Is it possible to gain AND be in ketosis?

[Greeneggs&ham]

I recently moved on to rung 1 of OWL and have been making more of Linda's recipes instead of my Induction diet which consisted mostly of a "slab of meat" and a salad. I had been using fitday.com to measure my carbs and such, but have not been using it this week because it's a bit more tedious when trying to enter custom recipes and portions.

Over the past two days, I "think" I may have gone overboard on my carb allowance. All the carbs would be coming from either allowed veggies, cream or cheese. I confirmed via the ketostix that I am still in ketosis, but I'm panicking that an overdose of carbs could derail my weight loss efforts.

Just wondering what happens if you overdose on "good" carbs? Does it require you to go back to induction temporarily or do you just pick up and move along on your current rung? Is it possible (via too many calories, too many carbs, etc) to gain weight while still "in the purple"?

[grovemonkey]

Re: Is it possible to gain AND be in ketosis?

Well as your body get's used to Ketosis, some people report regaining some weight. Especially regaining water weight they lost. I wouldn't get discouraged if you are keeping your carbs under metabolic limit, that you discover as you follow the rungs. Keep in mind that your daily carb allowance also depends on a few factors including:

How much exercise you did that day.
Your metabolic resistance and medical conditions.
They type of carbs you are eating.
How much fake sugar you consume can also seem to affect some members.

I believe Atkin's talks about weight gain as you move up the rungs and says something to the effect that weight gain sustained over a given period of time may indicate you need to low your carb allowance. I generally have waited a week to see how dietary changes have affected my gain or loss. One or two days of weight gain don't worry me when I am eating under 100 grams of carbs a day.

I'd take it day by day and also monitor my weekly progress. I think that as long as you don't gain for a sustained period of time, which is why the system is built the way it is, then you can try eating at a carb level for a period of time and see what happens.

Remember, exercise is a great way to allow yourself more healthy carbs.

[chinadoll]

Re: Is it possible to gain AND be in ketosis?

Eric, I know Fitday can be a pain with custom foods but it is the only way to stay accountable. I try a food and if it is one I will use often, I figure out the totals for one serving and add it to custom foods to make it easier later on. Are you measuring your quantities? It is easy to get carb creep if you don't measure. Fitday keeps me honest. I find there are a lot of days where I think I have been extra good and then am surprised to see the total higher than I thought it was.

If you are still in the purple you are in ketosis so that is not a problem.

Be careful with the recipes. Although Dr. A says calories aren't the main focus, the fact is if you are eating a lot of cream and cheese the calories add up fast, and those things tend to slow people down anyway.

Hope this helps.

[not2late]

Re: Is it possible to gain AND be in ketosis?

Yes, you can gain weight, eventhough you are in ketosis. The metabolic advantage, Dr. Atkins mentioned, only goes so far, so if you are eating more calories than what your body can use and more than what the metabolic advantage can cover, then it's possible to gain weight.

The only thing that changes for your OWL Rung 1 menu is the amount of Induction vegetables---you eat the same Induction menu but add 5 net carbs of any Induction veggie. In other words, your fat consumption and protein consumption remain the same as it did during Induction phase. By the way, as you add those OWL carbs, your fat consumption lowers slightly. By the time you get to Maintenance Phase, your percentages should be around 50-55% fat/30-35% protein/20-30% carb.

[murphy'smom]

Re: Is it possible to gain AND be in ketosis?

Most of Linda's recipes have all the calorie, carb, fiber, fat, and protein counts for you at the bottom of the page. I just plug in the food in Fitday, and there you go! If you make her meals and next time you make it, its just one click away in custom foods. When I make something myself, I go ahead one day in fitday, plug all the ingredients in, divide it by 6 (this seems to work for me) and there you go! It may be a bit of a pain, but well worth it in the end. Good luck to you!