Weight gain vs bread?

I have been slowly gaining weight for the past three weeks and it is really frustrating me . Now I am nearly a stone heavier then where i was . I have stepped up the gym more and eating roughly 1300 a day and even with the odd naughty day (my birthday) I am well balanced the majority of the time, which is how I was losing weight before. I weigh everything, over estimate calories and try to do some form of exercise in every day.

Having looked through my diary the only new things I have eaten is bread every lunch (sandwich or toast form) for the past three weeks. I have noticed I have been feeling more bloated and sluggish but can bread create that kind of gain? I used to eat brown rice or lentils but bread is cheaper - Bread is Hovis Wheatgerm 56ish calories a slice). I am stopping it today but I just dont understand why I am getting bigger.

My smaller clothes still fit - and my stomach is bloated but apart from that nothing else has changed so its not even like i am gaining muscle

Thoughts would be appreicated

Replies

  • Lyra89
    Lyra89 Posts: 674 Member
    Don't blame the bread unless you have celiac disease or a gluten intolerance (should get yourself checked for these!)

    Otherwise, to me it sounds like you might be eating too little for your activity level. Don't you eat back your exercise calories like myfitnesspal suggests? If you're ever going hungry, that is a bad sign.

    Are you eating a lot of processed food? Have you tried eating clean for a week to see what happens?

    x
  • I had an issue with not losing weight while exercising allot. I slowed down and the weight started coming off at an alarming rate. Maybe not same issue as you.

    Sounds like you are retaining something but not sure what.
  • almc170
    almc170 Posts: 1,093 Member
    If you open your food diary, it will be easier for others to help.
  • AquaFitQueen
    AquaFitQueen Posts: 218 Member
    2 things.

    1, there is no test for gluten sensitivity, only celaics disease (full blown gluten intolerance). I am sensitive, very, to the point that it great effects my arthritis AND weight loss. There is no medical test for this, only change of diet and then reintroduce gluten and see what happens.

    2, I have not work out in a month and a half. I have lost 16lbs. Before that I was working out 9 hours a week and weight was not budging!

    Good luck!!!
  • NewAngel35
    NewAngel35 Posts: 182 Member
    I have been slowly gaining weight for the past three weeks and it is really frustrating me . Now I am nearly a stone heavier then where i was . I have stepped up the gym more and eating roughly 1300 a day and even with the odd naughty day (my birthday) I am well balanced the majority of the time, which is how I was losing weight before. I weigh everything, over estimate calories and try to do some form of exercise in every day.

    Having looked through my diary the only new things I have eaten is bread every lunch (sandwich or toast form) for the past three weeks. I have noticed I have been feeling more bloated and sluggish but can bread create that kind of gain? I used to eat brown rice or lentils but bread is cheaper - Bread is Hovis Wheatgerm 56ish calories a slice). I am stopping it today but I just dont understand why I am getting bigger.

    My smaller clothes still fit - and my stomach is bloated but apart from that nothing else has changed so its not even like i am gaining muscle

    Thoughts would be appreicated
    Go to EM2LW group.(eat more to loose weight).I was asking the same kind of questions.
  • Jde56
    Jde56 Posts: 9 Member
    When reading this it could have been written by me. I have done everything right and I have not lost weight in my first week. I think bread is the culprit. I have stopped it after breakfast and feel better even though it has only been 2 days.
  • You might find it interesting to read the reviews of the book 'Wheat Belly' on Amazon. I bought a copy after reading it. As someone without coeliac, but with a body that definitely doesn't like wheat, I found it really really interesting.
  • AquaFitQueen
    AquaFitQueen Posts: 218 Member
    You might find it interesting to read the reviews of the book 'Wheat Belly' on Amazon. I bought a copy after reading it. As someone without coeliac, but with a body that definitely doesn't like wheat, I found it really really interesting.

    Its amazing isn't it? I was tested for coeliac a couple of years ago and came back clear. It wasn't until I got fed up of being covered in treatment resistant psoriasis that I did research...and funny enough, Gluten/wheat greatly effects my arthritis...to the point of making me in agony the day after I eat it. Lesson learned, lol. 100% gluten free now!
  • katflap10
    katflap10 Posts: 8 Member
    Thank you for all your very speedy and extremely helpful replies. Very kind of all of you and I will check out the book/group and try cutting out gluten/wheat for a few weeks and see what happens.

    Thanks again x
  • abiasemani
    abiasemani Posts: 7 Member
    I've been struggling to loose just 10 lbs for ever. I work as a nurse 3 days per week so I'm on my feet and constantly walking for 8 hours or so. On the days I don't work I do some kind of workout for an hour minimum and generally keep active. I eat right and keep away from sugar, fried / fast foods, over eating etc.etc. yet I noticed that not only I wasn't loosing any wt. I was slowly gaining. I suspect that it's my diet which consists mainly of vegetarian type foods and carbs, and minimal protein because I don't like most meats (red or white) I also dislike most types of sea food. Now I love carbs including bread, pasta, rice and potatoes. What I learned From MFP is that if you know how many calories your allowed to have per day , and you keep within that limit or just under it dosen't matter whether you eat bread or just lean protein you'll see results. Keeping a food diary is really useful because it helps you realise it dosen't take much to push you over your daily calorie allowance. So if you overeat by even 100 cals per day your not going to loose any weight.
  • saschka7
    saschka7 Posts: 577 Member
    It *could* be a wheat allergy, but a true wheat allergy isn't as common as most people think, from what I understand. More likely it's a sensitivity to Calcium Proponiate which is a preservative (i.e. anti-fungal....EWWWW!) in a lot of breads but not all. I had the same thing you did and traced it to eating bread every day. Then I read the label and started googling the ingredients. I found some people have a sensitivity to calcium proponiate which causes fatigue and minor bloating (which a true wheat allergy does as well, but that also has other issues).

    I switched brands of bread and no more problems!

    I also have massive sensitivity to red dye #40 and avoid it like poison.
  • KaeNight
    KaeNight Posts: 16 Member
    I just made a post on "TOPIC: You won't believe how I've lost weight..." that might help a bit if you're not reaching your daily Calorie goals here. If you are maintaining good Calorie levels, then one suggestion I'd have is to exercise maybe 20-30 minutes after eating decent amounts of Carbs -provided- your metabolism is working nicely. Two pieces of bread does not count as a decent amount.

    The thing about Carbs though is that they give you a little bit of energy and they're really easy to digest. For someone with a slow metabolism, you process these more quickly than complex nutrients. Thus, both the fat build up and the small energy boost are more noticeable. If your metabolism is working effectively however, you can burn the Carbs shortly after they're digested and thus force your body into breaking down more complex nutrients, like Protein, for energy. This in turn helps to increase your metabolism even more and it causes your body to work harder. The harder you work, the more Calories you lose - As you probably found out by exercising. This is also why it can be effective to lower your Carb intake and replace it with Proteins. Not only that, Protein is really good for building muscle!

    As I said before though: Just two pieces of bread does not have a heavy enough amount of Carbs to require being substituted or burned.
  • sc1572
    sc1572 Posts: 2,309 Member
    From personal experience, I've had wheat bread pretty much everyday at lunch the last year or so, sometimes twice in one day, and it hasn't caused any problems for me. :( I've tried other substitutions , but other stuff I find doesn't fill me up. Maybe it's the type of bread, or something else? Sorry! :(