Going from low carb to balanced calorie counting

kdrew11
kdrew11 Posts: 363 Member
edited December 2 in Health and Weight Loss
Hi.

I'm currently on a low carb diet but only wanted to do it for a couple of weeks for quick weight loss and then just have a balanced 1200 calorie a day diet with the odd day of 'normal' eating as have some special occasions coming up and a few days away. I didn't want low carb to be a way of life and didn't realise you can put weight back on if you go back to carbs afterwards. I just wanted a fix quick and then a balanced calorie counting diet after a couple of weeks. Has anyone done this and not put weight on or even continued to lose after just by calorie counting? I'm a bit scared of putting it all back on the second a piece of bread touches my lips!

TIA

Replies

  • Jleigh225
    Jleigh225 Posts: 49 Member
    edited July 2016
    I've done this and unfortunately you will gain a few scale lbs after eating carbs again. Don't be alarmed, it is just water weight. Carbohydrates are stored as glycogen in your liver and in your muscles and to make sugar into glycogen your cells need water. Hence why you store water when you go from low carb to eating balanced again. So go back to balanced but relax about the small gains, you'll still lose fat again as time goes on.

    Also, this is why we lose a lot of water weight with low carb because we deplete our glycogen stores eating less sugar. The water goes with that glycogen as it gets turned back into glucose and used for energy.
  • RogerToo
    RogerToo Posts: 16,157 Member
    Hi
    FWIW I lost weight from eating a balanced diet including Carbs and protein by counting calories and never experimented with a low carb diet.
    I just try and make sure I get Three fruits a day, typical would be a banana before heading out the door to walk, a Apple with lunch and a orange or Tangerines with Dinner. Then with Breakfast a Protein shake with my Cereal w/sweetener and 1% milk. A Light & Fit Greek Yogurt with Lunch and Dinner where they are delicious enough to be a Dessert as well as a source of protein. I work to get 6 or 7 servings of protein a day and that includes the 2 Greek Yogurts. and I work at getting 7 servings of carbs too, including the Fruits. Good sources of protein IMO would be lean meats, No Deli meats as they are usually very high in sodium BTW, Cheese is so so IMO due to the Sodium too. I like Chicken Breast or Turkey Breast or lean Center Cut Pork Chops. Fortunately I can also get the chicken or turkey already roasted from the ShopRite and in the Can water packed there and less expensively at CostCo. I buy the Yogurt ahead when it is on sale too. I use Hard Boiled Eggs with Sugar free Sweet Relish and Lite Mayo on a 60 calorie wrap as egg salad too. I eat 4 servings of vegetables + 1/2 head of lettuce per day. Example would be a 12 ounce bag of Frozen veges.

    Good Luck
    Roger

    P.S. IMO once again a balanced diet is better for You and more likely to be continued in the long run
  • tlflag1620
    tlflag1620 Posts: 1,358 Member
    As long as you stay in a calorie deficit the only weight you would regain by switching from low carb to higher carb will be water weight. There is really no way around it. It generally isn't a large amount, but since you only did low carb for a couple weeks, it will likely be most of the weight you lost (the first two weeks of low carb you lose a good amount of weight, but it is mainly water as you burn through you glycogen stores).

    There are no quick fixes.
  • TxTiffani
    TxTiffani Posts: 799 Member
    I recently ate low carb for about a month and dropped a few lbs but I've recently gone back to pure CICO and gained back 2 lbs of water weight even tho I've eaten fewer cals on plain CICO...I know it's just water weight but I understand the frustration;)
  • DebSozo
    DebSozo Posts: 2,578 Member
    tiffanifair wrote: »
    I recently ate low carb for about a month and dropped a few lbs but I've recently gone back to pure CICO and gained back 2 lbs of water weight even tho I've eaten fewer cals on plain CICO...I know it's just water weight but I understand the frustration;)

    Thanks for the heads up. I'm going low carb for a month to see what happens. I know that I quickly bounce back up in a whoosh when I start back with carbs. I'm thinking of s.l.o.w.l.y increasing carbs until I hit maintenance after I lose this last 10 pounds so that I don't have a rebound in a month. It is always disheartening for me with how quickly the water weight returns with the glycogen fuel reestablishing after carbing up.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    When you low carb you deplete your glycogen stores...when you eat carbs again you replenish your glycogen stores...glycogen has mass and thus it has weight which would obviously show up on the scale...it's not fat so stop worrying about it.
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