Not losing. Am I doing something wrong?
fknlardarse
Posts: 210 Member
I’m a lchf newbie. Love the concept. Not aiming for ketosis but enjoying using more calories for good fats and less on carbs as I get very weepy when I go low fat.
I’m only in my second week. I lost 3.5lbs first week.
This week I’ve put 1lb on but I’m not doing anything differently (other than giving up alcohol which I thought would help not hinder).
I’m also calorie counting as I’m a middle aged woman with a low bmr and slightly sendentary though the last 2 weeks I’ve tried to keep my step count up to 10k per day.
I’m eating on average 1200-1600 calories per day. Burning approx 2000-2200 calories a day but Fitbit does tend to overestimate.
My macros are around 6-19% carbs; 60-70% fat; 25-30% protein.
Any ideas what I’m doing wrong? I know it’s only week 2 and you’ll all probably say give it time but I’ve gained so much weight recently that I don’t want to risk another month of yet more weight gain if there’s something obvious I can tweak now.
Thank you
I’m only in my second week. I lost 3.5lbs first week.
This week I’ve put 1lb on but I’m not doing anything differently (other than giving up alcohol which I thought would help not hinder).
I’m also calorie counting as I’m a middle aged woman with a low bmr and slightly sendentary though the last 2 weeks I’ve tried to keep my step count up to 10k per day.
I’m eating on average 1200-1600 calories per day. Burning approx 2000-2200 calories a day but Fitbit does tend to overestimate.
My macros are around 6-19% carbs; 60-70% fat; 25-30% protein.
Any ideas what I’m doing wrong? I know it’s only week 2 and you’ll all probably say give it time but I’ve gained so much weight recently that I don’t want to risk another month of yet more weight gain if there’s something obvious I can tweak now.
Thank you
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Replies
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Sounds like you already know.
It's only been 2 weeks, give it time.
The initial loss would have been mostly water. You can only metabolize about 1% body fat in any given week, so any loss beyond that amount is not fat loss. Take measurements, take photos, track more than just the scale.
Be patient.4 -
Counting calories is not the same as eating at a deficit. If you're not losing weight you are likely eating more calories than you think. Any diet that is 60-70% fat has very small portions. To steal a term from another: BLTs. Calories from Bites, Licks and Tastes add up quickly.
Otherwise, consider that you are averaging over a pound a week thus far. That's a great rate that you'll hopefully at least maintain throughout your weight loss efforts.
Peace and love on the Flower Power VW.
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Keep with the calorie deficit, give weight time to come off. Don't stress, stress can hinder weight-loss.
I also suggest progress pics and/or taking measurements, don't rely solely on scale. I find scales can be discouraging, fluctuating while measurements and pics show definite loss and slimming.2 -
You're going to find what works for you. I lost my first 30 lbs not paying attention to anything but the raw number of carbs I ate. Then I maintained that loss for about 2 years (give or take 10 lbs) I'm in the process of losing another 30 and I've realized that I'm much more successful losing when I cut down the fat in intake and increase the protein I intake.
Calories, and caloric loads as recorded on MFP are Notoriously wrong. Being very meticulous about exactly what you eat (noting the bites, licks, etc) can help a lot of people when they think they're eating at a deficit but are aren't making any progress.
Honestly, finding other metrics of health have also really helped me keep it all in perspective over the years. Focusing on sleeping, stress reduction, inches lost, strength gained all ment I actually lost more weight in the long run.
Good luck!4 -
Try steaks if you can afford them or ground beef. Eggs are nutrient dense and a lot or a little fat can be added to meals based on how many calories you have left.1
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Remember that the 60-70% fat in your diet can partially come from your own body fat stores, meaning if you eat food totalling the 60-70%, why would your body need to take any fat out of storage to burn? There's a pie chart somewhere on the internet that graphically explains this in an easier way, but ya think I can ever find it when I want it??
Anyhow, keep up the good work, this is way easier than lo-fat weight loss, less painless and better for your general health. (Diabetes, Heart/Stroke, etc)4 -
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Oh I’m doing it wrong then? I thought I was supposed to get most of my calories from healthy fat. So I’m eating loads of fat. Moderate protein. Low carbs.
But the graphic says otherwise? So if I just really need low carb what macro balance should I aim for to burn more body fat?
My goals are currently set at around;
10% carbs
30% protein
60% fat0 -
And as fat has 2x calories of protein it means I usually end up with about 90g fat, 90g protein and the rest carbs.0
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fknlardarse wrote: »Oh I’m doing it wrong then? I thought I was supposed to get most of my calories from healthy fat. So I’m eating loads of fat. Moderate protein. Low carbs.
But the graphic says otherwise? So if I just really need low carb what macro balance should I aim for to burn more body fat?
My goals are currently set at around;
10% carbs
30% protein
60% fat
Most start out higher healthy fats (olive oil, butter, cheeses, creams, avocados) mainly because going low carb a lot of people lose appetite, and fats are an easy way to get calories in.
After adjusted to low carbs, most start upping proteins while lowering fats.
I always say, the macro goals are not set in stone, can play with them and find what works best for you, losing weight, staying satisfied, and getting sufficient amount of calories in.1 -
You can eat a diet of 100% fat and lose weight if you are in a calorie deficit. Likewise think of all the vegans who load up with carbohydrates and lose weight. How do they do this? Simple. A calorie deficit.
You're making this too hard. No need to over think it. You indicated in your 1st post you are not striving for ketosis. Even if you were, that would just be another simple consideration in regards to macros.4 -
Just thought I’d post an update. On day 7 of my second week I did in fact drop the pound I had put on plus another 1.5 pounds making my total loss that week 1.5lbs. Very happy.
I also read as much as I could in the ‘start here’ section and the post about why weight loss stalls was very helpful. I used the Keto calculator to double check my macros and it gave me confidence to stick with it.
My appetite has changed over these past 2 weeks already, which I’m delighted about! My life was ruled by food before. When’s my next meal? What snacks could I have? Will a cup of tea fill me up until lunchtime? Blah blah blah. I hated it.
Now I get hungry at meal times but it’s not all consuming. If I’m out I think oh I’ll wait til I’m home instead of panicking and looking for somewhere to buy food.
I feel free from my food addiction and I feel like I’ve reset my appetite to what it should be for my needs. I hope it continues.
Thank you wonderful people!8 -
10-19% calories from carbs is WAY too high if you're trying to lose a lot of weight.
0-20g is great for losing more than 50 pounds or if you are terribly unwell.
20-50 is fine if you're healthy, and a little bit active.
50-80 is fine if you're healthy and kinda active.
80-120 is for like body composition and athletes.
One thing you can try is playing around with your eating window. Eat for 8 hours of the day, don't eat for 16 hours of the day (tip 8 of that should be sleeping anyway) and then move the window down to 18:6, then 20:4, and probably leave it at 20:4.
Maybe only do that 3 times a week.
Or another option is that you can go a whole day without eating. However since you are new to low carb the thing is... your body hasn't even fully adapted to fats. Sometimes people eat more food and burn more fats. You have no idea how many calories you burn every day. It's impossible to know. Your metabolism can slow down, weightloss from calorie restriction can result in 25% of that weight loss coming from muscle, HOWEVER fasting you can lose as little as 10-15% muscle...
If you do fasting get good quality salt. Redmond's Real Salt is what I use, I get it off of Amazon. My mom loves the taste I sent her one, I love the taste. I freaked my coworker out today by just grabbing some salt and pouring a bit into my mouth. lol.
If you're doing Keto the number 1 rule, is to keep calm and keto on. Sometimes you hit a plateau sometimes it resolves itself after a couple months. There's a lot of misinformation and conflicting information.
When you run off of fats you naturally burn more calories. Sometimes to lose weight you need to eat more, because if you eat more you end up keeping your metabolism high, and that higher metabolism ends up burning through more than the calories you added in.
Our bodies are complicated. You might need to rethink how you approach weightloss.
I've literally added Sola Icecream and have been adding calories to my diet and then I hop on the scale and "WTH? I lost weight? Ok I'll take it"
I'm down 70 pounds since Keto, plus 70 pounds since before Keto. The 70 pounds before Keto took like 2 years. The 70 pounds since Keto has been like 10 months.2 -
For who Clicked "Disagree," I'm assuming it's the comment that said it takes a specific carb level to lose weight. Which is untrue. Different carb levels afford different benefits depending on the person, satiety level for some being most affected, or blood glucose control.
You can lose weigh on all those carb levels as long as you have a calorie deficit. Some people get more cravy at higher carb levels so it can make it harder to stay on-plan, but that doesn't make or break actual weight loss. Calorie deficit is required for that.6 -
I think this was the graphic mentioned earlier!6 -
Thank you.
I’m 160lbs and I’m not sure I’d lose any weight if I consumed 2100 calories like the graphic suggest, though that would be nice lol. I’m eating on average 1300 calories and losing a pound a week but helpful graphic thank you.0 -
fknlardarse wrote: »Thank you.
I’m 160lbs and I’m not sure I’d lose any weight if I consumed 2100 calories like the graphic suggest, though that would be nice lol. I’m eating on average 1300 calories and losing a pound a week but helpful graphic thank you.
That’s just an example calorie goal.
You would apply the same idea using your own calorie limit.1 -
For example, if you would maintain your weight on 1800 calories. You would figure out what your protein needs are based on maintenance calories.
So at 20% of 1800 your protein would be 360 calories if protein or 90 grams. Though I think 30% is better which is 540 calories or 135 grams.
Then limit your carbs to 5% which is 90 calories or 22 grams and the rest of the 1800 comes from fat. Including body fat. How much is body fat is based on your calorie deficit.
Protein plus carb equals 630 calories. 1800 minus 630 leaves you 1170 fat calories. Which is 130 grams but you want a calorie deficit. Let’s say it’s a 500 calorie deficit. That’s 56 grams of fat you will remove from your diet. So you’ll aim to limit to 74 grams of fat.
Again, this is based on an 1800 calorie maintenance. With a 500 calorie deficit.
Making it 135 grams of protein, 22 grams of carb and 74 grams of fat.0 -
RSunny_Bunny_ wrote: »Again, this is based on an 1800 calorie maintenance. With a 500 calorie deficit.
Making it 135 grams of protein, 22 grams of carb and 74 grams of fat.
Thank you for taking the time to reply, I’m a bit confused tho because I thought I should be having moderate protein and high fat? These figures are moderate fat and high protein? Also I put my numbers in the Keto calculator and got 25g carbs, 90g protein and 88g fat?0 -
I have been trying to up my proteins, but because most meats have fat content. And fat is 9 calories per gram, where protein is only 4 calories per gram. I still come up higher fat percentages.
Also finding upping my proteins, I'm hungrier more and started having intense cravings for sweets (I added fruits in to try to curve craving, and that's made it worse instead of better).
Yesterday, I decided that I'm going to go back to high "healthy" fats, moderate proteins, and low carbs. And stick to what's been working for me.
I think humans are somewhat individual, there's not a blanketed statement diet that works for all. My fiance lost on keto then started gaining, added full carbs back into his diet and is losing again.
I was still getting 1 gram of protein for every gram of body weight eating moderate protein, like I said protein has less calories and has fat content.
Good luck figuring out what works for you. Can always play with macros to figure it out. Nothing on mfp is set in stone. And what works for one, doesn't always work for another.3 -
fknlardarse wrote: »RSunny_Bunny_ wrote: »Again, this is based on an 1800 calorie maintenance. With a 500 calorie deficit.
Making it 135 grams of protein, 22 grams of carb and 74 grams of fat.
Thank you for taking the time to reply, I’m a bit confused tho because I thought I should be having moderate protein and high fat? These figures are moderate fat and high protein? Also I put my numbers in the Keto calculator and got 25g carbs, 90g protein and 88g fat?
The fat that you burn from your body counts.
You eat 88g but the rest comes from your butt. However, even 88g fat a day is high fat. Most people don’t leave any room for fat to come from storage. Only once you lose your excess fat do you then EAT the very high fat to maintain the weight.
And that’s definitely NOT high protein. That’s what you need to maintain your mass.1 -
I think the general principle of that graphic is showing that if you are trying to lose body fat (weight), then you would reduce the amount of fat you are consuming because you want to use/lose your body fat stores. As your body fat % is reduced, your dietary fat number needs to increase in order to maintain your (new & lower) existing weight. There is a difference between what your keto macros should be to lose weight vs to maintain weight and be in ketosis. Sticking to that high fat number is sometimes the cause of people's struggles to actually lose weight after the initial water swoosh.
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I have lost 99 lbs over 15 months. Goal: 1200 cal/day. <25g carbs, 79g protein, 79 fat. My fat level is modest because I have fat stores to burn and my current focus is on losing weight. As I approach my goal weight, I'll slightly increase my fat. Carbs and protein will stay the same to stay in ketosis and control insulin production.3
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"Also finding upping my proteins, I'm hungrier more and started having intense cravings for sweets (I added fruits in to try to curve craving, and that's made it worse instead of better)."
Too much protein can trigger insulin, the fat-storing hormone. This might account for an increase in appetite.
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Thanks!! I’ve tweaked my macros!0
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Fat is 9 cal/g, carbs and protein are 4 cal/g. So the overall ratio of calories still makes this a high fat diet.
In the example above the final intake is 135g protein (540 calories) + 22g carb (88 calories) + 130g fat (56g from adipose tissue and 74g dietary intake, 1170 calories)
Your fat:other ratio would be almost 2:1 at the calorie level (1170:628).1
