Help – I’m on week one but haven’t lost any weight!

Does a keto diet reduce inflammation? How low in carbs should you go? And what should you do if you didn’t lose any weight in the first week?

Get the answers in this week’s Q&A with Dr. Andreas Eenfeldt:

Does being in ketosis reduce inflammation in the body?

I have acute inflammation in my body and I would like to know if living a low-carb diet will reduce the inflammation?

Jeanie

 
It appears that inflammation can be reduced for some people, and some studies have shown reduced inflammatory markers on low-carb diets. So possibly, yes. But it may depend on the cause of the inflammation, get rid of the root cause and the inflammation will definitely be reduced.

Best,
Andreas Eenfeldt

How low in carbs should I go?

I just started a week ago, down 8 lbs (4 kg), and am trying to keep my carbs down under 20 g. It’s very difficult when I try to accurately score carb grams as there seems to be carbs in everything.

I thought I heard you say in an interview that your daily carb intake was around 5? Did I hear wrong and if not, how do you keep so low and where are you getting your carbs from?

Dave

 
Getting carbs down to 5 grams per day is extremely hard, and no, I do not do that myself.

I think it’s usually enough to get down to 20 net carbs daily which is substantially easier than 20 total carbs.

Best,
Andreas Eenfeldt

 

Week 1 and I did not lose weight

I am 344 pounds (156 kg) and thought it would melt off, but the scale has not moved. I’m a little confused with a few things.

1. Are there portions I should be limiting myself to? Or just eat until full?
2. Track food so i know exactly how many carbs I am eating? Should calories be counted too?

I do not want to give up because I see the success others have. How can I tweak this so I lose weight?

Kim

 
Hi Kim!

Sometimes it takes one or several weeks before weight loss starts, especially when going from calorie reduction to eating as much low-carb foods as required to stay satiated. I still believe – as do most low-carb experts – that eating as much as you need to feel satisfied is the best way to get started, even if it occasionally takes slightly longer to get the weight loss going.

Tracking carbs can be a good idea when starting out, and limiting them to 20 grams per day, but I do not recommend limiting calories, especially not initially. Instead, try to get used to feel when you’re hungry or not, and only eat when you’re hungry.

To make it simple to stay under 20 grams of carbs per day – with no counting – use our free 2-week keto challenge.

Best,
Andreas Eenfeldt

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