Carb sensitive?
 

To recap my introduction, I had pretty good success over the past year with low carb. Within about 15lbs of my goal, I started adding back carbs, and seemed to stall. I went back to Atkins induction to get moving again, and within about 5 lbs of my goal, I again started adding back carbs. No flour or sugar, but some beans, higher carb vegetables, and 1/4 cup oatmeal. Still within 40 grams of carbs per day. This resulted in replacing some of the fat with those carbs. I have again seemed to stall. I also find myself hungry between meals, which is what makes me question adding back carbs. I am hoping to get the wisdom and experience of the group here. My question is this just a temporary reaction carbs, after going for a year of low carb and the hunger will subside? Is it possible I have developed some sensitivity to carbs, and need to rethink adding them back? Or is it just a result of the reduced fat intake, rather than the increased carbs? I should mention that when I started, my goal was just to get under 200lbs. When I reached that, I changed the goal to 180, and as I hit that, I decided to set my goal to 155, which is what my doctor says is my ideal weight. I only mention this to emphasize that I have actually exceeded my goals, and if I only maintain my current weight, I will be very happy, but I am still hoping to lose that last 5 lbs, and reevaluate from there.

Something must have worked well for you in order to lose all that weight. I say stick with it, embrace and enjoy your new weight and practice maintaining it along with your new eating style. It's not the end of the world if you don't add back in starches and grains and such, even if you're "allowed" to. Few low carbers actually do, at least not on a regular basis. If you like some foods higher on the ladders, have a couple of portions a week. You don't have to "add in" every day. I bet if you just stick with what works and keep at it, eventually those "extra" five pounds will fall away. Find out what is ideal for you.

barb712,
Thanks for the reply. Contrary to minding you saying, I really appreciate the feedback. You are right, of course, I should not over think or over complicate eating. I have had success, so I can just continue doing what I have been doing. That being said, I would like to transition to a wider variety of foods, and I am interested in how others have made that transition. Thanks again.

Interesting, I'd think the "calorie" thing (40g net carbs = 160 cal) would be insignificant, That's like a table spoon of butter, maybe a bit more. Are you measuring your calorie intake that closely? If so WOW! - how many calories are you eating lately? As you approach or near goal, calories, especially fat usually goes up as you're not using as many of your bodies to fuel your day. This is what I hear and I find it might be true for myself. I eat more and more often at my current weight.

As for adding carbs back, I did an experiment last month where I didn't really restrict the number of NC I ate and my weight stayed about the same or even went up. The last week or so I've dialed that number back, just to see, and I'm shrinking again a little. I suspect most of that is water and a little body recomposition i.e. I feel it in my board shorts - I do a lot of physical activity.

If I were to give advice, which I"m prone to do ;) - I'd try a higher carb level for a while and see if you get a stable weight over a month as your water levels out in your body. if you're under 40 NC I suspect you'll continue to lose some fat but being "hungry" is something to examine closely.

When I was losing weight rapidly I was rarely "hungry" body wise if I thought about it for a moment. Now that I'm significantly lighter and more active hunger more frequent and I eat to help my body's apparent request for nutrition. I'm still firmly avoiding GPS - All Grains , Potatoes and Sugars

Good luck and do take a doctors advice as one of the many points of reference when making a personal decision on what to put in your mouth ;)

You're very welcome!

thud123,

You might be right about {"I'd think the "calorie" thing (40g net carbs = 160 cal) would be insignificant"}, but I am tracking what I eat pretty closely right now while I try to figure this out. Here is an example of why I considered that:

low carb= 2 egg, 2 bacon & 42g spinach = 250 total calories, 160 fat calories, 68 protein calories and 6 carb calories.

adding carbs= 1 egg, 1 bacon, 1/4 cup oatmeal = 195 total calories, 92 fat calories, 42 protein calories and 50 carb calories.

I suppose the obvious answer would be to add a second egg or slice of bacon with the oatmeal to make the total and fat calories similar. What throws me is that I am not hungry during the day, that only comes in the evening.

I can get away with more complex carbs like beans, sweet potato, grapefruit or berries on occasion, if I am doing one main meal and a snack on that particular day. My reward for the fast, which is not that difficult, is a little more variety like a handful of nuts and some fresh cherries. I also do biking and some weights every other day.

mike_d
That sounds like a good plan. I could live with a strict HFLC diet, if that is the only thing that works for me, but I got it in my head that I should have more variety long term. If adding back carbs on a regular basis doesn't work out I may either try intermittent fasting, or low carb with a cheat day, to get there.

I do that, too, but in very small amounts. My occasional treats are things like beets, berries, sweet potato, and squash. I cook them (not the berries :)) for my husband - I get a 1/4 cup serving - he gets the rest.