What the Hell...

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Dmwinter5
Dmwinter5 Posts: 11 Member
I have been doing low card for 3 weeks. I lost 10 pounds the first week. :) and now nothing! I have the bad taste in my mouth, the sweet smelling urine, but my ketosis strips show nothing. Since the first weight loss, I have lost and gained the same 2 pounds countless times. I don't know if I should hang in there or go back to counting calories. I lost 90 pounds 2 years ago counting calories, staving myself. I have gained 30 pounds back and desperately want to lose it before 30 turns to 50 and so on. I am definatly not hungry doing low card. I feel good. I think my stomach is getting smaller but that damn scale just hates me and the feeling is mutual! So looking for guidance. Can it take this long to get into ketosis? I'm weighting for the pounds to start melting off that I keep hearing about. I know this has worked for people just don't know if it is suppose to take this long. Feeling discouraged.

Replies

  • IamUndrCnstruction
    IamUndrCnstruction Posts: 691 Member
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    Don't be discouraged! There is usually a stall after the initial loss. As far as being in ketosis, you don't say what your macros are or how low carb you are doing so it is hard to say. I have been told by many though that this way of eating is not a guaranteed "melt the pounds off diet". You have to think of it for what it is, a beneficial way of eating that will help you create a deficit while not feeling like you are starving. It will help you FEEL better....and you will lose weight, but it's not a magic bullet. I felt the same as you when I first started. Others here will explain probably better than I have, but please don't give up yet :)
  • Twibbly
    Twibbly Posts: 1,065 Member
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    There could be any number of things going on. Are you drinking enough water? Are you eating ENOUGH calories? Do you have any thyroid issues? Are you measuring anything other than weight? Are you tracking everything you put in your mouth?

    Ketostix have been known to quit showing anything after a bit because your body quits excreting excess ketones or something. It is a known phenomenon.
  • baconslave
    baconslave Posts: 6,966 Member
    edited March 2015
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    Twibbly wrote: »
    There could be any number of things going on. Are you drinking enough water? Are you eating ENOUGH calories? Do you have any thyroid issues? Are you measuring anything other than weight? Are you tracking everything you put in your mouth?

    Ketostix have been known to quit showing anything after a bit because your body quits excreting excess ketones or something. It is a known phenomenon.

    Right. Without specifics like your carb level, or being able to see your diary (or maybe typical meals for you), or if you have any health issues that might make losing difficult, we can't give you specific advice. Do go and input your info into a keto calculator. This one is good: http://keto-calculator.ankerl.com/
    It will give you the cal intake and protein intake you should realistically consume.

    Go into the Launch Pad and read the Closed threads on Low-Carbing and Why the Scale is a Lying Liar Pants. They are numbers 1 and 5 on the first section of links. This might help give you some tips.

    Twibbly is right about ketostix. After the body becomes fat adapted, you start producing different kinds of ketones. At this point only blood ketone tests are accurate.
  • JPW1990
    JPW1990 Posts: 2,424 Member
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    Keto doesn't equate to weight loss. It's just a way of eating. You can eat a surplus on keto and gain, or eat at a deficit and lose.

    As for this part:
    I'm weighting for the pounds to start melting off that I keep hearing about.

    That's not how it works. Some people lose faster than others. Men lose faster than women, younger people lose faster than older people, people with more to lose also lose faster than people with less to lose. That's true with or without keto. A 25 year old man with 100 to lose will go exponentially faster than a 35 year old woman with 30 to lose. Reading either of their stories doesn't automatically equate to how it will work for the reader.
  • IamUndrCnstruction
    IamUndrCnstruction Posts: 691 Member
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    I know it is hard not to compare your results to others you hear about. I have a hard time too. I have to remind myself that I am 41, with several health issues, and medications working against me. This way of eating is not a magic bullet, but it is a way to feel better, be good to your body, and to maintain a calorie deficit without feeling like you are starving. Please don't give up, and like they tell me, trust the process.
  • radiii
    radiii Posts: 422 Member
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    PISS = Post Induction Stall Syndrome. Not unusual at all to lose a big chunk of water weight right away and then to stall a little while your body adjusts.
  • she2cute
    she2cute Posts: 19 Member
    edited March 2015
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    Dmwinter5 wrote: »
    I have been doing low card for 3 weeks. I lost 10 pounds the first week. :) and now nothing! I have the bad taste in my mouth, the sweet smelling urine, but my ketosis strips show nothing. Since the first weight loss, I have lost and gained the same 2 pounds countless times. I don't know if I should hang in there or go back to counting calories. I lost 90 pounds 2 years ago counting calories, staving myself. I have gained 30 pounds back and desperately want to lose it before 30 turns to 50 and so on. I am definatly not hungry doing low card. I feel good. I think my stomach is getting smaller but that damn scale just hates me and the feeling is mutual! So looking for guidance. Can it take this long to get into ketosis? I'm weighting for the pounds to start melting off that I keep hearing about. I know this has worked for people just don't know if it is suppose to take this long. Feeling discouraged.

    I've been doing the keto diet for almost 3 weeks now and it took me a single day to get into ketosis. I'm a carb fanatic and going from 300g to <25g probably sent me over quicker. Who knows though, just like everyone else said, our bodies are different! My husband sounds like he's in the same position as you and it's because he's been eating or drinking a few more carbs than he should. I know some people don't worry about counting their calories on keto, but I do. Otherwise I'd be eating steaks all day and it would be WAY too many calories for me! It's possible that something in your diet may be kicking you out of ketosis every day that may have too much sugar in it. So, use the ketocalculator and use MFP to count your calories and macros. Remember that you're counting NET carbs....carbs minus fiber and reach your goals with the ketocalculator and you should be okay. You need to eat less than 25g or less of net carbs and barely any sugar...like preferably 0g. I tend to say I'm more sedentary than active and I'm a critical care nurse that works out 3 times a week. So, I'm lying to it and I'm losing the weight a little faster. Don't get on the scale but maybe once a week (it's hard as crap to not get on it every morning - and I do...and I'm slightly discouraged this morning) and MEASURE yourself once a week in the morning after you pee...with no clothes. Use this link http://www.wikihow.com/Take-Measurements-(For-Women) Even though it says for women, it's still an accurate way of measuring! :) Also, after so many weeks our body gets keto-adapted and no longer shows up on the sticks. Mine is still showing up. I'm not looking forward to the day it no longer shows up. I like seeing it turn purple. Makes me feel good. lol. But oh well. Keep trudging along and do all that we've said, keep your spirits up and try not to think about it as much. It'll start coming off! BTW, have you been to www.reddit.com/r/keto ? There are a lot of pictures and stuff on there to inspire you!
  • winninglosing43
    winninglosing43 Posts: 33 Member
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    Dmwinter5 wrote: »
    I lost 90 pounds 2 years ago counting calories, staving myself. I have gained 30lbs back

    I am definatly not hungry doing low card. I feel good. .

    Listen to your body. It hated counted calories starving yourself. You were never full which is why you gained 30lbs back when you stoped thinking about dieting every single day. LCHF is a lifestyle change not a diet you have to think about because youre just never hungry! And, as you said, you FEEEL GOOD!

    I had stalls at first and my culprit was packaged atkins products. I cut them out and back into ketosis I went. it was hard giving up those Atkins m&ms and protein drinks but I saw almost instant results eating real food. If you want to better track how far adapted into ketosis you are you can get a blood ketone meter. I found the urine strips less than helpful... trying to figure out if it was super light or maybe medium light pink well.... if I turn it into the light just right it looks a bit darker... haha. :-) I perfer working with number. The blood doesnt lie and the meter helped me weed out what items were effectiving my blood sugar levels to the point of effecting my ketones.

    Whatever you do, dont give up! You are not hungry and you feel good, thats a great start to a lasting lifestyle change! :-)
  • Micah_Carter
    Micah_Carter Posts: 7 Member
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    I'll also add that if you're stalled or questioning whether you are in ketosis, the first thing to cut should be anything with "sugar alcohols" as they affect people differently. Some people can eat all of that stuff they want without any BG spike (they just don't process it) and others may as well have had a bowl of sugar. Cut that first and see what happens. Also, be weary of anything labeled in "net carbs" or "effective carbs" as this implies the company marketing the product has a vested interesting in advertising that number as low as possible, which means some trickery may be involved.
  • nill4me
    nill4me Posts: 682 Member
    edited March 2015
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    It can take some folks 4-6 weeks to become keto-adapted, if that is your goal. It takes me FOR EV ER. keto-adaptation and ketosis are not necessarily the same thing either. Yes, you can "get into ketosis" in a day. You can get into ketosis by going to bed at night. You adapt to burning fat for fuel over time. this time it takes to adapt...your body freaks out a little bit sometimes, but its a great place to be.

    For myself, I only count my total carbs (not net), because to me carbs is carbs...that and I don't like to do the math. I also track with a glucose/ketone blood meter because those urine stix are useless (in my humble opinion). I have to check my blood sugar multiple times a day anyway, so when I do I also check my ketones. Its pricey, but I always know whats going on.