I’m amazed!

[help2020]

Day 6 today and I’ve lost 4.1kgs or 9lbs !!!! I can not believe it! Although I’ve never been this heavy (84.1kg) and had suspected the week loss in wk 1 to be good, of all the many many diets I have done over the years I’ve never stuck to LCHF before and I’ve certainly not ever had such a huge loss. Crikey. It’s so encouraging. Saying that I’ve slept badly the last two nights and feel SO lethargic today but to be expected I understand and also could be anything!

[Pink4eva]

Hi well done, I’ve only lost 7 1/2lbs in 3wks, what’s your secret?

[TheAwfulToad Ambassador in reply to Pink4eva]

"only"? That's pretty good for three weeks

It's early days. This isn't going to stall out like it does with calorie-counting; it'll keep going for several months, so if you stick to the plan you'll almost certainly be at your goal weight by the end of the year.

[Pink4eva in reply to TheAwfulToad]

Ok thanks, TAT, also ~I foolishly stepped onto the scales this morning, thinking I may have lost more weight as had fasted for33hrs (still fasting), but I had put 4lbs on, I obviously haven't put fat on, any ideas why the weight has gone up in 24hrs?

[TheAwfulToad Ambassador in reply to Pink4eva]

It'll be either food or water - but really, this is why I suggest to people to just ignore the scales and look in the mirror instead.

I get the feeling that people on calorie-controlled diets get obsessed with their weight measurements because the measurement is "noisy" (it contains a lot of random fluctations). Their average bodyfat never actually changes because caloric restriction simply doesn't work ... but every time they see a couple of pounds "lost" on the scales, it's "woohoo, I lost two pounds!" Except they didn't. It's just a measurement artifact.

[help2020]

Thank you. I honestly don’t know! I’m amazed. I think my body has reacted to the lack of carbs (other than fresh veg). I thought I had been eating far too much cheese and mayonnaise (yum!) normally with egg. I track my food intake every day on a fitness app as I like to know the macronutrients. From this site I learned to have around 20g of carbs or less a day and 180grammes of fat. Some days were over but I mostly have an average of 30g of (gross) carbs each day. I think on this regime it’s the first time I’ve really trusted it. For example I was tempted to not eat all of the cheese or double cream but I put my faith in the daily allowance and I enjoyed it! Absolutely no wine choc fruit bread pasta rice. The first few days I drank gin and soda with cucumber and mint or whisky and soda rather than wine, which I use to love! I seem to like (my body told me so!) a fresh mint tea after supper. I have been snacking on cheese and cucumber slices. And I am loving garlic mushrooms cooked in garlic butter and cream. Who’d have thought it?!!

May I say that it’s not “just” 7.5lbs you’ve lost; your weekly average of 2.5lbs is really good by all accounts. Keep going! X

[TheAwfulToad Ambassador in reply to help2020]

9lbs is the biggest reported 4-week loss for as long as I can remember, so well done. As the badger said, some of that will be water weight, so don't be discouraged if your fat loss slows down from this point. But you will see it in the mirror, so try not to focus too much on the scales.

At some point you're going to lose interest in adding fat to everything because your body will get more efficient at burning through it's own stores. Just listen to your appetite and reduce the fat content of your meals according to taste.

You'll feel a whole lot better in a week or two. The "keto flu" will go away by itself, but make sure you're adding adequate salt to your meals. Try the "low salt" (KCl/NaCl mixture) stuff that the supermarkets sell.

[help2020 in reply to TheAwfulToad]

Thank you. This morning I put on 0.2kg so my reported full week loss this morning is 8.1 lbs (3.7kg) no idea why I put on one pound overnight?!

[help2020 in reply to TheAwfulToad]

Thank you. Funny that as I ate about three packs of crispy seaweed thins (low in carbs, high in salt) the other day so my body must have needed it. I must say these are a great alternative to crisps, imo!

[TheAwfulToad Ambassador in reply to help2020]

I love those. They're a really common snack out here in Asia - I'm surprised they're available in the UK.

But yeah, a genuinely healthy alternative to crisps!

[help2020 in reply to TheAwfulToad]

Love them! Oh you live in Asia- I’m so jealous! Yes I ordered a box of them off amazon. Not sure if I’m allowed to tell the brand name here but a famous high street Japanese takeaway restaurant. Rhymes with Shih tzu !

[Subtle_badger in reply to TheAwfulToad]

One more up vote for crispy seaweed snacks!

When I first went keto, I was far from home and craving something desperately. I headed to an Asian grocery and started reading the back of packets. Ended up with bibigo brand from South Korea. Still got one serving left. Will break it out next time I have a glass of wine. 🍷

There are no rules about brands here, or links.

[help2020 in reply to Subtle_badger]

Ooo lovely! WINE!!! 😉 I have my gin and soda in a wine glass tonight 😄 Thank you confirming the rules around brands and links.

[Subtle_badger in reply to help2020]

The wine was opened this evening.

Crispy seaweed consumed. Forgotten how delicious it is (despite environmentally disastrous packaging). Will restock!

[help2020 in reply to Subtle_badger]

Oh the packaging! I know!! Enjoy! Cheers!

[Hidden in reply to help2020]

You will have used up your glycogen store, which is stored carbs in the liver. This is good because it shows you are really eating fewer carbs & your body has to start using your fat or fat you eat instead. There are more chemical processes involved in using fat for energy & to power the brain, & the body wants as little work as possible so it leaves it to the last moment. Glycogen is stored with four times as much water as fat, so using that up involves quite a lot of ‘weight’ loss. Salts depart the body with all that water loss so you may need to add a little extra salt to your food at this point - that might explain the feeling a bit off (sometimes called keto flu)

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

Realised this slightly overlaps withBadgers reply.

[help2020 in reply to Hidden]

All information is good ☺️

[help2020 in reply to Hidden]

Thank you. So interesting. I like to know the biological reactions and affects. It makes my efforts More justified.

[Subtle_badger]

Well done.

Some will be water. When you go low carb, your muscles run out of glycogen (sugar) and when that goes so does that water that accompanied it. Which you must know already, because to lose that much fat you would need to be 4500 calorie deficit each day, which would require you to eat nothing and run for about 5 hours each day.

But a lot of it will be fat. If you haven't, measure your waist. That's a better indicator of body fat than you weight.

Feeling blah is probably the diet. It's called keto 'flu, and it goes away.

dietdoctor.com/low-carb/ket...

I had it pretty bad, and now i can cycle 100km fasted and feel great.

[help2020 in reply to Subtle_badger]

Thank you. Crikey well done you too!

[Optimistic_22]

Hi subtle

My boyfriend and I tried the keto diet. I had to ultimately stop due to keto flu. I felt like I was going to die.

I just want to feel mentally and physically better. Also loss 10-15 pounds as this is the heaviest Ive been.

I eat pretty well now not a lot of carbs.

I try to stick to meat and veggie every meal. I struggle with ideas for brunch. Normally have two meals a day. Brunch and dinner.

But I often eat after 8:00 which is problematic but I get so hungry at that time. I don’t eat sweets unless I buy them which I try not to because there so good.

This quarantine has me concerned with more weight gain. Due to less activeness.

Exercise about a hour a day with my dog. Looking to start hiking with dog to loss weight.

Thanks for everyone’s post . I love this forum.

[Subtle_badger in reply to Optimistic_22]

Hi.

when i said i had keto flu "pretty bad", I just felt blah, not going to die.

You shouldn't get hungry in the evening if you had enough fat with your dinner. Maybe keep brunch with current higher carb, and cut down carbs at dinner. You won't get an insulin spike after dinner,which may be contributing to your hunger. Replace the carbs with cheese, or with veggies cooked in butter.

A lot of us share our meal plans over on the NHS Weightloss in daily diaries. You will find a mix of low carb and calorie counting,so just ignore the menus that aren't suitable.

Here's a link to today's

healthunlocked.com/nhsweigh...

[Optimistic_22 in reply to Subtle_badger]

Thanks for your advice Subtle.

Yes that’s exactly it its a sugar spike. Happens between brunch and dinner. After dinner about 8:00. I go running and get hunger after. So I drank peppermint tea and a apple.

I wake up starving.

So will look at meal options .

Possibly healthy snacks.

I only have two meals a day so probably has something to do with also. Thanks again.

[Subtle_badger in reply to Optimistic_22]

If you are a carb-burner, you can't expect to run after dinner and go to bed not feeling hungry. Running will deplete your muscle glycogen, liver glycogen and blood glucose. Your body will demand you replenish those stores and your brain will be crying out for glucose.

You would need to be fat adapted to be able to do this.

[help2020 in reply to Optimistic_22]

I love this forum too! 😊