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At first I had trouble getting into ketosis, but I was told I needed to eat more and add more fat to my diet, so I did just that and I went into ketosis and now I am almost constantly in ketosis, but I have not seen the scale drop yet. I was told that I am not really in ketosis, that what the strips are registering is the burning of the fat that I am taking in and not the buring of the fat that is on my body. So here is my question, is that possible and what should I do? My carbs are minimal and they are strictly in the form of non starchy vegetables. My appetite has diminished quite a lot, when will I start seeing weight loss on the scale?

Also see:

http://paleohacks.com/questions/99589/fat-chick-trying-to-lose-weight#axzz1oFYTPEma

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As Jules said below, we need more information: age, height, weight, activity level, daily caloric intake, etc. Also, prepare yourself that you may have to weigh and measure your food and count calories in order to lose weight. I know that may not make me popular around these parts, but for some folks it's just the way it is. – Ralph Furley Mar 5 2012 at 13:32

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Hi Suzy, unfortunately nobody will be able to give you an answer as to when you will start losing; it really depends on the individual, but we can probably give you some tips if you can tell a little more about yourself. Can you tell us about a typical day's meals for you, how much you weigh, and how long you've been eating this way? If you haven't already, try looking around on the site with the search function, or look through the tags- there have been a lot of weight loss questions & you may find some good info.

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Ketosis is a mid-state. You eat fat and reduce carbs to make yourself keto-adapted, not to stay in ketosis. Throw the sticks away.

Once you become keto-adapted, low carb has done it's job. No need to do it harder.

Keto adapted people can eat fat, burn fat and stay keto adapted, and this trains your body to consume fat better, either from food or your hips.

Once you get there, calorie restriction suddenly works really well. Since we hate that term, it got changed to IF, but it's mostly just eating less at the right time in the transition, or for maintence and leaning out even more.

If you are working through a weight loss and stall or something, don't listen to the "you need to eat more" people! They don't know, and I don't either. You calorie requirements may be 40% of theirs, it just depends. Or you may have cut back so much on something that you caused another problem know one even knows about yet.

I'm 51, M, lost 120+, and if I track calories my maintence is 30% less than nominal. I joined the gym to try and repair that because if I eat maintenance, 1.4/1.5K calories a day, weight is stable but I'm hardly eating.

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Are you asking this again because you didn't like the answers you got week before last? Based on rep points, the community liked them.

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Looks to me like the last time she said she was only eating 1000 calories per day and wasn't in ketosis. This time around she's saying she took the community's suggestion and upped her calories, went in to ketosis according to her keto stix, but isn't losing weight. So I think she's asking different questions this time around. – Phoenix Mar 5 2012 at 14:58
I'd encourage her to revise her question then! – Beth-WeightMaven Mar 5 2012 at 15:05
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I was VLC for 5 weeks before I dropped a pound. Then in the next four I dropped over 20lbs. I think it takes time to adjust and I should have had more fat, water and salt from the very beginning.

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Wow! That's great! Congrats for your stick-to-it-ness! – Phoenix Mar 5 2012 at 18:33
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I think at this point you know how to implement a ketogenic diet. The real hack you're inquiring is how to make it effective for weight loss, and what you can do. Well for one make sure its fully Paleo. That means no eating out, deli/processed meats, sausages/cheeses and other foods that are generally factory produced. This is not just nutritionally but also these foods tend to be hyperpalatable (high in food reward) and cause those who are susceptible to obesity to eat significantly more. I know because I am one of them. Try to cook foods gently i.e. boiled eggs/shrimp, unseasoned steaks, steamed vegs. do not use artificial flavorings...this is ESSENTIAL. Ppl have good intentions but confuse what is truly a Paleo diet...if they can't do it 1000 yrs ago on a daily basis you probably shouldn't either. This includes trying to be a Paleo Gordon Ramsay and making your foods as tasty as possible, just eat everything plainly (I eat it all as single ingredients w/o salt)...yes it sucks initially but you get used to it and you want results.

The other is to try Dr. Kruse's tips AKA eat a big breakfast (high protein/fat), no snacking and no eating a few hrs b4 bed. Don't drink your calories either. Again, don't flavor/spice your food, just eat it plainly (or don't, you're not really hungry). Eating this manner + following a ketogenic diet will surely give you results.

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and I'm dead serious about the no cheating and no processed low-carb food...if you're very susceptible to obesity like me, eating that stuff will cause you to literally have a larger appetite over time (higher setpoint). it's hard not to cheat but if you stick to a plainly cooked, 100% Paleo template in ketosis for say, 6 weeks, you'll see big results. – DH Mar 5 2012 at 20:26
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Now that your in ketosis, you just need to reduce your caloric intake. You will only burn your bodyfat if you lack of energy during the day. If you eat your maintenance caloric level ... no reason to burn bodyfat ! Also look to zigzag your calorie intake from a day to another. This prevent your metabolisme to slow.

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