gains on bread/pasta, losses when I avoid them

VoodooAborisha
VoodooAborisha Posts: 147 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Anyone else find this?

I was 300+ calories UNDER my calorie intake yesterday, because I exercised 2 times and had a lot of calories available yesterday so I just couldn't eat them all back. But one of my meals was a 800 calorie restaurant-sized portion of spaghetti bolognese and I woke up a pound heavier. I even "knew" that this would happen - it always does. It seems that when I eat anything more than one tiny portion of pasta or bread on any day, even though I am always within or slightly under my calorie goal, I gain, but when I avoid them, I stay the same or lose weight.

Is it just because of "additional transit time" in the gut? Anyone else find that bread- or pasta-heavy days are not good for losses? Just curious if anyone else has noticed this.

Replies

  • courtneylee31
    courtneylee31 Posts: 178 Member
    Sounds like you are carb sensitive. You do not need bread or pasta in your diet.
  • gnat45
    gnat45 Posts: 833 Member
    Same with me.
  • hill8570
    hill8570 Posts: 1,466 Member
    Pasta doesn't generally effect me like that, but everybody's different. Sounds like something in the refined wheat flour might be causing you to retain water (it's gotta be water -- a pound up when you're eating next to nothing can't be much else).

    Now, way back in the days when I was racing and "carb loading" before a race was all the rage, I'd see gains like that before a race (for those too young to remember, carb loading involved eating reduced carbs for a week or so while training hard, then pasta-heavy a couple of days before the race). I didn't look at your diary enough to see if you're so light on the carbs under normal circumstances that you're inadvertently doing a "carb load" when you do eat them.
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
    It's water weight. Carbs require lots of water for processing. They also get stored as glycogen in your muscles with water.

    You cut carbs, you drop the water. You add carbs back, the water comes back.

    Also, you said it was restaurant food? Water retention from sodium.

    Nothing out of the ordinary here.
  • evilpixiegrrr
    evilpixiegrrr Posts: 103
    It could also be water weight from the sodium in the pasta sauce. It's really difficult to gain a whole pound in a day; if you lose the pound by tomorrow, my bet is it's water.
  • Duck_Puddle
    Duck_Puddle Posts: 3,237 Member
    When you eat a whole lot more carbs than usual, you "gain" water (glycogen replenishment and the water that attaches to it). When you drop your carbs back down to what you normally eat, that same water goes away. So yes, if you usually eat 200g of carbs (give or take) then have 500g one day-you'll see a water weight "gain" on the scale (temporarily).
  • rachelhughes167527
    rachelhughes167527 Posts: 4
    When you eat carbs you'll retain fluid. Drink plenty of water and you'll notice the extra weight disappear pretty quickly.
  • JourneyingJessica
    JourneyingJessica Posts: 261 Member
    Happens to me every time- Pasta bread or rice. I limit those foods and prepare for. 1-2lb gain on the scale. It's gone in a couple of days.
  • lindsey1979
    lindsey1979 Posts: 2,395 Member
    It's water retention. I think the body can fluctuate something like 5-8 lbs based on water retention. That's one of the reasons why when people start a ketogenic diet (low carbs), they drop a lot of weight initially --- it's a diuretic and most people will take off the 5-8 lbs in a week as the body releases the extra water.

    If you find yourself gaining weight over a period of time with increased carb intake, then you may be carb sensitive -- have something that makes you gain weight with a certain number of carbs (or type of carbs). For example, insulin resistance is one such condition where that becomes a problem. People with insulin resistance generally have to watch carbs very carefully and may even require medication to help their bodies process glucose effectively. They can literally eat at a caloric deficit and gain weight due to this glucose metabolism issue. If you start to see this trend emerge, you probably should go see a doctor and have your glucose and insulin levels checked.
  • gigglesinthesun
    gigglesinthesun Posts: 860 Member
    Anyone else find this?

    I was 300+ calories UNDER my calorie intake yesterday, because I exercised 2 times and had a lot of calories available yesterday so I just couldn't eat them all back. But one of my meals was a 800 calorie restaurant-sized portion of spaghetti bolognese and I woke up a pound heavier. I even "knew" that this would happen - it always does. It seems that when I eat anything more than one tiny portion of pasta or bread on any day, even though I am always within or slightly under my calorie goal, I gain, but when I avoid them, I stay the same or lose weight.

    Is it just because of "additional transit time" in the gut? Anyone else find that bread- or pasta-heavy days are not good for losses? Just curious if anyone else has noticed this.

    you exercised twice yesterday, so chances are your body is holding on to extra water in order to repair your muscles
  • yewbic
    yewbic Posts: 37
    Also, you said it was restaurant food? Water retention from sodium.

    Nothing out of the ordinary here.
    +
    you exercised twice yesterday, so chances are your body is holding on to extra water in order to repair your muscles

    i think its definitely the combination of the high sodium found in foods when eating out causing water retention, and/or also your muscles retaining water after strenuous exercise so they can repair themselves.. give it a day or two for your muscles to repair and they'll release the water... assuming you keep your diet low sodium.

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