I gained weight after counting calories

7Colors

I could be overreacting, but I'm afraid that counting calories is making me gain weight instead of lose it.
I started using MFP again two weeks ago. Before that, I was just eating more fruits and vegetables and drinking more water. I didn't exercise or count calories. Even so, I lost 10 lbs. I was happy about that, and figured using MFP would help me continue losing. So I started logging everything I ate, plus I started walking more. The thing is, after just two weeks of doing this, I gained 3 lbs (and this weight gain happened BEFORE Thanksgiving).

Is this normal? I'm worried I'll gain all the weight back and more. It just doesn't make sense to me that I would gain weight after specifically trying to eat under my calorie limit. Not crazy under, just by 100-300. I don't always manage to stay under, but I'm definitely eating less than I used to even when I slip up some days.

Should I be worried? Maybe I should cut down even more in case I'm underestimating the amount I'm eating.

stevencloser

Weight fluctuates. Give it time. If your numbers are all correct, you'll lose weight.

Orphia

Equus5374

First of all, counting calories is only as good as your method of measuring the calories; in other words, are you guesstimating or weighing everything with a food scale? You are probably eating more than you think. Get a food scale if you haven't already. Secondly, two weeks is not enough time to really see change. Weight fluctuates daily, and can be up and down by 5 pounds every day (water weight, digestive conditions, etc.). Give it time. What are your stats? If you let folks know your weight and your goals, including opening your diary, they can give you more help.

diannethegeek

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10084670/it-is-unlikely-that-you-will-lose-weight-consistently-i-e-weight-loss-is-not-linear/p1

Verdenal

Are you weighing everything you eat? Often we eat more than we realize. On top of that, there's a margin of error in calorie reporting of as much as 15%. It's better to be a little under.

I've never failed to lose weight if I faithfully kept track of what I ate and weighed myself frequently: usually every day. I pay no attention to exercise calorie burn calculations because they're too inaccurate. I get in whatever exercise I can. I don't change how much I eat.

7Colors

I'm a little too embarrassed to say what my weight is.
And while I don't have a food scale, most of the stuff I'm eating is store bought, so I can see the number of calories on it. And yes, I'm taking serving size into account. The fruits and vegetables I eat I can only measure with measuring cups.
What bothers me the most is how I lost weight without counting calories, but tracking them seems to have done the opposite.

diannethegeek

7Colors wrote: »

I'm a little too embarrassed to say what my weight is.
And while I don't have a food scale, most of the stuff I'm eating is store bought, so I can see the number of calories on it. And yes, I'm taking serving size into account. The fruits and vegetables I eat I can only measure with measuring cups.
What bothers me the most is how I lost weight without counting calories, but tracking them seems to have done the opposite.

Are you reading the things we're posting? The links? The flowchart? It's only been two weeks. That's too early to tell whether something is off or it's a natural fluctuation.

FWIW, serving sizes can be off on nutrition labels and a food scale is amazingly useful for things like meat, fruit, veggies, grains, bread, etc. If you're completely against one, I understand. But most people find them faster, easier, and more accurate than measuring cups.

steuartcj

Buy a decent food scale. ANY food can be weighed. When in doubt, GOOGLE it. It does work when possible eat fresh, non processed foods, FAR less sodium. Don't be embarrassed by your weight, I was 254 and am now 217 going for 200. We on my fitness pal are AII OVER WEIGHT. Otherwise we wouldn't be here.

7Colors

diannethegeek wrote: »

7Colors wrote: »

I'm a little too embarrassed to say what my weight is.
And while I don't have a food scale, most of the stuff I'm eating is store bought, so I can see the number of calories on it. And yes, I'm taking serving size into account. The fruits and vegetables I eat I can only measure with measuring cups.
What bothers me the most is how I lost weight without counting calories, but tracking them seems to have done the opposite.

Are you reading the things we're posting? The links? The flowchart? It's only been two weeks. That's too early to tell whether something is off or it's a natural fluctuation.

FWIW, serving sizes can be off on nutrition labels and a food scale is amazingly useful for things like meat, fruit, veggies, grains, bread, etc. If you're completely against one, I understand. But most people find them faster, easier, and more accurate than measuring cups.

I'm not against getting a food scale. I just don't know when I'll be able to get one. (Jobless, full-time college student). I'll definitely do some research and save up for one though. But I did read the the other posts. I guess I'm just paranoid because I didn't expect to see a setback this early on. Most of my life has been either overeating or varied forms of disordered eating, so I guess panicking is still my default reaction to this sort of thing.

steuartcj wrote: »

Buy a decent food scale. ANY food can be weighed. When in doubt, GOOGLE it. It does work when possible eat fresh, non processed foods, FAR less sodium. Don't be embarrassed by your weight, I was 254 and am now 217 going for 200. We on my fitness pal are AII OVER WEIGHT. Otherwise we wouldn't be here.

Looking back through my logs I see that I do tend to go over my sodium recommendation a lot, even when I'm under my calorie recommendation. I'm hoping that means a lot of that regained weight is water retention.

Orphia

You were most likely undereating when you lost weight without counting calories.

Undereating is bad too.

A food scale helps you eat little enough to lose weight, but enough so that you don't have a recurrence of your "disordered eating" or undereating.

Psychgrrl

Pre-packaged food is not a guarantee of calorie accuracy. My Trader Joe's Jumbo Eggs, for example ... one egg should be 62 grams. I've never had one weigh that little. Had two eggs yesterday that totaled 155 grams--that's 2.5 eggs. Bread is like that, frozen dinners, protein bars. All those little things add up. Getting a food scale would only help.

That being said weight fluctuates. Mine can go up or down 5 pounds from one day to the next depending on what I ate, drank and how much sodium there was. Please don't stress about the 3 pounds--weight loss is a marathon, not a sprint. And there are lots of hills on the course!

cafeaulait7

It's possible that the calorie limit you were given by formula is more than what you really need to eat, because the numbers are just averages. But it's too early to assume that, especially since you said you are eating less than before.

You can't really (as in precisely) know that you're eating less than before unless you logged before, but I will say that if you are truly eating less, it probably feels like it! At least for me it does

And if you are eating less than you did, say, a month ago, you will lose weight. No doubt. The only ways you wouldn't are: if you aren't as active as then, or you got a thyroid disorder in the meantime, etc.

Logging with the most accuracy is definitely the way to go, but eating less usually also feels pretty different when you first start at least. So you're probably good so far if that describes it for you, imho

Christine_72

I'd be very interested to see exactly how many calories you were consuming before you started calorie counting.

7Colors

I'm not sure how much I was eating before I started calorie counting. I might have been undereating like Orphia said. Since I didn't log the first 2-3 weeks of actively trying to lose weight, I can't be sure.
I do know that prior to trying to lose I could easily eat over 3,000 calories a day. Probably closer to over 4,000 on really bad days.

joshuakcaron

7Colors wrote: »

I'm not sure how much I was eating before I started calorie counting. I might have been undereating like Orphia said. Since I didn't log the first 2-3 weeks of actively trying to lose weight, I can't be sure.
I do know that prior to trying to lose I could easily eat over 3,000 calories a day. Probably closer to over 4,000 on really bad days.

I've lost over 50 lbs counting calories using a food scale. They're really inexpensive. That flow chart someone posted earlier is basically the only answer anyone can give you. If everything fails from the chart you should see your doctor you might have a medical condition.

Like others said too, a lot causes weight fluctuations. An example being a woman's period can add up to 5lbs of water weight (because their bodies tend to retain more water during menstruation.)

Weightloss is simple mathematics with a lot of unknown variables. I'm not sure if there is any way to figure out ones exact metabolic rate but it'd be really interesting if there was a way.

Losingthedamnweight

It's pretty much a sure thing that you've been miscounting and eating too much. Unless you have some killer fluid retention

kshama2001

7Colors wrote: »

diannethegeek wrote: »

7Colors wrote: »

I'm a little too embarrassed to say what my weight is.
And while I don't have a food scale, most of the stuff I'm eating is store bought, so I can see the number of calories on it. And yes, I'm taking serving size into account. The fruits and vegetables I eat I can only measure with measuring cups.
What bothers me the most is how I lost weight without counting calories, but tracking them seems to have done the opposite.

Are you reading the things we're posting? The links? The flowchart? It's only been two weeks. That's too early to tell whether something is off or it's a natural fluctuation.

FWIW, serving sizes can be off on nutrition labels and a food scale is amazingly useful for things like meat, fruit, veggies, grains, bread, etc. If you're completely against one, I understand. But most people find them faster, easier, and more accurate than measuring cups.

I'm not against getting a food scale. I just don't know when I'll be able to get one. (Jobless, full-time college student). I'll definitely do some research and save up for one though. But I did read the the other posts. I guess I'm just paranoid because I didn't expect to see a setback this early on. Most of my life has been either overeating or varied forms of disordered eating, so I guess panicking is still my default reaction to this sort of thing.

steuartcj wrote: »

Buy a decent food scale. ANY food can be weighed. When in doubt, GOOGLE it. It does work when possible eat fresh, non processed foods, FAR less sodium. Don't be embarrassed by your weight, I was 254 and am now 217 going for 200. We on my fitness pal are AII OVER WEIGHT. Otherwise we wouldn't be here.

Looking back through my logs I see that I do tend to go over my sodium recommendation a lot, even when I'm under my calorie recommendation. I'm hoping that means a lot of that regained weight is water retention.

Where are you in your menstrual cycle? You could also be retaining water due to ovulation or being premenstrual.

I concur with the recommendation of getting a food scale when you can afford it. Look for one that zeroes or TAREs, and easily switches from ounces to grams (I've heard the Walmart Mainstays does not switch easily but that's the only brand people regularly suggest to avoid.)

Weighing is quicker and more accurate than measuring. I never knew how much to pack food into the measuring cup.

What are you doing for exercise? Exercise is critical for me to not emotional eat. Many people here suggest you just eat back 50% of the calories you earn from exercise, as the burns tend to be inflated.

markrgeary1

Amazon has some great deals on food scales right now.

My loss slowed too when I started MFP, and got a scale. Was I eating too little before? I'll never know for sure as I wasn't tracking or weighing food. Was it because I was heavier? I never know that either. My guess is I was seriously under eating as eating 1700 calories seemed like too much to eat and still lose weight.

Best wishes to you.

47Jacqueline

Of course, counting doesn't do any good if you don't reduce the number you are inhaling.

wizzybeth

A cheap digital scale can be had for less than $10 at Amazon.com

A very inexpensive tool. Ask someone to get you one for Christmas. You will be amazed.

successgal1

You said you're walking more, perhaps your weight gain is part of muscle repair. I did an extra mile and a half yesterday and I"m feeling a bit swollen and am a pound heavier today.

rileysowner

Losingthedamnweight wrote: »

It's pretty much a sure thing that you've been miscounting and eating too much. Unless you have some killer fluid retention

Three pounds is far from killer fluid retention. Fluid retention can account for 5-10 pounds in some people. I know if I go off my one blood pressure med I will put on 5 pounds or more of fluid in 3-4 days. Go back on it, and the fluid goes away in days.

To the original poster, it could be anything from miscalculation of your calorie goal, eating too much because of mismeasuring, to fluid retention, be as careful as you can with measuring, re-run your weightloss goals, and stick to that goal for a while longer.

BTW, what is your activity level set at, and what is your calorie goal?

nutmegoreo

7Colors wrote: »

I'm not sure how much I was eating before I started calorie counting. I might have been undereating like Orphia said. Since I didn't log the first 2-3 weeks of actively trying to lose weight, I can't be sure.
I do know that prior to trying to lose I could easily eat over 3,000 calories a day. Probably closer to over 4,000 on really bad days.

I have not read all responses yet, so this may repeat. A food scale at $15 is your best bet, but as a college student not currently working (I know you said jobless, but that has such negative connotations, so I wonder if your being really hard on yourself) that might be a little challenging. Maybe put it on your Christmas wish list, and see if anyone is willing to give you that present early. Others have mentioned that food packages are not always correct. I find more often than not that the weight of the food is higher creating a higher number of calories.

As for the increase in weight, if you were eating mostly fruit and vegetables before and now you are over in sodium, this is likely water retention. Anytime you see big swings in your weight (up or down) water is suspect. You won't gain of lose 2lbs of fat/muscle overnight (unless you had something surgically removed).

Basically, carry on, and try to get a food scale. With disordered eating in the past, do you still have a treatment team? If yes, get them on board. If no, ask your doc for a referral to a registered dietician for guidance. This mostly fruits and veggies sounds really unbalanced. They are important but so is proteins, fats, and the micronutrients too.

MommyL2015

I got this one recently on ebay. $5.49, free shipping, located in U.S.

ebay.com/itm/230836197929?_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

MelodyandBarbells

Wish list, maybe even free on Craigslist. There's all kinds of crap people get and use for a little bit and then never again..

WinoGelato

OP as others have said, weight loss is not linear and not always predictable. The early weight loss you saw from eating mostly fruits and vegetables but not logging was likely the same initial woosh that many people get when they first start a weight loss program. A lot of it is water weight and glycogen stores being depleted. Then the weight gain you saw in the last couple of weeks was likely just a bit of rebound, it wasn't because of the calorie counting, it was just your body normalizing to a more predictable pattern of weight loss.

How long have you been at this total? About 2 months? And your total loss is 7 pounds? That seems great, you should be happy with the loss and continue on with the calorie counting.

For what it's worth, I didn't use a food scale for my weight loss, but if I had to do it all over again I would have gotten one right away and started being as accurate as possible from the beginning.

Unknown

This content has been removed.

wizzybeth

successgal1 wrote: »

You said you're walking more, perhaps your weight gain is part of muscle repair. I did an extra mile and a half yesterday and I"m feeling a bit swollen and am a pound heavier today.

No

Wiseandcurious

wizzybeth wrote: »

successgal1 wrote: »

You said you're walking more, perhaps your weight gain is part of muscle repair. I did an extra mile and a half yesterday and I"m feeling a bit swollen and am a pound heavier today.

No

I don't understand the "no". The poster you are quotig seems to be saying that after ramping up one's fitness routine, one can get heavier from a temporary water retention related to muscle repair. I have seen this claimed often by experienced athletes on here. Why couldn't, according to you, OP's weight gain be temporary water retention related to myscle repair?

nutmegoreo

Wiseandcurious wrote: »

wizzybeth wrote: »

successgal1 wrote: »

You said you're walking more, perhaps your weight gain is part of muscle repair. I did an extra mile and a half yesterday and I"m feeling a bit swollen and am a pound heavier today.

No

I don't understand the "no". The poster you are quotig seems to be saying that after ramping up one's fitness routine, one can get heavier from a temporary water retention related to muscle repair. I have seen this claimed often by experienced athletes on here. Why couldn't, according to you, OP's weight gain be temporary water retention related to myscle repair?

I'm not really experienced in this aspect, but I suspect that walking would not create the kind of muscle damage requiring repair compared to a weightlifting program. In my experience, unless I am carrying a heavy pack, I can walk for hours and not notice a difference on the scale (as in significant increase), but the day after a lifting session will have approximately 2 lbs 'gain' from the water retention.