream in coffee, all your nuts and cheese? LCHF foods are often calories dense and are easy to overeat. An ounce of nuts or cheese is smaller than I'd like it to be!
You might want to tighten up on your logging to make sure calories have not snuck in.
Health issues affect my weight loss too. When I have an autoimmune flare up, especially thyroid, my losses really slow, and if maintaining I tend to gain.
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Health issues affect my weight loss too. When I have an autoimmune flare up, especially thyroid, my losses really slow, and if maintaining I tend to gain.
I try to be as accurate a possible with measuring. Currently tightening up my cream intake, butter and elminating pb (bc I love it too much lol)
But it's funny you mentioned thyroid, because that's always in the back of my mind. My father had hypothyroidism and I'm worried I'll develop it too eventually. I really don't want to go in for a blood test just yet...but in the same note, my mum is keto like me and easily loses weight and has trouble keeping it on. She's 20 pounds lighter than me now and eats a lot more. Grrr. Lol but good for her! Lucky duck.
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Not what you'll want to hear but it really comes down to caloric intake for me.
I've been on MFP for 5 years, 4 of which have been maintenance. All were some version of low carb. I ate "strict" keto for only 52 weeks as a trial for something other than weight management. I discovered the joy of not being hungry (something I struggled with for ~18 months eating higher carb and lower fat).
Given I like fatty foods and have some really impulsive eating habits, I had to weigh, measure and track my food intake during my Keto year in order to not exceed calories. It seems every BITE is 100 calories given the fat content. The good thing was, I wasn't hungry on maintenance calories. I was just eating to eat and learned to acknowledge and eliminate that negative behavior which is not conducive to weight loss or maintenance.
I still eat very low carb/high fat. While I don't "have" to weigh, measure and track every single thing today, I do have to stay highly aware of what and how much I am eating.
And so, I'll ask since you are not losing and in fact gaining: Are you weighing and measuring every single bite you eat? No extra pieces of cheese while cutting it up for dinner? No licking the spoon of peanut butter? Being scant with the mayo on your lettuce wrap? Over estimating calories on the piece of standing rib roast because you like a bit more beef fat and chose a fattier portion? Counted those 3 or 4 olives you ate while making your salad? Weighed that "medium" avocado? Considered the calories in the oil you added to the pan or the butter you added to your vegetables? Counted the calories you scraped and ate from the bottom of the casserole dish before you washed it? These are the kinds of "habits" I became aware of and had to quit...or enter into my food diary. They add up at 9 calories/gram.7 -
And so, I'll ask since you are not losing and in fact gaining: Are you weighing and measuring every single bite you eat? No extra pieces of cheese while cutting it up for dinner? No licking the spoon of peanut butter? Being scant with the mayo on your lettuce wrap? Over estimating calories on the piece of standing rib roast because you like a bit more beef fat and chose a fattier portion? Counted those 3 or 4 olives you ate while making your salad? Weighed that "medium" avocado? Considered the calories in the oil you added to the pan or the butter you added to your vegetables? Counted the calories you scraped and ate from the bottom of the casserole dish before you washed it? These are the kinds of "habits" I became aware of and had to quit...or enter into my food diary. They add up at 9 calories/gram
You're right. It's always hard to hear but I'd rather hear "you're over eating" than some mysterious unknown. It's just good to talk it out with people who've been through it. That's why I like this site. Since I'm tightening up already I'll just get even more strict. I've always weighed my mayos, ranch, cheese etc, because it's easy to put too much on food but I'm not guilt free when it comes to licking spoons and what not;) I just didn't think it would be that much! That's also why I gave up pb, the temptation was just too much at the moment to add "just a little more".
But hopefully I have at least a pound of muscle in there somewhere - I have been working out hard!
Ill report back in 2 weeks.
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Not what you'll want to hear but it really comes down to caloric intake for me.
I've been on MFP for 5 years, 4 of which have been maintenance. All were some version of low carb. I ate "strict" keto for only 52 weeks as a trial for something other than weight management. I discovered the joy of not being hungry (something I struggled with for ~18 months eating higher carb and lower fat).
Given I like fatty foods and have some really impulsive eating habits, I had to weigh, measure and track my food intake during my Keto year in order to not exceed calories. It seems every BITE is 100 calories given the fat content. The good thing was, I wasn't hungry on maintenance calories. I was just eating to eat and learned to acknowledge and eliminate that negative behavior which is not conducive to weight loss or maintenance.
I still eat very low carb/high fat. While I don't "have" to weigh, measure and track every single thing today, I do have to stay highly aware of what and how much I am eating.
And so, I'll ask since you are not losing and in fact gaining: Are you weighing and measuring every single bite you eat? No extra pieces of cheese while cutting it up for dinner? No licking the spoon of peanut butter? Being scant with the mayo on your lettuce wrap? Over estimating calories on the piece of standing rib roast because you like a bit more beef fat and chose a fattier portion? Counted those 3 or 4 olives you ate while making your salad? Weighed that "medium" avocado? Considered the calories in the oil you added to the pan or the butter you added to your vegetables? Counted the calories you scraped and ate from the bottom of the casserole dish before you washed it? These are the kinds of "habits" I became aware of and had to quit...or enter into my food diary. They add up at 9 calories/gram.
I definitely have calorie creep if I don't watch it -- the measuring and licks, etc. When I am being super strict, I always lose, fast at first and then slow but ounces per week loss, I am ok with. Best of luck! Keep trying and hang in there. I'll bet you are losing fat and gaining muscle.
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And I'm going to try IF. Just the 16:8 one....nothing crazy like 24hrs. Yet....haha1
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I have been eating keto since August 2016 and was low carb for a few months prior to that after a diabetes diagnosis and lower than average carb (around 30-35%) for a few years. Granted BG control was my primary objective and not weight. That said, I did have a little bit more to lose when I went keto.
I dropped from 199 to 188 fairly quickly and was pretty good with that being a very active 6'1" man who worked out 5 days a week. I figured being middle aged and weighing the same as I did when I played 9th grade football in 1985 was pretty good.
However, lately I decided, pretty good was not good enough. I wanted to see if I could actually get that "beach body" that everyone dreams of having. To preface, I do a ridiculous amount of research, and I found a keto friendly doctor who doesn't mind spending 20-30 minutes at each appointment really discussing next steps (very lucky here).
First thing I did which is totally counter intuitive - cut from a 1 hour 45 minute work out 5 days a week to a 1 hour work out 3 days a week. I completely discontinued all running except some hill sprints that would fall into the category of HIIT. In addition to this, I do still walk a fairly significant amount averaging about 12,000 steps a day, but that is down from averaging over 20,000 when I was also running a few miles a day.
Second thing I did was added in a small (2 hard boiled eggs) breakfast on my work out days. This is immediately after I get home from the gym around 7 am. Lycine in the eggs is key to muscle growth. Don't fear some muscle growth through strength training as the muscle will raise your resting metabolic rate.
Third, I started doing longer fasts more regularly instead of just the 16:8 IF I had been doing for at least a year. Not super long. Mostly I am talking about 36 hours or so. Basically from dinner Monday night to after work out breakfast on Wednesday type thing. As a side note, when I do this, that Wednesday morning workout is awesome. I have gained more strength doing this than I have since I was in my 20's.
Fourth, I have significantly improved the consistency of my sleep. If you are not getting enough sleep, you will fail. If it is not consistent in quality, quantity and timing, you will struggle mightily.
Finally, I (gasp) cut the fat and up the protein slightly for a short period. I am not talking about low fat by any stretch. I went from ratios of about 75 fat/20 protein/5 carb to about 62 fat/ 31 protein/7 carb. Although it looks like I upped my carbs, I did not in terms of grams. Because the protein was more filling, my total intake dropped so the same number of grams ended up being a higher percentage. Total stayed around 35-40 with net right around 20.
Results - After returning from a cruise on 2/18/2018, I weighed in at 195 (187.5 when I left on the cruise a week earlier). This morning, I weighed in at 177.7. I can see six somewhat defined ab muscles, and the love handles on my lower back that I thought were permanent are almost gone.
From what you wrote, I think you and I are similar in some ways (gender not being one of them), but the key one being probably over working out causing elevated cortisol/stress and less than optimal sleep. Of everything, I think getting those under control will do you the most help.5 -
cstehansen wrote: »I have been eating keto since August 2016 and was low carb for a few months prior to that after a diabetes diagnosis and lower than average carb (around 30-35%) for a few years. Granted BG control was my primary objective and not weight. That said, I did have a little bit more to lose when I went keto.
I have a question!
I think I can do the 16:8 fast now pretty easily because I pretty much already do. However, 36hrs seems long! How do you 'feast' afterwards? Do you eat normally the day after or try to eat a little bit more? I've read some about IF, it still escapes me for the longer fasts. Because it's so long, do you do it once a week or once every second week?
I also like eating eggs on the days you lift. I didn't know about Lycine, but now I do! Thanks!
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I agree with cstehansen... sleep, and rest from workouts are very often undervalued... More exercise is not always the answer. Surprisingly less is often better. (I was a Physio Rehab professional before chronic illness put that to an end). Also the sneaky calories don't help - speaking as a low carber/ketoer +4 yrs in maintenance 54 y/o female officially done with menopause. 1
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cstehansen wrote: »I have been eating keto since August 2016 and was low carb for a few months prior to that after a diabetes diagnosis and lower than average carb (around 30-35%) for a few years. Granted BG control was my primary objective and not weight. That said, I did have a little bit more to lose when I went keto.
I have a question!
I think I can do the 16:8 fast now pretty easily because I pretty much already do. However, 36hrs seems long! How do you 'feast' afterwards? Do you eat normally the day after or try to eat a little bit more? I've read some about IF, it still escapes me for the longer fasts. Because it's so long, do you do it once a week or once every second week?
I also like eating eggs on the days you lift. I didn't know about Lycine, but now I do! Thanks!
First, I started with 24 hours - from dinner one night to dinner the next. For 36 hours, I just go from dinner one night to the 2 hard boiled eggs post workout breakfast. You don’t want to overeat right after a fast. You will probably find that your eyes are bigger than your stomach. My lunch and dinner on that day are normal based on what I would eat on a 16:8 fast day, so basically those two eggs are the only added food. Sometimes my lunch is a little earlier than normal, but not always. I let my body be my guide.
As for frequency, it varies. Sometimes once a week, sometimes twice and some weeks not at all because I do have a life and it wouldn’t make sense to try to do it when I would be setting myself up for failure like when my parents came to visit and I knew we would be having multiple meals together. Eating keto for those is not a problem anymore, but just sitting at a table not eating can make others uncomfortable.
To be clear since there seems to be a lot of types of fasts, I am talking about water only or maybe adding some salt if needed. I used to drink coffee also, but I don’t think that was helpful and may have actually made it harder and less beneficial.0 -
It's been a while with trying to accurately count calories and macros and exercise. I haven't lost ANY weight. I actually continued to gain, slowly. So I'm calling the doctor to double check my thyroid. Which I'm scared to do.1
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OP, did you cut back on your running at all? I was SO glad to see someone suggest that. But I got the feeling that *possibly* you skimmed right past it, because it's not what you want to hear.
I know people like it. I know it gives a boost of the feel-goods. I do understand it's like an addiction and you "don't feel like yourself" without it.
However. The chronic stress on your body raises cortisol. Cortisol raises blood sugar. It also contributes to insulin resistance. Not where you want to be.
There are probably multiple other factors in your life which are raising cortisol. (That's our main stress hormone, in case you don't know.) Long-term calorie restriction can do this, also. Do you ever raise your calories for a week just to maintenance?
I may be new around here, but I am not new to low carb, keto, or Internet forums. I've seen numerous women in your same boat. If you truly want to know what you can do to get your body to stop holding on to fat, start thinking about what you can do to reduce its stress. Adding calories may seem counter-intuitive, but I've seen it work over and over again. As well as the great advice you got above. Slow down. Your body doesn't give a crap about how you want to look in the mirror... right now, it's going: "WHAT are we running from, and WHEN will it end?!"6 -
@cricketpower I did reduce my running But walked instead. I still have to maintain my running to a certain level because I am in the military and that type of fitness is required, unfortunately. I tried increasing my calories for a week But the weight increase completely scared me off. Increasing calories while one gains weight even more doesn't make sense to me. I'm just extremely frustrated with it all.0
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It's been a while with trying to accurately count calories and macros and exercise. I haven't lost ANY weight. I actually continued to gain, slowly. So I'm calling the doctor to double check my thyroid. Which I'm scared to do.
It's far better to know if there is something wrong with your thyroid than not. I've had a couple tests done on mine and everything worked out well but its something I need to keep an eye on due to family history. I know these past couple of months have been super stressful for me but I've learned how to manage it. That being said, it has plateaued my weight loss a great deal. It's only temporary though so I don't stress about it. When May rolls around I can get back to a better sleep schedule and start working out more and things will kick in so I can lose these last 20lbs and just worry about maintenance unless I want to drop 10 more.2 -
I found 2 things:
1. The longer I went, the more I had to cut carbs to keep losing. Eventually I got down to the zero carb / carnivore WOE.
2. I also had to cut calories. Since we can make our own glucose / carbs, and we can make our own fat; but we cannot make our own protein (except from other proteins), I cut back fat consumption. The goal was to "eat" my own body fat rather than dietary fat. It was somewhat of an extreme endeavor, but this was for the last few lbs. and only lasted a couple months. After that, I took a diet break and re-gained a bunch of fat, so don't do what I did as far as that goes. But I'm thinking I might re-do the low fat more intermittently (i.e. a few days each week) to more slowly lose that fat that was regained.1 -
It's been a while with trying to accurately count calories and macros and exercise. I haven't lost ANY weight. I actually continued to gain, slowly. So I'm calling the doctor to double check my thyroid. Which I'm scared to do.
I took a peek at your food diary and it looks great. I hope you figure out what's going on. I will say that when I hit a plateau, sometimes just mixing up what I eat will mysteriously cause some of the pounds I'm holding onto to drop. Try eating eggs for breakfast and not eating that almond cookie but having a piece of meat then instead--try a new dinner and see if that helps. I know, I know, "cico cico cico cico," but for me, and I have no idea WHY, changing my diet can result in a change. I've also done calorie staggering--a few really low days, a few normal days, 1-2 higher days (by 200-300 calories)--and that's helped.0 -
Running_and_Coffee wrote: »It's been a while with trying to accurately count calories and macros and exercise. I haven't lost ANY weight. I actually continued to gain, slowly. So I'm calling the doctor to double check my thyroid. Which I'm scared to do.
I took a peek at your food diary and it looks great. I hope you figure out what's going on. I will say that when I hit a plateau, sometimes just mixing up what I eat will mysteriously cause some of the pounds I'm holding onto to drop. Try eating eggs for breakfast and not eating that almond cookie but having a piece of meat then instead--try a new dinner and see if that helps. I know, I know, "cico cico cico cico," but for me, and I have no idea WHY, changing my diet can result in a change. I've also done calorie staggering--a few really low days, a few normal days, 1-2 higher days (by 200-300 calories)--and that's helped.
I will try that! I actually had eggs this morning (sometimes my meals are in spots but I don't eat in that order), like today, my eggs are at lunch instead of breakfast - which is where I did eat them. It is hard to NOT have my chia seeds everyday because I need them to poop! Lol but I'll try and see how it goes without them a couple of days here and there.
I like the idea of lower and higher days -but do you keep your weekly calorie deficit the same over all to lose .5 to 1 lb a week? If you know what I'm saying?0 -
I like the idea of lower and higher days -but do you keep your weekly calorie deficit the same over all to lose .5 to 1 lb a week? If you know what I'm saying?
Yes! I did something really nerdy with an Excel sheet. So my daily goal is 1340 calories and I had a few days that were closer to 1000 and a few that were in the 1600s, but the average remained the same! (I am not sure what I am set to lose, probably 1 lb a week or less.)1 -
@Running_and_Coffee I'll try that too. That would be easy to change0
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Alternate day type eating is actually a "thing". There is the 5:2 Diet where you eat very low calories (~500 for women) on 2 days and higher the other 5. Also the JUDDDD (Johnson Up Day Down Day Diet.
More info can be found on line. I've never done either.2 -
Alternate day type eating is actually a "thing". There is the 5:2 Diet where you eat very low calories (~500 for women) on 2 days and higher the other 5. Also the JUDDDD (Johnson Up Day Down Day Diet.
More info can be found on line. I've never done either.
I had NO idea! And here I thought I'd invented something! But honestly, it has worked, and has come in handy when I've been within sneezing distance of my goal for weeks on end!1 -
I'm actually kinda excited. Ive fasted in the past, so I know it's doable. This seems to have a tangible, measurable approach as well.... So I'll know if I'm over eating or not all week. I also like eating some calories on the 'fasting' days because it'll make suppers less painful with family!2
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Check out Dr Jason Fung on YouTube for Intermittent Fasting info. He has a couple of books too. I've been doing IF for about a year now, but have only just started keto. I think during longer fasts you enter ketosis as well, so I'm hoping that I'm fairly well fat adapted already. 0
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Update:
Stopped exercising as much still going to run twice a week to maintain cardiovascular strength though for work.
Started fasting a couple of weeks ago. Stopped gaining weight for those weeks. But no weight loss.
Gained 3 pounds this week...(that time of the month) and still have one more fast day to complete. Over ate yesterday, so, I'll take the 200 calories off of today to make the weekly net work out.
Well see if these pounds go away next week or not...but still kinda down about the whole thing.
Made the doctor appointment for a check up and to eventually get a blood test....but that's a month away. Le sigh.
My brother who is on keto (for 5 months) just got his blood work done and had high cholesterol. He never had high cholesterol before. So...I'm worried cause I've been doing this over a year now!0 -
Cholesterol tests are inaccurate anytime you are losing weight...the adipose fat that your body metabolizes for energy circulates in your bloodstream as cholesterol...so unless you have been weight stable for over 6 months, don't even pay attention to the numbers on that particular test.1
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They're also inaccurate for LCHF in general. The total number is complete garbage. What matters are the individual numbers, and more importantly, their relationship to one another, as well as the actual size of your LDL particles.
Your total can go up, but your risk go down, because HDL rises a lot and LDL a small amount, and your triglycerides drop. Also, the LDL will increase in particle size, which shows up as "going up" on the standard test, but is actually a good thing, because the larger LDL particles act more like HDL particles.
So, unless everything skyrocketed (in which case, he might be a super-responder and just needs to focus more on monounsaturated fats), there's probably nothing to freak out about until a particle size measurement is done.2
