Am I on the right track?

hiptobefit69 · December 2019

I am a 50 year old female and I am 5'8. I started the Keto diet along with the B12 shots from my doctor. I was 235 pounds when I started and I am now 218 pounds. I am wondering if this is a success because I have seen where others have lost more in two weeks. I exercise and follow the keto diet as recommended. I know my age could make a difference as far as how my metabolism is. Whether a success thus far or failure I am going to keep trying. I really just want to know if I am on the right track as far as weight is concerned. If anyone could recommend any tips I would greatly appreciate it.

janejellyroll · December 2019

You've lost 17 pounds. That's great! Is that in two weeks? If so, that's a really fast rate of loss and I don't think you have anything to be worried about. It's typical to see rapid weight loss at the start of a new plan.

gallicinvasion · December 2019

You should reset your expectations. You should generally be losing no more than 1% of your body weight per week (so at your current stats, 2 lbs per week is what you should aim for). The beginning of a weight-loss period (especially when you reduce carbs) results in a bigger loss because of water weight, but from this point forward, you should aim to lose approx. 2 lbs per week and not more. Losing too fast results in losing muscle along with the fat, and chronic undereating could result in hair loss, bad skin, fatigue, and eventually endangering your heart.

In other words, YES this is a successful first two weeks, AND also you should be aiming for and expecting a slower rate of loss from this point forward. No one can healthily maintain an 8-lb-per-week loss; it’s not realistic or good for you.

Also, as you get closer to your goal weight, the rate of loss should slow down.

apullum · December 2019

It's common to lose large amounts of water weight in the first few weeks of a calorie deficit, especially if one is also restricting carbs. Losing water is not the same thing as losing fat. Fat loss will happen at a much slower pace, and you should not expect or attempt more than 2 pounds per week fat loss. Keep in mind, also, that fat loss happens due to a calorie deficit, not due to any specific way of eating. You can ensure a calorie deficit by weighing and logging all your food.

lgfrie · December 2019

17 lbs in the first two weeks is very high, but most of that is water. You've probably lost around 3 pounds of fat. Keto, even more than most other diets, entails extreme water loss in the first couple/few weeks. Carbs cause water retention (in huge amounts), so when you switch to a low carb or super-low-carb diet, you drop a lot of water that your body was previously holding on to because it no longer needs it.

Let's take a look at the math on all this, since you sound worried.

Going on over to the trusty TDEE Calculator site (TDEEcalculator.net) I see that your "break even" calorie level, assuming you're a typical sedentary person at 50, is approximately 2080 calories per day. In other words, if you ate 2,080 calories every day you'd neither gain nor lose weight.

Now let's assume you've been doing, say, 1400 calories per day for the past two weeks. That is a daily deficit of 680 calories (2080 minus 1400). 680 x 14 days = 9520 calories of total deficit over the two week period. Since it takes 3,500 calories of energy to burn off 1 pound of fat, you've lost 2.72 pounds of fat. Of course, this is contingent on whether you in fact ate 1400 calories per day. If you ate more than that, you've lost less than 2.72 pound of fat. If you've been eating, say, 1,200 cals per day, you'd have lost 880 * 14 = 12,320 calories = 3.52 pounds.

Sorry about all the numbers, but weight loss is a numbers game. The bottom line here is that you've most likely lost between 2 3/4 and 3 1/2 pounds of fat. The rest is water. Water will not continue to shed off you in bulk. It's a one-time event at the beginning of a diet, after which your sodium and water levels rebalance for your new calorie/food levels and then your scale weight mostly, more or less, and somewhat unevenly, reflects fat loss.

So enjoy the 17 pounds but do be realistic that after an initial start up phase, diets are a much tougher slog than that. Probably 14 pounds of that is water and if you went off your diet, most of those 14 pounds would be back in a week. You're probably losing 1.5 ish pounds per week, and that is as it should be. As @gallicinvasion mentions above, more than 1 % of your body weight per week in fat loss is unsafe, but again, you don't need to worry about that quite yet, because you're mainly shedding water at the moment and that will end soon.

hiptobefit69 · December 2019

I appreciate all the responses and they have helped. I forgot to state that I have set my caloric intake at 1320 and I exercise daily if not it's 6x a week because I don't like to do anything on Sundays due to church and spending time with my family. When I exercise it's usually walking on the treadmill for 30 minutes at a 2.5 pace to begin then 3.0 and back to 2.5 until the cool down. I then utilize the elliptical bike for 30 minutes while lifting 3lb weights at the same time. I am also on water pills prescribed by my doctor and I don't know if that makes a difference or not. I usually drink more than 8 cups of water a day. If I need to make changes please let me know....please. I accept and try to incorporate any advice provided.

MPDean · December 2019

Are there any activities you can do with your family? An hour's walk at a local park or beauty spot, it will be better than the treadmill in many ways.

Am I on the right track?

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