Gaining weight after eating carbs, but still at a deficit.

Bruggush

Hello, I've been dieting for 4 solid months now and lifting heavy weights at the gym, as well as doing cardio. I've put on muscle according to an in body analysis that calculates my body fat percentage and all that good stuff, and I've dropped 70 pounds of fat. I still have a very long way to go, but I've run into an issue. On a low carb diet eating meat and vegetables and no more than 30 carbs a day, I was losing quickly at first, and then slowed down to 1 pound per week, and then stopped losing completely for a couple of weeks. I decided to put a higher emphasis on weight training to mix things up once this had happened, and change my diet routine. I added carbs back into the mix, but am still at a 500 calorie deficit each day. Since adding carbs back into the diet and being at a deficit, I have gained 6 pounds in 7 days. To me, there's no way this can possibly be fat, as it would take 3500 calories per pound of fat in order for me to gain this much extra weight. I have been counting my calories carefully, been eating a lot of protein and carbs and vegetables. My % split has been 35% protein, 40% carbs, 25% fat. Any carbs I eat are packed with fiber and not "Bad" carbs. The vegetables I eat are not starchy ones. I also drink a very large amount of water, my urine is always water-clear and not foamy.

While my weight has gone up on the scale despite the deficit, my strength has increased and energy, and I've been able to exercise a great deal more than I was able to before.

Does anyone have any insight on what could be causing this massive weight gain so quickly?

Thank you.

kgeyser

Adding carbs back into your diet and increasing your emphasis on weight training would lead to water weight gain. Give it a few weeks and it should disappear on its own.

Hornsby

Carbs make you hold water. You are holding water is all.

Dave198lbs

Hornsby wrote: »

Carbs make you hold water. You are holding water is all.

and that should be the end of this thread. That is the answer.

brower47

I'll third the water weight responses. That's why you initially lose a lot of weight on those diets, because your body sheds a lot of water. What you experience quickly on the front end will be seen on the back end once you reintroduce carbs to your diet.

BombshellPhoenix

Weight weight. Glycogen stores returning. No reason to be concerned. It'll even out in time. It's why low carb diets appear to work better/faster than non. You lose a bunch of water weight the first few weeks but the weight loss evens out in time. After all, scale weight is only a tool that weigh everything, water, muscle, bones, undigested food, not individual components of what the weight truly is.

J72FIT

Along with weight, measure your waist and neck. Weight alone is a poor metric to judge progress.

I agree with the rest... probably holding water.

Bruggush

Thank you very much everyone I appreciate it!

rprussell2004

Why is foamy urine bad?

OH. Lookit that!

Passing foamy urine now and then is normal, for the speed of urination and other factors can influence this. But you should see your doctor if you have persistently foamy urine that becomes more noticeable over time. This can be a sign of protein in your urine (proteinuria), which requires further evaluation. Increased amounts of protein in urine may indicate a serious kidney problem.