Hi all, this is my first post here and I’m wondering if anyone could offer me any advice as to why I’m barely losing any weight! I feel like I’m at my wits end and ready to give up. I just dont understand what’s gone wrong. I’m starting to wonder whether the Fast 800 just doesn’t work for everyone.

Here are my circumstances;

1) I’ve been on the Fast 800 diet for 3 weeks now and lost only 1.5kg!!

2) I fast for 16 hours a day. My regime is to not eat anything after 6.30pm. The next morning I have black coffee around 9am. At about 11am I usually start eating with either a single carrot or a boiled egg. Then eat a small calorie lunch at about 1.30pm.

3) I fastidiously use an phone app called FatSecret and according to the app I am mostly at about 800-825 calories per day. My absolute maximum carbs are 35 grams per day. Fat is usually at 45 grams and protein at about 52 grams. Any less protein and I’m usually starving (more of that below).

4) I have used urine keto strips daily and get a rich pink colour confirming that I’m definitely in ketosis (ie around 1.5-3)

5) I only do a bit of walking exercise but try to do it everyday.

6) I’ve been to a doctor and had a blood test which doesn’t reveal anything remarkable.

My only vice I can think of is that I have drunk a bit of Coke Zero and have read that fake sweeteners can create some impediments. Regardless, given the strict 800 calorie and 16 hour fasting regime I’m on, surely the results would be better than 1.5kg.

I’m so hungry most evenings I find I’m going out of my mind and despite my earnest commitment to this diet, I am truly going nowhere. I’m beginning to think there is no hope for me. I dont find this an easy diet at all despite people saying their hunger goes. I feel week, exhausted and have a bit of brain fog. After three weeks I’m so tired of it and not sure I can do another seven days more.

What on earth is creating so much of failure? Please help, I’m just so overwhelmed with disappointment and frustration.

Thanks for any help

The large weight loss some people report at the start is due to loosing stored water. – Our body has to store water to process carbs and when we move to a low carb diet it gets rid of that stored water. That rapid weight loss does not last long.

A lb of fat = 3500 calories, so discarding 1 to 2 lbs of fat a week is in the normal range.

Insulin does not only control if you are burning fat or carbs for fuel, it also controls if your body is repairing / rebuilding. So when you get to low insulin levels your body can build stronger bones and increase muscle. Both of which weigh more than unhealthy bones and muscle structures.

The pee sticks do not provide a long term reliable method of monitoring ketosis. – At the start your body produces excess ketones and gets rid of them in urine, but as time goes on it gets more economical and does not waste resources by making excess ketones. So long term, if you want to test for ketosis, then blood or breath testing for using ketones for fuel is the reliable options.

Your body is clever and sugar is highly damaging to the tissues. Think of it this way, the normal level of sugar circulating in the body of an adult = 2 teaspoons of sugar dissolved in 4.5 litres of blood. If the level rises by an additional 0.75 of a teaspoon then you could be diagnosed as diabetic. —- if you taste anything that is sweet your body presumes its going to need insulin so starts to release it. So diet drinks have an effect on insulin levels.

I would suggest joining one of the regular threads, either the weekly one, or the 100 days one where you can chat with others to ask questions and feel supported.

I would also suggest taking measurements, the scales is not a good way of monitoring progress. Discarding inches, and not just around the waist but over the whole body, is a more effective way of monitoring. You will also get whooshes, no one knows why but it will seem like you are stuck for a while and then there will be an overnight weight drop. There was a theory at one time that fat cells fill with water as the fat is used and then when all the fat out of a batch of cells is used the water is released. that theory has been proved to not be true, so they don’t know why.

Hi Deuce, you have received some very useful information from JGwen so I wont repeat anything here. Firstly of all you are the same weight a me and I am at 4’11” woman. On my current attempt to lose more weight it is going quite slowly. You hear of massive weight losses on this plan but those people are in the 200lb or more category. It is frustrating – do you have anyone helping or supporting you at home.

You dont seem to have any medical problems so no need to temper advice on that score. I know this can sound counterproductive but I dont think you are eating enough, or a least not enough of the right things. You cannot break a 16 hour fast with a carrot or a boiled egg, you need to refuel. You need something with some substance like scrambling 2 eggs with some creme fraiche (or cream) and around 10g of a full fat cheese. Make sure you are getting good fats like olive oil, full fat foods like yoghurts, cheese, milk etc. Dont do the slimming versions, they are carb dense. When you do a calorie prediction for the day (menu plan) and know if you have a bit left to play with have save a snack for the evening and start your fast a bit later so you dont go to bed hungry. Then you can break your fast a little later with either a brunch or a normal timed lunch. If you are so hungry you are miserable and you wont stick to this.

Having said that, I would suggest that In the first instance you forget about TRE and have 3 evenly spaced meals throughout the day and an evening snack. You will find that after 3 or 4 days you wont be hungry and you will start to lose weight. You might want a quick fix but it obviously isnt working. Take it easy and enjoy the diet. We all do.

Would like to see you over on either 100 days to Easter thread where you can discuss each problem as it arises or go to the weekly thread where there are people of all levels i.e. newbies, 5:2, Fast800, BSD and Tre, and oldies like me and JGwen to help out.

Just one thing I will repeat, cut out the diet coke – it creates an insulin response and even though you are not diabetic, it pumps out insulin to combat what it sees as sugar. Once in the blood stream but with no sugar to tackle it has to go somewhere and stores itself as fat. I think diet foods are the causes of being overweight.

Hi Deuce

I can totally understand that must be very frustrating for you. In terms of hunger, it may be helpful to prioritise protein. Amino acids are key to us feeling satiated. I will be supplementing Omega 3 to help with this and staying to low carb high protein throughout. I’m female, weigh about 160lbs and I’ll be eating around 100 grammes of protein a day.

Maybe worth mentioning that I have a friend who went low carb and didn’t lose anything much in the first four weeks and then suddenly the weight started dropping off. It’s different for everyone. I personally don’t weigh myself because I know that the scale can be very erratic. I measure various body parts and take photos of myself. I’ll update the measurements each week and the photos each month. In the past, I’ve noticed dramatic differences there even when the scales said that the weight wasn’t shifting.

I’d also recommend eating more. For the Keto 800 you focus on protein snacks to stay in ketosis when you’re really hungry and 800 calories hasn’t been enough and also due to the point I mentioned above. You might start on a higher calorie level until things get under control and just keep it low carb and prioritise protein with some healthy fats. No use being so hungry you’re feeling miserable because you’ll find it so hard to keep going.

I really hope you find something here that helps. Let us know how you get on. You got this!
Kerry

Hi Deuce, I echo all JGwen, s-g and Kerry have said, but also I would add drink alllllll the water – try to drink a minimum 2L water a day on top of other liquid (cutting out the coke!) – I hate it because it makes me feel super bloated and sloshy but honestly if I stop drinking water I stop losing weight. Just full stop.

Please come and join us on the weekly thread – Wendy sets up a new one every Monday so tomorrows will have One week at a time starting 10th Jan in the title – but you can come and join last weeks if you want and we’ll roll you over to the next one! We’re a friendly bunch and the group is full of enthusiasm at the moment!

As one extremely slow loser to another, big hugs!! And believe me I get the frustration because I’m in that 200lbs plus group s-g mentions and usually I don’t have big losses – I have this first week back on plan properly but I’ve been awful recently and Christmas and I know full well it’ll mostly be water.

Lauren xx

Hi Deuce, I echo all JGwen, s-g and Kerry have said, but also I would add drink alllllll the water – try to drink a minimum 2L water a day on top of other liquid (cutting out the coke!) – I hate it because it makes me feel super bloated and sloshy but honestly if I stop drinking water I stop losing weight. Just full stop.

Please come and join us on the weekly thread – Wendy sets up a new one every Monday so tomorrows will have One week at a time starting 10th Jan in the title – but you can come and join last weeks if you want and we’ll roll you over to the next one! We’re a friendly bunch and the group is full of enthusiasm at the moment!

As one extremely slow loser to another, big hugs!! And believe me I get the frustration because I’m in that 200lbs plus group s-g mentions and usually I don’t have big losses – I have this first week back on plan properly but I’ve been awful recently and Christmas and I know full well it’ll mostly be water.

Lauren xx

Deuce …. sorry you’ve had such a tough time. You have already received some excellent advice here from others. It maybe worth factoring in more fat (as SG suggested) as this will help with feeling full and holding hunger at bay longer. It seems madness that fat can be our friend, but it really is. Good hydration is also essential, so keep on top of that and if in doubt, have another glass of water.

Many of us are slow losers … me included. It’s a tough one to accept, but try to make peace with it … your body is unique and is doing it, it’s own way. Celebrate every step in the right direction, no matter how small.

One last thing, it’s really tough doing this without support, so be sure to make the most of this forum and maybe think about joining the weekly and/or ‘through to Easter’ threads. These both have experienced and new BSDers, all of whom will offer support, encouragement and experience based advice when needed. Try not to be disheartened, we’re here to support you.

Thank you Jwen, Sunshine-girl, Stevoka, florob85 and SunnyB. I am so grateful for your support and advice. Its quite touching to realise there is such a supporting and encourage group of people here. I guess it can act as a great substitute for my lack of supportive people around me.

I realise that I’m probably starving myself too much and will increase my intake a few hundred calories more for a while whilst getting settled into the routine. I accept its better to focus on the protein than worry about calories for the moment. I’ll also space out my meals a bit better whilst I’m going.

Happily will join the next 100 day thread as I’m sure its a great idea.

Thanks once agin – you’ve inspired me to continue.

That’s really good to hear 👏👏👏 I’m over on the 100 day journey so we’ll see you there 😊