2 Weeks in - no loss - need less protein more fat HELP

[Jo4694]

i haven't seen any change in two weeks.

I have read millions of web sites about this. So I started logging my food to see my ratios and without realising it I think I have been eating too many carbs, and way too much protein.

I have been very meat and cheese and dairy heavy.

So how do I increase fat whilst lowering protein and carbs further?
I can't just fry veg because then my carbs rack up. I can't have butter or cheese loaded egg recipes as protein racks up.

I am really struggling to know how to have a really high fat recipe without the protein or carbs going over recommended proportions.

Should I use fat bombs? What are they?
Will they fill me up enough for a meal.

• Salad with avocado and plenty of homemade oil-based dressing
• Coconut milk is your friend! Full fat, no added thickeners and crap (if you have a local chinese or asian supermarket it's usually a good place to get it)

Use in a curry, in a smoothie with frozen berries (weigh the berries - 100g should be about 5g of carbs). I put a raw egg in too and it keeps me full until lunchtime. Bullet proof coffee or tea….I make it with a spoonful of MCT oil + a couple of spoons of coconut milk and it helps keep me full

• Stir cream or coconut milk into scrambled eggs
• Rely more on very low carb veg…..green leafy stuff. I posted a recipe for creamed spinach on another thread - lots of butter and cream and low in carbs.

Fatty meat and green leafy veg. I eat lots of pork belly, lamb chops, cabbage and salad. Mayo on all salad.

How many weeks in are you? Have you lost any weight at all? How many grams of carb and protein are you eating at the moment?

If you know you are on way too many carbs and you are fairly new to LC then you need to find your optimum carb level before you mess with protein. The two are difficult as everyone has their own best level. You tend to only need to really watch protein once you have been fat adapted for some time. People who are well adapted just don't need the extra protein but in the early days it helps get you over the transition to fat burning so don't be too quick to make drastic cuts.

Hi

The problem is I didn't weight myself before I started and I haven't measured/logged my food properly since starting either.

It is possible I have lost 2lbs since starting this just under three weeks ago. But judging on my waist size and clothes fit nothing has changed.

I would say I am easily eating 150-200g+ of protein a day, and about 30-45g +carbs and about 100g fat totalling around 1800+ calories a day. With very little exercise.

I don't have a massive amount to lose so I think my body is holding on to its weight, I seemed to always end up around this weight 9st 7lbs but want to be a stone less.

Ketostix showed me in ketosis. Then on Tuesday there was a big work party (lots of these between now and Xmas) and I drank quite a lot of red wine. I did do a hard class two days after hoping to burn those carbs away. And I was still in ketosis but this weekend the sticks are hardly showing anything.

The positive is I have not gained weight and am so surprised how i have gone almost three weeks with no chocolate or anything sweets and no cravings really.

But I am surprised I have gone from high high carb eating with tons of sweets and take always, to hardly any carbs, 3litres of water a day and have very little to show for it. That's disheartening.

I did used to exercise a lot but have just lost my drive to exercise so currently do one class a week maybe 2. So I wonder if I step back up to 3-4 classes a week will that kick start my weight loss.

You may do well to follow the Atkins protocol and drop your carbs to around 20gr for 2wks. If you follow the Boot Camp protocols that gives you a very low carb intake without needing to actually count. Going cold turkey on carbs often gives you a better start to weight loss than slowly creeping them down. You can always creep them back up until you find your stalling point.

Phinney and Volek don't recommend cutting protein at this stage. Obviously they don't advocate huge amounts! Its about what you need to feel full and the emphasis needs to be on fat first with a moderate protein intake and low carbs. Even if you are in ketosis your body might well not be fully fat adapted. It can take up to 6wks to actually get your body happy to use fat/ketones as its main fuel. Until then its not a good idea to go too low on protein as it will preserve your muscle mass. Its especially important if you are looking to go back to exercise. If your body is demanding glucose as fuel and is breaking down protein to compensate it will breakdown muscle if theres an inadequate supply from elsewhere.

If you are losing the cravings and you feel OK I would just stick with it. Not everyone gets the vast initial loss and when they do its going to be water and not fat. I think the alcohol will have played a bigger part than you realise. You may be making ketones but your body will have gone to the alcohol as fuel in preference so the ketones go to waste! Low carb is great but it hates cheats. Its very unforgiving. You can't do exercise as a penance like you can on low fat!

Just a thought, but are you very short? 9st 7lb doesn't sound a huge weight. Are you being realistic in wanting to be a stone less?

I am 5 feet exactly.

I have started to think that maybe this is just my weight and size. Anyone who hears I am dieting thinks I am insane.

But I know what's under my clothes, a small muffin top, very flabby hips and bum area and my waist is usually tiny. So I can see I am not as slim as I know I can be.

Truth is though the times when I have hit goal weight and loved my body were after drastic hard core dieting for three months. And they are so restrictive it makes me miserable, is totally unsustainable and therefore the minute I reach goal weight I go off the rails with food and put it all back on and some.

I don't know if I should just accept this is my size, this is my weight. I will never be that tiny slim person I was at 20 (now 36). And just use this principle as a way to choose better foods I.e. Very low carb and no crap, with occasional dinner party or work drinks, and basically just maintain my weight. Yet I catchy myself in the mirror and hate what I see, and know I am too wobbly too fat for me. Which could be more about exercise than obsessing over diet.

I have been reading about "fat fast", by Dana carpender, basically sticking to 1000 cals 90% fat for 1 weeks to make this kick in.

Well, I'm 5ft 2 and I was actually at my fittest at 9-7. I did once get well below that after a period of strict dieting and ended up catching all sorts of bugs and being really ill for months! I can appreciate that you could want to get a bit lower though. Sometimes you have to take a step back and reassess.

What about doing some weight training? Its better for sculpting what you've got and improves your metabolism. Its made a huge difference to my shape. I've lost over 3st but I'm pretty well stuck now. Still have a good chunk to go which is disappointing. I do have other health issues though so maybe I too have to be realistic! Theres no way I would ever go back to low fat though even if I never shift another pound. Its the first time in years that I've actually felt well and LC has dragged me back from the brink of Type 2 diabetes!

The Fat Fast did nothing for me at all. Tried it twice. Some of the others off the Boot Camp section did an egg fast. I think results were mixed. If you look back through the BC threads you will find it or you can just Google it. Its a version of the Fat Fast that was developed by Jimmy Moore to try and get back into ketosis when he stalled. It sounds more manageable if that's the route you want to take.

Thanks so much that is so helpful. The egg diet is perfect for me and much more preferrable to the fat fast. I just put an example egg diet day into MFP and it works out very similar ratios to fat fast but would be way more enjoyable for me. That is great. Thanks

From what I've heard the egg diet is more effective really as you get a better balance of nutrients for your calories. I think some of the testers were starting to cluck by the end of the third day!