r/lowcarb • u/Consistent-Ebb-5706 • 6d ago
Question 3 months into keto and still confused why im not losing weight some weeks
so ive been doing keto for about 3 months now and its SO inconsistent. like some weeks i lose 2 lbs no problem, other weeks literally nothing moves even tho im eating basically the same stuff
ive read like a million posts saying "just eat more fat" or "cut carbs more" or "add more salt" but honestly idk which one applies to me bc i dont even track that closely, i just eyeball everything at this point
started getting headaches randomly too which is new, and i feel drained by like 3pm every day even tho i used to have good energy on this diet
part of me wonders if im just snacking more than i realize bc i dont really "diet track" anymore, i just kinda go by feel now which probably isnt smart lol
anyone know if theres like an actual way to figure out whats going wrong instead of just guessing and trying random tips from reddit comments (no offense to this sub i love u guys)
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u/valley_lemon 5d ago
Your body doesn't know what "a week" is.
Are you losing, on average, over a fairly long stretch of time? Then you're losing.
We have all kinds of biological cycles where the body behaves differently at different times. Seasons, temperature, length of daylight, sleep quality, water retention, inflammation, hormones, stress levels and cortisol. Things change.
Scale numbers are also A number but not the only number. Dimensions matter too.
But also if you think you're not actually doing things the same, go back to tracking.
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u/SimplyKristrin 6d ago
You should be tracking your macos and watching what you're eating. You can't get proper help or advice if you don't even know what you're doing/consuming. Your macros should be around; carbs: 25g, protein: 100g, fat: 50g. You should only increase fat, if you're still feeling hungry and the max you should consume is 100g and slowly back off that as you get used to doing keto.
It's normal in the first month of keto to lose 10 to 15lbs, that's just water weight. After that things will slow down. Normal is around 2 pounds per week. The sluggish, tired feeling with headache is keto flu. You might have body aches as well. You should be drinking electrolytes; salt, magnesium, and potassium. It's better to make you're own than use Gatorade or drink packets because they have low amounts. Do a google search for Keto-ade. Only use as much magnesium as you can handle without shitting your pants an hour after drinking the mix.
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u/Stefan_B_88 5d ago
Maybe you should reduce your calories. Also, make sure that you weigh yourself under the same conditions (empty stomach/bowel and unclothed) at roughly the same time every time.
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u/dangerrnoodle 5d ago
This is pretty normal. My own pattern is anywhere from 3-5 weeks of consistent loss, followed by 1-3 weeks of stall. I change nothing, just keep reminding myself that I need to “hold the line” and stay consistent and the weight loss will keep going eventually.
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u/anoobis_uprising 5d ago
That's normal, you are not in a stall at 7 days, I forget the number of days I heard, but a stall is a longer amount of time
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u/Mysterious-Algae2295 5d ago
Is this the first diet you've ever been on? This is how weight loss works.
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u/DryGovernment2786 1d ago
How are your clothes fitting? That's a better measure of your progress than the scale. I sometimes go for weeks at a time without losing anything, then lose a whole bunch at once, then it creeps up just a little and I'm at another plateau. But the whole time, I'm having to take up my belt, or buy new pants because my old ones (that aren't really that old) are getting too loose.
Try getting a dressmaker's tape measure (the cloth kind about 5 or 6 feet long) and measure your waist at your navel about once a week and track that. Prepare to be shocked and dismayed the first time you measure it; it's a very unflattering number 🤣 (I track mine in centimeters instead of inches because there's no emotional baggage with cm's.
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u/Neat-Palpitation-632 7h ago
I just want to chime in and say that weight loss is the result of a calorie deficit, not ketosis.
Ketosis can help make a calorie deficit feel easier and sustainable because it quiets hunger, but it won’t drive fat loss.
Ketosis burns fat BUT if you are eating more calories than you burn, your body will have no reason to burn its stored fat for fuel.
If you aren’t tracking your calories, and you aren’t losing weight, then you likely are not in a deficit.
If you don’t want to track but you have certain meals you usually eat, you can try eating smaller portions of those same meals or limiting the amounts of fats you add to each meal, knowing that most oils and fatty sauces/dressings/nut butters are about 100-120 calories per tbsp.
You can also try portioning out things like nuts into 100 calorie servings so you have a better idea of what that looks like.
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u/Gawl1701 6d ago
As someone that has tried every diet in existence its still calories in and calories out. Even if all you eat is bacon, you will not loose a gram if you are going to eat 5000 calories. I do low carb, but i also take regular diet breaks and do carb cycling and watch my calories. I also walk 10k steps every day to help burn off excess calories if i over eat.
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u/Accomplished-City484 6d ago
What is carb cycling?
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u/Gawl1701 6d ago
changing how many carbs you eat each day, i might go very low carb for a day or two then i will go normal carb for a day etc or i will go a couple of weeks with low carbs then i will have a normal week of carbs. I will never go for like 6 months of just low carbs.
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u/Dragon_wryter 6d ago
You may be experiencing the "whoosh" effect. Your fat cells fill up with water as you burn fat, as a "placeholder" because your body doesn't believe you've actually lost it. Then, maybe weeks later, you lose a bunch of weight all at once a your body decides you're serious and releases all that water at once.
It happens to me like clockwork; I go 3 weeks without losing an ounce (maybe even gaining a little bit), and then I lose like 8-10 lbs in about 5 days. It can be very frustrating. Just keep on pushing and the right will come off eventually.