Going back to a calorie deficit from Keto.

EthanJeremiahsMama

Hi everyone, I decided to get off Keto and eat “lower carbs” than I used to prior to Keto. Before I tried Keto, I was eating mainly proteins and whole grains with fruits and veggies. It worked for me as long as I stuck to a calorie deficit, even when not working out as much. I decided to try Keto after I saw a friend who lost a lot of weight and thought to myself wow, the foods she eats actually sounds amazing lol. To make a long story short, I tried it on and off and lost weight — ate tons of healthy fats, protein especially bacon lol and a lot of vegetables. While I did drop water weight quite fast, long term wise I felt it just wasn’t ‘for me.’ I missed fruits, missed my whole grain tortillas, Ezekiel toast and overall other foods / treats I was able to eat. I’ve decided to get off Keto and go back to CICO but my friend told me “even if you eat healthier carbs from whole grains or fruits you’ll gain all the weight back.” Is this true? Has anyone tried Keto then went back to being in a calorie deficit / consuming healthier food whether it was carbs added and gained the weight back?

Any responses are appreciated. Thanks!

Runaroundafieldx2

You will put back on water weight but it will be more sustainable and you'll be happier and healthier long term.

All weightloss works via cico

Danp

CICO isn't a weight loss method. It's an energy equation.

If CI is greater than CO you'll gain weight
If CI is fewer than CO you'll lose weight

Doesn't matter how you eat, when you eat, what you eat, how you eat or why you eat. If you eat more calories than you use you'll gain weight and visa-versa.

So on strict keto-vegan-clean-raw diet where you eat more calories than you use you'll gain weight and on a burgers, fries, pizza, ice-cream, cookies and chocolate diet where you eat fewer calorie than you use you'll lose weight.

Higj fat, high carb, high protein, whatever. If the number of calories are the same the fat loss (or gain) will be the same.

PAV8888

To become keto adapted people drop their body's ready reserves of carbohydrates.

These carbs are stored in the skeletal muscles and liver attached to water molecules at a ratio of approximately 1g of carbs to approximately 3-4g of water.

So, the approximately 2kg of glycogen that you lost on entering keto will quite likely come back as soon as carbohydrate storage is normalized, regardless of what may be happening with your underlying fat level.

Beyond that, your underlying fat level and weight trend will continue to adjust as per your ongoing CI-CO balance.

I note that the 2kg in question is not fat.

LyndaBSS

I think you'll feel better emotionally because you'll be happier and more satisfied with the foods you'll be adding back into your menu.

As a result, you'll be in a better mindset to handle any fluctuations.

Spliner1969

EthanJeremiahsMama wrote: »

Hi everyone, I decided to get off Keto and eat “lower carbs” than I used to prior to Keto. Before I tried Keto, I was eating mainly proteins and whole grains with fruits and veggies. It worked for me as long as I stuck to a calorie deficit, even when not working out as much. I decided to try Keto after I saw a friend who lost a lot of weight and thought to myself wow, the foods she eats actually sounds amazing lol. To make a long story short, I tried it on and off and lost weight — ate tons of healthy fats, protein especially bacon lol and a lot of vegetables. While I did drop water weight quite fast, long term wise I felt it just wasn’t ‘for me.’ I missed fruits, missed my whole grain tortillas, Ezekiel toast and overall other foods / treats I was able to eat. I’ve decided to get off Keto and go back to CICO but my friend told me “even if you eat healthier carbs from whole grains or fruits you’ll gain all the weight back.” Is this true? Has anyone tried Keto then went back to being in a calorie deficit / consuming healthier food whether it was carbs added and gained the weight back?

Any responses are appreciated. Thanks!

What matters, on any diet, is the calorie deficit. If you eat Keto but are in a calorie surplus, guess what happens? You'll still lose the water weight and it'll look like you're losing weight at first but you'll eventually gain weight. So eat however you want and use the calorie deficit for weight loss. The only reason I can think of for using Keto diets is if you are pre-diabetic (carbs = sugar) or have a problem burning fat from too much sugar/calories in your diet and have a problem with hunger. High fat and protein diets can help you feel full longer.

I personally use a combination of calorie deficit, low carb (around 50g/day when I have the willpower anyway), high fat and moderate protein to cut weight using mostly cardio exercise. I wouldn't recommend it for someone doing purely weight training though, higher protein would be better for that sort of thing as well as carbs for energy. I also use 16:8 IF just because it helps me not go overboard on calories, not because I believe it actually helps with weight loss otherwise.

Just my .02, plenty of other opinions out there.

J72FIT

EthanJeremiahsMama wrote: »

I’ve decided to get off Keto and go back to CICO but my friend told me “even if you eat healthier carbs from whole grains or fruits you’ll gain all the weight back.” Is this true?

You'll regain water weight due to glycogen storage/replenishment. Nothing to worry about...

eb8566

I also would love to go off low carb now and just continue my calorie goals but I’m only 10-15 lbs to goal, it has worked well, and so I keep going. I’m told I should expect 2-3lbs back with glycogen replenishment but I really don’t know. Supposedly it won’t be nearly as much as the beginning water loss because I will be about 75 lbs less and have less retention from other things. I lost 9 in water at the beginning. I would love to hear how this has worked out for everyone. @EthanJeremiahsMama please update if you go forward.

ahoy_m8

EthanJeremiahsMama wrote: »

... my friend told me “even if you eat healthier carbs from whole grains or fruits you’ll gain all the weight back.” Is this true? Has anyone tried Keto then went back to being in a calorie deficit / consuming healthier food whether it was carbs added and gained the weight back?

Any responses are appreciated. Thanks!

I have tried keto and gone back to a caloric deficit (with more carbs but still low-to-moderate carb) and your friend was wrong in my case -- I did not gain weight back.

Keto works ONLY because it's an easier way of eating to sustain a deficit for some people. Without the deficit, keto doesn't work for weight loss. Any way you sustain a caloric deficit is a way that works for weight loss.

What on earth could be wrong with being fully hydrated? Or fully loaded with glycogen? Those are good things! They make your workouts awesome! I know water weight can be frustrating on the scale, but it's seriously misguided to try to lose water weight for its own sake. (ETA: The only exception I can think of is "making weight" for a competition.)