Weight has stalled - 3 weeks now! HELP!

volfan22
volfan22 Posts: 149 Member
I have been keto now for 9 weeks. I quickly and pretty easily dropped 20 lbs the first 6 weeks. I am not religious about tracking my food, after the first 6 weeks, I figured "i got it." Nothing has really changed in my diet. I rarely drink alcohol (maybe 3 times in the last 9 weeks) and my carbs stay below 20g most days. I know I'm supposed to get more fat - I have my macros at 80/15/5 - I usually get around 70/25/5 most days. My scale has not moved one ounce in 3 weeks.

I drink a lot of water (~gallon per day). I work out 2x per week (Tuesday/Thursday) are heavy workouts and swimming on the weekends. (By heavy, I do an hour of crossfit style training). I know I'm building muscle - and my clothes are loose. But that damn scale isn't budging.

Anyone else have this issue? Should I switch something up? Should I ignore the scale and just press on? It's getting discouraging. I feel great, otherwise I probably would have eating a diary queen blizzard yesterday. LOL Suggestions?

Replies

  • sljohnson1207
    sljohnson1207 Posts: 818 Member
    Can't see your diary to make suggestions. And if you aren't religious about counting net carbs, it may be that you are going over on carbs and calories. Not everyone doing keto can eat as much as they want and lose weight only by counting carbs. Also, you may have carb creep since you said you aren't really tracking. I wonder how you can say you are getting 7/25/5 most days if you aren't tracking it.

    Alcohol in any amount stalls weight loss for some folks. So do artificial sweeteners, dairy, and nuts. Again, SOME people, not everyone. Just some general things to look at.
  • volfan22
    volfan22 Posts: 149 Member
    When I say I don't track - I mean specifically on MFP. I used to but I find that I eat the exact same things almost every day. I may switch it up a little - but I'll check in MFP and then just go on. I eat 1400 calories each day - and I'm usually under and never over. (hence the macro breakdowns.)

    I have rechecked my current weight in the keto calculator and I don't need to reduce my calories yet so that's not an issue.
  • Do you take measurements, BF etc? Weight can fluctuate while you might be losing fat consistently. 3 weeks is hardly a stall though.
  • volfan22
    volfan22 Posts: 149 Member
    I took my measurements in the very beginning. I have not re-measured yet. So you think 3 weeks at the EXACT same weight is ok/normal? I'm beginning to think my scale is broken. HA!
  • Naughty_ZOOT
    Naughty_ZOOT Posts: 4,341 Member
    Good suggestions so far.
    Visit www.dietdoctor.com and review the plateau list posted there by Dr. Andreas Eenfeldt. I have had this exact same problem but far longer (April 12th) and here is what I have tried so far:

    1. Working out via Primal Blueprint style now-visit www.Marksdailyapple.com or read Primal Blueprint by Mark Sisson. You are highly likely from your description to indeed be working out to the extent of building muscle (very good!) and still losing inches-measure yourself and compare how your clothing is fitting especially since you mention that it is now looser. Try on something that was tight in the past to see if there is improvement. Scales are your least reliable resource.

    2. Depending on your personal history, your liver may be sluggish if you have been overweight or obese for several years. Benign Fatty Liver Disease is very common among diabetics (me), obese (me) and people eating a long term processed diet in the past. Liver function is supported by a ketogenic diet and also with lots of daily dark leafy greens-a ketogenic requirement. Cook cruciferous veggies if you have thyroid issues to minimize effects. You can be in a healing phase that can last months from what I have researched. I added Milk Thistle (silymarin) to my supplements this week for this very purpose.

    3. Calorie shifting- I am trying this now and having some more loss. This is to assist when your body has a weight set point. In my case, I was at my current weight for years (had gained after a thyroid attack which is what I lost initially then stalled) and your body will fight the change until you make it. Calorie shifting, or metabolic confusion, is similar in effect to interval training and keeps the body guessing which can rev the metabolism. You say that you are eating the same thing all of the time so you are not changing your daily calorie load which can slow your metabolism simply through familiarity. The basic method I am using is my mid-range day is Mon., 3 low range days tues, wed, thurs; my high day friday then back to low range for saturday and sunday. My personal levels are low: 1,392 cal , mid 1,532 and high 1,671 at the moment with a macro setting of 70% fat, 20% protein, 10% carbs while I try to add back more veggie carbs.
    I was at 80, 15, 5 from May until last week with no movement even after trying to break it with a fat fast, intermittent fasting and a 36 hour fast. After starting this shifting, I am down 2.25 lbs since last week and continuing the experiment. My husband, on the other hand, is peeling pounds at those numbers but he is not diabetic or menopausal female which both matter, lol.

    4. Have you been testing your ketogenic levels via urine or a blood meter? Urine is not accurate; blood is. My husband thought he was ketogenic at those macros and he was barely at a .5 on the blood meter while I was running 2.5-5.9 on it with no scale movement. You can lose effectively at fringe ketosis per Mark Sisson's Primal Blueprint and Eenfeldt states that the sweet spot is 1.5-3.0 with no benefit over 3.0 and possibly slower results below 1.5 but I will say that my husband was peeling pounds at .5 anyway so it is individual like everything else. If you are urine testing, your gallon of water will dilute the readings and make them more inaccurate as they are based on the concentration in the urine at that moment so diluted urine equals diluted readings. If you really want to know, you need a blood ketone meter. I got mine here (https://storefront.novacares.com/storefront/) on the web. Compare current offers with Amazon.

    5.Your macros may need tweaking. I was consuming too much fat I now believe after seeing the trend of dropping pounds days when I was a bit lower in % fat but not calories or protein. Therefore, I have just increased my LC veggies in the last week to improve my nutrition profile and offset some fat calories. Some of those carbs are also being offset by fiber from the veggies and psyllium for now which is because I have to watch my glucose levels since I managed to get off of my diabetes meds by doing this since January but so far they are still just as great. That may not apply to you. Do not underestimate the need for micro-nutrients-another keto tenant- so you may need to improve your dietary variety for that reason, also.

    5. Are you consuming grass fed pastured, hormone and antibiotic free proteins or commercially produced? Grain fed and drug pumped meats can stall you and the antibiotics the animals are fed are to make them gain weight not cure or prevent illness (it can do that to you, too and makes you antibiotic resistant should you get sick). Are you eating organic produce? Pesticides and herbicides are directly connected to obesity (map overlays of crop use and obesity rates are on the web) and can stall you. Are you eating GMO foods at all? They again, can stall you. I eat offal and a great variety of veggies plus things like nitrate/nitrate free pastured bacon, roasts, ribeyes, poultry, wild caught fish, shellfish, turkey, duck, lamb and more all from my local farmer's market. A good multi-vitamin can help some people, too. I no longer buy meat at the store; in fact I hardly go anymore, lol.

    6. I would advise tracking your intakes to look for trends. That has helped me refine things with the fat for instance.

    7. See sljohnson's comments about commercial dairy, artificial sweeteners, etc... I now consume raw dairy but only butter or cream and I sometimes make my own full cream yogurt, butter, etc...I also only get raw or pastured whole cheeses. We also consume pastured eggs from the same farmer families. Go to www.eatwild.com to find them near you if you don't know any.

    8. Keep doing what you are doing!
  • dcristo213
    dcristo213 Posts: 117 Member
    I know that it's easier said than done, but don't focus on scale. As you said, "you know you are building muscle and clothes feel loose". Keep up what your doing and the results will come.
  • I took my measurements in the very beginning. I have not re-measured yet. So you think 3 weeks at the EXACT same weight is ok/normal? I'm beginning to think my scale is broken. HA!

    Yes, I see 7 lb swings in my weight on few weeks. Your body is made up mostly of water and it could mask your loss. The only number I relied on was BF%. There were many weeks I gained over all weight, but lost fat because of changes in lean body mass. Taking measurements is very important because the scale is dumb and has no clue what you are losing or gaining.
  • volfan22
    volfan22 Posts: 149 Member
    Good suggestions so far.
    Visit www.dietdoctor.com and review the plateau list posted there by Dr. Andreas Eenfeldt. I have had this exact same problem but far longer (April 12th) and here is what I have tried so far:

    1. Working out via Primal Blueprint style now-visit www.Marksdailyapple.com or read Primal Blueprint by Mark Sisson. You are highly likely from your description to indeed be working out to the extent of building muscle (very good!) and still losing inches-measure yourself and compare how your clothing is fitting especially since you mention that it is now looser. Try on something that was tight in the past to see if there is improvement. Scales are your least reliable resource.

    2. Depending on your personal history, your liver may be sluggish if you have been overweight or obese for several years. Benign Fatty Liver Disease is very common among diabetics (me), obese (me) and people eating a long term processed diet in the past. Liver function is supported by a ketogenic diet and also with lots of daily dark leafy greens-a ketogenic requirement. Cook cruciferous veggies if you have thyroid issues to minimize effects. You can be in a healing phase that can last months from what I have researched. I added Milk Thistle (silymarin) to my supplements this week for this very purpose.

    3. Calorie shifting- I am trying this now and having some more loss. This is to assist when your body has a weight set point. In my case, I was at my current weight for years (had gained after a thyroid attack which is what I lost initially then stalled) and your body will fight the change until you make it. Calorie shifting, or metabolic confusion, is similar in effect to interval training and keeps the body guessing which can rev the metabolism. You say that you are eating the same thing all of the time so you are not changing your daily calorie load which can slow your metabolism simply through familiarity. The basic method I am using is my mid-range day is Mon., 3 low range days tues, wed, thurs; my high day friday then back to low range for saturday and sunday. My personal levels are low: 1,392 cal , mid 1,532 and high 1,671 at the moment with a macro setting of 70% fat, 20% protein, 10% carbs while I try to add back more veggie carbs.
    I was at 80, 15, 5 from May until last week with no movement even after trying to break it with a fat fast, intermittent fasting and a 36 hour fast. After starting this shifting, I am down 2.25 lbs since last week and continuing the experiment. My husband, on the other hand, is peeling pounds at those numbers but he is not diabetic or menopausal female which both matter, lol.

    4. Have you been testing your ketogenic levels via urine or a blood meter? Urine is not accurate; blood is. My husband thought he was ketogenic at those macros and he was barely at a .5 on the blood meter while I was running 2.5-5.9 on it with no scale movement. You can lose effectively at fringe ketosis per Mark Sisson's Primal Blueprint and Eenfeldt states that the sweet spot is 1.5-3.0 with no benefit over 3.0 and possibly slower results below 1.5 but I will say that my husband was peeling pounds at .5 anyway so it is individual like everything else. If you are urine testing, your gallon of water will dilute the readings and make them more inaccurate as they are based on the concentration in the urine at that moment so diluted urine equals diluted readings. If you really want to know, you need a blood ketone meter. I got mine here (https://storefront.novacares.com/storefront/) on the web. Compare current offers with Amazon.

    5.Your macros may need tweaking. I was consuming too much fat I now believe after seeing the trend of dropping pounds days when I was a bit lower in % fat but not calories or protein. Therefore, I have just increased my LC veggies in the last week to improve my nutrition profile and offset some fat calories. Some of those carbs are also being offset by fiber from the veggies and psyllium for now which is because I have to watch my glucose levels since I managed to get off of my diabetes meds by doing this since January but so far they are still just as great. That may not apply to you. Do not underestimate the need for micro-nutrients-another keto tenant- so you may need to improve your dietary variety for that reason, also.

    5. Are you consuming grass fed pastured, hormone and antibiotic free proteins or commercially produced? Grain fed and drug pumped meats can stall you and the antibiotics the animals are fed are to make them gain weight not cure or prevent illness (it can do that to you, too and makes you antibiotic resistant should you get sick). Are you eating organic produce? Pesticides and herbicides are directly connected to obesity (map overlays of crop use and obesity rates are on the web) and can stall you. Are you eating GMO foods at all? They again, can stall you. I eat offal and a great variety of veggies plus things like nitrate/nitrate free pastured bacon, roasts, ribeyes, poultry, wild caught fish, shellfish, turkey, duck, lamb and more all from my local farmer's market. A good multi-vitamin can help some people, too. I no longer buy meat at the store; in fact I hardly go anymore, lol.

    6. I would advise tracking your intakes to look for trends. That has helped me refine things with the fat for instance.

    7. See sljohnson's comments about commercial dairy, artificial sweeteners, etc... I now consume raw dairy but only butter or cream and I sometimes make my own full cream yogurt, butter, etc...I also only get raw or pastured whole cheeses. We also consume pastured eggs from the same farmer families. Go to www.eatwild.com to find them near you if you don't know any.

    8. Keep doing what you are doing!

    Thanks for this - very informative and what I was kinda looking for. I had a full thryoidectomy in January - which was cause for some of my weight gain and hormone issues - which is what brought me to ketogenics. I had never thought about the liver condition, I'll keep trudging along and see if I see improvement. Thank you for taking the time to make these notes for me. :)
  • Naughty_ZOOT
    Naughty_ZOOT Posts: 4,341 Member
    YW, hope it helps you to find an answer :smile:
  • sljohnson1207
    sljohnson1207 Posts: 818 Member
    When I say I don't track - I mean specifically on MFP. I used to but I find that I eat the exact same things almost every day. I may switch it up a little - but I'll check in MFP and then just go on. I eat 1400 calories each day - and I'm usually under and never over. (hence the macro breakdowns.)

    I have rechecked my current weight in the keto calculator and I don't need to reduce my calories yet so that's not an issue.

    Okay, so you do track. Thanks for clarifying your process. Do you think it's possible that your body is too used to the routine already? Do you think maybe you could experiment with upping your calories by 100 or lowering them by 100 to see if you get the scale moving again? Maybe you've already tried this. I don't know...3 weeks with no weight loss is normally not considered a plateau, but a stall, I think it certainly is with LCHF.

    May just be your time to stall. I had mine for two weeks just recently. I stayed in the same 1 pound range for exactly two weeks, then suddenly lost 3 lbs in a very short period of time. I looked very closely at my trends (weekly averages) in my Excel spreadsheet and noticed that my calories and carbs had done a bit of creeping upward. I adjusted my cals down just a little from the weekly average and raised my fat back up to around 68-69%, which seems to be my sweet spot.

    I know it's frustrating especially after seeing good losses. Just hang in there. If it continues, try something different. It could be just one tiny thing that makes all the difference in the world.

    Wishing you much success!
  • cdn_beaver
    cdn_beaver Posts: 130 Member
    Measurements are a much better indicator of fat loss than the number on the scale. You're gaining muscle which weighs more than fat so the scale might not be moving but your body is changing.
  • volfan22
    volfan22 Posts: 149 Member
    I checked my measurements this weekend and I have lost an inch just about every location except my arms. (they were .5 inch) :) And the scale finally moved down 2 lbs. I guess I just find it VERY STRANGE that my scale stays EXACTLY the same. I was 192.4 on every scale I used, then I was 191.1 for so long. I mean the .1 didn't even change...just weird. So, now I am 189.2. I guess I'll just keep trudging along. Thanks y'all!
  • jasper4848
    jasper4848 Posts: 15 Member
    Just curious, does your scale show bf%, and bf weight? I have one of those scales, and I just wondered if you did, because I am curious if with losing the inches you saw those figures change??
  • Naughty_ZOOT
    Naughty_ZOOT Posts: 4,341 Member
    I checked my measurements this weekend and I have lost an inch just about every location except my arms. (they were .5 inch) :) And the scale finally moved down 2 lbs. I guess I just find it VERY STRANGE that my scale stays EXACTLY the same. I was 192.4 on every scale I used, then I was 191.1 for so long. I mean the .1 didn't even change...just weird. So, now I am 189.2. I guess I'll just keep trudging along. Thanks y'all!

    Lol, I have the opposite situation. My measurements (in all the same places with the same tape measure) are the same yet my scales show 27 lb loss and my clothes are 2 sizes smaller. How does that happen?! Very strange indeed!
  • persistentsoul
    persistentsoul Posts: 268 Member
    I had a very good first and half of second week then i stayed the same for 3 weeks. Now it is falling off me again. From past weight loss efforts this is not unusual for me. My body seems to let go of lots of weight then tone up, adjust composition a bit while scale stays same then it drops piles of weight again.

    I was not happy about the 3 week pause though and i also did some of the things mentioned by Naughty_Zoot in this thread. I introduced 1 or 2 semi fast days in to my week where i eat much fewer calories. I vary my calories a bit more and i vary the number of meals i have more. I may have 1,2 or 3 meals according to activity and how i feel. I also vary my macro balance a bit. 60 - 80% fat, 20-30% protien , 3-10% carbs. My total net carbs i always keep under 20g though. The lb's are shifting so i agree with the other poster that keeping the body guessing a bit and not being too fixed in a routine can suit some people better than sticking to same thing all the time. It is all very personal though. I experiment to see what works for me and if for any reason what i am doing is not working so well for me then I mix it up until it does.

    I love Keto though. No hunger between meals, no cravings and lots of real nutritiouse food :happy:
  • tq33702
    tq33702 Posts: 121 Member
    Stalls happen to many on Keto.
    I plugged this into my fav search engine:

    r/keto/wiki/faq PLATEAUS

    Good luck on your journey!
  • Bear in mind that your fat percentage does not all have to come from your plate - some of it needs to come from the stores in your body. The less fat you consume the more your body has to use from your butt. I have found by upping my protein and reducing my eaten fat, I am losing again. You may be interested in this FB group, which I and many have found helpful in breaking stalls and improving general health. https://www.facebook.com/groups/OKL4Vitality/
  • tq33702
    tq33702 Posts: 121 Member
    Dr Stephen Phinney, MD,
    on YouTube:
    'Low Carb Living '
    hosted by DietDoctor here:
    http://tinyurl.com/kqwluho

    Dr Phinney explains his
    research on being KetoAdapted,
    what kicks you out of ketosis, and
    how long it takes to get back into
    ketosis.

    He is also co-author, with
    Jeff Volek of this book:
    'The Art and Science of Low
    Carbohydrate Performance'
    nicely outlined on 'The Ketogenic
    LifeStyle' here:
    http://tinyurl.com/nb7ux38

    EnjoyingTheJourney and :happy:
  • Naughty_ZOOT
    Naughty_ZOOT Posts: 4,341 Member
    Stalls happen to many on Keto.
    I plugged this into my fav search engine:

    r/keto/wiki/faq PLATEAUS

    Good luck on your journey!

    Thanks for the link; I had forgotten about that one!