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mystery weight gain

J

johnme

Well-Known Member
Messages
192
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
hi
ive successfully followed lchf since November. ive had a really bad chest over the last 10 days and have been more or less confined to the house (went for one long walk and it made me feel terrible) but whats really unnerving is that, without changing anything else I appear to have put on 4 kilos! Im baffled by this, so much so I wondered if the scales were wrong. Can anyone shed any light? Throughout the diet ive been having porridge for breakfast but have so far lost abt 20 kilos in this way. Putting on 4 in less than a week is a nasty shock
 
there is really a lot of carbs almost pure carb in porridge, and since you do not move a lot you dont burn it like you usually do and also your insuline if you are a type 2 diabetic is very raised ( almost always is ), and then the body only seems to be able to store the carbs as fat...

Maybe you also have some water retension from being sedentary or maybe have been eating more sodium..
my advice would be that you when being ill eat only fats and proteins for breakfast and as little carbs as possible...
but since you haven´t written what type of diabetes you have got, it is really hard to advice you as what is good for type 2 can be devastating advice for a type 1 diabetic..
 
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Thanks. type 2. I lost the 20 kilos with porridge for breakfast - its my only carb. i'll stop it till things turn round, but I was a bit shocked by the speed of weight gain
 
johnme said:
Thanks. type 2. I lost the 20 kilos with porridge for breakfast - its my only carb. i'll stop it till things turn round, but I was a bit shocked by the speed of weight gain
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yes it is a lot, so I don´t think all of it can be fat gained , don´t worry so much ... just get well and then see if most of it doesn´t drop off in a few days..
 
if you change you signature under your avatar so it right away says what type you are , then people will advice much more easy
 
thanks I will when next at a computer - Im posting from a phone
 
Some serious heart or lung problems can also cause fluid retention, which would result in weight going up. It's important to talk to a doctor about it.
 
Thanks for the replies. i dont think I have a heart problem as I can walk 10 miles or cycle 30 plus with no big deal! However my chest is sore as hell from the cold - maybe thats made me retain fluid. i'll go and mither the gp
 
Infection/virus raises blood glucose levels and insulin response for longer than you are actually feeling ill. This combined with lack of normal high levels of exercise and I would expect to see weight gain. Are you testing you testing blood glucose?
 
johnme said:
Thanks. type 2. I lost the 20 kilos with porridge for breakfast - its my only carb. i'll stop it till things turn round, but I was a bit shocked by the speed of weight gain
Click to expand...
I would say that if you are usually active then you are compensating for the excess carbs in the porridge through exercise. As you are not exercising at the moment then the carbs in the porridge will cause your insulin resistance to flare up and store all your other food as fat rather than burning it. Just my thoughts on it.
 
Thanks Alison - Id stopped testing while i had it because theres not much point, but I just did and actually my bg is over 10 today and Ive only eaten two poached eggs! This is starting to sound like the answer.
And yes bulkbiker I think I agree with you. But 4 kilos is shocking. Ive put new batteries in the scales just in case
 
I've had a couple of weeks with slightly higher carbs (50g - 60g rather than 30g - 40g) and slightly less walking (5 - 7 miles a day rather than 8 - 10) - I put on two kilos with no other change, and no illness.

It's gone as soon as I upped the walking and lowered the carbs again, but I was also amazed at the speed of weight gain. My bloods, however, have been good through this spell of time (which is why I decided to risk 20 or so grams of carbs more. I'm definitely best below 50gs!)
 
I suffered an out of the blue couple of kilo gain a few weeks ago which I isolated down to drinking boullion cubes - with too much salt. I changed to making my own bone broths now.
 
When the body has an injury it protects the injury by swelling. Just like a twisted ankle/ wrist etc. It will also direct fluid to the heart or lungs. I think 4 kilos in a week is fluid much more so than fat. That being said it wouldn't hurt to cut down on the carbs as well as watch your sodium intake. I love salt but if I over eat it I will gain over night !! Both carbs and sodium will raise the scale. As well as an injury/ illness.
 

To be honest, unless you were having a culinary extravaganza, I doubt you have truly gained a full 4kg (but I could be wrong!).

Have you noticed any change on your bathroom habits since you have been unwell? If that routine is a bit slower, you may have a little more "on-board" that should right itself.

I would also weigh myself again tomorrow and see what the scales say tomorrow. We can and do vary from day-to-day.

Finally, I'd check the scales hadn't been nudged, if they're manual ones. You can usually adjust those, a bit like a watch. If they are digital, and battery operated, I might be inclined to change the batteries, just in case they're misreading due to a lower voltage.
 
4.4 I'm afraid, and I have one of those super accurate Aria things which will give you a read out to your fitbit account over a period. It's not even a week - the weight change has been since Wednesday! Before that a steady controlled if shallow decline in weight.
I know what you mean about 'bathroom habits'. I don't think it's that. I don't believe I've even eaten 4k since Wednesday. Of course I'd have drunk a great deal more than that (in my case mostly tea but water too)

And I'm afraid I tried changing batteries... all that did was rather gloomily confirmed it. Thanks for reading and posting all
 
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