Maintenance weight gain

weightmaintenance
(Allan L) #1

So, it turns out that you can put on weight on a keto diet and almost as quickly as you can lose it. :wink:

After 8 months of Keto, in January I hit my goal, BMI said I was no longer overweight and in the normal weight range so I generally relaxed a little and stopped focusing on the scales and decreased my fasting days to almost zero, still OMAD or IF but no longer ADF. I still ate LCHF, 20-30g of carbs but took my eye off the ball when it came to fat and protein.

And over a period of 2 months I slowly gained 4kg, (8.8lbs) of fat. As I wasnā€™t weighing myself I finally noticed that my loose T-Shirts and my jeans were getting tighter and tighter so jumped on the scales and discovered the shocking truth.

BMI says I am now overweight again!

So, what have I learnt? Wellā€¦

Extreme calories actually do matter. My body can handle small spikes in calories but not continuous over consumption of calories for months.
Fasting is still required to keep the satiety signalling in check.
Overeating Keto food will cause weight gain, stick within the macros and that in turn keeps you within an acceptable calorie range.

And finally its horrible to start feeling that fat returnā€¦

Iā€™ve already jumped straight back on things and in 2 weeks have lost 50% of the gained weight.

Never again, lesson learnt.

(Ken) #2

For Maintenance, you just have to reduce the frequency that you consume carbs. Itā€™s to allow glycogen levels to drop. It takes a couple of days sans carbs to completely deplete glycogen. Thatā€™s why having a specific amount of carbs added per day is usually a bad idea. It usually creeps up to the point youā€™re in sustained lipogenesis.

(KCKO, KCFO) #3

Glad you got back on your game and the weight is coming off. Much easier to loss 8 than 18, or 28, etc.

Try weighing yourself once a week or so, to keep on top of it.

(Karen Parrott) #4

Yes!!! 1000X yes. This happened to me- I gained 8-10 lbs (Iā€™m only 5ā€™1" shorty), so this was about 7-8 % of my total body weight.

You are very smart to tinker. Keeping track of my total intake and moving my fat and protein around a bit really helps. Losing weight back to goal when you are close to goal weight takes a huge effort, so I applaud you for acting quickly.

Fasting, yes, I cannot maintain without fasting.

This is exactly why I set up this thread. If I had a dime for every time I got weight gain advice in weight maintenance, I could retire.

KCKO as your own best guru. Iā€™m doing the happy dance that you are thinking with a root cause in mind and with quick corrective action. Well done.

(Karen Parrott) #5

For me, carb intake stays steady and my protein to fat and total intake matters much more.

I spent about 2-3 years tinkering, but donā€™t do ā€œcarb upsā€ either. I do keep careful food logs to keep carb creep at bay. Food tracking has been a helpful tool for me.

(Ken) #6

Thatā€™s certainly an effective strategy for some. Either way, itā€™s a matter of preventing chronic overcompensation of glycogen and the resulting readaptation into lipogenesis.

(Trudy) #7

Not sure where you are with your maintenance now but Iā€™m still slipping and sliding. Gained 2kg basically overnight and reassured myself if was fluid, now 3kg over goal as we head into the accountability date (1st of May). I have made a pledge to go back to timed eating between 12pm and 6pm, reduce the booze and stop the snacking! Where are you at the moment in terms of maintenance?

(KCKO, KCFO) #8

This is pretty much what I do. I have a few days here and there where I do eat breakfast as well, but most days are IFing within a similar timed eating window.
My 2nd anniversary is coming up in May. I stay within 3 lbs. of my original goal weight, and I have spent a lot of time under by 5-8 lbs. Havenā€™t been even 1 lb. over for months now.

It is doable. If I can do it anyone can really. Iā€™m older, retired, and probably the healthiest I have ever been in my life now.

(Trudy) #9

Thank you for your advice. I will always have an issue with eating because itā€™s delicious and not so much hunger. May is my re-focus month!