I think I've stalled

[ketomonster]

  when I started  the first of feb. I was eating at least twice a day and I was losing weight.  but over the last two weeks my hunger was telling me to only eat once a day and since then my weight hasn't moved. I've been walking and working out a little.   do I need to eat more to loose weight?  Is there any truth to if you don't eat much your body thinks its starving and won't let go of weight?  thanks

[Scott F.]

Although I do not follow the advice myself, it is always best to not weigh yourself daily. Maybe once per week or so. 

With that said, I weigh almost daily. And I have had stalls and drops just about the entire 10 months I have been eating this way. Sometimes when I stalled or even added a pound or two, I had to cinch my belt loop. You can have changes in body composition and that change not be reflected when stepping on the scale.

During my first month or so I also naturally eased into eating once per day. I used the rule of thumb 'eat til I was full and then eat again when I was hungry'. That approach moved me from 2-3 times per day to once per day. And as far as the fat to meat ratio goes with carnivore, I eat more fat than the basic ratio recommends/suggests.

The stalls can come from any number of reasons. For me, if I drink milk I can just about guarantee a stall. I don't eat much cheese, but it feels the same. A stall can also come from meal timing. If I waited til I was hungry the once per day could get slightly past once per day and then a meal would approach later in the evening, or even first thing in the morning. Not the best two times to eat during the day. Life also plays a part. I am a 12-hour rotating shift worker. I can't really have a routine working both days and nights throughout the month. Meal timing also includes eating when someone else eats (like family dinners), especially if you are not hungry.

 It is a process, and the process time varies from person to person. I lost 30-31lbs in the first 31 days or so. Then the stalls happened, and I was just like you, trying to figure out what I was doing wrong to create/trigger the stall. I have now bounced around 85-92lbs lost for well over a month. At times I don't look at the 85-90 lost but wonder when the next three or four is going to drop. That's the wrong approach but totally natural.

If I were to give advice it would to 'be patient' Eat the carnivore way, eat til you are full and eat again when you are hungry. The healing process is a different for every person. Be patient and trust your process. 

Congrats on the first month or so. Good luck.

Scott

[ketomonster]

thanks Scott,  Patience is not what I wanted to hear. Im thinking of going back to two meals a day.

[Skeptic]

6 hours ago, ketomonster said:

Is there any truth to if you don't eat much your body thinks its starving and won't let go of weight?  

In my opinion, there is a lot of truth to that!  

Its a tough balancing act sometimes.  I know that so many people get great results from OMAD, but only if that one meal is enough to cover your nutritional needs with the proper amount of protein/fat for your ideal body weight.  Time restricted eating is a really good way for your body to heal, and ditch a lot of toxins.  Better to eat during the time a few hours after you awaken to what you would think of as "lunch"   I know if I eat close to my sleep time, it wreaks havoc.  Going to bed with food on my stomach will not only give me a rotten nights sleep, but keep me from reaping most any benefits of healing during my sleep hours, as I wasnt fasted.  True fasting of course is the most fantastic way to lose weight and heal, but that is no food at all.  Just be careful to not fall into the middle ground of eating very little compared to your nutritional needs, which would be fooling your body into thinking you're starving, and stall that weight loss right out.