Why am I gaining weight with reverse dieiting??
Jay9201
Posts: 119 Member
I need some help fitnesspal fam, I'm gaining weight with reverse dieting! Quick history of me. I'm 25, 5'4 female and I went from 98kg to 81kg in two years on a low carb diet. I didn't eat more than 50g of carbs . I have a history of yo yo dieting so my metabolism is basically shot now.
I was recommended to do reverse dieting and I'm using intermittent fasting to help I'm doing 16/8 11am -7pm and for the first time I'm not dizzy or hungry all the time. But I gained 3lbs! My mind is going into overdrive to cut back on calories. What do I do?
This is how I eat now with reverse dieting :
B- cinnamon porridge with black coffee
L-grilled chicken(alternating with fish/steak) with broccoli, cauliflower and baby carrots and some grapes
S- an apple with some protein peanut butter currently using the Whole earth ones
D- sweet potato fries or rice and protein(alternating between chicken/ fish / steak)
Workout 4x a week
Monday- Abs and legs
Tuesday- arms back and chest
Thursday - HIIT running with circuits
Friday- Cross ramp(inclined elliptical trainer )
Before reverse dieting I used to eat around 900-1,100 and my performance in the gym was affected I'm now eating 1,300-1,400. My TDEE is 2129 so I should be eating around 1,500. But I gained weight!
How do I repair my metabolism without gaining weight? Any advice is much appreciated! X
I was recommended to do reverse dieting and I'm using intermittent fasting to help I'm doing 16/8 11am -7pm and for the first time I'm not dizzy or hungry all the time. But I gained 3lbs! My mind is going into overdrive to cut back on calories. What do I do?
This is how I eat now with reverse dieting :
B- cinnamon porridge with black coffee
L-grilled chicken(alternating with fish/steak) with broccoli, cauliflower and baby carrots and some grapes
S- an apple with some protein peanut butter currently using the Whole earth ones
D- sweet potato fries or rice and protein(alternating between chicken/ fish / steak)
Workout 4x a week
Monday- Abs and legs
Tuesday- arms back and chest
Thursday - HIIT running with circuits
Friday- Cross ramp(inclined elliptical trainer )
Before reverse dieting I used to eat around 900-1,100 and my performance in the gym was affected I'm now eating 1,300-1,400. My TDEE is 2129 so I should be eating around 1,500. But I gained weight!
How do I repair my metabolism without gaining weight? Any advice is much appreciated! X
8
Replies
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Your metabolism is not destroyed and it doesn't need to be "repaired." Weight fluctuates from day to day; your 3 pounds is probably water. If you've just switched from low carb, you can expect to gain a few pounds of water. You didn't gain three pounds of fat eating 1400 calories.39
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Ok that's a relief ! I hope it is water weight. It's hard to break out of that dieting mind and eating healthy. I'm trying to fight against cutting back on calories again.1
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Be patient, be consistent.
Maybe weigh yourself less frequently if you can't deal with what are probably just normal water related fluctuations from changing your diet.7 -
Ignore the scale for now and just allow your body to adjust. It is inevitable that you will see temporary gain, but you need to keep reminding yourself that unless you are eating 3500 calories over your maintenance, those extra pounds are not going to be fat, but rather water, food still in your digestive system and just your body adapting.1
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Yep, all as above. Particularly if you are switching from low carb, you will naturally see a scale spike. Add on natural fluctuations and just more food in your system and you have ample explanation for 3lbs.0
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Thank you all for your insight on this. It is super hard switching from low carbs to eating without cutting food groups. Thanks again! X2
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Yes I've lost 3 inches off my waist and I'm losing weight everywhere except my belly even my body frame is going smaller which I love. I just have to stick with it and be consistent.5
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Well surely that feels better than losing weight. When replacing fat with muscle, it's easy to get discouraged but don't let it get you down7
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You increased calories by 600 per day that is why you gained weight...11
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Lol calm down guys. I will just have to be consistent with eating 1,300 calories and continue with my workouts and hope I lose the weight.1
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I'd call it overly optimistic. You don't gain 3lbs of muscle in a couple of weeks as a female even with a perfect lifting program and an excess of calories.
And if you're "only" losing a few kilos in 12 weeks then you are most certainly not reverse dieting and are in fact probably eating far too little to have such big losses.10 -
VintageFeline wrote: »
I'd call it overly optimistic. You don't gain 3lbs of muscle in a couple of weeks as a female even with a perfect lifting program and an excess of calories.
And if you're "only" losing a few kilos in 12 weeks then you are most certainly not reverse dieting and are in fact probably eating far too little to have such big losses.
Firstly I'm not here for an argument. Second, she never stated any time frames of the weight gain. Thirdly, I began my reverse diet AFTER my 12 week program ending (4 weeks ago). And the "only" part was me trying to emphasise that weight doesn't always matter when you can lose so much in measurements.4 -
Please don't go into an arguments and I've been on the reverse diet for 5 days now with the intermittent fasting (I know ONLY a week) I just stepped on the scale to see if intermittent fasting was working or not. I've taken everything on guys consistency and eating at a calorie deficit is the key2
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VintageFeline wrote: »
I'd call it overly optimistic. You don't gain 3lbs of muscle in a couple of weeks as a female even with a perfect lifting program and an excess of calories.
And if you're "only" losing a few kilos in 12 weeks then you are most certainly not reverse dieting and are in fact probably eating far too little to have such big losses.
Firstly I'm not here for an argument. Second, she never stated any time frames of the weight gain. Thirdly, I began my reverse diet AFTER my 12 week program ending (4 weeks ago). And the "only" part was me trying to emphasise that weight doesn't always matter when you can lose so much in measurements.
Okay, well, you don't gain 3lbs of muscle as a female in a short period of time, more like 3-6 months in perfect conditions.
I'm not here to argue either, there is a perpetuation of myths that happens within the health and fitness industry that isn't the least bit helpful left unchallenged.
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In all your dieting attempts, how have you determined your calorie intake? Do you weigh and measure everything?5
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@livingcleanlivingclean yes I used to measure everything and count the carbs from packages. So unhealthy as I was on the verge of an eating disorder. Worse thing I broke down in the gym as I was hungry but I couldn't figure what to eat and for once I'm eating and enjoying it.
I think because I've been on reverse dieting for a week it may just be water retention.
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if you upped your carbs, then yes, water weight is likely - there is a reason they are called carbo-hydrates5
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@deannalfisher I don't want to cut back on carbs otherwise I'm back in the same place do I just stay consistent with how much I'm eating now?0
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@livingcleanlivingclean yes I used to measure everything and count the carbs from packages. So unhealthy as I was on the verge of an eating disorder. Worse thing I broke down in the gym as I was hungry but I couldn't figure what to eat and for once I'm eating and enjoying it.
I think because I've been on reverse dieting for a week it may just be water retention.
so if you are not weighing or measuring anything you eat - you really have no idea how many calories per day you are consuming.14 -
Muscleflex79 wrote: »@livingcleanlivingclean yes I used to measure everything and count the carbs from packages. So unhealthy as I was on the verge of an eating disorder. Worse thing I broke down in the gym as I was hungry but I couldn't figure what to eat and for once I'm eating and enjoying it.
I think because I've been on reverse dieting for a week it may just be water retention.
so if you are not weighing or measuring anything you eat - you really have no idea how many calories per day you are consuming.
And if only 17kgs was lost in 2 years, it's likely you weren't eating 900-1100 calories then either...or you have some sort of medical condition lowering your calories out, in which case you need to see a Dr for some tests to determine what's going on ....
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@deannalfisher I don't want to cut back on carbs otherwise I'm back in the same place do I just stay consistent with how much I'm eating now?
I'm not telling you to cut carbs...at all...I'm saying that when you increase your carbs, there will be an increase in weight because they add additional water weight...that will go away as your body readjusts (FWIW, I do 300+g of carbs most days of the week)3 -
I need some help fitnesspal fam, I'm gaining weight with reverse dieting!
I don't know what you mean by "reverse dieting," but with IF you still have to eat only an amount that creates a deficit. I assume you're eating too much for your needs. You should measure and log everything you eat.1 -
@livingcleanlivingclean I don't have any medical conditions when I went to the Dr I was referred to the weight loss clinic who put me on meds that made me ill and just said I have a broken metabolism and to cut carbs. I do weigh everything lol that's what I said tracked and weighed every item that why I was on the verge of an eating disorder. That 17kg took me two years to lose it was a very slow weight loss and apparently I should have shed more in two years.
@deannalfisher I'm going to be consistent and see what happens0 -
@livingcleanlivingclean yes I used to measure everything and count the carbs from packages. So unhealthy as I was on the verge of an eating disorder. Worse thing I broke down in the gym as I was hungry but I couldn't figure what to eat and for once I'm eating and enjoying it.
I think because I've been on reverse dieting for a week it may just be water retention.
If you don't like measuring and logging you should figure out four to eight simple meals whose calorie content is known and eat only those.5 -
I need some help fitnesspal fam, I'm gaining weight with reverse dieting!
I don't know what you mean by "reverse dieting," but with IF you still have to eat only an amount that creates a deficit. I assume you're eating too much for your needs. You should measure and log everything you eat.
"Reverse dieting" is a big thing in the body building community... sort of bro science that you can slowly increase the calories you eat and get your body to burn more in response. So you might be at maintenance at 1,500 calories but want to eat more. Reverse dieting says you can increase calories very slowly (increase CI) and force/encourage/trick your body into increasing your CO so that you keep maintaining... so the goal is to in the end be at maintenance at >1,500 calories.
You have to be super anal on calories in since the increase in calories is so tiny. Like if you eat 1,500 a day at maintenance start eating 1,545 a day (3% increase) for several weeks, then 1,590 a day for several weeks, etc.
I'm not saying it works or doesn't work, that's just my understanding of it. Sounds like bro science to me but some people swear by it. I've never tried.3 -
@Verdenal reverse dieting is when you up your calories bringing your metabolism out of the low calorie set point it was at. IF is so good I'm hardly hungry and I'm more accountable however I feel eating 3 meals and a snack is too much. I'm still at a calorie deficit as my TDEE is 2129 and I'm meant to be eating 1,500 I'm eating 1,300 max now.2
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@Verdenal thank you I can't eat 8 meals that's quite a lot I'm struggling with 3 meals and a snack but I just wanted to know is my weight gain due to me adding carbs into my die again with reverse dieting. Majority have said yes
I think they meant for you to rotate between those meals over the course of the week, not to try and eat them all in the same day.6
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