Just started phase II and clothes are tighter?!?

[Anacrone]

Hi everyone,

I'm new to the forums, not so new to PP.

It's been a few years since I did PP. I am marginally (0.5%) overfat for my age, my bloodwork and BP have always been very good, so I figured I would do Phase II this time around.

I did Phase I years ago and was lifting weights 2-3X a week at a time. I had very good results, although as I look at my old calculations, it looks I was losing a bit of lean mass too. At the time, my protein/carb counting was pretty careless so the lean mass loss isn't surprising.

Here is the story now: for the last year and a half, the number on the scale stays the same or very nearly so. Every couple of weeks, my clothes get a little bit tighter. Clothes that were loose on me last year are now just a fraction away from not fitting any more.

So I'm losing lean mass and gaining fat. Fantastic.

Possible factors:

* Lowish cal, lowish protein, high carb diet punctuated by sugar/fat binges that can last a couple of days. Even when not on Phase II, I figure I get at least 12 grams of protein at every meal, though. Not up to PP standards but not awful.
* Stalled weight training program: I go to the gym once a week, lift the same amt of weight every time and can't seem to make progress. Recently I pulled a tendon in my hand and that took about 6-8 weeks to recover from (I blame the Gravitron). I can't go to the gym more than once a week, unfortunately. I walk 20-30 min/day, not fast.
* I'm female and in my early 40's. Was on Lo-Estril and Yasmin for about a year and a half (note that the fat creep started before the pill, but it was easier to recover from a binge before the pill). I discontinued the pill about six months ago. The fat creep continued and in fact may have gotten worse since I'm off the pill.

So I started Phase II last Friday and stuck to it over the weekend. I've been drinking more than enough fluids, counting the carbs in each meal, and after one day of rabbit starvation (Friday) made sure to get enough fat into my diet.

Why are my clothes tighter today?

Very frustrating - I figured I'd get a bit of relief from the annoying bra bind after a couple of days on Phase II but no such luck.

I don't care about the scale - in fact I wouldn't mind seeing it go up if my clothes got looser. My problem isn't the weight - it's the lean mass loss and body fat gain.

Does this ring a bell to anyone?

thanks, Anacrone

[Belfrybat]

Welcome. It doesn't seem to me that you've been on PP long enough for the fluctuations in how your clothes fit to be associated with it. As you say, you've had the fluctuations for a while. Give it time -- low carb is not a magic cure. You might want to do Phase I for a week to help deplete your glycogen stores which will help you lose water weight -- usually the culprit in the kind of fluctuations you are talking about. Or follow the PPLP guidelines of 40 ECC a day until you have corrected whatever problem you started PP for. Then begin to increase the ECC in pre-maintainence. Just remember to calculate your protein needs so your body is being well fed.

BTW, the only way to know whether you are losing or gaining body fat is to do the calculations and compare them to the first time you were on PP. I found my body reconfigured itself a few years ago and what I thought was an overall gain in body fat was not -- it just shifted to other places.

We have a daily thread in the challenge section where a bunch of us hang out and support each other. Come join in the fun.

[Anacrone]

Belfry - thanks for the reply and suggestions.

I'm not the most patient gal in the world and of course I expect instant results - even though I've deliberately chosen a somewhat slower course!

Interesting note about the comparison to the very first calculations. That wouldn't have occurred to me.

And I might just have to wander over to Challenges. :o

By the bye, the ol' bra is just a little bit looser today - not Phase I looser but just enough to give me some encouragement.