Stopping low carbing. Is the weight just going to go back on...?

[LeslieKnopeforPM]

Has anyone had experience of stopping low carbing, and if so what happened?

I set myself a goal of 2 months to low carb (for a big party this weekend so I'm nearly there). Its been good and I've come down a dress size.

After the party I had presumed I would just stop low carbing and go back to normal, maybe slightly fewer carbs/sweets but realistically back to eating cereal, toast, pasta, rice and potatoes on a regular basis and back to all fruit, veg and pulses.

Am I just going to gain it all back again? my weight was stable previously, just a bit too high so I don't know why I would gain weight, if that makes sense. Any experience?

I found it slowly went up. I’m slimmer than I was but eat lower carb than before. I think it depends how old you are as well. I still don’t eat pasta rice or potatoes but eat a small amount of sweet stuff and hardly any alcohol.

Sadly I think if you eat what you used to, you will just go back to your old weight.

Mine also slowly creeps back up. I can maintain weight if I don’t eat white carbs and stick to things like brown rice, sweet potatoes, oats, quinoa etc.

Hmm ok. Thanks.

Bit of a depressing thought to put the weight back on. Guess I just need to watch what I eat!

Could you use the my fitness pal app and count calories do you can work out the amount you need to maintain your weight? Then when you get the hang of it you can just do it every now and again.

Yep, mine is all back

Well yes, of course it will! It was eating so much carbohydrate that led to weight gain in the first place. If you just go back to eating what you were before, then you'll put weight back on.

BTW this is the same for every diet - if you're doing low fat and then go back to high fat the weight will go back on; if you're doing low calorie and then increase your calories the weight will go back on.

The trick is to work out what level of carbohydrate you can eat each day without the weight going back on - and the only way to do that is through trial and error. Keep weighing yourself, don't add too much/many carbs back in each day and see what happens.

Great news that you're almost at your target!

I'm sure it's just me not understanding how bodies and diets work but my weight has always been stable. It's just that it was stable at 10stone pre kids and stable at 11.5stone post kids. I'm nearly back at 10stone through low carbing. Why won't it just stay stable again?

I'm a bit depressed about the thought of gaining weight (without a baby as an excuse) and having to watch what I eat, count calories or low carb for the rest of my life just to be a normal healthy weight.

Thanks for the further replies.

I guess maybe I did eat too many carbs before without realising. Low carbing has opened my eyes to the carbs in various foods.

Just feeling extra down today as my little one made beautiful cupcakes with lashings of chocolate ganache (and sprinkles of course) for father's Day and was asking why I didn't want one...

I found low carbing put me in a diet-binge cycle like nothing else... I'm trying to do healthy natural carbs now in low quantities (nothing white/processed/sugary) and lose weight slowly but I'm more than a stone heavier than my low carb lowest... its depressing but I'm not willing to do the yo yo thing anymore

I gradually increased carbs after doing the low carb bootcamp on here and hitting my goal weight. Turns out I can eat quite high carb without putting weight on! Just gradually increase and see where your sweet spot is.

'Sweet spot' perhaps not the best description?!

Hah yes quite! I'm feeling quite motivated to be healthier overall and make good choices so hopefully I can keep the weight off longer term.

I could never go back to eating the typical western diet amount of carbs and sugar. But I would occasionally have a small cupcake if my ds made them, or maybe half of one if really sugary. I would not return to eating cereal. Or toast for a snack. Both are useless for satiety and just spike your blood sugar.

If you stay in calorie deficit you will lose weight, in a surplus you will gain it. If you balance calories in with calories burnt, you'll maintain your weight.
Some people find it easier to cut calories through cutting carbs, I sure did. Higher protein, fibre and fat keeps my hunger down. But I can also happily eat pasta, or cupcakes, here and there, so long as I keep it steady overall.

Sorry @Mangobiscuit, but it's not about calories. It isn't the case that a calorie is a calorie is a calorie. Calories from carbs are far more likely to lead to weight gain

Not all calories are the same, sure, some of them come from food that's far more nutritious, some come from food with more fibre. Some will leave you feeling fuller. But a calorie is just a measure of energy. If you put too much in, your body will store some. Low carb is certainly easier for some to create a calorie deficit, but having carbs while keeping in a deficit will still see you losing weight.

www.facebook.com/JamesSmithPT/videos/1574141152690828/

A calorie of carbohydrate will impact on your blood sugar much more than a calorie of protein. A calorie of fat will have no impact on your blood sugar. Which is why a calorie isn't a calorie isn't a calorie.

Sorry - I haven't watched that video as we have people here and I can't play it with sound!

But just to reiterate - it isn't a simple as just creating a calorie deficit. It's about the hormones insulin, grehlin and leptin.

The hormones play a role, high sugar, higher insulin, prompts your body to store excess as fat. High grehlin, more hunger pangs, easier to over-eat. But in both cases, if you don't over-eat, you don't add fat stores. You might add some extra water weight with a sudden burst if high carbs over a week, as your body tops up it's glycogen in your muscles, which adds water to your muscle cells too, but that's mostly gone after a workout.
There are lots of things that affect how we eat, how we feel about food, whether we're hungry or happy. But the bottom line is that adding fat (or muscle mass) only happens in a calorie surplus.

Mango, the calorie theory is flawed as it is based on cutting the energy intake while the body’s metabolic rate (energy expenditure) remains the same, but it doesn’t when a person is dieting. Body self-regulates and does lower the energy expenditure in response to cutting calories as a natural survival mechanism. Vast majority of our calories are burnt just by keeping alive and maintaining normal body functions and not ‘doing’ things. Exercise burns a pitifully small amount of calories, maybe 600kcal for a gruelling session, mostly 300 kcal a session. AND you need recovery and healing time after.

Calorie theory completely overlooks hormonal interactions within the body as if it bears no impact whatsoever. And this assumption is massively flawed as any pregnant woman, menopausal woman or any insulin resistant person will tell you.

I had James Smith on my feed for a while and to be honest he knows nothing. He is a young lad who has always been into fitness and has never experienced struggling with weight gain simply due to his age and lack of life experience. I therefore forgive him his black and white approach, give him 20 years or so and a chance to see more of life. I am sure it will add some nuance to his outlook.

There is no point listening to young kids as PTs. They got no idea. Unfortunately, most of fitness industry is young kids. I will only listen to PT either my age who has lived a bit, or older. Everything’s easy when you are 21.

But the bottom line is that adding fat (or muscle mass) only happens in a calorie surplus.

Does it really? What about the double burden or obesity and malnutrition?

In case it is not blindingly obvious, rich and well off people are almost never obese and rarely even overweight. Is it because they eat less and exercise more? What a load of tosh!

My friend found weight went up slightly

As did energy and happiness levels too

A load of tosh? And you ignore anyone you think is too young? Well you're a delight aren't you.

Best of luck OP.

I was doing the keto diet for a while, but I decided to come off of it because it just wasn't sustainable for me. When reintroducing carbs, you want to do it slowly. Going back to a full carb diet immediately will shock your digestive system and give you blood sugar highs and lows which are very dangerous. You also need to watch your portions, because keto foods help suppress your appetite. I found this article for you that goes deeper into what to do when coming off a low-carb diet: www.openfit.com/how-to-come-off-keto-diet