Weight gain

[Peanut31]

Hi

I’m been doing a low carb diet for about 5 weeks now.

I did this not to lose a massive amount of weight, but I realised I was eating far too much sugary- carb things, fruit for example, and hitting energy slumps.

I lost about three pounds, not much but, as said I’m not over weight.

However, I’m gaining weight back now.

Typical day

Breakfast 100g strawberries with double cream

Lunch- salad with ham or tuna (salad is three cherry tomatoes cut up, 5 slices of cucumber, lettuce and spinach with an hard boiled egg or grated cheese.

Dinner - 4 slices of bacon with two eggs and spinach, or pork chops with shredded cabbage, and broccoli, or mince beef with mushrooms, cabbage.

I’ve then been having extra thick cream with a sprinkle of cinnamon in between.

I’ve made keto rolls at 2g of carbs and also those chocolate peanut bites at 4g of carbs.

I’ve been having water, coffee and tea.

I’ve been snacking on pork scratching as well and at the weekend I polished a bag of salted peanuts.

This was something of a novelty as when I was dieting with weight watchers it was a no no.

At first I didn’t feel hungry, and no snacking, but now I just want to eat pork scratching and snacking. I’m I approaching this wrong as thought high fat food was ok to eat.

I also reach for the cream and whip it up when I’m hungry.

I know they say scales aren’t important, but I see the weight gain on my body.

I haven’t felt the benefits any more either like I did first off.

Is it the pork scratchings and to much cream, the snacking.

Any advice greatly appreciated

Best wishes

Peanut31

[dinglebell]

It sounds delicious, and please can I come and stay with you........?

(Sorry I cant help with your question, only that macadamia nuts would be better than peanuts, much lower carb.

When I did low carb I was just never hungry because of ketosis, so maybe you didn't get into ketosis initially? The first few days when you really have less than 25g carbs. After that you can have more, but in the first few days no veg, nuts etc? Just a thought.)

[TheAwfulToad Ambassador]

The fact that you're always "grazing" suggests that you're just not eating enough. As a fraction of macros, your fat percentage is probably adequate, but maybe insufficient in absolute terms. This is why I prefer to describe macros in terms of grams rather than %. If you're not getting at least 120g a day (1000kCal), it's not enough.

I'd lose the strawberries and cream for breakfast. That's a dessert. Yes, it's high-fat, and there's nothing wrong with strawberries and cream as an occasional treat, but it shouldn't be regular feature. Eggs are a good default choice for breakfast. Or, as many people do, you could just skip breakfast entirely and have "brunch" instead.

Same with the peanut butter thingies. Just drop them entirely. You can re-introduce them for a treat later on, but right now they're just keeping you attached to bad habits.

Try to get a bit more variety in your fat sources instead of dipping into the cream pot. Wherever possible, include one of: olive oil, meat fat, unrefined coconut oil, unrefined palm oil, or butter ... or some combination. For example, try an omelette fried in 50/50 coconut oil and butter. Nothing wrong with cream as such, but it shouldn't be your main source of fat.

Apart from those minor issues, I'd say you're on the right track. It's still early days and your body is still adapting. Give it a few more weeks and see if things level out.

At some point you should find that two meals a day is adequate, perhaps with a smallish lunch. If this isn't happening, just make your morning and evening meals bigger. Make sure you're genuinely full; don't try to convince yourself that you've had enough when your body is telling you otherwise. Experiment with different recipes so you don't get bored.

As per dinglebell 's post, it might be worth doing a proper induction/keto cycle to kick your body into the right place. The individual reaction to low carb varies quite a lot: some people find they can go "keto" with very little effort, while for others it takes a fairly drastic carb restriction! Looking back at some of your previous posts, I get the feeling you're missing carby foods (eg., bread and sweets) psychologically if not physically, and an induction cycle might help you break away from that.

[moreless in reply to TheAwfulToad]

I second all of this.

[Peanut31 in reply to TheAwfulToad]

Hi TheAwfulToad

Thanks for your reply, yes, I'm missing my sweets and I think that is why I have turned to the extra double cream, and packets of pork scratchings. At first I wasn't eating in between meals, but, now I am.

At first I was coping well, but, now I feel I want everything I shouldn't have.

Thanks for your advice.

Best Wishes

Peanut31

[Lytham]

Hi im pleased you asked this question, ive been doing it for 3 weeks and noticing the weight loss slowing down. I wonder if this is normal? I was wondering if it is possible to eat too much dairy ? I skip breakfast, lunch is usually a piece of pastryless quiche with cheese salad (including avocado and olives) and mayo, in the afternoon a greek natural yoghurt with a small drizzle off honey, evening meal is usually a diet doctor recipe with meat, veggies and cream. Do you think thats too much dairy? Maybe @TheAwfulToad could advise please ?

[moreless in reply to Lytham]

You're skipping breakfast, Lytham, but are having it in the afternoon, in the form of yoghurt with honey, which, btw, is just sugar and shouldn't be consumed. Why not skip this extra meal?

Maybe choose a fatty cut of meat for your dinner and reduce the amount of cream with your veggies.

You should be eating enough fat to stop hunger, but not enough to feel stuffed.

Longer gaps between meals will help with weight loss.

[Lytham in reply to moreless]

Ok ill cut back on the cream a bit and see if I can skip the yoghurt, thanks, I just want to "nip it in the bud" if im eating too much dairy ? Thanks for your help ! x

[moreless in reply to Lytham]

You're welcome

[cheritorrox in reply to moreless]

Oh dear virtually all my fat comes from EV olive oil (lots) and dairy (cream, creme fraiche, mascarpone, cheese.. sometimes a yoghurt) - is this really bad long-term (6 months now) ? I do eat lots of veggies and lots of meat too!

[moreless in reply to cheritorrox]

It's absolutely fine if you're not wanting to lose weight, cheritorrox. It only becomes an issue if you stop losing

[cheritorrox in reply to moreless]

PHEW! ... probably also relevant that I only eat once a day (well, over only a few hours anyway!)

[moreless in reply to cheritorrox]

You're doing just fine

[Calibrated in reply to Lytham]

Hi Lytham. I am on week 5 currently and had a similar weight loss plan to you. I lost rapidly for the first two weeks, gained 2lbs 😱 took two weeks to lose the 2lbs again then lost 4lbs?? I have lost 13lbs so far. I think it is sometimes the way your body works, mine always loses weight in chunks then nothing for weeks. So far I have stayed on the induction/Keto as I find this really easy to follow, eating from about 12pm to 8/9ish as I just feel full all the time. Keep going as you may find your weight drops in chunks like mine did? I also find if you exercise it definitely helps. Good luck 😉

[Lytham in reply to Calibrated]

Oh that gives me hope, thank you for replying ! x

[MikePollard]

You are eating too many fat calories. Dump the cream entirely, it's too easy to overconsume. Stop the snacking and leave longer between meals.

Go easy on yourself - you are endeavouring to change the eating habits of a lifetime!

[Peanut31 in reply to MikePollard]

Thanks Mike

I'll do that, and ditch the cream.

Best wishes

Peanut31

[endomad]

i lost 5 stone in 2 years and over 50" off my measurements, i have 1 more stone to go and will do that this year slowly. I gained 6 stone in 2 years after my thyroid was removed and absolutely no amount of calorie restriction or exercise shifted it until low carb. We are all different and if you are not doing it for weight loss then i would suggest you eat a bit more healthily, low carb rubbish is still rubbish, too much cream, pork scratchings and bacon is ok few times a week but daily is not good, avoid processed meat. The fact you dont feel good and can see weight gain means you are not eating well for you, i suspect your carbs are creeping up and getting water retention. If you are eating well and getting good nutrition you would not be snacking unless its boredom, in which case go for a walk. Do a food journal so you can calculate your carbs, grains, gluten, sugars, root veg are heavy carbs and cause inflammation. 5 weeks is not long as for those of us it works for, for weight, energy and health it is a way of eating not just a diet xx

[yankeegirl]

My husband and I have started Keto on 2/11/2019 and we have seen some benefits following this food lifestyle. A typical meal for breakfast is eggs,black/blue berries and coffee with heavy cream or a smoothie made from yogurt,spinach,berries and almond milk. lunch is usually leftovers from dinner or tuna,sardines or a salad . Dinner is a protein (ham,pork chop,fish, steak etc) with grilled vegetables and a kale/spinach salad.We stop eating by 7pm at night.We drink at least 8-10 glasses of water. My husband prefers drinks like Propel or ICE.Occasionally we will have vodka on the rocks or with ICE flavored drink. I have lost 12 pounds and hubby around 15 pounds.But besides those benefits its really helped with the inflammation and joint pain we suffer from.

[Peanut31 in reply to yankeegirl]

I'm tee total so no drinking for me.

I think i'm having too much cream and snacking on this, rather than filling my main meal plate up.

I'll have to re think the eating again.

Best Wishes

Peanut31

[MikePollard in reply to yankeegirl]

Excellent stuff. Inflammation is often the neglected child of LCHF, when it should be at the forefront when it comes to reducing the risk of heart disease, cancer etc.

[CoffCoffWalkWalk]

I find a couple of coffees with cream in the morning 0800 keeps hunger away until lunch time 1300. Pistachios are a nice snack and due to shelling take a bit longer to eat, just a handful at a time 🤗