HELP! Up 22+ pounds in a year!

(Kim Miller) #1

HELP!

I am at a loss for what to do…I have been LCHF ketogenic for several years. I’m 49 yo at 5’2" I was 205+ about 7 years ago, started an Atkins type eating plan that evolved into LCHF ketogenic about 2 years into that. At my lowest, I was 135 pounds and was happy there. My weight is creeping up and this morning I was mortified to see 161 on the scale! I have been checking blood ketones and sometimes they fall down to .3, but never below that, usually .5 or so, so I haven’t fallen out of ketosis.

I am under a lot of stress (new job with travel away from home most weeknights, teenage boys, money issues/house needs work), usually stress controlled by a consistent yoga practice, but that is affected by the new job i began 6 months ago. I also discontinued tamoxifen in May (estrogen blocker after breast cancer) after 5 years -estrogen affected?

I was previously IF-ing more because I was in field sales and wouldn’t eat until an eating window around dinner time. New job requires me to host the people I’m training and it would be weird to sit with them and not eat (most times there is only one new person).

Full disclosure, I am eating a lot of calories. 2500+. Which seems so obviously the problem, but I was eating that many calories prior to the gain. And, I’m an emotional sweets eater, so I have been making myself comfort keto treats-again, seems obvious. But, why am i not feeling full and satiated? Why such strong urges for these things? And what can I do about it? Guess its hormones…

Just wish there was a blueprint to follow that I can work into my life…Do i just cut out all the treats and stop at a certain amount of calories? I need the crutch and I love to eat! I’m never going back to who I was, love this lifestyle…but desperately need help in stopping the downward spiral!!

Has anyone that follows LCHF keto found the “Cure” to correct this weight rebound, without it feeling like torture? I appreciate any of your expert opinions because regular people in my life don’t get it, I can’t seek help from my doctors, they certainly won’t get it!!

Thanks in advance. Not sure link below is showing, but its a graph of weight gain from fitbit.com.

Kim

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(jay) #2

@Kimmilla If I had to guess it’s the treats,
if you don’t it keep a food diary it would be worth making little notes, it can be a simple as sending yourself a coded text…cheesy fat bomb… 3 CBs, it will be date and time coded for you. Then you can go back over the text and get a good idea of your total carbs. I’ve never used a ketone meter, strips as they all have limits and issues, not to mention the extra expense (im cheap by nature ) Go back to bacon and eggs until you get back, to your baseline comfort zone then over time slowly add and test any questionable food items.

(A ham loving ham! - VA6KD) #3

One of the things that really drove it home for me was realizing just how little sugars our bodies can store and circulate around the system, compared to fats. It’s in the order of a day or two worth of energy as glucose (a few 10’s of grams maximum) vs many weeks or months as fats (several 10’s of pounds or more)…and that’s for a relatively normal weight person. To further that point, then I realized just how much sugars and carbs are in our standard (American) diets. It’s truly staggering. Our systems are literally drinking from a fire hose of sugars and carbs near constantly. And moreso, sugars and refined carbs are everywhere! They have been added to almost all processed foods. Their presence is pervasive and intrusive.

Those points made me totally drop all intentional sugar from my intake and to drop all but incidental carbs too. Yes, it was hard and I fell of the wagon several times, but each time was shorter lived and easier to get back on board.

It kills me when the kids sit down with cookies and milk or a bag full of potato chips or chocolate covered nuts. But I’ve convinced myself that nothing tastes as good as skinny feels (in terms of sweet treats). I’ve been fairly strict on keto for almost a year now going back a year ago, if someone slapped down a box of donuts in front of me, I was the guy going for seconds and thirds because the more I ate (refined carbs and sugars), the hungrier I got. Now, I don’t even stir when confronted with sugary sweets.

I guess the main point is that even the smallest of sugary treats can really screw up ketosis and given its prevalence, it’s absolutely necessary to scrutinize everything that’s eaten.

Edit: Sorry, upon re-reading that - I don’t mean for it to sound like I’m ragging on anyone! I just I’ve found that lots of people that are struggling (myself included) are having problems because either they’re not aware of hidden carbs and sugars or are aware of them but are not factoring it correctly in their consumption. You can also absolutely gain weight on a strict keto diet with excessive calorific intake, but it’s a lot harder to gain weight than on an excessive non-keto diet.

(jay) #4

@keehan
This-

:bacon: is close :grinning:

(Kim Miller) #5

Thank you for your response. I’m guessing the sweets too, they are definitely not helping! I do keep a journal, use MFP. In fact, I’ve logged in for 1000 something days in a row! Maybe i should be doing total carbs too, and not subtracting fiber, etc. I have to keep making some extra foods, fathead pizza, some treats, etc as my 15 yo son is keto too now. Very proud of him, lost 25 pounds in a couple months! But don’t want him to feel deprived. I can make things for him and avoid them. I just hope the weight comes back off, I fear I will cut way back and the weight will keep piling on!

(Edith) #6

I would imagine the treats are causing your insulin to spike and increased insulin means no fat burning. That would also explain why you are hungry all the time despite eating so many calories. You’ve got to stop the treats. :slight_smile:

(Kim Miller) #7

I can probably live on bacon and cream cheese, I’ll survive! Just gotta remember that nothing tastes as good as skinny feels, so true!!

(Deb) #8

A couple of things that set me back even when I was “eating right”: too much cheese, too much peanut butter, too many nuts, too many treats in general, too much fat ( once I learned my metabolic deficit, I knew how much energy my body fat already provided; if I ate too much dietary fat, I never lost, and sometimes gain), too much protein.

I also watched a video of Dr. Eric Westman who said when you cheat or go against your way of eating, you set yourself back 3 days! That really hit home for me! I thought it was like 12 hours! Now I just don’t buy the stuff that triggers my binges, and my “treats”: celery sticks with a tiny piece of pepperjack or blue cheese dressing.

(Susan) #9

Definitely think that counting total carbs may help, it’s certainly worth a try for at least a couple of weeks.

(Sjur Gjøstein Karevoll) #10

Both stress and changes in sex hormones could explain why you’re gaining weight. With your increased appetite and hunger for comfort foods I would guess stress is having the most effect. Chronically elevated cortisol (the main stress hormone) can cause weight gain and in particularly it causes an increase in visceral fat which is the worst type of fat tissue.

Unfortunately chronic stress is much harder to fix that just cutting out carbs, not the least because it’s such an individual thing. I can give you some tips which might work for you, but you really have to figure this one out yourself.

You mentioned how yoga worked in the past, but if that is becoming too hard to do consistently you could also look into meditation and walking. Both require zero set-up, you can even do them in your everyday clothes, and you can do them for as long or short as you want. Meditation isn’t just calming in itself, it also helps you to deal with everyday situations without stressing out about them. Walking is great both for the exercise benefits (which are present even when you’re just going at a leisurely tempo, and also include stress-reduction), but more importantly it gives you time alone to think. Spending some time every day on introspection and processing the events that are going on in your life is very good for your mental health. Even just 5 minutes of either activity is going to have benefits, and if you can manage 20 minutes every day (which isn’t that much at all considering you don’t have to spend time getting ready) my guess is you would start seeing improvement pretty quick. Also make sure you get enough sleep. Finally, don’t neglect yourself. If you’re looking for things that need to be done you can always find more, so don’t push your own needs to be back of the priority queue.

(jay) #11

Morton Table Salt (sugars, dextrose is added as anticaking agents),most Commercial Bacon (sugars are added as preservatives) granted the quantities by themself don’t seem to be enough to kick me out of ketosis but mixed with nuts and cheese as @keehan says it all adds up and can be tricky to follow to the gram. Throw in a couple of treats and bam your back on the carbo spiral.

(Cameron Ashley) #12

I love the Ketogenic diet. Its helped me to see even more than simply fat is good and carbs are bad.

I would suggest reading up on Dr Gundrys site and the book is amazing. In it he explains how the bacteria in our body makes us crave these things you’re struggling with. http://gundrymd.com/food-pyramid/

Even though it’s keto sweets, you may be feeding bad bacteria with the dairy or even the sweeteners. Too much of a good thing isn’t good.

Cutting out lectins and other things like milk and cheese will help feed good bacteria and give you better stress management and more cravings for food like avocados and veggies.

(James Edward Pedigo) #13

Hello Kimmilla
I am on a low carb diet myself. I have also been on testosterone therapy for two years. I noticed what you said about going off of estrogen blockers. Being on testosterone therapy causes estrogen levels to rise. Right now I am in the same boat you are in. I track all of my food and very rarely do I eat more than 30 grams of carbs per day. I also do not eat a lot of fat.
High levels of estrogen cause your body to store fat, mostly around your midsection. No amount of dieting is going to fix that. I am on my way to our local vitamin shoppe to talk to someone about natural estrogen blockers. If that doesn’t work, I will be having a serious conversation with my doctor. (I mentioned this to him about a year ago when my weight loss slowed down and he laughed). I would see about trying to get back on the blockers. I would just about guarantee that the cravings and extra weight will go away.

(Donna Apperson) #14

I am a nurse & I have done Keto & IF. I agree that you should definitely journal your food. I use fitness pal. That would give you a clearer picture of what is going on. Hormones do play a part so if you haven’t had a yearly checkup then maybe you should have a talk with your doctor about checking your thyroid. If that is all fine then think about how you relate to food. What I have found in my experience in helping people that true lasting transformation only comes with daily commitment to mind transformation. I think you have already acknowledged that by saying your emotional eater. Hope that helps in some small ways. Keep up the great work! I love hearing people act preventively to take charge of their health. :blush::heart:

(JAMES TALLMAN) #15

May I throw out there for your consideration researching the amino acid L-glutamine

(Kim Miller) #16

Thank you all for the suggestions! I have L-glutamine, but haven’t taken it lately. That’s supposed to cut down on sweet cravings? Will go back to that…anybody know what dose is ideal?

Sleep is something that has been affected for sure, there is just so much to do, I cant get to bed early enough. I am going to make a conscious effort to get to bed earlier for sure. Looks like I’ve been averaging a bit over 6 hours, not enough!

The walking/meditation recommendation is great! The meditative aspects of yoga is definitely something I miss, but I can meditate even if not able to get to a yoga class! And walking…when I’m home I find a 1/2 hour daily to walk my dogs, for their benefit and mine! Unfortunately they aren’t with me when I’m away, so the 30 min walk doesn’t happen. I do go the fitness center when I’m away to do either HIIT stationary bike or treadmill, just so I don’t get “stale.”

(Mason Birch) #17

If you have a bulletproof coffee for breakfast you can add intermittent fasting. Have an early dinner and don’t eat a meal again for 18 hours and that can boost weight loss. Also an occasional protein fasting day can help. Cut protein as low as possible for one day.

(Nancy Nancersin) #18

My advice is to first give yourself a huge hug. You have been through a lot. A cancer diagnosis is a trauma no matter what the prognosis. Forgive yourself for the wt gain, make peace with it and then pick one or two strategies to incorporate in your routine and be patient. It’s about health, not weight. You will be OK.

(Chiro Man) #19

Definitely agree with some of the points above cortisol and stress levels can definitely trigger weight gain especially the visceral kind which is the bad type… hidden sugars is obvious but you said you’re staying in ketosis, don’t forget over doing protein feeds the sugar cycle where fat is the ketones…

With more time working and less time exercising your total caloric need is probably lower, did you adjust how much you’re eating… The stress and cortisol levels may be making you hungrier… Intermittent fasting is a great solution to get your body’s sense of hunger back on track as well as lower your total caloric intake.

I’m a healthcare provider who recently lost a lot of weight and I found the intermittent fasting to be more helpful of a tool than the ketosis. I think staying and ketosis constantly is counterproductive when you’re fasting you will exit ketosis when you eat whatever food you’re eating and re-enter during your fast. It keeps your body guessing and let’s your body rest and repair. I personally take break from the keto diet every few months.

Any diet in general your body doesn’t like, your body is always waiting for the next drought or famine and trying to save as much as it can. If you are consistently losing weight your body will lower your metabolism accordingly no matter what diet you do… There’s some counterintuitive ideas that it’s hard for me to get patients to wrap their head around… Like sometimes you have to eat a little more to reset your metabolism but that does not means they’re eating more forever it’s a short time and then going back to behaving which is hard for most of us who are overweight.

More isn’t always better…
Like Exercise is essential to Gear Up proteins in your cells to lose fat like but overdoing can cause injury quickly. But you can’t outrun a poor diet if you look at how many calories are in one fast food meal and how much exercise you’d have to do to out exercise that it’s impossible.

Good fat can help you burn fat but don’t forget fat is very calories dense it’s easier to over consume calories with fat.

Too much protien can stop your with loss…
Think energy like currency your body runs on two different types sugars and fats (protien is converted into sugar)… If you are constantly burning sugar your body has no reason to go into its fat Reserves… Your body likes to run on sugar primarily because it’s easy… You store glycogen with excess calories immediately upon eating any carbs and if you’re not eating carbs it will make excess sugar from protein and even a little from fat. So you will burn any calories you’ve taken in through food then your glycogen stores then your fat stores…

Usually if my patients are hitting a wall or regressing I would recommend trying a different system even if it’s temporary. It forces you to start making different meals and Shake It Up. If your body has learned your normal habits and adapted to be more efficient and forces it to readapt now… I know this is a ketogenic forum and is probably fopa to recommend taking a break from a ketogenic diet… But what I would try is still eating very low carb maybe 20% of your calories from carbs try and taking about 40 to 60 grams of protein which I think works out to be about 30%and about 50% from fats… It’s essentially a less strict diet similar to Keto… If you’re not into counting calories or macros how I describe it is try to eat 5 to 6 servings of vegetables maybe 1 to 2 servings of fruit and only if you want it , and 4-6 servings of fats… It is not hard to get 40 to 60 grams of protein that is essentially three eggs and a large steak… A 4 ounce piece of chicken I think has 33 grams of protein so overdoing protein is not that hard. You’ll notice I gave ranges I don’t think you should eat the exact same amount of food calories or macros on every single day mixing up your intake keeps your body guessing just like the intermittent fasting. And any exercise on top of that also will mix up your total calorie expenditure for the day as well further making it hard for your body to adapt.

(Chiro Man) #20

Good point, I second that… Huge hug from us too! Making one small change forever is how I lost the weight (down 55lbs over the past year). That’s how you keep it off. If you don’t go “on” a diet you won’t go “off” it. It sounds cheesy but it is the lifestyle changes… Pick your weakest spot and as your self how can I improve it… Don’t do it all or nothing either phase over weeks. If you are slowly moving forward it’s harder to backslide into old habits.