Hi there, from January 4th until March 1st I lost 7 lb (140 lb to 133 lb) by zig zaging calories. Because I was constantly hungry, I decided to try intuitive eating and went off calorie counting. All March and April I was holding 133 lb, was not counting calories or carbs and was not hungry at all. I was a little upset that I didn’t loose any weight, but happy that I was maintaining with zero effort.

On May 1st I decided to go on low carb to lose last few stubborn pounds. I didn’t count carbs ether; just completely eliminate any sugar, bread, pasta, rice, potatoes and all fruits.

From May 1 to 21 I went down to 129 lb. I was so happy, you have no idea, I didn’t see 129 number on the scale for over the year.

Long weekend come along and I went to cottage with my husband. During 3 days I had 1 ice cream, 1 portion of fish & chips and maybe 20 potato chips, the rest was carb low food. I gained 6 lb in 3 days!!! I think its crazy…

Now I don’t know what to do…ether go back on low carb, but then again, does that mean that every time I have French fries I will end up with such a dramatic weight gain?
Or should I go back with calorie counting?

Any body had similar experience of switching between diets? And, is it normal to gain 6 lb in 3 days (I shed only 3 lb since, which is water, so I did gained 3 lb of fat)?

Rest assured you did not gain 6 pounds from what you listed... most likely culprit is salt caused a massive amount of water retention. That being said, this is what I found to be true every time I tried to go low carb... not sustainable for me, so calorie counting it is.

Good luck drink lots of water to flush all that extra salt out of your system.

I have tried the low carb route but also find it is just too hard, even tho I lose it just doesn't work in the long haul. Calorie counting works best for me and is less restrictive.

Six lbs in three days? Yup, water weight. And yup, normal.

I just lost 5 pounds in three days. Yes, I know. It's water weight. But it feels good to see the scale go down & is bothersome to see it go up - no matter WHAT the reason.

I think you're doing just fine! - just don't make a habit out of the ice cream, fish'n'chips, & potato chip kinda days!

i agree water weight. drink water to flush it.

I agree, it's water weight but the carbohydrates you ate probably went to refilling the glycogen stores in your body, which are always depleted on a low-carb diet. The more carbohydrates you eat, the more glycogen you store. Storing glycogen also involves a lot of water (there's an equation out there for how much but it is significant). That is why you gain weight so quickly when eating carbohydrates after not eating them. Whenever you are low-carb eating, you "owe" the scale a few pounds when you return to normal eating. Sorry!

Pam

I agree with Amy. Try to calm down and hang in there then reassess and get on a plan, one that fits your life and lifestyle and that is sustaniable

Thanks girls! Well, I am up 1 more lb...well, on Monday I am back to calorie counting...

I had the same thing happen to me when I first tried low carb some years back. I have learned that I need to zig zag my carbs as well as my calories, for the same reasons, keeping my body at an optimal fat burning pace. If I'm on low carb for more than two days, my body starts to adjust to that and as soon as I add anything extra to my diet, even if it's nothing dramatic, like you mentioned, I gain several pounds right back. But, I have found that if I zig zag my carbs, my body is not getting used to low carb so I don't gain weight when I am on a higher carb day, but I'm still getting the benefits of low carb. Doing this while zig zagging my calories, so that my metabolism stays high as well, seems to be a good combo. Time will tell, but I'm hoping for the best. Here's what I wrote about it in another post yesterday...

I do a combination of calorie counting, carb watching (not counting so much), and zig zagging. So far this combination seems to be working really good for me. I've lost 4 pounds since I joined this site last week (May 22nd). On my lower calorie days I'm also only having my carbs at breakfast, and the rest of my day is low fat/normal amount of protein. I figured that between the lower calories and the small amount of carbs at breakfast, my body will really go after those fat stores. On my higher calorie days I eat normal amounts of carbs, but still try to avoid carbs towards the afternoon/evening time, and have a little bit more healthy fat. I pretty much keep the protein count the same on all days, aiming for around 20 grams per meal. If I do have carbs later in the day, I try to keep it at a minimum so that I'm still doing low carb at least. We'll see if I continue to have good results with it. The first week of any new change in diet seems to give the best results.

Sounds like a good plan!!! I will try that as well. Actually, I never crave carbs only when I have my morning coffee…it was hard for me do not have toast with peanut butter for breakfast. Thanks for the advice!

You're welcome. Please let me know how it works for you. I'd be interested to know if others find that it is a good combination for themselves as well; the best of the most common weight loss plans rolled into one, so to speak.

Also, I forgot to mention that the no carbs after 12 noon was something that I had heard on tv. I think it was on Dr. Oz, but I can't be sure. Anyhow, the reasoning was that as you get to the later part of the day, you're body does not need as many carbs because your body is beginning to wind down and get ready for sleeping. So, that was how my tweaking of that part of the low carb portion of my eating plan came about.

MIle hi mama hit the nail on the head.... if you go low carb, you have to COUNT ON the water weight (from glycogen) coming back on. They are called carboHYDRATES for a reason.
For every gram of glycogen, your body also stores 3 (THREE) Grams of water. it is VERY SIGNIFICANT.

I'm assuming that this is the reason that carb cycling is working for me. I never allow my carbs to actually get depeleted, yet by eating fewer carbs/lower calories on alternating days it is still causing my body to tap into my fat stores for the needed extra calories/energy...the benefits of controlled carbs without the downfall of depletion. Very interesting.

Mini-- carbcycling is definitely an advanced way to manipulate fat loss.... it is especially useful for body builders/figure competitors/ fitness models looking to get "sick lean" and drop their body fats to those really really low levels. There's a whole science behind carb minipulation and glycogen depletion, reloads and refeeds. Im not sying its the best way to go, but it a useful tool for those fighting those last "stubborn" pounds.
Ive personally found that i am very carb sensitive, and if i try cycling, or straight low carbing, then i bloat up like im 6 months preggers when i even LOOK at a bagel! Im trying to except i cant be "vein poppoing" lean all the time (its just not realistic) and i now eat a regulr supply of carbs, every day.

One trick i DO use (useful for those of you going into maintenance possibly) is that i time my carbs around when i USE them. So i train in the am, and have a heavy carb PreWorkout nutrition, and higher carb breakfast, and then *some* carbs at lunch, then basically veggies and protein at dinner. The purpose of carbs is to provide our bodies with immediate energy/fuel. i DONT need carbs right before i go to bed, but i can eat bagels and oatmeal for breakfast, because my body DOES need the energy (and uses) throughout the day. I was so unhappy low carbing, and i am another one to chime in that its just not sustainable.
I was able to drop about 7 pounds of stubborn fat/weight/glycogen before my vacation to Mexico the beginning of may, by ALLOWING carbs, so it can be done!

Don't be hard on yourself. It is impossible to gain 6 pounds in 3 days unless you were eating constantly and never stopped to take a breath. You'll be fine. Good luck.

Dhani