I've been exercising for the last few months and losing weight steadily. I was at roughly 80g of carbs/day. I then decreased my carbs to 50 and lost 6lbs the week of thanksgiving but didn't exercise that week. I was thrilled to say the least! I then started exercising again because I missed it so much and now I am gaining!

I am 5'4 and my weight was 127lbs just a few weeks ago. I've been eating around 1,000-1,300 calories a day and keeping my carbs at 50/day and I've been gaining weight! I am very disappointed and frustrated. My starting weight was 196lbs and my goal is 120lbs. I burn roughly 300-400 calories a day through exercise first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. I am now 130lbs and don't know what to do at this point. I'd really like to hit goal at 120 and then maintain.

Do you think I should increase my carbs and/or calories? I don't want to stop exercising, but I'm concerned that I'm burning too many calories.

Any suggestions and comments would be great! I also drink tons of water, no alcohol, no sugar, and very low sodium. Thanks so much!

Oh, and why am I gaining weight? Please don't tell me it's muscle because I gained 3lbs in one week! I am SO beyond frustrated! Also not TOM.

Thanks so much!
Lisa

I eat anywhere from 150-200g of carbs a day and I continue to lose weight. Unintentionally. Maybe you aren't eating enough every day. 1200 is just an average baseline that people go by.

You're not eating enough... *sings*

You're not eating enough... *sings*

http://doingspeed.com/fat-loss/how-the-hell-do-i-break-this-weight-loss-plateau/ Hope this helps.

Starts singing along with above

Starts singing along with above

You need to eat more....stop starving yourself..your body is most likely holding on to fat!

sorry double post

Go back to what was working for you.
And yes, eat more.

You should be eating a minimum of 1200 Net (1200 plus what you burn) So on days you burn 400, you should not eat less than 1600 (1200+400)

Truth. You should probably be NETTING about 1300 calories a day to lose half a pound a week (at 130 you're well within a healthy BMI for your height, so you really shouldn't set a goal higher than half a pound a week).

Also, if you just started exercising again after a period of no exercise your gain is probably mostly water weight.

Eat your exercise calories, and increase your daily caloric goals.. you should be starting to eat closer and closer to maintenance calories as you approach your goal ... No need to reduce your carbs that low either... Carbs don't make you fat..

What erickirb said, also, you don't need low carb unless your body has an intolerance to carbs, like people that have PCOS. Carbs are an essential fuel source for quick and long term energy.

I am doing a low carb diet for medical reasons and I keep mine at 100 per day. I read that 100/day is optimal for trying to lose weight. 50 is way too low and maybe your body just needs more fuel to burn more fuel. Good luck!

Also - hopefully you didn't lose the weight so fast that you can't reap the long term benefits of it. With such low carbs I imagine you must have lost a lot of weight very quickly. That might be why the weight is creeping back up now. It's next to impossible to live off 50 carbs a day for life so eventually the weight will come sneaking back. Up your intakes and keep at it.

From my own personal experience with Atkins/low carb dieting....it doesn't work. Long term it will not sustain you food wise and you wind up gaining ALL the weight back plus some if you ever do quit like I did. You should eat fruits and veggies, nuts along with the low carb stuff regardless of whether they have carbs. Plus the sugar free junk is not as good for you as you'd think. The artificial sweeteners have been known to cause weight gain (although I'm too lazy to look up details at the moment). I would eat more carbs and calories both, it may actually help in the long run. If you are burning too many calories and not consuming enough your body with go into shock mode and store more fat...that may be what is happening to you now.

are you eating natural low carb foods or processed/packaged low carb foods??? tried to check your diary, but it requires a code

I would eat the same amount and try exercising more. Your body has adapted to your reduced calorie lifestyle so you have to stoke the fire by exercising more. If you have to eat more to fuel the exercise, that's fine, just make sure you burn off more than you are taking in.
Are you in ketosis? When I've done low-carb dieting, I'd buy the test strips from CVS and see if I was actually in a state of ketosis or not while on the diet. If you are, you should be burning up your body fat pretty consistently at your caloric intake levels.

Probably water and inflammation from starting to exercise again.........weight loss isn't linear and eat more.

3lb in a week change in either direction is going to be mostly water.

And what everyone else has said about not eating enough.

50g isn't necessarily too low. I have to stay below 50g or my fasting blood sugars start to creep upward. It is very, very possible to live and thrive on 50g or less a day - I do it and I have also hit my lowest weight ever while maintaining my lean muscle mass. It could just be the change in macronutrients. You could definitely eat more. You might need more carbs for the exercise you do. The harder you exercise the more carbs your body can handle.

And be careful on increasing the exercise. Excessive exercise can do just as much damage to the body as a poor diet. I agree with low-carb real foods but it sounds to me like you are probably eating pretty clean.

You are not eating enough.
Make sure you are set to at most .5 lbs a week to lose. Eat back your exercise calories. Do strength training to change the composition of your body.

The problem with exercising more is your body will break down the proteins in your muscles for a fuel source. She will actually lose muscle mass as a result, which will slow the metabolism. Additionally, eating 1000 calories while exercising is like eating only 500 calories a day, so her body is not properly fueled. I can't stress enough, how many times it has been proven to eat more to lose more, especially when your body is at a lower body fat percentage. Your body has mechanisms to store food as fat when it feels it isn't being fueled properly.

There is no such thing as an essential dietary carbohydrate (yet fat and protein are necessary nutrients). And people can suffer from high blood sugars and never develop full blown diabetes. And one in every five diabetics are thin. You can have an intolerance to carbs and never know it yet suffer damage from it. (And the Standard American Diet contains WAY TOO MANY CARBS).

Look for advice on low-carb websites, Primal/Paleo sites, etc. Your best advice will come from fellow low-carbers (most of them have done extensive research and that is why they are low-carb).

I follow Primal Blueprint and am maintaining a very healthy weight and body composition with very little exercise. I don't have to count calories, weigh and log food, watch portion control. I just eat fibrous veggies and have some berries occasionally and these are all the carbs my body needs. I do have to make sure I eat enough because protein and fat keeps me full for so long.
My body thanked me when I stopped eating all of those grain/flour/sugar/dairy carbs. I feel normal for the first time in my life

I agree 100% with this. All the research I have done for the last year has shown this. I even went there back in September when I realized I wasn't eating enough (I was never hungry!!!). I have a Body Media Fit Armband and actually saw my metabolism slow down a bit and I gained a little bit of weight. But it was a good thing because my body is happier at 114lbs than it was at 110lbs.