i didn't know how to title this thread. i am wondering if anyone else is having the same issue as i am. ever since i started losing weight, my fat is getting softer. i used to think i had a lot of muscle in my legs because even though they were big, they were always firm. now as i am losing weight my calves and thighs are jiggly. i though this was so wierd so i tried looking it up online, i didn't find much, but i read some things that said the fat may be starting to break down. anyone have any insight to this or notice the same thing with your bodies?

Its caused (partly/probably) by glycogen depletion and the associated dehydration (but not dehydration in the way you think).

SO basically on MRC you arent really eating much carbs. WHen humans DO eat carbs, it is broken down into glycogen, which is store in your muscles and in your skin, and is used for energy. Along with every gram of glycogen stored in your muscles, your body also strores 3 grams of water (hence why they are called carboHYDRATES). The glycogen/water, when stored at capacity, is what gives muscles and skin that full, tight look. You are eating in a deficit, and you are eating low carbs, which equals glycogen depletion and the associated dehydration. If you were to go out tonight and tomorrow and have a total carb binge fest, within a day or so your muscles would ALL be filled BACK up, your skin would seem tighter, and you would ALSO show an increas *of 3-5 pounds, if not more) on the scale.
FYI those first 3-5 pounds you may have lost during the first week to 10 days...that was ALSO just the glycogen and water being lost. It wasnt fat. And guess what else? Unless you plan on eating in a deficit for the rest of your life, it WILL come back

I have noticed this also. I even commented to one of the gals at the clinic about "the softness of my tummy" lol.. this weekend I noticed it in my thighs as well. Definitely different than before!

I've noticed this too.. I have this jiggly spot on my belly that drives me crazy.. You can't really notice it when I wear clothes. I notice it though.. I figured it had to do with the breakdown of stored fat.. I just hope it's not long term..

So, let me get this straight...In order to be successful one must be in a carb deficit for life? How much of a carb deficit?

ThinknThin-- no, thats not what i meant--
What i was trying to get across basically is that you need to accept and understand that when you start eating carbs again, and start eating 2000 cals a day (or whatever number) after you reach goal, then you are going to gain back JUST THE INITIAL WATER WEIGHT YOU LOST. Does that make sense? It is guaranteed. It HAS to happen, UNLESS you want to never eat carbs again/stay at 1200 cals forever, etc....
Its a good idea then, to shoot for 3-5 pounds BELOW your goal weight, so when you go through the water-weight regain (WHICH HAS TO HAPPEN) then you will land with your weight at or near goal!

Thanks for the clarification. I understand what you are saying. I can see where it's important to aim for 5 lbs. or so below your target weight. I am really concerned about eating carbs again and gaining weight. I've yo-yo'd far too many times and I feel that I'm too old (53) to go through this again.
I like the MRC diet and I feel good on it. Like any other "diet" it needs to be a lifestyle choice.
You did a great job explaining this.

Thank you also for the clarification mkroyer, but is it healthy to be at 1200 calories a day?
sexyrene

The MRC diet (green menu) comes in at about 1200 a day avg......exact numbers depending on exactly what food choices you make, of course. Im not qualified to tell anyone whther or not thats healthy! But it WORKS, thats for sure

Thinkn-- while i owe my weightloss to MRC and had success and forever will love them, i will be the first to admit the diet screwed me up royally, and turned me into an EXTREME carbo phobe!
I was scared to death of any and all carb and i avoided them and tried to maintain for almost 5 months, by basically just staying on the diet.
I eventually had to go through an EXTENSIVE metabolic repair/recovery program, just to get my body to be able to eat food again, and to be able to USE calories, and to help it not be so out of balance, water-wise, etc. I would eat a cookie and bloat up SEVERYLY like 8 pounds, for a week! Thats not normal.
SO i gained back a couple pounds (back up to 138-140) and then went thourgh the metabolic repair, and as of this morning, not ONLY am i back at 133, and able to burn fat again, but i also did it by eating carbs, and having salt (SO IMPORTANT to keep your water fluctuations balanced--- cutting it out the way we do on this diet makes us SO SENSITIVE to it)..... but it took a lot of work, psychologically, to stop fearing food. i still do, but im better. And i now think of carbs as my friend, becasue they provide me with the energy i need to train.


A little *trick* i have with carbs now---
I train in the morning, really early. ANd i go to bed really early (cause i wake up to train) anyway, becasue carbs are essential ONLY in the sense that they provide us with energy to MOVE and whatnot, i time my carbs around my activity during the day! My HEAVIEST and highest GI carbs are before i train (so my body uses them up for my workout energy) and also at breakfast, when my body uses the carbs for recovery... i taper my carb intake downward throughout the day, untill finally at dinner, i basically just have meat and veggies, because i dont NEED a bunch of energy right before bed... make sense? It has been working SO WELL for me, and allows me to have bagels, and sandwhiches, and sweet potatoes and lots of fruit and honey, etc........ i hope i explained it right

If you're taking guggul, that's also a side effect. I noticed it right away after I began taking it and someone at the center warned me about it and said no one had told her but when her tummy started getting really jiggly, it tripped her out.

You have described exactly what happens to me when I eat carbs. I bloat up ridiculously. When you say you underwent extensive metabolic repair/recovery program, what exactly did that entail? Honestly, the MRC1200 calorie maintenance program is still a "diet". I assumed that when I was ready for maintenace I'd be able to eat normally (2000 calories a day; healthy choices) and it seems that with this program I'll never be able to NOT diet without fear of massive carbo bloat.

The program i did was called the Metabolic Repair Manual, by Leigh Peele. Google her.

It was a very extensive program approx 2 months long, where, in a nutshell, i basically increased my cals slowly every week, and along with the cals i would increase my ratio of carbs, and within that ratio, the proportion that were starches. It also involved addressing my overtraining issues. I had to rest completely for 2 whole weeks, then i would start doing light things, like stretching and foam rolling, then i would get slow easy walking back another week. The calories would increae in relation to the amount of activity i was allowed to do. But at the way end, the last week, came the most important component-- the REFEED....this is incredibly important--.eating at ABOVE your calories for maintenance causes your hormones (which had been previously falling and been out of whack due to undereating/low carbing for so long) to reset, which is basically what kick starts your metabolism again. Refeeding FLOODS your body with "happiness" and raises your leptin levels and decreases your cortisol and basically resets your metabolism so you CAN eat higher calls and carbs, and maintain your weight. Google diet REFEEDS and RELOADS...... tgus us a well known concept.
Anyway, for 7 days i ate more than 3000 cals a day!! I basically binged for every meal for a week...WOW. you are SUPPOSED to go crazy with High Glycemic carbs! It was fantastic. AT the end of the week i had gained more than 10 POUNDS!!! but it was all water weight and came off within two wees of finishing the program --- every single last pound. SO...during the course i gradually increasing the cals for almost two months, i actually LOST weight......... my body was so traumatized and underfed and overtrainned...just the act of resting, and eating more made my body start burning fat again....

mkroyer, this is exactly how I have been using carbs for the training I did for my first half-marathon in March...In Decemeber I basically stopped MRC and begin the 3 month training and gained 12lbs...I used the carbs before my long runs basically and have extra protein/carbs for recovery. I do not run as long as you do and average only 30-40 miles a week but the carbs are essential in running successfully without any burn-out, I felt great during my half-marathon without a struggle what so ever! I remember when I began running on the MRC diet after one mile I was struggling and couldn't get through the runs as soon as I began eating carbs for energy I could run 10 miles without any problems of being tired. I am now trying to get to my goal weight before I begin training for my first marathon next spring. Thank you for sharing your knowledge! Genell