Not what you'll want to hear but it really comes down to caloric intake for me.

I've been on MFP for 5 years, 4 of which have been maintenance. All were some version of low carb. I ate "strict" keto for only 52 weeks as a trial for something other than weight management. I discovered the joy of not being hungry (something I struggled with for ~18 months eating higher carb and lower fat).

Given I like fatty foods and have some really impulsive eating habits, I had to weigh, measure and track my food intake during my Keto year in order to not exceed calories. It seems every BITE is 100 calories given the fat content. The good thing was, I wasn't hungry on maintenance calories. I was just eating to eat and learned to acknowledge and eliminate that negative behavior which is not conducive to weight loss or maintenance.

I still eat very low carb/high fat. While I don't "have" to weigh, measure and track every single thing today, I do have to stay highly aware of what and how much I am eating.

And so, I'll ask since you are not losing and in fact gaining: Are you weighing and measuring every single bite you eat? No extra pieces of cheese while cutting it up for dinner? No licking the spoon of peanut butter? Being scant with the mayo on your lettuce wrap? Over estimating calories on the piece of standing rib roast because you like a bit more beef fat and chose a fattier portion? Counted those 3 or 4 olives you ate while making your salad? Weighed that "medium" avocado? Considered the calories in the oil you added to the pan or the butter you added to your vegetables? Counted the calories you scraped and ate from the bottom of the casserole dish before you washed it? These are the kinds of "habits" I became aware of and had to quit...or enter into my food diary. They add up at 9 calories/gram.

I have been eating keto since August 2016 and was low carb for a few months prior to that after a diabetes diagnosis and lower than average carb (around 30-35%) for a few years. Granted BG control was my primary objective and not weight. That said, I did have a little bit more to lose when I went keto.

I dropped from 199 to 188 fairly quickly and was pretty good with that being a very active 6'1" man who worked out 5 days a week. I figured being middle aged and weighing the same as I did when I played 9th grade football in 1985 was pretty good.

However, lately I decided, pretty good was not good enough. I wanted to see if I could actually get that "beach body" that everyone dreams of having. To preface, I do a ridiculous amount of research, and I found a keto friendly doctor who doesn't mind spending 20-30 minutes at each appointment really discussing next steps (very lucky here).

First thing I did which is totally counter intuitive - cut from a 1 hour 45 minute work out 5 days a week to a 1 hour work out 3 days a week. I completely discontinued all running except some hill sprints that would fall into the category of HIIT. In addition to this, I do still walk a fairly significant amount averaging about 12,000 steps a day, but that is down from averaging over 20,000 when I was also running a few miles a day.

Second thing I did was added in a small (2 hard boiled eggs) breakfast on my work out days. This is immediately after I get home from the gym around 7 am. Lycine in the eggs is key to muscle growth. Don't fear some muscle growth through strength training as the muscle will raise your resting metabolic rate.

Third, I started doing longer fasts more regularly instead of just the 16:8 IF I had been doing for at least a year. Not super long. Mostly I am talking about 36 hours or so. Basically from dinner Monday night to after work out breakfast on Wednesday type thing. As a side note, when I do this, that Wednesday morning workout is awesome. I have gained more strength doing this than I have since I was in my 20's.

Fourth, I have significantly improved the consistency of my sleep. If you are not getting enough sleep, you will fail. If it is not consistent in quality, quantity and timing, you will struggle mightily.

Finally, I (gasp) cut the fat and up the protein slightly for a short period. I am not talking about low fat by any stretch. I went from ratios of about 75 fat/20 protein/5 carb to about 62 fat/ 31 protein/7 carb. Although it looks like I upped my carbs, I did not in terms of grams. Because the protein was more filling, my total intake dropped so the same number of grams ended up being a higher percentage. Total stayed around 35-40 with net right around 20.

Results - After returning from a cruise on 2/18/2018, I weighed in at 195 (187.5 when I left on the cruise a week earlier). This morning, I weighed in at 177.7. I can see six somewhat defined ab muscles, and the love handles on my lower back that I thought were permanent are almost gone.

From what you wrote, I think you and I are similar in some ways (gender not being one of them), but the key one being probably over working out causing elevated cortisol/stress and less than optimal sleep. Of everything, I think getting those under control will do you the most help.