Weight gain doing everything right

DeannaSofia886

I recently stepped up my cardio workouts by quite a bit. I stay under my alotted 1510 cals and burn about 350 cals per session- which is about 100 more than usual each time. I got on the scale this morning and I gained 2 lbs. I am so frusterated I could chuck it all and eat French fries and ice cream while watching lifetime.

DeguelloTex

Weight loss is not linear, particularly after increasing exercise, which can lead to water weight.

And you can eat french fries, ice cream, and watch Lifetime and still lose weight, anyway.

queenliz99

It's probably water weight, keep doing what you are doing. and may be use your scale on a weekly basis instead.

seska422

First off, chucking it all won't get you where you want to be.

Second, weight loss is mostly in the kitchen. Are you recording everything you consume in your food diary with accurate entries? Are you weighing all solid foods on a food scale and using measuring cups/spoons for liquids?

Third, you could be retaining extra water from bumping up your exercise routine.

Versacam

I have only just started losing after 1 month of no weight loss due to exercise.

Water weight, muscle build etc..

My clothes feel so much looser though!

strong_curves

How long have you been at it?

DeannaSofia886

I am def meticulous about my calorie counts and I lost 27lbs in about 3 months and just started last week going from walking to running

kshama2001

Where are you in your menstrual cycle? I gain water weight both at ovulation and premenstrually.

How many of the calories you earn from exercise are you eating back? Many people here suggest you not eat back more than 50% of them as exercise burns tend to be inflated,

lemurcat12

It's really common to see a bump up on the scale when you start a new exercise program or increase intensity. It's just water to help repair muscles. Give it a couple of weeks.

janejellyroll

DeannaSofia886 wrote: »

I am def meticulous about my calorie counts and I lost 27lbs in about 3 months and just started last week going from walking to running

I am a runner. Whenever I increase my mileage, I gain some weight. It's just temporary -- your muscles are adjusting and holding on to extra water. Your body will adjust and you won't hold on to it forever. Stick to your plan. This is a sign that you're challenging your body. I know it's frustrating to see a jump on the scale, but it isn't "real."

marciaholland77

Cardio is important but so are the calories from the food we eat. I personally like to have about half of my allotted calories that I get from exercise left over. Usually that's between 400-500 calories, if mfp gives me let's say 900. This helps in case I put the calories wrong from the food I've eaten, just a bit of a leeway. I'm almost at maintenance, so the losing part is slow right now.

ASKyle

How are you calculating your exercise burns?

Asher_Ethan

What are you exercises and how are you calculating the burn? I run a 9 minute mile and I put it in as walking because MFP is so outrageous on the calorie burns.

DeannaSofia886

kshama2001 wrote: »

Where are you in your menstrual cycle? I gain water weight both at ovulation and premenstrually.

How many of the calories you earn from exercise are you eating back? Many people here suggest you not eat back more than 50% of them as exercise burns tend to be inflated,

Asher_Ethan wrote: »

What are you exercises and how are you calculating the burn? I run a 9 minute mile and I put it in as walking because MFP is so outrageous on the calorie burns.

I don't eat any back

SingRunTing

lemurcat12 wrote: »

It's really common to see a bump up on the scale when you start a new exercise program or increase intensity. It's just water to help repair muscles. Give it a couple of weeks.

This plus wherever you are in your cycle could be affecting your scale weight.

Patience is what's needed here. You should be looking at your trend over time to assess your progress, not reacting to every little blip on the scale. Look at your weight loss over months, not week to week.

starbean

In the past, I've always gained weight when re-starting on exercise, particularly with jogging. It's so frustrating that this time around I've been hesitating to increase my workouts beyond walking and dancing--I wanted to wait until I lost at least 10 pounds from calorie restriction alone so I could document some progress. But I missed feeling healthy and fit, so I started back with the jogging. And guess what? I gained a couple of pounds overnight. Got to think long term, though! I know, at least on one lever, that it's just temporary!!!