Weight gain/water weight

LucyJ

So as soon as I started peating I gained weight immediately. Like overnight. Someone has suggested this is likely glycogen and water weight. I've had a massive increase in cellulite too. The weight is mostly abdominal and back of legs and hips.

I am coming from low carb for the last 15 years or longer and IF and I was underweight. Also starvation type eating that I wasn't aware I was doing until a nutritionist got me to plate up a meal.

So now I am eating more (I struggle with fibre and starch and generally have a low appetite/gastritis and food reactions) but is there anything I can do to help my body normalise with the glycogen issue? Or is it just a time factor.

I'm 36, Female.

Peatful

I could have written this years ago
Or something close to it

What can you do?
Don’t get discouraged
Be gentle and kind to yourself
Trust your body as you relearn
Focus on your new freedom ahead

And practically
Try to keep your macros 40/30/30 or abouts with each meal

Keep your blood sugar steady -
since you are already in such a stressed state (from 15 years of starvation)

Smaller more frequent meals

Accept the weight gain
For me it was protective
I mean
I had to rebuild skeleton

The weight was temporary for me
But I was so sick
I didn’t care

dan.dominic

@LucyJ What exactly did you change?

LucyJ

@Peatful Thankyou

LucyJ

@dan-dominic added in carbs like fruit juice and white sugar, tried starch but bad endotoxin reaction, started eating protein with fruit juice 3 x a day making sure to get at least 20g of protein per meal. Reduced fat as I was high fat despite too little calories. Added in dairy as had been DF except for butter for years.

Started taking np thyroid 1/2 grain.

I react to all supps even aspirin as my gut is still sensitive

Mulloch94

It's probably a little bit of both water weight and fat. People who spend years on low carb diets should delicately ease themselves back into carbohydrate based diets. When you go all in, you're likely not going to respond well because the elevated fat oxidation has kept you in an insulin resistant state for many years.

I don't know what your diet looks like, but if you've been eating 50 grams of carbs (or less) everyday for 15 years, don't jump up to 300 grams so quickly. Maybe start out around 120 g, and slowly incorporate more & more while gradually reducing fat over the course of several months.

Also sugar, like ripe fruit and honey, and not starch, is what will increase your sensitivity to insulin. If you're not handling glucose well you should probably keep starch to a minimum.

Mulloch94

I've never met anyone who had good liver health after low carbing, literally no one. So the hepatic dysfunction keeps you from storing glycogen well, and a lot of that glucose when eaten in large amounts will just turn into lactate and fat and be burned as such. I believe Danny had a video on this. Fat oxidation is more so a hormonal issue, not really a dietary issue.

You can eat pure sugar and still be burning fat under the right circumstances.This is why you need to slowly recover, while possibly using substances like b-vitamins & Pyrucet to recondition yourself to burn glucose efficiently again.

Peatly

Refeeding Syndrome is a consideration. Another article
You don’t have to be in a state of starvation to have refeeding syndrome.

Like @Mulloch94 said b vitamins are important, especially thiamine. Keep pufa very low.

LucyJ

@Peatly @Mulloch94
Thanks, yep my liver area is often uncomfortable and eyes jaundice looking (improving). I don't think I eat enough to tolerate K2 yet.

I do think I have RFS so I will try go slower and I think I tolerate thiamine hcl so I could do that support only.

I'm avoid starch mostly and trying to do more gelatin and fruit juice slowly. I am sure fruit fibre sets me off - watermelon does, cooked fruit is semi okay. The lactate building up would explain my very tight calves all the time and feet pain.

Sounds like I just need to go slow

Peatly

If you are having jaundice like symptoms perhaps getting blood work done for liver, kidney, and thyroid function might be helpful.

Tightness in the calf can also be a sign of mineral deficiency

Dr Peat’s articles on fluid retention

Water: swelling, tension, pain, fatigue, aging

When energy fails: Edema, heart failure, hypertension, sarcopenia, etc.

If the end goal is to restore metabolism some weight gain is inevitable in the short term