Anyone else struggling to lose ANY weight on Keto?

peewoddin1
peewoddin1 Posts: 4 Member
edited December 26 in Health and Weight Loss
I've done it for over a month and no loss. I combined it with 18:6 fasting as well. Seems a bit strange to have NO loss at all - am I alone in this?
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Replies

  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,986 Member
    tinkerbellang83 wrote: »
    To add to the above by @janejellyroll, if you are one of those that doesn't necessarily feel more satiated and you're guesstimating portions, it is far easier on a Keto diet to unintentionally eat more calories than you think since Fat is 9 calories per gram, where Protein & Carbs are 4 calories per gram. So even minor variances of actual intake vs estimated intake can add up quickly.

    Oh yes, if you go from primarily eating carbs and protein to primarily fat, then portions will have to shrink substantially. Plus you need a calorie deficit on top, which reduces portion size even more.

    Sateity of course plays a bit roll as well. If TO is one who thrives on carbs and remains hungry of fats, then keto won't be the right way of eating anyway. You can't change your genes.
  • bubus05
    bubus05 Posts: 121 Member
    I know the feeling. I have been on keto+IF for roughly seven months now and recently I kind of hit the wall too. Having said that I managed to lose 25% body weight to this point, but long gone the days when I was losing 5 pounds a week lucky if get a single pound off. But then I was fairly obese at 277 pounds. I think if this diet doesn't work there may be some miscalculation of calorie deficit on the OP's part as well as my part as it was stated by others, or keto is simple not the right kind of diet for the OP, keto is one of many strategies to lose weight. Just a suggestion, if you are comfortable with 16/8 IF, I would try to extend to a full day of fasting it might help with reducing the calories.
  • Chef_Barbell
    Chef_Barbell Posts: 6,644 Member
    Dogmom1978 wrote: »
    nighthawk584 wrote: »
    In agreement with most the answers. I just don't understand why people make it so difficult on themselves with these FAD diets that have a higher long term failure rate than just normal calorie counting!?

    Because keto and IF are the new magic pill and a lot of people don’t track calories using them. They lose some weight initially and then the weight loss stops and they can’t figure out why the magic stopped.

    All diets work the same: eat in a calorie deficit to lose weight. Some people still don’t get that though.

    +1 CICO
  • bubus05
    bubus05 Posts: 121 Member
    yirara wrote: »
    And then, if the magic pill with unicorn decoration doesn't work people post here, and then don't come back if they don't get the answer they expect :(
    Well i am doing keto+IF and it did work just fine for months without focusing too much on calories. It ain't magic pill-who even said that-you have to be at least aware of your calories for this particular method, any method to work-long term- as I have come to realise. I also came back to admit I probably made a mistake to completely ignore the calories and I am working on it. What I dont understand is the seemingly total opposition to keto and IF, these are effective strategies and can work and do work for many people.
  • Jthanmyfitnesspal
    Jthanmyfitnesspal Posts: 3,522 Member
    Chef_Barbell wrote: »
    The bolded is usually why. Some use these methods of weight loss because it's the fad now and forget that CICO is all that matters. 🤷‍♀️

    CICO is not quite all that matters. There is the critical issue of proper nutrition.

    So, you might say "CICO + proper nutrition are all that matters."

    Then, you could note that proper exercise is also critical to overall health.

    So, you might say "CICO + proper nutrition + exercise are all that matters."

    Then, you could note that mental health is also critical to overall health. Relationships are key to mental health.

    So, you might say "CICO + proper nutrition + exercise + relationships are all that matters."

    But, purpose is also key to overall mental health. Hey, maybe I've gotten there:

    "CICO + proper nutrition + exercise + relationships + purpose are all that matters."

    I'll leave the ordering to the individual.
  • ccrdragon
    ccrdragon Posts: 3,374 Member
    edited November 2020
    peewoddin1 wrote: »
    Hi all - thanks for your comments. I had responded yesterday but now don't see that on here. I was following a site called Diet Doctor, which is a keto site. It's all quite confusing as they are pretty adamant that you DON'T count calories. I guess I will ditch keto since just a TBSP of olive oil is nearly 1/12th of daily calories...just seems strange that so many people seem to lose on keto. And increasingly I read articles on how calorie restriction doesn't lead to LASTING weight loss. Just feels like there's no winning here!!

    If you look up the statistics, 95% of the people who lose weight will fail to maintain the weight loss for a significant amount of time. The problem is not the manner of losing the weight - ANY style of eating that leads to a calorie deficit will result in weight loss. The problem is that most people don't know how to MAINTAIN the weight loss. There seems to be a pervasive belief that once people lose the weight they can go back to the same eating patterns that got them fat in the first place but somehow (magic maybe) it won't make them fat again.

    You need to educate yourself and re-train your brain while you are losing the weight. Understand that a smaller body (after you lose the weight) will require smaller amounts of fuel (food) to keep the same weight. You also need to figure out what works for you individually so that you can keep the weight off, whether it just involves eating fewer calories than you may want to eat, exercising to increase the number of calories that yoou can eat or a combination of the two.
  • Dogmom1978
    Dogmom1978 Posts: 1,580 Member
    Calorie restriction doesn’t lead to lasting weight loss because most people stop counting calories. Keto doesn’t lead to lasting weight loss because people stop keto.

    The same thing can be said of every single diet under the sun. If you treat it as a short term solution, you will get short term results (at best). You need to make lifestyle changes to see lasting results. There are people on here who have been in maintenance for over a decade who still count their calories.

    I recommend a food scale, whatever you find satisfying (if that’s keto, then enjoy), plugging your stats into MFP, and selecting rate of loss (2 lbs is too aggressive for most people unless you have upwards of 50 lbs to lose and even then, most people find that harder to adhere to; so I recommend starting with 1 lb a week). Weigh and track foods accurately, eat in a deficit and you will lose weight.

    Most of the “success” stories around keto are people who have been doing it for a few weeks and lost a bunch of water weight from being low carb. That is not the same as losing fat though. And again, if you don’t do it forever, you regain when you stop.
  • Nony_Mouse
    Nony_Mouse Posts: 5,646 Member
    lemurcat2 wrote: »
    peewoddin1 wrote: »
    Hi all - thanks for your comments. I had responded yesterday but now don't see that on here. I was following a site called Diet Doctor, which is a keto site. It's all quite confusing as they are pretty adamant that you DON'T count calories. I guess I will ditch keto since just a TBSP of olive oil is nearly 1/12th of daily calories...just seems strange that so many people seem to lose on keto. And increasingly I read articles on how calorie restriction doesn't lead to LASTING weight loss. Just feels like there's no winning here!!

    I don't like the Diet Doctor site as I think it makes baseless claims about keto and turns it into a fad with such things as one must not count cals. It's also a site that one ultimately is supposed to pay for (often a bad sign, IMO), and pushes under 20 net g of carbs (I think one can be in ketosis with more depending on one's activity) and a lower protein limit (usually more protein isn't an issue)--if psulemon is around he could weigh in on this. My own take is that low carb/keto really is about cutting down on the carbs and then eat protein/fat as you like without your cals (and with the same protein goal you'd have otherwise). No need to worry about eating too much protein or actively try to eat super high fat, so long as you have sufficient cals.

    The key with keto, for those for whom it works, is appetite control and, probably, taking some trigger foods that are often high carb AND high fat off the table (low fat and whole foods based diets often do the same, depending on the food). Similarly, since one is often changing one's diet a lot, one must be more thoughtful about the foods one chooses, and that for some will naturally lead to calorie restriction (but often in the short term only). (Full disclosure, I lost my weight at a moderate carb to somewhat lower carb way of eating, and counting cals, and then at maintenance tried keto and found it provided me personally with no additional appetite control (but my appetite wasn't an issue) or losses beyond what was expected -- in other words, I maintained on the cals I'd been maintaining on eating moderate carb). But I'm not negative about keto at all, I think it's helpful for some.)

    Even if one is someone for whom keto matters for appetite control, the appetite control can work in conjunction with calorie counting, helping people hit their calorie goal consistently without difficulty. Also, some of us find that eating lower carb without worrying about ketosis specifically can be just as effective (and some find they don't feel satisfied without more carbs).

    If there are things you like about keto or low carb, I don't think you need to ditch it, but I do think you should at least start by counting cals. At the least you will get a sense of what fits into the cals you need to eat to lose. For many, it's sustainable to count cals throughout the loss and even into maintenance, for others it's difficult or more unpleasant (I kind of like it, but usually don't do it at maintenance), but counting for a while really helps one understand how many cals they are eating and what foods are contributing what cals, which I think can be extremely helpful even after one is no longer counting, and with things like understanding portions.

    The Low Carber forum here (https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/394-low-carber-daily-forum) is pretty good if you are interested in continuing with keto or low carb, and there are plenty of people there who have found keto helpful but also count cals.

    Lemur makes some very good points here, particularly around carb and protein levels. I don't claim to be 'doing keto', but I did lower my carbs further about six weeks ago to help with appetite control. I still eat loads of vegetables, and plenty of protein. Even without being particularly active, I'm in ketosis at 40-45g net carbs, and I don't think my fat intake has ever exceeded 60% of my daily calories. Usually it's 50-55% (70-80g). Protein makes up the rest and I hit at least 100g a day. You simply don't need to be eating the super high amounts of fat touted by some keto sites, and in fact it's the low carb bit that matters for getting into ketosis. How low you need to be varies between individuals, but is often more than the 20-25g net stated on many sites. That's pushed because at that number, pretty much anyone will be producing ketones.

    But, as has hopefully been made abundantly clear in this thread, it's the calorie deficit that matters. If keto helps you with appetite control, or if that style of eating appeals to you, then there's no need to ditch it, but if those aren't factors, find a way of eating that feels good to you and keeps you satiated within your MFP calorie allowance.
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