not losing...need help
CrimsonClay
Posts: 7 Member
I have been doing low carb since Nov 1, however I've only been keeping track of it on MFP for about 2 weeks. I was originally using a spreadsheet. I have only lost about 8 pounds overall. I feel am I keeping my carbs low and my water intake high and exercise regularly.
I was wondering if anyone has had any experiences with being addicted to diet sodas and quitting. Stupidly, for 10 plus years I was drinking 64 to 128 oz of Diet Coke. In Nov when I started the low carb program, I learned about the huge side effects of aspartame. Long story short, I quit diet sodas cold turkey. It wasn't easy and the headaches were horrible for a few days, but it's been about 5 weeks since I have had anything with aspartame in it. I am a huge label reader now and refuse to put that stuff back in my body.
My concern is that I'm not losing due to the lingering side effects of aspartame. Has anyone been through this before? Could the aspartame be causing my issues? It's frustrating to complete my entries in MFP for the day and see the message indicating I should weigh 15 to 20 pounds lighter in 5 weeks if I continue doing the same thing everyday when in reality I seem to be fluctuating up and down around the same weight for the past several weeks.
I was wondering if anyone has had any experiences with being addicted to diet sodas and quitting. Stupidly, for 10 plus years I was drinking 64 to 128 oz of Diet Coke. In Nov when I started the low carb program, I learned about the huge side effects of aspartame. Long story short, I quit diet sodas cold turkey. It wasn't easy and the headaches were horrible for a few days, but it's been about 5 weeks since I have had anything with aspartame in it. I am a huge label reader now and refuse to put that stuff back in my body.
My concern is that I'm not losing due to the lingering side effects of aspartame. Has anyone been through this before? Could the aspartame be causing my issues? It's frustrating to complete my entries in MFP for the day and see the message indicating I should weigh 15 to 20 pounds lighter in 5 weeks if I continue doing the same thing everyday when in reality I seem to be fluctuating up and down around the same weight for the past several weeks.
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There have been studies linking diet sodas to carbohydrate cravings and also potentially a release of insulin. Years upon years of heavy aspartame perhaps could have a toxic effect, from endocrine systems to insulin resistance to even liver function. A disruption of these systems could very well impede weight loss. That said, there are obviously studies warning of the potential health hazards of aspartame but no concrete answer as to what exactly long term use does in humans, reason in and of itself to avoid it.
Would you consider opening your diary? It's much easier to give input on stalls when we can see whet you're consuming.0 -
I agree with Golightly. It could very well be some lingering effects from aspartame but there is something else in your post that makes me curious. You say that mfp tells you that you should be 15-20 lighter in 5 weeks. This message is rarely accurate for most people but it also raises a small red flag for me. That sounds like a really big deficit to me. Are you sure you are eating enough?0
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I agree with Golightly. It could very well be some lingering effects from aspartame but there is something else in your post that makes me curious. You say that mfp tells you that you should be 15-20 lighter in 5 weeks. This message is rarely accurate for most people but it also raises a small red flag for me. That sounds like a really big deficit to me. Are you sure you are eating enough?
This.
Also, 8lbs in 5 weeks is not "nothing." That's a great accomplishment in itself (particularly if it's fat weight and not just water weight).0 -
My diary is open now. Sorry about that. Please take a look and give me your thoughts.0
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I also wanted to make note that I bought some keto sticks. Just to make sure I'm not crazy, I have my wife take a look at them to see if the color has changed. Nothing! She says it looks like it's showing a trace, but I think she says it just to be supportive.
I feel like I've been doing this long enough to be in ketosis but I'm sure not seeing any positive results.0 -
Can you add in fat as one of your macro nutrients? Suggest dropping either sugar or sodium, and adding fat.
A couple of "opportunities" that I see.
Thursday, Dec 12 - Good overall numbers. 70% fat, 22% protein, 7% carbs. But, you have all of your carbs concentrated at one meal - with 27 total grams, and net 18 g. This may be pushing it if you are trying to get into ketosis. My calculations for the macros on that one meal are 29% fat, 28% protein, 32% carbs. Not ideal.
Friday, Dec 13 - Protein at 139. This may be a touch high. It's hard to assess without fat showing as well. Excess protein converts to glucose in the body, so a single meal that's high in protein (your dinner had 65 g) could be blocking ketosis. Macros, I think, are 64% fat; 28% protein; 7.5% carbs. This actually looks pretty good, but your dinner shows 57% fat, 39% protein, 4% carbs. That high protein at dinner I think may be a problem.
Saturday, Dec 14 - Did you log everything this day? Calories are below 1200. I don't know that this would block ketosis, but it could cause issues for weight loss. Macros for this day are 61% fat, 27% protein, 12% carbs. Not bad. (but did you log everything).
Sunday, Dec 15 - Carbs are at 68 g. Protein at 155. If my calculations are right, fat would be around 97 g. The macros for this are at 50% fat, 35% protein, 15% carbs. Not optimal for ketosis. Need more fat, lower carbs. Protein could be OK, but again, make sure this is spread throughout the day and not concentrated at one meal.
Try adjusting your macros. Push for more of 60-70% fat; 20-30% protein; 5-10% carbs (obviously, pick values so they total to 100%!)
One other note. A lot of your meat sources are processed meats (sausage, meatballs, deli ham). Some folks report that nitrates can impact their losses. It's a YMMV thing. You may want to try reducing that to see if that improves things.
Nice job on water consumption.
If you haven't tried it, give the keto calculator a try. http://keto-calculator.ankerl.com/
It can help set your MFP values to optimize getting into ketosis.
Good luck!0 -
If you haven't tried it, give the keto calculator a try. http://keto-calculator.ankerl.com/
It can help set your MFP values to optimize getting into ketosis.
Good luck!
Sorry to highjack the thread, but I've tried this calculator and it doesn't give me any numbers. I was curious as to what it would put my macros at compared to what I have them at now.
I've double checked my input, so is there a special way to input your birthdate (I've tried it serval different ways).
So any help would be greatly appreciated!!
Anita0 -
I agree with Golightly. It could very well be some lingering effects from aspartame but there is something else in your post that makes me curious. You say that mfp tells you that you should be 15-20 lighter in 5 weeks. This message is rarely accurate for most people but it also raises a small red flag for me. That sounds like a really big deficit to me. Are you sure you are eating enough?
This.
Also, 8lbs in 5 weeks is not "nothing." That's a great accomplishment in itself (particularly if it's fat weight and not just water weight).
QFT! I'm losing about 3lbs a month. 8lbs would be amazing! I'm getting close to my goal though, so half a pound a week is ok, but it's been like this since August when I started low carb. Still, slow and steady is fine.0 -
If you haven't tried it, give the keto calculator a try. http://keto-calculator.ankerl.com/
It can help set your MFP values to optimize getting into ketosis.
Good luck!
Sorry to highjack the thread, but I've tried this calculator and it doesn't give me any numbers. I was curious as to what it would put my macros at compared to what I have them at now.
I've double checked my input, so is there a special way to input your birthdate (I've tried it serval different ways).
So any help would be greatly appreciated!!
Anita
Did you make sure to fill out all of the green-bordered fields? Birthday isn't the last field to fill out...0 -
If you haven't tried it, give the keto calculator a try. http://keto-calculator.ankerl.com/
It can help set your MFP values to optimize getting into ketosis.
Good luck!
Sorry to highjack the thread, but I've tried this calculator and it doesn't give me any numbers. I was curious as to what it would put my macros at compared to what I have them at now.
I've double checked my input, so is there a special way to input your birthdate (I've tried it serval different ways).
So any help would be greatly appreciated!!
Anita
Did you make sure to fill out all of the green-bordered fields? Birthday isn't the last field to fill out...
I filled out everything that would let me input a number and it still won't give me any numbers. :ohwell:
Update- I got it to work!!! I had to open it up in Chrome as I was using IE before.0 -
Looking at your diary the 2 things that stick out to me is your sodium intake it looks high when my sodium is that high I retain water weight. I would also try eating more calories trying to stay closer to calorie goal. Some things that I use to help me get my calories up are salt free pecans and almonds. Your doing great just keep doing it.0
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I've added the FAT field to my diary. I'm not sure what the optimum percentages should be. I was merely guessing based on what I had read online. And as we all know, if it's on the Internet, it must be true. HAHA
Could you make suggestions as to what the macros should be? Is 2000 cal enough, too high to lose or too little? All these variables are confusing.0 -
Try adjusting your macros. Push for more of 60-70% fat; 20-30% protein; 5-10% carbs (obviously, pick values so they total to 100%!)
Kiramaniac's given you a lot of great information. I've quoted the part about macro's because I've notice this is where many people that do keto, myself included, set their macros. You can change your percentages under goals. Select custom. Where to set your calories depends on you. I used another online calculator to figure my bmr (eat above) and tdee (eat below). Instead of selecting how much weight I want to lose a week I just input my target calories in the top box when I customized my macros. I think my calories are set at tdee -15%. Now, when I did this, mfp told me I would only lose .4 pounds a week. I have been consistently been losing 1-1.5 pounds a week for the past 6 weeks.
Eta: if you don't want to go searching online for bmr/tdee calculators then set mfp for .5 pound loss and set your macros like kiramaniac suggested. Also trade some of your processed protein for pork chops, hamburger, steak, roast, etc. Do a search for keto recipes (especially side dishes). There are several wonderful vegetable side dishes (fiber!) And higher fat deserts to keep you from feeling deprived.0 -
Crimson, I looked at your diary and it looks like you are eating high protient, moderate fat and low carb. what I do instead is eat high fat, moderate protein and low carb. that come out to 70% fat, 20% protein and 10% carb. good luck.0
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That's what I aim for as well.Crimson, I looked at your diary and it looks like you are eating high protient, moderate fat and low carb. what I do instead is eat high fat, moderate protein and low carb. that come out to 70% fat, 20% protein and 10% carb. good luck.
One thing I did notice is that you eat sausage and lunch meats pretty frequently and those things often have sugar and fillers added to them but the carb counts are zero. And with the candied nuts the carb counts seem off on some of the entries as well -- like more fiber than carbs.
So I'd cut down on the processed meats and the sugared nuts, double check that the nutrition information is correct for the entries you are using and work towards eating more fat than protein.
Most importantly if you're not happy with the rate you're losing, get a food scale and start weighing all of your food. If you're not in ketosis your appetite isn't going to be reduced so it's important to accurately track your calories so you can see where you're at and make adjustments. You can eat to your hunger and see what your weight does and then if you want to lose faster you'll know you need to eat less calories than you have been. But first you want to log as accurate as possible. Best wishes.
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When following a low carb way of eating, a high fat (70%) diet is very important. Our body uses that fat to convert it into a usable carbohydrate (ketones) for energy. If you aren't getting enough fat and you are restricting your calories, your body might see it as a starvation of sorts. Metabolically, your body could be slowing down because it doesn't have the resources it needs.0
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you're eating what I would think of as borderline carbs along with super high protein on some days. since high levels of protein convert the carbs in the blood it's a double whammy.
I'd try to cut back on the protein a little. For me slightly higher carbs work but it doesn't for everyone so you might try cutting down there too. I think the combination of the two might be hurting you.
I'd try to eliminate which it is. cut down on one and see if that does the trick then cut down on the other if you're still having problems.
the other thing with the keto strips is that if you've been doing it long enough to be keto adapted the sticks won't always register if you're in keto or not. try taking your reading first pee of the morning when everything is concentrated.
a pound or two a week is ideal anything more than that probably isn't a realistic goal.0 -
If diet soda is causing you to overconsume food then it could be related to weight loss prevention. Research in this area is mixed with some research showing no significant change in hormonal response. Research on hunger signaling is also mixed.
The hormonal response alone will not prevent lipolysis if you are in an energy deficit.
The take home from this is to pay attention to what diet soda does to your hunger signaling. If it makes you hungry, consider eliminating it. If it makes you satisfied and you don't notice any increase in hunger, I'd keep it around.0 -
Other things that can stall (or anyway, stall me):
Too much cheese
Eating so fast I really stuff myself, especially at my last meal of the day.
Alcohol (even when it claims to be carb and sugar free) :sad:0
