Help! I'm gaining weight with diet and exercise!
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JustMissTracy wrote: »Seriously? It "weighs" more? Or it takes up less space, is more compact and is the same weight?
If you had 1 cubic foot of muscle and 1 cubic foot of fat, the muscle would weight more.0 -
But if you have one pound of fat, and one pound of muscle? They weigh the same.0
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1. Make sure you are weighing yourself at the same time of day each time.
2. It is important to meticulously measure out your food.
3. For weight loss, cardio is the best type of exercise. But it is important to build muscle as well, so make sure you also do some strength exercises. Don't forget, muscle weighs more than fat.
4. Don't eat back all of the calories you've burned during your exercise.
Like someone else said, for weight loss, it doesn't matter if you cut certain foods out of your diet, you just need to stay under your calorie goal for the day. The only time it would matter is if your body is having an ell ethic reaction.0 -
bcalvanese wrote: »If that is not how it generally works, then maybe that is why most people fail, and it worked for me because I put the work in to get the result.
I think many people make it much more complicated than it needs to be. I also think many people just don't want to put the work in. Lets face it. Its very strenuous and uncomfortable to exercise, and many people do not want to do it. But once you make it a habit, and once you reach a healthy weight and good fitness level, its not that hard to maintain it. The hardest part is getting to that level.
It's really pretty simple.
if you are not active enough and eat too much you will be over weight.
if you are active enough and don't eat too much you will not be over weight.
But many people who are already over weight do not want to go through the discomfort of activity. So what do they do? They turn to weighing food, counting calories, and starving themselves. IMO, that is just replacing one bad habit with another.
all you need for weight loss is a calorie deficit. Exercise is good for extra calorie burns, body recomp, and general health ...
I think I already said that in one of my post when I said "don't eat too much food", and exercise is very important in achieving and maintaining a healthy body weight. Unless you think the CDC (plus any doctor that I have ever asked about it) is/are wrong.0 -
I just want to point out that weighing food is NOT an "unhealthy habit". It can be extremely useful for people. I'm 116 pounds and active; I workout six to seven days per week. I weigh my food because my fitness goals require the utmost precision when it comes to my food intake.0
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bcalvanese wrote: »bcalvanese wrote: »If that is not how it generally works, then maybe that is why most people fail, and it worked for me because I put the work in to get the result.
I think many people make it much more complicated than it needs to be. I also think many people just don't want to put the work in. Lets face it. Its very strenuous and uncomfortable to exercise, and many people do not want to do it. But once you make it a habit, and once you reach a healthy weight and good fitness level, its not that hard to maintain it. The hardest part is getting to that level.
It's really pretty simple.
if you are not active enough and eat too much you will be over weight.
if you are active enough and don't eat too much you will not be over weight.
But many people who are already over weight do not want to go through the discomfort of activity. So what do they do? They turn to weighing food, counting calories, and starving themselves. IMO, that is just replacing one bad habit with another.
I realise that you've had success with your method, but that doesn't always work for everyone. It's completely down to personal preference and experience.
When I started out on MFP, I worked out 5x a week and weighed everything, and I lose weight. Now that I'm a lot busier and at a 'healthy' BMI, I'm not working out- but I'm still counting calories. And I'm still losing weight.
You can easily log and counter a sedentary lifestyle through logging and deficit. You can't out-exercise bad eating (or inaccurate/nonexistent logging).
ETA: I do agree that a lot of people dont want to put the work in though- but those that do will see the benefits, and those that dont (wether its sticking to a calorie goal or working out or both) wont see any weight loss or reach their goals. And that's their own loss.
I'm sorry, but unless the basic laws of physics changes from person to person, this will work for anyone who can walk.
There is no basic law of physics saying "it's impossible to overeat if you just walk a bit every day."0 -
JustMissTracy wrote: »Seriously? It "weighs" more? Or it takes up less space, is more compact and is the same weight?
Muscle doesn't take up less space, 1 cubic centimeter of muscle is the same size as 1 cubic centimeter of fat. (This argument is silly.)0 -
Mystery solved! I started my period this morning, which explains the 4.6 pound sudden weight gain which is water retention. It came a week early, so I didn't realize it was starting. The water weight should go down when my period ends in the next few days.
For me, I get the post weight loss whoosh exactly one week after my period starts, which I find odd, as my periods are extremely heavy due to my own fibroid, and I expect the whoosh right after my heavy days are over, three days in.
Someone else mentioned flax seeds - I've started eating 1-2 T of ground flax daily as Dr Michael Murray recommends here: http://doctormurray.com/health-conditions/uterine-fibroids/ It mixes easily into smoothies, oatmeal, whatever.
I do use a food scale and find it far more accurate than using measuring cups, and cannot recommend it more highly.
I don't think anyone has mentioned exercise burns yet - many people here suggest you eat back no more than 50% of the calories you've earned from exercise as the burns tend to be inflated. Also, if you just started lifting weights, that generally causes water retention which is supposed to go away within a month.0 -
stevencloser wrote: »JustMissTracy wrote: »Seriously? It "weighs" more? Or it takes up less space, is more compact and is the same weight?
Muscle doesn't take up less space, 1 cubic centimeter of muscle is the same size as 1 cubic centimeter of fat. (This argument is silly.)
I agree.0 -
bcalvanese wrote: »Power walk as fast as you can for 30 to 60 minutes every day. Then you will not need a food scale. You will just need to ballpark your calories and you will still lose weight. And you will feel better and be healthier too.
Or you could just eat less...weigh everything you eat.
More useless advice from MFP.
It worked for you because whatever your method was, which is completely unscientific, put you in a calorie deficit. You should stop giving advice or stick to the last bit.
Why would I stick to the last bit?
I don't want to replace one bad habit with another. I would much rather replace bad habits with good habits.
Are you saying that proven advice that would work for anyone on the planet who is capable of walking is useless advice?
I am beginning to see why obesity is running ramped in this and many other countries.0 -
JustMissTracy wrote: »JustMissTracy wrote: »bcalvanese wrote: »If that is not how it generally works, then maybe that is why most people fail, and it worked for me because I put the work in to get the result.
I think many people make it much more complicated than it needs to be. I also think many people just don't want to put the work in. Lets face it. Its very strenuous and uncomfortable to exercise, and many people do not want to do it. But once you make it a habit, and once you reach a healthy weight and good fitness level, its not that hard to maintain it. The hardest part is getting to that level.
It's really pretty simple.
if you are not active enough and eat too much you will be over weight.
if you are active enough and don't eat too much you will not be over weight.
But many people who are already over weight do not want to go through the discomfort of activity. So what do they do? They turn to weighing food, counting calories, and starving themselves. IMO, that is just replacing one bad habit with another.
all you need for weight loss is a calorie deficit. Exercise is good for extra calorie burns, body recomp, and general health ...
Although...exercise DOES help to create the deficit needed to lose weight.
yes, that is why I pointed out that it increase calorie burns….
Exactly. So bcalvanese isn't actually wrong. Per se.
actually, he is because he said if your not active you will be overweight, which is not true.
Why did you only post part of what I said?
I said...
If you are not active and eat too much, you will be over weight.
if you are active and don't eat too much, you will not be over weight.
don't know why you would leave part of that out.0 -
bcalvanese wrote: »JustMissTracy wrote: »JustMissTracy wrote: »bcalvanese wrote: »If that is not how it generally works, then maybe that is why most people fail, and it worked for me because I put the work in to get the result.
I think many people make it much more complicated than it needs to be. I also think many people just don't want to put the work in. Lets face it. Its very strenuous and uncomfortable to exercise, and many people do not want to do it. But once you make it a habit, and once you reach a healthy weight and good fitness level, its not that hard to maintain it. The hardest part is getting to that level.
It's really pretty simple.
if you are not active enough and eat too much you will be over weight.
if you are active enough and don't eat too much you will not be over weight.
But many people who are already over weight do not want to go through the discomfort of activity. So what do they do? They turn to weighing food, counting calories, and starving themselves. IMO, that is just replacing one bad habit with another.
all you need for weight loss is a calorie deficit. Exercise is good for extra calorie burns, body recomp, and general health ...
Although...exercise DOES help to create the deficit needed to lose weight.
yes, that is why I pointed out that it increase calorie burns….
Exactly. So bcalvanese isn't actually wrong. Per se.
actually, he is because he said if your not active you will be overweight, which is not true.
Why did you only post part of what I said?
I said...
If you are not active and eat too much, you will be over weight.
if you are active and don't eat too much, you will not be over weight.
don't know why you would leave part of that out.
If you are not active and don't eat too much, you will not be over weight.
If you are active and eat too much, you will be over weight.
don't know why you would leave that out.0 -
JustMissTracy wrote: »stevencloser wrote: »JustMissTracy wrote: »Seriously? It "weighs" more? Or it takes up less space, is more compact and is the same weight?
Muscle doesn't take up less space, 1 cubic centimeter of muscle is the same size as 1 cubic centimeter of fat. (This argument is silly.)
I agree.
If you sucked all the fat out of your body and replaced it with the same volume of muscle, you would be the same size and weigh more.0 -
bcalvanese wrote: »bcalvanese wrote: »If that is not how it generally works, then maybe that is why most people fail, and it worked for me because I put the work in to get the result.
I think many people make it much more complicated than it needs to be. I also think many people just don't want to put the work in. Lets face it. Its very strenuous and uncomfortable to exercise, and many people do not want to do it. But once you make it a habit, and once you reach a healthy weight and good fitness level, its not that hard to maintain it. The hardest part is getting to that level.
It's really pretty simple.
if you are not active enough and eat too much you will be over weight.
if you are active enough and don't eat too much you will not be over weight.
But many people who are already over weight do not want to go through the discomfort of activity. So what do they do? They turn to weighing food, counting calories, and starving themselves. IMO, that is just replacing one bad habit with another.
I realise that you've had success with your method, but that doesn't always work for everyone. It's completely down to personal preference and experience.
When I started out on MFP, I worked out 5x a week and weighed everything, and I lose weight. Now that I'm a lot busier and at a 'healthy' BMI, I'm not working out- but I'm still counting calories. And I'm still losing weight.
You can easily log and counter a sedentary lifestyle through logging and deficit. You can't out-exercise bad eating (or inaccurate/nonexistent logging).
ETA: I do agree that a lot of people dont want to put the work in though- but those that do will see the benefits, and those that dont (wether its sticking to a calorie goal or working out or both) wont see any weight loss or reach their goals. And that's their own loss.
I'm sorry, but unless the basic laws of physics changes from person to person, this will work for anyone who can walk.
I never said that it wouldn't work, but that would rely on someone sticking to pretty much the same plan you did (including consuming enough calories to put them in a deficit). The point I'm trying to make is that not everyone will lose weight just by 'walking more'. You had success because you were able to create a deficit alongside the walking- not everyone will be able to do that, at least not without counting calories.
Walking is great for health and fitness and all manner of other things, but it cant be the sole way of creating a deficit. As I said before- you cant out-exercise bad eating habits- no matter how many miles you walk.0 -
stevencloser wrote: »JustMissTracy wrote: »Seriously? It "weighs" more? Or it takes up less space, is more compact and is the same weight?
Muscle doesn't take up less space, 1 cubic centimeter of muscle is the same size as 1 cubic centimeter of fat. (This argument is silly.)
Exactly. Let's not turn this into a semantics debate. I would hope that most of us, at least, know that muscle is denser than fat and that is the intent behind the statement (and if we're worried about someone not understanding, why not clarify that way instead of the silly argument).
Either way, the idea of gaining that much muscle (5 pounds plus replacing fat lost) in a month, while eating at a deficit is extremely unlikely.0 -
bcalvanese wrote: »bcalvanese wrote: »If that is not how it generally works, then maybe that is why most people fail, and it worked for me because I put the work in to get the result.
I think many people make it much more complicated than it needs to be. I also think many people just don't want to put the work in. Lets face it. Its very strenuous and uncomfortable to exercise, and many people do not want to do it. But once you make it a habit, and once you reach a healthy weight and good fitness level, its not that hard to maintain it. The hardest part is getting to that level.
It's really pretty simple.
if you are not active enough and eat too much you will be over weight.
if you are active enough and don't eat too much you will not be over weight.
But many people who are already over weight do not want to go through the discomfort of activity. So what do they do? They turn to weighing food, counting calories, and starving themselves. IMO, that is just replacing one bad habit with another.
I realise that you've had success with your method, but that doesn't always work for everyone. It's completely down to personal preference and experience.
When I started out on MFP, I worked out 5x a week and weighed everything, and I lose weight. Now that I'm a lot busier and at a 'healthy' BMI, I'm not working out- but I'm still counting calories. And I'm still losing weight.
You can easily log and counter a sedentary lifestyle through logging and deficit. You can't out-exercise bad eating (or inaccurate/nonexistent logging).
ETA: I do agree that a lot of people dont want to put the work in though- but those that do will see the benefits, and those that dont (wether its sticking to a calorie goal or working out or both) wont see any weight loss or reach their goals. And that's their own loss.
I'm sorry, but unless the basic laws of physics changes from person to person, this will work for anyone who can walk.
I never said that it wouldn't work, but that would rely on someone sticking to pretty much the same plan you did (including consuming enough calories to put them in a deficit). The point I'm trying to make is that not everyone will lose weight just by 'walking more'. You had success because you were able to create a deficit alongside the walking- not everyone will be able to do that, at least not without counting calories.
Walking is great for health and fitness and all manner of other things, but it cant be the sole way of creating a deficit. As I said before- you cant out-exercise bad eating habits- no matter how many miles you walk.
This^^ And what happens of you get a debilitating disease and can no longer exercise. I hope that doesn't happen, mind you. Your theory will not help you.0 -
JustMissTracy wrote: »bcalvanese wrote: »If that is not how it generally works, then maybe that is why most people fail, and it worked for me because I put the work in to get the result.
I think many people make it much more complicated than it needs to be. I also think many people just don't want to put the work in. Lets face it. Its very strenuous and uncomfortable to exercise, and many people do not want to do it. But once you make it a habit, and once you reach a healthy weight and good fitness level, its not that hard to maintain it. The hardest part is getting to that level.
It's really pretty simple.
if you are not active enough and eat too much you will be over weight.
if you are active enough and don't eat too much you will not be over weight.
But many people who are already over weight do not want to go through the discomfort of activity. So what do they do? They turn to weighing food, counting calories, and starving themselves. IMO, that is just replacing one bad habit with another.
What I have bolded above are not untrue statements.
They are equally true when edited as such:
if you are not active enough and eat too much you will be over weight.
if you are active enough and don't eat too much you will not be over weight.
Exercise can increase the deficit, but you still have to be in a deficit to lose weight. People who can't/don't want to exercise are certainly losing out on other benefits, but they're still perfectly capable of losing weight. Exercise isn't the determining factor in weight loss; calorie deficit is. How that deficit is created is up to the individual.
It's an important distinction because there are people who think they can eat as much as they want as long as they're exercising, which is far from the truth.0 -
JustMissTracy wrote: »bcalvanese wrote: »If that is not how it generally works, then maybe that is why most people fail, and it worked for me because I put the work in to get the result.
I think many people make it much more complicated than it needs to be. I also think many people just don't want to put the work in. Lets face it. Its very strenuous and uncomfortable to exercise, and many people do not want to do it. But once you make it a habit, and once you reach a healthy weight and good fitness level, its not that hard to maintain it. The hardest part is getting to that level.
It's really pretty simple.
if you are not active enough and eat too much you will be over weight.
if you are active enough and don't eat too much you will not be over weight.
But many people who are already over weight do not want to go through the discomfort of activity. So what do they do? They turn to weighing food, counting calories, and starving themselves. IMO, that is just replacing one bad habit with another.
What I have bolded above are not untrue statements.
They are equally true when edited as such:
if you are not active enough and eat too much you will be over weight.
if you are active enough and don't eat too much you will not be over weight.
Exercise can increase the deficit, but you still have to be in a deficit to lose weight. People who can't/don't want to exercise are certainly losing out on other benefits, but they're still perfectly capable of losing weight. Exercise isn't the determining factor in weight loss; calorie deficit is. How that deficit is created is up to the individual.
It's an important distinction because there are people who think they can eat as much as they want as long as they're exercising, which is far from the truth.
Do you even realize that you crossed out parts of what I said, and then said pretty much the exact same thing but in different words?0 -
bcalvanese wrote: »JustMissTracy wrote: »bcalvanese wrote: »If that is not how it generally works, then maybe that is why most people fail, and it worked for me because I put the work in to get the result.
I think many people make it much more complicated than it needs to be. I also think many people just don't want to put the work in. Lets face it. Its very strenuous and uncomfortable to exercise, and many people do not want to do it. But once you make it a habit, and once you reach a healthy weight and good fitness level, its not that hard to maintain it. The hardest part is getting to that level.
It's really pretty simple.
if you are not active enough and eat too much you will be over weight.
if you are active enough and don't eat too much you will not be over weight.
But many people who are already over weight do not want to go through the discomfort of activity. So what do they do? They turn to weighing food, counting calories, and starving themselves. IMO, that is just replacing one bad habit with another.
What I have bolded above are not untrue statements.
They are equally true when edited as such:
if you are not active enough and eat too much you will be over weight.
if you are active enough and don't eat too much you will not be over weight.
Exercise can increase the deficit, but you still have to be in a deficit to lose weight. People who can't/don't want to exercise are certainly losing out on other benefits, but they're still perfectly capable of losing weight. Exercise isn't the determining factor in weight loss; calorie deficit is. How that deficit is created is up to the individual.
It's an important distinction because there are people who think they can eat as much as they want as long as they're exercising, which is far from the truth.
Do you even realize that you crossed out parts of what I said, and then said pretty much the exact same thing but in different words?
I think that the point is that it's how much you eat that really makes the difference. Yes, exercise will affect how much one can eat before it's "too much." But it's eating at the right level for your activity that is the key.
It seemed (at least to me, from your earlier posts) that you were putting the focus on the exercise, as if just power walking and eating intuitively were enough. You even put weighing foods and counting calories in the same category as starving oneself (it isn't) and that it is a bad habit. You implied that those who don't want to power walk aren't willing to put in the work.
There are many types of exercises that different people find enjoyable. What worked for you may not be the key to success for others. It's great that it worked for you. But stop implying that your way is the one and only way to be successful and happy all in one.0 -
I think I have wasted enough time on this thread. I'm going to go do my power walk now so I don't have to weigh and count every single gram of food that I put in my mouth for eternity...
~seeya~0
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