Experiments with your food plan..........

QueenofCaffeine4Life

Experimenting with my eating this coming week.

Kinda scared but excited to see what is going to happen. My calories are set for 1350. I have pretty much stayed calorie and LOW CARB focused. I have taken measurements and recorded my weight. From today until Friday of next week I am only going to focus on calories alone. I will continue to build my meals around good protein intake but not be concerned with the carb portions. For years I have focused on those dang "BAD carbs". I plan to continue everything as normal other than that. I look forward to seeing my results. If I gain......................I am probably gonna cry!

My first DON'T CARE ABOUT CARBS meal today was an Egg McMuffin. Dang those are good.

RelCanonical

Just trying to set expectations with you - you probably will gain. It will not be fat, it will be water weight, but increasing carb intake generally causes more water retention. It will not affect your overall progress though - the scale should continue to trend down after that if you continue to stay in a calorie deficit. I eat pretty high carb and have not had trouble trending down. I never had the bump up in weight because I never did low carb, so I just held onto that water weight consistently, so it wasn't noticeable.

cmriverside

When I was in weight loss mode I sort of had to go a bit lower carb in order to get enough protein so I had limited grains. That English Muffin would have had to be my only grain for the day if I was on 1350.

All through my weight loss I limited my grains to one 200 calorie serving per day. It was the only way I could keep from over-eating.

I tried to stay between 100-150g Carbs per day. That was a good place for me. It allowed grains and potatoes and a teaspoon of sugar with milk in my one cup of coffee.

apullum

The first thing I’d do is address the crying if you see the scale go up. Weight fluctuations are normal. The scale will not go down every day. Sometimes it will even go up. Those fluctuations often have nothing to do with fat loss. You are looking for a downward trend, not a lower number every day.

If you eat more carbs than usual, the scale is going to go up temporarily due to normal water fluctuation. It has nothing to do with your fat loss.

Your mindset toward weight loss is not sustainable if it makes you cry over completely normal bodily functions.

neugebauer52

Initially I started with a carbs / fat / protein % of 20 / 40 / 40 and over the last 500 days I slowly changed to just about even: 33 / 33 / 33 %. Seasonal weather and temperature changes also play a role I think.

puffbrat

As the other posters have said, you will see a bump up on the scale from water retention due to increasing carbs. You say are going to try this experiment for one week. That is only enough time to see the increase from water retention but not long enough to see that you can still lose weight by simply staying in a calorie deficit. I would suggest you immediately change that goal to doing a full 6-week experiment of only focusing on calories, and then see where you are. If you are so afraid of seeing an increase on the scale, then you may even want to avoid weighing yourself the first couple weeks.

LyndaBSS

Fluctuations and plateaus are a normal part of the process. That's a fact. It's the same for everyone, no matter what foods they consume or their exercise routine.

The sooner we accept that, the easier and more pleasant our journey is. 🌷

QueenofCaffeine4Life

I appreciate the insight. Thank you all. I do agree that maybe a week is a little limited. I don't count macros. So I don't know exactly how many carbs I ingest daily. I do consume low carb bars that have a total carb content that is much higher than most. Although I have only counted net carbs. I do consume apples, carrots, and some random carbs every now and then. I am not KETO. Just low carb or lower carb than most. I don't eat breads, potatoes, and sugary items. However, I want to stop being scared of consuming them in fear they are the culprit for weight gain. I am told that it is only calories in and calories out that matter. I want to test the theory and stop being afraid of carbs.

I don't agree with the information regarding me 'crying over weight gain' as unhealthy. No I probably won't cry. Yes, I will get upset. Not throwing a fit or sitting down and wallowing in self pity but a sad ugh oh moment will occur. If you see an upward trend when you weigh daily and don't get a little tense then I would like to know your secret. Typically, most people on this site are here to lose weight or to maintain the weight they have lost. So it would seem normal to me not to be okay with weight gain and to be a little sad at the numbers.

I do know you don't know intent behind the words typed, or the personality of the person typing, so I get where my wording could seem a bit "manic" to some. But trust me I have worked hard toward my mindset to get me to the point where I am willing to try and do something different.

kimny72

QueenofCaffeine4Life wrote: »

I appreciate the insight. Thank you all. I do agree that maybe a week is a little limited. I don't count macros. So I don't know exactly how many carbs I ingest daily. I do consume low carb bars that have a total carb content that is much higher than most. Although I have only counted net carbs. I do consume apples, carrots, and some random carbs every now and then. I am not KETO. Just low carb or lower carb than most. I don't eat breads, potatoes, and sugary items. However, I want to stop being scared of consuming them in fear they are the culprit for weight gain. I am told that it is only calories in and calories out that matter. I want to test the theory and stop being afraid of carbs.

I don't agree with the information regarding me 'crying over weight gain' as unhealthy. No I probably won't cry. Yes, I will get upset. Not throwing a fit or sitting down and wallowing in self pity but a sad ugh oh moment will occur. If you see an upward trend when you weigh daily and don't get a little tense then I would like to know your secret. Typically, most people on this site are here to lose weight or to maintain the weight they have lost. So it would seem normal to me not to be okay with weight gain and to be a little sad at the numbers.

I do know you don't know intent behind the words typed, or the personality of the person typing, so I get where my wording could seem a bit "manic" to some. But trust me I have worked hard toward my mindset to get me to the point where I am willing to try and do something different.

I am in maintenance, I reached my goal weight 2 years ago. I weigh several times a week. I see the scale go up all the time. Then I see it go down. I don't have an emotional reaction to either, because I know the limits of what the scale can tell me - it measures everything in my body, not just the fat. Why would I be upset if the scale is merely reflecting a little retained water my muscles needed, or a bit of food that is taking a little longer to digest than usual? The sooner you can find a way to not pin your expectations on what the scale does daily, the easier your weight loss will be. Have you considered using a weight trending app?

If you're not ready to think about it that way, then you're not ready, but maybe you can file this all away for later! Congrats on experimenting and taking steps forward

If you haven't seen this post, it might help too:

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10084670/it-is-unlikely-that-you-will-lose-weight-consistently-i-e-weight-loss-is-not-linear/p1

RelCanonical

QueenofCaffeine4Life wrote: »

I appreciate the insight. Thank you all. I do agree that maybe a week is a little limited. I don't count macros. So I don't know exactly how many carbs I ingest daily. I do consume low carb bars that have a total carb content that is much higher than most. Although I have only counted net carbs. I do consume apples, carrots, and some random carbs every now and then. I am not KETO. Just low carb or lower carb than most. I don't eat breads, potatoes, and sugary items. However, I want to stop being scared of consuming them in fear they are the culprit for weight gain. I am told that it is only calories in and calories out that matter. I want to test the theory and stop being afraid of carbs.

I don't agree with the information regarding me 'crying over weight gain' as unhealthy. No I probably won't cry. Yes, I will get upset. Not throwing a fit or sitting down and wallowing in self pity but a sad ugh oh moment will occur. If you see an upward trend when you weigh daily and don't get a little tense then I would like to know your secret. Typically, most people on this site are here to lose weight or to maintain the weight they have lost. So it would seem normal to me not to be okay with weight gain and to be a little sad at the numbers.

I do know you don't know intent behind the words typed, or the personality of the person typing, so I get where my wording could seem a bit "manic" to some. But trust me I have worked hard toward my mindset to get me to the point where I am willing to try and do something different.

You may not experience as much gain since it's possible you're consuming more carbs that you might think. That's not a bad thing, sounds like it's more a journey to be more flexible with your food choices, which can really work for long-term success.

I kind of guessed you were exaggerating, but I don't blame the others for taking it at face value either. Some people DO mean it, and it's worth addressing because it can be a barrier to meeting their goals if setbacks are so stressful.

Usually if I want to exaggerate for effect, I'll add a "lol" on the end or a smiley to show that I don't really mean it. I'm guessing the most accurate way I can glean is that you will probably be disappointed with a gain, but not like, outwardly upset.

QueenofCaffeine4Life

@kimny72 I am in weight loss mode. Not maintenance. I have measured myself and charted my weight because I know the scale is not the only source of loss. I also know that I am TRYING to lose weight and not gain or maintain right now. So I am trying to learn what to eat and how to eat so as it helps not hinders. I am aware that fluctuations happen. I get that.

I will be honest in saying that I do get aggravated with my very slow weight loss. I get aggravated because I am doing everything I know to do. If I don't see progress on the scale or either progress in my measurements I feel the need to re-evaluate what I am doing. Month long times of no movement in either is not okay with me.

But I totally get what you mean...................as in..........................get a right perspective regarding weight fluctuations. Have a healthy attitude toward the scale.

apullum

QueenofCaffeine4Life wrote: »

I appreciate the insight. Thank you all. I do agree that maybe a week is a little limited. I don't count macros. So I don't know exactly how many carbs I ingest daily. I do consume low carb bars that have a total carb content that is much higher than most. Although I have only counted net carbs. I do consume apples, carrots, and some random carbs every now and then. I am not KETO. Just low carb or lower carb than most. I don't eat breads, potatoes, and sugary items. However, I want to stop being scared of consuming them in fear they are the culprit for weight gain. I am told that it is only calories in and calories out that matter. I want to test the theory and stop being afraid of carbs.

I don't agree with the information regarding me 'crying over weight gain' as unhealthy. No I probably won't cry. Yes, I will get upset. Not throwing a fit or sitting down and wallowing in self pity but a sad ugh oh moment will occur. If you see an upward trend when you weigh daily and don't get a little tense then I would like to know your secret. Typically, most people on this site are here to lose weight or to maintain the weight they have lost. So it would seem normal to me not to be okay with weight gain and to be a little sad at the numbers.

I do know you don't know intent behind the words typed, or the personality of the person typing, so I get where my wording could seem a bit "manic" to some. But trust me I have worked hard toward my mindset to get me to the point where I am willing to try and do something different.

The “secret” is understanding normal weight fluctuations, and being able to tell the difference between water/waste weight fluctuation vs. fat loss or gain.

I lost 100 pounds and have maintained for over two years. The scale didn’t go down every day while I was losing. Sometimes it went up. Near my goal, I often went 4-6 weeks without going below my most recent lowest weight.

In maintenance, the scale doesn’t stay the same every day. Sometimes it goes up. This morning it was up 0.8 lb from yesterday morning.

If you see a rapid increase on the scale and you know you’re not dramatically overeating, it’s water and/or waste. That can take some time to go away. Fat gain generally does not happen all at once, unless you know that you have been significantly overeating. When you see a sudden gain and you know you’re in a deficit, then you can be very confident that it’s not fat.

You’re especially likely to see this increase if you eat more carbs and/or sodium than usual, or just more food than usual (which translates to more waste moving through the body).

This morning, for example, I expected the scale to go up because dinner last night was pita chips and hummus, which is much saltier and higher carb than my usual dinner. The scale went up even though I was under my calorie goal for the day, but I know it’s just water fluctuation. Having that knowledge means it doesn’t bother me.

If you are going to introduce more carbs after being low carb for a while, you’re very likely to see the scale go up, and a week may or may not be enough time to see it go back down. It will be water fluctuation, not fat, as long as you’re still in a deficit. So one problem with this experiment is that you’re likely to see water retention that doesn’t go away in a week and conclude that the experiment was a failure, when in reality it’s just the body’s normal response to a higher carb intake.

I would still encourage working on being okay with normal upward movement on the scale. Especially as you get closer to your goal, you’re going to have a very difficult time if you get upset whenever the scale goes up for normal, expected reasons.

QueenofCaffeine4Life

I still have 50lbs to lose. I am not close to goal at all. However, I want to learn to love all foods and not be shy about them due to previous beliefs.

Thanks y'all

kimny72

QueenofCaffeine4Life wrote: »

@kimny72 I am in weight loss mode. Not maintenance. I have measured myself and charted my weight because I know the scale is not the only source of loss. I also know that I am TRYING to lose weight and not gain or maintain right now. So I am trying to learn what to eat and how to eat so as it helps not hinders. I am aware that fluctuations happen. I get that.

I will be honest in saying that I do get aggravated with my very slow weight loss. I get aggravated because I am doing everything I know to do. If I don't see progress on the scale or either progress in my measurements I feel the need to re-evaluate what I am doing. Month long times of no movement in either is not okay with me.

But I totally get what you mean...................as in..........................get a right perspective regarding weight fluctuations. Have a healthy attitude toward the scale.

I know you're trying to lose weight I just used myself as an example because looking at the scale never stops. You will still have to deal with the scale fluctuating after you're "done" (because you're never really done). Anyway, I know you know, and I don't want to beat this into the ground. Let us know how it goes!