On low carb diet and gaining weight

morganscofield · June 2014

Two summers ago, I weighed 165 pounds. I am a 5'5 Female, at the time I was 19, I am currently 21.

I went to college, gained the freshman 15, and decided I didnt want to look like a whale the rest of my glory years so I changed my diet. My dad inspired me actually as he had lost 50 pounds on a low carb diet, so as soon as I got home for the summer from college, I started my journy.

I got down to 138 by August (started may of 2012). and stayed on the low carb throughout college. By the time I came home from college the second time, I was 128. I actually hit 128 December of 2012, so in about 6 months, I lost 40 pounds.

I was at my perfect weight. I was so happy with myself, so confident.

Well the issue is, I play college basketball and was unhappy with the location of my school and with my team. So i transferred to a school closer to home that would allow me to continue playing basketball.

I didnt discover myfitnesspal until september of 2012 (nothing is logged on this account because I am posting this anonymously so the things I say in this post are not traced back to me). Due to this app, I noticed if you dont eat over your calories, then you generally wont gain wait. So i started adding good carbs like whole wheat breads back into my diet.

I didnt gain wait until I got to my new school. My new school did not serve meat so I had to go off campus or have meet in my dorm to eat it, so obviously all they served was carbs. I didnt really eat the school food. But i did start drinking a lot, and smoking some weed.

I stopped caring about what i was eating and even stopped logging. as long as i was under or at my calories i was ok I THOUGHT. and I also thought I could eat whatever because i am playing college basketball (the practices were more brutal than my old school plus i was getting more minutes). But i was wrong.

I climbed up to 135....boy did I thought that was a nightmare..until I weighted myself again...138...then 142...

I finally snapped out of the drinking phase when i turned 21 (ironically) but i still kept smoking weed (and weed only). I had my share of nights with the munchies, but havent lately. I went back to my low carb diet but didnt take it as serious as the first time when I originally lost all my weight.

I decided to leave my new school a quarter early, quit playing basketball, and move back home to coach basketball and finish my degree at a place closer to home. I have a full time 40 hour a week desk job now, so I am sitting a lot. But, I bought a gym membership, and go to a personal trainer three times a week. I am drinking the 100% golden whey protein in the morning and after a workout (twice a day). I work out at least once a day.

when I workout i do HIIT sprints on the treadmill for 15-30 minutes each day. Then the rest of my workout, I will lift weights depending on what I am working on that day, or what my trainer has me do when I go to him. The past two weeks I have been taking my diet very seriously, Averaging between 1100-1300 calories a day and only between 20-30g of carbs a day. (back when i was first doing low carb i was taking in MAYBE 20g a week of carbs because i was stupid and thought they were the complete enemy, I still do not prefer them obviously, but the reason I have been trying to keep them low is because I wasnt seeing a big improvement. as i weighed myself two weeks ago and weighed 148...gaining weight, obviously freaking out.

So I stepped my game up, exercised harder, stopped eating ALL junk food, and eating between 1000-1300 Calories. I felt good about myself, even thought I saw an improvement in my face thinning out. So i decided to weigh myself today....

When I weigh myself, I do it 10 minutes after I wake up. I walk around for 10 minutes to wake my body up, I pee, then I weigh myself naked. I do not eat or drink anything before I weigh myself. I stepped on the scale... and I was 152

I do not understand why I keep gaining weight now. I do not see how I can gain weight when I am working my *kitten* off and eating right. I eat very lean meats and lots of broccoli. I take two scoops of whey protein a day. I havent eaten taco bell in over two years, that goes with any fast food. I have however, been smoking weed everyday.

I have been reading on the whey protein making sure it cant be that making me gain weight, because i didnt think just that would make you fat, also I have been reading on weed and that also doesnt make you fat, unless you have munchies. When I have munchies i ignore them or I eat some meat or eat clean...nothing unhealthy...and I just dont see the 148 turning into 1520 on me gaining muscle....so what could be the issue? You cant say I am not eating enough because I am, i was eating A LOT LESS back in 2012 and losing weight. I am also very bloated in my stomach area for the rest of my day as soon as I eat my first meal...

I just dont know what to do. I am back to my old ways and it isnt working. I am freaking out a little bit. What do you guys think it is? Have you had similar issues? ask me anything about my lifestyle and I will be glad to answer. I am no longer concerned about reaching a low number, but rather I want to look very fit and defined, thats my goal. I will stop smoking weed if it is decreasing my chances of that, but i really dont want to if i dont have to. I have given up alcohol for the most part, and have given up candy, chips, and all other sorts of crap. I just dont know what more I need to do. Someone please help me. thank you

kelleybean1 · June 2014

It would help if we could see your diary. It's hard to tell what's going wrong without any data! So, are you weighing your food? Logging everything you eat? or are you guessing at portion sizes? It's really easy to overlook something or to eat more that you think if you are not accurately measuring everything. You are probably eating more than you think, or are burning less than you think. Sick with a calorie deficit and measure your food.

sculli123 · June 2014

cliffs on the wall of text?

robertf57 · June 2014

Look. It isn't hard to understand at all. The only reason you are gaining weight is you are eating more calories than you are burning up. Period. So if you are tracking calories eaten and estimating caloreis burned you obviously have an error somewhere. Likely you are underestimating the calore you are eating AND over estimating what you are burning.

1) MEAURE (weigh) AND RECORD EVERYTHING you put in your mouth. No guess of estimates.
2) Get a good heart rate monitor to better estimate you caloric burn adn perhaps only eat half of that back until you are sure you are in a deficit state.
3) If low carb worked for you before, then become a low carb Nazi again: really tracking your macros

There is no majic to this. Just hard work.

notworthstalking · June 2014

cliffs on the wall of text?

Working out like crazy, smoking weed everyday, calories on the low side, low carb, gaining weight.

SnuggleSmacks · June 2014

Strange, isn't it? It seems to be a trend on here, how people like yourself who are working their a$$es off and depriving themselves of entire food groups and things they love tend to stall, while those who just eat what they want in reasonable portions lose weight whether they exercise much or not...and the only real effort they seem to put into it is to weigh everything religiously.

When I observed this trend, I immediately went out and bought small ice cream bars for my freezer, and vowed to eat Taco Bell at least once a week. Oddly, my weight immediately started shifting down as soon as I loosened up and included all the foods I love. I also got a fitness tracker and found that I could eat more calories than I originally thought, and I take full advantage of that. Somehow, being strict and serious about it just doesn't work for a lot of people.

Just some food for thought: What works for the vast majority is to eat all the foods, weigh them carefully, and eat at a reasonable deficit rather than an extreme one.

sculli123 · June 2014

cliffs on the wall of text?

Working out like crazy, smoking weed everyday, calories on the low side, low carb, gaining weight.

lol I'm thinking the bolded part lead to cheating on the dieting part.

wilsoje74 · June 2014

I would quit smoking weed, and see if that helps. It isn't good for you anyway.

daynerz · June 2014

Your metablism may have come to a hault since 1200-1300 is quite low and doesnt meet basic body reqs.

and your calorie reqs WILL CHANGE OVERTIME, because as you age your system slows and your body wont always bee the fat burning cycle like in your low 20's..

Search LAYNE NORTON - METABOLIC DAMAGE on you tube an watch, you will be glad you did, this vid is for people like who who come to a hault while still putting in hard work. Layne Norton is a pro bodybuilder with a PHD in this stuff.
Go watch now, it will help you tremendously.

morganscofield · June 2014

Thank you i will watch that tonight. I dont know if i said in the previous essay i wrote, but i am only 21 years old..

As for tracking my food, I dont estimate anything I weigh everything and put it in as it reads off the label. I am very strict when it comes to that.

Today I had:

3 scrambled eggs for breakfast 210 calories 9AM

packet of tuna as a snack 70 calories 11PM

lunch was grilled chicken (6oz) with a side salad 300 calories 2PM

whey protein after my workout 120 calories 5PM

dinner wild sockeye salmon 4oz 190 calories and a cup of steamed broccoli 7PM

Today was a low calorie day as far as income goes. I might have another protein shake as my trainer has advised me to do so, but I also have a nike fitband and a jawbone up24 to track my calories/steps and all that.

dsalveson · June 2014

There are schools that don't serve meat?

SLLRunner · June 2014

Today I had:

3 scrambled eggs for breakfast 210 calories 9AM

packet of tuna as a snack 70 calories 11PM

lunch was grilled chicken (6oz) with a side salad 300 calories 2PM

whey protein after my workout 120 calories 5PM

dinner wild sockeye salmon 4oz 190 calories and a cup of steamed broccoli 7PM

Today was a low calorie day as far as income goes. I might have another protein shake as my trainer has advised me to do so, but I also have a nike fitband and a jawbone up24 to track my calories/steps and all that.

You must have cooked those scrambled eggs in some oil or butter, correct?

Did you have any mustard, mayo, or anything else with the tuna? Did you weigh the packet of tuna?

What was the chicken cooked in? What did you put on the salad?

What did you mix your whey protein with?

What did you cook your dinner in- oil, butter? Put any butter on your broccoli?

Are you drinking any calorie drinks between meals?

If you are gaining weight, then you are eating more than you realize, and often times those calories are hidden behind things we don't think have enough calories to log.

MelodyandBarbells · June 2014

Agree that the food items are probably not all just steamed

Exercising at first could also cause your muscles to retain water as they repair themselves. How long has it been since you've started exercising at this level? Are you logging everything including any cheat or blow out days? Here's a post written about people not losing on 1200 calorie diets you may find helpful

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1296011-calorie-counting-101

morganscofield · June 2014

Great questions thank you.

I ate the tuna straight from the packet, no added sauce or anything. packet has it at 70 calories.

all i did was spray the pan with PAM for the eggs, scrambled them, and ate them, nothing else added.

mixed my whey protein with Water and Only water. just shake it and drink it

chicken was just plain and thrown on the grill

The salmon was grilled and eaten as is i did not add anything to it.

the salad had no fat ranch which i measured and included the calories in the 300 count when i posted that

I NEVER drink my calories. I also try to stay away from 0 calorie sodas and drinks like that. I generally just stick to water. Never do i drink my calories.

Anything that goes in my body, goes into myfitnesspal. I am very "nazi" like when it comes to tracking my calories. The only bad thing i really do is the weed. thats it.

All the foods i gave you an example of are all foods i ate two summers ago when i lost everything. I made it all the same way. the only difference is I was not taking in a protein shake back then like i am now.

stephe1987 · June 2014

Keep your calorie intake low. Don't deprive yourself. Follow the 80/20 rule so you can still eat what you like, just in smaller portions. Cutting out food groups is not healthy, you need a balance. Some foods tend to be higher in calories than other groups but part of eating right is choosing a little from each food group.

hearthwood · June 2014

You just described perfectly what happens when you eliminate one food group while bulking up on another.

For centuries now humans have been eating protein, carbs, some fat, and sugar. No one got fat, until the 90's. We eliminated all of the fat out our consumption, and loaded up on carbs. Red meat was baaaad. Eggs were baaaad. But they told us as long as we eliminated all the fat, we could eat as many carbs as we wanted and we would lose weight. No one ever thought that we needed a little fat and protein to keep us full, so some people were freely eating a half gallon of low fat ice cream a day. No one counted calories, as long as it had no fat in it, you were told you could eat as much as you wanted. Many lost weight at first while eliminating protein, and then things went horribly wrong. The nation got fatter from eating all those innocent carbs.

Then someone decided to eliminate carbs and do a protein, all meat diet. Same thing happened, people lost all this weight very quickly, claiming they were never hungry and still losing weight at an unheard of rate. But when they ate a piece of bread they gained back the weight twice as fast as they lost it, plus another 20 or so pounds.

The above is our human genetics, aka Mother Nature telling us over and over again, that our bodies require, protein, carbs, some fat, and yes sugar otherwise Mother Nature is going to make certain that she takes over the process by turning everything into stored fat. Henceforth the never ending cycle of yo yo dieting, which leads ultimately to the heavier and fatter than ever you.

For sustainable weight loss, just do portion control. Don't eliminate certain food groups while bulking up on others, just eat less of everything. Make certain it's balanced and eat healthier and make good choices.

Calories in versus calories out-- eat less--move more!

kvansanity · June 2014

Take note of how your vegetables are prepared. If you're getting them at a restaurant, they are likely loaded with oil and butter. Trust me. I work at a fancy restaurant and the vegetables are prepared in a very unhealthy way to make them taste fantastic. We have a roasted cauliflower head that is marinated in three cups of oil. The entire cauliflower is 2,200 calories.

Is it nearly your time of month? It could be period bloating. When I started losing weight I started bloating like crazy the week before my period. We're talking 6-7 pounds of water weight by the end of the day and 3 pounds heavier than my last recorded weight in the morning. If this is the case, drink lots of water throughout the day, especially at night to help reduce bloating by morning.

Try to do at least 30 minutes of cardio a day (5 minute warm up, 30 minutes of moderate-high intensity, 5 minute cool down). Your body might be used to a certain type of exercise and you need to switch it up. In addition to running, try biking, testing out the elliptical, or doing a class like zumba. Try and do something different each day so it's not something your body grows used to doing. You could also very easily be gaining muscle mass. Try and take note of where you are gaining weight. Measure yourself if necessary to help keep track.

For a while I was scared to eat any more than 1,200 calories. Don't get stuck in the mindset that you need to eat less than that to lose. You will lose weight, but you'll plateau quickly. Try and eat between 1,200 and 1,500.

morganscofield · June 2014

Okay, thank you very much kvansanity. I just got over my time of month about 5 days ago, maybe it could still be having an effect on my body?

kvansanity · June 2014

Periods wreck havoc on your body, and it's only worse when you're paying super close attention to it! For the next month, keep track of how you feel (bloated, mood, etc.) and see if you notice any correlations. The results might surprise you!

littlekitty3 · June 2014

1) I was unhappy with the location of my school and team....isnt education more important than playing college sports team? I mean I understand if its for scholarship money because I did the same thing. But your education is important.

2)If you dont eat over your calories you generally wont gain weight. Not true, I eat over what MFP recommends me ALL the time and I haven't gained weight. It's not necessarily the calories but what type of calories you are putting into your mouth.

3)I didn't gain weight until I got to my new school because they didn't serve meat...(I would love to know where you went). Please DO NOT blame not being able to eat meat as a reason why you gained weight. I am a vegan. I eat a lot of carbs, from the right sources. Please educate yourself. There is the whole world of the internet to explore on fruit, veg, and other fabulous things like lentils (I have no idea what exactly your school served but its probably way healthier than a typical american high school lunch I'll tell you that. I've been to several college food courts/dinner halls and the food is a large range of healthy to disgusting).

4) I thought I could eat whatever I wanted because I played basketball. I do not know why people think this.

Here's what I see is going on. A lot of it stress related, stress does some pretty backwards stuff to our bodies. Also get off the whey protein powder, that stuff is "gainer" food.

"Averaging between 1100-1300 calories a day and only between 20-30g of carbs a day" This is another problem. You are not eating enough. You are also not eating enough carbs. Carbs won't make you fat and no we are not all different unless you have an actual diagnosis that says you need to restrict your carbs. I was on the same boat, I gained weight. I am now eating at least double (from literally where you are at right now).

1princesswarrior · June 2014

You've gone through some major lifestyle changes in just a few years. That alone will wreak havoc on your body. The fluctuations in weight could be water weight, you weren't specific as to how long it took you to go from 148 to 152. Especially if you started a new workout routine. Also, I'm not going to suggest changing how or what you eat but I also don't believe in restricting food groups. If you are weighing and measuring all of your food then you could probably eat more and still lose.

What does your activity tracker say you are burning each day?

Finally here are a couple of what I believe two guides to successful weight loss:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1235566-so-you-re-new-here

misspriss5j · June 2014

HI, I've been on low carb's on and off 20 years. Good diet, not very forgiving. I was 180 and my doctor told me I could count my calories or count my carb's. This is chemistry diet and certain things can throw will it off, with me its milk, cheese is ok but low carb ice cream can be a problem. Carb's Hide! Sugar free not carb free check everything (and subtract fiber and sugar alcohol from the carb's)
20grams a day and I would weight all my food and I take snacks with me.
If It was me I would eat my breakfast (with in 2 hours of waking up) eat lunch, eat dinner, try not to let yourself get too hungry. I always do better when I eat more fresh food, mix it up with colorful veggies. Think healthy and think about what I get to eat and not what I don't. Try a sausage and veggie Quiche no crust, Lobster on the BBQ or Shrimp, think creative. I would take a week or so break from the protein drink to see if its a problem and I would make sure I'm eating enough calories, if you don't you can sabotage your diet and you will mess-up your metabolism , I speak from experience. I watch my sodium, I try and weight less often not
that I'm good at it yet. One thing I learned that really helps is I chew gum while I'm cooking you don't snack while chewing gum it works great when your at a function where there are a lot of hors d' oeuvre.
eat to live not live to eat, you don't have to be hungry, you just at stay at 20 grams and eat healthy.

On low carb diet and gaining weight

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