Low carb/low calorie weight loss issue

mallory5385
mallory5385 Posts: 45 Member
edited November 17 in Health and Weight Loss
so I've been doing low carb and low calorie dieting for about 3-4 weeks. I've lost about 15 pounds. But I'm slowing gaining weight back. I just started exercising on Thursday but have been eating 2 protein shakes a day, almonds, a cup of strawberries, and red meat. Is this the reason why I'm gaining? Look at my food diary and let me know what u think. Help!!!!!
«1

Replies

  • Chrysalid2014
    Chrysalid2014 Posts: 1,038 Member
    Your diary is closed...
  • mallory5385
    mallory5385 Posts: 45 Member
    Ok try now :)
  • GoPerfectHealth
    GoPerfectHealth Posts: 254 Member
    Hi,

    When you start exercising your muscles might retain extra water. Your weight will naturally fluctuate several pounds in either direction depending on a number of factors. Even varying your carbohydrate intake by 50 grams can cause fluctuations due to the relationship between carbohydrate intake and water retention.

    If you are eating at a calorie deficit every day, it is unlikely you are regaining weight. If you weigh yourself every day and you have logged your food carefully and are maintaining a calorie deficit, an increase in your weight is due to normal fluctuations.

    Your body will shed a lot of water weight at the beginning of a low carb diet. Later in that first or second month it might seem like you are stalling, but you are probably still losing fat as your body adjusts to low carb. You just have to wait it out.

  • ladymiseryali
    ladymiseryali Posts: 2,555 Member
    If you started working out, then you're retaining water. It's not real weight gain. Just up the water and be patient.
  • mallory5385
    mallory5385 Posts: 45 Member
    Thank u everyone makes me feel a lot better about it
  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,626 Member
    you also will not sustain that level of weight loss. it is all water weight at that level.

    make sure you WEIGH (not measure with cups unless its liquid) and log ALL your food
  • Chrysalid2014
    Chrysalid2014 Posts: 1,038 Member
    callsitlikeiseeit wrote: »
    you also will not sustain that level of weight loss. it is all water weight at that level.

    make sure you WEIGH (not measure with cups unless its liquid) and log ALL your food

    It's not all water weight. Some of it is. I asked a similar question on the low carb forum recently and the answer I got was: you'll gain and lose water weight all the time throughout the month, whether you're on low carb or not. Doing low carb might give you a couple of extra pounds of water weight over not low carb, but not 15 pounds worth.

    If you'd like to join the low carb group it's here:
    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/394-low-carber-daily-forum-the-lcd-group
  • mwebster01
    mwebster01 Posts: 111 Member
    15 pounds in 1 month is way too fast to lose weight.a safe and reasonable weight loss goal is 1-2 pounds a week.u will keep it off.
    your body will fight against a drastic weight loss by going into starvation mode,and u will gain it back,maybe more.
    in your diary u r not eating leafy greens like spinach and collards,nor fresh fruit like apples and bananas.u should eat them for good nutrition.I only went back three days.

  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    mwebster11 wrote: »
    15 pounds in 1 month is way too fast to lose weight.a safe and reasonable weight loss goal is 1-2 pounds a week.u will keep it off.
    your body will fight against a drastic weight loss by going into starvation mode,and u will gain it back,maybe more.
    in your diary u r not eating leafy greens like spinach and collards,nor fresh fruit like apples and bananas.u should eat them for good nutrition.I only went back three days.

    It is very common to lose a bunch of water weight when you first start out, especially doing low carb. As to the second part, no.

    OP, weight loss is not linear. New/increased exercise is one of several factors that can cause water retention.
  • mallory5385
    mallory5385 Posts: 45 Member
    I'm doing low carb because my doctor said I had to be on a low carb low calorie diet because my blood work results were in the low pre diabetic range. I've just lost that much doing what the doctor told me to do. I'm trying to incorporate more veggies I know I've been bad on that. Thank you everyone for all your help!
  • SnuggleSmacks
    SnuggleSmacks Posts: 3,731 Member
    mwebster11 wrote: »
    15 pounds in 1 month is way too fast to lose weight.a safe and reasonable weight loss goal is 1-2 pounds a week.u will keep it off.
    your body will fight against a drastic weight loss by going into starvation mode,and u will gain it back,maybe more.
    in your diary u r not eating leafy greens like spinach and collards,nor fresh fruit like apples and bananas.u should eat them for good nutrition.I only went back three days.
    I'm afraid you're working with some outdated information, as "starvation mode" has been proven to be a myth.
  • SherryTeach
    SherryTeach Posts: 2,836 Member
    That doesn't sound like a very sustainable food plan for the long haul.
  • JPW1990
    JPW1990 Posts: 2,424 Member
    SherryTeach wrote: »
    That doesn't sound like a very sustainable food plan for the long haul.

    You know better than her doctor?
  • IsaackGMOON
    IsaackGMOON Posts: 3,358 Member
    SherryTeach wrote: »
    That doesn't sound like a very sustainable food plan for the long haul.

    Sorry; I forgot you're a certified doctor.


    LOL WHO SAID LOW CARBING CAN'T BE LONG TERM
  • IsaackGMOON
    IsaackGMOON Posts: 3,358 Member
    mwebster11 wrote: »
    15 pounds in 1 month is way too fast to lose weight.a safe and reasonable weight loss goal is 1-2 pounds a week.u will keep it off.
    your body will fight against a drastic weight loss by going into starvation mode,and u will gain it back,maybe more.
    in your diary u r not eating leafy greens like spinach and collards,nor fresh fruit like apples and bananas.u should eat them for good nutrition.I only went back three days.

    Well if you had any sort of sense, you'd know that low carbing makes you drop water weight fast. The first 15lb's which dropped aren't all fat... she'd have to have a HUGE deficit for that.

    Btw stop spewing your misinformed information around the forums - starvation mode doesn't exist.
  • ladymiseryali
    ladymiseryali Posts: 2,555 Member
    SherryTeach wrote: »
    That doesn't sound like a very sustainable food plan for the long haul.

    Maybe not the low calorie part, but low carb can be and is sustainable. I've been on it for almost two years now.

  • Emilia777
    Emilia777 Posts: 978 Member
    edited May 2015
    ladymiseryali wrote: »
    SherryTeach wrote: »
    That doesn't sound like a very sustainable food plan for the long haul.

    Maybe not the low calorie part, but low carb can be and is sustainable. I've been on it for almost two years now.

    Out of curiosity, what IS “low” carb? Grams / percentage-wise?

    I see nothing wrong at all with the OPs diet. Mine is about the same, except with more protein for my lifting. Why would that be unsustainable? :neutral:
  • JPW1990
    JPW1990 Posts: 2,424 Member
    Emilia777 wrote: »
    ladymiseryali wrote: »
    SherryTeach wrote: »
    That doesn't sound like a very sustainable food plan for the long haul.

    Maybe not the low calorie part, but low carb can be and is sustainable. I've been on it for almost two years now.

    Out of curiosity, what IS “low” carb? Grams / percentage-wise?

    I see nothing wrong at all with the OPs diet. Mine is about the same, except with more protein for my lifting. Why would that be unsustainable? :neutral:

    Depends on who you ask. Some say below 150g, some below 100g. Keto ranges 20g-50ish, depending on individual tolerance. Anything above 50g is simply just a choice in balancing carbs and fats to fill out macros after protein. Keto has other implications beyond that.
  • mallory5385
    mallory5385 Posts: 45 Member
    Maybe I'm doing it wrong? I've been trying to stay as close as 100 grams of carbs per day and under 1500 calories a day. Am I doing it wrong?
  • mallory5385
    mallory5385 Posts: 45 Member
    My doctor was specific on totals I've just been researching the totals online. Some I read for Atkins diet I guess I'm supposed to be under 30 grams of carbs, but when I read up on pre diabetic diets it says under 150 grams of carbs.
  • JPW1990
    JPW1990 Posts: 2,424 Member
    mallory5385 wrote: »
    Maybe I'm doing it wrong? I've been trying to stay as close as 100 grams of carbs per day and under 1500 calories a day. Am I doing it wrong?

    Nope, you're not. More important, you're sticking to the numbers your doctor gave you, and it's your doctor who knows what other medical issues/prescriptions/etc you are working with. If you are already on medication, you should not try doing keto (Atkins induction) without consulting with them first.

    Someone linked the LC group above, and I would really suggest reading through their launchpad section. There's more than one way to do LC, and no one size fits all rule to it, aside from basic things like stay hydrated, keep your protein up, etc.
  • Emilia777
    Emilia777 Posts: 978 Member
    edited May 2015
    JPW1990 wrote: »
    Emilia777 wrote: »
    ladymiseryali wrote: »
    SherryTeach wrote: »
    That doesn't sound like a very sustainable food plan for the long haul.

    Maybe not the low calorie part, but low carb can be and is sustainable. I've been on it for almost two years now.

    Out of curiosity, what IS “low” carb? Grams / percentage-wise?

    I see nothing wrong at all with the OPs diet. Mine is about the same, except with more protein for my lifting. Why would that be unsustainable? :neutral:

    Depends on who you ask. Some say below 150g, some below 100g. Keto ranges 20g-50ish, depending on individual tolerance. Anything above 50g is simply just a choice in balancing carbs and fats to fill out macros after protein. Keto has other implications beyond that.

    Thanks for the info! Huh. I guess I’m sort of low-carbing (though definitely not keto levels). Learn something new every day.

    OP, I would ask your doctor for specifics - you’re off to a good start, so I wouldn’t worry too much!

    Edit: Oops, if your doctor did give you some numbers, I’d stick to those over anything on the internet.
  • KristenMarie1181
    KristenMarie1181 Posts: 216 Member
    Why is it that EVERYONE says its not healthy to lose a lot of weight in a month? People that weigh more burn a lot more calories then someone that weighs in there 100's.. Me for instance I am weighing in the 300's right now and I am losing lot more weight and burning more calories for someone in the 100's. So people gotta stop saying its not healthy to lose a lot in a month..
  • mallory5385
    mallory5385 Posts: 45 Member
    Thank u, u guys means a lot to me! I'm trying that's for sure. Again thank you for all your support and advice!
  • AlabasterVerve
    AlabasterVerve Posts: 3,171 Member
    edited May 2015
    There doesn't seem to be an official definition of low carb. Here were some suggested definitions of low carb in Nutrition & Metabilism:
    The ADA designates low carbohydrate diets as less than
    130 g/d or 26% of a nominal 2000 kcal diet and we con-
    sider this a reasonable cutoff for the definition of a
    low carbohydrate diet. Carbohydrate consumption before the
    epidemic of obesity averaged 43%, and we suggest 26% to
    45% as the range for moderate-carbohydrate diets.

    Low-carb ketogenic diet (LCKD): less than 50g carbs and 10% calories daily
    Low-carb diet (LCD): 50-130g carbs daily and between 10-26% of calories
    Moderate-carb diet (MCD): 130-225g carbs daily and between 26-45% of calories

    Andreas Eenfeldt (popular LCHF Diet Doctor site) defines it as:
    Strict LCHF <20 gram carbs per day
    Moderate LCHF 20-50 grams per day
    Liberal LCHF 50-100 grams per day

    ETA: That's a bit useless now but I tried. :p
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,151 Member
    One drops a lot of water when they first start dieting. Then adds it when introducing exercise, as your muscles are holding water while they repair. Give it some more time and things should stable off.
  • MoiAussi93
    MoiAussi93 Posts: 1,948 Member
    I gained about 4 pounds of water weight when I started exercising. Some people gain more or less than that. It's normal, and not fat. Also, water weight fluctuations for any number of reasons are very common...don't get too hung up on what happens in a week or two.
  • kyrannosaurus
    kyrannosaurus Posts: 350 Member
    You seem to be eating a lot of carbs for someone on a low carb diet. I suggest you contact your doctor and ask them to give you a specific target. You also need to look at your logging. One day you logged a "refried beans and cheese burrito" with zero carbs, zero protein, zero fat... I guarantee it had a significant amount of carbs. If you medically need to follow a low carb diet you need to make sure you use entries with the correct amount of carbs listed.
  • mallory5385
    mallory5385 Posts: 45 Member
    Oh that's weird I meant to put beans and cheese no tortilla oopppssss!
  • mallory5385
    mallory5385 Posts: 45 Member
    It was just beans and cheese I chose the wrong entry everyone messes up lol
This discussion has been closed.

Categories