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Low carb yet gain weight

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Posted 12/6/2007 2:12 PM (GMT 0)
If you are underweight, how can you gain weight and yet stay with low carb (to manage blood sugar), knowing it is not good to be underweight since you'll be weaker and your immune system and other things will also be on the lower end.

Are there ways to gain 'healthy' weight and yet avoid having blood sugar get into trouble?

Thanks.
Posted 12/6/2007 2:38 PM (GMT 0)
Hi arzoo, that's a tricky question.  The only advice I can give is to put more fats into the diet and eat more often.  Put olive oil and butter on vegetables.  Eat walnuts and almonds for snacks (watch their carbs though).  If you can eat any carbs at all, depending on how your blood sugar measures, eat whole grain bread or something like WASA Rye wafers with peanut butter.  Eat more often, more snacks during the day, so your food intake is more than if you wanted to lose weight.  If you eat small snacks more often, your blood sugar shouldn't rise too much - of course, loading up on snacks is easy if they're carb-based.  That's the problem because most snacks available and that we are used to are usually carbohydrates.  So, be careful and measure your blood sugar so you know what works for you.  Hopefully, others will have more ideas.


Posted 12/6/2007 11:57 PM (GMT 0)

Good question Arzoo.

Dr. Wolfgang Lutz, another long standing proponent of the low carbohydrate diet, said the following:

'The low-carbohydrate program augments the anabolic processes that contribute to increased body mass in the form of bone density, muscle, and connective tissue. But the underweight person must be diligent. It takes some time to see the benefit of weight gain. Usually thin people experience a loss of weight during the first few months on the diet. This eventually gives way to increased body mass as the production of growth hormone eventually increases and the nutrients needed to build tissue ( fat and protein) are consumed. The new weight, however, will be in all the right places.'

Since I'm Type 1, I don't snack, so I can't recommend that as an approach!

All the best,

fergusc 

Posted 12/7/2007 9:07 PM (GMT 0)

arzoo said...
knowing it is not good to be underweight since you'll be weaker and your immune system and other things will also be on the lower end...

I agree with Fergusc on this one. Being 'underweight' doesn't necessarily make you weaker or make your immune system weaker. It's just that 'plumpness' has been associated with plenty vs. thinness having been associated with famine in our cultures.

If I were trying to add weight I would ramp up my cheese/lean meat/egg intake and maybe supplement with such things as beans. Navy beans, kidney beans, humis, (chick peas) are good sources of protein without cholesterol and add some good, body building stuff along with the calories they deliver. When mixed with olive oil or even the fats from meats (chili) the slowed digestion time will help prevent spikes and level out your sugars a bit, too.

Along with the increased number of low carb meals you can increase your strengthening exercises to build muscle mass. This leads to more efficient use of your own insulin, increased stamina and of course better strength. If you are worried about your immune system, I'd look into some supplements that may help.
Hope this helps.
Posted 1/28/2008 3:28 AM (GMT 0)

My husband is following Bernsteins's 6/12/12.

He has Impaired Glucose Tolerance, he does not use insulin. 

He has gained weight by eating protein. Changing the amount of fat did nothing.

He chose a goal weight and calculated a protein goal with this formula:

his weight in kilograms * 1.5 = protein in grams divided by 6 = protein in ounces. (1 egg = 1 ounce of protein, for example).

Once he started eating that much protein or more each day, he started to gain.

Good luck!


Posted 1/28/2008 2:25 PM (GMT 0)
Roll,
Thanks for the info! Always glad to see additions to our overall knowledge base.
Posted 1/28/2008 2:37 PM (GMT 0)
Oh, I forgot. He also timed some of his protein intake around his weight lifting workouts. He would eat protein in the "window of time" 1 hour before the work-out and up to half and hour after. The idea is that this would help him gain the weight as muscle.

This seemed to work, but was not as clearly a success as the over all weight gain. He definitely gained strength, though.
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