If you’re consistently trying to drop your calories to lose weight but nothing is happening, man I feel for you. That’s where I was for such a long time. Years in fact. I used to be someone who could just eat a little less for a week or so and drop 7 pounds.
But those were the days when I was still a student, didn’t have kids and didn’t have a job sitting in front of the computer.
By the time I’d popped out our third son, my body’s ability to drop excess weight seemed to have completely disappeared. Not only that, my ability to eat late into the evening after a stressful day seemed to have increased. Not a good equation – I was just steadily putting on weight.
Cut to 5 years later and I was still 30lbs heavier than my ideal weight, 100% addicted to carbs with mood swings from hell and a lethargy that just wouldn’t quit.
I tried all sorts of things, heavy exercise, vegetarianism, veganism, the raw food diet, low-calorie diets, intermittent fasting; you name it. And while all of these approaches have their benefits and worked for a while, eventually I just caved in and started filling up on forbidden foods.
It got so that even when I was on a ‘good’ diet, my weight just sat there stubbornly. And I was gaining around the middle too – not a good sign.
Why Is the Weight Piling On? I’m Hungry!
And then, when you actually start putting on more weight even though you are eating less and less… Well, let’s just say I know how miserable this situation can be, and how hopeless it can feel. I remember feeling like there must be something wrong with me. I could feel food becoming an obsession, and I’ve got enough smarts to know that this wasn’t a road I wanted to go down.
So what happened?
Well, as I continued my search for a way of eating that could help me lose weight and help me feel good about food again, I came across the notion of low carb eating.
Something seemed to click as I read about how your body can only handle the equivalent of 1 teaspoon of sugar in its bloodstream at one time.
1 teaspoon!!
I guiltily remembered the (large) bars of chocolate I could happily wolf down in one session.
Any more than one teaspoon of sugar in your blood stream and your body has to go into action, releasing insulin to lower your blood sugar, because otherwise, well, you die.
And what effect does insulin have on your body? Quite simply, it makes you store fat.
Lightbulb!
Every single time you eat carbs or sugars that increase your blood sugar over that very small threshold you are going into fat storing mode. Wow.
Now I’m no expert on this at all and this explanation is incredibly simplified. But it was enough for me to start checking out low carb diets – which led me to find the ketogenic diet.
I’m going to be posting more on my journey soon. But for now, even if you are not ready to give up those carbs yet, I highly recommend that you check start reading about the ketogenic diet and what it can do for your fat loss.
Nowadays I have dropped that excess weight (easily), I don’t have mood swings, and my energy is through the roof! Oh, and of course, I’ve started this blog – something I’ve wanted to do for a long time but didn’t have anything to write about. 🙂
Things That Can Stall Weight Loss
Sometimes women on keto still find that their weight loss stalls. Here are some of the most common reasons for this:
- Going too low in calories and putting your body into starvation mode
- Eating too much protein. Your body converts this into glucose which puts you out of ‘fat burning mode’
- Not getting enough sleep. If you’re lacking in sleep your body will be pumping out adrenaline and cortisol to keep your energy up. This stimulates gluconeogenesis – which means your body starts breaking down your muscle into glucose. Which again puts you out of fat burning mode.
- Too much stress – read the above regarding cortisol and adrenaline.
- Inflammation or allergies – dairy is often a big one here. I have heard many stories of women who finally broke the weight loss plateau once they gave up dairy.
- Not eating enough fat. You need to consume enough fats in order for your body to make ketones. Go for over 150g a day at least.
- Sneaky carbs. Make sure you are checking everything!
- Using sweeteners. Sometimes these can cause a rise in insulin which will throw you out of ketosis.
- Needing some carbs. Whaaaaa? Yep, some women do better on cyclical ketosis, utilising strategic carb ups. If you think this might be you I highly recommend getting hold of Fat Fuelled by Leanne Vogel which talks you through exactly how to do this and includes meal plans.
Ok, that’s it for now. I hope you found it useful!
