Losses slowing to a halt
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__Roxy__
Posts: 825 Member
I realize it's common for us to lose weight quickly in the beginning, but my losses have really slowed down. I just went over my progress charts, weigh-ins and macros from the past 9 months to figure out what is going on. I was losing 10 lbs/month consistently for the first several months of keto. It tapered off to 5 lbs a month for a couple of months and then, this past month, no net loss at all.
Nothing has changed that I can tell. My macros reflect my current weight. I stay in a calorie deficit, and under 20-25g net carbs daily. I get my Fitbit steps, drink water, take supplements, get lots of sleep. I log every day and stay on point. I do 18:6 intermittent fasting. I rarely drink alcohol and limit my dairy to an ounce or two a day, max. I avoid artificial sweeteners. I'm the freakin posterchild for keto!!
There was a period where I was nibbling a little outside my fasting window, but I quit that pretty quick and still no change.
My inches have not changed in over a month, either.
So what gives? I still have over 50 lbs left to lose, so it's not like I'm super close to goal.
Any thoughts or advice? I am not giving up, and am not complaining about my success so far (82 lbs lost); but I am interested in suggestions or experiences regarding what might help me get the scale moving again. Thanks in advance!
Nothing has changed that I can tell. My macros reflect my current weight. I stay in a calorie deficit, and under 20-25g net carbs daily. I get my Fitbit steps, drink water, take supplements, get lots of sleep. I log every day and stay on point. I do 18:6 intermittent fasting. I rarely drink alcohol and limit my dairy to an ounce or two a day, max. I avoid artificial sweeteners. I'm the freakin posterchild for keto!!
There was a period where I was nibbling a little outside my fasting window, but I quit that pretty quick and still no change.
My inches have not changed in over a month, either.
So what gives? I still have over 50 lbs left to lose, so it's not like I'm super close to goal.
Any thoughts or advice? I am not giving up, and am not complaining about my success so far (82 lbs lost); but I am interested in suggestions or experiences regarding what might help me get the scale moving again. Thanks in advance!
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An exercise boost is my chosen way to drop a few and I can't help but believe it is beneficial to my overall health and was part of the reason I had consistent weight loss for 53 weeks. When I was not willing to cut my calories more, I added another mile or two to my walks or an additional 30 minutes of low impact aerobics.
While I'm not an extreme lover of exercise, I find it favorable to eating less, restricting food choices more, extended fasting, fat fasts, egg fasts, waiting it out and finding more patience.
My memory might be incorrect but I recall you gained some XXXtra weight over the holidays? It's gone now but have you factored that into these last few months? A re-loss is still a loss. Factoring it in might change the view of the last 10-11 weeks.1 -
For me, and this may not apply to others, changing things for a short time seems to help my losses get going again. I have found that increased calories, an exercise break, and changed macros have all (accidentally) led to a whoosh of weight lost. It is like my body gets too used to what I was doing and makes a counter move to slow my losses.
You could also weigh everything for a week to makes sure your portion size is creeping higher. Make sure that there are no snacks slipping in that you forget about.
Many adjust calorie intake downward as they lose weight too, to be sure they still have the same calorie deficit.
For me, my thyroid has an effect on weight loss. It slowed again a year ago and before I changed my meds, I gained weight on what had previously been a maintenance level of calories. I tend to gain when health issues crop up.1 -
An exercise boost is my chosen way to drop a few and I can't help but believe it is beneficial to my overall health and was part of the reason I had consistent weight loss for 53 weeks. When I was not willing to cut my calories more, I added another mile or two to my walks or an additional 30 minutes of low impact aerobics.
Since January I have gone from 5000 steps a day average to 10000+ steps. I've started walking to work several times per week.memory might be incorrect but I recall you gained some XXXtra weight over the holidays? It's gone now but have you factored that into these last few months? A re-loss is still a loss. Factoring it in might change the view of the last 10-11 weeks.
Yes, I factored this in. I did gain 13lbs between Xmas & NYE, but it was all gone in a week or so after New Year's Day. Since then its been super slow losses, with no net loss this past month.For me, and this may not apply to others, changing things for a short time seems to help my losses get going again. I have found that increased calories, an exercise break, and changed macros have all (accidentally) led to a whoosh of weight lost. It is like my body gets too used to what I was doing and makes a counter move to slow my losses.
I've considered this, since this has worked for me in the past. But earlier this year I tried a "high carb" day where I ate some carrot soup and a buckwheat brownie. I put on six or more pounds overnight and it took weeks to get rid of it. It's not worth it to me to risk it since it could be so slow to undo the damage. I could try increasing my calories for a week or two, or increasing exercise intensity.You could also weigh everything for a week to makes sure your portion size is creeping higher. Make sure that there are no snacks slipping in that you forget about.
Many adjust calorie intake downward as they lose weight too, to be sure they still have the same calorie deficit.
I have used a food scale and measuring spoons for everything, all the time for the past 9 months! I never wing it. I know how easy it is for portions to creep up.
My cals went from 1560 to 1380 as I lost 80lbs, so my current cals and macros do reflect my losses.
Thanks guys... I have been as diligent as possible, I will continue to be patient...1 -
Walking is excellent and you're definitely building endurance. It might be time to consider doing something that real gets your heart rate up.
I like the Jillian Michael's home work out DVDs. They go anywhere from 20-60 minutes depending on which one you choose. Which makes them easy to squeeze into an schedule.1 -
Sounds like you are doing it all right.
it will come off. Hang in there. 0 -
River_Goddess wrote: »I realize it's common for us to lose weight quickly in the beginning, but my losses have really slowed down. I just went over my progress charts, weigh-ins and macros from the past 9 months to figure out what is going on. I was losing 10 lbs/month consistently for the first several months of keto. It tapered off to 5 lbs a month for a couple of months and then, this past month, no net loss at all.
Nothing has changed that I can tell. My macros reflect my current weight. I stay in a calorie deficit, and under 20-25g net carbs daily. I get my Fitbit steps, drink water, take supplements, get lots of sleep. I log every day and stay on point. I do 18:6 intermittent fasting. I rarely drink alcohol and limit my dairy to an ounce or two a day, max. I avoid artificial sweeteners. I'm the freakin posterchild for keto!!
There was a period where I was nibbling a little outside my fasting window, but I quit that pretty quick and still no change.
My inches have not changed in over a month, either.
So what gives? I still have over 50 lbs left to lose, so it's not like I'm super close to goal.
Any thoughts or advice? I am not giving up, and am not complaining about my success so far (82 lbs lost); but I am interested in suggestions or experiences regarding what might help me get the scale moving again. Thanks in advance!
Just move forward for the next 12 months. This WOE is never truly about weight loss but improving general health marks.
Losing more than 10-20% of our starting weight and not maintaining for a longer period of time sets up most of us for long term failure. We can become addicted to seeing non stop weight loss but death happens if weight loss never stops.
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Thank you all.
It's true that weight loss is actually the secondary reason I started keto, not the primary reason. I started eating this way for relief of inflammation and the weight loss became a nice bonus. I can sometimes forget this and hyper-focus on weight loss because I'm no longer sore all the time!
Time to readjust my lens a little. To view the past month as a win for maintainence and a win for continuing to keep inflammation at bay. I would keep going with keto, even if I never lost another pound, because of the other benefits. I suppose patience, perseverance, and perspective are the virtues to exercise now
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@River_Goddess Also you have increased your exercise so you may have more muscle which weighs more? View this phase as a short time in maintenance while your body adjusts to the new you and then maybe after a few weeks drop your calories while keeping to your marcos? You've done really well so far so enjoy the new you, oh and relax for your time off work!!0
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Down 2.2 today after a lazy night of lounging on the couch watching Netflix. Our bodies are so unpredictable!! Happy but baffled. Hahaha5
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River Goddess-
I have kinda hit the same road block....
I have been floundering for the last couple of weeks with no downward trend for Feb or so far in March.
My measurements do show some downward movement. That is the only thing that has kept me slightly positive. I may have figured out the cause-diet coke.
I am going to stick with my plan for this week to see if things start moving in the right direction....
If I don’t then I am going to give myself a break for 2 weeks......
I have to say measurement keep me sane......
Good luck0 -
It does sound like you have your system locked down tight and I tip my hat to you. I've had two decent stalls now, and both times I believe I was not quite eating enough. As counter intuitive as it felt, I upped my daily budget for a couple of weeks and then began bringing it down again.. My body seems to respond to that. I'll be darned if I completely understand the science of it, but definitely something to consider.
Glad your body threw you some good news today. Perhaps you've already weathered the stall and are back on the path.1 -
For future reference, what I typically do is add some extra MCT oil in my bone broth or added fat in/on my food. It kinda grosses me out with the extra fat, but it does help break a plateau.
I'm Keto too and do 20:4 IF0 -
River_Goddess wrote: »Down 2.2 today after a lazy night of lounging on the couch watching Netflix. Our bodies are so unpredictable!! Happy but baffled. Hahaha
Yeah I went on vacation last week and wasn't paying that much attention to my carb intake. When I got home I was down a pound...go figure? State of mind? Less stress? Maybe more unnoticed activity? I can't quite say but its been a while since the scale moved. It could also be my Spring weight loss kicking in, usually 5-10 lbs of winter weight drops off around Spring time.0 -
Start weight lifting by chance? Or just cardio/step count tracking?
Could be an opportunity to give yourself a break and go maintenance for a few months, then go back to a kcal deficit. That's a ton of weight/impressive loss so far you should be very proud of0 -
The same thing is happening to me. I've been doing this for a year now. By fall things slowed down and I only had 10lbs to lose. By Christmas it stopped completely. Granted, I started a new job and started to run and lift weight regularly and my inches were about the same. So I wasn't concerned.
Fast forward to march, I've gained 9lbs and now my inches are going up!
I've been tracking and measuring food, minus pb and cream and maybe the odd thing here and there. But 9lbs worth? Maybe...hard to believe. But wouldn't be the first time.
So now I'm like, screw the last 10 pounds, I need these 9lbs gone! My plan of action is to measure cream, eliminate pb and to limit my diet coke consumption. And see where that takes me in a couple of weeks. If no change, then re-evalulate my macros and cals. If STILL no change...a blood test to ensure my thyroid is A-OK. Because my dad had hypothyroidism and I'm not going to wait 10 years to be diagnosed with it like him...if there's anything wrong.
I'm sure though....I've gained....at least 1lb of muscle! Haha
argh 0 -
My plan of action is to measure cream, eliminate pb and to limit my diet coke consumption.
I think that is a good plan. Now that I think of it on my vacation my peanut consumption went to nothing and that might have been the unknown I was looking for to cause the weight loss. I probably over do it on the peanuts, almonds, etc. They are calorie dense foods and its really easy to eat way to many. I've ditched the diet soda for years now except on rare occasions. I know that has helped a great deal in curbing my nightly snack grazing plus all those chemicals just can't be good for the body. I drink a lot of water, tea, coffee, and unsweetened but flavored soda waters but they take time getting used to since they are not sweet, especially not as sweet as something like a diet coke. Good luck. Let us know if the cutting back helps out. Thanks.
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The same thing is happening to me. I've been doing this for a year now. By fall things slowed down and I only had 10lbs to lose. By Christmas it stopped completely. Granted, I started a new job and started to run and lift weight regularly and my inches were about the same. So I wasn't concerned.
Fast forward to march, I've gained 9lbs and now my inches are going up! I've been tracking and measuring food, minus pb and cream and maybe the odd thing here and there. But 9lbs worth? Maybe...hard to believe. But wouldn't be the first time.
So now I'm like, screw the last 10 pounds, I need these 9lbs gone! My plan of action is to measure cream, eliminate pb and to limit my diet coke consumption. And see where that takes me in a couple of weeks. If no change, then re-evalulate my macros and cals. If STILL no change...a blood test to ensure my thyroid is A-OK. Because my dad had hypothyroidism and I'm not going to wait 10 years to be diagnosed with it like him...if there's anything wrong.
I'm sure though....I've gained....at least 1lb of muscle! Haha argh
That's it there. In some people, and especially people close to goal, there is very little wiggle room and that is just a wiggle too many, if you get my meaning. Also, pb and cream have carbs AND are very calorie dense. They never tell you this, but cream has up to .5g carbs PER TBSP. PB has a minimum of 6g per serving. Some people have a very hard line of popping out of ketosis, like a couple carbs more than their threshold and then they've got the water weight. And some people are really bad at underestimating BLTs (bites, licks, and tastes). It's easy to underestimate with pb and cream and it's worse due to their high calorie nature. Stinks.
I commiserate. I'm trying to relose the last 10lb. OH MY WORD!
I overeat one bite and no loss for the week it seems like.
Hang in there.2 -
I probably shouldn't have done this...but after talking with a few people I might be having imbalances due to my increased activity level and eating at a 'sedentary' lifestyle. The lowest calories possible. So I went one level up to 'lightly active', which have me an extra 100ish or 200 ish calories. I do try to run 2- 3 x a week and lift 1 -2 x a week heavy. Soooo....maybe I need them? It doesn't make sense to me, if gaining, why eat more? Wouldn't that just mean your eating more calories to turn into fat?
I'm still not eating pb for the next 2 weeks, measuring cream and such under a microscope and limiting my coke to maybe 1 a week. So we'll see....I'll probably gain another 2 lbs! I was on point yesterday and gained a full pound over night. So I'm already half way there. Must be osmosis. Lol0 -
I think you should take a diet break (meaning I will eat carbs and such, but still try to keep my calories at maintenance level) and up your calories to almost maintenance for a week or so, and like many of us, you may get a renewed loss speed when you go right back to keto. Diet breaks have worked for me recently, and I'm at goal now. I have a planned diet break next week. We'll see if I lose more right after the break.
Your accomplishment so far is stellar. Way to go!2 -
sljohnson1207 wrote: »I think you should take a diet break (meaning I will eat carbs and such, but still try to keep my calories at maintenance level) and up your calories to almost maintenance for a week or so, and like many of us, you may get a renewed loss speed when you go right back to keto. Diet breaks have worked for me recently, and I'm at goal now. I have a planned diet break next week. We'll see if I lose more right after the break.
Your accomplishment so far is stellar. Way to go!
I've got another week and a half to go and then I'm taking one. The "last 10" grind is rough.
Congrats on hitting goal!2
