Feeling down and disgusted, what used to be enjoyable now feels like a diet
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jerryellis63012
Posts: 105 Member
So, it's now been about 3 months on the LCHF WOE, the first month not tracking, and since the initial weight loss of 12 lbs the first 2 weeks (water, I know) I have lost a grand total of 2 lbs. I have done zero carb, i have added carbs back in, I have upped my water, I have cut out all sweeteners, I track everything I put in my mouth, I get plenty of exercise, I have raised my calories, I have lowered my calories, and to no avail. I am just about to throw in the towel, because this is now feeling like a diet that is just stressing me out.
I can't seem to get into ketosis, no matter what I do. I usually show .04 to .08 when I check my ketones, I'm just sad and disgusted that this has turned into such a struggle for me. I'm pretty sure it's from 30 plus years of yo yo dieting, but seriously what's a guy gotta do to get this to work??
Sorry for the rant, but I just had to get it off my chest. This is starting to feel unsustainable to me, as effortless as it should be, it is not for me right now.
I can't seem to get into ketosis, no matter what I do. I usually show .04 to .08 when I check my ketones, I'm just sad and disgusted that this has turned into such a struggle for me. I'm pretty sure it's from 30 plus years of yo yo dieting, but seriously what's a guy gotta do to get this to work??
Sorry for the rant, but I just had to get it off my chest. This is starting to feel unsustainable to me, as effortless as it should be, it is not for me right now.
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Replies
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IMO, the ketosis aspect is a bit of a gimmick. What matters is your level of hunger. It looks like your caloric intake is still pretty high, which will obviously make weight loss difficult. Has your hunger been reduced at all? If not, ask your doc. They do have meds that may help.0
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IMO, the ketosis aspect is a bit of a gimmick. What matters is your level of hunger. It looks like your caloric intake is still pretty high, which will obviously make weight loss difficult. Has your hunger been reduced at all? If not, ask your doc. They do have meds that may help.
In your opinion, how many calories should I be eating? I did just read that 1500 is what is recommended for men. I have been naturally eating less as I'm not as hungry and some days have been below what MFP says I should be eating, calorie wise. I always pack more than I should for work, so afraid I'll be starving, and then usually bring half of what I took in back home. I guess I'm not tuned in to letting my hunger or lack thereof dictate what I put in my mouth. I feel like, ok, I need to hit this many calories and macros, and I'm not really just feeling if I'm hungry or not. I hope that made sense, I feel like I'm rambling.0 -
I'm 6'1". I initially set my goal at 1600 cal, figuring I'd overshoot and hit around 1800 which should work for me.
Initially, I'd consistently go over 1600, but as my hunger abated, I often naturally fall below that level. I exercise a fair amount, but that just makes me hungrier, so I eat back those calories. (Exercise for health, not so much for weight loss.)
There's no reason for you to hit your calorie goal. The carb goal matters for hunger control. The protein goal matters for maintaining muscle mass (and your intake is probably too high for large ketone production). No need to hit your fat or calorie goal, IMO. (The fat will also help with ketone production, but that's just a hack for hunger control.)0 -
jerryellis63012 wrote: »So, it's now been about 3 months on the LCHF WOE, the first month not tracking, and since the initial weight loss of 12 lbs the first 2 weeks (water, I know) I have lost a grand total of 2 lbs. I have done zero carb, i have added carbs back in, I have upped my water, I have cut out all sweeteners, I track everything I put in my mouth, I get plenty of exercise, I have raised my calories, I have lowered my calories, and to no avail. I am just about to throw in the towel, because this is now feeling like a diet that is just stressing me out.
I can't seem to get into ketosis, no matter what I do. I usually show .04 to .08 when I check my ketones, I'm just sad and disgusted that this has turned into such a struggle for me. I'm pretty sure it's from 30 plus years of yo yo dieting, but seriously what's a guy gotta do to get this to work??
Sorry for the rant, but I just had to get it off my chest. This is starting to feel unsustainable to me, as effortless as it should be, it is not for me right now.
Is your Vitamin D level hovering around the 65 ng/ml range?
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You can't simply treat it as a Diet. It is not!
Let me ask you, do you feel good or better than before?
Do you have pains and aches or feel tired, exhausted? If your answer is no, than this is working, if you feel better than before, this is working. If you lose inches of your body, this is working.
I found that obsessing over weight not going down is pretty damn depressing. I lose and gain weight weekly, however, i lose inches consistently. I feel great and i have energy to boot.
Take it for what it is. If you want to go back to SAD way of eating, be my guest, but first, ask yourself, how is going back going to help??
Please don't get discouraged by not losing weight quickly, this is a lifestyle of benefits, they might be slow, but they are there. You are losing more than just weight, you've probably lost other "bad" things and just don't know it. Keep on ketoing.
PS: Try lowering your carbs down to 20, stay consistent with that number, and see if that helps.
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I'm 6'1". I initially set my goal at 1600 cal, figuring I'd overshoot and hit around 1800 which should work for me.
Initially, I'd consistently go over 1600, but as my hunger abated, I often naturally fall below that level. I exercise a fair amount, but that just makes me hungrier, so I eat back those calories. (Exercise for health, not so much for weight loss.)
There's no reason for you to hit your calorie goal. The carb goal matters for hunger control. The protein goal matters for maintaining muscle mass (and your intake is probably too high for large ketone production). No need to hit your fat or calorie goal, IMO. (The fat will also help with ketone production, but that's just a hack for hunger control.)
I am 5'6" and now have my calories at 1500 with carbs at 19, protein at 75, and fat at 125. Does this sound about right or should I lower protein even more?0 -
GaleHawkins wrote: »jerryellis63012 wrote: »So, it's now been about 3 months on the LCHF WOE, the first month not tracking, and since the initial weight loss of 12 lbs the first 2 weeks (water, I know) I have lost a grand total of 2 lbs. I have done zero carb, i have added carbs back in, I have upped my water, I have cut out all sweeteners, I track everything I put in my mouth, I get plenty of exercise, I have raised my calories, I have lowered my calories, and to no avail. I am just about to throw in the towel, because this is now feeling like a diet that is just stressing me out.
I can't seem to get into ketosis, no matter what I do. I usually show .04 to .08 when I check my ketones, I'm just sad and disgusted that this has turned into such a struggle for me. I'm pretty sure it's from 30 plus years of yo yo dieting, but seriously what's a guy gotta do to get this to work??
Sorry for the rant, but I just had to get it off my chest. This is starting to feel unsustainable to me, as effortless as it should be, it is not for me right now.
Is your Vitamin D level hovering around the 65 ng/ml range?
I don't know how to check my vitamin D. How would I go about this?0 -
I felt great for awhile, but then was feeling very lethargic and weak, so I upped my sodium with more broth and started using potassium chloride as a salt substitute to up my potassium and am feeling better now.You can't simply treat it as a Diet. It is not!
Let me ask you, do you feel good or better than before?
Do you have pains and aches or feel tired, exhausted? If your answer is no, than this is working, if you feel better than before, this is working. If you lose inches of your body, this is working.
I found that obsessing over weight not going down is pretty damn depressing. I lose and gain weight weekly, however, i lose inches consistently. I feel great and i have energy to boot.
Take it for what it is. If you want to go back to SAD way of eating, be my guest, but first, ask yourself, how is going back going to help??
Please don't get discouraged by not losing weight quickly, this is a lifestyle of benefits, they might be slow, but they are there. You are losing more than just weight, you've probably lost other "bad" things and just don't know it. Keep on ketoing.
PS: Try lowering your carbs down to 20, stay consistent with that number, and see if that helps.
I'm also not really losing any inches as my clothes still fit about the same.
I'll never go back to SAD way of eating, as I know this is much better for me, I'm not taking metformin anymore, as my BS level is normal now, so that alone will keep me from going back!0 -
jerryellis63012 wrote: »I'm 6'1". I initially set my goal at 1600 cal, figuring I'd overshoot and hit around 1800 which should work for me.
Initially, I'd consistently go over 1600, but as my hunger abated, I often naturally fall below that level. I exercise a fair amount, but that just makes me hungrier, so I eat back those calories. (Exercise for health, not so much for weight loss.)
There's no reason for you to hit your calorie goal. The carb goal matters for hunger control. The protein goal matters for maintaining muscle mass (and your intake is probably too high for large ketone production). No need to hit your fat or calorie goal, IMO. (The fat will also help with ketone production, but that's just a hack for hunger control.)
I am 5'6" and now have my calories at 1500 with carbs at 19, protein at 75, and fat at 145. Does this sound about right or should I lower protein even more?
75g protein is on the low side. A minimum for you would be around 80g, but even that's WAY below where you are now. No need to make drastic changes. If you can set reasonable goals based on your hunger level, you'll be better off. More protein also helps reduce hunger, so don't worry too much about the ketone effects.
My worry is that going from 2200ish calories to 1500 would be too drastic of a change for you. Shoot for a mid point.
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Each one of us seeks their own personal weight loss sweet spot. I started MFP at one point had a 660 day consecituve streak. I found that for me CICO and a carb based diet just diesnt work. It is quite possible that LCHF is just wrong for you. One size does not fit all. You might need to move onto something else to find your sweet spot. One other thing... You might be making too many changes too fast. If you make a change, give that change at least a couple of weeks before you make another.0
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IMO, LC is the right approach for anybody with insulin resistance, and if you're diabetic, you're insulin resistant. But you can still gain weight on LCHF if you consume too many calories. CICO still applies, LC just makes implementing it easier.0
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jerryellis63012 wrote: »I'm 6'1". I initially set my goal at 1600 cal, figuring I'd overshoot and hit around 1800 which should work for me.
Initially, I'd consistently go over 1600, but as my hunger abated, I often naturally fall below that level. I exercise a fair amount, but that just makes me hungrier, so I eat back those calories. (Exercise for health, not so much for weight loss.)
There's no reason for you to hit your calorie goal. The carb goal matters for hunger control. The protein goal matters for maintaining muscle mass (and your intake is probably too high for large ketone production). No need to hit your fat or calorie goal, IMO. (The fat will also help with ketone production, but that's just a hack for hunger control.)
I am 5'6" and now have my calories at 1500 with carbs at 19, protein at 75, and fat at 145. Does this sound about right or should I lower protein even more?
75g protein is on the low side. A minimum for you would be around 80g, but even that's WAY below where you are now. No need to make drastic changes. If you can set reasonable goals based on your hunger level, you'll be better off. More protein also helps reduce hunger, so don't worry too much about the ketone effects.
My worry is that going from 2200ish calories to 1500 would be too drastic of a change for you. Shoot for a mid point.
OK I'm going with 1750 calories, 22g carbs ( but will easily be under that most days), 109g protein, and 136g fat and stick with this for the next 2 weeks and re-evaluate at that time.0 -
jerryellis63012 wrote: »So, it's now been about 3 months on the LCHF WOE, the first month not tracking, and since the initial weight loss of 12 lbs the first 2 weeks (water, I know) I have lost a grand total of 2 lbs. I have done zero carb, i have added carbs back in, I have upped my water, I have cut out all sweeteners, I track everything I put in my mouth, I get plenty of exercise, I have raised my calories, I have lowered my calories, and to no avail. I am just about to throw in the towel, because this is now feeling like a diet that is just stressing me out.
I can't seem to get into ketosis, no matter what I do. I usually show .04 to .08 when I check my ketones, I'm just sad and disgusted that this has turned into such a struggle for me. I'm pretty sure it's from 30 plus years of yo yo dieting, but seriously what's a guy gotta do to get this to work??
Sorry for the rant, but I just had to get it off my chest. This is starting to feel unsustainable to me, as effortless as it should be, it is not for me right now.
Jerry,
I'm going to try not to be harsh here, but it is not possible for you to have given all of those changes a "fair shake" so to speak. It takes 4-6 WEEKS to see the true impact of any changes.
So 4 weeks LCHF
4 Weeks not tracking
Zero carb - 4 weeks
added carbs - 4 weeks
upped water - 4 weeks
cut sweeteners - 4 weeks
track everything - 4 weeks
adjust exercise - 4 weeks
Changes must be ISOLATED to see the differences. This should have taken you a minimum of 32 weeks! That is 7.5 months. Not 3 months. You didn't give any change you made a long enough chance to make a difference for you.
Do you remember the post FitGoat made a while back about the woman who gained (like 40 pounds or something if I remember right) on ZeroCarb for 6 months before she started losing like a madwoman? This was do to all the repair that had to be done.
No plan, including LCHF is going to have instant results. You are going to have to find and celebrate the NSV's and forget the scale for a while.
There was an article I read yesterday about creating a Feedback loop to continue you on a path. You need to choose something and stick with it. This shifting above is akin to you switching your major every week or two and wondering at the end of a year why you don't have your degree.
No wonder you are feeling stress out and borderline insane.
Please take a deep breath, give yourself some kind thoughts, and then check out this article...
http://dicktalens.com/the-myth-of-willpower-and-eat-less-move-more/
And after that, do some serious thinking. It took your YEARS to get to this point. It is not going to be fixed in DAYS, WEEKS, or EVEN MONTHS. If you can't do something for even four weeks, how are you going to be able to do a modified version of it for the rest of your life?
Hugs & kind thoughts, promise! Carly0 -
Lrdoflamancha wrote: »Each one of us seeks their own personal weight loss sweet spot. I started MFP at one point had a 660 day consecituve streak. I found that for me CICO and a carb based diet just diesnt work. It is quite possible that LCHF is just wrong for you. One size does not fit all. You might need to move onto something else to find your sweet spot. One other thing... You might be making too many changes too fast. If you make a change, give that change at least a couple of weeks before you make another.
Thank you for the advice, I do know that carbs are like poison to me, they make me feel awful, and hungry all the time.
I think you are spot on about making too many changes too quickly, and I'm definitely going to stop doing that!0 -
I can understand your frustration. I went through a similar experience for 6 weeks. 3 months must be worse. I did the unlimited calorie thing to get into ketosis but did not lose weight. I lowered my calorie intake to 1600 then increased it again to unlimited but without dairy. None of this worked. I tried each change for about a week.
However I agree with thisLrdoflamancha wrote: »Each one of us seeks their own personal weight loss sweet spot.
My sweet spot is very similar to what wabmester suggests. I'm female but set my calorie to quite low 1100 and 5% carbohydrate which is 15g which encourages me to exercise so I can eat 1300 calories. I aim on trying to get my carbs less than 15 but definitely don't go over 20. I exercise with resistance bands and a medicine ball to do my sit-ups. It is important to build up muscle to help increase resting metabolism.
One thing that I noticed about your diary is the use of ready made sauces- e.g. alfredo. The carb content on these are average values so looking at the ingredients which do have a small amount of cornstarch and sugar, the values may be in reality might be higher than you think. I cut out low carb sausages myself that had a value of 2g per 100g because of this reason. I still eat mayo personally out of convenience even though I know it has a tiny amount of sugar but be aware of having too many products like this.
The Atkins ladder could help as nuts is one of those items that they recommend having later (you might want to give these up for now too). Nuts are the not most satisfying snack in terms of hunger. Weigh the amount of cheese that you are having too. Not more than 100g of dairy a day and not more than 30g of cheese per meal also helps. This may sound austere but 30g of good quality cheddar is enough per meal say.
I know that there is a lot of conflicting advice out there (and on this thread!) but I'm sure you will find your way to lose weight.0 -
How much do you weigh, and what is your activity level?
Correct me if I'm wrong on these stats:
48 year old male
5'6" tall
Approx. 200 lbs????
1500 seems low for an active man. If you are sedentary, that's okay, you just won't be able to eat as much as someone who is regularly exercising, but then you probably won't deal with the hunger from exercising. If you are completely sedentary, then 1500 is going to be about a 1 lb per week loss, assuming you weigh around 200 lbs. I don't think I can remember you ever saying on any posts.
Going with 1750 seems more reasonable if you are a bit more active. Possibly a .6 lb weight loss per week, if you stick to it for several weeks.0 -
jerryellis63012 wrote: »Lrdoflamancha wrote: »Each one of us seeks their own personal weight loss sweet spot. I started MFP at one point had a 660 day consecituve streak. I found that for me CICO and a carb based diet just diesnt work. It is quite possible that LCHF is just wrong for you. One size does not fit all. You might need to move onto something else to find your sweet spot. One other thing... You might be making too many changes too fast. If you make a change, give that change at least a couple of weeks before you make another.
Thank you for the advice, I do know that carbs are like poison to me, they make me feel awful, and hungry all the time.
I think you are spot on about making too many changes too quickly, and I'm definitely going to stop doing that!
Constant tweaks make you NUTS! I did that to myself. Ugh. No more. Tweaking too soon only frustrates and answers no questions.- Stick with those new macros for a month. (I just did a month of that. 34 days of nothing. Frustrating, but I learned many things, including what my calorie limit is for weight loss. And that I wasn't getting enough protein.)
- Dig deep for grit. Dogged and determined practice and persistence, as Dr Attia says.
- Step back from the scale. Obsessing too much over it will cause you stalling-stress and mental-distress, which affects how you feel overall.
- Notice differences in the way your clothes fit (sometimes we get body fat or lean body mass changes that aren't visible on the scale), ways that your health improves, and notice any decreases in fatigue. Too little protein for my body caused weakness for me, too.
- In a month, reevaluate. Step back on the scale. And then tweak again if there is no progress at all, not even measurements.
Best wishes!
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KnitOrMiss wrote: »jerryellis63012 wrote: »So, it's now been about 3 months on the LCHF WOE, the first month not tracking, and since the initial weight loss of 12 lbs the first 2 weeks (water, I know) I have lost a grand total of 2 lbs. I have done zero carb, i have added carbs back in, I have upped my water, I have cut out all sweeteners, I track everything I put in my mouth, I get plenty of exercise, I have raised my calories, I have lowered my calories, and to no avail. I am just about to throw in the towel, because this is now feeling like a diet that is just stressing me out.
I can't seem to get into ketosis, no matter what I do. I usually show .04 to .08 when I check my ketones, I'm just sad and disgusted that this has turned into such a struggle for me. I'm pretty sure it's from 30 plus years of yo yo dieting, but seriously what's a guy gotta do to get this to work??
Sorry for the rant, but I just had to get it off my chest. This is starting to feel unsustainable to me, as effortless as it should be, it is not for me right now.
Jerry,
I'm going to try not to be harsh here, but it is not possible for you to have given all of those changes a "fair shake" so to speak. It takes 4-6 WEEKS to see the true impact of any changes.
So 4 weeks LCHF
4 Weeks not tracking
Zero carb - 4 weeks
added carbs - 4 weeks
upped water - 4 weeks
cut sweeteners - 4 weeks
track everything - 4 weeks
adjust exercise - 4 weeks
Changes must be ISOLATED to see the differences. This should have taken you a minimum of 32 weeks! That is 7.5 months. Not 3 months. You didn't give any change you made a long enough chance to make a difference for you.
Do you remember the post FitGoat made a while back about the woman who gained (like 40 pounds or something if I remember right) on ZeroCarb for 6 months before she started losing like a madwoman? This was do to all the repair that had to be done.
No plan, including LCHF is going to have instant results. You are going to have to find and celebrate the NSV's and forget the scale for a while.
There was an article I read yesterday about creating a Feedback loop to continue you on a path. You need to choose something and stick with it. This shifting above is akin to you switching your major every week or two and wondering at the end of a year why you don't have your degree.
No wonder you are feeling stress out and borderline insane.
Please take a deep breath, give yourself some kind thoughts, and then check out this article...
http://dicktalens.com/the-myth-of-willpower-and-eat-less-move-more/
And after that, do some serious thinking. It took your YEARS to get to this point. It is not going to be fixed in DAYS, WEEKS, or EVEN MONTHS. If you can't do something for even four weeks, how are you going to be able to do a modified version of it for the rest of your life?
Hugs & kind thoughts, promise! Carly
Thank you for all of this information, a very enlightening article indeed!
You are correct, I have not given changes I've made enough time, I just get frustrated because I am constantly reading on Reddit r/keto post after post after post of, "WOW, I've lost 24 lbs in 2 months", etc. it's just frustrating that's not happening to me. I'm guessing my body needs a ton of repair work inside, I guess I should be happy I'm not gaining like that woman did!
I truly appreciate all the time you spent writing to me and am now inspired to give the changes I have made, time to do their work!0 -
sljohnson1207 wrote: »How much do you weigh, and what is your activity level?
Correct me if I'm wrong on these stats:
48 year old male
5'6" tall
Approx. 200 lbs????
1500 seems low for an active man. If you are sedentary, that's okay, you just won't be able to eat as much as someone who is regularly exercising, but then you probably won't deal with the hunger from exercising. If you are completely sedentary, then 1500 is going to be about a 1 lb per week loss, assuming you weigh around 200 lbs. I don't think I can remember you ever saying on any posts.
Going with 1750 seems more reasonable if you are a bit more active. Possibly a .6 lb weight loss per week, if you stick to it for several weeks.
I weigh 242 lbs and do allot of walking either on my job or as exercise.0 -
KnitOrMiss wrote: »jerryellis63012 wrote: »So, it's now been about 3 months on the LCHF WOE, the first month not tracking, and since the initial weight loss of 12 lbs the first 2 weeks (water, I know) I have lost a grand total of 2 lbs. I have done zero carb, i have added carbs back in, I have upped my water, I have cut out all sweeteners, I track everything I put in my mouth, I get plenty of exercise, I have raised my calories, I have lowered my calories, and to no avail. I am just about to throw in the towel, because this is now feeling like a diet that is just stressing me out.
I can't seem to get into ketosis, no matter what I do. I usually show .04 to .08 when I check my ketones, I'm just sad and disgusted that this has turned into such a struggle for me. I'm pretty sure it's from 30 plus years of yo yo dieting, but seriously what's a guy gotta do to get this to work??
Sorry for the rant, but I just had to get it off my chest. This is starting to feel unsustainable to me, as effortless as it should be, it is not for me right now.
Jerry,
I'm going to try not to be harsh here, but it is not possible for you to have given all of those changes a "fair shake" so to speak. It takes 4-6 WEEKS to see the true impact of any changes.
So 4 weeks LCHF
4 Weeks not tracking
Zero carb - 4 weeks
added carbs - 4 weeks
upped water - 4 weeks
cut sweeteners - 4 weeks
track everything - 4 weeks
adjust exercise - 4 weeks
Changes must be ISOLATED to see the differences. This should have taken you a minimum of 32 weeks! That is 7.5 months. Not 3 months. You didn't give any change you made a long enough chance to make a difference for you.
Do you remember the post FitGoat made a while back about the woman who gained (like 40 pounds or something if I remember right) on ZeroCarb for 6 months before she started losing like a madwoman? This was do to all the repair that had to be done.
No plan, including LCHF is going to have instant results. You are going to have to find and celebrate the NSV's and forget the scale for a while.
There was an article I read yesterday about creating a Feedback loop to continue you on a path. You need to choose something and stick with it. This shifting above is akin to you switching your major every week or two and wondering at the end of a year why you don't have your degree.
No wonder you are feeling stress out and borderline insane.
Please take a deep breath, give yourself some kind thoughts, and then check out this article...
http://dicktalens.com/the-myth-of-willpower-and-eat-less-move-more/
And after that, do some serious thinking. It took your YEARS to get to this point. It is not going to be fixed in DAYS, WEEKS, or EVEN MONTHS. If you can't do something for even four weeks, how are you going to be able to do a modified version of it for the rest of your life?
Hugs & kind thoughts, promise! Carly
So much this. That goes for you, too, @samko1976!
Also, this is the article in question -- http://myzerocarblife.jamesdhogan.com/wp/2015/03/when-lowering-carbs-causes-weight-gain/0
