returning to keto
AbbieOffman
Posts: 165 Member
Hello, It's been a few years since I last did Keto. I started back up again the beginning of Sept. I'm fluctuating between 13-14lbs lost, and have been stalled the last week. I am eating usually below 20g net carbs a day. Am I forgetting something? Should I Up my fat? I don't seem to be hitting the 70% the macros call for. Do I need to do IF? I find I am hungry in the evenings... 
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Welcome back! I last did Keto in 2017, quit in 2018, gained most of my weight back.
Tried eating CICO but wasn't losing. So tried Keto again back in August. Stalls are normal and aren't really stalls. Just keep up with what you are doing. If you are hungry in the evenings, eat a snack. I like cheese sticks. How is your protein intake? 0 -
It looks like I'm 50/50 for eating enough protein each day. I just checked my ketones and it looks like I am down to Moderate levels. I think maybe that QuikCarb pizza dough I made kicked me out of ketosis. I was ready to give up lastnight, but I will keep going.
I lost 40lbs and was almost at my goal last time, but sitting at home on my butt all day during Covid made me gain it all back and then some 1 -
I hear you! I went from 220 to 184 in just over 3 months eating Keto back in 2017. Then I moved and where I moved to had a pizza joint on just about every corner! So of course I had to try them all! Over and over again! LOL...Gained steadily because of that. I had no support where I moved to. Moved back last year, then Covid arrived, about the same time I did. Finally made the decision to get back on the Keto wagon in August.
Stalls aren't really stalls unless you've been stuck in the same weight for several weeks with no decrease. Did you do pre-keto measurements? Hips, waist, etc? A lot of times, the scale won't move but your measurements decrease. I noticed I lost weight in my face. I still have pizza belly, but my face is a bit more angular now. And I've lost inches around my waist/hip area.
I'm not sure what is Quik Carb pizza dough. Instead, if you want the pizza taste, try this. Get some low carb tortilla...I used Mission Street Taco tortillas. 3 net carbs for 2 tortillas. Put in a pan, line them with pepperoni (8 on each), put a mozz string cheese in the middle of each, roll up the tortilla and bake at 350 for 10 minutes. Cut up in bite sized pieces, and warm up 1/4 cup of a low carb pizza sauce for dipping. I used Rao's Homemade Margarita Pizza Sauce - 2 net carbs. 420 Cal; 23 carbs or 5 net carbs; 31 fat; 26 protein. So good!
One more thing...make sure you measure/weigh your foods. Eyeballing them could give you extra calories you aren't counting. And make sure the nutritional data base here is accurate. As they are user generated, they could be so wrong. As I've found out the hard way. Keep going & good luck!1 -
AbbieOffman wrote: »Hello, It's been a few years since I last did Keto. I started back up again the beginning of Sept. I'm fluctuating between 13-14lbs lost, and have been stalled the last week. I am eating usually below 20g net carbs a day. Am I forgetting something? Should I Up my fat? I don't seem to be hitting the 70% the macros call for. Do I need to do IF? I find I am hungry in the evenings...
First off, a week isnt a stall. Give if a few weeks. Second, if you aren't tracking calories, I would start. It honestly doesn't matter if you are in ketosis or not, it does matter if you are eating too many calories. If anything, drop your fat a bit. Adding more will just make you gain it stall even longer.2 -
I am tracking calories. Isnt the whole point of doing low carb to be in ketosis?0
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AbbieOffman wrote: »I am tracking calories. Isnt the whole point of doing low carb to be in ketosis?
What are your calories set at? Are you using a food scale?
Is the point of low carb to be in ketosis, no. Is the point of Keto to be in ketosis? Sure. There is correlation between ketosis and appetite reduction. Does ketosis mean fat loss? No. You can be in ketosis and bulk or maintain.1 -
My calories are set at 1200. Which I am 99% of the time staying under. Yes, I weigh my food.0
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I agree a week of the scale being an idiot isn't concerning. Give it some time. We can randomly retain water for a couple weeks. For so many reasons. The CarbQuik kicking you out of ketosis, so glycogen stores are refilled, which means you store water as well. Hormones fluctuating, more salt than you're used to, solar flares...who knows. KCKO an old saying, Keep Calm and Keto On. We all get to a point where we end up with the scale derping around for a bit. Just keep chugging along, and it will suss out and start going down again.
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AbbieOffman wrote: »My calories are set at 1200. Which I am 99% of the time staying under. Yes, I weigh my food.
Give it a few more weeks and then you can re-evaluate if necessary.
Also, long term, I would consider reducing fats in favor of more protein. At 60g, it's suboptimal for most people, especially while trying to lose fat.
What are your stats? Do you workout?2 -
I agree about the protein, make sure you are getting enough for your body to repair itself and protein can also help with satiety too. If you want to watch your calories too (and yes, it does matter to fat loss) there is nothing wrong with adding low fat protein to your plan. Protein doesn't always have to be cheese and bacon, lol. Chicken breast, tuna packed in water, egg whites, etc. can up your protein without adding a lot more to your calories.2
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I would not up your fat, because that will up your calories as well. No matter what you do, if you are not in a calorie deficit, it will be virtually impossible to lose weight. You need to burn more than you are consuming.
Everyone's body is different, but for me I have to do low carb (20-30 g per day), moderate fat (about 60-70 g per day), and high protein (80-100g per day) to see progress. I want the weight I lose to be fat and not muscle. Keeping those in check also keeps my calorie count where it should be.1 -
And yes, we are not stalled unless it is several weeks. Although one week of not losing definitely feels like a stall!!!0
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KristinLeeD wrote: »And yes, we are not stalled unless it is several weeks. Although one week of not losing definitely feels like a stall!!!
It sure does, when the weight is flying off the first 3 weeks
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Have you tried just eating real food? Meat, fish, fowl, eggs, sausages, cheese, berries, non-starchy veggies, fats etc.. with water, coffee or tea.
Food manufacturers will prey on your desire to make the diet easier, and create fake foods which technically fit into your diet, but are junk.. like pizza and tortillas.. on low carb.. sounds to good to be true, right.. because it is.
You'll always run into someone else who ate this food, and is doing great, and for them that is great. However, when you say it isn't working, the answer is usually simple. Be stricter.
You are eating too few calories. You did get stricter in that regard, but have you ever considered eating real food? Or counting total carbs, and staying under 20 grams a day? Or does that sound too hard?
You should be able to lose with more calories than 1200 a day. I don't think that is the problem. I think you need to eat a bit cleaner, and embrace Keto foods, not Keto products.
You have other suggestions, but if those don't pan out, please consider trying this.. foods with 1 ingredient, that you actually cook together, so you know what is in the food you eat.. things like chicken, peppers, onions, butter.. not interesterified and hydrogenated soybean oils, or thiamine mononitrate.. 2 delicious ingredients in those amazing low carb tortillas. ( of many ).
Actual low carb food, and less carbs on your less LOW carb, Keto diet.. it just might work. It's not a fun solution, and it IS strict, but maybe these loopholes that you are doing, really do NOT work for most people.
I have found that by being strict, and making sure I am in ketosis, that it gets a lot easier.
Good Luck.
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russellholtslander1 wrote: »Have you tried just eating real food? Meat, fish, fowl, eggs, sausages, cheese, berries, non-starchy veggies, fats etc.. with water, coffee or tea.
Food manufacturers will prey on your desire to make the diet easier, and create fake foods which technically fit into your diet, but are junk.. like pizza and tortillas.. on low carb.. sounds to good to be true, right.. because it is.
You'll always run into someone else who ate this food, and is doing great, and for them that is great. However, when you say it isn't working, the answer is usually simple. Be stricter.
You are eating too few calories. You did get stricter in that regard, but have you ever considered eating real food? Or counting total carbs, and staying under 20 grams a day? Or does that sound too hard?
You should be able to lose with more calories than 1200 a day. I don't think that is the problem. I think you need to eat a bit cleaner, and embrace Keto foods, not Keto products.
You have other suggestions, but if those don't pan out, please consider trying this.. foods with 1 ingredient, that you actually cook together, so you know what is in the food you eat.. things like chicken, peppers, onions, butter.. not interesterified and hydrogenated soybean oils, or thiamine mononitrate.. 2 delicious ingredients in those amazing low carb tortillas. ( of many ).
Actual low carb food, and less carbs on your less LOW carb, Keto diet.. it just might work. It's not a fun solution, and it IS strict, but maybe these loopholes that you are doing, really do NOT work for most people.
I have found that by being strict, and making sure I am in ketosis, that it gets a lot easier.
Good Luck.
I thought, for the most part, I was eating real food. Yes, I enjoy a few 'sugar free' products, like my coffee creamer, but dinner is usually a piece of meat with steamed veggies and/or a salad. Some days are busy where routine goes sideways so I do eat a bit worse - pepperoni sticks for lunch, instead of eggs or tuna for example. I like to cook/bake and I like to keep things simple. Most of the items in my dairy named 'keto' are recipes I have found online, etc. ie keto garlic bread, keto cereal... not things I have bought.
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AbbieOffman wrote: »russellholtslander1 wrote: »Have you tried just eating real food? Meat, fish, fowl, eggs, sausages, cheese, berries, non-starchy veggies, fats etc.. with water, coffee or tea.
Food manufacturers will prey on your desire to make the diet easier, and create fake foods which technically fit into your diet, but are junk.. like pizza and tortillas.. on low carb.. sounds to good to be true, right.. because it is.
You'll always run into someone else who ate this food, and is doing great, and for them that is great. However, when you say it isn't working, the answer is usually simple. Be stricter.
You are eating too few calories. You did get stricter in that regard, but have you ever considered eating real food? Or counting total carbs, and staying under 20 grams a day? Or does that sound too hard?
You should be able to lose with more calories than 1200 a day. I don't think that is the problem. I think you need to eat a bit cleaner, and embrace Keto foods, not Keto products.
You have other suggestions, but if those don't pan out, please consider trying this.. foods with 1 ingredient, that you actually cook together, so you know what is in the food you eat.. things like chicken, peppers, onions, butter.. not interesterified and hydrogenated soybean oils, or thiamine mononitrate.. 2 delicious ingredients in those amazing low carb tortillas. ( of many ).
Actual low carb food, and less carbs on your less LOW carb, Keto diet.. it just might work. It's not a fun solution, and it IS strict, but maybe these loopholes that you are doing, really do NOT work for most people.
I have found that by being strict, and making sure I am in ketosis, that it gets a lot easier.
Good Luck.
I thought, for the most part, I was eating real food. Yes, I enjoy a few 'sugar free' products, like my coffee creamer, but dinner is usually a piece of meat with steamed veggies and/or a salad. Some days are busy where routine goes sideways so I do eat a bit worse - pepperoni sticks for lunch, instead of eggs or tuna for example. I like to cook/bake and I like to keep things simple. Most of the items in my dairy named 'keto' are recipes I have found online, etc. ie keto garlic bread, keto cereal... not things I have bought.
I think you're good.
It's fine to eat "clean" keto, or "dirty" keto. Or something in between. Diet composition is YMMV. Whatever way you do your keto, as long as it's a way to stay on calories or portions consistently, that's what will get you there. Consistency + Persistence + Time.
Eating real foods 100% is definitely "healthy", but if you can't stay on-plan and keep that cal deficit then you aren't going to lose weight. I have always included a little bit of sugar free or artificial sweetener things to help me stay compliant, and I lost nearly 100lbs. Just got to hit the points of the formula. String enough on-plan days together to see results. And there are going to be little pauses in there. Just keep going. You got this.1 -
Thank you, Baconslave. The scale has started moving again, so upping my calories must have helped. 2
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You can choose to eat what you want, and maybe we have a different idea what real food is.. so let me be clear.. I am talking about low carb/keto.. bread, pizza, tortillas. Things like that.
I don't think creamer is a major issue, but the products you buy that are made so you feel comfortable buying them, aren't real food. They have been altered. They are just as bad as fortified cereals.. they simply made these " foods " in a lab, to meet whatever standard you want.
Most times I hear someone struggling on a low carb plan, they eat these products, because they say.. Atkins, Keto, Low carb!!
So while the label says it's OK, people don't get the same results, as if they ate things like chicken, beef, butter, eggs, berries, non-starchy veggies, and water.
They tend to look for ways for their new diet, to taste like their old one.. still eating bread, pizza, tortillas etc., because someone told them these products were " healthy " versions of those foods.
The products triple the fiber, or use sugar alcohols, and the manufacturer says.. it will work for your diet.. but many who tend to do this, and try an easier version of lower carb diets, with convenient packaged products, like shakes, or pizza you can heat up, do poorly once they start adding those into their diet.
So, if you think you are doing great, then keep at it, but you seem to be stalled after the initial weight loss, which everyone experiences by cutting carbs. and you asked if anyone had any idea why you might be stalled. If nothing else works, I am merely suggesting that at that point, you might want to eat food you could find in nature, not the products they make in laboratories, so you can eat the foods you used to. Try it out, and see if by removing these products, your results improve.
Maybe some other change, will solve the stall, and if so, then great. Ignore what I am saying. I'm simply trying to help, and have seen many people fail, eating low carb products. I am sorry if I offended you in any way. Hope I worded it better this time.3 -
russellholtslander1 wrote: »You can choose to eat what you want, and maybe we have a different idea what real food is.. so let me be clear.. I am talking about low carb/keto.. bread, pizza, tortillas. Things like that.
I don't think creamer is a major issue, but the products you buy that are made so you feel comfortable buying them, aren't real food. They have been altered. They are just as bad as fortified cereals.. they simply made these " foods " in a lab, to meet whatever standard you want.
Most times I hear someone struggling on a low carb plan, they eat these products, because they say.. Atkins, Keto, Low carb!!
So while the label says it's OK, people don't get the same results, as if they ate things like chicken, beef, butter, eggs, berries, non-starchy veggies, and water.
They tend to look for ways for their new diet, to taste like their old one.. still eating bread, pizza, tortillas etc., because someone told them these products were " healthy " versions of those foods.
The products triple the fiber, or use sugar alcohols, and the manufacturer says.. it will work for your diet.. but many who tend to do this, and try an easier version of lower carb diets, with convenient packaged products, like shakes, or pizza you can heat up, do poorly once they start adding those into their diet.
So, if you think you are doing great, then keep at it, but you seem to be stalled after the initial weight loss, which everyone experiences by cutting carbs. and you asked if anyone had any idea why you might be stalled. If nothing else works, I am merely suggesting that at that point, you might want to eat food you could find in nature, not the products they make in laboratories, so you can eat the foods you used to. Try it out, and see if by removing these products, your results improve.
Maybe some other change, will solve the stall, and if so, then great. Ignore what I am saying. I'm simply trying to help, and have seen many people fail, eating low carb products. I am sorry if I offended you in any way. Hope I worded it better this time.
The OP isn't stalled. It was only a week without weight loss. That isn't a stall. There are basic natural physiological changes in weight daily. Context is everything.0 -
Lemon is correct, of course. It was not a stall, it was just 1 week. Its only been a month or so, so I panicked. It is one thing to intentionally cheat on ones diet, its another to think you've screwed it up somehow.
I think if more of those low carb products were more readily available where I live I might fall victim to them, but they aren't. For now though, the high fibre carbalose flour goes back on the shelf.0 -
AbbieOffman wrote: »Lemon is correct, of course. It was not a stall, it was just 1 week. Its only been a month or so, so I panicked. It is one thing to intentionally cheat on ones diet, its another to think you've screwed it up somehow.
I think if more of those low carb products were more readily available where I live I might fall victim to them, but they aren't. For now though, the high fibre carbalose flour goes back on the shelf.
There is nothing wrong with bread products occasionally. I have been low carb and keto and almost have a six pack at this point. Trust me, those products won't stop your fat loss. Only too many calories will. Now, if they drive cravings or cause binges, that would be another reason to get rid of them.2 -
AbbieOffman wrote: »Lemon is correct, of course. It was not a stall, it was just 1 week. Its only been a month or so, so I panicked. It is one thing to intentionally cheat on ones diet, its another to think you've screwed it up somehow.
I think if more of those low carb products were more readily available where I live I might fall victim to them, but they aren't. For now though, the high fibre carbalose flour goes back on the shelf.
There is nothing wrong with bread products occasionally. I have been low carb and keto and almost have a six pack at this point. Trust me, those products won't stop your fat loss. Only too many calories will. Now, if they drive cravings or cause binges, that would be another reason to get rid of them.
All this.
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If it's not a stall, and not a problem, fine. I am just using the word the OP did, and it does seem to be a problem.
My only concern was that I offended her, and I wanted to clear up what I meant by real food.
The low carb products are better than high carb foods, for weight loss, and probably overall health, even with all the junk in the ingredients, so it's all relative Abbie.. if you forgot to thaw lunch, and have a low carb product, or McDonald's as your option.. I'd choose a low carb product, but I make sure that never happens.
I just wanted to say this, because it sounded like a lot of low carb products were being discussed as good options. Happy to hear that is not representative of what you normally eat, but it also renders my advice meaningless.. any problem you have is not due to things you are not eating, right?
Hope you have it figured out Abbie, and are losing again, or will be soon. Good Luck.2 -
russellholtslander1 wrote: »If it's not a stall, and not a problem, fine. I am just using the word the OP did, and it does seem to be a problem.
My only concern was that I offended her, and I wanted to clear up what I meant by real food.
The low carb products are better than high carb foods, for weight loss, and probably overall health, even with all the junk in the ingredients, so it's all relative Abbie.. if you forgot to thaw lunch, and have a low carb product, or McDonald's as your option.. I'd choose a low carb product, but I make sure that never happens.
I just wanted to say this, because it sounded like a lot of low carb products were being discussed as good options. Happy to hear that is not representative of what you normally eat, but it also renders my advice meaningless.. any problem you have is not due to things you are not eating, right?
Hope you have it figured out Abbie, and are losing again, or will be soon. Good Luck.
I understand where your response came from, but when you read the whole thing it identifies the stall was only a week.
Semantically, i am not sure i agree with your assessment on high quality foods automatically being low carb. There are tons of high quality foods that are high carb. But that is another discussion for a different topic
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AbbieOffman wrote: »Lemon is correct, of course. It was not a stall, it was just 1 week. Its only been a month or so, so I panicked. It is one thing to intentionally cheat on ones diet, its another to think you've screwed it up somehow.
I think if more of those low carb products were more readily available where I live I might fall victim to them, but they aren't. For now though, the high fibre carbalose flour goes back on the shelf.
There is nothing wrong with bread products occasionally. I have been low carb and keto and almost have a six pack at this point. Trust me, those products won't stop your fat loss. Only too many calories will. Now, if they drive cravings or cause binges, that would be another reason to get rid of them.
Bread is my gateway drug. 1 -
russellholtslander1 wrote: »If it's not a stall, and not a problem, fine. I am just using the word the OP did, and it does seem to be a problem.
My only concern was that I offended her, and I wanted to clear up what I meant by real food.
The low carb products are better than high carb foods, for weight loss, and probably overall health, even with all the junk in the ingredients, so it's all relative Abbie.. if you forgot to thaw lunch, and have a low carb product, or McDonald's as your option.. I'd choose a low carb product, but I make sure that never happens.
I just wanted to say this, because it sounded like a lot of low carb products were being discussed as good options. Happy to hear that is not representative of what you normally eat, but it also renders my advice meaningless.. any problem you have is not due to things you are not eating, right?
Hope you have it figured out Abbie, and are losing again, or will be soon. Good Luck.
I wasn't offended, just confused.
Keep calm and keto on was mentioned, and that's what I'm aiming to do 3
