GAINING weight in Ketosis

[WhistlersnOchick]

I was wondering is it possible to GAIN weight while in ketosis?

The first 2 weeks of trying Atkins I did the hard core metabolic resistance program. eating only meats, and fat. I couldn't get into ketosis for anything, and actually gained about 8 lbs. I then tried the fat fast. lost 4 lbs. I showed a trace of ketosis but, only on the 5th day of the fast. After the fast ended a gain back the weight by eating only meats and fat again. About 2 weeks ago I found out about my low body temperature, and slow thyroid. Since then i have been on a low dose of Armour Thyroid. I now am able to get into ketosis, but have still gone up in weight another 4 lbs!

Have any of u heard of gaining weight in ketosis? How is this possible?

Thank you for any help or thoughts on this.

[tickletussler]

Re: GAINING weight in Ketosis

Hi,

Is it possible for you to post your height and weight, and how much you'd like to lose?

It's a little difficult to answer your question correctly without a little more information.

The Fat Fast is not recommended for anyone unless you are metabolically resistant (which I don't know if you are)

Betty, our lead admin did not lose any weight during Induction, but in a year, she reached goal weight

I am assuming you started Atkins only a couple of weeks ago?

It is possible to gain during Induction due to a number of factors, including water retention, exercising, even your dose or Armour Thyroid - there are a whole host of factors involved... I don't suppose you've recently had TOM as well?

[2big4mysize]

Re: GAINING weight in Ketosis

you can over eat your Atkins and gain weight while having lovely dark purple sticks.

how much meat and fats did you eat? Don't forget on Atkins we eat 3 cups of vegies a day from the acceptable foods lists.

It takes a while for the new thyroid meds to get you back to normal on a cellular level. Give yourself some time to get your metabolism revved up. Keep doing your workouts and eating only enough of the induction acceptable foods to satisfy your hunger at the time you are eating and stop. You can eat again as soon as you get hungry. Many new folk see that word unlimited and go wild.

Make sure you are taking your vits and supplements you need too and drink all your water. Check your inches not your pounds and see if you are burning off body fat as you add new lean body tissues.

Happy low carbing.

[Finelly]

Re: GAINING weight in Ketosis

May I ask why you STARTED Atkins with a metabolic resistence diet and then the fat fast? Going without veggies for that long is not going to help you lose.....

[WhistlersnOchick]

Re: GAINING weight in Ketosis

To start off, 16 years old I'm 5ft.6in. and with in the last 1 1/2 years gained 30 lbs.
I am an athlete that is either running, cycling, skating, wakeboarding, or doing pilates daily. So I am always getting exercise in.

I am currently drinking about 110 ounces of water daily.

I didn't started off with the hard core metabolic resistance program I actually did the regular under 20 plan with my family the first 14 days. They all responded very well to that, but I went up about 4 lbs. That is when I tried it again taking out the veggies and cheese. I went up another 3-4 lbs on this.

I did the fat fast because after reading Atkins book it seemed like the thing to try, after figuring out I was very resistant to is diet and others. I loss 4 lbs. and gained them back after introducing meats again.

As far as what I am eating on his plan goes, My family and I only shop at whole foods stores, so I eat mainly organic meats, fish, eggs, and the occasional veggie.

I guess I will just have to weight for my body temperature to raise, and my thyroid medication to kick in.

Thanks for all your comments.

[tickletussler]

Re: GAINING weight in Ketosis

Whistler, what IS your current weight? And what goal weight would you like to get to?

For a start, you're only SIXTEEN and if you are as active as you say you are, there's no way you should be doing the Fat Fast. (especially NOT during the first 2 weeks because you haven't even determined if you are metabolically resistant)

My first and foremost recommendation (as I'm sure the mods would agree) would be to go and see at Atkins-friendly doctor and/or dietician and see if they can sit with you and do a food plan for you. When you are 16, there are many nutrients that you cannot miss out on, and what is an ok plan for adults, will need careful monitoring when you're in your teens.

Please, PLEASE, if you're going to do Atkins, READ THE BOOK and follow the plan properly instead of going off and doing the Fat Fast or worrying about why you're gaining. As 2big and I said in our posts before, it could be a number of factors why you've gained, and you really need to consider the impact of your thyroid medication and thyroid function - Dr A even makes a special mention of this if I remember right.

[Isabeau]

Re: GAINING weight in Ketosis

Whistler, what IS your current weight? And what goal weight would you like to get to?

For a start, you're only SIXTEEN and if you are as active as you say you are, there's no way you should be doing the Fat Fast. (especially NOT during the first 2 weeks because you haven't even determined if you are metabolically resistant)

My first and foremost recommendation (as I'm sure the mods would agree) would be to go and see at Atkins-friendly doctor and/or dietician and see if they can sit with you and do a food plan for you. When you are 16, there are many nutrients that you cannot miss out on, and what is an ok plan for adults, will need careful monitoring when you're in your teens.

Please, PLEASE, if you're going to do Atkins, READ THE BOOK and follow the plan properly instead of going off and doing the Fat Fast or worrying about why you're gaining. As 2big and I said in our posts before, it could be a number of factors why you've gained, and you really need to consider the impact of your thyroid medication and thyroid function - Dr A even makes a special mention of this if I remember right.

I must say, I have to agree with Tickletusser. We all want to be healthy, not just lose weight.

[bizzlekitty]

Re: GAINING weight in Ketosis

To start off, 16 years old I'm 5ft.6in. and with in the last 1 1/2 years gained 30 lbs.

You are still growing at 16 years of age. You are going to gain weight as you do. Don't compare yourself to others that may not be gaining weight, every body is different. I was 4'10 when I was 16 (on my first driver license) and grew another 4 inches (am 5'2 now) until I was age 20. During that time, I went from 110 to 135lbs. (oh to be back at that weight).

Please post your weight and goal weight for us to compare.

Make sure you read the book. Veggies are essential for Atkins, and not just lettuce either, real veggies like broccoli cauliflower, etc. If you are not eating veggies, Atkins won't work in addition to being very bad for your body.

It's also likely with all that exercise you do, you are building muscle. It's also likely with the extreme eating habits of fat fast, etc. it's screwing your body up even more.

Also don't measure ketosis based on the strips. Many people do not register properly with them. If you are doing Atkins right (Induction, no cheats, no low carb products, lots of veggies and water), you will be in ketosis.

Eat 3 balanced meals a day, including veggies and healthy snacks. Atkins will work if you do it right, but it is not a quick weight loss program. It's a change of eating habits permanently with weight loss over time.

If you do have thyroid issues, it will take even longer, especially if you just were diagnosed because it takes a period of times (months to a year) for thyroid medication to work as well as figure out the proper dosage that you require. Thyroid issues also slow your metabolism making it more difficult to lose weight, but Atkins is well suited for this, it's just going to take longer.

Good luck and please keep us posted.

[2big4mysize]

Re: GAINING weight in Ketosis

again you said you are eating meat fat and an occasional veggie. I very strongly suggest you get to the store and buy the latest version of Dr Atkins book written the yr before he died. 2002 DR ATKINS NEW DIET REVOLUTION. Induction which is the very first stage has 3 cups of veggies daily, not occasionally You and your family are not doing Dr Atkins plan but what y'all think is his plan. As Dr Atkins learned new info about the workings of the human body he adapted his plan and added more low glycemic veggies during the first 14 days and tons of veggies about 6-8 cups a day as you progress to goal eating.

Your meds should be being monitored by your doc with retesting every 6 weeks until your needed dose is titrated. Again the dieting will effect your normal level and your choice of foods if you are eating any goitrogen foods. you can find the list in the thyroid forum in the health section of the board.

You are right Dr Atkins does talk about the fat fast as a last resort for metabolically resistant folk BUT he discusses other medical and program factors that could be effecting it first. LOW THYROID is one and if you have low thyroid you are not metabolically resistant UNTIL after you have been doing your Atkins with your body in the corrected thyroid hormone range for you. I'm Hasimoto's hypothyroid and know when my thyroid hormone level changes my weight loss grinds to a halt and pounds come back until I get my prescription fixed. BUT when it is right I can lose weight just fine eating induction foods and working out. I dropped my first 100 pounds in 7 months with my thyroid in the corrected range and have had 2 stalls with the levels off. I've also had stalls when my level was just fine. But if you just keep working your Atkins plan you will drop fat pounds as you add lean body mass and fat loss is what you want. We have a member called cafflygal who lost over 5 ft of inches on thre tape measure as she went from a fluffy person to a more muscular person whil losing only 40 pounds. There were long periods of time when her scale was not her friend as she added muscle weight but lost fat weight.

Happy low carbing.

[matawguro]

Re: GAINING weight in Ketosis

Are you male or female?

[WhistlersnOchick]

Re: GAINING weight in Ketosis

I am a female 5'6" and have been this height since I was 13, so I don't think I am growing in height any longer. As for weight in the last 1 1/2 years I have gone from 120-150. I would just like to get back into a weight I feel healthy at, somewhere around 125-128.
I don't think that is possible for me to have gained muscle. I haven't weight trained since I was 14, and my exercise has gone down from 30+ hrs a week to around 14 hrs a week, because of my resent increase in size.
My body fat has actually gone up quite a bit in the past year. Raising from 15.6% to 22.7%. Yes, I know this in technically still in a healthy range, but not for my sport. I have had plenty of nutritionist,world class trainers, and even doctors say it is perfectly ok for my to lower my body fat, as long as I am still having regular menstrual cycles.(which I was at 15.6%)
As far as the Fat Fast goes. I only did it once on vacation. (not exercising)
Like 2bigformysize said, I am just going to wait for my hormones to get back in balance and my medication to kick in before really start trying to lose weight again.
Thanks for all your input, best of luck to you all.

[not2late]

Re: GAINING weight in Ketosis

I am a female 5'6" and have been this height since I was 13, so I don't think I am growing in height any longer. As for weight in the last 1 1/2 years I have gone from 120-150. I would just like to get back into a weight I feel healthy at, somewhere around 125-128.
I don't think that is possible for me to have gained muscle. I haven't weight trained since I was 14, and my exercise has gone down from 30+ hrs a week to around 14 hrs a week, because of my resent increase in size.
My body fat has actually gone up quite a bit in the past year. Raising from 15.6% to 22.7%. Yes, I know this in technically still in a healthy range, but not for my sport. I have had plenty of nutritionist,world class trainers, and even doctors say it is perfectly ok for my to lower my body fat, as long as I am still having regular menstrual cycles.(which I was at 15.6%)
As far as the Fat Fast goes. I only did it once on vacation. (not exercising)
Like 2bigformysize said, I am just going to wait for my hormones to get back in balance and my medication to kick in before really start trying to lose weight again.
Thanks for all your input, best of luck to you all.

It's just not growth, but it's also development of your organs (hormones, brain function, etc.) that is of concern during your teenage years.

Your body fat will increase slightly as your body transitions from child to adult woman---that's "a part of growing up".

Weight loss is okay for teens and children, provided that it is supervised by a physician (and supervision is more involved than your doc saying "you need to lose weight").

Here's a link I posted in the Children's Forum a while ago about the things your doctor should be doing for you while you lose weight.
http://www.atkinsdietbulletinboard.c...ead.php?t=4269

Please don't misunderstand this as discouragement, this is purely concern because we are losing weight to be healthy individuals and normal weight is only one facet of total body health.