Glycogen, carbs, water weight and fibre

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jelleigh
jelleigh Posts: 743 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hey MFPers!

Can someone knowledgeable help me out understanding this all?

Overall, my question is about fibre intake and how it might affect weight in the short term.

But I just want to make sure I get the gist of things. This is what I believe I understand so far. So glycegen in our cells hold water. When you eat very low carb, your body uses these glycogen stores and releases that water so you drop water weight.
Ok but when you are eating low carb, you don't count fibre. You count net carbs - so carbs minus fibre. Because essentially, fibre just passes right through you.
With me so far?
Ok so I've upped my fibre content the last few days. A lot. I was eating low carb (dr prescribed for insulin resistance issues) but was told to increase my fibre for cholesterol regulation etc. Ok so I've added a couple of tbsp of flax seed to my day and chia pudding which has essentially more than doubled my fibre intake? (I'm hitting about 40 g). I'm drinking lots of water as well because I know that's important. Anyhow, first day I noticed a huge difference in digestion (a lot of trips to the bathroom - sorry for the TMI) . Second day not so much. Feel bloaty. Today my weight is up like 4 lbs and I had a crazy sugar crash despite eating food that never causes me issues. The fibre is the only change. So. A) could the weight change just be expanded fibre and water in my system? B) would fibre replenish my glycogen stores causing me to regain the water weight I lost? C) any with diabetes or an otherwise wonky pancreas ever notice reactions with increased fibre? (I've always heard it's quite helpful for glucose regulation)

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  • rosegreen12
    rosegreen12 Posts: 35 Member
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    I've had a husband, brother, grandfather, grandson (he could hardly avoid it, right?) and me with hypoglycemia so I really pay attention to wonky pancreases - and eat low-carb.

    Right on the net carbs. You're taking in a lot of fiber and yes, fiber certainly helps with glycogen balance. Weight gain, I'd definitely put down to water with fiber. Not that you're doing anything wrong! It should just take your body/digestive track a few more days to get over it's confusion from all the fiber. Sugar crash makes me wonder if you've been eating enough protein to keep your blood sugar up. If, after keeping an eye on protein you have another sugar crash, I'd call the dr.!
  • jelleigh
    jelleigh Posts: 743 Member
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    rosegreen12 wrote: »
    I've had a husband, brother, grandfather, grandson (he could hardly avoid it, right?) and me with hypoglycemia so I really pay attention to wonky pancreases - and eat low-carb.

    Right on the net carbs. You're taking in a lot of fiber and yes, fiber certainly helps with glycogen balance. Weight gain, I'd definitely put down to water with fiber. Not that you're doing anything wrong! It should just take your body/digestive track a few more days to get over it's confusion from all the fiber. Sugar crash makes me wonder if you've been eating enough protein to keep your blood sugar up. If, after keeping an eye on protein you have another sugar crash, I'd call the dr.!

    Thanks for the reply!

    I do find I feel better eating essentially Paleo. I don't really eat sugar or any grains. Today I had my chia pudding for breakfast (incl a tbsp of flax), and then a can of tuna with a tbsp olive oil mayo, an avocado, half a cucumber and about a cup of baby carrots for lunch. But I came home from work and just totally crashed out. Like I had to lay down and nap and I felt all head woosy. Had dinner and am feeling better now. I'm at about 85g of protein which is a little lower than normal but not horrible I don't think.

    I will keep an eye on things the next few days and see if it levels out.
  • rosegreen12
    rosegreen12 Posts: 35 Member
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    Unless you're really really tall - 85g of protein should be fine. I know eating low carb can cause increased cortisol production if yoga/meditation/prayer/etc. aren't there to decrease it. I wonder.......
  • jelleigh
    jelleigh Posts: 743 Member
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    rosegreen12 wrote: »
    Unless you're really really tall - 85g of protein should be fine. I know eating low carb can cause increased cortisol production if yoga/meditation/prayer/etc. aren't there to decrease it. I wonder.......

    I'm 5'8" and currently 180 lbs. I typically aim for about 100 g of protein a day.
    Right now I'm not super low carb because I do eat vegetable based carbs (potato and sweet potato and carrots etc) so I'm probably under 100 g of carbs but it's nothing like the 20 g Keto does. I'm not sure if there is a way to measure cortisol? But I would say that I'm less stressed than ever (mind you maybe how I feel and what my body is doing are two different things)
  • rosegreen12
    rosegreen12 Posts: 35 Member
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    I don't do full keto either - I'm a wimp and plain 'ole don't have the willpower, what can I say? I imagine a dr would be able to measure cortisol, but since I've definitely all too commonly thought I was fine when actually I was a basket case, I'd try some "calming"/cortisol decreasing ex. for a few days. You do say you're drinking a lot of water, but what each person needs for water is very different, so maybe?? dehydration symptoms are the same as hypoglycemia without the shaking. Maybe, too you need a 1/4 c. of nuts mid-afternoon. I usually do when my lunch has been fine (like yours looked).

    I'm 5'7.5" and about 160 and I feel good if I get 70 g protein, but I'm cheap and protein often costs more money.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,414 Member
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    If you're feeling bloat-y after increasing fiber, how's your fat intake?

    Sometimes people who suddenly increase fiber intake find that they need to pay more attention to fat intake to . . . well, grease the pipe, sort of, y'know? ;)

    I'm not talking crazy-much fat, but something in the 0.35-0.45g per pound of weight kind of area.

    For smooth digestive throughput, the big hitters in my understanding are fiber, hydration, and fat. For some people, probiotics and exercise (especially middle-moving exercise) can also help, or maybe supplementing magnesium if deficient in diet. But fiber, hydration and fat are the big 3. You mentioned 2 of the 3, which is why I ask.

    Note: With any sudden significant eating change, there can be temporary adaptation issues. Your body may need to learn some things (metaphorically speaking), and you may need to grow a slightly different population of gut bugs, which can take up to a couple of weeks or so. Usually, increasing fiber gradually over a couple of weeks is a gentler approach than a sudden jump.

    It would be normal to see body weight increase a bit from the fiber + water in your digestive tract, too, on top of anything going on with glycogen.

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