Q&A: I’m not losing weight on LCHF – what should I do?
What if you’re doing an LCHF diet but after an initial loss of weight you’ve hit a weight plateau? What should you do to start losing weight again?
The answer to his and other questions – for example, is dairy bad? – in this week’s Q&A with Dr. Andreas Eenfeldt:
What to do about hypoglycaemia on LCHF?
My husband is a 56, Type I (since age 27), who has enjoyed seeing much better blood sugar levels and 45 lbs. weight loss since going LCHF last August. One issue he’s been struggling with is what to do when he has a bout with extreme low blood sugar. He battles with this as he is continually adjusting his insulin dosage on his insulin pump when losing weight/exercising. Do you have any suggestions for what he should eat as his old remedy was a “shot” of Karo syrup? He thinks he’s taking himself out of keto every time this happens…
I appreciate you and your sound advice!
Becky
Hi Becky!
The main solution is to take action to not get hypos in the first place, meaning reducing insulin doses if hypos are common. On low carb blood sugar levels are often quite lowish so letting them get a little bit higher (but still mostly within the normal healthy range) to avoid the risk of hypos can be wise.
The smaller the insulin doses the slower and weaker the hypos and the more time there is to use some slower-absorbed carbs instead, to counter them.
Bouts of “extreme low blood sugar” would still need things like a shot of Karo syrup, so again, the trick is not to get them.
Best,
Andreas
I eat LCHF but I’m not losing any more weight – what can I do?
I’m at a complete loss. I have been on LCHF for 8 weeks. Initially for the 1st 2 weeks I saw a rapid drop in weight and abdominal measurements but for the last 6 weeks I have been bouncing around with a gain of 1 pound, a loss of one pound. I eat no processed food only eat strawberries occasionally (then only with double cream) my vegetable intake is only with meals and usually is only broccoli celery or aubergine. I eat eggs, bacon, some meat each meal, butter, cream, olive oil and coconut oil, cheese, raw nuts (only a small handfull a day) full fat yoghurt (occasionally) and avocado 2 times a week. I drink copious amounts of water usually as herb tea. I don’t drink a lot of milk i rarely use sweetners. I occasionally have half a glass of red wine with my evening meal. I have a physically active job and walk for at least an hour a day I’m tired, crotchety and often headachey. I’ve increased my salt intake and take magnesium supplements. I am having a terrible time getting a good night’s sleep and often wake up ravenous. I am 46 years old I have been on diets since I was 12 years old. I have seen more success on HCLF diets but I want to do the right thing for my long term health and really believe LCHF is the answer. I need to lose 70 lbs and this diet is not helping. I need to know what else I can do to get the weight off. I am not prepared to cut anything else out of my diet as this would be too restrictive, bland and unsustainable. I don’t feel I have the capacity to fast at this point without being utterly miserable.
Mary
Mary,
Have you tried intermittent fasting – or do you just assume it will be miserable? Many people are surprised at how easy and pleasant it can be, at least when “only” doing 16–24 hours. I’d suggest trying it at least once!
Intermittent fasting for beginners video course
More tips here: How to Lose Weight
Best,
Andreas
Should I be concerned about dairy?
I am interested to know what the LCHF doctors have to say about consuming so much dairy. I can tell that this diet really works but I am concerned about all the cream, cheese, etc I am consuming. Many diets exclude dairy on the basis that is hard to digest, causes allergies, excema and potentially a host of other issues. I’m not having any side effects and eating more fat is definitely curbing my sugar cravings, but I hope I’m not doing any long term damage consuming dairy a couple of times a day. Any thoughts on this?
Judy Foster
Judy,
I believe the concerns over dairy are overblown. Quite possibly many people may feel even better and/or lose more weight without it. But at the same time many people tolerate it fine, and it can make life easier and more delicious…
Best,
Andreas
More
More Questions and Answers
Many more questions and answers:
More About LCHF and Diabetes
Calories still count, I see a lot of calories in her diet.
If she has cut all junk from her diet and don't lose weight anymore it's because she eats too much for her needs.
-Adding more veggies (I eat plenty of brussels, cauliflower, spinach, broccoli etc)
-Not over-doing it on the protein (still having more than enough which I would suggest is around 100g per day if measuring)
-Eating only when you're hungry
-Swapping store bought mayonnaise (mostly vegetable oil) for melted, grass-fed, salted butter (I'm just too lazy to make my own mayo!) which I now prefer
But above all:
-Taking decent gaps between meals
The intermittent fasting isn't "intermittent" for me as such as I've naturally slipped into a regular pattern of eating just once in a 24 hour period. I find I'm full enough and don't get any cravings. That tipped me over the edge and got me to a trim waist line along with a steady weight loss.
So really, the only thing that has been working for me is intermittent fasting combined with LCHF. I have been doing some 23 hour fasts and some 36 hour fasts -- I'm trying to make it random so my body doesn't catch on and adjust. During the times I eat, I've been cutting back on protein as it's also insulinogenic -- not cutting it out, of course, but maybe about half the portion size -- so I up the veggies and add a little fat.
Intermittent fasting is not difficult if you are already fat-adapted. Seriously, you should try it. Start out slow and just skip breakfast. Then try skipping breakfast and lunch. Once you start losing weight again, the feeling of hunger almost feels like a victory. But the hunger is not the same as people who are fueled by glucose -- I just drink a glass of tea and do something to keep me busy, and then I forget about the food. Not needing food is just about the most freeing thing a person can do -- you feel like you are in control again.
Reading up on intermittent fasting, I realised it didn't have to be a part of my routine at all. What a blessed relief, I never enjoyed breakfast, it was a real chore to swallow it! But, Dr Jason Fung says; if you don't feel hungry in the morning, don't eat breakfast. Permission to skip breakfast, woohoo, marvellous!
I have now also got a young puppy to train, he keeps me very busy and active throughout the day. I have found I'm now only eating one meal a day, in the evening, with maybe a small piece of cheese early afternoon to keep me going. My weight is starting to fall again after a prolonged period of stability. I find I am not really hungry at all until well after noon, and it is then easy to keep going until around 7pm, when it's time to have my LCHF evening meal.
It's depressing.
my mom was always thin, unfortunately I took after my dad :)
The number one thing I watched her do all our lives is, was not eating after 2:00-3:00pm.
I was not able to do that:(.
Now that I am following LCHF, which I believe in 100%. I find the MOST success is when I don't eat big meals in the evening. So I make my big meal (still compliant with this system) by 3:00-3:30pm. then water or decaf teas, hot and cold the rest of the evening.
*If attending an event or have company over, I keep it very small and focus on veggies.
*if my early big meal is light, say a salad and low fat meat, I will take a tablespoon of cream before bed. it seems to help me sleep. That's the other benefit of not eating late, I sleep better. That is a big deal at 55 years old.
Try it for just 3 days, see what you think.
No loss at all. Not even an inch. Not even water weight
I read so many success stories and I feel hopeless.
I'm not sure what else to do.
having read all of your comments i'm now armed with ideas should my weight stall, many thanks :)
Often , the response to a case like mine is simply "then it's time to try something else". But what is that "something else"? A "high carb" diet?
Thanks everyone. I will continue on with the diet because I still believe in it's health benefits...
Great, actually I have the feeling that quite a lot of people forget the main reson for eating LCHF, that it's a healthy lifestyle! :)
LCHF doesn't mean weight-loss for everyone but it really works for a lot of people. But if weight-loss is important and you honestly can say that you have read our best tips for weight-loss and have "implemented" most of them and still don't lose weight or gain muscle mass, then it's time to do something else if your goal is weight-loss.
Here are our best tips:
https://www.dietdoctor.com/how-to-lose-weight
I identify my high cortisol by my being attracted to sodas and salty snacks. Look for clues of possible cortisol reductions in those times where you go for long periods without getting hungry. Basically you want to convince the body that it has plenty of calories on hand so it keeps your metabolic rate up and willing to go into fat reserves.
I didn't get 4 stone overweight quickly so I'm sure as hell not going to lose it quickly. Keep on keeping on people ?
I don't feel any of the symptoms described. I also find it very easy to adapt menus and plan, love the shopping list! Although I'm naturally active and seem to feel good, I have not gained (which is key) but I still feel tired, my stomach growls sometime and I'm getting a little discouraged because I've only lost 2 pounds.
I see add more fat, add more protein....although I'm confused about which one is best for me is there something else I can do besides following the eating/menu plan to a tee?
So what the heck is going on? :D I try to eat when I am hungry and not if I am not. But I must say I eat pretty damn fucking good when I do. Yet I cannot lose weight! All the readings about fastening and HFLC diet only worked for a few time now it's worthless... another thing that get's a lot of recommends because it works in short term but not in long term?
What I did was tighten up the implementation of my diet. I started testing my blood glucose before and after meals, measuring my food to the nearest gram, and calculating my carb. intake to 0.1 g. This had the effect of reducing my actual carb. intake by about one third.
I lost another half stone over the next ten weeks but then got stuck again. So I have reduced my carb intake from 50 - 70 g/day to 40 - 60 g/day. This has led to me losing a bit more weight but it comes off ever so slowly. I intend to reduce carb intake again to 30 - 50 g/day in a fortnight's time.
All my many previous attempts at losing weight have failed long term because of this plateau effect. They also left me feeling hungry and miserable. Thirty years ago I found I could gain weight on only 400 Calories/day!
The real advantages of the LCHF diet are the lack of hunger and the fact I am relatively well on it. My blood pressure is the lowest for 20 years. for example. I feel at the moment I could keep this up for life - with occasional (well-monitored) treats.
I have been trying intermittent fasting for the past month and am slowly starting to lose. I was at a standstill and read an article suggesting eating a carb meal. I ate sushi and I started to lose again. I am curious about what you think about throwing in the occasional meal with carbs.
Dr. Jason Fung and intermittent fasting has given me hope that I may be able to eventually lose weight. My BMI is now to the point where I am considered over weight rather than obese.
Im in a 2 month stall. Dropped 95 lb in first 7 months, then nothing for the last 2. This despite varying IF from 19/5 to Omad, withholding veg, increasing/decreasing fat, increasing/decreasing protein. Infact, i couldnt be anymore "by the book" if i tried. Whilst im completely deflated and discouraged by my current predicament, as i still need to lose at least another 60lb.... currently sat at 255lb, I'm a lot closer to where i need to be than were i was.
My week generally consists of Fatty cuts of meat, with leafy greens, eggs, some avocados. Only proper 1 ingredient food. 1 measure of brandy once a week.
Rooibos tea, black coffee with occasional 25g butter in.
So if i have to restrict anything else, i may as well go OMAM.... (one meal a month)😉🤣