In Ketosis And Not Losing!!!

  • Hi everyone, I have to start off by saying that I was on ideal protein 2 years ago and lost 40 lbs, and after that I made a few unsucessfull tries (after I gained about 15 lbs) but that just made me more frustrated and made me gain all the weight back. Now I am more motivated than ever before, but I am not losing as fast as I did before! I am not on ideal protein(cant afford it this time) but still in a low carb diet, and walking almost everyday for about 2 hours and a little bit of strenght, which I though it would help me speed up the process but it isnt, I am on ketosis since day 3 and only lost 3bs the first time I did low carb with the same weight I lost 9lbs the first week! what is wrong with me now?
  • Ketosis isn't a magic weight loss fairy, unfortunately .

    You can still be eating too many calories for your body to burn. What's your daily menu look like?

    ETA: Ok I just reread. How long have you been back at it??? 3lbs is awesome loss.
  • Thanx ValRock.

    This is what my menu looks like:

    morning: 1 boiled egg with 3 saltine crackers, a cup of coffee with powder creamer and 3 or 4 splendas.

    Lunch: lettuce tomatoes (everyday), 8oz of tilapia with brocoli, and zuccini or 5oz chicken breast, cauliflower rice with soy sauce red peppers mushrooms and some onions,

    Snack: (I usually consume one or a little bit of some together) eas advantage carb control shake, soy nuts , teaspoon or less of peanut butter, atkins bar.

    Before bed: lipton ice tea or green tea 0 on everything.

    *tons of water througout the day, and with every meal.
    *I dont eat dinner every day ussually because I dont get much hungry after my snack.
  • That actually looks like you might not be eating enough calories. One has to find that spot where one is not eating too many for the body to burn and one is eating enough to keep the body from thinking it's starving. Maybe try using one of the calculators to find out how much you should be consuming to maintain your weight and subtract 500 calories to get a ballpark for daily consumption and work your meals from there?
  • I was going to say the same thing as Alegria. They were VERY emphatic at my IP intro meeting with counselors that you CANNOT exercise the first 2 weeks. She said "we are not giving you enough calories to exercise. If you do that, your body will not go into ketosis, it will go into starvation and anything you burn will be MUSCLE, not fat." It sounded legit to me.
    After that, they encouraged exercise but if you did, you needed to plan for it and consume an extra protein at a certain time before your exercise. However, I'm already budget tight and (as bad as this sounds) I can't afford to add an extra protein! So I will add my jogging and weights back in when I get to maintain phase.
    I'm not too worried as it will be a good way for me to counterbalance the increase of calories I know I will inevitably consume when I'm on my own.
  • I stay in ketosis but my losses seem to drag along so slowly. I just got off IP a few weeks ago. Paying almost a hundred dollars a week to see a pound or two a week was depressing me. And I was constantly in starvation mode because I am so active but didn't always do the extra protein packets to accomodate. Now I'm trying Atkins and exercising like I want. I know how frustrated you are!
  • I want you all to know that 1-2 lbs a week is FANTASTIC loss.

    Nobody can sustain crazy high numbers (ala biggest loser) unless it's their full time job.

    Losing .00001 lbs a week is better than gaining Just keep that in mind! And that is what most people do... give up completely and gain it all back. Don't do that!
  • IP also goes on the premise of resetting the pancreas by lowering the carbs ingested. You seem to be having carbs at every meal...wonder if this is affecting your loss?
  • Quote: I stay in ketosis but my losses seem to drag along so slowly. I just got off IP a few weeks ago. Paying almost a hundred dollars a week to see a pound or two a week was depressing me. And I was constantly in starvation mode because I am so active but didn't always do the extra protein packets to accomodate. Now I'm trying Atkins and exercising like I want. I know how frustrated you are!

    Right?, They are soo expensive, and if one think about it one can do the same thing following the protocol, but replacing the bars with atkins and the protein shakes with eas or something like that along with a good multivitamin which is what I am doing now.
  • Thanx everyone I removed the saltine crakers, and instead I have 2 eggs with some veggies and a slice of cheese, the rest is the same but still losing too slow I had lost only 7 pounds since june 19, and its really frustrated
  • Quote: Thanx everyone I removed the saltine crakers, and instead I have 2 eggs with some veggies and a slice of cheese, the rest is the same but still losing too slow I had lost only 7 pounds since june 19, and its really frustrated
    This sounds good. I have read this book called The Art and Science of Low Carb Living, which is about eating this way long term. The main point is, when we take away the calories from carbohydrates, we have to replace them with something. Protein is converted to glucose, so eating too much protein for your particular lean body mass and activity level, can prevent weight loss.

    My understanding is that the body has an unlimited capacity for metabolizing fat as fuel, but it will only use fat if there is not enough carbohydrate and protein provided. We cannot live without protein and fat. We can live without carbohydrates.

    Another great book is Protein Power, which helps you find your lean body mass (your body: everything but the fat); then you make sure you support that LBM with adequate protein, and fill in the rest of the calories with low-starch and low-sugar vegetables and a few fruits, plus FAT.

    Strange to say, because it goes against all the conventional advice, eating more fat may help you lose fat.