[AshleighAO]

Hey everyone, I have a diet question about carbs and/or gluten. I am not entirely sure the difference between them so I'm hoping to discover something...

So I am loosely following the weight watchers plan, I have a 27 points per day with 30 extra each week to use as I want (but I have not even come close to maxing out my credit allowance yet). Well I was finally so excited that yesterday I reached my first mini-goal of 177. And today I wake up at 179 I know it's impossible to gain 2 lbs in one night so I analyzed what I ate yesterday expecting to see a lot of sodium, but really found the thing I did more was eat more carbs (which if I'm not mistaken contain large amounts of gluten). For the last few weeks I have had very minimal amounts of bread, actually can only think of twice and it was one slice of whole wheat bread both times. Even my daily cereal happens to be gluten free. Last night I made a rice and sausage recipe from a WW cookbook (4 points) and then made banana whole wheat mini muffins which with the amount of points totaled 6 points for my servings. For the total of daily it came to 30 points for the day. I also went on a long walk/jog.

So, I am wondering, since my points were on, I got in over a 1/2 hour of exercise, I didn't eat junk food and the only difference in last night and the last few weeks was the amount of carbs I have eaten (rice, muffins) is that my body's reaction to those things and is there a way that I may not be processing it very well? I feel fine physically so I don't think it's an allergy, but just maybe something my body doesn't do well with? My cousin has an allergy and since she has stopped eating gluten she has lost weight without trying, it was just something her body wouldn't burn, and my Aunt is the same way (in fact for a while her doctors thought she had Celiac).

Any insight on this weird thing called carbs for me? I am pretty clueless.

[zoodoo613]

I'm not a low carb-er so take that into consideration if you like.

A two lb bounce in the scale by itself isn't an indication of much of anything, especially if you just recently lost those 2 lbs.

Gluten is actually a protein, but it is primarily found in certain grains, hence the association with carbs. If you don't have a sensitivity to it, there's nothing problematic about it. Carbs do require water for processing, so you may see a temporary gain if you've had more carbs than usual.

My opinion on that is, so what? I'm not too watery, I'm too fat. As long as I'm eating fewer calories than I'm burning, the fat will eventually go away and my weight will be what it is.

[AZ Sunrises]

Scales fluctuate daily. If you ate more volume than usual, it's still hanging in your digestive tract. TOM water weight. A few more carbs causing an uptick in water retention.

You didn't go off-plan, so I wouldn't freak out over the minor day-to-day change.

[LisaP916]

Originally Posted by AshleighAO

So I am loosely following the weight watchers plan, I have a 27 points per day with 30 extra each week to use as I want (but I have not even come close to maxing out my credit allowance yet).

Which WW plan are you following? On Points Plus, I thought the lowest point allowance was 29, and the weekly allowance was 49. Are you doing a different program?

[Watercolor]

Gluten is a protein found in wheat, rye, barley and some oats.

Wheat, rye, barley, and oats are also carbs, as are rice, potatoes and starchy vegetables like peas and corn. Fruit also has carbs in it.

A carbohydrate is a unit of energy the muscles need in order to function.
The 3 main factors in food are protein, carbs and fats.

[QuilterInVA]

There is no WW program like the one you described. Not even an old one so please don't say you are doing WW. I have been lifetime with WW since 1977 and know every program, and still have them all on my shelf.

By the way, Rice is 5 points per cup so that must have been a mightly small serving for 4 points since it included the sausage, too.

Carbs cause 4 grams of water to be stored along with every 1 gram of carbs. They are the easiest food for the body to digest and will add pounds faster than protein and fat. 30 minutes of exercise is fine for health but it takes at least 60 minutes a day most days of the week for it to impact weight loss.