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I need Help im so disheartened

Hello i did keto over 2 years ago and had amazing results then life happened hubby went on a really long deployment so was busy with 3 kids and fell off the wagon since then I have gained 20+ pounds and went into keto 3 weeks ago I have been tracking everything on my carb manager to a T I am 5’6 170lbs GW 150 to start with i stay under 1300 cals a day and under 25gs of carbs never hit my fat macros about 10gs or or so daily I feel good just in the last 3 weeks not a single pound lost im about to throw in the towel and accept being over weight the first time I had done this I lost 8lbs in two weeks I would care if it was only 1 or 2lbs but nothing for 21 days please he
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Avatar universal
What is your workout routine with diet plan? My coach once said that both diet and workout are connected with each other to achieve fitness goals.
Helpful - 0
649848 tn?1534633700
COMMUNITY LEADER
Everyone has posted some good ideas here... We're all different, so we all have to find what works for us.  

I've had a huge issue with my weight - caused, primarily, by under active thyroid issues, but also by diet and exercise deficiencies, along with pre-diabetes.  

I agree that Keto isn't a diet that most people can live with on a long term basis.  The most recommended diet is, as Paxiled said - the Mediterranean Diet, which incorporates a lot fish, vegetables, fruit and whole grains.

Our bodies change over time, so what worked at one point in our lives, may not work at another point in our lives - that is certainly true for me.  As specialmom said - I used to be very slim and active and if I gained a few pounds it was no big deal because it would come off easily.  Once my thyroid malfunctioned, all bets were off because if hormones aren't balanced, nothing will work.  

In your case, you could have developed a hormone imbalance or you could simply have hit a plateau... When we hit a plateau, we usually have to change things up and find something else that works.  Eating the same food, doing the same exercise every day gets our body into a routine and if we don't challenge it, everything stays the same for us.  

I suggest, first, that you make sure you haven't developed a health issue that causes weight gain/inability to lose (hypothyroidism, insulin resistance, etc).  Keep in mind that some medications also cause weight gain.  Once you determine that you have no health issues, make some changes to your routine to see if that helps.  They don't have to be huge changes - small changes can make a big difference.  
Helpful - 0
973741 tn?1342342773
Hi, welcome to the forum!  I hear ya.  I was always active and slim and then I had kids close together in age, had a lot going on with them, got busy, gained weight.  It also happens, I'm sad to say, rather easily as we get older.  I think overhauling your diet is great.  And I've found that while there are time tested things that work and this theory or that theory, and people who say don't count calories and other people that says do (I don't cut calories but know 'about' where things are and when I want to lose weight, going lower calorie while staying full helps me lose), etc. YOU seem to know what works for you.  I would probably be a disaster on your plan because I just know myself too well and I can't be super specific and documented with things like trackers or apps.  I set broader goals (exercise X amount of times a week and for at least this amount of time,  cut out cookies and pop totally and limit sugar) and that works for me.  I also can't have super complicated recipes.  I see keto and I get all blurry in the brain.  

One thing that does really help me and I heard it on from a doctor from NYU Langone (prestigious and usually pretty good docs there) is to cut out food in the evening.  I do that after dinner.  Then if I need a little something, I have a cup of hot tea.  When I do this, it helps slim me down.  

What we eat is such a huge part of weight loss.  And exercise is in the helper role.  Now, with kids and a husband gone, it's probably hard to find the time.  But, important to do so.  Online, Youtube, through your cable company, or dvd's you have a wide choice of classes.  My Y where I have been known to work out has ZOOM exercise classes.  What do you like to do?  I found 'boot camp' classes that had a cardio component and a strength component going back and forth to be very effective.  I also love Tabata work outs.  You have specific sets that don't last long and you repeat three times to the chimes.  Some like Zumba a lot.  I got a mini trampoline for my kids a long time ago, I run in place on it or do pretend jump roping.  take the kids for  walk.  Get some small hand weights for home.  

Anyway, to me, it sounds like you are doing things right and the weight may be stubborn for a bit, start coming off, then plateau and then come all the way off.  I also have to mention the sad reality.  I lost all the weight I wanted and then some a few years ago.  I had a physical and my doctor was so pleased.  She said "now, here's the thing.  Most people can't keep it off long term.  To be true weight loss, it really needs to last for two years to be permanent.  And our mind plays tricks on us.  We'll be going along, catch ourselves eating ice cream and think 'why did I do that' and weight seems to go back on.  So you have to maintain the weight loss for at least two years".  Well, I didn't.  I gained it back.  Grrrr.  So, lose and then get a long term plan on how to keep it off.  :>)  
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Avatar universal
Keto isn't one diet, so it doesn't really tell us much.  It's also a fad diet that has no evidence it works long-term or that is is a healthy way to eat.  You might consider, since it isn't working, trying to just eat a healthy balanced diet high on veggies and whole grains and well, you know what's good for you.  And then increase exercise.  Eating well works forever.  Fad diets usually don't.  What you want is to be not only a weight you like but also healthy for the long-term.  Also, the notion of carbs is very misunderstood because of marketing masquerading as fact.  The carbs to avoid are simple carbs such as white flour and sugar, but a healthy diet and one that is good for weight is mostly carbs.  Veggies are carbs.  Beans are part carbs.  Whole grains are carbs.  But these foods are where health comes from.  Maybe time to go back to doing some research.  Look at what's been termed the Mediterranean Diet, it's a rubric for what humans seem to do best eating long-term.  Nothing fancy, no gimmicks.  Just what we were all taught.  Peace.
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1 Comments
Weight fluctuates for a variety of reasons.  It is possible you've lost some fat in the last three weeks, but it is not showing up on the scale yet.  Most of the big losses people experience the first couple weeks of a new diet, especially when restricting calories, is water weight.  If you are retaining water for any reason, this can obscure "weight loss".

1300 calories while at 170 pounds seems very, very low to me.   Unless you are not exercising at all, this seems much too low to be sustainable in the long term, and difficult for most people to maintain even over short periods of time.

I agree with Paxiled, that one of the best ways for long term weight loss is to find a diet that will work for you forever.  I can only share my own experience, but I was able to go from 190 to about 155 with a slow metabolism (unknown to me at the time) by increasing my daily exercise a bit, and counting calories, eating about 200 calories less a day than I was burning.  So, at 170 pounds, I was eating about 2000-2200 calories most days, with about an hour to 1.5 hr exercise each day.  With no exercise, the lowest I would eat was around 1600 calories.  (And some days I would eat too much, some days too little, but most days at least 1600 calories).  As for foods, I generally eat lean meats and almost no fried foods (I didn't change my diet for this, I haven't eaten mammals since 1996 and fried foods really make running more difficult the next day, so I just don't).  Lots of fruits and veggies, oatmeal, lean meats, but if I want a donut, I have a donut.  I also continue to have a bagel everyday... I run a lot, it works for me, and I love bagels.  It wasn't about restricting certain foods forever, just finding the right balance between eating mostly healthy foods and lower calories.  I've also never had food addiction or binge disorders, so this may not work for everyone.

Why just undereat by 200 calories a day?  Well, I also love to run, and I was aware that if I ate too little, I would lose both fat and muscle, and I did not want to lose muscle.  I now know that losing weight quickly causes muscle loss, which will actually slow your metabolism down since muscle will burn more calories even when not in use compared to fat.  My best weight loss advice: lose it as slow as possible while still losing it, find a sustainable diet that you will be able to maintain in the long run, and if you are going to exercise more, do some weight lifting, body weight exercises, or use resistance bands to add lean muscle.  (This coming from someone who runs about 80 minutes a day now and does not lift weights as much as I probably should -- weight lifting is great for adding muscle and increasing the metabolism).

If keto is not working for you, you can always try something different.  Weight loss is possible, but you need to find something that will work over the long term for sustainable loss.  Good luck, and don't give up, it is possible.
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