WEIGHT LOSS PLATEAU & LOSS OF ENERGY

[Skyrider]

I began a reduced carb/reduced calorie diet approximately 5 weeks ago.

I was initially losing approximately 0.5kg per week, but seemed to have reached a plateau, with no further weight loss during the last week. Calorie deficit for the weight loss is approximately 500 calories.

Also, I have noticed a significant loss of energy since commencing the diet, leaving me unable to complete my usual number of daily steps & other activities.

I’m wondering if all this is normal & where to go from here?

I don’t want to drop calories too much & feel unable to increase activity due to the aforementioned loss of energy which is requiring me to pace myself.

 

[Art Of Flowers]

You can lose weight by just going low carb and eating more fat. The body does take a while to get “fat adapted“. See …

Once your body adapts to burning fat you will have a lot more energy.

 

[Skyrider]

You can lose weight by just going low carb and eating more fat. The body does take a while to get “fat adapted“. See …

Once your body adapts to burning fat you will have a lot more energy.

Thanks for the link, interesting as far as it goes, would like to see more.

My energy was already low, tentative diagnosis of CFS/Long Covid. I was wondering if the reduction in carbs/calories can cause a further loss of energy?

 

[MrsA2]

Most of us t2s don't take any notice of calories and instead restrict carbs, throw in some fasting and increase activity.
What are you eating and doing? It might be your body has gone jnto starvation mode and is trying to hang on to everything

 

[Skyrider]

Most of us t2s don't take any notice of calories and instead restrict carbs, throw in some fasting and increase activity.
What are you eating and doing? It might be your body has gone jnto starvation mode and is trying to hang on to everything

I suspect that my metabolism has slowed during the diet to the extent that energy is now balanced again, i.e. calories in = calories required to maintain weight.

I have reduced my carb intake to around 120g/day. I had previously reduced it to 70 - 80g/day but this induced heart palpitations & arrhythmia, so had to increase it again to get my heart back to normal. Protein around 80g/day, with fat slightly lower. Calories around 1550, equating to a deficiency of 500 calories.

My activity level is light, amounting to walking around 7,000 steps/day under normal circumstances, with frequent movement during the day. Plus some light resistance & weight training.

 

[Resurgam]

I suspect that my metabolism has slowed during the diet to the extent that energy is now balanced again, i.e. calories in = calories required to maintain weight.

I have reduced my carb intake to around 120g/day. I had previously reduced it to 70 - 80g/day but this induced heart palpitations & arrhythmia, so had to increase it again to get my heart back to normal. Protein around 80g/day, with fat slightly lower. Calories around 1550, equating to a deficiency of 500 calories.

My activity level is light, amounting to walking around 7,000 steps/day under normal circumstances, with frequent movement during the day. Plus some light resistance & weight training.

Calories in less than calories out - what a pity it doesn't work for sustained weightloss as our survival mechanism kicks in and limits how much we can exert ourselves when our calories go low.
Dr Atkins found that a low carb diet seems able to do the impossible and cause food to have negative calories - people were eating more and losing weight as long as the intake of carbs was low. After decades of restricting calories eating low fat and high starch, I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, and lost loads of weight eating 'all the wrong things'- but it seems to be what works.

 

[Skyrider]

Calories in less than calories out - what a pity it doesn't work for sustained weightloss as our survival mechanism kicks in and limits how much we can exert ourselves when our calories go low.
Dr Atkins found that a low carb diet seems able to do the impossible and cause food to have negative calories - people were eating more and losing weight as long as the intake of carbs was low. After decades of restricting calories eating low fat and high starch, I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, and lost loads of weight eating 'all the wrong things'- but it seems to be what works.

Yes, I am definitely limited in how much I can exert myself these days!

I wonder if calorie cycling might work, in order to keep my metabolism guessing?

Interesting about the Atkins diet. I am endeavouring to reduce my carb intake further, but I don't think I can go as low as recommended in that diet.

Congratulations on your own success with this

 

[KennyA]

I think your substantial calorie restriction might be an issue. I'm not surprised you feel tired. A low carb approach is really nothing at all to do with calories. Through low carb you can limit the body's access to a certain type of fuel to force it to use bodyfat to get the type of fuel it needs. Suppose you're on a coal-fired steamship which also has a diesel powered generator : no matter how much diesel you take on, you can't burn it to power the steam boilers.

Calorie restriction has never worked for me, although carb restriction works very well. I found that bodyfat tended to vanish in steps, rather than steadily. In addition body size vanished while weight stayed the same - don't forget that it's recommended to maintain lean muscle mass while losing bodyfat, and muscle weighs more than fat. I've plateau'd on weight loss for three months at a time while my waist shrank four inches.

It also depends a little in my experience on how you've changed the food you eat - I discovered I needed to add more salt to food as reducing carbs also reduced salt, and I was cramping. Nothing to do with the carb content, but the elimination of packaged carby food meant that all sorts of other things went with it.

If you really can't tolerate lower carb, it might be worth trying to raise your protein and fat intake, especially fat, to eliminate the energy deficit. I've never felt hungry or lacking energy at all on low carb because I eat as much as I want, provided it's not carb.

 

[Melgar]

I’ve done both the Atkins and the Keto. The Atkins was a while back , when my blood sugars were normal. It made me ill after being on it for around 3 months. Last year I did the keto diet. It didn’t make me ill, but it did little to lower my blood sugars. I just lost weight. My body showed no signs of stopping weight loss and I was going under weight. I know that doesn’t help you @Skyrider. I‘m big on exercise, so that is my go to. If I don’t exercise I notice a rise in blood sugar. This rise can last for several days. Everybody is different with how much weight you gain or lose. I would look at increasing your exercise. Your body will have to be in the ‘fat burn’ range with your exercising. You don’t have to exercise everyday. Start with three days of easy exercise and build up the intensity slowly. Your energy level should rise.

 

[Melgar]

I suspect that my metabolism has slowed during the diet to the extent that energy is now balanced again, i.e. calories in = calories required to maintain weight.

I have reduced my carb intake to around 120g/day. I had previously reduced it to 70 - 80g/day but this induced heart palpitations & arrhythmia, so had to increase it again to get my heart back to normal. Protein around 80g/day, with fat slightly lower. Calories around 1550, equating to a deficiency of 500 calories.

My activity level is light, amounting to walking around 7,000 steps/day under normal circumstances, with frequent movement during the day. Plus some light resistance & weight training.

Also, and I’m not a Dr, I‘m prone to tachycardia when my potassium levels go too low. I would suggest you see what your potassium levels are at. Avocados contain lots of potassium. All that said, I would be inclined to speak to your Dr about your palpitations and arrhythmia. I get those if I don’t watch my potassium levels Or I’m stressed.

 

[Skyrider]

I think your substantial calorie restriction might be an issue. I'm not surprised you feel tired. A low carb approach is really nothing at all to do with calories. Through low carb you can limit the body's access to a certain type of fuel to force it to use bodyfat to get the type of fuel it needs. Suppose you're on a coal-fired steamship which also has a diesel powered generator : no matter how much diesel you take on, you can't burn it to power the steam boilers.

Calorie restriction has never worked for me, although carb restriction works very well. I found that bodyfat tended to vanish in steps, rather than steadily. In addition body size vanished while weight stayed the same - don't forget that it's recommended to maintain lean muscle mass while losing bodyfat, and muscle weighs more than fat. I've plateau'd on weight loss for three months at a time while my waist shrank four inches.

It also depends a little in my experience on how you've changed the food you eat - I discovered I needed to add more salt to food as reducing carbs also reduced salt, and I was cramping. Nothing to do with the carb content, but the elimination of packaged carby food meant that all sorts of other things went with it.

If you really can't tolerate lower carb, it might be worth trying to raise your protein and fat intake, especially fat, to eliminate the energy deficit. I've never felt hungry or lacking energy at all on low carb because I eat as much as I want, provided it's not carb.

Thank you for your detailed & informative reply.

I understand that a reduction in calorie intake can cause a slowing of metabolism & energy output, so it does seem to be a bit self-defeating in this respect.

However, I have reduced carb intake to around 110 -120g/day, along with a commensurate increase in protein & fat. I'm a bit wary of going too low with the carbs, following an incidence of heart palpitations when I initially reduced to around 70 - 80g/day. That has been (so far) a one-off event, quickly resolved by an intake of electrolytes & subsequent stepping up of carbs & salt. It would seem that my body has adjusted to my current levels, so maybe I could tolerate a gentle, further reduction in carbs at this point.

Even with the current calorie deficit I never feel hungry or have any food cravings.

I have always eaten a fairly good diet, organic where possible & generally home prepared from scratch. I've only really needed to adjust the percentages somewhat & I am now sequencing the food at each meal: fibre, followed by protein & fats, carbs last, in an effort to flatten the glucose & insulin responses.

 

[Skyrider]

I’ve done both the Atkins and the Keto. The Atkins was a while back , when my blood sugars were normal. It made me ill after being on it for around 3 months. Last year I did the keto diet. It didn’t make me ill, but it did little to lower my blood sugars. I just lost weight. My body showed no signs of stopping weight loss and I was going under weight. I know that doesn’t help you @Skyrider. I‘m big on exercise, so that is my go to. If I don’t exercise I notice a rise in blood sugar. This rise can last for several days. Everybody is different with how much weight you gain or lose. I would look at increasing your exercise. Your body will have to be in the ‘fat burn’ range with your exercising. You don’t have to exercise everyday. Start with three days of easy exercise and build up the intensity slowly. Your energy level should rise.

Thank you for your reply & sharing your own experiences.

I have taken steps to reduce my carb intake (as detailed elsewhere) but I really don't think that Atkins or Keto are for me. At least, not at this point.

I generally exercise each day, although the activity would be described as 'light'. I try to walk around 7,000 steps/day, with some light resistance training & a bit of muscle building. however, I have to pace myself, as I suffer from low energy at the best of times, so I don't always achieve this. I will try to improve on this as my body allows.

 

[Skyrider]

Also, and I’m not a Dr, I‘m prone to tachycardia when my potassium levels go too low. I would suggest you see what your potassium levels are at. Avocados contain lots of potassium. All that said, I would be inclined to speak to your Dr about your palpitations and arrhythmia. I get those if I don’t watch my potassium levels Or I’m stressed.

Thank you for your reply & for sharing.

In my case, the palpitations/ tachycardia have (so far) been a one-off event. They began just as I went to bed one night & lasted for about 4 hours, it was quite scary. During this time, I did some research & learnt that it could be due to an imbalance of electrolytes following the change in diet. I made myself an electrolyte drink & everything went back to normal after about 20 minutes, so maybe this was indeed the cause.

Following this event, I increased my carb intake from 70 - 80g/day up to 120 - 130g/day, together with an increase in salt & some electrolyte drinks for a few days. Everything has been fine since, although I am wary of reducing carbs by too much, too soon.

 

[Melgar]

Thank you for your reply & for sharing.

In my case, the palpitations/ tachycardia have (so far) been a one-off event. They began just as I went to bed one night & lasted for about 4 hours, it was quite scary. During this time, I did some research & learnt that it could be due to an imbalance of electrolytes following the change in diet. I made myself an electrolyte drink & everything went back to normal after about 20 minutes, so maybe this was indeed the cause.

Following this event, I increased my carb intake from 70 - 80g/day up to 120 - 130g/day, together with an increase in salt & some electrolyte drinks for a few days. Everything has been fine since, although I am wary of reducing carbs by too much, too soon.

So your electrolytes were low. The very low carb diet may have had little bearing, or maybe it did, but you just needed to increase your electrolytes. Which makes sense.

 

[Skyrider]

So your electrolytes were low. The very low carb diet may have had little bearing, or maybe it did, but you just needed to increase your electrolytes. Which makes sense.

Yes, it would seem so. I read that going low carb can cause the kidneys to dump sodium, which then leads to imbalances in other electrolytes, causing the heart disturbances. Hence the advice to increase salt & carb intake.

Apparently this quite common during the first couple of weeks on a keto diet. I hadn't gone that low, but I guess it was low enough in my case.

 

[ajbod]

When i first encountered Keto purely as a means to lose weight, this was prior to any type 2 diagnosis. I followed a very strict 20 g a day, logged every food and drink on Myfitnesspal, this is how i came to drop milk in my coffee, it was a shock how many carbs i consumed that way. I had a very scary night where at the point of falling asleep i stopped breathing. Needless to say having this happen 4 or 5 times prompted a good googling session. On a Keto forum, i was told of the Electrolyte loss due to the body expelling excess water, not needed when not eating carbs, this causes a temporary break down in the bodies electrical (chemical) signalling system, all autonomous signals can be interrupted, hence heart palpitations etc, breathing, eyes not focusing properly, in fact anything we don't consciously initiate, any or all of them can be affected. The advice given to me at the time, was to make a drink containing 1/2 teaspoon of salt (sodium), they recommended Himalayan pink, I used sea salt, but any will actually do, 1/2 teaspoon of Lo-salt (potassium), and 1 to 2 teaspoons of FOOD grade Epsom salts (magnesium), i found only 1 was more than enough for me, as with more the expression, "going through you, like a dose of salts" was patently obvious. i would mix this up in a 500ml bottle, and sip it throughout the day. this solved everything almost instantaneously. Nowadays i take supplements to do the same thing. 2 months after increasing my carb intake having reached a satisfactory weight, i was diagnosed pre-diabetic. This was after 4 or 5 years of what i now know were diabetic symptoms, including diagnosed Peripheral Neuropathy. This is why I'm convinced i was an undiagnosed diabetic, long before my pre-diabetic diagnosis, which i assume the strict keto caused my Hba1c to show only as pre.

 

[Skyrider]

When i first encountered Keto purely as a means to lose weight, this was prior to any type 2 diagnosis. I followed a very strict 20 g a day, logged every food and drink on Myfitnesspal, this is how i came to drop milk in my coffee, it was a shock how many carbs i consumed that way. I had a very scary night where at the point of falling asleep i stopped breathing. Needless to say having this happen 4 or 5 times prompted a good googling session. On a Keto forum, i was told of the Electrolyte loss due to the body expelling excess water, not needed when not eating carbs, this causes a temporary break down in the bodies electrical (chemical) signalling system, all autonomous signals can be interrupted, hence heart palpitations etc, breathing, eyes not focusing properly, in fact anything we don't consciously initiate, any or all of them can be affected. The advice given to me at the time, was to make a drink containing 1/2 teaspoon of salt (sodium), they recommended Himalayan pink, I used sea salt, but any will actually do, 1/2 teaspoon of Lo-salt (potassium), and 1 to 2 teaspoons of FOOD grade Epsom salts (magnesium), i found only 1 was more than enough for me, as with more the expression, "going through you, like a dose of salts" was patently obvious. i would mix this up in a 500ml bottle, and sip it throughout the day. this solved everything almost instantaneously. Nowadays i take supplements to do the same thing. 2 months after increasing my carb intake having reached a satisfactory weight, i was diagnosed pre-diabetic. This was after 4 or 5 years of what i now know were diabetic symptoms, including diagnosed Peripheral Neuropathy. This is why I'm convinced i was an undiagnosed diabetic, long before my pre-diabetic diagnosis, which i assume the strict keto caused my Hba1c to show only as pre.

That's very interesting, thank you for sharing. Sorry to learn about your late diagnosis, I hope you are making good progress with your own condition.

That's a good explanation of what can happen, & why. I have, in the past, suffered from similar breathing interruptions (sleep apnoea?) , so I know how scary that is. But that was a long time ago, I don't think it was related to my recent experience.

I made up an electrolyte drink comprising Himalayan salt & some lemon juice, which apparently contains other electrolytes, although I'm not sure what. Palpitations stopped & heart rhythm went back to normal after about 20 minutes. I continued with the electrolyte drink for a couple of days whilst I adjusted my diet, but have since stopped taking it. Looking back on it, I now think that one of the clues leading up to this was more excessive urination, possibly a sign of the body dumping the sodium & excess water.

I'm a little surprised that more is not made of this risk so that people can be a little more cautious in their approach to such diets. I never saw anything about this on the sites I have visited, albeit the possibility of 'diuresis' was mentioned on one.

 

[ajbod]

I've been type 2 now for nearly 5 years, thankfully having joined this forum, and seeing low carb as such a game changer, and having previously experienced Keto. I had a flying start, hence within 3 months back in non diabetic numbers, and touch wood still there, although i don't eat Keto now, i have a pretty good understanding of what is low carb, and to be avoided.

 

[Skyrider]

I've been type 2 now for nearly 5 years, thankfully having joined this forum, and seeing low carb as such a game changer, and having previously experienced Keto. I had a flying start, hence within 3 months back in non diabetic numbers, and touch wood still there, although i don't eat Keto now, i have a pretty good understanding of what is low carb, and to be avoided.

That's good to hear. Are you off the tablets now?

 

[Dave1975]

I began a reduced carb/reduced calorie diet approximately 5 weeks ago.

I was initially losing approximately 0.5kg per week, but seemed to have reached a plateau, with no further weight loss during the last week. Calorie deficit for the weight loss is approximately 500 calories.

Also, I have noticed a significant loss of energy since commencing the diet, leaving me unable to complete my usual number of daily steps & other activities.

I’m wondering if all this is normal & where to go from here?

I don’t want to drop calories too much & feel unable to increase activity due to the aforementioned loss of energy which is requiring me to pace myself.

That's very interesting, thank you for sharing. Sorry to learn about your late diagnosis, I hope you are making good progress with your own condition.

That's a good explanation of what can happen, & why. I have, in the past, suffered from similar breathing interruptions (sleep apnoea?) , so I know how scary that is. But that was a long time ago, I don't think it was related to my recent experience.

I made up an electrolyte drink comprising Himalayan salt & some lemon juice, which apparently contains other electrolytes, although I'm not sure what. Palpitations stopped & heart rhythm went back to normal after about 20 minutes. I continued with the electrolyte drink for a couple of days whilst I adjusted my diet, but have since stopped taking it. Looking back on it, I now think that one of the clues leading up to this was more excessive urination, possibly a sign of the body dumping the sodium & excess water.

I'm a little surprised that more is not made of this risk so that people can be a little more cautious in their approach to such diets. I never saw anything about this on the sites I have visited, albeit the possibility of 'diuresis' was mentioned on one.

When you go low-carb, your body empties its glycogen stores.
Glycogen stores are made from carbs/ sugar.

Every gram of glycogen is attached to 3-4 grams of water, so thats why you drop all that water when you drop carbs and burn through your glycogen stores.

You should actually UP your salt intake on keto, to help your body retain water.
And an electrolyte supplement is recommended.

If that makes sense