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Feeling Stuck...

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Everyonelies
Everyonelies Posts: 225 Member
edited February 2019 in Social Groups
The last 2 months I have been hitting a wall...

I am still under 20 net carbs a day...calorie wise I am staying within 1400-1600...I am lifting more and doing less cardio...but my scale isn't budging...not sure how long a plateau can last before things start to move again...

I am playing around with the same 3lbs for the last 8 weeks now...not fun at all! Help!

9/24-Keto SW-206.8lbs
Last Goal- 180 by 12/31/18-Met 12/9/18!!!
Next Goal- 160 by 5/31/2019
GW-140-160lbs

Tuesday 1/1- 175.4
Sunday 1/6- 177.8
Sunday 1/13- 173.8
Sunday 1/20- 175.6
Sunday- 1/27- 173.8
Thursday 1/31-173.8

Sunday 02/03- 173
Sunday 02/10- 175.6
Sunday 02/17- 172.8

Replies

  • qweck3
    qweck3 Posts: 346 Member
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    Looks like you could be replacing your fat mass with lean mass which is a great thing but would also mean the scale won't be moving a whole lot. Is your clothing fitting better because that would tell you if you if that is happening if you don't have access to a Fit3D/Dexascan.

    It's important to remember that the bathroom scale lies especially when you are lifting and losing fat at the same time. It's why clothing/pics are the best method outside of the scans.

    Example: My bathroom scale says I lost -1.1 pounds. However, a Fit3D scan revealed I had actually lost -4.4 pounds of fat in 3 weeks while packing on +3.3 pounds of lean mass which is awesome.
  • Everyonelies
    Everyonelies Posts: 225 Member
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    qweck3 wrote: »
    Looks like you could be replacing your fat mass with lean mass which is a great thing but would also mean the scale won't be moving a whole lot. Is your clothing fitting better because that would tell you if you if that is happening if you don't have access to a Fit3D/Dexascan.

    It's important to remember that the bathroom scale lies especially when you are lifting and losing fat at the same time. It's why clothing/pics are the best method outside of the scans.

    Example: My bathroom scale says I lost -1.1 pounds. However, a Fit3D scan revealed I had actually lost -4.4 pounds of fat in 3 weeks while packing on +3.3 pounds of lean mass which is awesome.

    @qweck3 _ I want to think that it is just that, fat being replaced...I cant really feel much of a difference in my clothes but I always feel like I have "stretched out" my clothes when they feel bigger... and I usually only measure and take pics on the 1st of the month. I guess I will find out in 2 weeks...
  • tcunbeliever
    tcunbeliever Posts: 8,219 Member
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    Definitely take measurements and hopefully they will show improvement.

    Other ideas that have helped me to break a stall...

    Eating at maintenance for 2 weeks
    Calorie cycling
    Changing workouts
    Swapping out routine foods
  • KristaMac88
    KristaMac88 Posts: 163 Member
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    pictures work best for me. though i am not far along in my journey i notice the odd clothes fit better, but can def see a difference when i took a pic last week to where i was 4-5 weeks ago.
  • Everyonelies
    Everyonelies Posts: 225 Member
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    @tcunbeliever do you have more info on calorie cycling? I normally consume between 14-1600 a day...what would be the best way to do it, and for how long?

    @kristamac88- I do take pictures, but only once a month...it wont happen until next Friday...but I am hoping my measurements are lower...
  • tcunbeliever
    tcunbeliever Posts: 8,219 Member
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    Usually I do my calorie cycling by moving about 200-300 calories from a low day to a high day...right now I'm using a baseline of 1700/day, so I do 1400 on low days and 2000 on high days...I usually do my high days as strength training days, 3/week, non-consecutive...right now I'm doing Tu/Th/Sat as high days.

    I like this calculator, but I ignore the carbs because I do keto for migraine control:
    https://x-gains.com/MacroCalculator
  • 2t9nty
    2t9nty Posts: 1,578 Member
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    tcunbeliever wrote: »
    Usually I do my calorie cycling by moving about 200-300 calories from a low day to a high day...right now I'm using a baseline of 1700/day, so I do 1400 on low days and 2000 on high days...I usually do my high days as strength training days, 3/week, non-consecutive...right now I'm doing Tu/Th/Sat as high days.

    I like this calculator, but I ignore the carbs because I do keto for migraine control:
    https://x-gains.com/MacroCalculator

    This has higher protein recommendations than most. I don't carb cycle or have strength training days, etc. I do have a higher protein goals than seems to be recommended most of the time, but that was really a matter of tinkering with things to find my happy place. I have settled on a protein goal about 1 g of protein for every pound of lean body mass. I keep net carbs under 20.
  • tcunbeliever
    tcunbeliever Posts: 8,219 Member
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    A lot of the keto calculators are not designed for weight loss, but for medically therapeutic keto...there's not really any reason to limit protein if you are doing keto just for weight loss. If you are trying to get certain fat ratios for controlling epilepsy or migraines, etc. then limiting protein may come into play, but for weight loss you are risking muscle loss when protein is lacking.
  • 2t9nty
    2t9nty Posts: 1,578 Member
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    tcunbeliever wrote: »
    A lot of the keto calculators are not designed for weight loss, but for medically therapeutic keto...there's not really any reason to limit protein if you are doing keto just for weight loss. If you are trying to get certain fat ratios for controlling epilepsy or migraines, etc. then limiting protein may come into play, but for weight loss you are risking muscle loss when protein is lacking.

    There is also the keto for diabetes. There is a persistent insistence that high protein raises BG. This has not been the case with me and my meter, but I can believe some people are different.

    I am looking for keto that is satisfying and sustainable since I am using it to manage BG without meds and have every expectation that I am a "lifer." Higher protein seems to endure in terms of satiation between meals. I have been quite happy with a lower fat macro than many people seem to advocate.

    This is all n=1 stuff of course. I fumbled around with macros over time and did a lot of finger sticks sorting things out for myself. I do think I lost lean body mass with lower protein in the initial weight loss phase of things.
  • mrsskinny629
    mrsskinny629 Posts: 96 Member
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    I weigh and measure weekly. ( I do step on the scale daily, but don't log it until my weekly weigh in) so if I don't have a good weigh in, but lose inches, I know that what I'm doing is still working. I personally do 20 total carbs, so if you find that you haven't lost any inches, reevaluate what you've been doing. Are you tracking? Are you getting in your water? are you hitting your macros? Good luck!
  • Sugarnspice1922
    Sugarnspice1922 Posts: 143 Member
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    Everyonelies wrote: »
    The last 2 months I have been hitting a wall...

    I am still under 20 net carbs a day...calorie wise I am staying within 1400-1600...I am lifting more and doing less cardio...but my scale isn't budging...not sure how long a plateau can last before things start to move again...

    I am playing around with the same 3lbs for the last 8 weeks now...not fun at all! Help!

    9/24-Keto SW-206.8lbs
    Last Goal- 180 by 12/31/18-Met 12/9/18!!!
    Next Goal- 160 by 5/31/2019
    GW-140-160lbs

    Tuesday 1/1- 175.4
    Sunday 1/6- 177.8
    Sunday 1/13- 173.8
    Sunday 1/20- 175.6
    Sunday- 1/27- 173.8
    Thursday 1/31-173.8

    Sunday 02/03- 173
    Sunday 02/10- 175.6
    Sunday 02/17- 172.8

    No advice but I just wanted to say you have done very very well. Stay motivated
  • 805_blondie
    805_blondie Posts: 96 Member
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    Our fat cells are very stubborn and don’t like to release all their volume until it has to and will replace lipids with water. This is a good article from Lyle McDonald that explains the theory.
    https://bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/of-whooshes-and-squishy-fat.html/
  • Everyonelies
    Everyonelies Posts: 225 Member
    edited March 2019
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    *UPDATE*

    I only lost 1.6lbs between Feb 1 and Mar 1. I had an overall loss of 3.5 combined inches between, chest, stomach, hips and legs. Arms measure the same, but I see more muscle...

    I am not discouraged with Keto because I still feel better, but am disappointed with the over all weight/inches lost...

    Will keep it going...3/24 will mark 6 months on Keto...I honestly can't believe I have lasted this long on it...

    Edit to add: I am .6pts away from being in the Overweight category regarding BMI... :)
  • KarlaYP
    KarlaYP Posts: 4,439 Member
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    @Everyonelies!! Congratulations on making almost six months on Keto!! Being disappointed with the weight loss sounds so familiar to me, but it was also the fact that I felt so much better with it that kept me going too! I couldn’t deny that, so it kept me going until one day I realized that I’d actually lost all of the weight I wanted to lose!

    Please remember that our bodies are doing a lot of repair work after the diets we’ve put them through in the past. We have broken metabolisms and no telling what else we have that Keto is fixing along the way. Give your body the time it needs to do this repair work and know that it will catch up with the weight loss once it’s finished with that!

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