Hi Maintainers! Unfortunately, I haven't been doing so great these days at maintaining. I was doing really good until late August, when we went on vacation. With short, small bouts of P1, I was maintaining at 136-137. I was eating about 100g of carbs per day, but would do a few days of P1 if I had to. Well, we went on vacation and I haven't been able to get my act together since. On Sat. I weighed at 146.6, basically 10# more than I like. I decided that I had to get back on the wagon and do some P1 or I would end up after the holidays needing to lose 15-20 pounds.

But man, I AM STRUGGLING. Why don't I remember P1 being this awful before? I am on day 3 and I STILL have yet to do a full, 100% compliant P1 day. I am probably at 90% day. The upside is, at least I am on my 3rd day of total carbs at 50g (not deducting fiber), but I am having the hardest time being fully OP. We have family coming into town for Thanksgiving, so I will do the best I can. Once they leave, I should have a fairly decent stretch until Xmas that I can do P1, but I will need to be diligent.

The keto diet some of you ladies are following seems interesting, I should look into it. I know you said that you are losing more inches, which is what really counts anyway, so that is good. That is really what I am concerned about. Yeah, the number on the scale isn't what I like, but truly, it is the fluffy, bloated feeling that I am having issues with and having my measurements up. One thing that concerns me with the keto diet is that I feel like I am sensitive to fat more than carbs. In the past, whenever I have increased my fat grams, I felt like I got bigger and less lean. Did any of you notice that in the beginning? I know someone mentioned an adjustment period. I went through a phase where I was doing something similar with intermittent fasting and higher fat (drinking bullet proof coffee, etc...). I have also tried Paleo and that didn't really work for me either.

Honestly, the only thing that I was really successful on was IP, but I am white knuckling it trying to do this reboot. I am fairly motivated, as I am on day 3, but dang, I don't remember it being so hard. Anyway, glad to hear that you are all doing well.

Jenny,

I am navigating my way through keto for weight loss. I am doing what I call strict keto which is no dairy, nuts or sweeteners. I am at least maintaining 3 weeks post IP P1; although, I am trying to lose weight - I want to lose another 20 pounds. I don't know if my weight was up 1.3 pounds from last week because of flying to/from California, which is a long flight for me. So, I will be weighing myself each day to see if it was water retention. I did drink my normal amount of water on my trip which is 4 L a day, and I pretty much stuck to same eating plan as at home so just hoping it was the flight that caused the weight gain. I didn't decide to go until Tuesday and sort of regretting it as I was putting so much emphasis on this weigh-in to see how my weight loss was going on keto as that was my third week out from P1 so I thought it was my first week post P1 stabilization. Oh well, I'll just keep plugging away. Hopefully, the scale is kinder tomorrow. If not, then I'll see the help of the keto coach again because I am doing exactly what he said to do. I could be fat sensitive too because the only program I have struggled to lose weight on is keto. I have been successful on WW, my own diet of 1200 calories and IP with IP yielding the most inches lost. I won't conclude anything about keto just yet as I need more time to truly assess things, but it requires more work for some.

Hi Jenny & the rest of us maintainers! Checking in for a look... ankle surgery coupled with a nasty cold (likely caught in the hospital, where else?) has kept me chained to the bed and the lovely leather lounge chair by the window. I have gone through more books than you can shake a stick at. Paper and e-books. I am getting cabin fever but the foot isn't ready for much yet. Staples come out in 5 days. Here's the latest shot... at least it's less cankle and more ugly old purple and green bruise.

I wonder how Amber is doing.... anyone hear from her?

Hello Maintainers!

Jenny, Sorry to hear you are struggling with P1. I had the same problem which is why I switched over to Keto. I was just too hungry on P1. But like you, IP was the only thing that worked for me. I've been on Keto since 10/3. I've strayed twice. I'm not sure what is happening. I went 9 months on IP at 100%.

Most of the blogs and sites I go to keep saying this is not a diet, it's a way of life. So maybe in my head I am justifying going off plan because it's not a diet so how could I be cheating? I'm not sure what is happening but I do know this: I am not loosing like I did on P1 reboots. I seem to be maintaining. Not what I want. I know all too well that weight loss is not linear, but I'm not seeing a downward trend at all. Over the holiday I am going to cut out some things(mostly dairy) and see if that jump starts my losses. Life without cheese will be very hard. I also tried Paleo before IP and that didn't work for me either. Too many carbs. I don't feel fluffy, I mean how could I, my carbs are at like net 15 a day. But the scale is not my friend right now. I am back up to 152 today after straying again yesterday at the company Thanksgiving feast. Ugh. Back on the bandwagon again today. I'm going to stick with this until the end of the year. If I don't start getting some results, then I may end up going back on IP knowing that I am going to be hungry. I don't look forward to that at all.

Liana: Oh no! What happened? Was this an accident? So sorry you are down for the count. Hope you get up and around soon.

Hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving. I'm looking forward to my four days off.

Andrea,

You and I are in the same boat. I do not have a net loss on keto after 3 weeks. I will maintain through the New Year and then do IP to lose the 20 pounds that I want to lose. I fit in all my clothes but I just want to get back to the weight that I was at when I did IP the first time.

I have been doing strict keto so no dairy, nuts or sweeteners and that hasn't helped so think you may find the same thing. The only thing I can come up with as to why I don't have a net loss is that I started working out 2.5 weeks ago and that I am gaining muscle as I didn't work out in all the times I do IP protocol so I had lost muscle that I am putting back on. Even though I am 20 pounds heavier, I do fit in all my clothes. But, I want a little wiggle room. I am going to continue keto through the New Year but it seems it only works for me to maintain but not lose. I am ok with that right now. I know if I do IP in Jan, I'll lose 20 pounds in no time.

I also switched to a keto WOE, and I have been successful. I suggest going to http://shecallsmehobbit.com/2016/04/...th-calculator/and using the calculator. It will give you grams for each macro and total calories based on your selection of maintain or lose. (We don't eat %s.) There are also podcasts that are helpful, including Stalled on Keto. The fat macro is for the MAXIMUM per day, which you will want to decrease to lose body fat. The minimum fat requirement in grams is .4 (point 4) times your current weight. Fat on your plate, within reasonable amounts, does not prevent burning the fat off your body. Fat on your plate does decrease hunger.

The people that have the website also have a FB group - Ketogenic Diet Open Discussion. The admins are experts with years of keto experience and gladly share their knowledge.

Why did I switch to keto? I never understood why IP was so low fat. It makes some IPers hungry, tired, and irritable, including me. P1 was challenging. I added just a teaspoon of coconut oil to my heated chocolate drink one day, and I was not hungry for hours. It is now a joy to eat, as I can have dairy, olives, nuts, bacon - limited and within my macros. I can bake with almond and coconut flour if I want. This is a sustainable WOE.

Damn Halloween! Add the influx of 2 kiddos candy haul and then my oldest boy volunteered our scale to school for almost 2 weeks and things have come a little... Loose, err tighter LOL

Thanks for the recommendations but I know that is not the problem. I have a keto coach and plus I have used a keto calculator by ankerl and it has not mattered how I have adjusted my macros - I have not lost weight on keto to date. This includes 12 weeks in the Spring and 3 weeks most recently. I really wish I could lose on keto - my most concerning thing is after I dropped a pound on it, I gained it the following week simply on 1400 calories. So, I just don't think keto works for me to drop weight - I have successfully lost weight on every program I have ever followed except keto. I simply get the best results on IP so I do that now for weight loss and use keto for maintenance. I wish I could figure it out, but once I get motivated to lose weight, it is quite the de-motivator to put in all the work and get no results, not even slow or moderate but no positive weight loss results. I don't know if not having a gallbladder is a factor or what but not being able to lose weight on keto is a bummer. I have followed the same amount of calories I did on IP for 3 months that produced no weight loss on keto then my coach told me I needed to greatly increase my fat intake which about doubled my calories to 1400 and neither have worked for weight loss. There is something here that goes beyond the macros. Perhaps there is something that happens with the metabolism after doing IP that requires a longer time to adjust for losing weight following a keto lifestyle - I don't know - I just know it goes beyond macros as I am quite obsessive about tracking and measuring my blood, both ketones and glucose. I have phenomenal readings and still no weight loss (fasting blood sugar in 60's/70's, very moderate rise after meals, never above 120 and back to normal within 2-3 hours, and ketones ranging from 2.0 to 3.1). I have read everything about why one doesn't lose weight and applied all of it to no avail.

Hello Maintainers:

psjones: Thanks for posting this. I will check out the podcasts and I did take a look at the website. I'm sort of over Facebook right now. The info on the website basically says lower calories and lower fats which is counter to what I have researched so far and is also opposite what Jimmy Moore writes in Keto Clarity. However, that path has NOT been working for me, so I'll give this a try.

Ro22: I have been in Maintainence for almost 2 years now. So I don't think there was an adjustment time for me after IP and going to Keto. But I do think that something happens to us while on IP. Most people I know don't have the same reaction to carbs that I do. I eat a small amount of carbage and the next morning I am up 2lbs or more (no joke) and it takes a week to get rid of it. I'm just so tired of counting and entering and mentally measuring everything I eat. I just want to be normal. Maybe that is too much to ask after having metabolic syndrome. This may just be my life. Sigh.

I did get a glucose monitor but I haven't started using it yet. That is the next step. If my numbers are out of whack, then maybe the adjustments that psjones has done will work for me. I do know that I haven't been able to do the IF that so many do nor have I experienced the "energy" burst. I started Keto to lose weight. I began on 10/3 at 152.5 and today I'm at 151.0. I did dip down to 148.7 about 6 days in and then its gone back and forth between 152 and 150 now for almost 7 weeks. I did loose about 3 inches off my waist at the beginning but no other inches have been lost. This is more than a stall. It's just not working. It's discouraging.

But the one thing I have learned is that what works for one person may be totally wrong for another. We just have to keep searching until we find our sweet spot. I'm still looking I guess.

Thanks, Andrea. The same is true for me in regards to wild swings. I have determined that I need about a 3:1 ratio of how many days of IP to that of not calorie counting. I followed keto the last week in the basic form, which is eat when hungry and I know I gained a fair amount of weight by how my stomach is protruding. So, following my ratio, 1 week of not calorie counting will translate for me 3 weeks of IP P1 to get back to my initial weight. It sucks but this is just what I have found to be true for me. Even using keto for maintenance, I have to track and track and track.

Btw, I have done IF the whole time doing keto - 16:8 as well as 20:4 and it hasn't mattered. I don't lose inches either as I did not drop a size in all the time I have done keto. I really enjoy it for maintenance so I have just accept that it works for me maintenance-wise as long as I continue to track. I don't know if I will ever get to the point of maintaining without daily tracking.

Also, I should mention that how much protein to consume is a relatively controversial topic. The keto calculators are higher than some of the experts state should be consumed. Taubes and Rosedale both believe protein should be lower than recommended so I have even tried lowering my protein for weight loss but that didn't work either. I have tried searching for whether a keto diet simply doesn't work for some people and I have not found anything on this. And, I have found exactly zero results when searching what else to do if you have tried every single recommendation if you are not losing without success. As I mentioned, perhaps it just requires much longer to adapt than I have tried but that seems crazy to me because I lose a ton of weight in 3 months on any other program but keto, so as much as I want it to work for weight loss, I don't know that it works for everyone or if it does, if it takes a super long time for some to adapt. Both seem quite illogical to me.

There is one last idea I have that I have not put into effect yet. I am not going to do it in the next few weeks as I have committed to doing IP P1 for next 3 weeks but may try this at another point and that is carb cycling. After searching for answers on keto weight loss, I came across a site ultimateweightlossrx.com. It contains a pretty specific formula on how to do this (not simply go hog wild with carbs) and why which makes sense to me so I will give this a try and some point.

One other idea I had was to hire an online IP coach (to complement my keto coach) to get both expertise from IP and keto. My keto coach knows some about IP and then I would have an IP coach to supplement that. There is an RN at totalwellcoach.com that I thought about hiring to add as a resource, I may do that but don't know if she would be willing to help me figure out why IP is successful but not keto even when I follow same calorie count as IP but with a different macro make-up.

But, for now, I am back on P1 because 1) I am committed to a low carb lifestyle and 2) I know I get the best results on IP and accept the restrictions for the results.

For those doing high fat low carb in maintenance (keto), I got an email in my inbox yesterday that I reviewed and it opened my eyes to a number of ketogenic products I didn't know existed. The site that I got it from was a key part of my Thanksgiving Day menu so I really like and trust the lady that runs the site - her recipes have always been good and I have learned new things from her. Anyway, she sent an email about gifts to give keto folks for Christmas. I went through many of them and they are now sitting in my cart at Amazon as well as the other sites. I had no idea there were such things as de-sugared juices! This would have come in handy for a Thanksgiving recipe as I tried to swap apple juice for apple cider vinegar in my sweet potato pecan casserole and it was an epic failure!

I knew about the keto bars as I had learned about them from Craig at ruled.me.
But, I had never heard of ketologie.com and their products look great! I am ordering the "noatmeal" and hot chocolate and bone broths.

Take a look if you are interested (I was particularly focused on the items under Snack Foods). Btw, in case you are wondering, I am not affiliated with any of this - I just learned some new stuff last night and thought I'd pass it along.
Btw, under Keto School, they have a bunch of videos from all the keto experts. Last night I watched the one that states why you are not losing weight on LCHF - it was a 30 minute presentation but unfortunately, it didn't help - it just reinforced the trial and error/tinkering approach.

http://www.wickedstuffed.com/keto-sn...1a04-366333101

Hmmm. Not sure where it says low fat. That is not my impression or result from the macro calculator. If it were, it would be just like IP. I have read Keto Clarity (as well as The Obesity Code, Taubes, Phinney & Volek). We all have to find what works for us.

psjones: I didn't say low fat, I said lower fat. The guidelines that I have been following suggest about 50-60 grams protein, 20 net carbs(or total if you want to go that route) and fat grams should be approx. 2 times the amount of protein, so a range between 100-120 grams(or until satiety). The macros at the site that you recommended come out as 70 grams of protein, up to 100 grams of fat (or until satiety) and 20 total carbs. Not really that much different. In any event, I'll probably end up back on P1 to get the extra weight off and use Keto for maintenance. But thanks for the recommendation.

Hi! So, Thanksgiving has come and gone and I have been hanging in there. I was able to get down to 142 by TG and was 143 this past Sat. (my usual weigh day). Not too bad. Yesterday I had the closest P1 day that I have had in a really long time. I am still not 100% compliant, but I am doing better than I have lately. I am hoping that I can get down to 140 and just maintain around there until after New Years. At this stage of the game, it is the best I can hope for. Then after the holidays are over, I am going to go back on P1- full throttle. As much as I am not looking forward to that, I know it is what I have to do.

Like most of you, I have never done a diet that works like IP. There simply isn't anything better. So, P1 in January is what it will be. I need to get back into the 130's. My clothes are feeling ok, but I do have a couple of items that are now just a bit snug and quite frankly, uncomfortable to wear. This is not acceptable to me. I will not make the same mistake again and let things go too long or get too tight.

Hope you are all getting on ok and hanging in there during this very trying season of eating.