I'm gaining weight from vegetables!

[DharmaBeans]

Please help! I know this sounds ridiculous. I'm on day 7 - and yes I know bloating, etc is anticipated, but my thighs and butt have been rapidly expanding this past week. My "fat" pants are tight and I'm trying not to feel panicked, but....

I've been following a low carb diet for over 15 years. The past two years I tightened things up and went to very low carb - 20 grams or less per day - with the intent to finally finish the job with respect to weight loss. I'm 5' 9.5" and managed to get my weight down to 160 and felt good. It has crept back up and I'm certain it is well over 170 at this point although I'm staying away from the scale as advised.

Transitioning to Whole30 - for me - meant ditching dairy, the limited artificial sweeteners I was having (including gum), and wine. My desire to drink wine socially has been the big battle because I seem to gain 5 pounds when I have it - pretty much overnight, and then have to starve on a meat and egg fast to get it off. I have gain and lost the same 10 pounds over and over again and that's why I'm here. I'm tired of being angry, frustrated, and hungry all the time.

I'm enjoying eating this way so much. My eating is now clean and I've added more veggies. It has been a major treat for me to be able to have a handful of baby carrots every day. Last night I had some baby carrots and a sliced strawberry on top of a salad. It was so yummy you'd think Ben and Jerry made it!

 

I'm desperate to hear that things will be ok. That people can do this after following a very low carb diet and that the body adjusts and weight can come off. Is that true? Or am I screwed because once you go low carb you can never go back?

 

I want to be healthy and slim and vibrant and happy and I don't want to fight any more.

[Tina R]

I feel your pain. I am sure a moderator will chime in with some helpful advise. It is possible that because of all the ups and downs in your life your body is trying to protect itself. If your body thinks that there could be a famine around the corner it will pack on the weigh as fast as it can to protect you. Not the kind of protection we are looking for. It may take a while for your body to adjust to the new way of eating and realize that you aren't going to starve it anymore. It could take months instead of 30 day. I did not lose any weight on my whole30. I am thinking that I need to give up fruit, nuts and coconut cream in my coffee. I am not doing a whole30 but I will see what happens in the next two weeks when I give up these foods.

 

Also remember this is a whole30 not a whole7. You need to be patience. You can do it!

[Tom Denham]

Having followed a low carb diet for "over 15 years," it is unrealistic to think that you are going to achieve all your goals in 30 days and certainly not in 7. In fact, a very low carb diet is brutally hard on the hormonal rhythms of many people. Having a rebound effect as soon as you eat appropriate amounts of carbs should be expected. This is part of the process, but you may need to eat Whole30-style for 60 or 90 days before things settle into a good rhythm. If you stay with the Whole30, you will get to a place of good health and your body will move to its natural weight, which is probably slim enough to make you happy. 

 

I am afraid that you have to accept swelling a bit during this process. Swelling is not permanent. The worst thing you can do is to go back to the low carb diet. Stay Whole30, ride out the adjustments in your body and things will soon start moving in the right direction.

[Carlaccini]

Hi There,

 

Let's think things through here.  You were very low carb for a very long time.  Right now you are eating some carbs in the form of vegetables.  Which you haven't eaten in a long time.  Your body obviously does not know what to do right now with it.  It's doing the transformation thing, so it could be hording it until it realizes this will be the new norm.  Try to be patient during the healing process.  It is a 30 day program for a reason.  Give it at least that.  But you may need more time.  But that will be for you to decide when the 30 days are finished.

 

Another thought here - try to eat your veggies cooked.  Eating raw veggies may cause some excess stomach distress, and possible bloating.  Using myself as a example here - My body does not digest raw carrots at all.  (A little bit of TMI here) they come out the exact way they go in.  So clearly I won't be getting any nutrients from them.

[DharmaBeans]

Thank you for the responses. Eating this way feels great so doing this for longer than 30 days is just fine. I'm ok with an adjustment taking longer, I just sincerely hope I don't continue to gain weight as it is both uncomfortable and embarrassing. A new "fat" wardrobe is totally out of the question with my budget constraints.

As it is now, I had to stuff myself into some shapewear like a sausage this morning.

I also apologized to my horse for the extra load she has to carry. My newly enlarged thighs are detrimental to my riding. Ugh...and I'm going to be working with my coach this weekend.

 

On the bright side, my appetite has really mellowed out and that HAS to be a good sign. Perhaps I'm getting the "right" nutrients now so my body doesn't have to keep telling me it needs more food. I'll give it time.

 

I sincerely appreciate your thoughtful comments.

[Beets]

Also bloating is part of the timeline. I think you're right on track for that. If you aren't used to a lot of veggies, digestive enzymes might help.

[tiva]

Hi there--I was in a similar place when I started 38 days ago. I had been low carb paleo for about 12 years, and in the last couple years I had been gaining little bits of weight from drinking and too much cheese. And I'd started relying on occasional meat and egg fasts to get that weight off. I love veggies and fruit, and I wanted to find a way to eat abundant quantities of them again. And I wanted to lose a few excess pounds  from winter. I do feel that relatively low carb can be perfectly healthy for a lifetime, if you find a way to eat a wide and abundant variety of bright veggies, with significant quantities of root veggies.

 

So, during the Whole30, I'm sure I gained a few lbs in water weight initially, and I had some bloating episodes until my body adjusted. But by the end of the 30 days, I had dropped back to my preferred size in clothes, lost just a few lbs but looked like I lost much more, and felt good enough to continue on, with only a few additions (now that I'm done with the Whole30, my main things I've added back in are the occasional drink and a few spice mixes that have a little sweetening in them).

 

Anyway, I bet you'll first need to gain that water weight back that you lost when you initially started low carbing years ago. But after that, your body will adjust, and I bet by the end of the month you'll be happy with how you feel and look. Good luck!

[DharmaBeans]

Day 12 and definitely fatter than when I started. My thighs are bursting out of my pants.

I LOVE eating this way though. It's delicious, feels good, and I have no cravings.

I'm sticking with it and hoping that my body will adjust - because really - I don't like the alternative.

Calorie counting, being chronically hungry, and eating mostly just meat and eggs is not a happy place for me.

I love all these veggies.

[DharmaBeans]

It's day 15 and I've gained so much weight, my thighs and butt are bursting out of my yoga pants.

I feel embarrassed to leave the house. There is only so much that shapewear can accomplish.

I'm so sad and frustrated.

[CrunchyLutheranMommy]

So sorry this is so frustrating for you!  Don't go buy a whole new wardrobe, but if you can get a couple of pairs of comfy pants to help ease the difficult period I'd totally do that.  Two pairs of new comfy pants would be worth it to me, so that I could eat lots of fresh produce!  Don't give up!  *Hugs*

[cafelover]

Dharma,

 

Have you added nuts to your diet too? The first time I tried Paleo, I ate a tons of nuts and gained 10 lbs. I am doing Whole 30 to lose weight, but I realize first I am going to have to get my body to a good place where it trusts that I'll feed it when I'm hungry and that I'll feed it good food. Have you incorporated other recommendations? Cooking veggies?

 

Also, I know a new wardrobe may not be a possibility but what about going to a thrift store to buy at least one or two comfortable pairs of jeans?

[DharmaBeans]

I already know that I gain weight rapidly when I eat nuts, so I avoid them. I've been eating according to the template, but the part that is new for me is the addition of a small amount of higher carb produce. When I have a salad, I've been putting a handful of baby carrots on the top and 2 sliced strawberries. Yesterday I had a few blueberries too. These taste like a major treat for me and have to be the cause of this rapid gain. I know I can still do a true and clean whole 30 without those things, so I may just back off of them.

Yesterday's Menu:

Meal 1: Ground beef (1 palm) + 3 eggs + onions, spinach, mushrooms, tomatoes, broccoli cooked together

 

Meal 2: 1.5 Burger patties, large salad topped with handful of baby carrots, 2 strawberries, and a few blueberries. Homemade mayo for dressing.

 

Snack: (didn't make it until dinner) 2 HB eggs, 1 large stalk celery w/ mayo

 

Meal 3: Beef roast cooked in crockpot with celery, mushrooms, onions, tomatoes, and parsnips (which I ended up avoiding out of carb fear).

 

That was beef-heavy, I know.

 

Today I will have beef and eggs again for breakfast with maybe a little leftover zucchini and onions. I get up early and pretty much have to eat like a horse in the morning if I want to last more than 2-3 hours before eating again.

Lunch will be some leftover roast and veggies from last night.

Dinner will be skinless grilled chicken thighs, some sort of cooked veggie and salad.

I bought a butternut squash, but I'm afraid to eat any of it.

 

I've got a work event in about 3 weeks and I really don't want to be waddling around 10 pounds fatter.

[Physibeth]

Beef is very nutritious, especially if it is grass fed so no worries on that. I just want to further encourage you to hang in there. Other moderators may disagree with me on this, but you may want to cut back to the lower end of the template for protein and add more non starchy vegetables and more healthy fats instead. Because of your background that sounds very Atkins like easing back to a smaller protein portion and increasing general vegetable consumption might be a good stepping stone to getting to a better place with carbs in general. Keep hanging in there! You can do this!

[Carlaccini]

Please, please, please try to be patient with yourself.  You've had years, and years of eating habits to get over.  You are not going to solve all of these issues in 14 days.  Probably not even in 30 days.  So go with the fact that you are feeling better and forget about the size of your clothes and scale for a moment.  (I know from experience that this is a very tough thing to do)

 

Add some more healthy fats in (I don't see any in your breakfast) cooking fats don't really count as a lot of them get left in the pan.

 

Don't be scared of the butternut please, or the parsnips.  They are very nutrient dense, and much better for you than fluffy, bread or pasta.  You cannot even try to compare the two or even put them in the same category.  So don't do that.  To me a vegetable is a vegetable.  Carby or not.

 

As an aside - I tried lower carbing it with veggies for about 3 weeks. (this was about 7-8 months ago) Because, heck I wanted to lose weight. As  You know what happened?  My body protested and I gained weight instead. (put on about 6lbs)  My hormones went crazy, and I got bloated beyond belief.  I added starchy veg back in and I could just feel my body go AHhhhhhh.  So despite the weight woes, my body just runs happier, and does better with some carbs.  So I have to come to terms with my body weight (despite me liking the number or not)

[tiva]

I'm sorry this is proving so frustrating for you! Before you posted your food, I was wondering if you were eating a large sweet potato at each meal, or some other major carb increase. But the fruits and veggies you are listing are not super starchy, so you're still eating quite a low carb diet. It's not like you are going from 0 grams of carbs a day to 500  grams a day. What you're eating seems incredibly healthy, and I hope you'll give your body a chance to adjust to the bloating and drop some of the temporary puffiness. I bet it's not so much water weight from the few carbs you're consuming now as some difficulty digesting these new veggies. Have you tried digestive enzymes, or additional cooking of the veggies? Are you having plenty of bowel movements (I can gain a size or two on days that I'm not digesting properly)? Are you taking magnesium to help move things through? Drinking lots of water? These are really, really good food choices, and I hope your body will adjust over the rest of the month!

 

And I agree with the less protein--more fat suggestion. It seems like a lot more than the template, and I personally do a lot better with palm sized portions 3 times a day of protein, along with good quantities of fat and most of the plate filled with veggies.

 

Your day doesn't list a lot of cabbage and kale, but when I eat tons of the cabbage family, I seem to have a day or two of bloating.

[DharmaBeans]

Thanks everyone. I'm drinking a lot of water and black coffee. I take Magnesium, a multi, and Vitamin C daily. My digestion seems to be moving fine. What's freaking me out is that when I put my jeans on today, they were substantially more tight on my thighs than they were on Monday. It's crazy!

I've tried countless "tweaks" in my LC journey, and I've just never found veggies to be filling. I often feel that they actually make me more hungry. I wonder if I am so sensitive to carbs that even veggies cause an insulin spike and hunger thereafter. Large portions of meat (6-8 oz or even more) are what it takes to make me feel full. I'm sure bread and potatoes would make me feel full, but I haven't eaten those in many years.

So I can eat less protein and more veggies, but if my stomach starts growling 2 hours later, I'll be looking to eat again. Typically if I'm hungry between meals, I reach for hard boiled eggs. As for fats, nuts are out of the question and avocados give me terrible stomach aches, so I'm pretty much left with oils and ghee. Generally I tend to just eat fattier cuts of meat.

 

I so badly want this to work and want to be free from counting calories and scale misery.

[littleg]

This isn't menstrual cycle related is it?  During my puffy days of the month jeans that fit Monday don't fit Thursday.  Usually they don't fit again until next Thursday!

[GFChris]

 As for fats, nuts are out of the question and avocados give me terrible stomach aches, so I'm pretty much left with oils and ghee. 

Do you like olives?  That's another compliant fat source.

On the bigger picture, take a deep breath.  It seems like you're putting lots of pressure on yourself for Whole30 eating to turn things around right away. That stress isn't going to help your body or the situation.  Take things one day at a time, one meal at a time if you have to. Treat it like an experiment, and try to let go of having a specific outcome in mind. 

[DharmaBeans]

Today is day 28. I was feeling pretty hopeful last week as I was able to more comfortably wear my pants. I ate 1/2 a sweet potato on Sunday and today I am once again enlarged and stuffing myself into shapewear. I guess I will have to take these vegetable carbs really, really slow. While I don't think I'm smaller, I do feel more solid and muscular. I think I'm less buoyant in the hot tub. I'm planning to at least make this a Whole40. I will weigh and measure on Friday to see if I've made any progress. I don't think I've made much progress with my constant mind battle over my weight. I cringe when I look in the mirror as I'm at least 10 pounds over a weight/size that looks healthy on me. One day at a time....

[tiva]

Hey DharmaBeans, I'm glad to hear that you're feeling more muscular, and that you've had a good week.

 

I wonder if you might be particularly sensitive to the mannitol (a sugar alcohol) in sweet potatoes and several other veggies. They can cause a lot of bloating in sensitive individuals: "Some foods also naturally contain small amounts of mannitol, such as sweet potatoes, cauliflower, mushrooms, snow peas, watermelon and celery. Some people do not tolerate some types of sugar alcohols and might experience gastrointestinal problems as a result."

 

Other people find adhering to a reduced FODMAP (Fermentable, Oligosaccharides, Disaccharides, Monosaccharides and Polyols.) diet can help them eat lots of veggies without the GI issues you're experiencing. 

 

Good luck!