Protein Requirements / 3rd Week "Stall" / Calculations Q

[JazzleBug]

I have been reading about how our bodies need a certain amount of protein in the first three weeks of low carbing - and then that changes, drops dramatically, after that time period, which is why many of us stall around the 2-3 week period.

I'm starting fresh tomorrow - this weekend was a planned weekend off and I am most definitely out of ketosis right now. I've actually learned a lot about myself this weekend and am happy to be getting back to LC WOL tomorrow.

On Jenny's calculator at Blood Sugar 101, one of the questions/options is "How long have you been on a low carb ketogenic diet"/less than 3 weeks or more than 3 weeks. I'm unsure as to which one to choose since before this weekend, I was in ketosis for at least a month. Today is the first full day out of ketosis and I'm not sure if I start from scratch - I don't know that much about the functions of the body as it pertains to ketosis just yet (am learning, though!).

I'm hoping that someone who understands this a bit more can elaborate or offer suggestions. ANY help is greatly appreciated - I just want to understand this better.

[tina1973]

Originally Posted by JazzleBug

I have been reading about how our bodies need a certain amount of protein in the first three weeks of low carbing - and then that changes, drops dramatically, after that time period, which is why many of us stall around the 2-3 week period.

Are you serious? Do you mean it's normal that I'm in my 3rd week and I've seen a slight rise in the scale (1.5 pound)

Could it be that I'm not doing anything wrong at all and I'm just "normal"

Sorry to invade your thread. I'm very interested in this.

[JazzleBug]

ACK! I'm really not trying to freak anyone out. If you're losing, that's great!!! I'm just trying to get a game plan together that I can feel confident and secure with so that I'll stick with it instead of playing with my variables all the time. It's just as exhausting for me to do that and try to decipher the results (or lack thereof) as it is for the veterans on the board to read my newbie BS.

[tina1973]

That's just it, I've suddenly stopped losing after 2 weeks of doing nothing different and I thought it was me. I've been trying to figure it out. It's really nice that's maybe it's normal. Your post is music to my ears because I've been freaking out thinking I'm ready to quit. If there's a reason and a remedy, yeah!

[peanutte]

It's very, very normal to have a little glitch in your weight loss shortly after you finish Induction. It's so common that people refer to it as Post-Induction Stall Syndrome.

I can't speak to the protein issue except to say that I have lowered mine consistently as I've lost weight. I currently weigh about 61 kilos, and I'm not a strenuous worker-outer, so I aim for 65-75 grams of protein per day. Jenny's calculator tells me I should be eating 100 grams a day.

[wenchzilla]

I woke up this morning up 1.5 and the time frame would fit. So now I just need to hold tight another few weeks. It's hard when I'm not seeing the results every day. (I'm a horrible scale addict!) I must keep reminding myself how much better I feel without the bread/flour, etc...

Christine

[Minnas]

Originally Posted by wenchzilla

I woke up this morning up 1.5 and the time frame would fit. So now I just need to hold tight another few weeks. It's hard when I'm not seeing the results every day. (I'm a horrible scale addict!) I must keep reminding myself how much better I feel without the bread/flour, etc...

Christine

Yes, you do. There will be days, maybe even weeks and months when you see no loss. Ask me how I know! I really believe that these times are gifts. They force us to really dig deep and find our commitment and claim it and use it and to believe. Learn NOW that the other benefits of this WOE are just as important as seeing the scale move downward. Once you are in maintenance and the scale isn't moving you have to be at a place where you KNOW that this is what works for you, is best for you and what you CHOOSE for yourself for the rest of your life.

[fireflyfaster]

Oh yes, the post-induction-whateveryouwanttocallit is very real, and very frustrating. Not everyone gets it.

Mine came a bit later, weeks five and six. I had just lost 20 pounds in a month and a day, and I was peeved at not losing a thing for two and a half weeks! For some people it lasts a week, for others, six.

You'll find plenty of tales about the phenomenon here on LCF.

My advice is to stay the course and keep doing what worked for the first few weeks, and wait. Unless you have little to lose and need to cut portions.

You don't want to build ever more stringent constraints for yourself, so that when your plateau naturally ends, you think you have to stay within the new self-limits that "broke" it -- when in fact your body was just taking the time it needed to accommodate your initial losses, and would have resumed losing anyway.

If the plateau turns into six weeks or more, reevaluate.

My not-a-real-stall lasted two and a half weeks, but I still managed to lose 13 pounds in month two, because when it ended I had some very substantial wooshes.