Maintenance is harder than I thought!

(Natasha) #41

Ken, your posts on this give me hope! In the past I’ve lost a lot of weight on a 600kcal shake/meal replacement plan - and was so discouraged when I’d see massive scale gains after eating any kind of meal, so what you say about glycogen vs fat gains is encouraging and makes some sense of those crazy gains I saw after doing meal replacement shakes.

What are your thoughts on weight gain that doesn’t come from an over indulgence of carbs though? Can that happen without ‘refilling’ glycogen or does the glycogen part always have to happen before any ‘real’ fat gain even with a fat/protein based diet?

(Ken) #42

Yeah, I’m not a Little Guy.

(Ken) #43

Weight gain that does not involve full liver glycogen is primarily water flux, usually involving things like salt intake. Plus the actual weight of the food you eat. The other reason is muscle gain, which happens at a fairly slow rate. Some people have claimed to be able to gain fat while following Keto, and I’m not claiming it cannot happen, but in my experience my Leptin response is so strong it hasn’t happened to me. It’s hard.enough to regain fat by eating carbs unless you go “Full NAD”, gaining fat by eating Keto seems nearly impossible, at least to me.

(Adam Sheather) #44

Hi Jill,

I think that ultimately it is up to you to decide what you are happy with.

For me to start off with when I first went on keto, I had a cheat day once a month, then it became only on very special occasions & far less frequently, partly because I felt like rubbish for about a day afterwards, (carb headache) & partly because I didn’t want to regress too much.

When I restricted myself to super-special occasions, I enjoyed my indulgences more when I did partake but also didn’t beat myself up too bad as I knew it was going to be a long time until I did it again.

I made a bigger exception for myself whilst overseas in Europe with my son & his Mum in December so I could try some of the local food/drink, eg German beer, Italian pasts, pizza, etc - turned into gelato every night + loads of carbs for the last two & a half weeks. I ended up putting 5kgs back on even though we were walking a lot which I sort of expected. Lost it all in the first 4 days back on keto. Probably better sleep, etc too but I did feel strong cravings for a while when I got back. For about a month I was allowing myself artificial sweeteners which is something I normally avoid so that I could wean myself off the carbs bit by bit.

Before I went on keto, I wasn’t aware of any food cravings but now I am aware that I was definitely addicted to carbs.

How far you can go without it becoming a problem for you is something you’ll have to decide for yourself. I think of myself as a recovering carboholic. Carbs once in very long while is OK for me but semi-regularly definitely won’t work for me. I wouldn’t be happy with the results & feeding my old addictions all the time would make it very hard for me.

Some people have problems with alcohol & have to refrain from drinking too often, others have to be total teetotallers to stop from being an alcoholic. Alcohol was never something I craved but carbs were so I know that I need to be careful & know my limitations.

Have a think about it & see what you are happy with, whether it be the weight, health, cravings, etc & be realistic about whether it is going to be sustainable for you. Don’t forget that carbs can be seriously addictive…

This may sound a bit silly seeing as you are a psychotherapist but when I am talking to my son about how he should be acting, I ask him to externalise it & say to himself “If this was one of friends, what advice would I give them?” Sometimes it can be a bit easier to think about something more rationally if it doesn’t seem so deeply personal.

Good luck with all. Just remember at the end of the day that it’s about what you are happy with, not anyone else.

(Jill F.) #45

Thanks @Adam_Sheather I swear sometimes us psychotherapist are the worst patients! Lol I have done a lot of life revisions lately and am focusing on strict keto as a permanent lifestyle not just a means to have lost weight.

I seriously need to look at carbs like an alcoholic looks at drinking I just can not do it. I go down that slippery slope way too fast and have literally no self control.

I have started tracking macros again and have already lost the 5 pounds I had gained so I am happy to be back on track so quickly. Thanks for the feedback!

(KCKO, KCFO 🥥) #46

Adam thanks for sharing your experience. Too many do not stop and think about why they are doing this in the first place.

I have to watch grains, all the other stuff is good. I have to remind myself of how much pain gluten can cause me. I was a grainaholic before. If not wheat then one of the other grains daily, multiple times a day. Once I stopped that, found I could fast without dying. It was all good.

(Adam Sheather) #47

Good on you Jill. I think it’s worthwhile to stick at it especially if you know that you & carbs don’t mix well. You would know what your limits are.

(Adam Sheather) #48

No problem collaroygal. For me, keto is about feeling & (hopefully) being healthy first & foremost.

I can allow little indulgances on very special occasions once in a blue moon but if I choose to cheat at all, my restrictions are set months in advance in my mind & I don’t allow myself to deviate from them so I don’t get gradual carb creep.

Good on you for kicking what you found hard to give up.

(Michael - When reality fails to meet expectations, the problem is not reality.) #49

I find it more than curious that many folks consider it a ‘treat’ to eat the stuff that wrecked their metabolism in the first place. When they call it a ‘cheat’ meal or day, they seem to realize, subconsciously at least, that it’s not really a ‘treat’.

(Natasha) #50

Oh, I so hope this is the case for me! I have no intention of going back to my old WOE, but do hope to enjoy very occasional beans/pulses/sweet potato once I get to maintenance. :grinning: