LC diet woes/SAD binge

CoffeeNBooze

Bit of background, I keep my carbs at 50 or less per day and have a "cheat" meal once a week on Saturday or Sunday.

I had a very busy day on Wednesday to where I could not eat my usual breakfast and generally did not plan out the day very well. That lead me to eat a lot of SAD food I found at convenience stores. Now I hadn't weighed myself all that often in the past two weeks, but I noticed I was trending upwards...2lbs here, another pound there. I was still under my starting point so I just let it slide.

I weighed in yesterday (Friday) and I was up to my original starting weight before going low carb! So, I'm not really heavy to begin with but 7lbs did make a huge difference for me. I was so incredibly disappointed. Unfortunately I am not sure when it got there because I had not been consistent with weighing myself. So I'm not sure whether it's from the entire cheat day or from something going awry in my low carb eating routine.

I'd like to know if your weight started to creep up despite keeping your carbs low and keeping everything the same. Or if one day of bad eating made you shoot up like 10lbs! What are your experiences? Do I need to change things up every now and then and lower my carbs even more?
Thank you for any input

pootle1972

I don't cheat....in my opinion only cheating defeats the whole point of living a low carb lifestyle and removing yourself from carb insulin spikes. You don't need to lower carbs from your starting point but you need to quit the cheat day.

auntstephie321

It's likely water weight fluctuations. Are you tracking your calories? If you are eating at a deficit then you did not gain fat, once you go back to low carb a few days the water weight will flush out. If you are not tracking calories you may want to start, especially with incorporating non- low carb eating from time to time, it can be difficult to keep track of those indulgences.

KenSmith108

Cheat day? Since starting this WOE it's like every day is a cheat day. It's great!

KETOGENICGURL

Looks like you are really asking to have a "Dutch Uncle" talk..and be told to straighten up.

Being tough on oneself may be the option…REALLY look at what was consumed. a recent article by body recomposition.com revealed many women ( especially) who were on 1200 calories a day ( not just LC/all diets) were having 'quiet' binges and not reporting them, often enough to stall loss entirely, and gain.
.
Like tasting food while cooking... those calories count..so a midnight binge of brownies and HagenDaz do add up.

So if the reason of staying on a LC diet is to LOSE WEIGHT there has to be a true commitment.

Be honest….you may just be not ready to do that…from all I see posted people always start with so much energy and good intent..then start sliding and looking for reasons, have excuses when weight slows, or they get tempted..
the cheat days may be the original problem…. you have to decide why you do that.

If you dont truly enjoy the high fat foods and options ..then maybe a different diet will work better?

The fact is we totally control what goes into the mouth…so taking food WITH US, so no convenience stores or fast food joints can call our name..that works.

I remember the tiny blond actress on "Dallas" TV show during the 80's..she started gaining on food provided on set..she got a big cooler, loaded it with veggies, etc.. took it to work...and that did the trick. that was the first time I heard of controlling our food, and not using the "I'm so busy, nothing was available" excuse.

CoffeeNBooze

Thank you for the responses. I do believe I have to be more strict. Which is ok with me. I enjoy the lchf options which is why I've been able to stick to it for as long as I have. No more hunger crashes, a steady weight I'm comfortable with, clear skin, good hair, the list goes on! I guess I just got a little too lax with it and pushed the envelope just because I could... lesson learned.
And agreed, it's water weight. No way did I eat a surplus of food to make me gain 7lbs of fat!

Sunny_Bunny_

There are options at a convenience store that wouldn't have thrown you off lc plan. You just have to think of those high carb things as not food. Those aren't your food. Just like you wouldn't eat cat food. It's not for you. This is why I don't have a cheat day or a cheat meal. I mean, who are you cheating exactly?
But what is for you at a convenience store? Beef jerky, nuts and you can often get those giant deli pickles. I love those! Some of them even have sausages or hotdogs grilling...

GaleHawkins

I try to keep some very low carb smoked pork links, almonds and coconut flakes for times like this. I was trying to eat low carb at a tradeshow Sun/Mon but still got into enough carbs to knock me out of ketosis but as of this evening I have recovered nicely and am feeling stronger again.

mcpostelle

Yes, I would remove the cheat day since it sends your body the wrong signals. Also, I'd look into IF, it will help you with control in those uh oh moments.

CoconuttyMummy

KETOGENICGURL wrote: »

Looks like you are really asking to have a "Dutch Uncle" talk..and be told to straighten up.

Being tough on oneself may be the option…REALLY look at what was consumed. a recent article by body recomposition.com revealed many women ( especially) who were on 1200 calories a day ( not just LC/all diets) were having 'quiet' binges and not reporting them, often enough to stall loss entirely, and gain.
.
Like tasting food while cooking... those calories count..so a midnight binge of brownies and HagenDaz do add up.

So if the reason of staying on a LC diet is to LOSE WEIGHT there has to be a true commitment.

Be honest….you may just be not ready to do that…from all I see posted people always start with so much energy and good intent..then start sliding and looking for reasons, have excuses when weight slows, or they get tempted..
the cheat days may be the original problem…. you have to decide why you do that.

If you dont truly enjoy the high fat foods and options ..then maybe a different diet will work better?

The fact is we totally control what goes into the mouth…so taking food WITH US, so no convenience stores or fast food joints can call our name..that works.

I remember the tiny blond actress on "Dallas" TV show during the 80's..she started gaining on food provided on set..she got a big cooler, loaded it with veggies, etc.. took it to work...and that did the trick. that was the first time I heard of controlling our food, and not using the "I'm so busy, nothing was available" excuse.

I wish there was a 'like' button: LIKE! Awesome advice from @KETOGENICGURL x

GaleHawkins

I thought I was doomed to be fat because I kept eating carbs knowing they were killing me. We went through some AA materials during Sunday School hour for a period of time last year. I realized for the first time in my life that I was an addict to carbs just like some had been addicted to beer.

So I stopped trying to diet and decided to work on my addiction to carbs. It was clear my pain was out of control and I was seriously considering giving up on trying to go low carb and just risk cancer from Enbrel. I plan to live to be 110 and have invited young people to my 110th birthday. I told myself if I start Enbrel I will die long before 110.

That gave me the desire to go off carbs cold turkey. I do not really remember the first two weeks of hard withdrawals other than they were hellish but going on Enbrel was going to be even more hellish I told myself. Thankfully after two weeks the carb cravings started dropping fast but I had been heavy into fats for a couple months already.

If I had not stopped lying to myself and listening to the carb addiction it scares to to think what today would be like without hope.

I never smoked, drank alcohol or did dope but I was never the less a full blown addict in denial. Facing cancer risks was my rock bottom when I would look at our 16 years of twins watching me sink lower and lower in health. They could only wonder this this was their future as well.

Seriously I am not sure I would have chosen life over death by changing my way of eating if it had not been for leaving the kids without hope if the arthritis strikes them at some point. That was too evil of a thing to do to those who I loved.

Starting to learn about factors that causes bariatric surgery to be successful today has me pumped because what I have read so far success is it is best achieved by those who eat < 65 grams of carbs daily. When I gave up my carb addiction that set me up for success in regaining my health or at least stabilize my health.

Yes folks we have 100% control over what goes in our mouths. I wanted carbs so bad I was willing to select death to keep getting the carbs until I woke up in "my" pig pen wanting to eat some of swine's carbs one day as in the story in ancient literature.

KenSmith108

GaleHawkins wrote: »

I never smoked, drank alcohol or did dope but I was never the less a full blown addict in denial.

I didn't live such a straight laced lifestyle.
But I know the decision making process.
It amazes me that it takes such a horrific event in
our lives for us to "smarten up".
Going blind scares the living *kitten* out of me.
Giving up carbs is my smart choice.

I guess I'm lucky, I didn't have much trouble
putting carbs behind me. I'm doing <25 carbs a day,
and loving the lifechange.

It'll take till next year to see if my Retinopathy has hopefully
stayed the same. Like the doc said "It wouldn't get better, but,
it doesn't have to get worse."

annalisbeth74

I started out having a cheat meal a week. I was still losing pretty steadily and figured, no harm done and it keeps me sane. About the 2 month mark, though, I noticed it was taking me longer and longer to get the post-cheat water weight off. Finally at one point I spent two weeks recovering from one meal and decided that was it. In the end, it just wasn't worth it. Now I've learned to be prepared for anything; I bring twice as much food to work with me as I think I'll need. It's a hassle sometimes, but now that's what keeps me sane, not the cheat meal.

GaleHawkins

Ken best of success with finding how to protect your vision with diet.

KarlaYP

Yes, @KenSmith108, keep us up to date on the retinopathy status, please. I am curious to see how that works out for you and wish you the best of luck with it!

CoffeeNBooze

@annalisbeth74 yes this is exactly what happened to me! I just started having 15 hour days on Tuesdays and Thursdays and am bringing a ton of food with me. It's way worth my sanity, not the cheat meal. No more of those.

@GaleHawkins thank you for sharing your story. Isn't it funny how much we crave carbs we choose them at times over our health?! It's best to break that pattern and I'm happy you've found the way to live to 110!

And yes @KenSmith108 it is crazy how it takes something horrific or even just bad to get ourselves to make a necessary change.

Thanks for the kind and empathetic responses. I hadn't checked this thread in awhile because I figured no one else responded, lol. I gave up the cheat day and am working myself back into ketosis. Already lost some water weight (not according to the scale, but I'm trusting my eyes). All I've got is time, so I am just enjoying how I feel and the little improvements. It's easier to say no to bad food since there are no hunger crashes.

KarlaYP

So glad you updated us on your status! Cheat meals can lead to so many other poor choices that I prefer to avoid them. I was, and still am, able to see the changes greater than what the scale shows.