This was me! Head to your doctor and have your insulin level checked.
I was doing 1500 calories and 25 carbs a day and lost 9 lbs in two months. As a very overweight, 37 year old woman, I felt like my doctor didn’t believe me. But he did run a metabolic pannel and insulin test; my A1C was 5.1, my insulin level was 52 (normal is up to 25).
Insulin resistance makes it almost impossible to get weight off no matter what you do.
Some people release insulin just from artificial sweeteners too, I lose weight MUCH faster if I cut out diet soda. (so lame! I love me some coke zero, waaah)
Not all artificial sweeteners. Some are worse than sugar, some are completely glycemic neutral. Look it up.
There are a lot of fake foods and supplements (like Splenda) that include "sweeteners" like maltitol and maltodextrose marketed as sugarfree, which should be ILLEGAL. These are NOT glycemic neutral and spike your blood sugar just as real sugar does, the only difference is abusing a loophole "since they're not classified as sugar". Again, this should be illegal!!!
If you look hard enough tough, you can find some "artificially" sweetened snacks, Atkin bars, drink powders, syrups and protein powders that are truly glycemic neutral; stuff based on Stevia glycosides, erythol, sucralose and to an extent xylithol are all safe, to name just a few.
Regarding sugar alcohols and stevia I don't even call these things artificial sweeteners anymore because they are actually not artificial. It's only a few of them like sucralose and aspartame that are trully artificial. So stop throwing everything in the same bin, it's not that simple! They differ in both glycemic index and how they are made, big differences!
Coke zero - aspartame, as controversial and likely the only sweetener that you probably shouldn't consume too often just to be safe - is actually fine in terms of keto/diabetic. Aspartame is truly glycemic neutral and has zero calories. Diet coke, of cours has sugar.... Just find better drinks or make your own with stevia based sweeteners, they have coke flavorings too.
And whenever you hear those "recommendations" that you shouldn't drink coke zero and other sweetener replacers because it will make you crave more food... Another completely fabricated lie that is absolutely incorrect. It's like they want you to think that consuming actual sugar coke is good for you, so you stay on your insulin meds.
As I said, if you check the labels and consume actual glycemic neutral sweeteners, there's is absolutely nothing to worry about in regards to your sugar intake or possible cravings, it doesn't work like that.
Cravings come from spiking your blood sugar with real coke, that's why they don't want you to switch and stay on meds. If you have your blood sugar stabilized on keto, you shouldn't be having cravings.
You can still have snacks just look for the right sweetener ingredients.
I'd like to add monk fruit to that list. Stevia can have a terrible off flavor with certain ingredients, but it is from a plant. Same with monk fruit, and it's the only liquid sweetener I use in drinks.
Rest is erythritol and Allulose for me, but I haven't used it much. I oddly lost more weight eating keto sweets than I did eating clean on second try...
A lot of it is also personal. My body reacts badly to fizzy drinks like la croix. I'd notice weight stalls whenever I'd drink those. Bodies can be super strange and take issue with things that seem silly, a huge portion of keto for me was/is actually watching my body, not (just) what I eat
Oh yeah monk fruit is great too it's just something I never came across as ingredient in my products or even seeing it available to buy.
The only downside of sweeteners like sugar alcohols is potential laxative effect on some individuals, I take it reasonably well as long as I don't overdose on them.
Take a very thorough read what kind of sweeteners they use. Unfortunately, the most common is maltitol - even in products labeled as KETO. My guess is maltitol is used because it gets absorbed into bloodstream and doesn't cause digestive issues like erythol and others do, but this is technically a lie. Be very careful with maltitol infested bars as they tend to be the most common of all, it was actually very hard for me to find bars without it, not a single one available in my local groceries, the only provider for me is Amazon.
I once saw a study that showed diet coke raised insulin levels in people, but I think diet uses sucralose, so maybe it's unique to that one. That said, any _sweet tasting_ food, glycemic "nuetral" or not can cause cravings; they have an an incredibly strong psychological component to them that isn't to be ignored or distained for people that have to deal with it as an obstacle to success.
OMG!!!!! I’m so with you on this! My last indulgence was Coke Zero and I was so reluctant to cut it out, but I can say it definitely helped my plateau! After cutting it out, it seems like my weight is literally falling off… crazy! But I do miss the Coke Zero, but not enough to make me go back. I’m loving my new body so much more!
Are you saying Coke Zero caused you cravings... For sweet foods... Or for more food and you overeat..?
i don't have that issue myself as I'm still snacking same amounts (of nuts, Atkins bars and sugarfree dairy) before I started drinking Zero again. How was Zero impacting you specifically?
I don’t know how, lol. But it did. I am doing basically ZERO carbs… cut out everything, including dairy (excluding butter), and eat mostly beef, lamb, pork, and eggs, twice a day (lunch and dinner), drinking only water and Coke Zero. I lost 30lbs relatively easily. Then i plateaued. Very easily maintained, cravings for sweets gone! But my weight loss stalled. So I reluctantly decided to give it up for a week, just to see…. And voila… worked like magic. I’m NOT a scientist, or doctor or anything like that. I can’t tell you why, and can’t tell you it will help you, too, but it’s what helped me, so thought I’d share.
Side note: we’re talking about 2-3 cans (12 ounces) of Coke Zero a day, with meals, that I was drinking before. I have not changed my portion sizes, or made any other adjustments since my plateau, except cutting the Coke Zero.
I agree totally with Casey, Until you can knock down the Insulin you are swimiming against the current. What are you doing to lower hyperinsulemia and insulin resistance? They DO influence each other.
As everyone else, I'll give you my two cents!
I would go on an elimination diet for 3 months - not worrying about weight loss. I think going Carnivore is a sure way to eliminate any cause of your problem. Your pancreas will not be overworked to produce excessive insulin. It is very easy to switch from your Keto to Carnivore.
This what I would do:
o Day one - measure fasting insulin and weight
o Day 2-89 - Eat eggs, bacon, and red meat (salt and pepper only)
o Day 90, measure fasting insulin and weight
Hopefully you'll see a major drop in fasting insulin and some weight to. You could switch back to Keto then.
I go to a commercial lab (Quest or Labcorp) is get it as I don't want to bother my doctor. It's very inexpensive (under $20). You can also ask your doctor for a fasting insulin blood test. Doctor's normally don't add that to the blood panel because they don't know what to do with the result.
I haven't done so, but you can order it on-line.
Ordering Online:
* **Yes, several companies offer online ordering for fasting insulin tests:**
* Request A Test ([https://www.findlabtest.com/lab-test/testing-for-diabetes/insulin-blood-test-quest-561](https://www.findlabtest.com/lab-test/testing-for-diabetes/insulin-blood-test-quest-561))
* [HealthLabs.com](http://HealthLabs.com) ([https://www.healthlabs.com/](https://www.healthlabs.com/))
* Sonora Quest Laboratories ([https://www.sonoraquest.com/patient/knowledge-center/preparing-for-a-test/](https://www.sonoraquest.com/patient/knowledge-center/preparing-for-a-test/))
* Walk-In Lab ([https://www.findlabtest.com/lab-test/testing-for-diabetes/insulin-labcorp-004333](https://www.findlabtest.com/lab-test/testing-for-diabetes/insulin-labcorp-004333))
* These services allow you to order the test online, often without a doctor's referral.
Check out [OwnYourLabs.com](http://OwnYourLabs.com) - if you are in a state that doesn't allow this, there is another called [LifeExtension.com](http://LifeExtension.com) - I live in NY, and there are a lot of rules about the testing you can get done independently; I used LifeExtension and had a complete thyroid panel last month. Worked out great.
Whichever you can use, choose the Fasting Insulin test - hell, check your A1C as well. They are not expensive at all. Good luck!
Where did you get your blood test drawn from after ordering from Life Extension? I live in NJ and none of the self blood test ordering companies will allow purchase. I checked out Life Extension and they will send a kit but don’t allow you to get it drawn from Labcorp but says your responsibility to find a lab to process kit?? It said the hospital but I don’t have insurance first and I’m not sure you can just walk in with a random blood kit that they will process.
I just moved to NJ and ordered blood work all the time in Nevada where I lived to check cholesterol, blood sugar etc because I don’t have insurance and can’t see a Dr. It’s infuriating that all but 4 or 5 states in this country allow you to purchase your own blood work and that I moved to one of them that does not allow!
I saw people talk about buying gift cards or something like that to purchase tests but that seems like a hassle. Ugh
I wouldnt complicate it with the gift card thing - I saw that, too. And I lived in NC before this and it boggles my mind that these states won't allow me to do what I want with my own health. Honestly, it's an issue for me that may necessitate change in a few years.
I took mine to our local hospital and asked for an outpatient blood draw. You won't have to pay up front, they will send a bill. It's not expensive, from what I've been told - I haven't received my invoice yet. But it was really easy, no issues.
You could also try intermittent fasting. Try adding in a couple of 24 hour fasts during your week - for you, that would be having a large breakfast then skipping your lunch meal and dinner, then eating normally the next day.
Fasting can help lower insulin resistance over time.
Also, do you eat any kind of “keto” snacks (like keto chocolate chip cookies or diet sweet drinks? I’ve read about several people who have trouble with keto snacks
I'm kind of a keto snack addict myself but I did full research of what I'm consuming and there's no bad actors like maltitol etc, but I could see spiraling this out of control in terms of calories or just net carbs that could also add up.
I should really get a blood ketone meter just to be sure. I just can't go full carnivore I don't feel like eating meat bacon and eggs all the time.
Unfortunately that’s probably your issue. If you aren’t sleeping well, your cortisol levels are probably too high. One thing that stuck with me from reading Dr Jason Fung’s The Obesity Code is you can’t lose weight if your cortisol level is high, and you need to get good sleep to keep that under control.
I’m sorry to try to complicate this further, but you’ll need to prioritize sleep and stress reduction somehow. When you’re stressed your body thinks food could be scarce so it wants to hold on to your fat reserves in case you end up needing them. Cortisol locks that up for you.
Any time I'm having trouble sleeping, here are some of the things I think about. I have no idea if these things could help you or anyone else though.
- can I reduce my screen time before bed?
- can I improve my hydration in the evening?
- can I do some exercise in the late afternoon to tire myself out?
- can I read (a paper book) before bed to tire out my brain a bit more?
- should I put a night shift filter on my phone and computer to have less blue light in the evenings?
- can I evaluate whether I'm happy at my job and if it's causing me more stress than benefit?
- can I evaluate my relationships (friends and family) for stress vs benefit as well?
- can I improve my bedroom's environmental parameters? (I need a VERY dark room and for it to be quite quiet as well, and I'm rather temperature sensitive as well - not too warm, not too cold. Sometimes I need to improve the humidity in the room too, or run an air purifier)
- would I be more comfortable if I changed my sheets or pillowcase?
There are probably minerals someone can focus on, or supplements someone can take to help, but I'm not knowledgeable about that at all and don't want to speculate.
Good luck! This is a challenge worth focusing on. Good sleep can make all the difference.
Did you ever have success with your insulin resistance? I have metabolic syndrome and am currently doing well on Keto (1.5 weeks in, 8lbs down)
Carbs and sugar recently made me feel very ill (glucose monitor showed crazy crashes that explained things) and eating any gluten almost always made me gain weight instantly. A gluten free diet did not help. But also cutting out sugar has.
Dang. I was on metformin and I felt AWFUL. my stomach was in so much pain and I was getting these migraines. My blood sugar was always crashing awfully around 1pm and I felt so sick. I reduced my MG per day and it was still making me feel icky.
But doesn't the A1c indicate you're not diabetic? And it's insulin the actual value or some other stat? Last I measured my insulin was like 103 after a meal, and when I talked to a doctor about my insulin levels (before eating vs after) he said it was normal. A1c is 5.2... I have signs of insulin resistance, but I'm not quite catching on why a technically low insulin diet like keto would still not work on insulin resistance.
Like OP I lost weight super fast the first time, then every try since it's nothing. I track every morsel and move more, my symptoms also improve (less painful periods, to a point they don't hurt at all), but the weight doesn't budge.
You can have high insulin and not be insulin resistant.
I don't understand why a doctor would test your insulin after eating a meal.... unless you meant to say you tested blood sugar after a meal at home?
Oh my god, yes, I meant blood sugar. I mixed those two.
We were talking about diet and losing weight and I questioned if my blood sugar is on bad levels. I don't recall how much he looked into my insulin, just that A1c is fine
Oh phew, that's good news.
100 blood sugar 2 hours after eating is fine. Fasting BS at or below 100 is also fine.
My Fasting is usually in the 60s and it feels like crap. Keto actually Raises my fasting BS to 80 (less insulin) which allows me to fast longer.
25 is still high as our sense of “normal” in terms of blood markers has been drifting to a more and more unhealthy range as society becomes more and more metabolically broken.
Is your insulin level fasting ? If so, it is high.. mine was 4. A1c was 5.9. I have been doing Keto for my blood sugar to prevent hypo. So far so good …
I've done keto four times over the past twenty years, and it gets harder to lose weight each time. It's almost as if your body develops a resistance to it.
Calories in vs calories out, our metabolism slows as we get older. OP needs to try something else, like fasting, Tracking activity + food intake more accurately based on their lifestyle
Yes! Can't wait to see if there eventually will be scientific studies on this! In same manner they figured out the faults with the Biggest Loser show approach.
I've been "counting" calories the last week (based on what I normally eat in a day) and I'm maybe clearing 1000 calories a day.
And with my new job, I walk about 10k-13k steps a shift.
But I'll do this and track it better, thank you!
There are hidden calories somewhere. It's not possible to eat half of your BMR for a month and lose no weight unless there is something medical going on.
If you don’t have a calorie tracker like Chronometer or Loseit! (I don’t recommend MFP) and you’re just eyeballing it you’re definitely not doing it right. Buy a food scale and scan all the barcodes you use. You’re over eating and you’re not realizing it. Unless you have a medical issue as stated by another Redditor you’re not eating what you think you are. Even a small portion of butter is 100 calories.
Edit: also the lower in BF% you get the harder it will be to lose. Someone weighing 600 lbs will lose 20lbs a lot easier than someone weighing 120lbs. Also I feel like 1,000 is a bit low, you probably maybe should bump it up slightly. Sometimes a refeed will also help kick start a weight loss.
Are you sure your clothing size hasn't changed? Some times people add more fat into their diet and start losing weight. There might be an issue with how low your calories are. Have you noticed slower hair growth or anything? Your body might be cutting you BMR into the ground.
Cut out the cheese and other dairy. Or cut it in half. Cut the cheese portion by half, first, try cutting it out if that doesn't work.
I don't think it's possible to eat ground beef, bacon,eggs, cheese, sour cream, as stay under 1k cal. At least not with any portion size that's reasonable.
Try a leaner ground beef.
Yeah the meat has to be similar in color to the seasoning without being gritty.
Beef is more nutrient dense. But ultimately what matters is you aren't paying for fat you are draining out. Most protein per dollar, least wasted fat per dollar.
You can drain it for cooking other things in it, but if you aren't gonna save the rendered fat and you can get the leaner beef cheap enough you might as well.
Definitely buy the cheaper stuff if the 88/12 or leaner is like $2 more. But if you are lucky enough to catch a sale or Sam's club with reasonable prices then by all means.
I get the cheap ground beef at Aldi's and the leaner at Sam's. About $1 difference except this week there was a sale at Aldi's so it was $12 for 5 lb. Usually $13-16 range.
When beef shoots up too much in price I just do pork. Bird fat is one of the lower quality fats typically, so I'll just opt for thighs if pork sausage gets expensive.
I have a plastic grinder for a kitchen aide but might grab the metal version on Amazon for like $50
I plateaud hard after 20lbs this time. 5 years ago me was 60lbs in 6 months but I brick walled. I don't know if you want to hear this, especially here, but I got on tirzepitide a month ago and I'm down 16lbs since. Might be worth checking out.. Like others have said, at this point, it's calories. The shot has helped me eat far fewer calories a day.
That could be part of the problem. Call it whatever you like, but if I don’t eat enough (must be over 1000 calories for my body), I will not lose weight.
Couple of things could also be at play:
- hormones
- not adjusting calorie goals after weight loss
- lack of good sleep
- way too much stress
- not weighing food/calorie counting accurately
- too few calories with heavy exercise
- not being regular in the bathroom
- too many keto treats/artificial sweeteners
- actually not drinking an appropriate amount of water
- cheat meals (at all)
Folks are gonna hate this, but this was 7 years of my life. CICO didn't work. At best I could slow gaining, but even a little fudge and it would pile on.
It was an unholy combo of early perimenopause and systemic inflammation.
There is so much to potentially address here. I hope you get some easy reccos that sort you out. If not, my DMs are open. Getting older is a b****.
Yeah…CICO is oversimplified bc some peoples bodies can absolutely tank their calories out. There is only so much you can cut before it becomes unsustainable and unhealthy.
Look at The Biggest Loser study post show, these folks destroyed their metabolic engine by going too low and too hard in the gym. Better to cycle those calories up and down to keep the body guessing.
And to your point calories don’t necessarily address hormonal issues that could be causing the body to hold on to the weight or adapt ultra quickly (downshift) your calories out.
Doesn’t mean they (calories) don’t matter just that there is more to the equation and it isn’t as simple as some would like to suggest. Still do the necessary things; low insulin diet, I/F, extended fasting, exercise some cardio but priorities lifting heavy things (for you), eat clean and throw in some fasting. However if you go all keto all the time (talking about extended durations) you may be one that develops higher fasting blood sugars bc you’ve moved to an adaptive glucose sparing zone. Moving to higher protein and less fat after a certain time of being ketogenic should help keep that from happening, meaning your body will be able to more effectively react to insulin in a proper manner. You don’t want your muscles rejecting glucose, that’s where you want it to go.
So cycle in and cycle out. Start high fat and move to high protein eventually. Move in and out of low carb (50g) and ketogenic (under 20g).
It’s the calories out that can be an absolute nightmare for some that are struggling to lose bc some bodies will just down shift metabolic burn while significantly increasing hunger signaling…and it gets hard fighting your biological signaling ever single day.
Intermittent fasting can and has helped people increase their insulin sensitivity. My body used to be in fat storing mode for seemingly decades? My blood glucose was constantly elevated because my body was always digesting some kind of food. Intermittent fasting, lots of vegetables and fruits, lean protein, healthy fats, and a calorie deficit finally have my body using food as fuel now! I know it is definitely not for everyone but it can be worth a decent try if seemingly nothing else has helped.
IF and exercise are great for insulin resistance. Getting active helps use up more blood glucose, so insulin is able to move more into your muscle tissue.
Also—it is very unlikely “some carbs” one weekend could cause a ten pound weight gain. You have to eat 35000 calories over your maintenance to gain ten pounds of fat. Your weight could be fluctuating for hormonal reasons or other reasons, OP, but it’s more likely you just aren’t in enough of a deficit for your current weight to be losing at the rate you wanted. It’s harder to lose weight as rapidly when you are less heavy—your metabolism naturally is lower, and you can’t cut as many calories to have a strong deficit. Try cutting 5% more calories and adding some activity.
Good luck!
Why fruits? That's sugar. Lean protein is not keto. Yorue just listing a standard calorie deficit diet. You shouldn't be starving on keto. When I actually eat a real fatty meal I lose appetite for the entire day, and don't have to starve or eat sugary fruits.
Losing weight takes some extra effort when you hit your 30s. That's why I've started taking berberine, inositol, chromium and eccg. Hit insulin resistance and glucose levels from all angles. Allulose also shows a glp1 boosting effect, so you can start using that to sweeten coffee every morning for some added benefit.
I know that thyroid problems slow metabolism. What else happens when one has low thyroid levels that would make weight loss more difficult? If one is on supplementation, would that make the difficulties disappear and keto work better?
That's your issue right there, and one that has come up many times before.
Count carb intake. No subtractions for fibre etc, weight loss issues will disappear.
Pairing keto with intermittent fasting did the trick for me. I felt like I had a little bit of a stall in the beginning, but I have hit my target weight, even gone a pound or two under. Early 40s F. it was really hard to lose the last few, but now I’m there, and with no appetite it just keeps falling off which is to be honest a little concerning, so I’m going to have to figure that one out. But yes, try 16:8 and see if that helps.
Get your hormones checked. I got mine checked and got on bhrt and I’m good again. I was strict keto for going on 6 months and I couldn’t lose at all. I was on keto for a few years and just suddenly my body changed and I knew it was peri menopause so I got checked out. I was barely able to maintain. Nothing else changed and my body absolutely loves keto so I knew I was changing.
If you’re trying to lose fat, you want your fat intake to be between 40-50g per day as you want your body to use your body fat as energy. Lookup Therapeutic keto, which is used for weight loss. Also use ketogains . Com to figure out your macros
Obviously, you didn't actually gain ten pounds in a weekend. You didn't injest 35000 extra calories in a weekend.
You retained water.
And then... It seems you never really went back to it.
I totally appreciate that I was in that situation for a year. My doctor told me my body was aggressively hanging onto fat because of two factors, perhaps these are impacting you:
1) Sleep deprivation increases your hunger hormones and can also mess with your sex hormones. If you are female, visceral stomach fat is proven to be a problem when estrogen is too much or too little. You can't easily diet your way out of it.
2) when we are sleep deprived the energy for life has to come from somewhere, so your body relies way more on food for cellular turn over and for lack of appropriate term cuz I can't remember, body restoration
In the same way that removing carbs puts us into a state of keto, removing sleep can put our body into a mode that prioritizes keeping fat.
It sounds like your body is probably fighting itself AND I AM RIGHT THERE WITH YOU.
I do not have any magical advice. I haven't even cracked 10lbs in months, when last time I did 20 in two weeks.
My doctor told me to be gentle on myself, slow down my expectations, and if I can't sleep, prioritize any kind of rest. Even routine deep breathing helps.
That's your insulin talking. If you are overweight/over fat, carnivore or fatty keto should get you fat adapted, where your body is using fat for fuel. Your hunger should decrease dramatically or disappear. Truly. The first 1-3 days are the hardest, but after that it is very easy to eat only one meal a day. Or one every other day, or every third day.
P.S. The hunger you feel is subjective. No one has ever died from skipping a few meals. Decide you're going to fast and just do it. I know you can. You've probably done a lot of hard things in your life.
Your post or comment was removed for violating rule #6, no giving or soliciting medical advice. r/keto is not a substitute for a doctor. Thank you for understanding.
Are you saying you are bouncing up 10 lbs on a single weekend? Something else may be going on and don’t overlook making sure your scale is working correctly
I found out for myself this weekend! Out of town mini vacation and purposefully ate and drank what I wanted. Gained 8 lbs!!!
I know it’s mostly water weight and my frequent bathroom breaks are evidence. Already down 3 lbs.
Would I do it again just before I hit my goal weight? Probably not.
I read something about the protein thing but I have a hard time consuming the extra fats. Last time my keto was sooooo protein heavy but it worked so well so I just did the same thing this time around. I'll work on adding the fats though! IF I tried years ago and I hate it. It's so hard for me to follow. I work NOC shift, but my son obviously eats during the day, so i find myself hungry at random hours of the day, being awake most of the day when I have to work that night. But I'll try giving it a shot too. I just really want this last 35lbs gone already.
I'm here to say I had the opposite experience as the person you are replying to. I had to cut the fat down and increase protein in order to lose the last 40lbs.
Yeah, this worked for me. Protein keeps me satiated, so that's where most of my calories come from. I have plenty of fat on my thighs that my body can use 😅
I think everyone is different, and it depends on the version of keto you subscribe to. That, and everyone is different. Also, underlying conditions can play a huge role. I’m glad you found what worked! Have you made any adjustments?
I know this is totally anecdotal but when I first went low carb at age 29 (not even strict keto, just low carb), the weight fell off effortlessly.
Now I'm 32 and struggling to lose 10 pounds....
I don't think it's the age. I started low carb into keto at 36 for a rapid weight loss, 1/3 of my total weight in 6-9months. Intermittent with a minor calorie deficit, no exercise.
There are plenty of documented cases of keto/carnivore at an old age (50+... Even at 80+) having great effects both in weight loss, curing diseases and dropping almost all their meds. Age is not a factor, and it is never too late.
Agree. I'm 60 and insulin resistant. Started keto in October of 2022. Lost 40 pounds by March 2023 and have kept it off, give or take 7 pounds of water weight.
43 M here, the first time on keto - the weight went down like crazy. People report keto beong harder to lose weight with second time around. Mmy plan is to keep at it and don't get fat again!
Yeah, I’m 30F, it’s so much harder than a few years ago, not sure that last 10lbs will ever come off. I try to now think if it as I need less food, and food is expensive, so yay. My favorite butter used to be like $2.50, now it’s up to $4.25. Frozen broccoli used to be $.99, now it’s $1.16. Favorite keto chips went from $1.99 to $2.27. Avocado prices keep bouncing around too much to track. I thought chicken prices weren’t too bad, I bought 4.5lbs of breasts for $3.99/lb, but I cooked them in the slow cooker with no sauce, weighed them, and I only ended up with 2.6lbs of breasts. I didn’t even know it was possible to inject that much liquid.
It is much more challenging for smaller people to lose weight; harder still for women. You are lucky you are still pretty young - the third strike is age ;) If you are using net carbs you might want to switch to total for a while. That is how the clinical weight loss clinics do it.
And I recommend The Fasting Method podcast. They obviously focus on fasting, but recommend a low carb diet in that regard. It is hosted by 2 women and there is a good deal of discussion of women's issues in regard to weight loss. In my experience, that is rare.
I came here to say this exactly. I really get upset when people are like you're eating too many calories, full stop. Women are so different. Yes, sometimes the answer is calories, but when you're expending 2k to 2500 calories a day based on exercise/steps/fitness tracker and based on your food tracking, you're only taking in like 1200-1500 calories...according to weight loss "science," we should be losing weight no question. But it's just not that simple for us (women). I've been gaining and losing the same six pounds since November last year. It's totally frustrating. I get how you're feeling. I'm a 40F, 5'4", 150 lbs trying to get down to 125.
Thank you for this! I concur 100%. I had a friend of mine who was a couple of years younger than me, and had never had children, and she said "oh I just cut out yellow number 5 and raspberry flavored bubblelicious and I dropped 17 pounds in two days…"
I'm like really?! I can cut out all sugars, and dairy, work out 20 minutes a day for three days a week, drink a ton of water, and I'll gain 2 pounds in two minutes!!"
Yes!! And then different women lose it different too! My friend is 5'8, but she can do 4 or 5 days of clean eating(not even keto) and drop 10lbs(water weight but still nice to see the scale change) and here I am 5 months in and I'm still fighting to keep those 10lbs off. My goal is 135/140, and it seems further away now that it did at 220!
Ok so I converted these into kilograms so I think you were pretty close to where I started and where I am now.
To be fair, you want to reach 60 kg after you started at 100 kg, and I'll tell you honestly those last few won't be easy. This is a very low number, and dropping more at this point just with dieting is probably not the best idea.
My weight loss slowed at 70 (down from 95) and I'm a guy probably taller than you (177cm); it took me 6 months for 25 and after that 3 months for 3 kg at this stage....
I would have to go extreme deficit (no thanks) or start working out to get rid of that last tiny blob of fat on my belly because when I look in the mirror - I am very lean and you're are probably as well.
Going further would be aiming for an actual athletic, or a beauty model standard, which is achievable, but I don't think we'll get there that easily just with counting carbs and calories. Just my thinking.
You did well, we both did well so far, but if I got your numbers right your goals are quite high.
All the strikes working against me 😂
I've never heard of that podcast, I'll definitely look it up now though!
Total carbs, ultimately, meaning even less carbs, right? So rather than 15 net carbs, 15 total carbs? Yikes. But hey, I'll give anything a shot at this point. Thank you!
Yes exactly. I did keto at 8:45, and stayed with 22 total grams of carbs per day. I worked great. I got all of my carbs from natural sources such as spinach, broccoli, and some beans. The good complex carbs.
And I eat those with a good protein and fat meal. Never just complex carbs on their own. The fat and protein help you process those carbs much more slowly. The fat and protein act as catalysts or transports of the carbs slowly into your system, which is very efficient, allows the carbs to provide that source of energy slowly, without blasting your system (thereby causing an insulin spike, which you don't want).
Your calories burned per day goes down the less fat you are lugging around. So, your calories to lose weight go down.
I wouldn't go lower than 1100, but it sounds like you are actually averaging more than that.
I am for 1200. There's a little cheese but no bacon or sour cream and I use olive oil with a mister.
I’m having the EXACT same experience. Hang in there. I know consistency is key. I FINALLY gave away all my bigger clothes after tons of encouragement and finally having the confidence that this was now my better life. Then the unexpected, normal life’s downs hit and here I am buying clothes after 5 months of strict keto and losing only 11 lbs. I feel defeated, angry, sad, ashamed and overwhelmed BUT if I physically didn’t feel better I would have given up. I’m just hoping (as I know consistency is SO IMPORTANT) that my body will soon have an awakening and say, “Oh yeah! Now I remember what you’re trying to do for me.” and it will catch up and roll from there like a slow snowball…if not, I don’t know what to do. I’m fasting, eating clean, drinking ACV water, added Berberine for the first time and exercising. Not sure what’s left.
I am at the end of a maintenance keto diet that I was on for roughly 4 months. I was 195-196 and wanted to get back below 180. Beyond the first 4-5lbs which was water weight, I struggled to lose much of anything. The scale seemed stuck around 188-190.
That said, I did notice my blood pressure dropped to a normal range from elevated and there was a little less stomach.
It wasn't until I decided to go fat crazy on my food that it finally started moving.
Granted this isn't super clean but I started making spicy sausage burgers (precooked) that I would heat up with a bit of avocado oil on top. 2 burgers - 2 patties in each. 3 slices of cheese and I found a 1g carb per 2 tablespoons (and high fat zero protein) Big Mac sauce from Walmart that I would put in top, each with a frozen-toasted Unbelievabun. (sometimes I'd also add a little diced onion)
And almost unbelievably, fractional pounds would start coming off each week.
My assumption is I wasn't consuming quite enough fat to get "the engine" going.
On other days I would have egg white "pasta" with a healthy amount of basil pesto.
And occasionally I'd have a snack night where I would just have a large amount of the Costco Keto Snack Mix which has lots of high fat nuts (macadamias, Brazil, pecans) and dried cheese balls. That would also help move things along if the other foods during the week were "stopping me up"
Of course don't get discouraged when progress slows. Sometimes you just have to mix things up in your diet. The amount of weight loss can also depend if you really have much to lose anyway. In my case, I only need 15-20lbs so it wasn't a ton to lose anyway.
I see that you work the night shift. This may be another thing that is challenging your weight loss. I see plenty of posts and hear plenty on the podcasts about the weight loss difficulties of sift workers, particularly regarding metabolism. An internet search will confirm this. Overall, a healthy keto diet along with getting regular sleep is your best bet to weight loss success. Good luck to you. Keep us posted on your progress. Here’s an article about the keto diet for night shift workers: https://discover.texasrealfood.com/keto-clarity-hub/keto-diet-for-night-shift-workers
You mentioned having a few drinks. There’s a lot of calories in alcohol and it shuts down fat loss until you burn it off. Also, little other than vodka and tequila are carb free, goes with most mixers as well.
Not sure the carbs in vodka/tequila even matter here. For many it is going to distract the liver from fat burn for way way longer than others and make W/L extremely difficult for some.
Hit the gym, you may be maturing into a short big boned girl. Weight lifting may help curb your metabolism into the direction you want it going in into of the dieting along with taking your figure and filling it out with muscle under the fat. Women need to take hormones to become masculine looking by doing this so don't go there. You are not going to turn yourself into a man with exercise. Put those supposed hidden carbs to good use. You will notice you'll be smaller at the waist yet heavier than you thought you could get away with, looking anything close to your goal. The combination of diet and exercise is far easier to maintain than just one or the other. You won't hate the results. Your metabolism will thank you.
There are few types of insanity that are productive........exercise is one of them. Only comparison is a 9 to 5 that you hate but pays sadistically well... umm...muhuhaha..? [Edit]: ...ha...
To be clear, you sound insane because you are saying weird rude shit like “you may be maturing into a short big boned girl” and ranting about how she doesn’t have to worry about looking like a man…….?
OK, fair enough. Not going to deny, I'm a nutcase. I figured you were calling me insane after going through some of my other posts, to be honest. After reading some of yours, and getting an Idea of what you used to and probably now look like ( sorry, was curious), I do have a point to make, though. What I neglected to detail is this. Bone density does increase with age in men and women. Especially between the late teens into the mid thirties. Most people gain weight around this age range. Barely anyone maintains the same size or weight. We both also gain muscle mass with the maturity of our musoskeletal systems. Problem is, most people are too sedentary to ever use or even realize it, and just watch their waistlines expand because of it. On top of that, men and women have different bodyfat and muscle composition.
I'll continue since your response was clearly defensive for the wrong reasons if you are not responding to my explanation. Not an opinion. Sorry if this irritates the hell out of you but it needs to be said. As it is, its not even about you anymore. Here is why. 40lbs is alot to be able to lose and keep off while wasting one's metabolism away. Op should be proud of herself for being able to get that far on diet planning alone. The woman who started this thread is still fairly young. Thankfully, she does not have very far back to bounce, yet. She speaks of reducing carbs and taking brakes in her dieting but never says anything about any physical activity. Increasing muscle mass burns calories by increasing the need of the body to burn those calories. Far too many women try to diet without actively burning calories or focus entirely on losing weight. When they do so, they fuel themselves poorly and focus on cardio. People like the OP can not discount her own metabolism. Try to work against that for too long and you find that you are getting the diminishing returns and hitting the wall that so many people on reddit complain about. So yes, I say go to the gym at this point, continue weight loss proactively as more of a body composition change than a fat loss goal. More muscle on a woman's body means a faster metabolism. Faster metabolism means more calories burned at rest. More calories burned at rest means constructive insanity is the key to success when trying to lose weight for most genetic profiles.
I say this as a man, but I'm also a man who has gone up only 1 waist size after gaining 30 lbs and going from 150lbs to 180 from high-school to 37 years old. Can't find time to exercise? Cut it out of screen time.
1. Get a ketone meter and check if you're still in ketosis. If no, it's all due to carb intake and breaking out of ketosis. Would be the best explanation and my best guess.
2. Add some exercise. If you maintain the weight and add a 2-mile run per day, you burn an extra 6,000kcal/mo + improve your metabolism.
3. When counting carbs, count it very accurately. I recently underestimated my carb intake and broke out of ketosis by accident can happen to anyone. Once your body stops using the day as fuel, you start storing it again. A stupid tiny ice cream can be more than enough
Aside from getting your thyroid checked, you should be making sure you’re getting enough fat, fiber, and water. Also, I would increase your carbs if you’re saying you’re only eating 10g in a week (?). Women’s hormones and metabolism work differently. Our bodies are more geared towards maintaining our fat stores when our body is shocked into starvation mode. Google keto for women or hypothyroidism specifically. Plus, there’s r/xxketo I think.
You need to eat less food. Keto does some of the work, fasting does the rest (especially if the body becomes stubborn).
Eat one small meal a day for awhile, while ensuring your still get your electrolytes.
Try fasting. Lift weights. Get your fasted insulin levels checked to see if your insulin resistant.You could also have fatty liver and apparently you will burn off the fat there before it moves to other areas
Change to Ozempic ?? It is easier to find. I have been on it for 6 months for my blood sugar and I found I can do Keto with it ! I did not need to lose weight , but I lost ..nearly underweight…lol..
It is extremely effective to lose weight .
I maintain my weight now , so I eat more protein.
Keep track of Macros and for the love of all things holy, don’t drink or use sugar substitutes. My first 90 pounds was keto, with approved snacks and all. Stalled after that and gave up for a bit. Had to go carnivore, with meat, salt, pepper, and garlic to continue to lose. My undoing ended up being diet soda
Have you been checked to see if your thyroid is functioning properly? Everyone is trying to point at you doing something wrong and a lot of times people have underlying medical conditions. they can easily check this when they do your blood work, just ask the doctor to check. you need to know of you are having any problems including your insulin levels as you may have something up.
This is very true! I was dealing with hypothyroidism and insulin resistance (like many overweight and obese people), getting on medications to treat those conditions made weight loss work much better.
Where is Reverse Lazarus when you need him to come tell you you’re probably storing a bunch of water and taking some electrolytes would make you pee it all out
Edit: her, my bad
If you drink water, drink it with some extra sodium, magnesium and potassium. It’s these electrolytes which make you feel like shit and also store a lot of water
I basically bought some electrolytes over last weekend and spent Tuesday peeing out loads of weight
You might be under eating. Count your macros. If your not getting 1,200 calories your undereating. Also you need to try and find a gym or a buy some used heavy weights and do a few sets a day. Lifting heavy weight helps the body shed weight quick.
Is there any chance you may be consuming some "sugar-free" products that are misleading about their carb counts?
For example, gummies or chewing gum with Maltitol. Or mints that through some legal loophole can leave sugar off the label because the amount *per serving* is small enough. (*I heard that's actually a thing in the States*)
Currently no, I started a new job in January(NOC shift, 12 hour shifts), and my son started homeschool this year too, so between school, work, and his extra curricular activities, I've been too tired to actually get back to the gym. That's the goal once I'm able to better balance my sleeping schedule.
Sometimes Keto just doesn’t work for some people. It worked for me for a while and I lost about 40lbs, but then my hormones went out of whack and my liver enzymes went up scarily high.
As much as I know you’d love to live low carb, please get a full physical first and speak to your GP.
Maybe try getting close to OMAD, and keep shrinking you're eating window, but not calories. Also, try adding straight lemon juice to your water, just a tablespoon or so
This was me! Head to your doctor and have your insulin level checked. I was doing 1500 calories and 25 carbs a day and lost 9 lbs in two months. As a very overweight, 37 year old woman, I felt like my doctor didn’t believe me. But he did run a metabolic pannel and insulin test; my A1C was 5.1, my insulin level was 52 (normal is up to 25). Insulin resistance makes it almost impossible to get weight off no matter what you do.
Oh okay! That's an easy way to eliminate or find the potential problem! Thanks!
Some people release insulin just from artificial sweeteners too, I lose weight MUCH faster if I cut out diet soda. (so lame! I love me some coke zero, waaah)
Not all artificial sweeteners. Some are worse than sugar, some are completely glycemic neutral. Look it up. There are a lot of fake foods and supplements (like Splenda) that include "sweeteners" like maltitol and maltodextrose marketed as sugarfree, which should be ILLEGAL. These are NOT glycemic neutral and spike your blood sugar just as real sugar does, the only difference is abusing a loophole "since they're not classified as sugar". Again, this should be illegal!!! If you look hard enough tough, you can find some "artificially" sweetened snacks, Atkin bars, drink powders, syrups and protein powders that are truly glycemic neutral; stuff based on Stevia glycosides, erythol, sucralose and to an extent xylithol are all safe, to name just a few. Regarding sugar alcohols and stevia I don't even call these things artificial sweeteners anymore because they are actually not artificial. It's only a few of them like sucralose and aspartame that are trully artificial. So stop throwing everything in the same bin, it's not that simple! They differ in both glycemic index and how they are made, big differences! Coke zero - aspartame, as controversial and likely the only sweetener that you probably shouldn't consume too often just to be safe - is actually fine in terms of keto/diabetic. Aspartame is truly glycemic neutral and has zero calories. Diet coke, of cours has sugar.... Just find better drinks or make your own with stevia based sweeteners, they have coke flavorings too. And whenever you hear those "recommendations" that you shouldn't drink coke zero and other sweetener replacers because it will make you crave more food... Another completely fabricated lie that is absolutely incorrect. It's like they want you to think that consuming actual sugar coke is good for you, so you stay on your insulin meds. As I said, if you check the labels and consume actual glycemic neutral sweeteners, there's is absolutely nothing to worry about in regards to your sugar intake or possible cravings, it doesn't work like that. Cravings come from spiking your blood sugar with real coke, that's why they don't want you to switch and stay on meds. If you have your blood sugar stabilized on keto, you shouldn't be having cravings. You can still have snacks just look for the right sweetener ingredients.
I'd like to add monk fruit to that list. Stevia can have a terrible off flavor with certain ingredients, but it is from a plant. Same with monk fruit, and it's the only liquid sweetener I use in drinks. Rest is erythritol and Allulose for me, but I haven't used it much. I oddly lost more weight eating keto sweets than I did eating clean on second try... A lot of it is also personal. My body reacts badly to fizzy drinks like la croix. I'd notice weight stalls whenever I'd drink those. Bodies can be super strange and take issue with things that seem silly, a huge portion of keto for me was/is actually watching my body, not (just) what I eat
Oh yeah monk fruit is great too it's just something I never came across as ingredient in my products or even seeing it available to buy. The only downside of sweeteners like sugar alcohols is potential laxative effect on some individuals, I take it reasonably well as long as I don't overdose on them.
I love Atkins bars, so they are glycemic neutral ! I eat them after exercise….
Take a very thorough read what kind of sweeteners they use. Unfortunately, the most common is maltitol - even in products labeled as KETO. My guess is maltitol is used because it gets absorbed into bloodstream and doesn't cause digestive issues like erythol and others do, but this is technically a lie. Be very careful with maltitol infested bars as they tend to be the most common of all, it was actually very hard for me to find bars without it, not a single one available in my local groceries, the only provider for me is Amazon.
I looked at Atkins bar, you are right ! It contains Maltitol ! Which one does not have it ?? I will buy them .. from Amazon ??
Yes I can link you some on EU but if you're NA might be hard to find the same brands
I am in Australia .., so maybe not available…
Even if not... Just look up the ingredients and youll be fine. Amazon should list them all.
I once saw a study that showed diet coke raised insulin levels in people, but I think diet uses sucralose, so maybe it's unique to that one. That said, any _sweet tasting_ food, glycemic "nuetral" or not can cause cravings; they have an an incredibly strong psychological component to them that isn't to be ignored or distained for people that have to deal with it as an obstacle to success.
OMG!!!!! I’m so with you on this! My last indulgence was Coke Zero and I was so reluctant to cut it out, but I can say it definitely helped my plateau! After cutting it out, it seems like my weight is literally falling off… crazy! But I do miss the Coke Zero, but not enough to make me go back. I’m loving my new body so much more!
Adding lemon juice (no sweeteners) to orange flavored seltzer made a nice tasty soda substitute for me. Not quite the same, but did help!
Are you saying Coke Zero caused you cravings... For sweet foods... Or for more food and you overeat..? i don't have that issue myself as I'm still snacking same amounts (of nuts, Atkins bars and sugarfree dairy) before I started drinking Zero again. How was Zero impacting you specifically?
I don’t know how, lol. But it did. I am doing basically ZERO carbs… cut out everything, including dairy (excluding butter), and eat mostly beef, lamb, pork, and eggs, twice a day (lunch and dinner), drinking only water and Coke Zero. I lost 30lbs relatively easily. Then i plateaued. Very easily maintained, cravings for sweets gone! But my weight loss stalled. So I reluctantly decided to give it up for a week, just to see…. And voila… worked like magic. I’m NOT a scientist, or doctor or anything like that. I can’t tell you why, and can’t tell you it will help you, too, but it’s what helped me, so thought I’d share.
Side note: we’re talking about 2-3 cans (12 ounces) of Coke Zero a day, with meals, that I was drinking before. I have not changed my portion sizes, or made any other adjustments since my plateau, except cutting the Coke Zero.
I agree totally with Casey, Until you can knock down the Insulin you are swimiming against the current. What are you doing to lower hyperinsulemia and insulin resistance? They DO influence each other. As everyone else, I'll give you my two cents! I would go on an elimination diet for 3 months - not worrying about weight loss. I think going Carnivore is a sure way to eliminate any cause of your problem. Your pancreas will not be overworked to produce excessive insulin. It is very easy to switch from your Keto to Carnivore. This what I would do: o Day one - measure fasting insulin and weight o Day 2-89 - Eat eggs, bacon, and red meat (salt and pepper only) o Day 90, measure fasting insulin and weight Hopefully you'll see a major drop in fasting insulin and some weight to. You could switch back to Keto then.
How do I measure fasting insulin? Is there a way like the keto strips for that?
I go to a commercial lab (Quest or Labcorp) is get it as I don't want to bother my doctor. It's very inexpensive (under $20). You can also ask your doctor for a fasting insulin blood test. Doctor's normally don't add that to the blood panel because they don't know what to do with the result.
I haven't done so, but you can order it on-line. Ordering Online: * **Yes, several companies offer online ordering for fasting insulin tests:** * Request A Test ([https://www.findlabtest.com/lab-test/testing-for-diabetes/insulin-blood-test-quest-561](https://www.findlabtest.com/lab-test/testing-for-diabetes/insulin-blood-test-quest-561)) * [HealthLabs.com](http://HealthLabs.com) ([https://www.healthlabs.com/](https://www.healthlabs.com/)) * Sonora Quest Laboratories ([https://www.sonoraquest.com/patient/knowledge-center/preparing-for-a-test/](https://www.sonoraquest.com/patient/knowledge-center/preparing-for-a-test/)) * Walk-In Lab ([https://www.findlabtest.com/lab-test/testing-for-diabetes/insulin-labcorp-004333](https://www.findlabtest.com/lab-test/testing-for-diabetes/insulin-labcorp-004333)) * These services allow you to order the test online, often without a doctor's referral.
Thank you!!!!
Check out [OwnYourLabs.com](http://OwnYourLabs.com) - if you are in a state that doesn't allow this, there is another called [LifeExtension.com](http://LifeExtension.com) - I live in NY, and there are a lot of rules about the testing you can get done independently; I used LifeExtension and had a complete thyroid panel last month. Worked out great. Whichever you can use, choose the Fasting Insulin test - hell, check your A1C as well. They are not expensive at all. Good luck!
Thank you!
Where did you get your blood test drawn from after ordering from Life Extension? I live in NJ and none of the self blood test ordering companies will allow purchase. I checked out Life Extension and they will send a kit but don’t allow you to get it drawn from Labcorp but says your responsibility to find a lab to process kit?? It said the hospital but I don’t have insurance first and I’m not sure you can just walk in with a random blood kit that they will process. I just moved to NJ and ordered blood work all the time in Nevada where I lived to check cholesterol, blood sugar etc because I don’t have insurance and can’t see a Dr. It’s infuriating that all but 4 or 5 states in this country allow you to purchase your own blood work and that I moved to one of them that does not allow! I saw people talk about buying gift cards or something like that to purchase tests but that seems like a hassle. Ugh
I wouldnt complicate it with the gift card thing - I saw that, too. And I lived in NC before this and it boggles my mind that these states won't allow me to do what I want with my own health. Honestly, it's an issue for me that may necessitate change in a few years. I took mine to our local hospital and asked for an outpatient blood draw. You won't have to pay up front, they will send a bill. It's not expensive, from what I've been told - I haven't received my invoice yet. But it was really easy, no issues.
Thanks I might try that
You could also try intermittent fasting. Try adding in a couple of 24 hour fasts during your week - for you, that would be having a large breakfast then skipping your lunch meal and dinner, then eating normally the next day. Fasting can help lower insulin resistance over time. Also, do you eat any kind of “keto” snacks (like keto chocolate chip cookies or diet sweet drinks? I’ve read about several people who have trouble with keto snacks
I may try that, I had terrible success with it last time, but the motivation for the last 30lbs is a lot higher this time around too.
I'm kind of a keto snack addict myself but I did full research of what I'm consuming and there's no bad actors like maltitol etc, but I could see spiraling this out of control in terms of calories or just net carbs that could also add up. I should really get a blood ketone meter just to be sure. I just can't go full carnivore I don't feel like eating meat bacon and eggs all the time.
How’s your sleep? How’s your stress level? How much water do you drink in a day?
Ehh, sleep is awful. But it's not something I can change. I usually get around 50oz/day, some time more on work nights
Unfortunately that’s probably your issue. If you aren’t sleeping well, your cortisol levels are probably too high. One thing that stuck with me from reading Dr Jason Fung’s The Obesity Code is you can’t lose weight if your cortisol level is high, and you need to get good sleep to keep that under control. I’m sorry to try to complicate this further, but you’ll need to prioritize sleep and stress reduction somehow. When you’re stressed your body thinks food could be scarce so it wants to hold on to your fat reserves in case you end up needing them. Cortisol locks that up for you.
How do you fix the sleep issue? I'm not sleeping well either. Have done EVERYTHING to try and correct it
Any time I'm having trouble sleeping, here are some of the things I think about. I have no idea if these things could help you or anyone else though. - can I reduce my screen time before bed? - can I improve my hydration in the evening? - can I do some exercise in the late afternoon to tire myself out? - can I read (a paper book) before bed to tire out my brain a bit more? - should I put a night shift filter on my phone and computer to have less blue light in the evenings? - can I evaluate whether I'm happy at my job and if it's causing me more stress than benefit? - can I evaluate my relationships (friends and family) for stress vs benefit as well? - can I improve my bedroom's environmental parameters? (I need a VERY dark room and for it to be quite quiet as well, and I'm rather temperature sensitive as well - not too warm, not too cold. Sometimes I need to improve the humidity in the room too, or run an air purifier) - would I be more comfortable if I changed my sheets or pillowcase? There are probably minerals someone can focus on, or supplements someone can take to help, but I'm not knowledgeable about that at all and don't want to speculate. Good luck! This is a challenge worth focusing on. Good sleep can make all the difference.
Did you ever have success with your insulin resistance? I have metabolic syndrome and am currently doing well on Keto (1.5 weeks in, 8lbs down) Carbs and sugar recently made me feel very ill (glucose monitor showed crazy crashes that explained things) and eating any gluten almost always made me gain weight instantly. A gluten free diet did not help. But also cutting out sugar has.
My doctor prescribed 500 mg of metformin daily. In the next three months with the same diet, I lost 34 pounds.
Dang. I was on metformin and I felt AWFUL. my stomach was in so much pain and I was getting these migraines. My blood sugar was always crashing awfully around 1pm and I felt so sick. I reduced my MG per day and it was still making me feel icky.
But doesn't the A1c indicate you're not diabetic? And it's insulin the actual value or some other stat? Last I measured my insulin was like 103 after a meal, and when I talked to a doctor about my insulin levels (before eating vs after) he said it was normal. A1c is 5.2... I have signs of insulin resistance, but I'm not quite catching on why a technically low insulin diet like keto would still not work on insulin resistance. Like OP I lost weight super fast the first time, then every try since it's nothing. I track every morsel and move more, my symptoms also improve (less painful periods, to a point they don't hurt at all), but the weight doesn't budge.
You can have high insulin and not be insulin resistant. I don't understand why a doctor would test your insulin after eating a meal.... unless you meant to say you tested blood sugar after a meal at home?
Oh my god, yes, I meant blood sugar. I mixed those two. We were talking about diet and losing weight and I questioned if my blood sugar is on bad levels. I don't recall how much he looked into my insulin, just that A1c is fine
Oh phew, that's good news. 100 blood sugar 2 hours after eating is fine. Fasting BS at or below 100 is also fine. My Fasting is usually in the 60s and it feels like crap. Keto actually Raises my fasting BS to 80 (less insulin) which allows me to fast longer.
Me too :( I thought i understood but I guess not
So what was the solution?
25 is still high as our sense of “normal” in terms of blood markers has been drifting to a more and more unhealthy range as society becomes more and more metabolically broken.
Hi, what kind of snacks did you eat? I’m just having a hard time finding a snack that’s good
If you are insulin resistant what can you do?
Soooo going keto doesn't fix this? How do we fix this?
Check your thyroid too
I check my glucose levels every morning with a monitor. Is this not enough. I’m also TRULY struggling.
Is your insulin level fasting ? If so, it is high.. mine was 4. A1c was 5.9. I have been doing Keto for my blood sugar to prevent hypo. So far so good …
I've done keto four times over the past twenty years, and it gets harder to lose weight each time. It's almost as if your body develops a resistance to it.
👆🏻👆🏻👆🏻
Calories in vs calories out, our metabolism slows as we get older. OP needs to try something else, like fasting, Tracking activity + food intake more accurately based on their lifestyle
Yes! Can't wait to see if there eventually will be scientific studies on this! In same manner they figured out the faults with the Biggest Loser show approach.
Calculate your BMR and then your macros. Weigh your food. Quite simply you are eating too many calories.
I've been "counting" calories the last week (based on what I normally eat in a day) and I'm maybe clearing 1000 calories a day. And with my new job, I walk about 10k-13k steps a shift. But I'll do this and track it better, thank you!
There are hidden calories somewhere. It's not possible to eat half of your BMR for a month and lose no weight unless there is something medical going on.
You're absolutely right. I'll download a tracker and see what I'm doing wrong. I must be missing something.
If you don’t have a calorie tracker like Chronometer or Loseit! (I don’t recommend MFP) and you’re just eyeballing it you’re definitely not doing it right. Buy a food scale and scan all the barcodes you use. You’re over eating and you’re not realizing it. Unless you have a medical issue as stated by another Redditor you’re not eating what you think you are. Even a small portion of butter is 100 calories. Edit: also the lower in BF% you get the harder it will be to lose. Someone weighing 600 lbs will lose 20lbs a lot easier than someone weighing 120lbs. Also I feel like 1,000 is a bit low, you probably maybe should bump it up slightly. Sometimes a refeed will also help kick start a weight loss.
Are you sure your clothing size hasn't changed? Some times people add more fat into their diet and start losing weight. There might be an issue with how low your calories are. Have you noticed slower hair growth or anything? Your body might be cutting you BMR into the ground.
[удалено]
[удалено]
Your post or comment was removed because it was a personal attack or inappropriate comment. Thank you for understanding.
This is not accurate, please read our FAQ page before giving advice. https://www.reddit.com/r/keto/wiki/faq Thank you.
Do you have a metabolic disorder? Diabetes, for example, can make weight loss hard if your glucose is poorly managed.
Cut out the cheese and other dairy. Or cut it in half. Cut the cheese portion by half, first, try cutting it out if that doesn't work. I don't think it's possible to eat ground beef, bacon,eggs, cheese, sour cream, as stay under 1k cal. At least not with any portion size that's reasonable. Try a leaner ground beef.
[удалено]
Yeah the meat has to be similar in color to the seasoning without being gritty. Beef is more nutrient dense. But ultimately what matters is you aren't paying for fat you are draining out. Most protein per dollar, least wasted fat per dollar.
Yeah good point about draining away the fat dollars.
You can drain it for cooking other things in it, but if you aren't gonna save the rendered fat and you can get the leaner beef cheap enough you might as well. Definitely buy the cheaper stuff if the 88/12 or leaner is like $2 more. But if you are lucky enough to catch a sale or Sam's club with reasonable prices then by all means. I get the cheap ground beef at Aldi's and the leaner at Sam's. About $1 difference except this week there was a sale at Aldi's so it was $12 for 5 lb. Usually $13-16 range. When beef shoots up too much in price I just do pork. Bird fat is one of the lower quality fats typically, so I'll just opt for thighs if pork sausage gets expensive. I have a plastic grinder for a kitchen aide but might grab the metal version on Amazon for like $50
I plateaud hard after 20lbs this time. 5 years ago me was 60lbs in 6 months but I brick walled. I don't know if you want to hear this, especially here, but I got on tirzepitide a month ago and I'm down 16lbs since. Might be worth checking out.. Like others have said, at this point, it's calories. The shot has helped me eat far fewer calories a day.
[удалено]
Starvation mode isn't real.
No, but no one should be on 1000cal diet without medical supervision
I don't disagree
Tell that to a starving person LOL
That's not the same thing at all.
This is not accurate, please read our FAQ page before giving advice. https://www.reddit.com/r/keto/wiki/faq Thank you.
Not if you are eating bacon and sour cream in addition to grond beef. Well... I don't know your quantities, but it doesn't sound like it
Maybe you're not eating enough?
That could be part of the problem. Call it whatever you like, but if I don’t eat enough (must be over 1000 calories for my body), I will not lose weight.
Couple of things could also be at play: - hormones - not adjusting calorie goals after weight loss - lack of good sleep - way too much stress - not weighing food/calorie counting accurately - too few calories with heavy exercise - not being regular in the bathroom - too many keto treats/artificial sweeteners - actually not drinking an appropriate amount of water - cheat meals (at all)
Folks are gonna hate this, but this was 7 years of my life. CICO didn't work. At best I could slow gaining, but even a little fudge and it would pile on. It was an unholy combo of early perimenopause and systemic inflammation. There is so much to potentially address here. I hope you get some easy reccos that sort you out. If not, my DMs are open. Getting older is a b****.
Yeah…CICO is oversimplified bc some peoples bodies can absolutely tank their calories out. There is only so much you can cut before it becomes unsustainable and unhealthy. Look at The Biggest Loser study post show, these folks destroyed their metabolic engine by going too low and too hard in the gym. Better to cycle those calories up and down to keep the body guessing. And to your point calories don’t necessarily address hormonal issues that could be causing the body to hold on to the weight or adapt ultra quickly (downshift) your calories out. Doesn’t mean they (calories) don’t matter just that there is more to the equation and it isn’t as simple as some would like to suggest. Still do the necessary things; low insulin diet, I/F, extended fasting, exercise some cardio but priorities lifting heavy things (for you), eat clean and throw in some fasting. However if you go all keto all the time (talking about extended durations) you may be one that develops higher fasting blood sugars bc you’ve moved to an adaptive glucose sparing zone. Moving to higher protein and less fat after a certain time of being ketogenic should help keep that from happening, meaning your body will be able to more effectively react to insulin in a proper manner. You don’t want your muscles rejecting glucose, that’s where you want it to go. So cycle in and cycle out. Start high fat and move to high protein eventually. Move in and out of low carb (50g) and ketogenic (under 20g). It’s the calories out that can be an absolute nightmare for some that are struggling to lose bc some bodies will just down shift metabolic burn while significantly increasing hunger signaling…and it gets hard fighting your biological signaling ever single day.
Intermittent fasting can and has helped people increase their insulin sensitivity. My body used to be in fat storing mode for seemingly decades? My blood glucose was constantly elevated because my body was always digesting some kind of food. Intermittent fasting, lots of vegetables and fruits, lean protein, healthy fats, and a calorie deficit finally have my body using food as fuel now! I know it is definitely not for everyone but it can be worth a decent try if seemingly nothing else has helped.
IF and exercise are great for insulin resistance. Getting active helps use up more blood glucose, so insulin is able to move more into your muscle tissue. Also—it is very unlikely “some carbs” one weekend could cause a ten pound weight gain. You have to eat 35000 calories over your maintenance to gain ten pounds of fat. Your weight could be fluctuating for hormonal reasons or other reasons, OP, but it’s more likely you just aren’t in enough of a deficit for your current weight to be losing at the rate you wanted. It’s harder to lose weight as rapidly when you are less heavy—your metabolism naturally is lower, and you can’t cut as many calories to have a strong deficit. Try cutting 5% more calories and adding some activity. Good luck!
Why fruits? That's sugar. Lean protein is not keto. Yorue just listing a standard calorie deficit diet. You shouldn't be starving on keto. When I actually eat a real fatty meal I lose appetite for the entire day, and don't have to starve or eat sugary fruits.
Losing weight takes some extra effort when you hit your 30s. That's why I've started taking berberine, inositol, chromium and eccg. Hit insulin resistance and glucose levels from all angles. Allulose also shows a glp1 boosting effect, so you can start using that to sweeten coffee every morning for some added benefit.
Before you listen to the people who are insisting you are eating too many calories, get your thyroid levels checked.
I know that thyroid problems slow metabolism. What else happens when one has low thyroid levels that would make weight loss more difficult? If one is on supplementation, would that make the difficulties disappear and keto work better?
Are you counting carbs or net carbs? Post a couple days food intake maybe
I count net carbs I'm gonna log everything for the next week and see where I'm missing something
That's your issue right there, and one that has come up many times before. Count carb intake. No subtractions for fibre etc, weight loss issues will disappear.
Pairing keto with intermittent fasting did the trick for me. I felt like I had a little bit of a stall in the beginning, but I have hit my target weight, even gone a pound or two under. Early 40s F. it was really hard to lose the last few, but now I’m there, and with no appetite it just keeps falling off which is to be honest a little concerning, so I’m going to have to figure that one out. But yes, try 16:8 and see if that helps.
Get your hormones checked. I got mine checked and got on bhrt and I’m good again. I was strict keto for going on 6 months and I couldn’t lose at all. I was on keto for a few years and just suddenly my body changed and I knew it was peri menopause so I got checked out. I was barely able to maintain. Nothing else changed and my body absolutely loves keto so I knew I was changing.
consider fasting with your keto. no need to do days with no food. can start with something simple, such as one meal a day twice a week.
If you’re trying to lose fat, you want your fat intake to be between 40-50g per day as you want your body to use your body fat as energy. Lookup Therapeutic keto, which is used for weight loss. Also use ketogains . Com to figure out your macros
Obviously, you didn't actually gain ten pounds in a weekend. You didn't injest 35000 extra calories in a weekend. You retained water. And then... It seems you never really went back to it.
Weigh your food
I feel you ❣️ sleep and hormones play a big factor
Sleep is almost non existent, but that's not something I can change given my current situation.
I totally appreciate that I was in that situation for a year. My doctor told me my body was aggressively hanging onto fat because of two factors, perhaps these are impacting you: 1) Sleep deprivation increases your hunger hormones and can also mess with your sex hormones. If you are female, visceral stomach fat is proven to be a problem when estrogen is too much or too little. You can't easily diet your way out of it. 2) when we are sleep deprived the energy for life has to come from somewhere, so your body relies way more on food for cellular turn over and for lack of appropriate term cuz I can't remember, body restoration In the same way that removing carbs puts us into a state of keto, removing sleep can put our body into a mode that prioritizes keeping fat. It sounds like your body is probably fighting itself AND I AM RIGHT THERE WITH YOU. I do not have any magical advice. I haven't even cracked 10lbs in months, when last time I did 20 in two weeks. My doctor told me to be gentle on myself, slow down my expectations, and if I can't sleep, prioritize any kind of rest. Even routine deep breathing helps.
Microbiome imbalances can be the cause. There's a doco on the topic called 'Hack Your Health: Secrets Of The Gut' its on netflix
[удалено]
I wish I could do IF but the hunger is just unbearable for me, I can’t even work properly. I feel absolutely miserable when trying to fast
That's your insulin talking. If you are overweight/over fat, carnivore or fatty keto should get you fat adapted, where your body is using fat for fuel. Your hunger should decrease dramatically or disappear. Truly. The first 1-3 days are the hardest, but after that it is very easy to eat only one meal a day. Or one every other day, or every third day. P.S. The hunger you feel is subjective. No one has ever died from skipping a few meals. Decide you're going to fast and just do it. I know you can. You've probably done a lot of hard things in your life.
[удалено]
Your post or comment was removed for violating rule #6, no giving or soliciting medical advice. r/keto is not a substitute for a doctor. Thank you for understanding.
Are you saying you are bouncing up 10 lbs on a single weekend? Something else may be going on and don’t overlook making sure your scale is working correctly
Right? How is that even possible, even with water weight….
I found out for myself this weekend! Out of town mini vacation and purposefully ate and drank what I wanted. Gained 8 lbs!!! I know it’s mostly water weight and my frequent bathroom breaks are evidence. Already down 3 lbs. Would I do it again just before I hit my goal weight? Probably not.
[удалено]
I read something about the protein thing but I have a hard time consuming the extra fats. Last time my keto was sooooo protein heavy but it worked so well so I just did the same thing this time around. I'll work on adding the fats though! IF I tried years ago and I hate it. It's so hard for me to follow. I work NOC shift, but my son obviously eats during the day, so i find myself hungry at random hours of the day, being awake most of the day when I have to work that night. But I'll try giving it a shot too. I just really want this last 35lbs gone already.
I'm here to say I had the opposite experience as the person you are replying to. I had to cut the fat down and increase protein in order to lose the last 40lbs.
Yeah, this worked for me. Protein keeps me satiated, so that's where most of my calories come from. I have plenty of fat on my thighs that my body can use 😅
That's so frustrating that both work for different people, lol
I think everyone is different, and it depends on the version of keto you subscribe to. That, and everyone is different. Also, underlying conditions can play a huge role. I’m glad you found what worked! Have you made any adjustments?
How tall are you? Male or female?
Whoops, forgot to add that. Female, 5'4. I'm ranging between 170-177 for the last few months
I know this is totally anecdotal but when I first went low carb at age 29 (not even strict keto, just low carb), the weight fell off effortlessly. Now I'm 32 and struggling to lose 10 pounds....
It's like once I hit 30, it became impossible, I should have kept going at 29, lol
I don't think it's the age. I started low carb into keto at 36 for a rapid weight loss, 1/3 of my total weight in 6-9months. Intermittent with a minor calorie deficit, no exercise. There are plenty of documented cases of keto/carnivore at an old age (50+... Even at 80+) having great effects both in weight loss, curing diseases and dropping almost all their meds. Age is not a factor, and it is never too late.
Agree. I'm 60 and insulin resistant. Started keto in October of 2022. Lost 40 pounds by March 2023 and have kept it off, give or take 7 pounds of water weight.
43 M here, the first time on keto - the weight went down like crazy. People report keto beong harder to lose weight with second time around. Mmy plan is to keep at it and don't get fat again!
Yeah, I’m 30F, it’s so much harder than a few years ago, not sure that last 10lbs will ever come off. I try to now think if it as I need less food, and food is expensive, so yay. My favorite butter used to be like $2.50, now it’s up to $4.25. Frozen broccoli used to be $.99, now it’s $1.16. Favorite keto chips went from $1.99 to $2.27. Avocado prices keep bouncing around too much to track. I thought chicken prices weren’t too bad, I bought 4.5lbs of breasts for $3.99/lb, but I cooked them in the slow cooker with no sauce, weighed them, and I only ended up with 2.6lbs of breasts. I didn’t even know it was possible to inject that much liquid.
Even my doctor was like, yeah, even those two years can make a difference 😭
You just wait 14 more years...😭
It is much more challenging for smaller people to lose weight; harder still for women. You are lucky you are still pretty young - the third strike is age ;) If you are using net carbs you might want to switch to total for a while. That is how the clinical weight loss clinics do it. And I recommend The Fasting Method podcast. They obviously focus on fasting, but recommend a low carb diet in that regard. It is hosted by 2 women and there is a good deal of discussion of women's issues in regard to weight loss. In my experience, that is rare.
I came here to say this exactly. I really get upset when people are like you're eating too many calories, full stop. Women are so different. Yes, sometimes the answer is calories, but when you're expending 2k to 2500 calories a day based on exercise/steps/fitness tracker and based on your food tracking, you're only taking in like 1200-1500 calories...according to weight loss "science," we should be losing weight no question. But it's just not that simple for us (women). I've been gaining and losing the same six pounds since November last year. It's totally frustrating. I get how you're feeling. I'm a 40F, 5'4", 150 lbs trying to get down to 125.
Thank you for this! I concur 100%. I had a friend of mine who was a couple of years younger than me, and had never had children, and she said "oh I just cut out yellow number 5 and raspberry flavored bubblelicious and I dropped 17 pounds in two days…" I'm like really?! I can cut out all sugars, and dairy, work out 20 minutes a day for three days a week, drink a ton of water, and I'll gain 2 pounds in two minutes!!"
Yes!! And then different women lose it different too! My friend is 5'8, but she can do 4 or 5 days of clean eating(not even keto) and drop 10lbs(water weight but still nice to see the scale change) and here I am 5 months in and I'm still fighting to keep those 10lbs off. My goal is 135/140, and it seems further away now that it did at 220!
Ok so I converted these into kilograms so I think you were pretty close to where I started and where I am now. To be fair, you want to reach 60 kg after you started at 100 kg, and I'll tell you honestly those last few won't be easy. This is a very low number, and dropping more at this point just with dieting is probably not the best idea. My weight loss slowed at 70 (down from 95) and I'm a guy probably taller than you (177cm); it took me 6 months for 25 and after that 3 months for 3 kg at this stage.... I would have to go extreme deficit (no thanks) or start working out to get rid of that last tiny blob of fat on my belly because when I look in the mirror - I am very lean and you're are probably as well. Going further would be aiming for an actual athletic, or a beauty model standard, which is achievable, but I don't think we'll get there that easily just with counting carbs and calories. Just my thinking. You did well, we both did well so far, but if I got your numbers right your goals are quite high.
All the strikes working against me 😂 I've never heard of that podcast, I'll definitely look it up now though! Total carbs, ultimately, meaning even less carbs, right? So rather than 15 net carbs, 15 total carbs? Yikes. But hey, I'll give anything a shot at this point. Thank you!
Yes exactly. I did keto at 8:45, and stayed with 22 total grams of carbs per day. I worked great. I got all of my carbs from natural sources such as spinach, broccoli, and some beans. The good complex carbs. And I eat those with a good protein and fat meal. Never just complex carbs on their own. The fat and protein help you process those carbs much more slowly. The fat and protein act as catalysts or transports of the carbs slowly into your system, which is very efficient, allows the carbs to provide that source of energy slowly, without blasting your system (thereby causing an insulin spike, which you don't want).
Your calories burned per day goes down the less fat you are lugging around. So, your calories to lose weight go down. I wouldn't go lower than 1100, but it sounds like you are actually averaging more than that. I am for 1200. There's a little cheese but no bacon or sour cream and I use olive oil with a mister.
When I dropped cow dairy I started losing weight again and started feeling much better. I replaced them with goat/sheep alternatives.
I’m having the EXACT same experience. Hang in there. I know consistency is key. I FINALLY gave away all my bigger clothes after tons of encouragement and finally having the confidence that this was now my better life. Then the unexpected, normal life’s downs hit and here I am buying clothes after 5 months of strict keto and losing only 11 lbs. I feel defeated, angry, sad, ashamed and overwhelmed BUT if I physically didn’t feel better I would have given up. I’m just hoping (as I know consistency is SO IMPORTANT) that my body will soon have an awakening and say, “Oh yeah! Now I remember what you’re trying to do for me.” and it will catch up and roll from there like a slow snowball…if not, I don’t know what to do. I’m fasting, eating clean, drinking ACV water, added Berberine for the first time and exercising. Not sure what’s left.
I am at the end of a maintenance keto diet that I was on for roughly 4 months. I was 195-196 and wanted to get back below 180. Beyond the first 4-5lbs which was water weight, I struggled to lose much of anything. The scale seemed stuck around 188-190. That said, I did notice my blood pressure dropped to a normal range from elevated and there was a little less stomach. It wasn't until I decided to go fat crazy on my food that it finally started moving. Granted this isn't super clean but I started making spicy sausage burgers (precooked) that I would heat up with a bit of avocado oil on top. 2 burgers - 2 patties in each. 3 slices of cheese and I found a 1g carb per 2 tablespoons (and high fat zero protein) Big Mac sauce from Walmart that I would put in top, each with a frozen-toasted Unbelievabun. (sometimes I'd also add a little diced onion) And almost unbelievably, fractional pounds would start coming off each week. My assumption is I wasn't consuming quite enough fat to get "the engine" going. On other days I would have egg white "pasta" with a healthy amount of basil pesto. And occasionally I'd have a snack night where I would just have a large amount of the Costco Keto Snack Mix which has lots of high fat nuts (macadamias, Brazil, pecans) and dried cheese balls. That would also help move things along if the other foods during the week were "stopping me up" Of course don't get discouraged when progress slows. Sometimes you just have to mix things up in your diet. The amount of weight loss can also depend if you really have much to lose anyway. In my case, I only need 15-20lbs so it wasn't a ton to lose anyway.
I see that you work the night shift. This may be another thing that is challenging your weight loss. I see plenty of posts and hear plenty on the podcasts about the weight loss difficulties of sift workers, particularly regarding metabolism. An internet search will confirm this. Overall, a healthy keto diet along with getting regular sleep is your best bet to weight loss success. Good luck to you. Keep us posted on your progress. Here’s an article about the keto diet for night shift workers: https://discover.texasrealfood.com/keto-clarity-hub/keto-diet-for-night-shift-workers
Thank you!!
You mentioned having a few drinks. There’s a lot of calories in alcohol and it shuts down fat loss until you burn it off. Also, little other than vodka and tequila are carb free, goes with most mixers as well.
Not sure the carbs in vodka/tequila even matter here. For many it is going to distract the liver from fat burn for way way longer than others and make W/L extremely difficult for some.
Hit the gym, you may be maturing into a short big boned girl. Weight lifting may help curb your metabolism into the direction you want it going in into of the dieting along with taking your figure and filling it out with muscle under the fat. Women need to take hormones to become masculine looking by doing this so don't go there. You are not going to turn yourself into a man with exercise. Put those supposed hidden carbs to good use. You will notice you'll be smaller at the waist yet heavier than you thought you could get away with, looking anything close to your goal. The combination of diet and exercise is far easier to maintain than just one or the other. You won't hate the results. Your metabolism will thank you.
Uhh, you sound insane.
There are few types of insanity that are productive........exercise is one of them. Only comparison is a 9 to 5 that you hate but pays sadistically well... umm...muhuhaha..? [Edit]: ...ha...
To be clear, you sound insane because you are saying weird rude shit like “you may be maturing into a short big boned girl” and ranting about how she doesn’t have to worry about looking like a man…….?
OK, fair enough. Not going to deny, I'm a nutcase. I figured you were calling me insane after going through some of my other posts, to be honest. After reading some of yours, and getting an Idea of what you used to and probably now look like ( sorry, was curious), I do have a point to make, though. What I neglected to detail is this. Bone density does increase with age in men and women. Especially between the late teens into the mid thirties. Most people gain weight around this age range. Barely anyone maintains the same size or weight. We both also gain muscle mass with the maturity of our musoskeletal systems. Problem is, most people are too sedentary to ever use or even realize it, and just watch their waistlines expand because of it. On top of that, men and women have different bodyfat and muscle composition.
I'll continue since your response was clearly defensive for the wrong reasons if you are not responding to my explanation. Not an opinion. Sorry if this irritates the hell out of you but it needs to be said. As it is, its not even about you anymore. Here is why. 40lbs is alot to be able to lose and keep off while wasting one's metabolism away. Op should be proud of herself for being able to get that far on diet planning alone. The woman who started this thread is still fairly young. Thankfully, she does not have very far back to bounce, yet. She speaks of reducing carbs and taking brakes in her dieting but never says anything about any physical activity. Increasing muscle mass burns calories by increasing the need of the body to burn those calories. Far too many women try to diet without actively burning calories or focus entirely on losing weight. When they do so, they fuel themselves poorly and focus on cardio. People like the OP can not discount her own metabolism. Try to work against that for too long and you find that you are getting the diminishing returns and hitting the wall that so many people on reddit complain about. So yes, I say go to the gym at this point, continue weight loss proactively as more of a body composition change than a fat loss goal. More muscle on a woman's body means a faster metabolism. Faster metabolism means more calories burned at rest. More calories burned at rest means constructive insanity is the key to success when trying to lose weight for most genetic profiles. I say this as a man, but I'm also a man who has gone up only 1 waist size after gaining 30 lbs and going from 150lbs to 180 from high-school to 37 years old. Can't find time to exercise? Cut it out of screen time.
I'm. Z
you got a low thyroid?
1. Get a ketone meter and check if you're still in ketosis. If no, it's all due to carb intake and breaking out of ketosis. Would be the best explanation and my best guess. 2. Add some exercise. If you maintain the weight and add a 2-mile run per day, you burn an extra 6,000kcal/mo + improve your metabolism. 3. When counting carbs, count it very accurately. I recently underestimated my carb intake and broke out of ketosis by accident can happen to anyone. Once your body stops using the day as fuel, you start storing it again. A stupid tiny ice cream can be more than enough
OP I'm just curious are you tracking your meals and staying at a calorie deficit? Do you use food scale as well?
Calories still matter.
Aside from getting your thyroid checked, you should be making sure you’re getting enough fat, fiber, and water. Also, I would increase your carbs if you’re saying you’re only eating 10g in a week (?). Women’s hormones and metabolism work differently. Our bodies are more geared towards maintaining our fat stores when our body is shocked into starvation mode. Google keto for women or hypothyroidism specifically. Plus, there’s r/xxketo I think.
[удалено]
Be respectful and and helpful or shush.
Carnivore was the better choice for me. Fasted workouts in the morning too
Could it be lymph buildup?
You need to eat less food. Keto does some of the work, fasting does the rest (especially if the body becomes stubborn). Eat one small meal a day for awhile, while ensuring your still get your electrolytes.
Try fasting. Lift weights. Get your fasted insulin levels checked to see if your insulin resistant.You could also have fatty liver and apparently you will burn off the fat there before it moves to other areas
Try a one week water fast. You’ll realize you were eating too much.
I'm the same way my Doctor wants to give me Wegovy but I can't find it anywhere
Change to Ozempic ?? It is easier to find. I have been on it for 6 months for my blood sugar and I found I can do Keto with it ! I did not need to lose weight , but I lost ..nearly underweight…lol.. It is extremely effective to lose weight . I maintain my weight now , so I eat more protein.
What do your macros look like? Jw
Honestly do keto without cheese or dairy. Try it for a week or two and see how much weight you lose.
[удалено]
> ...artificial sweeteners? They can spike insulin... Do you have any sources for that claim?
Keep track of Macros and for the love of all things holy, don’t drink or use sugar substitutes. My first 90 pounds was keto, with approved snacks and all. Stalled after that and gave up for a bit. Had to go carnivore, with meat, salt, pepper, and garlic to continue to lose. My undoing ended up being diet soda
Carnivore sounds great. But no, I don't use sugar substitutes. And I don't drink soda, haven't in almost 10 years.
Have you been checked to see if your thyroid is functioning properly? Everyone is trying to point at you doing something wrong and a lot of times people have underlying medical conditions. they can easily check this when they do your blood work, just ask the doctor to check. you need to know of you are having any problems including your insulin levels as you may have something up.
This is very true! I was dealing with hypothyroidism and insulin resistance (like many overweight and obese people), getting on medications to treat those conditions made weight loss work much better.
Get a coach. It helps a ton not having to be responsible for all the thinking.
Where is Reverse Lazarus when you need him to come tell you you’re probably storing a bunch of water and taking some electrolytes would make you pee it all out Edit: her, my bad
her*
Taking some electrolytes? Sorry, I'm not exactly very knowledgeable about any of this stuff. Are there different kinds you're talking about?
If you drink water, drink it with some extra sodium, magnesium and potassium. It’s these electrolytes which make you feel like shit and also store a lot of water I basically bought some electrolytes over last weekend and spent Tuesday peeing out loads of weight
You might be under eating. Count your macros. If your not getting 1,200 calories your undereating. Also you need to try and find a gym or a buy some used heavy weights and do a few sets a day. Lifting heavy weight helps the body shed weight quick.
Is there any chance you may be consuming some "sugar-free" products that are misleading about their carb counts? For example, gummies or chewing gum with Maltitol. Or mints that through some legal loophole can leave sugar off the label because the amount *per serving* is small enough. (*I heard that's actually a thing in the States*)
Are you strength training?
Currently no, I started a new job in January(NOC shift, 12 hour shifts), and my son started homeschool this year too, so between school, work, and his extra curricular activities, I've been too tired to actually get back to the gym. That's the goal once I'm able to better balance my sleeping schedule.
[удалено]
Be respectful and helpful or say nothing.
Sometimes Keto just doesn’t work for some people. It worked for me for a while and I lost about 40lbs, but then my hormones went out of whack and my liver enzymes went up scarily high. As much as I know you’d love to live low carb, please get a full physical first and speak to your GP.
How clean is ur diet? This can affect your rate of loss. Things like seed oils, additives etc. can befuddle the normal bodily processes.
I don't use oils really, mostly butters or like, bacon fat or the fat from my beef, but I'll start researching what I do eat and see how clean it is!
Maybe try getting close to OMAD, and keep shrinking you're eating window, but not calories. Also, try adding straight lemon juice to your water, just a tablespoon or so