45 days on MFP and gained 10lbs.

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NICOLED73
NICOLED73 Posts: 183
in Health and Weight Loss
So I weighed today for the first time in a few weeks. Since joining MFP 45 days ago I've gained 10lbs. I gave up Atkins after being on that program for 9 months in exchange for using MFP and counting calories. I do believe some of my weight gain is due to the strength training / kettle bells I've been doing. But 10lbs? Really? Seems like a lot to me. Maybe I should go back to Atkins? I don't know what to do anymore.
My calories are set at 1520. Most days I'm under but I do have the occasional days where I go over, and by occasional I mean once every other week. I dont usually eat back my exercise calories, or if I do, not many of them.

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  • hazelsmrf
    hazelsmrf Posts: 96 Member
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    If you were on Atkins for 9 months and you started adding in carbs again, it's normal that you gained some weight back. Those quick losses in the first week or two of Atkins were water loss, adding in the carbs again makes you take that water back. That's completely normal. You would not have gained 10 pounds of fat in a month on 1520 calories.
  • Morgan803
    Morgan803 Posts: 56 Member
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    Hey girl i understand you are discouraged, its hard to gain, let me explain! Ha when you do low card diets like atkins you consume very few carbs and higher fat foods your body makes a transition and starts using your insulin supply to burn the fats instead of carbs. This isnt good for your body but you probably shed the pounds very fast and now you are gaining them back because the slow addition to carbs your body is now feeding off those and not your fat. Your body will make the transition back just stay on track this diet is much healthier than the other
  • Awkward30
    Awkward30 Posts: 1,927 Member
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    It's from leaving Atkins. This is why a lot of people avoid diets that are non-sustainable for them. I have no science to back that up, but I've never heard of someone leaving Atkins and not gaining a little.

    I would log a typical Atkins day and see how many calories you are eating versus were eating. Some people will say that you aren't eatin enough since you don't eat exercise calories, however I think that is voodoo and as long as you aren't exercising a crap ton every day it shouldn't make a huge difference, so perhaps you are eating too much. Do you measure your food and portion sizes? If not, there is a 99% chance that you actually have no clue how much you are eating.

    Also, your diary is closed, so I can't see how often or how over you go. If you go 1500 over twice a week, you would probably be eating your whole deficit.

    Lastly, why did you quit Atkins? Did you stop losing weight or just not like the lifestyle?
  • FitLink
    FitLink Posts: 1,317 Member
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    So I weighed today for the first time in a few weeks. Since joining MFP 45 days ago I've gained 10lbs. I gave up Atkins after being on that program for 9 months in exchange for using MFP and counting calories. I do believe some of my weight gain is due to the strength training / kettle bells I've been doing. But 10lbs? Really? Seems like a lot to me. Maybe I should go back to Atkins? I don't know what to do anymore.
    My calories are set at 1520. Most days I'm under but I do have the occasional days where I go over, and by occasional I mean once every other week. I dont usually eat back my exercise calories, or if I do, not many of them.

    Well, the math says it can't be fat gained. 10 pounds is 35,000 calories. That's 780 calories eaten more than you burned every day. You're eating 1520. So you're only burning 740 calories per day? Nope.

    To repeat what hazelsmrf and Award30 said, quitting programs like Atkins (and you have to eventually, which is one problem with them) will cause you to gain some water weight back. I also agree with Award30 that most of us eat more calories than we think unless we weigh our food. Seriously, take what you think is an ounce of something and then weigh it. Bet it weighs more than an ounce! My "ounces" weighed TWO ounces. That means that every time I entered food I was only entering half of what I actually ate! Also take your measurements; they're a better measure of your success.
  • NICOLED73
    NICOLED73 Posts: 183
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    I took my measurements a week ago. I wish I had taken them 45 days ago.
    I weigh more now than I did last November, but I'm a size smaller.
    I left Atkins because the lack of fiber in my diet was destroying me. I was dependent upon laxatives and I just couldn't do that anymore.
    I do not weigh my food/have a food scale, but I believe that I am generous in my estimates. Most days I am well below my allowed calorie amount.
    My typical daily diet is something similar to this...
    Breakfast - oatmeal
    Lunch - salads with anything from chicken, black beans, tomato, cucumber, yellow peppers, black olives, OR turkey sandwhich with swiss on a 100 calorie thin bun withe lettuce and tomato.
    Dinner- a lot of the time i will just eat cereal or something simple and small. Last week I ate a can of peas for dinner.
    Snacks- pretzels, yogurt, banana, nuts etc....

    I have days every other weekend where i go out to eat with my boyfriend and don't count calories. Such as this past Saturday where we went to Red Lobster. Lots of calories there. However, that was the ONLY meal I ate that day.

    Because I have a 12 year old daughter at home, I stopped going to the gym because of her schedule and started working out at home. I used to spend an hour and a half at the gym doing a combination of 4 miles on the treadmill and 30 minutes on the bike. I did this for a long time and didn't see hardly ANY improvement.
    I started doing Kettle bells at home and I could see a difference quickly. I also enjoy them.

    While on Atkins for 9 months, I lost @ 45 lbs. I wasn't doing anything to tone during that time and my skin is sagging in some areas. Which is also why I have turned to the kettle bells.

    I appreciate all of your input and advice. The science of all of this is making me crazy.
  • danagisana
    danagisana Posts: 42 Member
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    gaining 10lbs is really hard to accept, but you sound a lot healthier.
    I agree with the others about the water gain.
    As an aside, if you take a lot of vitamin C you can eliminate using the laxitives. When I up my protein I make sure I take vitamin C chewables and it keeps everything on schedule
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,682 Member
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    Scale weight isn't always the best sign of achieving your desired physique. There are many here who have only lost a couple of pounds or so, but their physiques have changed immensely from heavy *kitten* weight training.


    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • NICOLED73
    NICOLED73 Posts: 183
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    @ninerbuff.... I know..the scale is stupid. I have only weighed @ 3 or 4 times in the last 45 days. I used to weigh daily.

    Last November I was 195lbs. and a size 14.
    I am currently (according to the scale) 205 and a size 12.
    I'm 5'8".
  • prettygirlhoward
    prettygirlhoward Posts: 338 Member
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    I agree ninerbuff. I had weughed myself before and I had gained on the scale but lost 2 inches in my waist and 1.5 inches in my arms...

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