I’m not losing weight!

[ThisOneNoThatOne]

I’ve been doing a low carb diet for 2 weeks now and I’ve not lost any weight- in fact I’ve put 0.2kg on!

I’ve been putting everything into my fitness pal- I’m sticking to 1300 kcals and keeping under 20g carbs. I’ve bought some Keto sticks and they say I’m in ketosis

I was wondering if anyone has any advice? Here’s my typical food for the day:

Scrambled eggs with butter or 80g Greek yoghurt

Salad leaves with tuna, avocado & mayonnaise

Dinner- another salad or chicken stir fry with soy sauce

If I have a snack it might be celery with pate, or a couple of jarlsberg cheese slices.

I have about 3 litres of fizzy water a day and I start the day with a cup of coffee with 5mls of cream. No more tea or coffee after that.

Is a low carb diet not for me?

It's unusual not to lose weight if that's all you're eating. You don't drink? There is nothing missing, like a ton of coffees with milk in?

Also how much do you weigh now v your height? Do you maybe not have anything to lose?

Sorry ignore the coffee bit.

Not sure I would drink 3 litres of fizzy water. It would bloat me. Could you drink normal water? My last diet, took a few weeks for it to register a weight loss. Keep going 😊

You're not eating a lot but you're eating quite a bit of fat. Butter, cheese, mayonnaise and pate I would cut out or use reduced fat versions and swap the yogurt for fat free.

You're not eating a lot but you're eating quite a bit of fat. Butter, cheese, mayonnaise and pate I would cut out or use reduced fat versions and swap the yogurt for fat free.

I absolutely would not do that. Fat free or low fat versions of foods just have sugar in instead or artificial sweeteners. Good fats are good for you! They keep you full and provide your body with nutrients.

I would just say to give it a chance to work, it's only been two weeks!

Do suggest you switch to still water though as fizzy will make you bloat, and make sure you eat lots of protein to keep full.

Are you exercising?

No, on this kind of diet you need to eat the fat. Absolutely do not switch to fat free variants. I tend to find that weight loss takes a week or so to register. Some people just take longer and everyone fluctuates through the month. Do clothes feel looser?

Maybe you should try a different type of diet. I'm doing slimming world where you eat mainly fat free or low fat but can have carbs too and I'm losing steadily each week.

Were you dieting prior to starting on low carb?

Fat is your friend on a low carb diet and your calories seem quite low for this kind of diet. You don’t say how you cook your stirfry ie how much oil, or the quantities of mayo.

I follow Atkins and I am allowed 30ml of cream per day for example.

So depending on your quantities I would say you might be lacking fat.

Don’t give up! The weight loss will come

Thank you, I’d got the impression that a low carb diet works by keeping you feeling full, therefore keeping the calories down? Apart from not actually losing any weight I’m enjoying the diet so far as I don’t feel hungry!

I’ll look at adding more fat, but I did feel as was having a lot- eg. If I’m having a salad I’ll add 40g of mayonnaise which is a lot of my daily calories.

I’m exercising, I’ve mainly being doing Pilates 3 times a week, but I’m now adding in 3 spin classes too (only started that this week though).

I’m 5’6” and 12 stone, so there’s definitely fat there to lose!

I find it’s the fat that keeps me feeling full, some say it’s the protein but I really haven’t found that to be the case.

Tbh I’ve never counted calories doing this type of diet so I’m not sure, I just stick to 20g of carbs and the limits on cheese and cream etc.

I am really surprised that you haven’t lost anything, even without low carbing I would assume you should have given the 1300 calories. Stick with it and as suggested do take measurements as maybe the scales haven’t quite caught up.

Do post again on how you get on.

Pilates won't help you to lose weight at all, although spinning certainly will.

I'm not on the Atkins diet so I can't help with that, but if you're exercising to lose weight I'd drop Pilates to 2x week in favour of 5x intensive bursts of cardio (e.g. spinning). You will not see any results from the Pilates for a long time whereas you will from the spinning.

I wouldn't add Mayonaise - that's not a good fat. TRy adding avocado, eggs, cheese, nuts etc instead

You've posted this in Low-carb Boot Camp topic, so I will answer according to the Low Carb Boot Camp "Rules".

Absolutely do not swap full fat yoghurt etc for low fat versions. If anything you should be increasing your fat. There is nothing wrong with a good mayonnaise: home made is best but the Lidl Full Fat mayonnaise is low carb as is the more expensive de Louis(?) one.

Don't bother with counting calories. But one of the reasons why it is recommended to avoid nuts in the first couple fo weeks is that they are very calorie "dense", so until you have learnt to listen to our body's true hunger cues, they are best avoided.

Some people find that they need to avoid dairy on Boot Camp fortunately I don't appear to be one of them as their body triggers an insulin response to it. BTW: butter doesn't count as dairy in this context, as it has very little lactose.

Why not come and join us on the current Boot Camp threads: we're on Week 4 at the moment, but there are people who jin throughout the 10 weeks. The Opening Post of the Boot Camp threads has a link to the Spreadsheet of Fabulousness, which includes the Rules and also some resources which you can read up on. You'll also get a lot of support there!

How much do you need to lose? And is this realistic? What is your BMI?

A low carb diet - or Bootcamp, to be specific - is low carb high fat and it doesn't look like you're eating enough fat. You also don't need to count your calories.

Are you weighing all your food, or are you just eyeballing?

High fat diets am an be tricky due to small volumes. Someone at work said she only had used 1 tablespoon on mayo, but to my reckoning it was about 4. A difference of 300ish calories in just one meal.

Likewise fatty meat and cheese can be very deceptive in portion size.

Thanks everyone for the advice.

I need to lose 2 stone. I’m 5’6 and 12 stone.

I’m going to keep going for a bit longer and see if it works for me. I feel so much better eating like this and it’s nice not to have sugar cravings and crashes like I used to!

I do weigh out all my food including mayo, butter etc so I’m sure I was keeping to 1300 kcals. However, I’m going to start adding in more fat and see if it makes a difference. I’ll also watch out for dairy, as i often had greek yoghurt for breakfast and cheese for snacks.

I’m going to look through some other bootcarb threads for more inspiration too.

Thanks again!

I didn’t really lose much the first 3 & half weeks. Then I’ve had a WHOOOOSH. keep at it, follow the Bootcamp rules and it will come off.

... and don't worry about the calories!

As you get nearer to goal, it will become important to keep an eye on them. But for now, as long as you're not eating massive portions, you don't need to count calories.

The other thing that's important is to make sure that you're drinking enough water - but see Bootcamp rules (on the spreadsheet) for that.

Good luck!