Advice on maintaining weight

michaelbarner

Hello,

I have recently lost about 15 kilo using the Atkins Diet. I went from almost 100 Kilos to around 84 in 10 months using the diet amd regular excecise. According to MyFitenessPal, I have consumed about 1600-1700 kalories a day during that time since meat and fat in the diet are much more filling than carbs.

My problem is maintaining my new weight. I gain weight at the drop of a hat:
Like, recently I came off the diet for just two days to host a big party, and I gained almost 5 pounds, more than two kilos in that time, from 84.0 to 86.6 kilos the day after the party. I am now down to 86 by maintaining a strickt under 1600 calorie regimen, but it is seriously confusing why I gain so massively by eating rich foods for just a few days.

Does anyone have any experience with this? Can I never splash out a little again?

Sincerly,
Michael Barner

TavistockToad

You're confusing normal weight fluctuations with fat gain.

michaelbarner

Maybe... I do keep quite good track. I weigh myself every day and know that I fluctuate with about a kilo to either side, but this one seems different. It does not fit with my normal flucturations.

/M

TavistockToad

michaelbarner wrote: »

but it is seriously confusing why I gain so massively by eating rich foods for just a few days.

its water retention...

Patttience

Yes i and everyone else who've ever done low carb and gone off it have had exactly the same experience. Like you, most people panic a bit and do not know what's going on. This is a big failing of the way the diet is sold. I don't know why i seem to be the only person who understand it on these forums but it is the case.

The weight gain is water. You see, when you eat carbs, it is converted to glycogen and stored in the muscles. It is a liquid, therefore water is retained. This water was not retained in low carb mode. You lost a lot of water when you began the diet, hence the headaches and things. But now you need to carry about more water if you are going to eat carbs. But glycogen can be stored in the muscles for up to 72 hours before being converted to fat. So provided you are not overeating, you will not suddenly start adding fat. It is, like the person above so concisely noted , just water.

When you revert to what you ate before the weight will disappear just as quickly. Its not that you are losing lots of fat, just lots of water. Its also why people have dramatic weight loss at the beginning of low carb and many other diets. Usually its because people are eating less carbs but in low carbs its because you are eating even less .

But you shouldn't really to and fro all the time on low carb. I am not quite sure why but it is not advised. You are better off increasing your carb allowance and trying to stay within it all the time.

You don't actually need to be ketogenic to get the benefits of low carb. Studies that over the long term it makes no different to the speed and quantity of weight loss between low carb and others diet.

The only advantage that i can see with low carb, or rather the main one, is that your appetite is less.

Whatever you do, if you decide to come off low carb, i found making the transition tricky. Not because of the weight gain due to different foods but i found it hard to cut back on the fat and you have to if you are going to eat carbs.


So you must look at carbs and fat as in a sort of balance. If you increase one you must decrease the other. Both are fine and both are necessary really. But you can't continue to eat the same amount of fat as you do on a low carb diet and increase your carbs because what you are doing is increasing your total energy count and that's what makes you gain weight as in fat.

For me to resolve my issue, i decided to go on a one day water fast as i'd done it in the beginning of the year. It was hard but i did it. This second time i failed by lunch time and so ended up going on the 5:2 fasting diet which i had heard about but until this moment had not been particularly attracted to. So this diet really helped me make the transition.

If you want to try it at any point, and you can do it while you are on 5:2 as well, go to the fast diet website. Read the faq and use how drop down menu. There is a forum there too for extra help. Perhaps the best thread on the forum is the southern hemisphere one for aussies. So read that. Some of the members can also be found in the maintainers forum.

anyway,

sijomial

TavistockToad wrote: »

michaelbarner wrote: »

but it is seriously confusing why I gain so massively by eating rich foods for just a few days.

its water retention...

^ This.
You changed your diet for a few days and bloated up with food and water. The same will probably happen when you go on holiday and eat more/eat differently.
It's not fat and will go when you are back in your routine.

By the way this topic would be better in the "maintaining weight forum".

Patttience

Since you mention it Sijomial, this topic is about losing weight, not maintaining or gaining weight. The guy is trying to lose it. some people are actually in the process of maintenance and some in the process of trying to gain.

Sabine_Stroehm

Other than the occasional splurge are you following the life time maintenance phase (4?) of atkins?
If so, then it's likely water.

annika2012

weight tend to fluctuate 4-5 lbs during the week so it's always recommended to weigh yourself once a week. Your 2 days of binge could be water retention or other. I wouldn't pay attention to it too much. Just keep doing what you were doing and weigh yourself once a week otherwise the numbers might confuse you.