Keep gaining!!!

canarons

I have been doing the myfitnesspal log for about a month and I have been sticking to my diet. I ride about 3 days a week for about 10 miles a day and I always come in under my calories, some days it's 50 and other days it's 300. I seem to be slowly gaining weight instead of losing weight. I am set to lose 1.5 pounds a week with calorie count of 1700 a day, not including exercise. I'm wondering if that's actually my mainantence weight. Anyway I'm starting to get very frustrated and disappointed with the weight gain. Any advice or suggestions to keep myself motivated and not let this get me discouraged.

Thank you and best of luck to all of you!!
Candice

DemoraFairy

It says you've lost 6lbs on your profile, is that true? Also can you open your diary so we can have a look? Do you weigh everything you eat with scales? Do you eat back your exercise calories?

bb4886

you could be building muscle and this would be why wour not loosing.....have you measured yourself?

pinkteapot3

1. Change your goal to "maintain current weight", see what daily cals it says, then put it back to "lose 1.5lbs per week", and make sure the cals go down. Just check that the app hasn't glitched.

2. Is your logging, both of food and exercise, really accurate? Are you weighing everything you eat on a food scale? Do you *ever* estimate a portion or eat something without logging it? Do you know your bike ride is 10 miles, and are you calculating your riding speed accurately?

3. Are you eating back any of your exercise cals? You should eat at least some, if not all.

Even though you will be building some muscle you should still be losing if everything is accurate. I started in Jan and have lost 11lbs in 11 weeks, with a goal of 1lb per week. When I started, I also started running three times a week (3 miles each time) and cycling to work 3 days per week (8 miles a day), so a similar-ish level of exercise to you.

TimothyFish

Do you weigh 230 pounds? If so, then 1700 is the right number. If not, then you need to be eating less than that.

sgthaggard

Are you weighing your food, or using measuring cups?

If you do use a food scale and are accurate in logging your food, my next question is - how are you determining your exercise calories? Depending on your exercise, MFP, cardio machines and even HRMs can overestimate your calorie burn, moving your deficit into maintenance or even surplus territory.

lcooper327

TimothyFish wrote: »

Do you weigh 230 pounds? If so, then 1700 is the right number. If not, then you need to be eating less than that.

Wrong again.

marinabreeze

What did you set you activity level to when you signed up for MFP? If you factored in your exercise when choosing your activity level (e.g. choosing "highly active" because you bike rather than due to having an active job), then you might be inadvertently double-counting your exercise.

I got 1700 originally as a sedentary woman (I work a desk job) with over 200 pounds to lose. Check to make sure you're at the right setting for your daily lifestyle (not including exercise) - I have a feeling that's why you are probably not truly eating at a deficit (needed for weight loss).

miss_rye_

I weigh 170, eat 1800-2000 a day and am losing. Less is not always more.

Are you truly eating what you think? A food scale is your best friend, and it can really make a difference in your measuring.

Example:

You use creamer every day and you estimate that you are only using 1 serving, that is 20 calories, in reality you are using 2 servings - over a week this is an extra 140 calories. You eat cereal, guestimate again of 1serving, when you are eating 2, this is an additional 770 calories a week (using Cherrios). As of now, you are up 910 calories for the week.

It might not seem like a lot, but it adds up over time.

juleszephyr

Are you eating back ALL your exercise calories. If you are working on MFP estimates it is generally considered that their burn amounts are too high. Try eating you daily goal plus half your exercise cals and see what happens... I am afraid everyone is different and it is just trial and error until you find what works for you...

FitnessTrainer69

Give it time. Nice and slow.

AmyRhubarb

TimothyFish wrote: »

Do you weigh 230 pounds? If so, then 1700 is the right number. If not, then you need to be eating less than that.

What? I weigh around 140 lbs and eat 1800-2000 a day and lose. :huh:

OP, even if 1700 was maintenance for you, if you've been eating below that number you'd be losing. Accurate logging is key - weigh and measure all foods as much as possible. If you're consistently gaining, you're probably eating more than you think.

A public diary is helpful for offering more specific advice - you can make it public in your settings if you want to share.

jenniferinfl

Are you eating back all your exercise calories? I know some people here eat back none of them and some eat back half of them. If you're eating back all of them, then probably the amount of calories you burn on your rides is being overestimated. The calories on here are high for most of the exercises. I didn't really burn 300 calories walking for an hour yesterday. That's way too high.

fatcity66

TimothyFish wrote: »

Do you weigh 230 pounds? If so, then 1700 is the right number. If not, then you need to be eating less than that.

Um what?