Need pro advice!
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Ruskinbarb
Posts: 33 Member
I've been doing Atkins/keto since January 1 and have lost just 3lbs. I'm trying to be patient and "trust the process". I show trace ketos when I use urinalysis strips but I show no other sign of being in ketosis. I'm a 57 year old female and I workout about 3x/week. My macros seem to be within range so I don't know if I'm doing something wrong or if everything is ok but I'm just one of those folks who are slow going. Help, please with any helpful info. Thanks!
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How much are you trying to lose? How many calories are you eating on average?1
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I think you will need to track your calories. Unless I eat around 1,200-1,300 calories, my weight won't budge. I am doing Keto and IF, and unless I am counting calories I won't lose weight.
I am 49, 5'3" 148 (I started at around 155.6) for reference.3 -
I am 54 and my daily calorie goal is 1400/per day. I exercise everyday and when in ketosis, I lose weight. I am 15 lbs from goal and also have hypothyriod. Hang n there and hopefully u can find some things that work for u. Theres alot of knowledge people on here.1
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I'm not a pro but I lose weight very slowly. I'm almost at the big 60 in age, and I'm within 20 pounds of my goal. When I'm feeling not ill and stick to my carb limit, I lose a steady half pound a week. Even if I suddenly lose 2 or 3 lbs, my weight wont budge until the time has elapsed for the half pound a week.
I think sometimes that all that low calorie, low fat dieting ruined my metabolism. I do notice though, that exercise seems to keep me on steady weight loss and prevents sudden big losses and plateaus.
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For what it is worth, after being in this group for a while and reading the stories of many people, it seems the ones who have a large amount of weight to lose (i.e. 100 lbs) and are not in very good shape are the ones who have the biggest initial drop when changing to this WOE.
Those who are in OK shape but have 10, 20, 30 lbs to lose seem to have a much slower start. From your pic, you appear to be closer to the latter than the former.
I think the reason is for the former group, the change is a much more dramatic shock to the system.
I was closer to the latter. I started "lower carb" before I ever heard of keto or LCHF. I had vague knowledge of Adkins. I just knew that if I ate a bunch of carbs I was hungry within an hour or two. After losing about 30 lbs and being within 5-10 lbs of goal, I was diagnosed with T2 at which point I really started looking at keto/LCHF where I am now. The total of 38 lbs that I am down came very slowly. I was always very active and despite being almost 40 lbs over where I wanted to be, I was in pretty good shape and pretty good health other than the elevated BG.
I did have a few bursts where I lost a larger amount quickly, but overall, it was a fairly slow process. The fact that the weight did go down and I was not hungry made the speed, or lack thereof, more than worth it. If I had 100+ lbs to lose, maybe I would have been more impatient, though.2 -
You've lost just under a pound per week. That isn't bad at all. It's really quite good if you started working out around the same time you changed your diet - muscles will be holding on to more water.
I agree that you look like you don't have a lot to lose. That's going to make it slower going. You'll need patience. Darn it.
If you want, you could always try playing with your macros. Some find they lose a bit easier as carbs go even lower. Others find that artificial sweeteners affected their weight loss. You can always double check your calories. Make sure you aren't too high for your size, or stop eating back your exercise calories. I also found that varying my caloric intake seemed to help me. Some days were 1500, others were 1000, and sometimes there was a 2500+ kcal day thrown in there (based on hunger). I sometimes seem to lose more after a few days of eating more.... no idea why.
Congrats on your success so far. You are doing the right things, since you are losing. Hang in there.3 -
@nvmomketo you may want to check out the video in this thread in regard to losing while eating more:
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10510820/this-video-has-changed-my-life#latest
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I've only been at it about a month and a half and I had a quick 8 lb drop the first week and then have been losing slowly since then. 14 lbs overall, but for me I've been okay with that because even if I haven't been losing I've been remaining at the same weight and I haven't had these huge fluctuations up and down. I feel like this is something that I could maintain with once I get to a weight I'm happy with. I'm one of the less to lose category as well...1
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Thank you all for your prompt responses! I've got about 20 lbs to lose and I also wonder if my metabolism is screwed up from years and years of yoyo dieting. My calorie intake is between 1400-1600 per day. I'll try lowering that to 1300-1500 but I've already eaten 1200 today and it's only 2:30 in the afternoon. Ugh... but I'll keep plugging away!0
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Ruskinbarb wrote: »Thank you all for your prompt responses! I've got about 20 lbs to lose and I also wonder if my metabolism is screwed up from years and years of yoyo dieting. My calorie intake is between 1400-1600 per day. I'll try lowering that to 1300-1500 but I've already eaten 1200 today and it's only 2:30 in the afternoon. Ugh... but I'll keep plugging away!
I think nearly a pound a week is great loss with 20 pounds needed...you're more than 10% to goal! And at this rate, you'll be halfway there in only 2 months.
I wouldn't dip lower, personally.0 -
Thanks, Cadori, that's a good way to look at it!0
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I wouldn't lower anymore either. Slow and steady wins the race!0
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I'm 5'7" and started keto with about 20 lbs to lose. I found that I lose best at around 1350 calories per day (I do tend to eat back anywhere from half to all of exercise calories as well though, so sometimes I'd eat 1400-1550 or so, occasionally higher). That's with 60-65% fats, 25% protein and 10-15% carbs (I focus more on net carbs).1
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I agree wholeheartedly with both @Cadori and @SuperCarLori about going slowly. At 3 lbs a month, it may take 6-7 months which sounds like a lot, but in the big scheme of things that is nothing - especially if you are not making yourself feel deprived that whole time.
In addition, moving from slow losing to maintenance is a lot easier. Think of it like being on a plane coming in for a soft landing versus pulling up from a nosedive at the last minute.
My average loss was slower than what yours is, but I have also had no issues maintaining now with a few minor fluctuations, none of which got me more than about 3.5% above my target weight.2
