Do You Have To Gain Weight On Peat?

I have read so many of these posts where people find they feel great on Peat, and symptoms improve. . . but their waistline goes up. Does it have to be that way?? I mean, is there any way to eat this way and not gain weight? I"m at a good weight for my height, and I do not want to gain weight, that will just make me stress more.

I lost more than 20 pounds. I think people who did a low carb diet before are the ones who tend to gain weight. I never did low carb.

I have done low carb, but years ago. . . we'll see how it goes. I'll just monitor my calorie intake and try to not overeat!

I lost 14 lbs, almost 10 percent of my body weight. I eat tons of food and
never limit calories. But i try to replace fat with carbohydrate .
I did low carb for a short while before peating. I think most people who gain
weight peating does not totally follow the basic dietary guidelines.
It is not easy to suddenly switch into whole lot of new foods.
It takes a lot of studying to understand the whole of RP dietary ideas
and all the mystery behind horrible commercial foods we have.
Add: It is probably easier for male to lose weight on peat as
males have on average less estrogen than female.

mamaherrera said:

That may be true, but look at progesterone-deficient women like me, and I've lost the race in every aspect!

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You're on the right track now and it's never too late to begin healing. If you've been able to bear children and breastfeed then all is not as bleak as it may seem! I feel very confident that with the attention to detail that you are putting toward your healing everything will move in the right direction. After about 8 months I'm finally starting to relax more and I wish I could have done that sooner. I just felt I had to get this all right so I know it's easier said than done but give yourself some credit and just let the healing happen. I don't mean to sound dismissive at all but I know you will continue to see improvement and I don't want to see you suffer needlessly with worry. We're all in the same boat with you mamaherrera.

As much as I complain about my weight gain, I don't think it's directly because of the RP way I was eating. Yes I did gain a few pounds when I started, but then I was starting to lose weight when I finally got serious about it... but then we had a severe winter where I was extra sedentary and eating a lot of fat and carbs for comfort (ice cream especially). From there, I started having some kind of issue with water retention. That's been my real problem, this inability to lose the water weight so far.

Mittir said: "I think most people who gain weight peating does not totally follow the basic dietary guidelines."

This was not true for me. I did indeed gain weight when I started eating according to Ray Peat's suggestions. I was VERY careful about the specific foods that I chose to eat. I did not count calories though as I was focusing on overcoming my fear of sugar in general and also desperately trying to bring down out of control stress hormones. It just so happens that I was severely hypothyroid AND glucose intolerant from years of eating zero carbohydrate. So yes, my body was in a state of shock and did not know what to do with the sudden availability of fructose and sucrose and I packed on twenty five pounds of fat. I was consuming around 2300 calories a day. I started to count calories in March and tried to limit my caloric intake to 1500, that lasted all of two days. There is NO way that I could survive on 1500 or 1600 calories. So I tried 1800 calories which is far more do-able, but still not always enjoyable long term. I have since decided that I did not wish to obsess about my caloric intake and focus more on getting all of my nutrients while enjoying my food. Using this method, it turns out that I naturally eat around 2000 calories a day and have LOST six of those 25 pounds without even trying. I have also changed thyroid medication in the last month. So I guess it all comes down to one's own personal metabolism. Also, for me personally, I actively chose NOT to send the message to my body that it is still in starvation/deprivation mode....it just didn't seem like the loving thing to do. I wish you all the best in your quest for health!!!

People can definitely gain weight eating according to Peat's principles if the metabolism isn't fixed yet.

Yes, it's a bit of a catch 22...diet alone does not fix everybody, especially severely hypothyroid, estrogen dominant, older women who have been eating NO carbs for years. Unfortunately, that is precisely what I did to stay thin. I used to be amazed at how much fat I could consume without gaining weight

Ray Peat says that during long dark winters the body loses respiratory enzymes, I think this added to my weight gain as well. Now that it is spring and I have changed my thyroid meds and I have avoided PUFA for 5 months, things are beginning to change. I will be prepared for next winter!

Oh, one more thing mamaherrera... I use a 250 watt infrared clip-on heat lamp, it's a brooding lamp, cuz it's what I had laying around for raising baby chicks. It seems to work just fine and I do believe it makes a difference, just don't let it touch your skin!

I went a bit nuts on full fat milk, ice cream, eggs, coconut oil.

I guess most people who get fat are eating more than 100-150 grams of fat per day.

Around 60 grams should be the aim I think. People read that coconut oil speeds up metabolism and think that eating 5 tbsp a day will make them thin along with butter, ice cream, eggs etc.

aquaman said:

I went a bit nuts on full fat milk, ice cream, eggs, coconut oil.

I guess most people who get fat are eating more than 100-150 grams of fat per day.

Around 60 grams should be the aim I think. People read that coconut oil speeds up metabolism and think that eating 5 tbsp a day will make them thin along with butter, ice cream, eggs etc.

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^ +1

aquaman said:

I went a bit nuts on full fat milk, ice cream, eggs, coconut oil.

I guess most people who get fat are eating more than 100-150 grams of fat per day.

Around 60 grams should be the aim I think. People read that coconut oil speeds up metabolism and think that eating 5 tbsp a day will make them thin along with butter, ice cream, eggs etc.

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I think the quality of the fat matters. Fat from coconut oil is not the same as fat from "organic" soy/grain fed eggs, as you say they don't have the same effect on metabolism. It's like comparing sugar and starches.