I think I’ve figured out how I can appear to gain weight whilst consuming fewer calories than I burn… The realisation struck when, after a 1,500 cal cardio work out, I lost all the apparently-gained weight overnight.
Whilst my body was remaining the same (fitting clothes the same), the scale was reading an extended plateau and then a shocking 2.5lb increase. I think the difference is in the amount of stored glycogen. Glycogen is the energy source stored in muscles that you draw on when you do endurance sport. Because I had worked out for over 2hrs without topping it up with energy gels (as I’d do in a marathon) I had used it all up. By this morning I was down 3lbs on yesterday.
Consequently the use of weight as the sole assessment of the physical body is not sufficient.
I guess this is how the Atkins Diet works. It gradually starves the body of glycogen (which is made from carbohydrates), forcing it to use fat stores. So not only does it lead to a reduction in muscle mass but also a greater apparent weightloss. This means that the dieter gets trapped into Atkins because the second they eat carbs the body grabs them to refuel the empty glycogen stores. They step on the scales the next day and see a huge increase despite the fact that their body won’t have gained an inch. The fuel is in the muscles, not sitting around as fat. Consequently they stop eating carbs, use up the glycogen and ‘magically’ lose weight. That has got to be the stupidest diet I have ever heard of.
I might not consume enough calories but I do try to eat a balanced diet.
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