I know I know - Added Exercise and Gaining Weight but

(Nicole Sawchuk) #1

I’m probably going to get slaughtered for asking about this, and while I understand that muscle weighs more than fat, I feel like I am doing something wrong and I need advice…here’s my long back story…
I have been low carb for about 3 years and went full keto almost a year ago (I finally got strict) after reading the Obesity Code. To drop the weight, I incorporated fasting and would do lots of 3 - 5 days per week fasts. I gave up exercise and just focused on nutrition during this time. Like the science said - it worked and I dropped 30 pounds! Last November, fasting became harder and I could no longer do more than 24 hours. So I listened to my body and stopped longer fasts. Worked fine for me since I am a busy working mom. So for the next phase, I made sure that when I was eating that OMAD, it was nutrient calorie dense! Naturally my weight stalled but I was essentially at my goal weight (and I loved the way I looked). Since I only had maybe 5 - 7 lbs left to lose I felt it was no big deal.
I made it through Christmas, a trip to Mexico and everything stayed the same! Yay! The New Year hit, and I decided that for 2018, I wanted to bring exercise back to my life to tone up and build muscle. Plus my blood glucose levels could use a little more tweaking (I was never type 2 but I was very insulin resistant).

So I started doing TRX routines and kettlebell. Again I am busy person, so I usually only get in a 20 - 30 minute workout 2-3 times a week. I do these exercises while fasted. Immediately the weight started creeping up. But I didn’t think much about it. I knew this was to be expected in the beginning…In fact, I was amazed that after taking a year off, my strength has returned so quickly! I feel great!

BUT…I have gained 5 pounds in a 1.5 months! I know - you are thinking its muscle gain, which I was willing to buy into but my monthly measurements are also creeping up and not in my arms or legs, but in my hips, my belly etc! Everywhere I don’t want to increase! Now, if the inches were coming off (or staying steady), I think this would be less of an issue but to my surprise, they are increasing!

I admit that I am panicking but I hate the fact that I am hitting the one year mark of a “diet” and the weight is creeping up. I recognize that since I started working out, I have begun to probably eat more but that makes sense to me since I am expending more and trying to build muscles. I am typically not a calorie counter because it is a hassle to me and I like to eat to my body’s cues. But two weeks ago, I decided to weigh all my food for a few days to see what I was consuming and I was easily getting over 2100 calories. So what am I doing wrong? I feel like its something obvious that I am just not seeing!

Here is my typical life:

  1. I am just under 5’9" at 39 years old. For the last few months I was around 145 lbs and in the last month I am up to 150 lbs (not sure if this matters).
  2. I eat OMAD (or in a 2 - 3 hour window). Why? I wake up at 4:30 am and by time I pick up kids from daycare/school. Its 4:30 pm before I get home. I am busy from the moment I get to work until I leave. My job causes me to do a lot of road trips to small remote towns during the work week. Not eating during the day keeps my mind sharp and full of energy. I LOVE fasting. But since getting under a BMI of 22%, I find I can’t fast longer than 24 hours (could push to 36 hours). I get hungry now (granted its not hangry). So OMAD is a convenience thing. Weekends, I will eat two meals a day. No snacking. I don’t drink coffee/tea, I rarely have BPC.
  3. I workout just before supper. So I am in the fasted state about 20 hours by this point. Its at home with my dumbbells, kettlebells or TRX. My workouts are about 20 - 30 minutes and they are HIIT. Its a good sweat and my muscles are fatigue in that short time.
  4. I’m in bed and asleep by 9:30 pm and I sleep great!
  5. My blood glucose levels are running around 4.8 - 5.2 mmol. I’d like them to be consistently under 5.0 ( I do experience the dawn phenomenon in the morning). My ketones are around 1. I only measure those once a week just to ensure I am still in ketosis.
  6. I struggle with cramping in my feet. I take over 2 tsp of salt per day and during my workout I add another 1/2 tsp. I supplement with lots of Magnesium and my potassium source is avocado per day! But I find I recover quickly from my workouts.
  7. The type of food I am eating has stayed relatively the same the last few months. I like to cook. I am probably eating more protein than I did before Christmas but my blood glucose levels have stayed low so I assumed that was okay.
  8. Mentally I feel good. My life is no more stressful than before. I feel like I am in a good place.

My mental roadblocks:

  1. OMAD is so convenient! I hate pre-packing food! I hate having to stop to eat during the day. But I do love good food! I don’t have cravings other than for a good steak!
  2. Just eating keto is not enough for me to lose weight. As soon as I start eating consistently twice a day, the weight goes up. Fasting seems to be the only way I lose weight. Even before exercise, when I increased my eating window, the weight came up again. I am assuming its because I am still insulin resistant and I still have work to do, hence the reason I wanted to add exercise.
  3. I know the scale lies! It swings a lot. But this is a consistent increase. I could let the weight gain go if my measurements weren’t also increasing consistently with the scale!
  4. I already get up stupid early and race out the door, so its just not feasible for me to switch when I eat or workout. For example: eating only breakfast or working out first thing in the morning.

Despite all those “mental roadblocks”, I really want to improve or at least stop everything from going the wrong way. So what can I try? Where am I going wrong after everything going so right for so long? Do I eat more? Try to eat less?
Is this a temporary weight gain? Who else has experienced this and what happened?

Honestly - just writing this down has made me feel silly but its bugging me.

#2

I know how frustrating it can be when you’re doing everything according to plan and that scale doesn’t cooperate! Honestly, my very-non-scientific-opinion is that you’re likely carrying around fluid weight from your muscles working to repair themselves after a workout. I know whenever I experience pretty intense DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) the scale is up at least a couple of pounds. As hard as this is, maybe put the scale away for a month and just focus on the nutrition and exercise. Perhaps your body just needs a bit more time to adjust to the new exercise program. Also, I’m not sure where I heard this (I’m thinking it’s the latest video on the IDM membership site) but Megan Ramos said that women need to fast for at least 2-3 hours after their workout in order to get the most fat burning benefits. If it fits into your schedule, maybe try exercising a few hours before your meal? When all else fails: KCKO. Remember this is a lifestyle and when you’re eating keto and exercising, you’ll reap heaps of benefits even if they don’t come in the time frame you’re hoping/expecting :facepunch:

(Nicole Sawchuk) #3

Thanks for your response! I don’t doubt it might be extra fluid weight. Some days I hate the fact everything is interconnected and layered making it difficult to pinpoint the root cause! Sometimes its hard to stay calm and trust the process especially after such a long journey.
I have yet to watch the video on IDM yet. Might do that soon and see what I can do.

I’m hopeful in a few months I will look back at this and laugh.

(Ken) #4

Easy now, let’s not create problems that don’t exist. Let’s review your current State, according to your description.

You’ve gained five pounds by the scale, but you’re still secreting ketones. Therefore, you’re still lipolytic. Your five pound gain is not enough to recompensate glycogen, let alone the fact you wouldn’t be producing ketones if that was happening. It is highly unlikely, near on impossible that your gain was body fat.

What could it be? Well, a few things. Exercise makes you thirsty. Water is drawn into the muscle as part of the stimulus-response reaction to training, assisting in muscle repair and development. It’s normal for your muscles to get bigger, especially initially, as existing muscle fibers get bigger and stronger. This is often called “newbie gains”. It happens before you actually start to add additional muscle fibers, a process called “Recruitment”. It’s more likely in women who start training, as they’re usually using muscles in very different ways than they ever have before. Actual recruitment of new muscle is typically slower, as women don’t secrete nearly as much testosterone as men. Salt intake can also be an explanation, water retention is the fastest way to flux weight.

IMO, you’re probably experiencing some combination of water retention and muscular development, not fat gain.

I recommend a full set of pictures and muscle measurements, so you can better track progress.

(Nicole Sawchuk) #5

Thank you for your explanation and the reassurance! It is much appreciated and is exactly what I need to hear!

(Karen) #6

And then there’s the dairy question. Worth trying a dairy free week?

K

(Brandan E. Lloyd) #7

FWIW, I had been in a stall for awhile but I gave up dairy for a month and I dropped about 8 pounds. I’m not sure if I should be proud that I dropped so much or horrified that I was eating that much dairy. I am on my second month now without it and I may let it ride to see what happens. I also decided to remove all artificial sweeteners this month to see what effect that has on me. :crossed_fingers:

(Nicole Sawchuk) #8

I eat dairy (high fat cheese only) maybe 3 times a week so it wouldn’t be hard to cut out so it’s worth a shot. I have cut out dairy many times before with no impact. But you never know. Changing it up would be good. I should probably cut out nuts for a month or so. But because I had been eating only OMAD, macadamia nuts with that meal were a good way to bump up the fat content and get me feeling fuller!

I had cut out sweeteners a long time ago. Since I don’t drink coffee or tea and I don’t eat fat bombs, I maybe use a few drops of stevia a few times a month.

I think you guys are all correct with your suggestions and have given me ideas to try!

@240lbfatloss thank you again for your explanation again!