Eschewed all the holiday carbs - still gained!? Bummed

(Meara McLaughlin) #1

First off, thanks to all the good folks who share in this forum, it has been great on so many topics.

Brief history. 120 pounds to lose. Started LCHF in late Sept 2017. Lost 25 pound in the first 2 weeks, then stalled for 6+ weeks. Leaned heavily on this forum to keep myself from giving up. Positive MD appointment encouraged too. Then in mid November, a small amount of weight started to come off again. I took that to mean that I had finally become fat adapted (yay!). Thrilled to go into the holiday (hosting 18 people for five days at my beach house) with a strong commitment to Keto.

I tracked everything I ate/drank, stayed below 20 Net carbs every day. Ended up eating less than 1200 every day with 70% from fat and protein less than 20% I was never hungry and was eating only at meals (and skipping some for IF 16:8). During the big meal, I ate turkey and green beans and brussell sprouts - no stuffing, no alchohol, no potatoes or pie. I felt proud and strong.

I donā€™t want to add this to a paragraph about food, but after two months on keto, I started having daily BMā€™s, that I took to mean my body is settling into this way of eating as normal. Another proud moment. When we returned to town, I got some sort of gut bug and suffered watery runs. unpleasant, but I kept telling myself that it would only mean more weight off when I finally weighed myself in the morning to enjoy the fruits of my good behavior.

So, finally this morning I get on the scaleā€¦I GAINED 3 pounds over the course of the weekend. WTF!!! I then measured to see if perhapsā€¦Nope. Not a single 1/16th down on any dimension.

What can I adjust to make this things work? Iā€™ll plan on some fasting (Iā€™ve done only up to 24 hours so far - cuz I always have company and it is hard) but any tips or adjustments/suggestions would really be appreciated.

I am a bit confused by an article that is now being pointed to on this forum that suggests more (or equal) protein to fat. That is not what I have been hearing. Help.

(Ken) #2

Youā€™re fine. It was/is only water weight, primarily due to salt intake, with perhaps a small amount of glycogen recompensation. If you donā€™t use body measurements to track progress, I suggest you start. Around one pound of fat loss per week is very reasonable, but it can be masked by a variety of fluid retention issues.

#3

Remember the NSYNC song, I Drive Myself Crazy (Thinking Of You) just change the ā€œyouā€ to ā€œmeā€ when you sing it to yourselfā€¦ :grin:

Seriously, donā€™t let day to day fluctuations on the scale drive you crazy. Sometimes our body has a will of its own. Once, during the middle of an extended fast, I stayed at the exact same weight for 3 straight days. Not eating anything! Just recently, I gained 12 lbs in less than two days. It came off again almost as quickly, once I fasted. These are not small fluctuations for someone who weighs 185. Keep calm and stay the course.

(Dawn) #4

Three poundsā€¦ohhh dear you need to take a deep breath and KCKO. Three pounds is nothing. By the time you read this message you will probably have dropped those three pounds. I gained about 9 pounds in just a few days and it dropped right back off a few days later with no changes to my diet. Three pound gain is likely just water. Especially if you ate a few more veggies than normal or drank more water than normal. Please donā€™t let this discourage you. If it is really really bothering you, do a quick 24 hour fast to get it off and then go back to your normal schedule. Youā€™ve got this.

#5

I easily fluctuate 3-5 lbs from day to day with no change in eating at allā€“for me, itā€™s just normal water fluctuations. Thatā€™s one reason I weigh dailyā€“i.e., when I weighed weekly, I could hit one of the ā€˜highā€™ days and think Iā€™d gained. This way, I see how I ā€˜loseā€™ extra pounds the next day.

(Meara McLaughlin) #6

Thanks for all the calming words. I do body measurements - ā€œnot 1/16th reduced on any dimensionā€. I also had liquid (almost all water) diarrhea for four hours the night before I weighed so I have trouble believing it was water weight. I appreciate that one day can be misleading about a general trend though and I just need to calm the feck down. But I wanted to make these points clear n case it prompted any other thoughts

(Marie Dantoni) #7

I think.your body was holding fluid due to the dehydrating effect of the stomach bug.

(Tim) #8

Before reaching my target weight, I used this strategy as well. I think itā€™s much better for your peace of mind than weighing weekly or monthly for the reason you stated. With more data points you get a much better idea of the overall trend. I also make sure to weigh myself in the morning, before eating or drinking anything, preferably after all morning eliminations.

#9

I forgot to mention that I also record my daily weight on my calendar because a view of the month is a great
indicator of how well Iā€™m maintaining. Iā€™ve maintained a weight loss of close to 180 lbs for the past 8 years.

(Tracey M) #10

Iā€™m surprised Iā€™ve not seen anybody experienced saying ā€˜eat more fatā€™ to boost your metabolism, as thatā€™s what I usually see suggested on weight loss stalling posts? :thinking:

I just wanted to pop in to say, I went abroad for a week last week, and had to break keto as I didnā€™t want to limit our eating options (my partner isnā€™t keto). I expected to put on an absolute tonne of weight, mostly water obvs, but when I weighed myself this morningā€¦ only 2 pounds up (1 of which is fat). Weird beard.

I think you gained my weight, and for that Iā€™m sorry!! :heart:

(KCKO, KCFO šŸ„„) #11

Inflammation can cause you to bounce upwards. And while we love our family and friends, hosting a large get together can cause stress. When those two go down, the weight should too. You didnā€™t eat enough calories to gain 3 lbs.

Congrats on staying on program during that holiday.

Keep Calm and Keto On.

(Darla Birchall Nofziger) #12

The thing I donā€™t think anyone has mentioned here is that muscle is heavier than fat. As your body replaces fat with muscle, it also causes weight fluctuations. I call it reconstituting. Ups & downs will happen with hormone cycles, salt intake & dehydration. Also if you become too acidic or toxic the metabolism slows temporarily to prevent autointoxication. The scale tells one tale, how clothes fit & you look can tell a different one. Remember true failure can only happen if you give up!

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #13

And to add to it all, are you sure your scale is all that accurate? Mine lies to me all the time. I have weighed myself three times in a row and gotten a different weight each time. How I stand on the scale can affect the reading, for heavenā€™s sake. It used to throw me, until I figured all this out. Seriously, the only truly accurate scale is a balance scale; a spring scale can only give you a ball-park figure. I donā€™t know about your scale, but three pounds is certainly well within my scaleā€™s margin of error! :bacon:

(Rob) #14

Iā€™ve been through a few scales, as many of us probably have, and have found that the platform for the scale is vitally important (must be solid/hard, not carpet and be level), as is your body positioning on and above the scale. Leaning forward/back/left/right a bit can mess with the readings. I have been happy with Omron digital spring scales which I can manipulate a bit by shifting weight around (.2lbs usually), but are consistent if I am consistent in my approach to standing on them.
Mine has all kinds of body composition analytics based on electrical conductance through feet and handle sensors but I donā€™t have much faith in those features, so I would recommend the more basic models if you are unhappy with yours. None of them have fancy smartphone connections.

Mine
https://www.amazon.com/Omron-Body-Composition-Monitor-Scale/dp/B001803OS6/ref=pd_sbs_121_4?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=D8H7E9N8W36G8JRK0R4V
Basic
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000FJQ48I?ref=emc_b_5_t