gaining weight. How am I doing it if my calorie count on both diets has been about 1000 calories a day. On both diets, my simple carbs are extremely low, high on vegetables, but obviously on the veggie diet I have zero cholesterol, zero oils and very very low fat (10g). But after 5 days I have gained 3 pounds. Sheesh.

My first concern would be the fact that you're only eating 1000 calories a day. Your body may be panicking that you're now giving it a variety of nutritious foods and its holding onto that, instead of just meat meat meat. If you aren't eating enough in a day (and 1000 calories is NOT enough for any adult in a day), your metabolism slows and slows because it doesn't expect to get more food. Low carb diets put your body into "starvation mode" as it is, *actually* starving it on top of that is only going to lead to trouble.

You could also be retaining some water, as fruits/veggies are high in water, as opposed to just meat... which is not.

Exactly what I was going to say, too, rabid. Your metabolism is well out of wack because of ketosis and now that you're out of that state, your body is trying to hang on to every bit of nutrition it can. This is why you're gaining weight. Your body is storing up for the next "starvation period".

And 1,000 calories, unless you're a 24/7 couch potato, is entirely too low. That could be the other reason why your body is building up fat reserves (read: gaining weight). You're slowing your metabolism way down. Too far down, IMO. 1,500 to 2,000 is a bit more reasonable - try shooting for that.

EXCELLENT on keeping simple carbs low to non-existant, though. Simple carbs and refined carbs are two of the worst things ever. You didn't mention if you were whole grains, though. If you're not, then start. If you're not eating beans (cause they're not low-carb) then start eating beans as well. That will not only help right your metabolism, it will also replenish the nutrients that your low-carb diet took out.

It will take a bit of time to get your metabolism put right cause of all the stuff you did to it. Don't be discouraged and don't give up.

sad to say right now I am a couch-potato as I am having heart surgery on Tuesday. I will say that I lost two of the extra pounds, so I am agreeing that it probably is still my body adjusting to the new woe (and trust me the surgeons are only getting this one chance at me - I won't quit).
What I am eating is whole grain breakfast - fibre one or oatmeal, lunch has been some form of vegetarian stew and then dinner has been a vegetarian chili my wife makes. Lots of beans and yesterday we added brown rice to the equation.
I just think after years of either low carb or celebrating not being low carb, my body will take a little while to adjust. Also, because of two 95% occlusions, I can't exercise right now and sometimes I feel like I swallowed an air balloon.
thanks for the help.

Up your caloric intake, begin eating a healthy "diet" that you will/can live with for a lifetime. Add lot's of raw food, and give your body a couple of weeks to adjust to the "shock" of you feeding it lots of nutirition!

There are so many yummy food choices from Mexican, to Chinese, to Italian, the list goes on and on! Food you can feel good about eating.

I hope you have a speedy recovery.

The obvious question is, are you overweight? I'm not trying to be rude, but people who consume only 1,000 calories per day generally have body image problems. You'd be much better off eating an appropriate amount of calories and controlling your weight with exercise.

Best of luck to you on Tuesday (9/6?)! It sounds like this is a very hard time for you, and just want you to know that I will be thinking about you and wishing you well. It sure sounds like you are doing everything right - please let us know how things go!

First of all, a huge hug, i know how hard these things can be, both my father and my father-in-law have had to go in for heart procedures. Its scary, but trust me, life can go back to normal!!

Even for a weight loss routine, unless you are extremely obese, 1000 calories a day is pretty low. Ask your doctor what he/she recommends. Sounds like your diet is very healthy, if not a little restrictive on the caloric side, and perhaps a little want for vegetables (broccoli, spinach, etc, all have lots of protein and not a lot of calories!)

Good luck to you, let us know how everything goes!!

as the other, I am presently at 209 pounds on a 5'9" frame. As soon as I have the baby, I'm good. I actually wish I had had more of a body image problem, then maybe I would have taken better care of myself.
As far as the calories, I am eating as much as I can right now. Whenever I eat more, I have angina pains for the next hour or so.
I really do think that I have to just stick to this and my body will get use to the new foods. Today has been much better because I started it with fruit and nothing else until lunch and I didn't have all the bloating. I think that it is hard to realize what my body must be going thru after so long being low carb and then such a sudden change. Today marks just one week.
Thank you again for the words of help and encouragement.

Wow, did I read this correctly? You're pregnant and only eating 1,000 cals a day?!?! If so, that's EXTREMELY bad for you! Please tell me you're not pregnant!

nm