Gaining weight on a low carb diet! Please help!

Bob_III

You lost 6 lbs of water weight Thanksgiving week. Not fat.

Please understand the difference.

Can you please explain why this is water and not fat? I did lose 7lbs my first week when I started clean eating, which was def water weight but it was back in April when I started. I thought the water weight is the first to go and then the fat. I've already lost almost 70lbs of fat so how could just that week be from water? I'm confused!

Unless you ate more carbs than usual the days before Thanksgiving, which would have increased your glycogen stores (and water retention) markedly, I don't see why it would be water weight you lost that week. I can't see your diary so I don't know what you ate at that time.

bstamps12

Some people can do low carbs and some can't. Just because it worked one week does not mean that is THE way YOUR body loses weight. It could have been from no exercise--that will jolt your metabolism which could have triggered a loss. I agree, 6 lbs in one week is mostly water loss and now you are just holding that water again.

I eat carbs like you wouldn't believe..pasta for lunch AND dinner sometimes and I've still lost weight. Others could never lose weight eating as much pasta/bread/carbs as I do. Each person is different so please don't think "This worked for Her so I'll do that."

Find out what works for your body by isolating what you are trying. Weigh in only once per week and for that one week, keep EVERYTHING else the same but do low carbs. See if you lose. Next week, keep EVERYTHING else the same and exercise more. The next week, keep EVERYTHING the same and try low fat. See what works for you, but when you say "I ate low carbs that week and didn't exercise" that doesn't mean it was the low carbs that did it. There are other varibles there. Also remember that if you aren't exercising a lot, you don't need high carbs so that would have been a factor that week too.

I personally don't think low carbs are a good way to lose weight, especially when you are as close to your GW as you are. Low carb diets may be good in the beginning with a lot to lose, and they can be used in maintenance, but in the last 10 lbs...I haven't seen it work for hardly anyone on MFP.

Lisa1971

You lost 6 lbs of water weight Thanksgiving week. Not fat.

Please understand the difference.

Can you please explain why this is water and not fat? I did lose 7lbs my first week when I started clean eating, which was def water weight but it was back in April when I started. I thought the water weight is the first to go and then the fat. I've already lost almost 70lbs of fat so how could just that week be from water? I'm confused!

When you go on low carb diets, your body drops water weight in the form of muscle glycogen.

Read this for more info:

http://www.phlaunt.com/lowcarb/19058097.php

I understand that but I've been doing low carb since April so why would I be losing the water weight 7 months later? Still confused sorry.

Lisa1971

You lost 6 lbs of water weight Thanksgiving week. Not fat.

Please understand the difference.

Can you please explain why this is water and not fat? I did lose 7lbs my first week when I started clean eating, which was def water weight but it was back in April when I started. I thought the water weight is the first to go and then the fat. I've already lost almost 70lbs of fat so how could just that week be from water? I'm confused!

Unless you ate more carbs than usual the days before Thanksgiving, which would have increased your glycogen stores (and water retention) markedly, I don't see why it would be water weight you lost that week. I can't see your diary so I don't know what you ate at that time.

Agreed. I've been doing low carb since April and have been keeping it to about 80g/day. I dropped it to 50g/day the week of Thanksgiving and lost 6lbs. I use another site to keep track of what I eat including calories and carbs. I'm just confused why if I keep my carbs to 50g/day I'm not continuing to lose. Sorry for all the confusion!

Bob_III

If you have to eat more to fuel the exercise, that's fine, just make sure you burn off more than you are taking in.

The problem with exercising more is your body will break down the proteins in your muscles for a fuel source. She will actually lose muscle mass as a result, which will slow the metabolism. Additionally, eating 1000 calories while exercising is like eating only 500 calories a day, so her body is not properly fueled. I can't stress enough, how many times it has been proven to eat more to lose more, especially when your body is at a lower body fat percentage. Your body has mechanisms to store food as fat when it feels it isn't being fueled properly.

I did say she could eat more to fuel the additional exercise. I don't think by just increasing food intake without exercising more she'll just drop weight. At least it never worked for me that way. I do think there is some merit to "carbing up" once in a while to kickstart the metabolic burn again, but not every day.

May I ask how long you tried this method? A body needs time to adapt (more than a week or two), so an increase in calories will make your body kind of freak out and can lead to weight increases. After a few weeks of your body seeing increase calories, it will then drop the weight quickly. Some bodies needs to be tracked over a month or two. If you start gaining in excess of 5+ lbs, consistently, then you are eating too much and need to back off a few hundred calories. Also, when you eat too little, you tend to lose muscle mass, which will make it even harder to lose later. I have worked probably 50+ members and only 2 didn't lose weight quickly but that was due to medical issues (PCOS).

My biggest question usually is, do you want to lose weight or fat? If you want to lose weight, huge deficits can work but you kill your metabolism and lean muscle mass (this is very apparent with those that do HCG). If you want to convert fat to muscle, well then you need a properly fueled body. In fact, I have managed to maintain lean muscle mass but have lost 7% body fat over 9 months (ish) with a .5lb per week deficit.

I never did it for a month or two at a time, maybe a week. I would increase what I ate and at the same time I'd run more. I was averaging maybe 30-50 carbs a day but I ate plenty of protein and fats. I did this for the first 5 months of this year and dropped 40 lbs. Averaging 2 lbs a week. I then started adding carbs back to my diet to slow the weight-loss and help improve my running. I dropped 4 and a half minutes off my 10k time, 10 minutes off my half marathon time, and 1/2 hour on my marathon time. When I went for my physical I had dropped 40 points off my cholesterol too. My point being I didn't just lose muscle mass by doing the low carb diet.

psuLemon

I never did it for a month or two at a time, maybe a week. I would increase what I ate and at the same time I'd run more. I was averaging maybe 30-50 carbs a day but I ate plenty of protein and fats. I did this for the first 5 months of this year and dropped 40 lbs. Averaging 2 lbs a week. I then started adding carbs back to my diet to slow the weight-loss and help improve my running. I dropped 4 and a half minutes off my 10k time, 10 minutes off my half marathon time, and 1/2 hour on my marathon time. When I went for my physical I had dropped 40 points off my cholesterol too. My point being I didn't just lose muscle mass by doing the low carb diet.

I apologize, i never meant to imply you would only lose muscle mass, but rather muscle mass and fat. Unfortunately, when you lose muscle mass, you slow your metabolism which means in order to maintain or continue to lose weight, you have eat less or exercise more. But my question would be, why do either when you can work to maintain your metabolism so when you don't exercise or eat less, you don't gain?


OP, how was your sodium? If you have a week or a lot of sodium, you can increase water retention. I have done this and gained 5 lbs only for it to come off quickly.

agthorn

Agreed. I've been doing low carb since April and have been keeping it to about 80g/day. I dropped it to 50g/day the week of Thanksgiving and lost 6lbs. I use another site to keep track of what I eat including calories and carbs. I'm just confused why if I keep my carbs to 50g/day I'm not continuing to lose. Sorry for all the confusion!

50g of carbs vs 80g is only a 120 calorie difference (assuming you didn't make up those calories with other foods). So it would take you about 6 MONTHS to lose 6lbs of fat just from that change alone, not a week.

Bob_III

I never did it for a month or two at a time, maybe a week. I would increase what I ate and at the same time I'd run more. I was averaging maybe 30-50 carbs a day but I ate plenty of protein and fats. I did this for the first 5 months of this year and dropped 40 lbs. Averaging 2 lbs a week. I then started adding carbs back to my diet to slow the weight-loss and help improve my running. I dropped 4 and a half minutes off my 10k time, 10 minutes off my half marathon time, and 1/2 hour on my marathon time. When I went for my physical I had dropped 40 points off my cholesterol too. My point being I didn't just lose muscle mass by doing the low carb diet.

I apologize, i never meant to imply you would only lose muscle mass, but rather muscle mass and fat. Unfortunately, when you lose muscle mass, you slow your metabolism which means in order to maintain or continue to lose weight, you have eat less or exercise more. But my question would be, why do either when you can work to maintain your metabolism so when you don't exercise or eat less, you don't gain?


OP, how was your sodium? If you have a week or a lot of sodium, you can increase water retention. I have done this and gained 5 lbs only for it to come off quickly.

I always have a hard time maintaining, that's why i joined here. I had knee surgery last year which lead to the weight gain. You're right, no excuse gaining when not exercising... just eat right.

jojoworks

did I read correctly that you're 127.5 lbs and 5'4"? according to the BMI I checked you're at a perfect weight for your height. Perhaps you're not losing because your body is where it needs to be. I've read that the closer you get to your goal weight the slower it comes off and that you should adjust your daily calories up to accommodate the slower process.

4theking

Six pound loss doesn't happen in one week. You probably saw a flucuation in water weight, which can vary in some people from one day to the next by as much as 6-8lbs.

What is your daily caloric intake?

minadeathclutch

i HATE low carb! my personal opinion.... ive done it. and the minute you eat a piece of bread you BLOW UP lol.
what i do is i keep my sodium down.. salt.. sodium is AWFUL for me. and thats about all i watch...
if you workout.. you have to eat more.. on the days you dont work out.. eat less.

minadeathclutch

did I read correctly that you're 127.5 lbs and 5'4"? according to the BMI I checked you're at a perfect weight for your height. Perhaps you're not losing because your body is where it needs to be. I've read that the closer you get to your goal weight the slower it comes off and that you should adjust your daily calories up to accommodate the slower process.

amen. this also

RoanneRed

What erickirb said, also, you don't need low carb unless your body has an intolerance to carbs, like people that have PCOS. Carbs are an essential fuel source for quick and long term energy.

There is no such thing as an essential dietary carbohydrate (yet fat and protein are necessary nutrients). And people can suffer from high blood sugars and never develop full blown diabetes. And one in every five diabetics are thin. You can have an intolerance to carbs and never know it yet suffer damage from it. (And the Standard American Diet contains WAY TOO MANY CARBS).

Look for advice on low-carb websites, Primal/Paleo sites, etc. Your best advice will come from fellow low-carbers (most of them have done extensive research and that is why they are low-carb).

I follow Primal Blueprint and am maintaining a very healthy weight and body composition with very little exercise. I don't have to count calories, weigh and log food, watch portion control. I just eat fibrous veggies and have some berries occasionally and these are all the carbs my body needs. I do have to make sure I eat enough because protein and fat keeps me full for so long.
My body thanked me when I stopped eating all of those grain/flour/sugar/dairy carbs. I feel normal for the first time in my life

Maybe I am not misinterpreting your information, but carbs are an essential part of your diet. Below are three sources which all state that, including the NIH and mayo clinic. So if you can expand on that, it would be appreciated. Also, I tend to steer away from websites dedicated to stuff like Paleo or Primal for one reason. In the end, it's a diet and are in it for money. I tend to get my information from sources outside. For example, if you go to HCG websites, they will all state how good it is and effective, but there are several studies that have suggested otherwise.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/carbohydrates/MY01458/METHOD=print

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/carbohydrates.html

http://www.editorsweb.org/nutrition/essential-nutrients.htm

Always good to check out new ideas from a variety of angles but I hasten to add that you can actually get all the information you need to take action from the Primal Blueprint website without spending a cent.

OP - try carb cycling - eat maybe 80-110g carbs (good ones) every 4 days or so.

skywa

maybe your gaining muscle weight? maybe your not eating enough? maybe you should try a higher carb, lower fat diet instead? idk. it could be all kinds of things.

auctoritas

You could try decreasing your carbs, and go into ketosis for a while. Carbs are not essential to the diet and anyone who says they are doesn't understand gluconeogenesis or the krebs cycle. There is nothing in a carb you can't get better and more of from somewhere else.

Are you eating enough fat? Low carb diets need more fat consumption for fuel, so since you lowered your carb intake and started exercising again, you might need the extra calories. For some people, exercise can also temporarily spike weight for some reason (I don't know if there is science behind that, I've just seen it echoed multiple times.)

If you don't already, start measuring yourself at least once a week to track changes - sometimes weight can rise and you'll be thinner while fat is being lost.

Allersfera

besides the fact that you're probably not eating enough. there's another reason, which is: that you started exercising again so your body is retaining more water because you are using your muscles once again.
don't alarm, you'll lose that again. be sure to drink lots of water and maybe increase your calorie intake by a little bit. or try and go over your protein and good fat

NoAdditives

If you only have 7 pounds to go you need to be eating more.

TigersFanIndy34

Um, you aren't losing weight because your body is at a healthy weight and you aren't eating enough. Work on maintaining more calories and focusing on good old fashion strength training to keep improving your body (along with that heart healthy cardio).

I use "lower carbs" I can't say low carbs because that's kind of a blanket statement - I just eat lower then what MFP and some sites suggest but I enjoy fruits, veggies and a few whole grains each day so I always figure it's not really the whole "low carb" thing everyone talks about. I just cut way back. In the end its' calories that count - but for me eating less carbs and more protein keeps me fuller longer and keeps me in my calorie goal without feeling like I'm going to go crazy hungry!

psuLemon

maybe your gaining muscle weight? maybe your not eating enough? maybe you should try a higher carb, lower fat diet instead? idk. it could be all kinds of things.

Unfortunately, you cant gain muscle that quick nor can you gain muscle on a caloric deficit. Your second comment is probably spot on though.

SHBoss1673

While strictly speaking, Carbohydrates are not REQUIRED by the body to function (and function correctly) under normal circumstances. When you drop into a ketogenic metabolism, you lose much of the muscle site glycogen and liver glycogen that gives us that "burst" of energy. Because a portion of glycogen is water (glucose chains plus water, plus some trace elements) when you switch from a carbohydrate based metabolism (where glucose is the primary fuel) to a ketone burning metabolism, then much of that water needed for the glycogen formation is lost. This is why you immediately lose anywhere from 5 to 15 lbs of water in the first week or two when you go on a low carb diet.

The problem is, your body sees carbohydrates as their primary fuel source, no matter what, and when you give enough carbs back to the body, it will again begin retaining water to create the glycogen.

Low carb is a viable solution for people in almost every case (people with liver and kidney problems should be very VERY wary of this though, it forces those organs to work a little harder), but there are some draw backs, such as increased risk of dehydration, the aforementioned liver and kidney concerns, and of course, because of the lack of glycogen at the muscle sites, your ability to sustain high intensity anaerobic activity is diminished greatly as is your body's ability to recover after those workouts. I.E. a long distance runner would have no problem on a low carb diet, but a sprinter would have diminished capacity to work at top speeds.

Also keep in mind, low carb has been shown to offer no increase in fat loss over long term weight loss. It's about the same fat loss as a normal, reduced calorie exercise over periods greater than 6 months. I.E. yes you get that big weight loss bump at the beginning, but over the long term the loss is about the same.

So CAN you do low carb healthy? Sure, but it's a lot of work, and if your only goal is fat loss, then it's not necessary. And remember, low carb is a lifestyle choice (I.E. something you should consider for EVER) not a diet strategy. It can help some mentally get control of their food habits, and that's great, but physically it's not necessary to lose weight or be healthy (except for some special situations like metabolic conditions or specific cholesterol problems, or even some CNS disorders).

-Banks

jsuaccounting

Rule of thumb: Whatever you lose the first week of a very low carb diet - is what you'll gain the first week when you resume your normal diet. It can be bloating/water/glycogen stores/inflamation from carbohydrates (which is mostly water).
Remember, 3500 calories is a pound of fat. Unless you ate maintaninence and then overate 3500 calories every day for six days- there is no posible way to gain 6 pounds in a week. You would have to eat and properly digest 5000+ calories per day.