Help me :(

abiduckfeetfootner

feeling really disheartened, ive been so good these past couple of weeks, been under my calorie goal, been to the gym most days yet I'm gaining weight? It's knocked me for six and I'm loosing my motivation. Is it normal to gain before loosing? Have you got any tips on what I could change ect? Feeling really down right now

AllonsYtotheTardis

Starting a new exercise program usually has your muscles retaining extra water for a little while. Which means, you see a false gain on the scale. It usually settles itself out and goes away after a couple weeks.

Sammieamfa

They always say that when you start out at the gym you are gaining muscle and trimming up and muscle is heavy than fat. I bet if you had your measurements you would have lots inches. Sometimes it's better to do both do herb you have times like this you can check the other and see what a marvellous job you have done

jgnatca

For specifics, open your diary.

I have a four week cycle of weight loss, with a gain just before I lose big. Three guesses what sort of monthly cycles women usually have? That could be it, salt retention, etc. I say give four weeks at least to get a good picture on whether you are going up or down. If you think you might need to change your calorie goal, reduce it by 100 calories a day for a week or two to see if it makes a difference. That's only if you aren't at your minimum of 1,200.

How much are you planning on losing?

TavistockToad

It's water

abiduckfeetfootner

I want to loose 2st by June. My gym took my measurements and I get them re done next week so I guess I'll have to wait till then to see if anything has happened

Deena_Bean

I'm in the same boat at the moment - and yes, it's normal. Water weight...part of the game. Over time your body will sort itself out. It's hard to not be annoyed by this phenomenon, but it's pointless to fret about it. If you're being honest and diligent with your calories, you'll start to see losses in time.

MKEgal

Sammieamfa wrote:

They always say that when you start out at the gym you are gaining muscle and trimming up and muscle is heavy than fat.

I don't know why this myth continues, or why people can't see the illogic of it and stop saying it.
A pound of muscle weighs exactly the same as a pound of fat!!!
(Which weighs the same as a pound of feathers or a pound of lead.)

Also, it's hard to gain muscle, so very unlikely that someone would lose a pound of fat and gain a pound of muscle at the same time.

Since the beginning of 2014, this calculator says I've lost 81 lb of fat and gained 3 lb of lean body mass (had misremembered in another thread & said 4). I would have been very happy with simply maintaining muscle mass, which given the potential measurement inaccuracies is probably what I've actually done.

But yes, muscle is more compact/dense than fat.
Take measurements every couple of weeks. Sometimes that's the only progress you'll see.
.

Have you got any tips on what I could change

Make sure you're really eating what you think you're eating. Weigh/measure everything, at least until you get a handle on portion size & can eyeball things pretty reliably. Overeating is usually the problem when someone says, "I'm eating so little but not losing weight".

Don't eat back your exercise calories. Most machines (including MFP) overestimate calories burned. Add that to the underestimation of food consumed, and you could easily be several hundred calories off. If your deficit is only 250 calories per day (to lose 0.5 lb per week) that's the difference between losing & maintaining/gaining.

If after several weeks of doing those, you don't see a change, drop 50 calories & wait again.
You can also increase your exercise (time, intensity), though most weight is lost at the table, not the treadmill. Instead of 30 min of cardio a day, do 45. Or 60. Instead of walking on a flat treadmill, use the incline or the hill program.

Here's a newbie help post where I compiled some useful links, including sexypants (go read it now, then come back to this thread), accurate weighing & logging of food, realistic goal setting (weight, calories, macros), motivation, etc.

MKEgal

Zyaedra wrote:

Consuming a lot of sodium will cause water retention as well.

As will a high-carb meal. IIRC, it takes 2g of water to process 1g of carbohydrate in the body. (Might be 3, not completely sure about that.)

If you're actually eating less than your body needs, you will lose weight.
It's physics.
You have to burn energy to run your body. If you haven't been feeding it enough in the form of food, it will take what's available... first glucose, then glycogen (both carbohydrates), then fat, and as a distant third it will burn muscle. That's an inefficient conversion, and is risking death in the hope of finding food. (That is the real starvation mode by the way.)

Sammieamfa

MKEgal wrote: »

Sammieamfa wrote:

They always say that when you start out at the gym you are gaining muscle and trimming up and muscle is heavy than fat.

I don't know why this myth continues, or why people can't see the illogic of it and stop saying it.
A pound of muscle weighs exactly the same as a pound of fat!!!

Geeze whaay no need to sound aggressive and getting angry.
I may be a newbie this time around but have been here before, but having lost 5 and 4 stones twice before I shall make sure I rip all those books up as I was obviously wrong and while at will trace back all the health professionals I've dealt with over the last 20 years to let them know they are wrong too. Oh and of course the other organisations in the public domain that teach people about muscle density too..

I appreciate science and research is always changing, but will agree to disagree. But one thing we should remember on forums, wherever they may be, is that when writing a post there is no tone to how they can be read by another and to be kind in posting bearing this in mind.

(Deleted last post by accident so cba to type it all out again.

marinabreeze

Sammieamfa wrote: »

MKEgal wrote: »

Sammieamfa wrote:

They always say that when you start out at the gym you are gaining muscle and trimming up and muscle is heavy than fat.

I don't know why this myth continues, or why people can't see the illogic of it and stop saying it.
A pound of muscle weighs exactly the same as a pound of fat!!!

Geeze whaay no need to sound aggressive and getting angry.
I may be a newbie this time around but have been here before, but having lost 5 and 4 stones twice before I shall make sure I rip all those books up as I was obviously wrong and while at will trace back all the health professionals I've dealt with over the last 20 years to let them know they are wrong too. Oh and of course the other organisations in the public domain that teach people about muscle density too..

I appreciate science and research is always changing, but will agree to disagree. But one thing we should remember on forums, wherever they may be, is that when writing a post there is no tone to how they can be read by another and to be kind in posting bearing this in mind.

(Deleted last post by accident so cba to type it all out again.

I don't think anyone got aggressive. You're taking it the wrong way.

A pound of muscle = a pound of fat. Muscle is slightly denser than fat, but that is not the same thing. Density is a different concept than weight. It's science.

Sammieamfa

Probably didn't explain as it density I was referring to. Maybe a bit sensitive having an angry face thrown at me then or the differences across the seas. I shall refrain in the future as I've certainly not come across that before.

jadowns

Does it look like you've gained weight in the mirror, I think the scale lies sometimes especially when you're active.

veanna111

It's depends but I would try switching up your workout routine