[timmyp]

I recently started low carb dieting to get my levels under control and I have already seen a great improvement in my BG levels – however…

The only problem is that I have started losing weight and I am already underweight for my height. I am currently 122 pounds (55kg). I would really like to increase my weight but not sure how this is going to be possible while trying to maintain a low carb diet.

Anyone else share my struggle? Most people on the forum seem like they want to loose weight but I need to gain!

[cheryl]

How many carbs are you eating a day?

Everyone is very keen and hip to eating low low low carbs, and all, but what some of us go thru like me is that I am way way too thin on low low carbs, and the more fat I may add and protien the more later highs I will get rather then a quick high that fades fast from eating more carbs LOL

So essentially what I did was I added some carbs back, I was down to 80 carbs a day, I am now happily at 130-150 max a day this helped me gain about 10 pounds back and now I have stablized there I would like to gain another 10 pounds, but am pretty much ok now with some of the weight gain and the control I have on this amont of carbs, I might experiment more but I took very small baby steps in adding some carbs back in diet....like 5 per meal, until it kept growing and the limit is now 50 carbs a meal....just depends...I eat 35-50 carbs a meal and do fine...

Cheryl

[Scratch]

Consider adding some carbs back in.

Also consider doing some lifting and strength training along with eating even more protein, that could get you building some muscle.

If additional calories and some smart strength training still see you losing weight, there is always the chance of hyperthyroid as well.

But first just try to eat more and I can't endorse enough the utility of some strength training along with plenty of protein to help a person grow.

[volleyball]

To build up, using some unprocessed quality carbs along with more meat should help.
Cheeses are a good source of nutrition as well as heavy in calories. Eating late in the day helps retain calories that we do consume.

[timmyp]

Thanks for the quick reply guys!

Yeah I am keen to strength train as a bit of muscle will be greatly received

I am just wondering about increasing my carb intake. Is this done through ‘traditional’ carbs such as pasta etc or do you eat a basket of salad with every meal?

The reason I have recently gone onto the low carb diet was to reduce my spikes.

Cheryl while on the diet I was consuming 10g, 20g, 20g per day. Right now I am probably around 30g, 40g, 60g (with same old spikes). I do like the fact of reducing my insulin requirement to minimize lows. I am wondering if this is the reason that I spike a lot. Sometimes I would have hectic hypos right after injecting (30min after injecting) and battled to get my BG up. Very scary and not cool at work.

I am however inspired by you wonderful people.

[cheryl]

May i ask are you active at work, or is it a sitdown job, I live a very active life, I think if I didn't I probably would be with the lower carb crowd, but I am too active for it, and I need it for energy....

I guess my perseption is, I still don't eat a lot, so why should I even deprive myself energy....Like I stated upping too much fat and protien causes too much later on bg spikes, and and longer high's....spikes from carbs come down fast and nice....

I don't know about your after meal low's I hate those, but I figured out at first I let my bg's be no less then 110 at first when I started to get them alot....then all of a sudden it has stopped I get lows after I bolus, but the pump has helped me tremdously with this issue

cheryl

[timmyp]

Yeah, I am rather active… I paraglide and have started exercising after work (only just started – not cardio). Work itself is desk based but there is a bit of walking to and from the train stations here in London.

I will play around a little and try and find some middle ground I recon. I am also hoping to get a pump within the next few months so this may also help somewhat.

Thanks again!

Tim

[cheryl]

It will help with the activity then you can set a lower basal rate for your active life and almost get rid of thos after bolus low's that I have to avoid also, I don't mind getting a hypo, but not those one's after a bolus those to me are the worst...

cheryl

[BrianSCohen]

Originally Posted by timmyp

I recently started low carb dieting to get my levels under control and I have already seen a great improvement in my BG levels – however…

The only problem is that I have started losing weight and I am already underweight for my height. I am currently 122 pounds (55kg). I would really like to increase my weight but not sure how this is going to be possible while trying to maintain a low carb diet.

Anyone else share my struggle? Most people on the forum seem like they want to loose weight but I need to gain!

On a very low carb diet, you will become naturally lean. If you want to build up your weight, what you really want to do is increase your lean body mass. You certainly don't want to add body fat. As Scratch has noted, a good way to do this is to use exercise to challenge your body. It will adapt to the stress, and you can fuel that through increased protein. I am not talking about a handful of peanuts, I am talking serious protein. Start with 150-200 g/day.

Time your eating around weight training. Eat protein before your workout, and then eat protein and limited carbs right after workout to fuel recovery. Go to costco, buy a 6 lb back of low carb when protein from EAS. Each shake has 25 g of protein. Drink a couple of these a day, that should help.

Start to collect favorite low carb protein sources. I personally love meat, but other sources are eggs, tuna, cottage cheese and nuts.

Lift heavy, eat big.

[DeusXM]

If you're losing weight then you're not getting enough calories. Men need around 2500 cal a day to maintain their weight. If you want to put on weight, you'll need to have more than this a day. So start eating more!

Of course, your body stores excess calories as fat. Which is bad. You want to put on muscle. which also weighs more than fat but takes up less space on your body. It also makes you look good. So you probably need to dramatically increase your protein intake (like, 3 chicken breasts a day, or shakes if you prefer), which combining that with some weight training. You'll build muscle, get heavier and get healthier.

[MJB]

Bacon.

Lots of Bacon.

[BrianSCohen]

Originally Posted by MJB

Bacon.

Lots of Bacon.

Great, a fellow baconite.

Check this out (YouTube - Bacon)

[UpNorth]

Try eating a bit more fat and proteins. Like bacon and eggs for breakfast. And do some weightlifting. Then you should be able to build some muscle at least.