Switching from low carb without gaining

jaycee76

Hello

I am 5ft 4inches and currently weigh 140lbs.

I have been following low carb (upto 40grams net carbs per day) for 6 weeks and have lost just less than 13lbs. I only have another 4 lbs to lose to get to where I would like to be. The problem is I have stopped losing (even keeping carbs low and calories 1400 - 1500 on average).
I am thinking that I would like to switch to a moderate carb intake (120g ish) of good healthy carbs and try cutting another 100 calories.
I am worried that because of the low carb lifestyle I have been following, I will gain back weight fast by increasing carbs, even cutting calories a bit more. I absolutely cannot gain and need to lose the 4lb in the next 6 weeks as I am getting married and can only just squeeze into my dress (hence the need to get rid of 4lbs to make it more comfortable)

What sort of percentages should I be aiming for? What works for you?

Has anyone done something similar and what were your experiences?

Any advice would be very much appreciated.

Thank you

Jaycee xx

33033me

Janice, from what I understand, our body has carb stores, accompanied by water. Your body will need to store those back up, along with water. It is good for you to eat healthy carbs, your body needs them. You can lose by cutting calories, but you may see a water gain as you introduce them back in. No worries! You aren't adding fat, just water weight.

sandislim

^^ exactly, if you do gain weight, it will only be water weight with the stored carbs - not fat.

jaycee76

^^ exactly, if you do gain weight, it will only be water weight with the stored carbs - not fat.

But will that water weight add inches to my body? This is what I absolutely cannot do!

fionarama

I followed low carb (more like NO carb!) for years. I have in the last week switched to a diet from www.bodybuilding.com which is really good. I eat lots of brown rice and sweet potato for carbs. I have oatmeal at breakfast. I am eating LOADS of carbs. AFter being deprived for years I actually feel quite spoilt.
And you know what? I lost weight!!!!

Nothing terrible will happen if you switch from low carb to eating good quality unprocessed carbs. Try it. I understand your anxieties but you will be ok!

fastbelly

Exercise!

hikerchick9

I agree! Running and weight training for 6 weeks will do it. Try Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred dvd

Lozzy_82

Bump

SHBoss1673

depending on whether you are ketogenic or not will dictate whether you gain weight back from re-addition of glycogen to your liver and muscle sites, there's nothing wrong with that, it's just part of the process. Don't focus so much on weight, weight is arbitrary anyway, focus on fat %. Go have your body fat % done, work on lowering that, forget what your weight is.

jaycee76

Exercise!

I am exercising and will increase it more now I am introducing more carbs!

kittrelle

Hello

I am 5ft 4inches and currently weigh 140lbs.

I have been following low carb (upto 40grams net carbs per day) for 6 weeks and have lost just less than 13lbs. I only have another 4 lbs to lose to get to where I would like to be. The problem is I have stopped losing (even keeping carbs low and calories 1400 - 1500 on average).
I am thinking that I would like to switch to a moderate carb intake (120g ish) of good healthy carbs and try cutting another 100 calories.
I am worried that because of the low carb lifestyle I have been following, I will gain back weight fast by increasing carbs, even cutting calories a bit more. I absolutely cannot gain and need to lose the 4lb in the next 6 weeks as I am getting married and can only just squeeze into my dress (hence the need to get rid of 4lbs to make it more comfortable)

What sort of percentages should I be aiming for? What works for you?

Has anyone done something similar and what were your experiences?

Any advice would be very much appreciated.

Thank you

Jaycee xx

First of all, congratulations on your weight loss!!
Secondly, the closer you get to goal, the slower your weight loss usually is...how long have you had 'no weight loss'?
Since you are bound and determined NOT to gain before your wedding I would: drop my carbs by 5 grams a day and see what happens at the end of the week- hopefully you will lose. If you do, just keep eating 5 grams less carbs per day until your wedding....ie: if you are eating 40 net carbs now, drop it to 35 per day.

Longterm, however, I'd encourage you to explore Dr. AtkinsNew Diet Revolution book and skip all the induction stuff. Read what he says about Ongoing weight loss, premaintenance and maintenance. What few people realize is that when you go low carb there is a procedure to adding carbs back in a few at a time so that you can determine how your body 'behaves'. If you conscientiously work with adding 5 at a time you will detemine the highest number of carbs you can ingest and lose, maintain, or gain- whichever is your goal. It's a lot to post here, but I'd advise you to check that book out. If you like, you can visit the Atkins Bulletin Board site and look at the stickies in the forum- they are as detailed as the book.

Good Luck!

mindhorizon

I suggest adding carbs gradually until you find the point where you gain weight. Then cut back a bit. Different people respond to carbs differently. You need to find your own threshold.

srmchargue

Jaycee,
I experienced this the last time I was on a low carb diet. I went a full 4 weeks without loosing a single pound. I finally dropped down to 12 Carbs to try to kick start the weight loss and it worked. It was then that I reevaluated what I was eating and HOW I was counting net carbs. I noticed that if I counted the net carbs as they do on the label (subtracting sugar alcohols as well as fiber) I would plateau, but if I ONLY subtracted fiber and kept strictly to my 30 carbs my weight lose continued.

Carbs really affect me, anything over 100 carbs and I will gain regaurdless of how many calories I intake (and I've tested the theory by eating 2500-3000 calories but only 20 carbs and maintained my weight, but eating 100 carbs and 1000 calories made me gain). If I were you I'd half my carbs for a couple days to get you out of the plateau then continue what you're doing. If you're insistant on adding carbs add them slow and make sure not to count the sugar alcohols, subtract only fiber.