I've recently switched from Pre maintenance atkins to more of a paleo style diet, not really counting carbs but keeping them under 100.
I'm eating the same amount of calories as I did on atkins but I'm eating more fruit, I also have yogurt on my diet now (I know its not very paleo but I don't have dairy problems and I love my frozen yogurt)

I'm slowly gaining weight and I'm worried. =[

Here's a typical day.

Breakfast - 2 tablespoons of coconut oil with 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder, frozen

Lunch - 6-7 oz's of greek yogurt with 300 grams of mixed berries or baked Salmon

Dinner - Bowl of homemade guacamole

Snacks are: cocoa powder and hot water, apples, tomatoes, celery, pumpkin.

My percentages vary, somedays its Fat (47%) Carbs (44%)
Protein (9%)
Others its Fat (53%) Carbs (28%)
Protein (19%
I drink lots of water and its not my TOM



Please help, thank you

IMO, your protein is kind of low.
I use guacamole is a condiment, not a meal.
Do you not eat any meat?

All in all, I think that your macro totals are out of balance.
I'd up the protein and veggies and use guacamole as more of a condiment.

Hope this helps!

Simplest explanation - could it be the water from refilling glycogen from having more carbs? were you super low carb, before?

Percent of what? (how many calories?) I looked at some of your previous posts and you don't say how many calories you were having on Atkins. Also I assume you are still really close to goal.

Do you measure inches as well as pounds?
Are you changing your exercise, such that you might have some muscle weight gain?

How many grams do you have, of protein, carb, and fat?

If protein is low enough, and carbs are high enough, in grams not percent, that would do it for me. What happens is metabolism goes WAY down to match the low protein (body thinks it's hard times), and then with a low metabolism, I can't burn off the carbs and fat I eat, much less use up the stored fat.

Also fruit as snacks (on an empty stomach between meals) stops fat burning for me.

Cut down on the fruit and yogurt and see what happens.

Personally, that doesn't look like a lot of "real" food to me....but that might just be me.

Can I ask what's up with all the cocoa powder? And why eat it for breakfast? Ugh - that just sounds gross.

And where's the protein? Are you trying to do a vegetarian Paleo? I'm not even sure if that's possible.

I follow a low-carb Paleo / Primal diet and my meals are usually:

Breakfast: 3 eggs, fried in homemade lard

Lunch: Leftovers from the night before --> protein and veg

Dinner: protein and veggie (last night was Paleo-friendly tuna cakes and steamed broccoli)

Snacks: maybe a piece of fruit or some veggies or one of my kids' sticks of string cheese - I'm not much of a snacker these days anyway

Anne

Thank you everyone for all the replies!!

Judy, I eat fish sometimes and yesterday I had abit of chicken but I'm mostly vegetarian.
Do you think more protein would help? I'm always scared to up protein but you're properly right!

I have guacamole cause its full of fat and I don't seem to be getting enough fiber without it.
Unless.. On low carb is doesn't matter?

Seejay, I'm not measuring myself but my jeans are tight, =[ not good.
I'm 5'2 and 50.7 kilos, I realize I'm not overweight but still, I'd like to get to my goal and be able to maintain.
That being said, someone at my height and weight properly can't eat a lot of protein?
I don't tend to go over 55 grams of protein, most days its 30-40 grams, but it could be higher, I list on fitday plain yogurt instead of greek cause they don't have it there. I stay under 100 net carbs. My fat yesterday was 66grams.

=O thats so sad! So really..Fruit makes you gain weight?

Anniede, Im VERY strange I realize but I LOVE cocoa powder!
I make unsweetened coconut bark with it and the texture is just like chocolate so its really satisfying, also a tablespoon of it and some hot water tastes great too!
I kind of just wanted to do a fresh diet, fillled with fruit and vegetables that didn't just focus on meat.. but my body may be wanting that I guess.
How many carbs do you average a day?

thanks again!

Thanks SlimJen. How much weight are you gaining - could it be water retention from re-upping the carbs? How tight do you like your jeans; is there wiggle room in there for water weight?

Your protein and fat are low even for your stature so maybe it really is that your protein and fat are too low and you are having more carbs than your wee body can handle at this time, at least for weight loss.

the only thing I would do in your shoes is really get down and take notes on your eating and your weight for 2 weeks and see what happens and then draw your conclusions. I know that seems long but that is what my favorite experts in really getting your body where you want it, that is what they do. (John Berardi, Krista Scott-Dixon, and even Tom Venuto)

Also how old are you? Women are supposed to gain a couple of pounds from age 18 to 26 as their bones fill in. Wish someone would have told me that, I wouldn't have freaked.

Your protein is very low especially if you are counting every gram of protein that shows up in Fitday - the incomplete proteins from things like cocoa. Even when you are of small stature I would not go below 45 -50 grams of high-quality animal protein per day (only counting the eggs and meat and maybe yogurt)

And yes, apples on an empty stomach in between meals shuts down fat burning. Maybe not tomatoes or high-fiber veg. That's not the same as making me gain weight unless I also eat large portions (something I still do, sadly)

Did you carefully determine your Critical Carbohydrate Level for Maintenance on Atkins before switching to paleo? Not everyone can eat 100g carbs and maintain. I can't go over 50g of net carbs without gaining and getting carb cravings w/urges to binge. I eat pretty much paleo but still have to watch my carbs carefully.

Or have you added back foods that cause inflammation (for me these include gluten, casein, soy & legumes - they cause joint pain & sinus congestionm but just weight gain)?

You listed menu doesn't sound anywhere near 100g carbs.

Before you blame the problem on the paleo diet, maybe you should actually try following a paleo diet. What exactly makes what you're eating paleo and not Atkins OWL?

Paleos have to cut back on carbs just like Atkins folks to lose weight, for the most part. It's just the foods we don't eat that make it paleo, IMHO.

You're getting a lot of good advice here, but i'll chime in anyway... Eat more fish and skip the yogurt, as well as some of the chocolate and guac. I think you need more protien.

Upping carbs increases glycogen storage; glycogen binds to H20 molecules i.e., you retain water. It's water weight whoosh re-gain.

I agree that your protein is very low. Why are you scared of increasing protein? It's absolutely vital for cell function and repair. I would suggest eating protein at every meal, snacks included. I would also suggest cutting down on the cocoa powder. For me, cocoa is a treat and is something I don't have more than once or twice a week.

Protein and fat are important. Carbohydrate is not as important. Fibre is not necessarily important and can cause bowel irritation. YMMV.

If it helps, this is the kind of food I tend to eat:

B: 3 egg omelette with mushrooms, courgettes and half an avocado
L: pork and vegetable stir fry
D: steak with mixed salad leaves
Snacks: nuts, berries.
Treats (once or twice a week): 80% dark chocolate

Most of the time though, I only eat 2 meals a day and I rarely snack.

Which Paleo books/sites have you read?

*hijacks thread*

Hi Oblong!

I'm going to chime in here because nobody else has said this - fruit doesn't ever make me gain. Dairy - any kind of dairy, does. Just giving my experience. And I was super low carb for a very long time and actually gaining weight in the end. Just in case you think everybody is the same. I am very particular about the types of foods I eat. Pork, coffee, apples, white potatoes, dairy - these make me gain. Sweet potatoes, plums, bananas, lots of red meat/fish to name a few make me maintain or drop weight. I don't restrict calories.

Heya windo! How'ya doin? xx