11 days in Gaining weight

Gettinmyshrinkon

Hi all. I'm 11 days in and following paleo LCHF.
I've been maintaining and now failing weight.
I've been meticulous with my food choices and get carbs from veggies and fat from grass fed animal or coconut sources. I don't eat processed foods. I drink 101oz of water a day.
WTH?
I had my thyroid tested and it's fine. I'm 6 months PP after having my twins.
I am exercising (walking 15-20,000 steps a day) plus a little resistance band stuff a couple of times a week.
I can't IF as I have anxiety issues that flare when I skip a meal.
What am I doing wrong folks? Please help me. I'm so down on myself.

anubis609

Low carb isn't magic. Calories still count. In fact, on low carb/keto (once you're fat adapted) you actually wouldn't need as many calories as you would with carbs. That said, what is your height, weight, and bf%? You may not need that much fat since much of the fat you actually want to burn should be coming from your own body fat, not dietary fat... which gives you more room to eat protein to meet calorie goals in a deficit.

Gettinmyshrinkon

That's a good point!
I'm 5'10, 214lbs and I'd guess at least 40% body fat

Sunny_Bunny_

If switch your fat and protein grams.

anubis609

Also, without knowing what you're eating, focus on nutrient dense food. Above ground veggies are lower in carb and have more fiber which allow for more volume without many calories. Leaner cuts of protein allow for more satiety since protein is the most satiating macro, so prioritize it over all other macros. Allow enough fat for hormone and mood regulation, but don't go overboard with it. Fat calories are double that of carbs and protein, aren't very satiating, and are generally a 1:1 gram ratio with protein when you're in maintenance. In a deficit, have around 2g protein for every 1g of fat. So if you eat 120g protein, have about 60g fat. Or scale it as you please, but protein > fat for fat loss.

Also, low carb diets are still a diet. You must be in a deficit to lose fat, and you will have hunger. It's just something that comes with the territory, so when you eat, eat until you're less hungry than you were before you ate. Avoid snacking randomly, keep your electrolytes up (especially sodium), don't add useless calories like cream in your coffee (for the love of everything unholy don't do bpc) and all the other rational diet advice that exists... and lastly, give it some time. You've been on it for 11 days. It will take time. This is unavoidable.

kpk54

I concur with the above though would add: both fat and protein are satiating and different people are satiated by either. Seems to me "grass fed" is generally leaner than the standard meat so you might want to pay attention to fat intake if you're getting "plenty" of protein and are still hungry. Eating fat does not make people fat. Eating too much of anything/everything will make people fat.

Are you eating back the "calories burned" given by your tracker? Many of those overstate "calories burned" so be careful with that practice.

anubis609

I'll agree with that. Being in a deficit, regardless of macro composition, will result in a net loss of energy stores. I admit I'm particularly biased in retaining lean mass which is why I advocate protein, but it is relatively a static number while either fat or carbs would make up the rest of the calories while still maintaining a deficit.

Gallowmere1984

anubis609 wrote: »

Also, without knowing what you're eating, focus on nutrient dense food. Above ground veggies are lower in carb and have more fiber which allow for more volume without many calories. Leaner cuts of protein allow for more satiety since protein is the most satiating macro, so prioritize it over all other macros. Allow enough fat for hormone and mood regulation, but don't go overboard with it. Fat calories are double that of carbs and protein, aren't very satiating, and are generally a 1:1 gram ratio with protein when you're in maintenance. In a deficit, have around 2g protein for every 1g of fat. So if you eat 120g protein, have about 60g fat. Or scale it as you please, but protein > fat for fat loss.

Also, low carb diets are still a diet. You must be in a deficit to lose fat, and you will have hunger. It's just something that comes with the territory, so when you eat, eat until you're less hungry than you were before you ate. Avoid snacking randomly, keep your electrolytes up (especially sodium), don't add useless calories like cream in your coffee (for the love of everything unholy don't do bpc) and all the other rational diet advice that exists... and lastly, give it some time. You've been on it for 11 days. It will take time. This is unavoidable.

You...I like you. Could definitely use more of this in here.

tcunbeliever

It's awesome that you posted your goals, but your diary isn't public, so don't know how close you are actually getting to those goals. Are you actually hitting those numbers?

I would definitely suggest more protein, 75 is low for someone who is active and doing strength training, aim for more 100-150 and reduce fat accordingly - you said you are about 40% body fat, so you don't need to eat a lot of fat, your body has plenty available to snack on so it's not necessary to consume a large amount.

Also, 11 days is not enough time to account for water fluctuations as your body will potentially store a lot of water when beginning an exercise program, give it at least 3 weeks for your body to adapt and adjust water stores accordingly.

And you had a baby 6 months ago, are you still nursing? If not, how recently did you stop? Possibly there are hormone shifts still occurring which may work against you in the beginning, but I expect those would probably level out after a month, so on that front also, give it more time.

Not everybody has the huge scale loss right in the beginning, which is really just water anyway, so don't feel like your missing out too much. Your body can only metabolize about 1% body fat in any given week at a maximum, losing more than that is water at best and lean mass at worst, so be patient, the goal is for fat to be gone and muscle to be retained, right? Seeing a huge scale drop doesn't mean anything if it just leaves you with an even higher body fat percentage.

Sabine_Stroehm

It would help if you opened you diary, at least with a key that you gave folks. The smart folks here could offer much more assistance.

Sunny_Bunny_

Gallowmere1984 wrote: »

anubis609 wrote: »

Also, without knowing what you're eating, focus on nutrient dense food. Above ground veggies are lower in carb and have more fiber which allow for more volume without many calories. Leaner cuts of protein allow for more satiety since protein is the most satiating macro, so prioritize it over all other macros. Allow enough fat for hormone and mood regulation, but don't go overboard with it. Fat calories are double that of carbs and protein, aren't very satiating, and are generally a 1:1 gram ratio with protein when you're in maintenance. In a deficit, have around 2g protein for every 1g of fat. So if you eat 120g protein, have about 60g fat. Or scale it as you please, but protein > fat for fat loss.

Also, low carb diets are still a diet. You must be in a deficit to lose fat, and you will have hunger. It's just something that comes with the territory, so when you eat, eat until you're less hungry than you were before you ate. Avoid snacking randomly, keep your electrolytes up (especially sodium), don't add useless calories like cream in your coffee (for the love of everything unholy don't do bpc) and all the other rational diet advice that exists... and lastly, give it some time. You've been on it for 11 days. It will take time. This is unavoidable.

You...I like you. Could definitely use more of this in here.

Agreed