Questions about continued weight loss after 8 months.

[u/Parking_Aardvark_482]

Im a 43 year old male who started a strict keto diet 8 months ago to try and solve some digestive issues and reoccurring diverticulitis, which the diet has most certainly solved. The added benefit was the weight loss. I am 6' tall and was just under 200 lbs when I started (not overweight but I definitely had some extra unneeded pounds), so with the diet and regular exercise I pretty quickly dropped down below 180 and have consistently hovered around 176 all of this with added muscle mass. I have been really strict with the diet with my only occasional break being extra carbs from vegetables or fresh homemade wholesome bread. I have never counted calories the entire time in fact when weight was dropping off I was afraid I was not eating enough calories.

I feel great and think I look the best of my adult life. My question is that now after stabilizing with weight after rapid loss I feel like Im starting to slowly loose more weight again as of this week Im getting closer to 174/175. I would not mind hitting about 172 or so and keeping that but I do not want to go below 170 for sure as I never began this diet to actually loose weight. Im curious if others have had this experience with the continued weight loss. My wife wants me to get a blood test in case its something else, but I really dont think it is, but who knows.

What do yall think about this?

[u/ReverseLazarus]

You don't need a blood test. Eat more calories if you don't want to continue losing weight. Keto alone doesn't drive weight loss because magic isn't real, I've been eating keto at maintenance since hitting my goal weight in 2018 and I haven't disappeared yet. If you're losing weight, you're eating in a caloric deficit, and since you don't count calories you can't know for sure that you aren't. Add more fat to your diet for easy free calories and you will stop losing weight.

[u/Parking_Aardvark_482 → u/ReverseLazarus]

Do you think it would be ok to add in a bit more natural carbs like eating some potatoes more occasionally or more homemade bread? I wont add any junk food of course.

Also what does "at maintenance" mean?

[u/ReverseLazarus → u/Parking_Aardvark_482]

If you no longer want to eat keto then sure. Keep in mind that adding in natural carbs (which if it's something like potatoes or bread you couldn't have more than a few decent bites before you're over your carb threshold) will take you out of ketosis. But adding carbs in won't help with to stop the weight loss since again, carb intake/ketosis does not drive weight loss.

Maintenance means I am maintaining my weight by eating right at my TDEE.

[u/Parking_Aardvark_482 → u/ReverseLazarus]

Ok, I think I understand, I should be thinking of keto as burning body fat but not reducing "weight"? Again I started this to stop inflammation and not to loose weight so I never thought in these terms, I apologize for my misunderstanding.

[u/ReverseLazarus → u/Parking_Aardvark_482]

No, keto alone doesn’t burn body fat. I’ve eaten keto for 9 years and am not 0% body fat so yeah. There ya go. 🤷‍♀️ Calorie intake drives fat loss/gain.

And if stopping inflammation is your primary goal, I wouldn’t recommend adding carbs back in. Keto is inherently anti-inflammatory and chances are it’s the ketogenic part of your diet that is helping you.

[u/Parking_Aardvark_482 → u/ReverseLazarus]

Understood, thanks.

[u/mrpeterstevens → u/Parking_Aardvark_482]

Close. Keto changes how your body works on the inside. It helps with inflammation and a lot of other things, including metabolism and hunger. The "magic" that isn't happening is that it isn't making you lose weight on it's own, it's effecting your satiety and cravings.

So if your concern is losing more weight, you have to eat more calories. Given the benefits of ketosis, get more calories from fat and protein, as getting more calories from carbs, even non-processed whole carbs, would also have an impact on your initial focus of keto with it's benefits on inflammation.

[u/Parking_Aardvark_482 → u/mrpeterstevens]

Thank you for this information.

[u/surfaholic15 → u/Parking_Aardvark_482]

Eat more meat and fat. Just for perspective my hubby fixed his diverticulitis with keto.

But if he eats carbs like potatoes, home made bread, whatever... he has a bad flare up.

A few times a year he will CHOOSE to be miserable for a few days because a particular food or occasion is involved. Like when we visit a friend who makes amazing corn bread from scratch. Or home made stuffing at another friend's house on Thanksgiving. Not "junk food".

He found out 7 years ago a carb is a carb.

[u/Parking_Aardvark_482 → u/surfaholic15]

Ok this is great advice, thank you. It has certainly fixed my diverticulitis so far.

[u/surfaholic15 → u/Parking_Aardvark_482]

Yep, it fixed my IBS and manages my T2 diabetes and my fibromyalgia.i have to be FAR stricter than him. He can eat up to 35g net carbs or even 40g if he eats most of the carbs before lunch on a work day with no issues. That said if he makes a habit of doing that daily for more than a few days his aches and pains act up and he doesn't feel right.

Whereas if i go over 25g net carbs even with only veggies or dairy, i risk a fibeomyalgia flare. I can't eat nuts or seeds/seed oils either, i found out they elevated my Crp numbers. No issues with veggies or dairy so ling as i keep my carbs 20g net or less.

[u/Parking_Aardvark_482 → u/surfaholic15]

Great! One thing is for certain it clearly shows us the poison we had all been ingesting for most of our lives and how we feel when we stop with all of that.

[u/surfaholic15 → u/Parking_Aardvark_482]

Yep. I wish i had found keto decades ago, i probablt could havd avoided a few decades of meds, chronic pain and illness. Oh well!

[u/MiniFizzRette]

this is me trying to convince myself the keto flu never happened to me

[u/backbodydrip]

1-2 lbs lower? Normal fluctuation more than likely. If you think it's fat, eat more food.

[u/Parking_Aardvark_482 → u/backbodydrip]

You are correct, Im sure its normal fluctuations is just that I had held pretty firm at 176/175 (with normal daily variation) for months and now it is definitely dropping again. Ill keep an eye on it and add in more fat as you suggest, thanks.

[u/astrid-coleman]

your wife’s right on the blood test tbh. it’s probably just calories, but explained weight loss plus a diverticulitis history is exactly the combo a doctor would want to rule stuff out on. one cheap test and you can stop wondering.