Gaining weight after being under calorie goal and exercising

theshaleco

I don't understand... For the last 12 days I have been under my calorie goal and have gone to the gym 8 times... I have been eating salads and I have basically cut all processed food from my diet. Somehow despite all this I have managed to gain 4 pounds... I do not understand? I don't know what I am doing wrong. Any advice would be greatly appreciated... I am feeling rather disappointed now as I was expecting to at least loose one pound.

DaFibble

If you're being strict about the calorie count and also working out you're doing the right things, though how many calories are burned through exercise can be a little complicated to calculate. Give it some more time. Weight can fluctuate a great deal from day to day, week to week, for reasons other than fat loss. 12 days is too short to see an overall trend. Have faith.

Kaley119

You may be gaining muscle. Muscle weighs more than fat. You're doing good! Keep it up!

mrsmcmo

Are you drinking enough water? You could be losing fat but hanging onto water weight. Make sure you are drinking lots!

maxit

It's not muscle - if you worked pretty hard with progressively heavier lifting you might build a pound of muscle in a month. Most likely its water weight - if you are working out hard, you will be retaining fluid as your muscles repair themselves. And women will vary 3-5 pounds over the course of a month due to hormone activity. Keep doing what you are doing. Take rest days from workouts, to. Be sure you are eating sufficiently, too - including proteins and fats (yes, fat).

ana3067

OP is not gaining muscle unless eating at a surplus. You are probably retaining water, stop freaking out. It's not even been 2 weeks - you need at least a few months to make sure things are atually working.

jennifurballs

I'd just add that if you're not weighing and measuring your food, you could be eating more calories than you think. If you're eating back your exercise calories, make sure they're accurate as well.

Baconist

Kaley119 wrote: »

You may be gaining muscle. Muscle weighs more than fat. You're doing good! Keep it up!

Sorry but muscle doesn't weigh more than fat... 1pound = 1 pound whether it's muscles, fat or feathers...a pound of muscles takes up less volume (space) than a pound of fat, it also burns about 9 more calories per hour than a pound of fat, but it doesn't "weigh more than fat."

TinaBaily

What kind of dressing are you putting on your salads, if any? I don't know how your body is, but mine looks at sodium and BLOATS! I have to watch my sodium intake if I don't want to feel like the stay-puf marshmallow guy. It sounds like you are doing most everything right; eating more veggies, cutting out processed foods, and exercising. Someone mentioned water intake. Be sure that you drink plenty to help prevent dehydration. I find that I lose better when I drink a LOT of water. I aim for over 100oz of water a day, and that isn't counting my morning coffee or any teas or sodas. (I rarely drink soda anymore--maybe once or twice a month now.)

Keep doing what you are doing. If you aren't yet, be sure to log your food. If you are logging, are you weighing the food? I was shocked when I went from using measuring cups and spoons to weighing. What a difference!

Welcome to MFP. I hope you are able to reach your goals!

Kalikel

It's not muscle.

Could be you're taking in a lot of sodium, so holding water. Could be you're ovulating or about to have your period. Could be wacky scale ridiculousness. Could be that you have a physical problem that makes it harder for you to lose weight.

Hang on for another four weeks and see if you don't lose.

Don't give up!