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Lchf help. Gaining weight!!

alliebee

Well-Known Member
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Rothwell N' ants
You guys are going to get sick of my questions...
I'm averaging 35 carbs a day..initially lost weight in first week. Finally got firmly in ketosis and staying there after lowering my protein and increasing healthy fats. Mfp has me at 1200 cals give or take....imagine my dismay when I got on the scales for my weekly weigh in. And I've regained 8 lbs. Has anyone else had this happen? I've been so smug that my body is in fat burning adaptation...anyone see where I'm going wrong? I'm very disheartened. Mind you my bg has never been so good. I hit a 5.2 yesterday a record for me and fastings are coming down nicely....am I expecting too much? Everyone else is saying the weight is falling off on this way of eating.
 
Hmmm. well that's upsetting. I didn't lose a lot of weight on LCHF (a quarter of a pound a month) until I counted calories as well like you - 1200 cals a day
The only thing I can suggest is maybe you are not drinking enough water? I hope others have better answers than this for you.
 
Thanks zand. I'm drinking approx 2 litres a day.... I'm wondering if its because I upped my fats a bit while I reduced my protein portions.
 

I found my fitness pal overestimated the amount of calories used in exercise. I stopped using it because of this. My physiotherapist agreed that the calories burned were not accurately portrayed. Also, is it possible that you are not inputting the right weights / volumes of food consumed?
 
I've been weighing almost everything to start with so I got a good idea of all my foods...I honestly can't understand this...I would stay on this however because of my bgs. So much better. Maybe I need to drop the calories down a bit more to maybe 1000? I'm not a yo yo dieter. My weight has been pretty steady for years.
 
I would stab at a couple of things.

Firstly, for me 2ltrs a day is simply not enough water. Are you drinking tea/coffee in addition, or is that it? Irrespective of your thrist or preference, you need to drink plenty when low carbing. So, I'd definitely up the fluid intake. I don't know what you do during the day, but a bottle of water on your desk, making conscious decisions to drink from it frequently all helps; every time you make a call, or something like that, plus of course, having some water with meals.

Secondly; is your,...... erm,......... transit behaving as usual? Slow transit is quite common when low carbing and not drinking enough; especially for those who limit their vegetable carbs. Some people swear that the HF element oils the processes, but I have no real experience of that.

That you are weighing weekly is good, but based on today's result, and how you feel about it, I might be inclined to weigh again either tomorrow or in a couple of days, just to see if it's a blip or a sustained gain.
 
That's a fair point thankyou. No to tea and coffee. I have a cup of tea first thing but then its just the water mostly...I will up that and see...as to the 'transit' lol. I'm suffering constipation a bit yes. Adding some bran to yoghurt ect. I'm guessing the water would help with that...I'll weigh myself tomorrow and see if its just a blip..but 8 lbs? Its the exact amount id lost over first ten days...very strange
 
Also being a lady, certain times of the month I find i'm heavier than others.

I have had similar problems with low carbing. I lost 2 and half stone easily within 5 months, however since then (2 years ago) I have struggled to lose anything, and in that time I have actually put 1 stone back on. its frustrating but I haven't figured out the problem yet, I've tried changng some meds that I have taken in that time, changing how much fat or protein. If you suss it out please let me know. I need to lose at leat another 10 stone, so it's not like my body saying this is where my weight should be either

hopefully yours is just a blip.
 
I bloomin hope it is a blip! I don't think id survive on 1000 calories. Would be so hungry....its not monthlies either sadly. Just no rhyme or reason to this....I'm baffled...I've even checked my scales are ok! Grasping at straws..wondering if my body is just settling into lchf. Let's hope I start losing soon
 


You need MUCH more fluid. Have you considered this could also be impacting on the shade of pink on your Ketostix? Being dehydrated won't be doing you any favours.

And, I doubt you could really gain 8lbs in a week, unless your calorie intake was rather significant.
 
I don't know, life can be a mystery, my advice would be to keep your protein normal, cut your carbs and replace it with fat
I did drink 2lt a day, now I drink 1lt water [I need to exercise more], had a few cups of coffee before and now

http://www.dietdoctor.com/what-happens-if-you-eat-5800-calories-daily-on-an-lchf-diet
The young man Sam Feltham has done a three-week experiment, where he’s been eating enormous amounts of LCHF-food. On average 5794 calories daily of which “only” 10% as carbohydrates (menu).

Morgan Spurlock did a similar experiment: he ate 5,000 calories daily for 30 days – at McDonalds. The difference was that this was not an LCHF diet, but HCHF (high carb high fat). There were about as many “excessive” calories, but Spurlock did not only gain 3.5 lbs (1.7 kg). He gained a whopping 24.5 lbs (11.1 kg).
 
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Will try 20g of carb instead of 35g....and up the fats. Worth a try at least. That's an interesting link thankyou. Off to investigate it....
 
alliebee said:
Will try 20g of carb instead of 35g....and up the fats. Worth a try at least. That's an interesting link thankyou. Off to investigate it....
Click to expand...

To be honest, I think you're shooting from the hip here.

You have had one result you really didn't like (weight) and you're now proposing taking in more water and flexing your diet. If that worked, how would you know what had worked. Change one thing at a time, then you know the result. And, I'd start by drinking more water. At 2ltrs a day, that's a fundamental, so you need to do that whatever your weight-loss scenario. If you go slashing your carbs, you could be doing that for no advantage. And for added potential insult, I find if I go too low carb my blood scores rise, a bit, not fall. So, please, just one thing at a time.
 
Fats are very calorific. Do you check the MFP calorie entries against the nutrition labels and/or internet? You may have a shock. I find most member submitted entries to be wrong and always enter my own from reliable sources. Also, it is so easy to misjudge the amounts you are having - do you weigh your cream, butter, olive oil etc or do you just guess because it looks like the same amount when you last weighed it 2 weeks ago?

8lbs is an enormous amount in a week. Are your scales right? Did you weigh at the same time of day under the same circumstances? Personally I would weigh myself every morning straight out of bed for the next week and see what happens.
 
Hi, @alliebee
Because you have good control, I am sure that you can soon make the necessary adjustments to your diet.
The only thing I would do, is weigh yourself daily, then take the average weekly weight. If we check our BG many times, allows me to think a daily weight calculation can be helpful in the long run and interesting results.
What is your definition of "increasing healthy fats" ( I am not a fan of the words High Fats )
When your BG is better, you may be on a winner and hopefully a blip with the extra lbs.
 
I think you are right. It was just so disheartening...I'll up the water but stay on 35g of carb...just give it all time I guess. Thanks so much to all of you for all the great advice
 
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