Eating my maintenance calories, carbs, and gaining weight

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violaninja
violaninja Posts: 12 Member
in Goal: Maintaining Weight
A naturopathic gastroenterologist told me that my constant fatigue was partially due to hypoglycemia, which she believes was caused by following a Wheat Belly diet (while counting calories) while I was losing weight. Following her recommendations, I've reintroduced starchy vegetables, complex-carb grains, legumes, and fruit to my diet in moderation. I've been pretty good about eating my 1550 maintenance calories lately, but I haven't exercised as much (only about 2.5-3 hours per week). The appetite that was nonexistent while I was eating 1200 calories has come back pretty intensely, and now I'm finding it difficult to be full and eat under my maintenance level. In the last month, I've gained a few pounds. The carbs definitely have lessened my fatigue, but are they increasing my appetite or causing me to gain weight? Am I gaining weight from not exercising (which is caused largely by the fact that school has started)?

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  • 5stringjeff
    5stringjeff Posts: 790 Member
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    Your weight gain won't be a function of reintroducing carbs; it would be a function of calories in/calories out. If you're eating at 1550 and gaining, perhaps your maintenance calories are lower than 1550. You didn't mention your height or weight, but you might consider going to a TDEE calculator (like the one here: http://www.fat2fittools.com/tools/bmr/ ) and figuring out your BMR and TDEE. Eat at your TDEE level to maintain. If you're gaining, adjust your calories downward about 50 at a time until you find the maintenance level that works.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,372 Member
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    You need to re-estimate your maintenance calories if you're not exercising as much. But I believe it's normal to put on a couple weights of water when you re-introduce carbs, especially if you increased calories at the same time.

    1550 calories to maintain seems very, very low for a 19yo female though. My guess is that you're way underestimating how much you are eating.
  • violaninja
    violaninja Posts: 12 Member
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    I think that I probably underestimate how much I eat, especially since I don't weigh or measure food using a reliable method. I live at home, and my mom is of the mentality that correct portion sizes are as much as possible (literally, she thinks that if a dinner plate isn't heaping, the portions are too small). To avoid conflict, I just eyeball my portions, and lately, I've been eating big portion sizes just so my parents will stop flipping out. So today, I've tried to overestimate all of my portions. Hopefully I can get away with not eating too much for dinner; I've counted 1000 calories so far today.
  • arshadmirza
    arshadmirza Posts: 1 Member
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    I had spoken with a nutritionist at UCSC with the exact same problem. She told me this, and it checks out with many nutrition websites: when you go on a maintenance calorie diet for along time (a few months), then what happens is that your body adjusts all its processes to support itself on lower calories, (which can have bad health effects in the long term). One of these changes is that the body hoards any storing substance. So if you eat even small amounts of fat or carbs, your body will store it first and then release it on demand. If you were to weigh yourself at different times between meals you may weigh perceptibly different.

    When you are coming back to normal (about 2000 calories) you should do it in many steps. Actually going to maintenance should also be in many steps, but at least coming back if done without many steps of small increases over a few weeks, the body is still in the same "starvation" mode where it hoards all storable nutrition.

    So this is what I am saying:
    1. Weigh yourself at different times of a day, use an average of these weights as the true weight.
    2. If you are coming back to normal do it over a few days increasing say 200 cal/wk.
    3. No one should be on maintenance calories for many months a row, it is bad for the general health and normal working of the body as a whole

    Sorry if I repeated any of the points someone else has already made.
  • Graelwyn75
    Graelwyn75 Posts: 4,404 Member
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    I had spoken with a nutritionist at UCSC with the exact same problem. She told me this, and it checks out with many nutrition websites: when you go on a maintenance calorie diet for along time (a few months), then what happens is that your body adjusts all its processes to support itself on lower calories, (which can have bad health effects in the long term). One of these changes is that the body hoards any storing substance. So if you eat even small amounts of fat or carbs, your body will store it first and then release it on demand. If you were to weigh yourself at different times between meals you may weigh perceptibly different.

    When you are coming back to normal (about 2000 calories) you should do it in many steps. Actually going to maintenance should also be in many steps, but at least coming back if done without many steps of small increases over a few weeks, the body is still in the same "starvation" mode where it hoards all storable nutrition.

    So this is what I am saying:
    1. Weigh yourself at different times of a day, use an average of these weights as the true weight.
    2. If you are coming back to normal do it over a few days increasing say 200 cal/wk.
    3. No one should be on maintenance calories for many months a row, it is bad for the general health and normal working of the body as a whole

    Sorry if I repeated any of the points someone else has already made.

    What are you talking about?
    How is maintenance calories bad? Maintenance calories are the calories needed to maintain weight, ie, to keep weight the same, which means feeding it enough to neither lose nor gain.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    I had spoken with a nutritionist at UCSC with the exact same problem. She told me this, and it checks out with many nutrition websites: when you go on a maintenance calorie diet for along time (a few months), then what happens is that your body adjusts all its processes to support itself on lower calories, (which can have bad health effects in the long term). One of these changes is that the body hoards any storing substance. So if you eat even small amounts of fat or carbs, your body will store it first and then release it on demand. If you were to weigh yourself at different times between meals you may weigh perceptibly different.

    When you are coming back to normal (about 2000 calories) you should do it in many steps. Actually going to maintenance should also be in many steps, but at least coming back if done without many steps of small increases over a few weeks, the body is still in the same "starvation" mode where it hoards all storable nutrition.

    So this is what I am saying:
    1. Weigh yourself at different times of a day, use an average of these weights as the true weight.
    2. If you are coming back to normal do it over a few days increasing say 200 cal/wk.
    3. No one should be on maintenance calories for many months a row, it is bad for the general health and normal working of the body as a whole

    Sorry if I repeated any of the points someone else has already made.

    colin_farrel_wtf.gif

    I think you're substantially misinterpreting...well, pretty much everything or you're just talking out of your *kitten*. If you eat at a balance of energy (i.e. maintenance), you maintain...I've been eating maintenance for over a year and a half...and I've been maintaining....'cuz maintenance.
  • violaninja
    violaninja Posts: 12 Member
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    This is somewhat bewildering: I didn't even exercise yesterday and I ate 1750 calories, but I think I've lost a little bit of weight. Not only does the scale report a lower number, my face looks thinner. It's probably just wishful thinking, right?
  • Iron_Feline
    Iron_Feline Posts: 10,750 Member
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    If you cut out carbs then re introduced them you will gain a few lbs of water weight at first. This is normal as your body needs water to store the carbs, this is also why when you cut carbs you lose a lot the first week - it's the water that is no longer used to store the carbs.

    Your weight will fluctuate naturally over the week and you should think of your goal weight as a range rather than one fixed figure, maybe go off measurements and how your clothes feel as well. Try to only weigh in at the same time - most recommend first thing in the am to help you keep a similar reading.

    Keep track for a few weeks and if it continues to creep up maybe start weighting your food for a while together a grip on what maintance portions look like.


    Just remember your weight WILL fluctuate. Try not to panic and just look at a weekly / monthly trend.

    I'm sure you know some of this but I'm hoping this counteracts some of the bad information posted higher up. :flowerforyou:
  • Momjogger
    Momjogger Posts: 750 Member
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    How long have you been doing this? If it's been for a while, you know that you will fluctuate up and down a few pounds (3 - 5 either way - that is NORMAL - it depends on what you eat (processed foods) - or do (weight training can cause the body to hold onto water to repair for a couple of days) - for women hormones, so MANY things affect small amounts of weight either way). Why are you obsessing about daily fluctuations? Are you nervous about gaining back? Give yourself a month, record your weight weekly (in the morning before you eat, with no clothes on, NOT after a night of eating out/drinking/weight training). Then look at the TREND. If it within a range, you are fine. If you are steadily gaining, then you may need to adjust.
  • kessler4130
    kessler4130 Posts: 150 Member
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    As you introduce carbohydrates back into your diet on a larger scale you will retain more water, and store more glycogen so you will see an increase in weight, that does not mean it is necessarily fat. The appetite could be determined by the types of carbs you are eating, if they are high on the glycemic index they will mobilize the nutrients from your blood much faster once your body sees the increase in glucose. Once there is a lack of nutrients in your blood your body will let you know by making you feel hungry again. Your body is an amazing thing, it is very smart, and we spend all day trying to trick it into not being hungry, burning fat, building muscle, etc. Simply re-evaluate your carbohydrates and adjust accordingly.

    Now for the hippies who are going to use their standard issue hippie min max mentality. I AM NOT saying stay away from high GI foods, I strongly encourage them at times (A.M. and post work out). This information was strictly for the OP, I eat whatever the hell I want when I want so you do not need to respond with any hippie comments.

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