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Re-start and gaining

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PicNic00
PicNic00 Posts: 269 Member
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I took a much needed break from low carb life.... I lost about 80lb, and switched to calorie counting. I lost another 10lb doing that then froze. I've been bouncing around the same 5-6lbs for MONTHS... So I went back to low carb. 1st week in i lost about 5lbs, 2nd week in and I'm gaining!

6 month plateau is KILLING my motivation...

I'm not cheating, I'm drinking my waters.

I'm at my wits end... My fear is gaining the weight back and I still have 30lbs more to go!!!!

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  • 50racinggirl
    50racinggirl Posts: 96 Member
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    I can understand your fear. I lost 80, gained it back, then lost 64 and I've gained 29 back which is why I started the lo carb thing again. Speaking strictly from personal experience, I usually gain the second week or lose ounces. Are you exercising? That might help.
  • sb4480
    sb4480 Posts: 199 Member
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    It might be time to add exercise into the mix. It doesn't have to be hardcore, just go walking for 30 minutes every day and maybe do a bit of lifting?

    I'm not sure how low carb you're going, but you might need to cut back drastically to jump start the process again. Are you sure you're in ketosis?
  • jennb44
    jennb44 Posts: 81 Member
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    I say give yourself some more time. The first couple of weeks is water weight lost and then you will see the weight come off if you keep your carbs low. Good luck and stay strong, you can do this!:happy:
  • chell53
    chell53 Posts: 356 Member
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    I understand how you feel, I was on a plateau and then gave up and now gained about 3-4 lbs, I am back at it and starting slow. I am taking one day at a time and starting with remembering to log everything I eat, then I will go to exercise which I need because when I use to do it I felt very good afterwards.

    Hope everything goes well with you....
  • PicNic00
    PicNic00 Posts: 269 Member
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    Got on the scale today, and up ANOTHER pound. I'm not cheating!!! So upset!
  • sb4480
    sb4480 Posts: 199 Member
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    Are you counting calories? It might be a good time to start.
  • kiramaniac
    kiramaniac Posts: 800 Member
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    Gotta be water weight. Your diary has been very good up to today.

    My personal experience is that when I drink 8-10 glass of water a day, I will actually RETAIN water. For me, I only seem to lose if I've had 12-16 glasses of water a day. Try a couple of days where you increase water intact and see if that helps.

    Hormones are another wacky factor that girls get to deal with, and these can cause big water water swings. Is it possible "that time" may be coming?

    How are you for exercise? Sore muscles also retain water, and can cause some short term gain.

    I've read this in a couple of places - Lyle McDonald has an article, and I saw another author this week with the same concept (but darnit, I didn't bookmark the article). The idea is that your fat cells are actually resistant to changing volume. So while we are losing body fat, these volume-resistant cells start trying to hold onto water in order to maintain their size. So body fat may be going down, but weight isn't changing. Then suddenly people experience a "whoosh" where they see a significant loss. The fat cells suddenly lose enough fat, and have too much water that they can no longer maintain, and away they go.

    Here's the Lyle McDonald article on this if you want to take a look:
    http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/of-whooshes-and-squishy-fat.html

    keep calm and low carb on. Continue with the right behaviors and the change will come. Don't sabotage yourself in the meantime.
  • anybeary
    anybeary Posts: 188 Member
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    After looking at your macros, it looks like your sodium intake has been REALLY high...like way over the mark--up over 5000 per day. That could be a reason you're retaining a lot of water. Try to stay within your recommended sodium intake by steering clear of the lunchmeat for awhile. Nitrates and nitrites in lunchmeat will also lead to some bloating. Go for less processed meat.
  • westcoastgirl13
    westcoastgirl13 Posts: 2
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    Have you considered upping your veggie intake and cutting out the cheese/pb/beef a bit? I find for myself that I lose best when I eat really "clean"..which for me is having lots of veggies, fish and chicken/turkey breast and staying away from all sugars, caffeine and high sodium. Those things can really increase water retention and just seem to be a challenge.
    Additionally, when consuming so much protein, I do find that exercise is good and weight training becomes useful too.

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