Starting walking a lot and gaining weight?!?

algrif37

I started MFP a bit before Christmas and was down 7 lbs which I put back on the week of Christmas! So Jan 3 I got out my old Fitbit and joined a group challenge and went back to food tracking. My step count is awesome!!-12,000-20,000 a day!! Eating 1200-1500 calories a day. Saving some calories for a birthday dinner coming up Sunday. Why have I gained 3 lbs!?!?? I'm weighing and measuring my food carefully. What's happening?

Sued0nim

Due on, ovulating, change up in exercise, increased carbs or sodium after decreasing

fitbit not set up properly, eating back too many calories for your body, not accurately logging all food

you won't have put on 3lbs fat in 4 days it must be a fluctuation

ride it out

biodigit

rabbitjb wrote: »

Due on, ovulating, change up in exercise, increased carbs or sodium after decreasing

fitbit not set up properly, eating back too many calories for your body, not accurately logging all food

you won't have put on 3lbs fat in 4 days it must be a fluctuation

ride it out

Yeah, what she said.

ndj1979

rabbitjb wrote: »

Due on, ovulating, change up in exercise, increased carbs or sodium after decreasing

fitbit not set up properly, eating back too many calories for your body, not accurately logging all food

you won't have put on 3lbs fat in 4 days it must be a fluctuation

ride it out

this

or you are not correctly estimating your calories and are really in a calorie surplus.

do you use a food scale?

bigplantnerd

I have the same problem, going to fast today to see if that helps. I find I keep weight off much better if I add a 48 hour fast in once a week or every other week. I have snake like metabolism though, so it may not be good for you if you like to eat multiple times a day.

Colorscheme

algrif37 wrote: »

I started MFP a bit before Christmas and was down 7 lbs which I put back on the week of Christmas! So Jan 3 I got out my old Fitbit and joined a group challenge and went back to food tracking. My step count is awesome!!-12,000-20,000 a day!! Eating 1200-1500 calories a day. Saving some calories for a birthday dinner coming up Sunday. Why have I gained 3 lbs!?!?? I'm weighing and measuring my food carefully. What's happening?

Most likely it is water retention from starting a new exercise regime. Just keep at it and see if the scale starts going back down. If you are using a food scale and weighing your food, then it's not because you're eatig too much.

gsnow597

Being a male, I was going to delicately ask about your cycle time and the above questions that rabbit asked. That being said, how about hydration? Plenty of water and flushing out sodium and impurities is a must! Also I will have a big cup of hot water and lemon each day. I know it doesn't sound appealing but since the first I have dropped 7.4 pounds. This tells me a lot of my weight was water! Now I have done fast walking and running everyday except for one. NDJ's question about a food scale is big as well...another must! Good luck and NEVER GIVE UP!

d_thomas02

realityfades wrote: »

algrif37 wrote: »

I started MFP a bit before Christmas and was down 7 lbs which I put back on the week of Christmas! So Jan 3 I got out my old Fitbit and joined a group challenge and went back to food tracking. My step count is awesome!!-12,000-20,000 a day!! Eating 1200-1500 calories a day. Saving some calories for a birthday dinner coming up Sunday. Why have I gained 3 lbs!?!?? I'm weighing and measuring my food carefully. What's happening?

Most likely it is water retention from starting a new exercise regime. Just keep at it and see if the scale starts going back down. If you are using a food scale and weighing your food, then it's because you're eatig too much.

I second the water retention. Don't freak out. Be patient and walk it out.

funchords

It's normal.

Your fat is about 25% of your body and doesn't fluctuate much. Your water is about 50-65% of your body and fluctuates a lot. At the end of your effort, your fat will be about 15-20% of your body and your water will still be about 50-65%.

Most of any change we see day to day, up or down, is water. Our fat loss at top speed of 2lb/1kg per week is 4½oz/125g -- about the weight of a hamburger patty.

Because water responds to sodium, carbs, waste, skin hydration -- and because we have so much water -- it goes up and down faster than our fat amount comes down. It's water that makes the scale jump around. Look at the trends and don't worry about the fluctuations.

If you can't smooth out the trends in your head, there is an iPhone app called Happy Scale and an Android app called Libra that can help you to see your trends and averages very easily, without being thrown off by the odd fluctuations.

If you're sore from all that walking, that soreness is muscle inflammation -- water weight.

reddeament

Does your weight fluctuate during the month? (I find mine does).

Because of that I tend to record my weight each week to make sure I'm on track, but only compare that weight to a month ago.

Sabine_Stroehm

rabbitjb wrote: »

Due on, ovulating, change up in exercise, increased carbs or sodium after decreasing

fitbit not set up properly, eating back too many calories for your body, not accurately logging all food

you won't have put on 3lbs fat in 4 days it must be a fluctuation

ride it out

This. You probably ovulated, or had sushi.

rosebette

This sounds weird, but sometimes I will gain only slightly or not at all over a holiday or vacation, but then when I'm back to normal, the weight comes on and won't come off until I'm back to my normal routine for a couple of weeks. Perhaps that's because our body processes calories/weight cumulatively -- in other words, if I eat an extra 1500 calories for a couple of days, I won't automatically gain a lb immediately after those two days. You could also be overestimating your calories from your walk and overeating. If you're small and female, a 1/2 hour walk burns under 100 calories. An extra 100-200 calories is not that much, but many people will eat much more than that to compensate for exercise.

algrif37

I definitely use a food scale for everything. And I have a Fitbit charge hr that checks my heart rate monitor. I use a chest strap heart rate monitor when I ride my horse once a week or use a bow flex max. So I'm burning almost 1000 calories more than I eat a day. I don't eat my calories back at least not more than a couple hundred and that's only once or twice. My calorie count is 1200. I've had 1400 one day when I burned a lot more (22,000 step day with hour and a half ride in), no sushi sadly and not that time of the month. Driving me crazy

SoDamnHungry

You probably have to poop.

Sued0nim

Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »

rabbitjb wrote: »

Due on, ovulating, change up in exercise, increased carbs or sodium after decreasing

fitbit not set up properly, eating back too many calories for your body, not accurately logging all food

you won't have put on 3lbs fat in 4 days it must be a fluctuation

ride it out

This. You probably ovulated, or had sushi.

Like

will steal

ndj1979

bigplantnerd wrote: »

I have the same problem, going to fast today to see if that helps. I find I keep weight off much better if I add a 48 hour fast in once a week or every other week. I have snake like metabolism though, so it may not be good for you if you like to eat multiple times a day.

or you can just eat in a calorie deficit every day ....

if you fast and are in still in surplus for the week, then you will not lose weight.

owen1826

I always retain water when I start a new exercise regime or up my intensity. Drink more water. If you stop exercising for a few days it would go away, or just take our word for it and stick with it and it will eventually show on the scale.

minniestar55

Keep doing what you're doing, & stay off the scale for a couple of weeks. Let yourself settle into your new routine, eat at a deficit, keep weighing & tracking you food, & keep walking. I bet after a couple of weeks, the scale wobbles will translate into a loss.