I really don't understand now?

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David___D
David___D Posts: 76 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
So since January I have made a conscious effort to drop 10 kilos to get to my hopefully ideal weight of 73kgs. I have been on this site for many years now, and always trusted the advice from fellow MFPs.

I have always understood and been told many times that if you are in deficit then it will happen, well I am at my wits end, since January, I have eaten over my 1800 daily allowance only 3 times (net calories). I train regularly, and even my penchant for alcohol has been dropped, not drunk any at all for 5 weeks.

Yet today I stepped on the scales and have actually put weight back on, after losing a few weeks 1.5kgs a few weeks ago.

My diary both food and exercise is open, and hand on heart everything that I have eaten or drunk with calories is in there even to the point of a few jellies.

So for the final time, please any advice will be taken on what on earth is going on?

By the way, age 48, currently 81.6kgs (171lbs) at a height of 1.71(5'7")
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Replies

  • WholeFoods4Lyfe
    WholeFoods4Lyfe Posts: 1,518 Member
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    Are you taking your measurements? Could you have added muscle mass?

    Also, your diary is not open.
  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
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    Nope, not open

    Do you use a food scale?
  • MelaniaTrump
    MelaniaTrump Posts: 2,694 Member
    edited March 2016
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    Start weighing yourself more often? I weigh daily so changes won't shock me.
    Your diary is closed. Mine is open.
  • harrybananas
    harrybananas Posts: 292 Member
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    Same boat as you, though I've eaten over my 1800 calories many times, though usually up to or below maintenance. Lost weight initially, which was probably water, and have slowly gained it back. Thinking I may have to lower the calorie deficit even more.
  • ElizabethOakes2
    ElizabethOakes2 Posts: 1,038 Member
    edited March 2016
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    Weight loss isn't linear- it can go up or down a little here and there. You don't say how often you're weighing, but a couple things you might check: Are you using the same scale in the same location? Are you weighing at the same time of day? ( I go up a pound or two throughout the day as I eat, drink water, etc.)
    As someone else mentioned- Take your measurements as well as weighing. Scales mean well, but they see EVERYTHING and can't help but tell you all about that extra bit of poo in your bowels, the extra water in your recovering muscles, the lint in your belly button... They just see stuff and blurt it out like you crazy great aunt at Christmas Dinner. The measuring tape sees things a little differently and can be a little kinder in pointing out that you've lost a quarter inch here and there.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,867 Member
    edited March 2016
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    Weight loss isn't a linear process. What was your gain? I'm in a cut right now and I had a gain on the scale of 1.5kg from yesterday to today...I can assure you I didn't eat 10,500 calories over my maintenance...From Tuesday to Wednesday I had a loss of 2.3 Kg...so over the last two days my net loss is .8 kg...which is still not accurate because I know there's no way I could have actually lost .8 kg of fat in two days....

    It isn't a linear process. Who knows...maybe you have a bit more waste in your system today than when you last weighed in...perhaps you are retaining more water...it's just not a linear process.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    You might be eating more than you think or overestimating exercise calories.
  • I_Will_End_You
    I_Will_End_You Posts: 4,397 Member
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    How often do you weigh yourself?
  • elphie754
    elphie754 Posts: 7,574 Member
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    michelle172415 wrote: »
    Are you taking your measurements? Could you have added muscle mass?

    Also, your diary is not open.
    No. You should not be gaining muscle in a deficit.

    Op how long has it been since you lost? If it has been longer than a month, you are eating more than you think. Do you weigh all of you food via food scale?
  • tryin2die2self
    tryin2die2self Posts: 207 Member
    edited March 2016
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    elphie754 wrote: »
    michelle172415 wrote: »
    Are you taking your measurements? Could you have added muscle mass?

    Also, your diary is not open.
    No. You should not be gaining muscle in a deficit.

    I would check that. They take people into fitness training platoons in the Army, reduce their caloric load and work their butts off three times a day. Downtime is being active (lots of barracks and yard cleaning) I should know, I was one of them. I went in being able to do 5 push ups and left 30 days later being able to do 25 push ups AND dropped 10 lbs of fat (they measure, big time). I then went in to and breezed basic training/AIT. They have been doing it for decades. So yes, you can gain muscle/lose fat in a deficit.
  • endlessfall16
    endlessfall16 Posts: 932 Member
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    OP,

    I have the same data as yours, age, lbs, height. I've been going by the cal numbers that CalorieKing gave me, before I knew MFP. It's 1500-1700 to lose 1-2 lbs/weeks, set at Light life style. But I play tennis like crazy!, eat 1350 most of the time, rarely come to 1500, but losing only about 1 lb/week lately.

    Some people here chide CalorieKing for giving too low cal number. I think your 1800 is too high. The proof is in the pudding. Reexamine your number.

  • blues4miles
    blues4miles Posts: 1,481 Member
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    aussiedicko wrote: »
    Yet today I stepped on the scales and have actually put weight back on, after losing a few weeks 1.5kgs a few weeks ago.

    So you have lost weight? And it was only a few weeks ago? So since January, how much total weight are you up/down by?
  • I_Will_End_You
    I_Will_End_You Posts: 4,397 Member
    edited March 2016
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    tryin2die2self wrote: »
    elphie754 wrote: »
    michelle172415 wrote: »
    Are you taking your measurements? Could you have added muscle mass?

    Also, your diary is not open.
    No. You should not be gaining muscle in a deficit.

    I would check that. They take people into fitness training platoons in the Army, reduce their caloric load and work their butts off three times a day. Downtime is being active (lots of barracks and yard cleaning) I should know, I was one of them. I went in being able to do 5 push ups and left 30 days later being able to do 25 push ups AND dropped 10 lbs of fat (they measure, big time). I then went in to and breezed basic training/AIT. They have been doing it for decades. So yes, you can gain muscle/lose fat in a deficit.

    The average person will not lose fat and gain muscle in a deficit. This poster is not training in the army. And also, you can gain strength without actually adding mass.
  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,627 Member
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    1.jpg 135.4K
  • tryin2die2self
    tryin2die2self Posts: 207 Member
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    I_Will_End_You wrote: »
    tryin2die2self wrote: »
    elphie754 wrote: »
    michelle172415 wrote: »
    Are you taking your measurements? Could you have added muscle mass?

    Also, your diary is not open.
    No. You should not be gaining muscle in a deficit.

    I would check that. They take people into fitness training platoons in the Army, reduce their caloric load and work their butts off three times a day. Downtime is being active (lots of barracks and yard cleaning) I should know, I was one of them. I went in being able to do 5 push ups and left 30 days later being able to do 25 push ups AND dropped 10 lbs of fat (they measure, big time). I then went in to and breezed basic training/AIT. They have been doing it for decades. So yes, you can gain muscle/lose fat in a deficit.

    The average person will not lose fat and gain muscle in a deficit. This poster is not training in the army. And also, you can gain strength without actually adding mass.

    I think it has everything to do with the intensity of the training and the drive of the person to prevail. About 50% of the people washed out of the FIT program. I think the attrition in Basic was 15%, AIT was about 10%. Every case I saw that failed simply gave up. Under the pressure of it being to hard, not enough food, or whatever.. they gave up. The army did not give anything to the people who succeeded, it just honed what they had. Like tempering a blade.

    I don't see that as being any different than the array of gym rats, weight jockeys, cardio fiends and their ilk. It is all about the dedication and the drive. Not sure if average has anything to do it. Then again, maybe it does. Not my call to make.

    And you are right, you can gain strength without adding mass.... but you can add mass.
  • David___D
    David___D Posts: 76 Member
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    Sorry diary open now, and to answer a few questions:
    I weigh most things, but not everything.
    I weigh myself probably every week or so, same place, and it has body fat % that fluctuates enormously.
    Weight loss since January 01 is actually 1.8kgs (3.9lbs)


    A few years ago I lost weight and went from 96kg to 75kg in what seemed like just 6 months, and I have floated around this weight since.

    Very frustrating.

    Thanks for all the comments.
  • brb_2013
    brb_2013 Posts: 1,197 Member
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    Yep, so weigh it all for the next several weeks. If you still see no changes in measurements or scale weight then you'll need to think about cutting calories from your intake or burning a few more. I always vote for a change up of foods or exercise too, when things slow down. I personally believe our bodies get complacent when we don't switch things up once in a while.
  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
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    Your numbers are round. Food scale
  • David___D
    David___D Posts: 76 Member
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    All exercise is measured from a polar heart rate monitor, which actually rounds down what fitbit says.
  • StealthHealth
    StealthHealth Posts: 2,417 Member
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    tryin2die2self wrote: »
    elphie754 wrote: »
    michelle172415 wrote: »
    Are you taking your measurements? Could you have added muscle mass?

    Also, your diary is not open.
    No. You should not be gaining muscle in a deficit.

    I would check that. They take people into fitness training platoons in the Army, reduce their caloric load and work their butts off three times a day. Downtime is being active (lots of barracks and yard cleaning) I should know, I was one of them. I went in being able to do 5 push ups and left 30 days later being able to do 25 push ups AND dropped 10 lbs of fat (they measure, big time). I then went in to and breezed basic training/AIT. They have been doing it for decades. So yes, you can gain muscle/lose fat in a deficit.

    Going from 5 to 25 push ups doesn't sound like you were gaining muscle to me. Not that I am belittling the improvement- it is significant. But, it is most likely that the improvement was neuromuscular adaptation to the exercise.

    With continued calorific deficit and training that performance improvement would level out and stall until you were in a position to grow more muscle (calorific surplus with continued muscle stimulation).

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