Source
r/xxketo•
ghostforest

5-month ketoversary, 45 lbs down, and a few thoughts on stalls

Hey-hey keto ladies! It's hard to believe that 5 months has already passed. The good news is that I've found my keto happy place where things are working well for me and the modifications I'm making to my diet are second-nature now. I even weathered a long 4th of July weekend with foodie friends who were visiting from Canada. Modifications in place, no cheats, and I stayed in keto during their whole visit and didn't feel deprived. It does get so much easier if you can just get through the more challenging initial stages.

As of this morning, I've passed the 45 lb loss mark and I can finally see onederland ahead. I haven't seen onederland in 10 years. It kind of doesn't seem real yet.

Anyway, one of the best things that having 5 months under my belt has done is given me enough perspective so that I can see consistent patterns in how my body responds to keto. Namely, stall and loss cycles. I've just taken a look at my MFP weight chart and I see a very clear pattern of stalls that last 7-30+ days followed by drops of 3-10 lbs in several days that follow the end of the stall. When I was first starting, the stalls used to be so discouraging. I was doing everything right, yet the scale was mocking me. But, now I see that my body was changing a lot during those stalls - measurements changed, the feeling of my fat changed (the pre-whoosh mushy fat), and my clothes were fitting differently. Sometimes the other markers are subtle, but they're there. Now, it's so much easier to Keep Calm & Keto On/KCKO when I'm in a plateau. I know from experience that my efforts are not in vain, the diet is working, it's just not showing up right away on the scale.

I just wanted to share in case there are some of you out there getting discouraged by the scale. The scale is only one tool and it's not necessarily the most accurate one when it comes to showing changes. So, KCKO! Keto really works if you give it a chance.

Posted Jul 11, 2014, 5:23 PM UTC

2323
SassyVeggieKeto32/F/5'7"| SW: 340 | CW: 319 | NEXT GOAL: 310 | GW: 207 |•

Thank you for your wisdom. I'm still just starting out, only 8 weeks in so I will keep all of this in mind moving forward. Congrats on your success so far and Onederland is on the horizon! :)

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ghostforestOPF/41/5'6" SW:255 2.10.14 CW:183 GW:170ish•

Thank you! It's so worth it to stick to it for the long haul.

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anbeav•

I know from experience that my efforts are not in vain, the diet is working, it's just not showing up right away on the scale.

Exactly! I've been involved in fitness and nutrition for nearly all of my life and I really try to emphasize that plateaus are normal and it doesn't mean you're not doing all the right things. Many are and you just have to wait until the scale decides to cooperate :) KCKO! Great post.

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ghostforestOPF/41/5'6" SW:255 2.10.14 CW:183 GW:170ish•

Thank you! It's so easy to get discouraged early on. Not just with keto, but with all diets. The thing that probably helped me most was deciding to give it my very best try for 100 days. Psychologically, it helped to have a start and end point. By the end of the 100 days, I could see such radical results and also all of my new habits were entrenched and the cravings were long gone. It was so easy to continue at that point. KCKO!

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anbeav•

Awesome! I agree, gotta keep up the good fight!

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Nora_OieNora_Oie 60F|5'5"|HW: 245|SW:226|CW 176||GW 160•

You're so good at encouraging stall-people.

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anbeav•

When things don't work out as I expect them to I fight harder. We're all in this together just gotta dig deep and push on knowing we're doing the right things.

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RivalrousF 24 5'2" | SW 235 | CW 203 | Wk.11 | MFP pudgecake•

First off, congratulations! Give it about a month and I bet you'll be seeing Onderland. (: I've been living keto for about 2mos now and am experiencing my first stall. It's encouraging to be reminded that it's a normal part of it all.

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ghostforestOPF/41/5'6" SW:255 2.10.14 CW:183 GW:170ish•

You've got some great progress yourself! Keep on keepin' on!

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Nora_OieNora_Oie 60F|5'5"|HW: 245|SW:226|CW 176||GW 160•

Yes, thank you for the stall advice. I can see now that the last time I tried low carb (a version of Atkins) I got bummed when I stalled after 3 weeks and gave up. I wish I'd known.

It seems counter-intuitive that we could plateau for so long and then suddenly lose some weight, but I've heard people talking about...reasons...and while the reasons escape me, it's good to know if we just keep going (what else are we supposed to do?) it'll eventually come off.

Of course, you had to change your macros somewhere along the way, right? (45 pounds is a lot for six months - and way more than the average weight loss in those controlled studies where people were merely told just to cut carbs...)

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ghostforestOPF/41/5'6" SW:255 2.10.14 CW:183 GW:170ish•

My macro percentages have stayed the same, but my calories have been reduced a bit. And, to be honest, while I recalculated and figured out new calorie numbers after significant loss, I found that my body was also automatically adjusting my appetite to correspond to what the new calories should be. As long as I kept an eye on old mindless eating habits, I was fine without a lot of effort. I'm still below or at 20g carbs a day and I don't force myself to eat at a mealtime if I'm not hungry. As someone who really didn't listen to my body before keto and also did a lot of eating for either emotional reasons or because I was bored, this change has been the biggest NSV for me.

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Nora_OieNora_Oie 60F|5'5"|HW: 245|SW:226|CW 176||GW 160•

That's good to hear. I've been a little worried since I know I'll have to eat fewer calories in months to come. Good to know the appetite adapts (was just watching the 30 minute lecture by Dr. Volek, who suggests that keto-adapted people develop a higher sensitivity to leptin, and therefore don't produce as much of it - hence the lack of overwhelming hunger).

I will have a hard time going above 20g carbs, it's become a thing. As someone who got a handle on emotional eating (over a decade or more), I still gained weight on a high carb diet - now I know why. And I was starving the whole time.

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ghostforestOPF/41/5'6" SW:255 2.10.14 CW:183 GW:170ish•

So interesting about the leptin! That explains a lot. I've certainly noticed the same in my own experience. I just don't ever have the extreme hunger I used to get when I was eating carbs. And, same as you, I don't think I'll go back. Not only do I feel much better this way, but I also want to keep all of the anti-cancer and neuroprotective benefits of keto for life.

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Eimai145F/37/5'7". | Keto SW: 208. | CW: 181 | GW: 145•

Congrats on 45 lbs smoked! And great observations. Thanks for sharing.

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ghostforestOPF/41/5'6" SW:255 2.10.14 CW:183 GW:170ish•

Thank you!

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leatherette29/F/5'10"l SW:193 l CW: 176 l GW: 145•

I found this quote a few months ago and it really resonated with me: "Never give up on your goal just because of the time it'll take to achieve it. The time will pass anyway."

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mcteez•

I agree with the goal theory. I love kebabs; chicken, loads of salad, a small pitta bread and lashings of garlic mayo. I know eating this will only make me slightly over my carb goal, but I look forward to ordering it and only eating it once a month. It doesn't affect my weight loss and sometimes when I'm mentally down it does help me keep going. I'm working on non food rewards, but as it's only one food reward I promise myself a month, I don't think it does any harm. We all finds ways of coping and if they keep us on the right path most of the time then I say go for it. Great post and wonderful replies. Thanks everyone.

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shes-a-cuntF35 5'5" | SW: 194 | CW 180 | GW: 20% Bodyfat•

This is a great reminder :-) - Thanks.

By the way - according to your stats, you're closer to your goal weight than your starting weight. You're past the hump!! Congratulations!

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ghostforestOPF/41/5'6" SW:255 2.10.14 CW:183 GW:170ish•

Thank you! I hadn't done my hump math, so an extra thank you for pointing out that I'm closer to goal than to start. Wow.

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dmclva48/F/5'2 | SD:04/14/14 | SW:156 | CW:133 | GW:125 MFP:dmclva•

I see a very clear pattern of stalls that last 7-30+ days followed by drops of 3-10 lbs in several days that follow the end of the stall.

The scale is only one tool and it's not necessarily the most accurate one when it comes to showing changes.

This is so important for everyone to read. Congratulations on your progress and thanks for sharing!

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ghostforestOPF/41/5'6" SW:255 2.10.14 CW:183 GW:170ish•

Thank you! Though I really detest the "Keep Calm and..." meme, I love KCKO so much! It really helps me to remind myself of the real goal when I'm at the tail end of a loooong stall! In the beginning, I used to almost chant it to myself. ;)

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bettermistakes87•

I really needed to read this today. I'm restarting after giving up earlier this year from being so discouraged by the dreaded stall. Thanks for sharing :)

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ghostforestOPF/41/5'6" SW:255 2.10.14 CW:183 GW:170ish•

That's awesome! You can do it and you'll be so glad you did! When it gets tough, just remember to KCKO.

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