Feeling down about my progress

Hey everyone,

This is my first time posting and I'm posting this because I really don't know what to do at this point and I need advice. Let me just start off by telling a little about myself. So I'm pretty short (5'0 or 5'1) and I used to weigh about 95 lbs. I'm just that type of chick that doesn't gain weight even if I indulge myself in a dumpster full of fast food. It took me about 2 years to gain a healthy new weight at about 110 lbs. It took a lot of effort... just as much as it does for some people to lose weight. It's really NOT easy for me to gain weight and for me to do that in 2 years was amazing for me and a big accomplishment.

Present day: Just 2 weeks ago, I started a new diet which is a LOW-CARB, low fat diet and I weighed myself just yesterday and lost 4, almost 5 pounds. I went on this low carb diet to better my health. I never kept track of the calories I consumed but I know it's not a lot. Most of my calories were coming from protein.

I'm torn because it took me so long to gain a healthy weight and I'm slowly going back to my unhealthy skinny weight. I feel hopeless and clueless (now) about this new diet regimen. Is it possible to lose muscle weight if I'm consuming a high protein diet? Working out is a part of my routine and I also don't want all that hard work to be for nothing.

I want to stick with this new diet but I just don't want to lose anymore weight. Today, I actually started eating carbs again to help me gain the weight back. I don't want to but I feel like that's the only way to gain weight. Is it possible to just keep working out and add muscle on a low-carb diet? While also consuming about 1000 cals/day? Need some advice!

Replies

  • pander101
    pander101 Posts: 677 Member
    Well first off, 1000 calories a day is not enough. Period. You need to eat more. MFP even has a limit of 1200. If you're trying to gain I don't really get why you're limiting yourself to only 1000 a day. Use the MFP calculator if you don't want to use an outside one. But to gain muscle you need to eat a surplus of calories. But you can do it on a low carb diet. Low carb just means, well, low carb. I would just focus on low carb for now. You need fats to function. Doing a low carb and low fat diet is just not a bright idea. You should be making up the excess with fats and proteins. So eat more protein and healthy fat. Lift more too.

    Also, if you're trying to gain, why are doing low carb? Just eat better foods.
  • Well first off, 1000 calories a day is not enough. Period. You need to eat more. MFP even has a limit of 1200. If you're trying to gain I don't really get why you're limiting yourself to only 1000 a day. Use the MFP calculator if you don't want to use an outside one. But to gain muscle you need to eat a surplus of calories. But you can do it on a low carb diet. Low carb just means, well, low carb. I would just focus on low carb for now. You need fats to function. Doing a low carb and low fat diet is just not a bright idea. You should be making up the excess with fats and proteins. So eat more protein and healthy fat. Lift more too.

    Also, if you're trying to gain, why are doing low carb? Just eat better foods.

    Sorry, I actually didn't mean to say I'm limiting myself to 1000 cals/day. That's just about how much I'm getting with the new diet. I get carbs from fruits + vegetables but not from foods like rice or pasta... etc. I don't want the bad carbs that spikes my blood sugar because I'm sensitive to carbs (at least that's what I think).

    My typical diet would be something like:

    Breakfast: 1 egg (I'm changing this soon)

    Lunch: 8-12 oz steak with green beans, almond milk, a fruit.
    Post workout: about the same thing as lunch

    Dinner: Basically the same thing as lunch.... just different meats like fish or pork
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  • pander101
    pander101 Posts: 677 Member
    Ok, I see. Anyways, you need to eat more calories than what you are burning to gain muscle. At least you are getting most of it from protein which is a great start so you just need to work on getting more calories and get into a lifting routine. If you are having trouble eating that amount you can slowly start increasing week by week. But I would recommend talking to a doctor or dietitian. I do not recommend nutritionist. Dietitians have to have a minimum of a bachelor's degree, nutritionists don't. Adding in healthy fats is a good way add calories, just make sure you are measuring correctly. Protein powders/shakes are good as well.
  • cwoyto123
    cwoyto123 Posts: 308
    You are not eating enough, you must eat more.

    I was 6'4' 130lbs, I am now 190lbs due to eating MORE.

    Currently need 6000-6500 calories a day to gain weight.
  • itsbasschick
    itsbasschick Posts: 1,584 Member
    why do you think you're sensitive to carbs? has a doctor told you so after measuring your blood sugar or have you tested your blood sugar at home? it's normal for blood sugar to go up and down - it's how we're designed.
  • DopeItUp
    DopeItUp Posts: 18,771 Member
    If you don't want to eat carbs, that's fine (although your reasoning is dubious at best). You still need to fill the calorie gap that you're missing from the carbs, however. Lots of fat and protein for you. Nobody on the planet gains muscle from 1000 calories a day. I'm guessing you need at least double that.