Having a hard time.

KLELifts
KLELifts Posts: 23 Member
edited November 6 in Health and Weight Loss
Trying to convince myself that I can still lose weight while eating carbs and sugar.
I cut basically both out for 2 weeks and lost 8 lbs. Now I’ve been at the same weight for another 2 weeks since adding them back in :/

It’s been very discouraging to be at a deficit for two weeks and seeing no movement in the scale. I know I might be recomping a bit but I’d hope that I’d start to see progress in my weight too.

I know being keto/sugar free for me long term is unattainable. But it’s hard to not be extreme and to do that because I’m not seeing any weight loss.

Any advice?

Replies

  • nicsflyingcircus
    nicsflyingcircus Posts: 2,899 Member
    Your body is likely just adjusting. Probably at least half the weight you lost the first two weeks was water from the low-carb. So long as you're sticking to your deficit, you just need to give it time and be patient. You've lost 8lbs in 4 weeks, that's 2lbs/week.
  • KLELifts
    KLELifts Posts: 23 Member
    claireychn074 wrote: »
    Eat sugar. Eat carbs. They are not the devil.
    (I lost weight eating both and maintain eating both.)

    When your body digests carbs it uses a lot of water and it holds it for a while. So the initial 8 you lost was mostly water weight with some fat / possibly muscle depending on your calorie deficit. As soon as you reintroduce carbs your body goes “oh hey - carbs! I need water to digest” and your weight can go up or stay the same. Notice I said weight and not fat

    Keep going, track everything in 4-6 weeks if you are in a deficit you will see a whoosh on the scales.

    Just to repeat - sugar is not the devil. Carbs are not the devil. And two weeks is too early to judge anything (did you put all your weight on in two weeks?)


    Thank you so much for saying all this! I’ve been trying to tell myself the same thing but my mind was saying otherwise 🫠😭
    I definitely didn’t put on all the weight I want to lose in two weeks lol.
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,986 Member
    Yeah, water. Sorry you likely didn't lose 8lbs, but on the other hand your weight likely also didn't stall. Give it time. Water weight weirdness is totally a thing. Plus playing with big changes in diet can introduce the possibility that you pooped less. And also poop in your intestines has weight.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,620 Member
    Agree with what they said about water retention, and the relationship between water retention and carbs. Wait it out. Great advice from @claireychn074 just above, too.

    Mostly I'm replying to say that I'm another who lost weight fine (50ish pounds in just under a year) eating around 150g or so of carbs daily, and nearly always exceeding MFP's default sugar goal (mostly inherent sugars in fruit and such, not mostly added sugars - but some ;) ). That was while severely hypothyroid (medicated), menopausal, and pretty old (59-60 then), all things that "people say" make weight loss extra super-special difficult and turn eating carbs/sugar from dangerous into the worst possible kind of evil.

    SMH: "People" will say anything to get clicks and eyeballs, and other people will believe them and spread the nonsense.

    One of my favorite moments was when an acquaintance insisted to me that there was "no way to lose weight without eating low carb", because over the Winter she had "read all the books, and they all said so". What had I done over the Winter? Lost most of that 50 pounds by that point, while eating carbs aplenty . . . and she'd known me the whole time, even eaten meals (that had carbs!) with me. :D Had she lost an ounce? Nope. But she'd read the books!

    If it matters, I've maintained a healthy weight for 8 years since then, still eating pretty much the same way . . . except at a somewhat higher calorie level (because maintaining, not losing), and with more like 250g carbs daily, plus a bit more added sugar these days because I can fit the occasional treat in those higher calories a little more frequently than I could while losing. (That kind of underscores Claireychn074's point about eating the food you like, I think!)

    It can work. ;) You can do it. Hang in there.

    Wishing you success!
  • KLELifts
    KLELifts Posts: 23 Member
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    Agree with what they said about water retention, and the relationship between water retention and carbs. Wait it out. Great advice from @claireychn074 just above, too.

    Mostly I'm replying to say that I'm another who lost weight fine (50ish pounds in just under a year) eating around 150g or so of carbs daily, and nearly always exceeding MFP's default sugar goal (mostly inherent sugars in fruit and such, not mostly added sugars - but some ;) ). That was while severely hypothyroid (medicated), menopausal, and pretty old (59-60 then), all things that "people say" make weight loss extra super-special difficult and turn eating carbs/sugar from dangerous into the worst possible kind of evil.

    SMH: "People" will say anything to get clicks and eyeballs, and other people will believe them and spread the nonsense.

    One of my favorite moments was when an acquaintance insisted to me that there was "no way to lose weight without eating low carb", because over the Winter she had "read all the books, and they all said so". What had I done over the Winter? Lost most of that 50 pounds by that point, while eating carbs aplenty . . . and she'd known me the whole time, even eaten meals (that had carbs!) with me. :D Had she lost an ounce? Nope. But she'd read the books!

    If it matters, I've maintained a healthy weight for 8 years since then, still eating pretty much the same way . . . except at a somewhat higher calorie level (because maintaining, not losing), and with more like 250g carbs daily, plus a bit more added sugar these days because I can fit the occasional treat in those higher calories a little more frequently than I could while losing. (That kind of underscores Claireychn074's point about eating the food you like, I think!)

    It can work. ;) You can do it. Hang in there.

    Wishing you success!



    Thank you both for your thorough responses!! I was definitely starting to “fear” carb and sugar foods and was dreading the upcoming holidays because of it. So I know that something was wrong because I was starting to think disordered.

    As far as calories, I honestly could actually use some help with that.
    I’ve been feeling extremely burnt out and beat up lately.
    I do 3 full body workouts a week, 2-3 days of 10-20 min core workouts, and I have 3 little kids I’m constantly chasing after lol.
    All calculators say that 1480ish is my goal for a 1 lb/week weight loss.

    Does this sound accurate?
    I’d like to also mention that I just recently started weight lifting at this intensity so I don’t know if that affects anything.
  • KLELifts
    KLELifts Posts: 23 Member
    Oh I should probably mention my stats too.

    I’m 5”1, 25 years old, currently 128 lbs and my goal is 115.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,620 Member
    Just starting weight lifting could have two effects that are relevant here: One would be water retention masking fat loss on the body weight scale, the other would be that some people find certain types of exercise especially fatiguing, and lifting can be one of those.

    Even with the probable water weight in the picture, as was pointed out you've seemingly lost up to as much as an average of 2 pounds a week. That would be super-fast loss for someone of 128 pounds aiming for 115. Super-fast loss can definitely make a person feel burnt out and beat up.

    Even a pound a week is fairly aggressive at 128, IMO, honestly. Especially for someone with a busy, stressful life whose current weight shouldn't be a significant health risk, I'd suggest something like 0.5% of current weight per week as a loss rate. That would be 0.64 pounds a week, so somewhere between half and 3/4 of a pound.

    If 1480ish is estimated to give you a pound a week, that implies maintenance of 1980ish. Hitting right on an estimated 0.64 pounds per week, the calorie goal would be more like 1660. Would that help?

    But that's just an estimate based on a statistically average person, right? You may not be statistically average. Most people are close, a few a bit farther off (high or low), and a rare few are surprisingly above or below average in calorie needs. (I maintain on 25-30% more calories than MFP and my good brand/model fitness tracker estimate, for example.)

    We're assuming part of your 8-pound loss was water weight, so we don't have exact figures. But if you lost 2 pounds of fat a week eating around 1480, that would imply your maintenance calories could be more like 2480. That's possible, but it's hard to tell: Not enough solid data because of major changes in your eating style and exercise types/level.

    For sure, if you're feeling burnt out and beat up since cutting to this calorie level, and there's no other obvious reason for it, that's a danger sign. Even if you've only lost a pound (or less) of fat per week, please note that any calorie deficit is a physical stress, and new exercise is also a physical stress. You have a busy life, which implies pre-existing stress. That's stacking stress upon stress, and that's maybe too much to take on all at once?

    At this point, I'd maybe suggest you start eating at some higher calorie level for 4-6 weeks (whole menstrual cycle if you have those, to compare body weight at the same relative point in at least 2 different cycles), and keep your eating style/exercise activity reasonably consistent over that whole time period, too. Whether you lose, maintain or even gain a small amount over that time, that would give you a much better reading on your actual calorie needs. Then you can dial in a sensible loss rate with more confidence in the numbers.

    The personal arithmetic (vs. just calculator estimate) is pretty important . . . very important for people who turn out to be statistically unusual. I lost too fast by accident at first, because of the under-estimates of my calorie needs. I felt great, energetic, not hungry for a while . . . until I hit a wall, very suddently felt weak and fatigued. It took multiple weeks to recover normal energy and strength. No one needs that!

  • LMKID
    LMKID Posts: 8 Member
    Understanding what is happening emotionally is also important (at least it was for me). Here is a video some shared with me that really broke down what was going on in my mind and I agreed with everything in the video, except for the part about the medication (that was just me). Here's the link to the video, and the story is about The GateKeeper, The GoGetter and The Sleepy Executive. https://youtube.com/watch?v=VEJ6c5emPE8&t=1s
  • Adventurista
    Adventurista Posts: 2,134 Member
    Hi, awesome discussion. Just would add that water retention can happen towards end of a monthly hormone cycle, followed by a woosh off when the cycle ends and begins again. Usually, i would see about day 3 month compared to last month would be a weight loss rate that matched the calculators over 4 weeks instead of the ups/downs in between that were more a mystery..
    . And that is if/when my eating and movement was consistent acrpss the month too.

    Let us know how you're doing and if it clears up for you.
  • KLELifts
    KLELifts Posts: 23 Member
    I’ve decided to up my calories to around 1730. So 250 above the 1 lb deficit but also 250 below maintenance.
    Still going to do my 3 full body workouts and 2-3 core workouts.

    I was originally wanting to add in a session or two of cardio but will probably wait a whole month before I do that just to see how my body handles what I’m already doing with the slight increase in calories.

    I believe I’m going to stick here for the next 2-3 weeks calorie wise because by then I’ll have gone through my monthly cycle lol.
  • Adventurista
    Adventurista Posts: 2,134 Member
    Sounds like a reasonable adjustment <3
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,620 Member
    Sounds like a good plan. At worst, you should at minimum get solid information to make a successful plan going forward from there. Phasing in the cardio later also seems reasonable, given that you've been feeling a bit beaten up recently.

    If you feel up to it, maybe come back to this thread and let us know how things work out, after you have those additional weeks of consistency completed? I always wonder how these things turn out. :)

    I hope it goes well!!
  • KLELifts
    KLELifts Posts: 23 Member
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    Sounds like a good plan. At worst, you should at minimum get solid information to make a successful plan going forward from there. Phasing in the cardio later also seems reasonable, given that you've been feeling a bit beaten up recently.

    If you feel up to it, maybe come back to this thread and let us know how things work out, after you have those additional weeks of consistency completed? I always wonder how these things turn out. :)

    I hope it goes well!!


    Coming back to do a little update.

    I am doing Pilates 2-3 days a week, core and glute focused.
    And doing the 3 full body lifts a week.
    I stopped eating 1700 because I still felt absolutely awful so I finally just gave in and decided to track everything I ate - whether it was “good” food or “bad” food. I didn’t stop myself from eating anything. I just ate intuitively.
    I wanted to finally figure out where exactly my maintenance calories were at and also to hopefully give myself some more energy for my workouts because I had to keep taking days off with how horrible I was feeling.

    Well.

    Turns out I maintain my weight on 2600 calories 😶😶
    Which is crazy to me!!
    I don’t do cardio. I don’t have an active “job”. I’m just a stay at home mom who cleans a bit on the side.
    And I’m only truly lifting weights 3 days a week.

    So! Interesting to finally figure that out and to move on from here.
    No wonder I felt like I was going to die every time I was wanting to push myself more.
    And probably another reason why my weight stalled because I was in such a huge deficit and my body was freaking out.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,620 Member
    Nice work, @KLELifts! Knowledge is power, and knowing our true calorie needs is a power tool for making progress toward weight loss in a health-promoting way, if you ask me. It sounds like you're on a better, more sustainable course. Good show!

    Also, thanks for the wonderful update: Like I said, I always wonder how these stories turn out, and getting a positive update like this is extra delightful. Kudos!
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,458 Member
    @KLELifts
    I just saw this thread for the first time and I wanted to say to you - you are not "just" a stay at home mom. You have three energy vampires! Cleaning, cooking, laundry, negotiating, changing beds and clothing, all the chores out of the house like shopping and appointments. You are the backbone and the driving force behind keeping (at minimum) FOUR heartbeats alive. I bet you have a cat or a goldfish too. Energy vampires, all of them :lol:

    Blessings to you. Good job knowing your body and knowing something was off and being willing to listen to that. Eat! Have some extra applesauce every now and then.

    I hope you keep us updated. Well done.

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