Heya

Iv been doing fast 800 for almost 3 weeks now. First 2 weeks were great, lost 17lb but now nothing has changed for last 5 days, I even gained a lb on one day! I’m using an app to track macros, I’m eating less than 20g carbs, 100g fat and 100 protein each day and calorie intake is between 400-800 calories a day. I’ve tested and am definately in ketosis.

Exercise is limited for me due to health conditions and I know my meds cause weight gain so that contributes but I cant go less calories a day!

Hi Tanny-lou, welcome to the site and well done, thats a fantastic weight loss in 2 weeks. You havent quite hit a plateau which can go on and on but you are experiencing the normal reaction of your body to losing 17lbs. Our bodies dont like change and try to seek out a state called homeostasis. Which is a fancy word for balance. It sort of goes ‘oh heck, whats happening, why arent I getting fed like before – help, I had better hang on to what I have got until I can see what is going on’, Yes, that was your body talking. Give it a few days or maybe a week and it will settle down to the new diet and you will start to lose again.

This is usually the time when people give up, but seriously, this is a good sign that your body is recognising the changes you are making. Keep on keeping on as I always say. There is a lady called Dr Becky Gillespie who does YouTube videos which I suggest you scan through the subjects. She is really non-medical jargon and talks a lot of sense and easy to watch.

Heya thanks for replying! I’m fine with medical jargon, did biology degree so used to the words lol, but makes it harder with so much contradiction in medical texts and trials! I’m glad to hear it is a good thing, I’ve done keto loads of times before and never plateued this quickly but it has been a good few years. I’m fully motivated at the moment (getting married!) So definately will keep at it, at least for a few months until I hit the target goal. Long as it starts to move again soon, I’m happy

There seems to be much disagreement about this but some people propose a ‘cheat day’ where you can kind of eat what you want. It’s supposed to help keep your metabolism revved up throughout because your body feels like it’s getting more than enough food. For me I do it so I eat what I want on a Saturday which helps me keep cravings at bay during the week. I usually still don’t eat until lunch as that suits me and because I’m eating less I still don’t eat as much as normal in that day. Also I’m wondering if the amount of fat is too high. I usually come in at close to 100g protein, 20-30g carbs and around 50g fat and that’s me hitting around 800-900 calories. It’s a big imprecise of course. In the past I’ve plateaued on keto and noticed that my fat intake has gone up a lot. Are you calorie counting or just keto? One source I’ve read says that 100g fat = 900 calories. No idea how reliable that number is mind

I dont cheat day often because I loose the mindset and then harder to maintain, so nornally do one once a month eg if go out for a meal or something with friends.

I’m using Carb Manager app, its obviously only as accurate as the details I put in but im trying to be as accurate as possible. I usually hit between 80-100g protein but fat it says I can have up to 123g a day, I usually eat between 50-80 so maybe I do need to reduce that as well. Its mostly the carbs and calories I have been tracking, which a brief check that the other two don’t go over. I did loose a lb this morning so hopefully its moving, I think drinking the coffee may be boosting my metabolism, I know that can really impact the scales!

Hi Tamny_Iou

There is one piece of advice that I would give people is to not focus only on the reading on the scales to monitor progress.

When we eat a high carb diet our body needs to store water to help process the carbs, as soon as we change into ketosis our body releases that stored water. That’s the reason for the rapid weight loss at the start. Sorry to disappoint you but that large loss at the start wasn’t all fat.

Each lb of fat provides 3500 calories. So depending on your metabolism, the discard of a lb of fat a week would be a reasonable rate of progress. However, Insulin which we aim to keep low does not only control if our body is storing carbs or burning fat if there is a deficit on calories. It also controls other activities such as repairs to the body, building stronger bones and muscles. Obviously healthy bones weigh more than weak ones but are invaluable especially as we get old. So it is perfectly possible to be discarding fat and yet even gaining weight, one of Dr Fungs colleagues who writes the blog for their business has written about all the stages of her process. The final stage of her return to health resulted in her dropping 2 dress sizes but gaining 10kg as she became fitter.

Finally, in addition to taking measurements of the common places, such as waist and hips, also be open for looking for other changes. For many of us with a lot to discard we managed to drop a shoe size, and our collar bones emerged before we saw many changes in our waist and hips.

Finally, I would say you are doing the right thing, focus on keeping insulin consistently low so that your body can use its fat stores is the best starting point. Then remember that our aim is for our bodies to use our fat stores. So while at the start encouraging your body to burn fat could be helpful, the more fat you eat the less of your own fat will be burnt.

I would suggest joining one of the regular threads. either the weekly thread which starts each tuesday, or the 100 day thread. The only reason for the two is that some people prefer to set targets on a weekly basis, others prefer to make longer plans. On either you will find support from others on the same journey.

I am with you on not having cheat days, if we have lots of the gut bacteria which digest sugar it causes inflammation in the rest of the body. These bad bacteria are capable of signalling to our brain that they want feeding, they are the ones which most rapidly multiply when you feed them, but they also die off if you do not feed them. So consistency is better if that is possible for you. .

Hi Tanny-lou
17lbs – that’s a fantastic loss.
When I started doing BSD, my weight loss went the same – great weight loss for the first 2 weeks, then Week 3 it stalled. (This first stall lasted 2 weeks for me!). I’ve read about it happening at 2, 3 or 4 weeks quite a lot on here. As a previous long-time dieter, I found the pattern of weight loss on BSD different from on other diets e.g. I’d lose nothing for a bit then I’d lose 1lb a day for 3 or 4 days in a row. (Everyone’s different of course!). Very odd. But, it’s a great diet that works and I lost more weight in the first few months on here than on many other diets.
The other thing that happened was that the weight came off differently, off my shoulders, back, ankles and feet as well as, some before, other more usual areas. So, if you haven’t done it already you might want to take a range of body measurements and track them as well as your weight, to make sure that wedding dress fits great. What a lovely motivator.
The other great result for me was the compliments I started getting about my skin and hair. (Honestly, I never had those kind of compliments even when I was young!). Another great motivator if you ever needed one!
Jennie xx

My post crossed with JGwen’s – so sorry for the repetition of some elements in this post !!

Thanks guys! Yes I am doing measurements too, lost about 2″ off waist and hips so far (although as you said, probs is mostly water weight). Im already wearing clothes that didnt fit a few weeks ago and I can visibly see it on my face that I’m loosing weight so it is all going the right direction.
JGwen, your right about the insulin. I get sugar dependant migraines which become less frequent when I’m on keto and the impact on hormones changes my endometriosis (not sure if better or worse, just different lol). So I do love keto for that. It’s also meant iv been able to come off one of the 4 meds I’m on which all cause large weight gain, I’m hoping that will make a difference to the weight loss too and I gained about a stone each time I start each of the meds.
Sounds like its all fully normal and just power through really 🙂 and reduce the fat lol

Actually, it’s INCREASE the fat! LOL
Has to be one of the hardest things to wrap your head around — fat is your friend. We were sold a bill of goods that fat is the enemy.
The true enemy is empty carbohydrates ie grains, flours, rice, potato etc.
Eating high fat foods protects your brain as well as your body.
I recommend listening to a few Dr Bikman podcasts (he’s cutting edge)
And also Dr Perlmutters work
Or Gary Taubes, “Good Calories Bad Calories” or “Why We Get Fat”
It took a long time to change my point of view — literally felt “dangerous” in the beginning but the research keeps rolling in and fats are your friend.
Low carbohydrate/higher fat looks like it defends your brain from dementia and Alzheimer’s.
Plus it tastes amazing!! And satisfies.

Hi Californiagirl,

Hope you are doing well,

I am just popping in to this thread again to cut and paste my standard reply on why its not a plateau when the rapid weight loss stops after a couple of weeks, as there is another newcomer to the forum asking the same question. I really need to save it in a file so I can just cut and paste. 🙂

I read Tanny_lou’s last few words of reduce the fat to mean reduce the body fat rather than reduce the fat in her diet.

Oops, if I misinterpreted it, I apologize!

Hi again Tammy-Lou, re-reading your original post I did notice you list your calorie intake as between 400 and 800 calories a day. 800 calories is aleady a v.l.calorie diet and going even lower doesnt mean you will lose more. It could in fact be hampering your weight loss now as your body feels it is being starved. Try to keep around 800.