Slowwww loss

nigelsbabe
nigelsbabe Posts: 2 Member
Hi All
I have just joined this discussion. I have been following the plan since June 1st and I have only lost 5lbs in weight. I am a bit disappointed to be honest. My daughter has started to followed it 2 weeks ago and she has lost 10lb in 2 weeks. I have an under active thyroid for which I take 75mg Thyroxine - would this make a difference? I don't always have time to fill in what I eat every day, but the days I have I seem to be doing OK and I have checked urine and am in ketosis. The one good thing I can say is that my 30 years+ of constipation has disappeared, so if only for that its a godsend. So, are other people finding the going slow too?

Replies

  • KnitOrMiss
    KnitOrMiss Posts: 10,103 Member
    Generally anything lost in the first two weeks is water weight that's been retained to process carbs. After that the true fat burning begins. 5 pounds lost is still 1 pound a week (as you're just over 5 weeks). My losses have averaged out to this (about a pound a week), and I started back in January. I lost more in the beginning, and slowed down, but slow losses are easier to maintain.

    I have hypothyroidism and take levothyroxine, too. But it really seems to have a lot to do with your individual metabolism. Assuming your daughter is roughly half your age, her metabolism, even if as broken as yours, has a natural elasticity that at our ages we just don't have anymore....

    Urine only shows the ketones you are dumping, and not using. Your levels will get lighter the more you adapt and use what you produce. It's great to focus on the NSV's like no more constipation.

    I strongly recommend taking pictures and measuring too, because nearly every time my weight loss slows down, I lose inches, then weight I lose pounds, my inches stay stable... There are so many factors.

    For me, even if I never lose another ounce, I'm happy, because my metabolism and body loves this WOE!!! Mental clarity, energy, no more mental fog, sleeping better, all kinds of things.

    If you aren't in the LCD Group, too, already, there are several threads going about right now with different struggles folks are having getting the scale to move. The Low Carb group covers all types of Low Carb, including, but not limited, to Keto, so there are tons of ideas about!

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/394-low-carber-daily-forum-the-lcd-group
  • nigelsbabe
    nigelsbabe Posts: 2 Member
    Thank you so much. x
  • AngInCanada
    AngInCanada Posts: 947 Member
    Another thing to remember is your daughter is how many years younger than you. It's harder to lose weight as we age.

    5 pounds is awesome. Keep plugging away. You are doing good thing for your body..... much more than the scale can show.
  • DinoChicken
    DinoChicken Posts: 44 Member
    Your food diary isn't public so I couldn't review your diet log, but you may have something going on in what you're eating.. If you weigh everything and aren't overindulging in too much protein or way too many calories then you should be losing weight.

    The reason I say protein and total calories is:

    Protein, your body can and will eventually convert protein into energy and thus not need to burn the fat you wish to lose.

    Total calories: at a certain point you need to consume less fuel sources to lose weight. There is no endless supply of anything. You want your body to eliminate what it has stored and that won't happen unless your body has to.. If your metabolism is truely slower, then you can't eat like someone with a higher BMR and lose at the same rate. This is also why having more to lose causes you to lose weight faster.. as you shrink the less you are able eat to lose at the same rate as when you were heavier.
  • mjwwes
    mjwwes Posts: 21 Member
    I also loose weight slowly I have past menopause, thryroid issues and dibetic but have lost many inches 5 pounds lost is 5 pounds that you dont have on you I belong to a weighloss internet group and they really help motivate me
  • Sharbysyd
    Sharbysyd Posts: 39 Member
    I've heard that it's easier for younger people to drop the weight but I think that women our age can be very successful with this.

    I understand what you mean about not having time to fill in your food each day. I've been doing low carb (not keto) for 2 years now and I haven't tracked my carbs or food and I believe that's why I haven't had more success. For me low carb meant just cutting out sugar, grains, fruit and starchy vegetables for the most part. Other than that I've been eating whatever I want, whenever I want. I did a lot of yoyo-ing over the last year or so but have decided that I really want to succeed and I need to get more serious.

    So I've been watching videos to learn more and I'm switching to high fat rather than the high protein I was doing.

    Some things I've learned on the videos (I've been mostly watching Feliciannurse on Youtube) is that it's a good idea to keep cheese no higher than 4 oz per day and no higher than 2 is better, eat whole foods, avoid the processed things like low carb bars, be careful with artificial sweeteners (one of my big downfalls). I think that stevia is better to use than splenda and it's best to use the drops because the powders have carbs in them but the liquids generally don't.

    I'm not sure where you are with veggies but I've heard that people who don't get enough could stall. It's best to get the carbs from veggies rather than other things like cheese, cream cheese, cream, sweeteners.
  • Kitnthecat
    Kitnthecat Posts: 2,073 Member
    I think we are all wired to want to lose the weight as quickly as we can. We are so excited in the beginning !

    I can see the difference age makes in my own weight loss experience, but I also think that I have to adjust my expectations according to the way my body operates. During my previous weight loss expedition 10-11 years ago, I was able to use weight at a rate of 10 pounds per month, and I was impatient during this process. I wanted it off quickly. It took a lot of work, extreme calorie restriction and tons of exercise to be able to pull that rate of weight loss off at age 42-43 back then, eating low fat, carb heavy food. It was not fun at all, and the weight loss did not last.

    So when I went keto in 2015, and on MFP since the beginning of March this year, I did not know what to expect. I had researched all kinds of information online, and expected rapid weight loss. I think it is common for people, no matter the age, to have a more rapid initial weight loss, but after that, the rate slows considerably, and slows more for women and older folks apparently. I am 53 now and have lost 25 pounds over 4.5 months, so averaging about 5.5 pounds lost per month. I am happy for that. I think this rate feels good, and my body likes it, and this weight loss will endure in the long run.

    But tucked in there were whole months where the scale didn't move at all. I think I had about a 6 week stall where nothing happened weight wise, but my clothes were falling off me, they were getting so loose. When you add in the fact that I feel great, the food is delicious, I don't feel that I am deprived at all, I think keto is very sustainable in the long run. This is the easiest "diet" I have ever been on. It is a lifestyle, a way of eating, a way of life that I embrace. I feel in control of my eating and how I feel. I love it. I don't care that I still have 50 pounds to lose ( or more, we'll see when that time comes) and it doesn't bother me if this weight loss might take me another year to complete. I think this is an ongoing lifestyle for me, and I will just keep going, not in a rush. I'm even kind of happy that it is taking longer than I initially thought. It will help me adjust to my new slimmer body image, which for me is a hard thing to do.

    I have hypothyroidism, and take medication, and think that I will lose weight slower than others. But tweaking what I eat also helps. I am sure that the BPCoffee I drink with butter and MCT oil also helps raise my metabolism. I have never felt better actually.

    I have noted that I should not eat too much dairy, especially cheese, and I have cut out nuts except in tiny portions, and also artificial sweeteners, berries and almost all veggies. All these things seem to increase cravings for me, and I end up eating too much, and become constipated. So my approach has now changed to lean more towards zero carb with periods of intermittent fasting and that seems to suit me and my metabolism really well.