Source
r/keto•
xtinalala

Keto for PCOS, do I need different macros? Not losing much at all.

35/5'4"/255lbs/PCOS just had a baby. I have been on a pretty strict keto diet for 3 weeks now. I lost about 5 lbs the first week, then nothing since. My husband eats way more than me, and cheats more often and has lost 15 lbs.

My macros are 1514 calories, 25 net carbs, 112 g protein, 108 g fat. I often am around the 20-25 mark for carbs, 1400 for calories, and slightly under for fat. Not purposeful, it's just that meat and veg don't really add up much! A typical day for me consists of egg cups for breakfast (veggie, meat, cheese), chicken or beef with some sort of veggies for lunch and dinner. I use some half and half in my coffee, as well as splenda based sweetener. Typically one or two snacks consisting of low carb cheese crackers (like whisps or Parmesan crisps), mozzarella stick, or sugar free jello w whipped cream. I drink unsweetened seltzer or water. I track all of it in an app every day.

Do I need to do a larger deficit? Cut out any and all snacks? It seems like people are way more successful and aren't restricting as much as me. Also, it seems like such a change in diet (going from scones and pasta to lean meats and veggies) should have bigger results. I bought keto sticks each time I tested in the pink/small range, indicating that I am in ketosis, but not seeing the weight move.

I have been to nutritionists in the past and most people's advice is "Go under 100 carbs, you'll see the weight melt off! Stop eating CocaCola!" (I don't).

Do I need more time? Is it the PCOS? Do I need less than 1400 calories? Should I switch to counting carbs and not net carbs? This doesn't seem sustainable if I'm just MAINTAINING a 250 lb body.

Posted Apr 27, 2018, 2:24 PM UTC · edited

511
ketokate-oF/26/5'3" -50lbs and maintaining•

Rule #1 for ladies: never compare yourself to a dude. It took me 5 months of strict Keto to lose 30lbs. My fiancé lost the same amount in that time by just not drinking beer and cutting out some carbs. The world is just unfair like that.

If you haven’t yet, maybe check with the ladies over at r/ketobabies for more targeted postnatal Keto advice.

Patience is key- your body is adjusting to not having a baby in it as well as adapting to ketosis. Just keep it up, weight loss will happen in time!

11
whynotthistimearound•

This. Guys are annoyingly good at losing weight way faster.

3
xtinalalaOP•

Ah that is awesome, I had no idea that sub existed. Thank you!

2
sassytaters33/F/5'1" SW 211 ~ CW 116•

You didn't give your height so I don't know on the calories, but use a food scale to make sure you're eating what you think you're eating. We're all terrible at eyeballing food portions.

Other than that, you just had a baby, so I bet your hormones are all over the place. Just hang in there. Weight loss takes forever even if you're doing everything right.

7
xtinalalaOP•

Ah thanks, I just edited, I am 5'4". Definitely have a lot to lose. I have been chubby my whole life and struggle with weight. I have lost in the past doing low carb, but this time nothing is moving!

1
sassytaters33/F/5'1" SW 211 ~ CW 116•

You might try going with a 30% deficit for a while, but again, verify with a food scale. They are such a huge help. A serving of peanut butter is tiny and 200 calories. It's very easy to underestimate how much you're eating.

Generated by Keto Calculator 9.13

35/F/5'4" | CW 255 | 52% BF | Mostly sedentary

  • 1418 kcal Goal, a 30% deficit. (742 min, 2026 max)
  • 20g Carbohydrates
  • 98g Protein (74g min, 122g max)
  • 105g Fat (30g min, 172g max)
6
ketokate-oF/26/5'3" -50lbs and maintaining•

Rule #1 for ladies: never compare yourself to a dude. It took me 5 months of strict Keto to lose 30lbs. My fiancé lost the same amount in that time by just not drinking beer and cutting out some carbs.

If you haven’t yet, maybe check with the ladies over at r/ketobabies.

Patience is key- your body is adjusting to not having a baby in it as well as adapting to ketosis. Just keep it up, weight loss will happen in time!

1
5261F/25/5'2"| SW: 136 | CW: 127 | GW: 110?•

I may be mistaken, but I think your protein and fat macros are off.

Keto is a LCHF way of eating, which means low carb, high fat, moderate protein-- you want to aim for around .8g protein per lb, and right now you're at .91g.

I plugged in your stats to a few calculators:

The differences between the two are pretty negligible, BUT I would definitely reduce your protein macro a bit, because too much protein on a consistent basis can impact ketosis and might be part of what's going on here.

Also, I second sassytaters-- can't recommend a food scale highly enough! When I first started using one I was shocked at what things actually weighed/what a real portion of different foods looked like!

1
sellyberry/r/KetoBabies•

Too much protein isn’t a real thing, she’s not going to go into glycogenesis from too much, not with getting the allowed amount of carbs. It’s demand driven, not supply based...

2
PawTree•

Those first 5 lbs were just water weight, probably due to low sodium. As your electrolytes come back into balance, you'll gain that water weight back while at the same time burning fat. A stall at 3-4 weeks is completely normal as a result.

Let's conservatively assume you're actually losing a pound per week, with 5 lbs lost in 3 weeks, you have two more weeks to catch up to your initial loss. If you really think you're doing something wrong, try cutting out artificial sweeteners and high GI foods which may be spiking your insulin.

Give it at least 3 more weeks and then reassess. You probably won't gain weight in the meantime, so just consider it a necessary delay... an introduction period.

Use a measuring tape instead of a scale.

Have patience. Don't fret just yet :)

1
xtinalalaOP•

Thanks. I wish I'd used the measuring tape initially! I do feel "flatter" and fit into a lot of old clothes that I was wearing 20 lbs ago so I am scratching my head at this. People tell me I "look great!" but isn't that a thing every says to new moms?

I am not giving up but wanted to know how to tweak to ensure I'm doing this right. You may be on to something re the artificial sweeteners. Perhaps I am super sensitive to them bc of the insulin resistance of PCOS.

1
bidnowM/6'0"/62|SW 352|CW 190 +/- 14|GW 171 +/- 7|Yr 6•

As you mentioned, different people have differing degrees of insulin resistance. Dr. Fung addresses this in his book, "The Obesity Code" but the summarized version is that it will just take longer to wring the sweetness out of you. You definitely want to cut out the snacking and move to Intermittent Fasting sooner, rather than later.

1