Weight Gain, please help.

[raezdays]

Hello,

I recently bought the fork over knives cook book and watched the documentary. I started the plan 7 days ago. I have been eating normal portioned food over these 7 days and somehow have managed to gain 10lbs this week. I have been very strictly following everything on the plan, and cannot understand how this is possible. I never eat more than one cup of grains in any meal, tons of veggies, and only once this week had a sweet potato. My eating habits before the plan consisted of very low carb intake, and this has increased quite a bit with this new plan. I am not sure if this is the cause of the weight gain. The grains I have eaten this week are rolled oats at breakfast, quinoa at lunch and millet at some dinners. This included many green veggies, and fruits for snacks. I have also been eating soy- silken tofu mostly. I have also been keeping up my normal work-outs, 45 minutes 5 times a week. I am quite frustrated, and am wondering at this point if this plan is the best for me. Can you please advise?

[Hopingthisworks]

Hi, it must be to do with glycogen storage. Others will know more about this than me, but glycogen gets depleted I think on low carb diets and build up again initially on this diet if moving on to it from low-carb.

It should even out now. You couldn't possibly put up that much fat-weight in a week on a high-carb low fat diet (or possibly any diet to be honest!). Please try sticking with it for another few weeks at least to give it some time.

You don't say what weight/bmi you were when you started? Were you normal weight or trying to lose weight still?

I know this must have been really disheartening this week, but please stick with this diet longer as it should be better for long-term health.

[Ltldogg]

Hello raezdays and welcome,

Ditch the Fork Over Knives cookbook and any cookbook for that matter. Also ditch the Soy/Tofu and any other high fat food. Instead, eat mostly whole starches (Rice, Potatoes, Oats, Corn, etc), with just a little added whole fruits and veggies and watch your health improve and the weight come off. Avoid any blended or juiced items, processed foods, salts, oils, complex and gourmet recipes, restaurants, etc. Eat simple meals, eat when you are hungry until you are full, as many times as necessary every day.

This works.

Enjoy,
Scott

[colonyofcells]

McDougall diet is about eating for health and the body will find its own right weight over many months.
https://www.drmcdougall.com/2014/06/30/food-poisoning/

[FitTrey]

There is no need to panic you definitely have not gained 10 lbs of fat eating this way for 7 days. You would have had to consume 5,000 excess calories each day for that to happen. It is probably that your glycogen stores are now full, you actually have a lot of bulk / fiber in your digestive tract now, and maybe you are more hydrated. I'm just guessing but you definitely didn't gain 10 lbs of fat.

[Katydid]

You don't mention what diet you were on before watching FOK. If you were low-carbing, the initial weight gain could be the replacement of glycogen stores to carbohydrate starved muscles.

Kate

[GeoffreyLevens]

I never eat more than one cup of grains in any meal, tons of veggies, and only once this week had a sweet potato. My eating habits before the plan consisted of very low carb intake, and this has increased quite a bit with this new plan. I am not sure if this is the cause of the weight gain.

Much depends on you basic metabolism. An entire block of firm Silken Tofu cooked only has 227 calories but if you eat a lot of it....that can add up.

I am 66 and work out hard for 45-60 minutes daily, combination of HIIT and heavy grinds and I really only can eat 1-2 cups starch per day or I will gain weight! I often use winter squash (lowest calorie starch) instead of grains or potatoes for just that reason.

If you look at Dr Doug Lisle's forum the thread titled, "Can't stop eating, sometimes", he goes into this a bit. Very few are in the category but there are a few (like me) who really need to at least front load all meals w/ salad and/or soup to get close to full first before hitting the starches.

I almost always do one pot meals so I just measure everything except the veg. For me that is easier. Exceptions of course but most meals I measure.

[hazelrah]

Hey Kate,

In case you missed this in the original post:

Hello,

...

My eating habits before the plan consisted of very low carb intake, and this has increased quite a bit with this new plan.

I'd venture to say that Kate's explanation is spot on, raezdays. As colonyofcells pointed out, this is about health, not weight loss. You can achieve the weight you should be by carefully following the tenets of this lifestyle for many years, or you can quickly become svelte and sick by following a low-carb lifestyle. That weight loss can be further accelerated if you end up with cancer, which often happens as a result of all the toxins you eat by following a low carb regimen.

The choice is yours.

Sorry if that is too blunt, but the longer I remain on this plan, the angrier I become about all the lies that continue to be propagated by the popular establishment to keep us happy, fat consumers for the food industry.

Go bacon!

Mark

[pundit999]

Kate is right. Coming from a very low carb diet you are adjusting to this way of eating.

Keep up with the diet and do not consume any Soy.

Go on the Maximum Weight Loss (MWL) plan where in addition to only consuming whole plants with no added oil, you also avoid all flours, dried fruits and high fat plant foods such as the soy, the avocado, nuts, seeds etc.

[roundcoconut]

I tend to agree with Ltldogg about viewing recipes and cookbooks with caution!

To me, Forks Over Knives seems to give people the message that switching to plant foods will take care of everything. And there seems to be a tendency among plant-based cooks to be like, "Look at how yummy this can be! Taste how yummy this is!"

And eating the yummiest recipes and meals that can be made from plants may or may not be what is best for you right now. Like, if you are struggling to make the break from fatty mac n cheez made with Earth Balance, then it might be just the thing to switch you to the most decadent and calorie-dense recipes that can be made with no added oil. So, yummy recipes and meals, including calorie-dense plant foods, may be needed to wean you off of foods that are much, much worse for your body.

But ultimately, it is good to get as close as possible to eating whole natural foods. Don't let anyone tell you HOW close is right for you -- that is very much a personal decision. But eating as close as you can to whole natural foods (yes, including grains and sweet potatoes -- these are not the enemy here!) is the thing that will determine the magnitude of the results you are getting.

I often repeat something that f1Jim has said, which is that the food should be good, but not too good.

This runs contrary to people's initial inclination, to seek out the best, most mouth-watering, most-addicting, most sensational concoctions of foods that can be had within their personal dietary restrictions.

You want to be able to eat a full bowl of beans, greens and rice, and walk away thinking, "Perhaps I'll have this again next week, but I'm not sad that the meal is over. I'm ready to move on to doing something else!"

Well, as usual, I'm all OVER the place, and what I said may not apply to the OP, but may apply to someone else here. So, y'know, no intention of diagnosing or fingerpointing toward the OP whatsoever!

[Hopingthisworks]

I don't think there is a need to throw away the recepie books at this point. There is no way that "weight-gain" is fat-gain. It will be mostly water.

Personally I like a lot of variety and if I don't feel satisfied enough with variety I am more likely to stray off-plan. I do eat more plainly some of the time, in between the more interesting meals, but I get bored very quickly if I don't eat enough "interesting" food and variety. I like to use a lot of herbs and spices in cooking, and like to try out different ingredients and ways of cooking. Having said that, it is possible to slant most of ones diet towards less calorie dense foods and still eat interesting meals.

I saw a talk by Doug Lisle where he mentions different personalities and how this might relate to how and what they eat. I think it might have been this one http://esteemdynamics.org/video/the-per ... rsonality/

So I know that some people might do fine with fairly plain whole foods (if I am understanding correctly how some people are eating) but I think I would get bored very quickly and be tempted by rubbish if I did this myself. It is interesting to see the difference. I didn't really get it until I watched that Doug Lisle talk.

Having said that I have reduced the amount of dessert-type cooking and baking that I do, as I am more likely to sometimes eat that even if I am not really hungry. I still do a bit of "treat" cooking though, as this helps me stay on-plan.

Anyway, it might be jumping the gun a bit for the OP to change much in what they have done so far this week, as it will jut be a glycogen storage issue so far I would think. I think it depends on the person and their current weight and health-state, but if it is easier for them to stay on-plan using cookery books, then I think they should stick with that for now. They could always look up the Maximum weight-loss plan and focus mostly on recepies that only use those ingredients. I think it is ok for most people to focus on "good enough" initially, rather than maybe ideal weight, but it depends on their health situation.

[Ltldogg]

There are many ways to make food hyper-palatable which will cause a person to overeat:

processed food, salt, oil, sugar, juices, blended/puree/sauces, flours, excess herbs and spices, complex/gourmet meals and too many ingredients, dried fruits, nuts, seeds, other high fat foods (avocados, soy products, etc.), meats, dairy, eggs, etc.

Get rid of that stuff, eat mostly starches with just a little added fruits and veggies, eat simple meals, keep herbs and spices to a minimum and enjoy the taste of whole plant foods in their natural form.

Some examples:

Whole oats and fruit topped with a little cinnamon
corn and peas
potatoes or sweet potatoes
brown rice and beans with a small side of steamed greens

You will eat when you are hungry, eat to satiety, lose or gain weight as needed, and be very healthy.

Enjoy,
Scott

[Lesliec1]

Drop the tofu and don't eat too much fruit. Be patient and it will work over time. OR if you want to lose with maximum speed, please see the guidelines for the Maximum Weight Loss Program. There's a section for that here on this board and the guidelines are posted near the top. Even if you don't want to follow it, it's educational to at least check it out.

[Hopingthisworks]

Scott there is no reason to believe the OP has been over-eating. They don't sound like it from what they wrote. There is no way on earth a 10 pound weight-gain in a week is possible, unless it is glycogen storage as a result of moving from a low-card to high-carb diet.

I think it could be important that the OP eat to satiety and focus staying on-plan for now. If they get the idea that we think that they are overeating they might give up alltogether, or think this diet is too restrictive. They've only been doing this a week.

I know the food recommendation you are making works for some but wouldn't for me as a long-term thing. [Edit: just to clarify, I am not advocating eating animal products, or oils, at all. I eat very little high-fat plant foods myself. But I do eat "processed" things like gravy and sauces that I make myself.]

I did an elimination diet (for health-reasons) a few years ago and I couldn't wait to get off it as I was so bored. I also put up a bit of weight in the initial stages of it (which is weird). I wouldn't eat most beans plainly without some sort of sauce as I wouldn't find them palateable at all. I don't know the OP so don't know what would work best for them in terms of what and how they eat. It is worth their while though experimenting.

Anyway I will shut up now , but I think suggesting the OP reduces the variety and tastiness of the food is missing the point entirely, at this stage. It is highly unlikely that over-consumption that has led to their weight-increase and more likely related to glycogen storage and an increase in fibre (10 pounds in a week remember. Think about the amount of calories that would have to be consumed to do that if it was fat-gain).

[roundcoconut]

Want to mention really quick that I think we have to respect how unsettling it is to gain ten pounds. We could sit here and say, "You're doing great, just fuhgettaboutit!" but seriously, I think we would do better to admit that without further information, we have no way of knowing whether someone is in weight gain territory. Do we honestly want her to gain 20 pounds before we say, "OK, there's a decent chance that you need to adjust what you're doing!"

Honestly, I would have a freak-out if I gained 10 pounds in one week. Fine, maybe it is not ten pounds of fat, but who cares. Even if it is 4 pounds of fat, plus 6 pounds of water retention, the end result is that my body is ten pounds larger and heavier than it was before I started "improving" my health. And if you have a brain in your head, and you do the math, you know that if I gain ten pounds the first week, then if I continue eating like this, then maybe I am up 12 pounds after week two, and up 14 pounds after week three. This is not what the original poster wishes for herself, and I never want to pooh-pooh that or dismiss these concerns.

Everything that has been said here (especially everything said by Ltldogg) is right on point, so I don't want to bore you by saying all the same things all over again.

I would only add that you are probably doing a ton of things right here, and to feel good about that, and build on that. I'm surre you've had a lot of huge wins -- putting pieces in place that will wind up giving you a lot of excellent health over time. Did you eat some fresh tomatoes that tasted wonderful and made your body feel really healthy? Did you bring some apples with you when you ran errands so that you could sail right past the starbucks without stopping? Did you enjoy some unprocessed starches and notice the feeling of satiety you get? There are lots of small rewarding wins, and you have to acknowledge those and give yourself major credit, otherwise you will (foolishly!) say "This week was a big fail. This sucks. Why did I bother."

I'm not at all a fan of scale-centered eating! If you think that giving your body whole natural foods is only worth doing to make some fat in your upper arms go away, then every carrot you eat is going to feel like a form of punishment. You're not punishing yourself. Your thighs are not anyone's business really, and they don't certainly don'e need to be punished. A way of eating that is centered around punishing your belly fat pretty much sucks and I don't want to see anyone live like that. It is not even NICE!

Can I convince you to target things that you WOULD like for yourself? Being able to walk farther each week than you used to, is something that feels good. Or, being able to see bloodwork that shows that your engine is running clean and will not break down on the side of the road, is another thing that feels good. Or, feeling GOOD about the foods you're choosing and having a healthy relationship with food, also feels REALLY good. Your weight will shift as you eat whole natural foods, and we want that to happen for you, just not from a place of desperation or neediness.

That's all I've got to say! hope something is useful.