Hi All

Overall, I think this plan is great, easy to stick to and the results are slow but sure for me after a few plateaus and one very bad chest infection. My question is after this weekend – Saturday really – I had a day of ‘normal eating’ and weighed myself today. I’m 2.4 up. Yes. A whole 4! This seems insane and has worried me that I’ll be confined to 800cal forever more! I thought some of the weights would be water rafter having a gluten free roll with lunch and crackers with cheese for supper. I had a few biscuits throughout the day in a coffee shop, but by no means did I binge.

What on earth is going on?

I started the plan 88.7kg and I’m now 78.9kg – my lowest has been 77kg – before this one day.

Ultra disheartening even though this was a planned day, rather than falling off the wagon so to speak. That is such an easy gain considering the rubbish I used to eat before!

Many thanks
Elle

That is a big gain overnight! How upsetting. But it can’t possibly be “real” weight (fat) after one day. My understanding is that carbohydrates make the body store more water. This is why we generally have a big loss in the first week of a low carb diet, we lose a lot of stored water when we stop eating so many carbs. You had a few serves of carbs yesterday so your body is storing all the water you drank. If it’s just one day, you should release it all again with 48 hours and get back to your real weight. And you can have planned days off the diet in future but it will most likely happen again, it doesn’t matter in the long term if you don’t mind a blip in your weight loss.

It actually sounds like a lot of simple carbs …. which are the types of carbs to avoid on even a maintenance Mediteranean low carb plan. It probably is normal eating for most westerners … but it’s not really normal healthy eating to eat so many servings of simple starchy carbs in 1 day.

Just my humble opinion of course. May be taken with a whole box of salt.

Hello Elle. I have found that any gains I have made, I can nearly always point it to not drinking as much water as I might have done. Any of those extra carbs that I could have done without eating, can be shaken from storing water – by…. drinking plenty 🙂 It really does flush it out and stave off the weight gain over a couple of bad days or so.

It definitely can’t be fat, it takes 3500 calories over your daily calories to add one pound of fat, so that would be about 5500 calories in a day, just to put one pound on that quickly. If it bothers you, try a weighing ‘holiday’ when you have a planned day off, and just weigh a couple of days later when you are back on plan.

I agree, probably water. The body has a powerful and complex water retention capability. I read a paper on this, sorry can’t remember the link, which explained the full capability. Interestingly, the body will adjust water levels in the body even for things like changes in outside temperature/humidity. The comment was that this explains the scenario where you go on holiday somewhere warmer than usual and then come back to find you’ve added a few pounds when you don’t think you’ve eaten badly. The weight then seems to disappear over the next few days. Their conclusion was the body being fooled into thinking the climate has radically changed to hotter and drier and is storing water “just in case”.

Thank you all for your replies.

I questioned one of the PT chaps in the gym today and also said I’m not having enough salt in my diet and I’m burning around 700cals – as an upper limit on a gym day- so to eat back some calories and there is a pattern in my plateaus! Who knew? I can’t say I’ll be increasing my calories, though I did notice my spin classes over the last few days has been a whole lot easier! The glucose seems to have powered me thorough.

There is definitely a lesson learned in the foods to consume when I am trying to remain in ketosis during the weight-loss stage. If I have a gluten free roll at lunch, I will not eat the crackers and ALL foods in that genre will remain strict.

Have any of you also managed a fitness routine with this plan? I’m attempting to add more salt to see if this alleviates some of the residual fluid.

Thanks again
Elle

I swim twice a week (proper swimming, not pootling around in the pool) go running once a week and play touch rugby once a week. I add a lot more salt to my food than I ever did and drink upwards of 3 litres every day but I haven’t found that I need to eat more. If anything the exercise curbs my appetite, at least temporarily. I am occasionally more hungry but I just drink more water 🙂
TC

If you are following the BSD you should not be eating gluten free bread, crackers or biscuits at all. Not even in small amounts. Especially the biscuits which contain sugar. This is if you are following the plan, or are you improvising the diet. I know I can have a fab week and jump on the scales on a Friday and have lost 3 or 4 lbs then jump on again on Monday and be back to square one and say I have gained 3 or 4 lbs but over a week that would just mean I had a zero weight loss, not that I had gained the 3 or 4. Back on my old diet that would have been called drinking 2 bottles of wine over the weekend. Hope you get it sorted.

Hi Sunshine-girl

I had a planned day away when I had a family get together. I’ve completed 6 weeks no problem food-wise, I was just so surprised that such a relatively small amount of deviation – by comparison of a ‘normal’ amount of carbs, would take so long to budge. The spelt biscuits were wafer thin, no chocolate or caramel etc. My carbs for the day were still 71g. My usual amount is 25g or less on plan. Though it seems my lack of salt is also somewhat to blame for the carb weight staying around.

Best wishes
Elle

There is always the water theory. When you first lose weight, say 5 lbs in a week, you can be sure 2lbs of that is water, so why not the other way around. Have you felt the weight of a bottle of water. You will work it out, we are all learning along the way. Sometimes it can be as simple as not having a poo for a day. Our bodies are amazing.

I am a failure – I brought what I should not have brought, and then once in the house, maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow – but the binge comes. The calories are not even appreciated, it is just mindless, and sweet.

I have binged, a whole pack of the Christmas gingerbreads from Lidl, and booze. Depression can be part of it but then so can just plain carb craving and lack of will.

I am 2 st down from when I began in August, and lots of recognition for the weight loss. I am off blood pressure meds, and at the weight my doctor back last year suggested as an aim, as I am ‘big boned’ according to him, and a BMI about 27 would be fine.

So am I psychologically not wanting to take the full step to a healthy BMI? (recognising the flaws of the BMI measure). Am I just in a grumpy, low, comfort eating phase ? Or just someone with no willpower….?

Avila – you are not a failure! Repeat after me “I am not a failure. I have lost 2 stone. I am not a failure”.

OK. Now breath.

You’ve lost 2 stone. Are you the weight YOU want to be? If you are, fine. Stop beating yourself up. If not, keep on until you are. And stop beating yourself up.

I don’t know how much you need to lose to take you into your healthy BMI. I know it’s not perfect, but one of the tools we have. I know how I felt when I was told I was shorter than I’d thought, so had to revise my BMI, meaning I had to lose an extra 5 pounds to take me to the top of my healthy BMI 😱

Whatever you decide, please make sure it’s what YOU want, not anybody else. As long as it’s healthy and not below your healthy BMI. If it’s what YOU want, you’re much more likely to do what it takes and achieve it. Do it for yourself.

Remember – tomorrow is another day. 😀💐🌻🌹💐

I want to reach the 79 kg, 25 BMI – or at least I think I do (currently 86-7kg -well before the effects of today). Though I know last time I was at below my current weight was when I had my depressive breakdown and not eating.

I managed 6 serious weeks on the 800 plan then drifted. This week was supposed to be the reboot, and then I blow 2500 cals on stuff with no nutritional use. And it was just mindless…

Remember BMI is based on whole groups of the population – your frame is one of the factors it doesn’t really take into account. My doctor has suggested a target BMI of 29 as I have a large frame – my wrist measurement is over 9″.

Just set yourself a target you’re happy with.

I am angry at the extent of my self sabotage, my target could be anything. I need to get over today and over myself.

And try not to think about how long to undo it….

Ooh, Elle, how tall are you? I weigh just about the same; started at about the same too. Am 168cm. I’ve had two really strict days to try and undo some slip-ups, but throwing the menstrual cycle into the mix means there’s been quite a bit of fluctuation. 🙄

I saw in another thread someone saying that eating more fat actually seemed to coincide with bigger drops in weight. It’s a thread about sharing your success stories if you’re interested.

That’s exactly where I went wrong Avila. I stepped on the scale with curiosity which then turned into self-hatred and wishing I had eaten what I pleased – to justify the scale. The achievement of over 2 stone and having your medications become redundant if no small feat. The behaviours which we are trying to overcome are never more so clear, when every thing you pick up has either sugars, starches or both in abundance.

My great aunt has just given me the greatest insight when I was discussing the plan.

Her words were “Why do you think this is new? We never ate like this years ago because it wasn’t available then. Your 800cals of real food are what we all ate as our meals because that’s what was intended. Your generation make it up to and above the 2000 or so calories with the rubbish in packets and bottles. You’re sugar addicts!”

She’s right, so I did not argue. She was adamant about the fats in their diet from good quality meat and dripping. I have nothing but envy they didn’t have such abundance and enjoyed seasonal produce only.

My very long winded point being, when it’s there we take it, then sabotage to take some more to get over our guilt and remain in a cycle. I’m avoiding this so far by eating a wholly different meal each and every day. No broccoli two days on the run and making things brighter with chilli flakes, herbs and spices. I make the effort to avoid, especially if crackers and gluten free rolls derail me for 4 days. You can do it. You have 2 stone off and no meds now that say you can!

Im also 168cm FMJA.

I like the idea of the extra fat for extra loss, I could eat avocado forever more! My recipe book arrived last week and that has helped with my food variations. I think reading some of these stories will help with motivation now. I’m going away for a week mid December and the though of being poolside as I am now, fills me with dread and is helping keep my mind focused. I’m hoping to get down to 69.9kg just to break the 70kg mark….. Though im not sure if that’s enough time for me to do it? It would keep me on track over Christmas too!

Oh that’s somehow making me happy that someone else is the same weight and height as me.

I don’t have a poolside holiday in December BUT at about that time I’m going to see my niece for the first time in five years (they live abroad) so I’m using that as an incentive, to not be the fat, sad spinster aunt. Getting below 70kg is my intermediate goal too! Best of luck with it – I think maybe I should get the recipe book as eating some different food this week has helped me stay on track.