gaining weight, don't know why... page 4

[frenchie79]

I started this to follow my husband. He had lost about 30 lbs in Jan 2011 and he had kind of relapsed. I thought going primal myself would help him keep up with it. And having no carbs in the house.

[frenchie79]

For the record: 5' 7" and 142lbs = 22.2BMI = Normal weight

I mean if OP is stressed then that is self induced. It always is in cases such as this. Yes it's a mental choice to allow such things to affect you so.

As to her weight. I repeat...if she wants help she needs to track the changes she has made. Then if she presents that data we may be able to offer some reasonable advice. Just recognize that she is not "overwieght" at this juncture and very well may have been underweight at the start.

Oh, just found "my bf % was still around 15"......yeah....borderline dangerously low for a female before she changed her diet. I say good on her for putting on some much needed healthy fat and don't stress about it!

Cellulite runs in my family. 142 lbs does not look good on me at all. A lot of so called "plus weight" models have better looking back thighs than I have.

[Timthetaco]

Neckhammer makes a decent point about your body fat percentage. I can't judge without a picture, but do you feel your body composition has gotten worse as you've put on the weight, or could it be healthy weight gain? Also, do you feel better eating high carb or low carb?

Edit: That answers that question. I still recommend cutting back on the meat and adding fruit and starch.

[Neckhammer]

^I understand, and you know your body best.... seriously though 15% bf is quite low. As an x-vegetarian you may be judging yourself rather harshly. Either way best of luck, and if your goal is to drop some of this weight then I believe fitday is the ticket.

[Zach]

Well it seems you may have jumped from one extreme to another and that probably is the problem. Going from an unhealthy high carb vegetarian to a VLC primal diet is a sure way of gaining weight.

Try an inbetween diet, cut the breas and soy, add in some fruit and starchy veg and lower the amount of fat.

[frenchie79]

Neckhammer makes a decent point about your body fat percentage. I can't judge without a picture, but do you feel your body composition has gotten worse as you've put on the weight, or could it be healthy weight gain? .

How do I know if my body composition has gotten worse? I now have a muffin top...

[AshleyL]

If you have a muffin top you did not have before, then yes, your body composition is not as good. I would forget about the scales if you can, start measuring your waist, exactly the same way every time, in the morning before you eat.

I would stop fasting. For some women it just stresses us and doesn't work for weight loss. Eat when you are hungry. Tracking your calories is good- but don't try to push them super low in an effort to lose weight. Your body needs to fix itself, keep them below your maintenance needs, but not by too much. If you are exercising, take 1-2 weeks off then go back to some walking and maybe a little higher intensity stuff, but not too much. Make sure you are sleeping well and preferably until you wake up naturally, just for a while to make sure you are getting the amount of sleep your body is wanting. You're playing a hormonal game.

I don't know that adding more carbs is a good idea, since a drug apparently causes your weight problem- it may have diminished your insulin sensitivity.

[frenchie79]

here is an update: I have stopped consuming dairy: I put 2 oz of lactose free in my coffee in the morning but that's it.

I added a few fruits: 1 or 2 oranges a day and a banana 2 to 3 times a week.

I eat breakfast: usually leftovers from last night's supper. Lunch is either more leftovers or a big ass salad. Supper is just supper... meat and veggies. No more snacking on nuts or dates. Bacon is now a rare occurrence.

Anyways... I lost 5 lbs, kept them off for 2 weeks, then we had a gala dinner Saturday so I ate what was on my plate. The 5 lbs are back of course. Only one meal!

Now I realize that at 5' 7" 136 to 141 lbs is not really overweight but man... my whole wardrobe does not fit anymore.

Has anyone gained unwanted weight here? If I was to go nuts and count calories and fat, what guarantee do I have that I will not regain the weight as soon as I put my guard down and eat "full primal" again?

The next step is to exercise a bit. It is cold here so I am getting an exercise bike and I intend to ride it 2.5 hours a week.

Bah, I am so demotivated right now.

[afsjesse]

It sounds like you've somewhat stabilized your mental thinking about this. Cutting out dates and nuts is a good thing, as is the dairy. See how you do with some LHT and light cardio and report back in after a couple of weeks. Hope all continues to go well for you!

[spuggygirl]

If you've gained 5lbs from one meal then this is clearly not fat, and is most probably water retention.

Consider whether you might possibly have food intolerances that are causing inflammation and water retention?

Also - how do you feel in yourself. Are you well?

Recently I gained 3 kilos and felt like I was always hungry - but I've had a virus lurking since Christmas. For the first time last week I started to feel well again, and low and behold, my weight has gone back down to where it was before I got sick.