Low(er) carb cheat day & mental health

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McCloud33
McCloud33 Posts: 959 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Just curious how other people who do low/lower carb diets deal with the big weight fluctuations that come with more carbs than the body is used to. I generally try and keep the carbs between 100-150g depending on my activity level, but this weekend we had a birthday party and then a grill out and even though I tried somewhat to be good calorie wise, it was the carbs that were the "cheat for the day" with cake and buns (because who can eat a hamburger without a bun), beer, etc...I was probably up over 300-400g of carbs and put on like 6 lbs of water weight. I know that it will come off, but it's just still disconcerting to see. I before I get the responses of "well just don't get on the scale for a couple days", I KNOW that's it's just water weight and I'd still rather have the data and know how my body reacts than just put my head in the sand and pretend it didn't happen.

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  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
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    Do you mean how to deal with the aftermath or how to deal to prevent it from happening?

    Aftermath-wise, I just kind of trudge through it. I went up 4 pounds after one day back in January. It took 2 weeks to the day to come back off. I'm an every day weigh in person so I'm used to fluctuations but mine are pretty small (generally 1 pound) and I'll admit the 4 pounds were irritating.

    Two weekends ago I had a weekend birthday party plus travel to my hometown where we went to my favorite ice cream parlor so the carb-revelry ended up being a two day affair rather than one. I didn't have such a bit water weight issue this time and I think it was because the day before I traveled I did a ton of activity (not just exercise but a lot of stuff around the house) and then the day after we got back I was super active.
  • ladyglamazon
    ladyglamazon Posts: 19 Member
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    When I used to do fitness competitions, I had HUGE weight fluctuations after my cutting week, when I went back to eating more carbs (even though they were healthy carbs like brown rice and sweet potatoes). I tried to increase my water intake and watch my sodium to help minimize the water weight gain, but there was really no avoiding it. What was most distressing was the weird belly bloat. It sorted itself out, but I know what you mean about how shocking it is when it happens.
  • McCloud33
    McCloud33 Posts: 959 Member
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    @jemhh I know how to prevent it...don't eat carbs LOL. I was plenty active both days. I went out and ran 8 miles on saturday at a 7.5min/mi pace and then did some other carpentry work throughout the day. Sunday, we played yard games (whiffle ball/soccer/football/etc...) for about 4 hours straight between lunch and dinner. Like I said, it wasn't a calorie problem (I've done that in the past as well).

    I guess it's just something that those of us doing it just have to deal with. I guess it's a little comforting knowing that others find it shocking when it happens to them as well...misery loves company i guess.
  • harpsdesire
    harpsdesire Posts: 190 Member
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    Yeah, it's such a strange feeling! Yesterday I was just barely under calories but WAY over carbs (I'm using the MFP standard settings, but I don't usually get the majority of my daily calories from sugar like I did yesterday... oops...)

    And I gained 4 lbs in what is probably water weight. Feels pretty gross. All I can say for coping is waiting for it to go away :(

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