UGH- I'm gaining. And that was BEFORE the gym! (updated to clarify the numbers)

(Allison D) #1

I have been discouraged. I have a significant amount of weight to lose, but I just want to eat eat eat! I’ve gained 5 lbs after initially losing 15.

I’ve kept my macros within the same percentages whether I’m eating lower or higher calories. My calorie average is 1646. I think I’ve started gaining because I’ve started eating too much in one sitting, and possibly too much protein in that sitting -my keto equivalent of a binge. I am slowly “losing” ketosis- I measured blood ketones at .2 this morning, and my highest was .6 I think, before my weight gain began.

Yesterday after my gym session (an hour on the treadmill) I ate a 1000 calorie meal with 52 gm protein. My day’s macros were 76.7gP / 5.7 C (net) / 135.6 F. My entire day was 1540 calories. 20.6, 1.6, 77.8 were the percentages.**

As far as food, I stick to mainly whole foods, so while I count net carbs, it’s because I’m eating nuts and leafy greens whose fiber count is trustworthy.

This is not my first go-around on keto so I’m technically not a newbie, and I am well-read on the topic. I’m not killing myself in the gym trying to “burn calories” or trying to get myself to higher and higher ketone measurements, but that doesn’t mean I don’t make mistakes or that I don’t have a psychological blind spot.

I’m thinking of starting intermittent fasting next week and maintaining my 4-days-a-week at the gym. I need to make some tweaks to my eating, but am almost too frustrated to work it all out.

(Ellie) #2

My first thought would be carb creep, but it sounds like you track everything pretty well.
I have a couple of suggestions.

  1. maybe try total carbs rather than net carbs. I know everyone says fibre isn’t digested in the same way but I’m not totally convinced on that one.
  2. maybe try shaking things up a bit. There is a 2ketodudes podcast about this. Try a 24 hour fast here and there, or a very high calorie day followed by a 1 meal day, something like that. I wonder if after doing things in a steady way for a bit out metabolism needs a bit of a kick up the backside.

How tall are you? And what weight?
1500 cals a day may be interesting unless you are fairly short.

(What The Fast?!) #3

Only 20 grams of protein for the day???

#4

Couldn’t be, because she had 52 g in the meal she had post-gym. Maybe a typo?

#5

Allison, I’m not great with specific recommendations about macros, but from what you’ve written it sounds like a lots of stress and worry about the kind of fluctuation in weight that’s pretty normal.
Also, in case you’re not already doing so: take measurements! Scales don’t measure fat loss, and that’s probably what you’re after, right? Keto can lead to recomposition even without exercise, especially in women.

We get better at using ketones over time, so a lower number makes sense. Also that will fluctuate a lot during the day and over the week depending on so many factors. I think that both weight and ketones can be useful numbers to track if you’re looking at very long-terms trends. They’re not useful for guiding day-to-day or even week-to-week behavior.

I would take a deep breath and continue what you’re doing for a few more weeks before you come to any conclusions or make big changes. IF, exercise, tracking - those can all be so good, but they’re stressors: exercise is a stress (and in our recovery from it, amazing things happen.); IF is a stress on the system (another good one, but it can be a stress, especially if you’re not used to it); frustration about a possible stall and worrying over the numbers is another stressor. Stress raises cortisol, blunts insulin sensitivity.

(Ellie) #6

Those are % not grams I think.

#7

How many grams of carbs per day?

(Chris) #8

You mentioned you’re tracking everything. Calories too? You did mention low and high calorie days. What does that look like in your case (how many is low, vs high)? What foods are you eating aside from nuts and greens?

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #9

The problem with calculating macros as a percentage of calories is that the actual amount will vary with the calorie count. Better to concentrate on keeping carbohydrate under 20 g/day, protein in a reasonable relationship with your lean body mass, and making up the balance of calories by eating fat until no longer hungry.

Eating this way will not only keep your insulin low, allowing for fatty acids to leave your fat tissue, it will also give your body enough energy, so that it won’t decide to hang on to your excess fat after all.

So I would concentrate on how much carbohydrate I was actually eating, and get it down below 20 g, if it’s not already. I would also look for carbohydrate content in foods I thought were safe, in case they had “hidden” carbs. (Look at the list of ingredients, not just the nutrition panel, for unexpected sugar content, etc.)

(Canadian Beauty) #10

For me nuts are a staller; I guess too many calories and too many carbs. I also try to keep a 16:8 eating window. You may also be exercising too much. 30 minutes walking per day is recommended by many.

(Wendy) #11

I have gained and lost 5 pounds during my keto journey and I think that it is mostly water and food transport. That may be all your scale is showing you too. You could just KCKO and see if the scale shows a downward trend in a few more days.
Somedays I eat much more than others. Are you IF as well?

(Carpe salata!) #12

After losing about 70lbs I stalled and stayed stalled for maybe 12 months. Even with pretty heavy OMAD. It wasn’t until I started EF that the scale started moving down again.

KCKO!

(Allison D) #13

I count net carbs, as i subtract the fiber from whole foods. i stick to 20g net carbs or less. (If I were to eat processed food, I would not subtract the fiber.)

(Allison D) #14

I have no idea what KCKO means :smiling_face_with_three_hearts:

#15

Keep Calm, Keto On

#16

What country do you live in?

(Allison D) #17

I do track calories but haven’t aimed at a specific number. The original post shows my month’s average. I’m eating mostly chicken (rotisserie and also wings w/Frank’s buffalo sauce & blue cheese dressing), eggs, butter, avocado, spinach, pecans, cheddar cheese, gorgonzola, bacon, homemade chicken broth, coffee with heavy cream. My guilty pleasure Spam - probably because it’s salty. I’ll have that with breakfast ocassionally. I also tried Deviled Ham with mayo this past week- probably won’t do that again since one canned meat is more than enough. I also have a fermented concoction I bought at Whole Foods that I’ve dipped into a couple of times- I think it’s mostly beets and cabbage. With all of the above, I maintain net carbs at under 20g.