The Five Pound Creep

[Mitra]

Someone commented in response to one of Dr Mike's blogs (comment no.3 (http://www.proteinpower.com/drmike/?p=743#comment-34223)) that they had been maintaining for about three and a half years, and were battling the "five pound creep," in spite of eating pretty much at intervention carb levels, and not eating much high fat food.

Dr Mike replied:MD and I stay on a pretty much intervention level most of the time. But the 5 pound creep happens, even to us. When it does, we do one of the following depending upon our mood and circumstances: we turn to an all-meat diet, which is incredibly effective; we turn to a few shakes per day and one meal a la Thin So Fast; or we fast intermittently, eating a low-carb diet on the eating days.

These regimens work well for us. We lose the few pounds we’ve picked up and go back on our regular low-carb fare.

Hope this helps.

Cheers–

MRE

I just wondered whether the maintainers here have the same experience? If so, how do you deal with it?

I don't keep at intervention levels normally - it's more like about 60g per day, and I certainly don't stick to very lean meats cooked without fat. If it's lean meat of fish, then there's usually a cream or mayo-type sauce, and, considering there's little or no bread to put it on, we consume quite a bit of butter! But I do get "the five pound creep." Usually if I journal my foods for a while, and watch for carb creep, that will take care of it (slowly - a pound or two a month). Maybe the more drastic measures the Drs E adopt would deal with it faster.

[deirdra]

I eat 30g ECC but found lowering my fat intake caused a 10 lb creep and made me feel crabby and unsatisfied. This time around I increased my food intake by adding 300 calories of FAT, while avoiding grains and high-casein dairy. I've been maintaining effortlessly on 2000 calories (I'm a 5'6" 52-year-old woman) for the past year eating like this. And I haven't felt this happy or had "normal" desires for food since I was ~11 years old!

[Mitra]

Deirdra, I'm sure I should know, but please would you tell me again how you found out that grains and high casein dairy (does that mean hard cheese?) are problematic for you?

[Mitra]

After reading Deirdra's post, I decided to check my numbers - I haven't actually counted for a while. Today (I haven't eaten dinner yet, so it could change) is looking like about 1500 kcals, 70g pro, 30g carb (ecc), 90g fat. That's about 70% fat. My numbers always vary from day to day, and I know my average kcals are a bit higher than that, but I'm not very hungry today.

[Shadow]

I haven't checked my numbers in a long time, but I know I eat a lot more protein than I "need" and I'm certainly not shy about my fats, either :lol: :D! As long as I keep my carbs down and limit the amount of lc treats (my biggest weakness :o ), I seem to do okay (knock wood ;) ) regardless of how much I eat.

[deirdra]

Deirdra, I'm sure I should know, but please would you tell me again how you found out that grains and high casein dairy (does that mean hard cheese?) are problematic for you?Mitra, I found out by using an elimination diet and systematically adding things back one at a time to gauge their effect on me.

Hard cheese (the more aged the better) tends to be lower in casein than things like ricotta, cottage, cream cheese & yogurt. The highest fat, lowest casein cheeses are: gruyere, monterey jack, muenster, cheddar, edam, goat, colby, gouda.

[cmcole]

This past winter, after maintaining fairly consistently for a few years, it seems that my legs (upper) have gotten larger (seems like muscle), my hips are wider, and, yes, I still have a few rolls that I seem to be the only one noticing.

I don't know if "middle age spread" is indeed accurate (the hips thing), but my skirts and things still fit around the waist, yet, pants that were tight in the legs do not fit the upper legs or hips, and I've had to give some of them away to the charity bin.

I, too, haven't counted in a while. I probably eat more nut products than I should, certainly. I also tend to have phases of LC treat consumption - I believe it's related to my cycle, if I were to evaluate it.

So, I've crept up more than I'd like, and yet, other than the aforementioned areas, my clothing still fits. Could it be my more frequent trips to the gym and walking? I suppose that could have something to do with it, but it doesn't necessarily make me delighted to have widened.

[Gabriel Guzman]

Very interested to read... I'm curious, though... How does casein play in all this? Or rather, what's the actual problem with casein?

[WakefieldWendy]

Mitra, I found out by using an elimination diet and systematically adding things back one at a time to gauge their effect on me.

How did you do this? (I mean, a standard elimination diet would start with brown rice or something). What did you eat at first? How long do you wait after going to the most basic food before adding back in?

[Teaser]

Hi everybody!http://www.healthdiaries.com/blogs/vegetarianblues/archives/2004/09/casein_and_cheese_more_addictive_than_chocolate.ht ml
Huh?

[Teaser]

Although I'm not sure that isn't just an attempt by some vegan "scientists" to get people off animal based foods altogether.

[lczeledoc]

Cheese addiction, yeah, since i have given up sweets I find myself eating a lot more cheese. The creamy variety, Brie, Blue, Gouda, & Cheddar. I have some after dinner, usually with almonds. I really would love to eat with fruits. But I resist. I do find myself reaching for more, even though I am already full. And I really love cheese with wine. It could become a binge for me, that's why I don't drink wine evry day. My other tempatation is cheese cake & creme brulee or flan.

[Ammy]

I have an 8lb range that I fluxuate within...8 up, 8 down from 204.
It's been 10 months since I restarted PP, I started at 204 and I'm still at 204...

So, I've moved into maintenance.

My question is, what is your carb allotments for maintenance.
When I did maintenance before I would allow myself about >70ecc per day and maintained nicely with a few days over and a few days under.

I saw reference to Mitra following 60g per day...what about others?