Working out but gaining weight

CourtneyLomonaco

So I am on my fourth week of 22 Minute Hard Corps and I love it! I have also been jogging and doing the elliptical daily. These things are in addition to keeping my calories under 1200 per day. So far, I have gained about 4 pounds. I feel smaller (belly), but seeing that number go up weekly is very frustrating. Any advice or kind words?

TavistockToad

Water possibly. Do you weigh your food?

MinnieMay9

Maybe you are gaining more muscle compared to the fat you are losing?

upoffthemat

Standard questions
Are you sure you are measuring your intake properly? That is a biggie. Don't trust labels, use weight not volume measures, make sure you aren't choosing bad entries in the database
Also can be that you are retaining some water if you are new to exercise. If you are feeling smaller that is a good sign, the body can sometimes retain water to heal muscles unused to exercise. It isn't uncommon, but you should start seeing results soon. Four weeks isn't outlandish to not see results though.

TavistockToad

MinnieMay9 wrote: »

Maybe you are gaining more muscle compared to the fat you are losing?

Not on 1200 cals

dae6

I wouldn't worry about those gains. Some of it might be muscle, some might be water. As long as you're tracking your calories accurately, and maintaining a deficit over time, you'll lose fat. When I got back into the gym fairly recently, I gained 4-5 pounds fairly quickly but it tapered off, and started going back down. Keep recording, and see if you start gradually losing. If not, then you might need to take a closer look to make sure you're don't have any errors/inaccuracies in your calculations.

erickirb

dae6 wrote: »

I wouldn't worry about those gains. Some of it might be muscle, some might be water. As long as you're tracking your calories accurately, and maintaining a deficit over time, you'll lose fat. When I got back into the gym fairly recently, I gained 4-5 pounds fairly quickly but it tapered off, and started going back down. Keep recording, and see if you start gradually losing. If not, then you might need to take a closer look to make sure you're don't have any errors/inaccuracies in your calculations.

No there is no way it is muscle doing so much cardio and eating much less than 1200 Net calories.

My guess is water weight due to the exercise, and OP is probably eating more than they think they are.

cgvet37

For one, you are going to retain more water for muscle repair. Two, it can take a while for your body to adjust. If you are truly eating in a deficit. Four weeks is nothing.

SueInAz

erickirb wrote: »

dae6 wrote: »

I wouldn't worry about those gains. Some of it might be muscle, some might be water. As long as you're tracking your calories accurately, and maintaining a deficit over time, you'll lose fat. When I got back into the gym fairly recently, I gained 4-5 pounds fairly quickly but it tapered off, and started going back down. Keep recording, and see if you start gradually losing. If not, then you might need to take a closer look to make sure you're don't have any errors/inaccuracies in your calculations.

No there is no way it is muscle doing so much cardio and eating much less than 1200 Net calories.

My guess is water weight due to the exercise, and OP is probably eating more than they think they are.

Seconded.

OP, how are you validating the calories you are logging? Are you using a kitchen scale to weigh everything? Are you honestly logging every single thing you eat? Keep in mind that it's been proven that even people who are trying very hard at it are usually missing a lot of calories in their logs. Any cheat meals or days?

CourtneyLomonaco

I thought I was being pretty accurate, but sometimes it's hard to log the meals that my husband cooks. I am probably overestimating my calorie burn and underestimating what I am eating. Prior to these 4 weeks I did a round of P90X3, so I am not new to exercise. Thanks for responding.

socalrunner59

Was the 1200 calories based on basal metabolic rate (BMR), or was it an arbitrary number? The 1200 calories a day may not be the correct amount of calories your body requires. I needed to lose 32 pounds...my caloric intake based on BMR was 1496.

ivylyon

If you've been logging for a while and seeing results the problem is probably not with inaccurate logging.
I've heard of water weight gain when starting exercise but don't know how much one might gain or for how long. Would be worth investigating.

Do you take body measurements rather than just weighing yourself?
Sorry if this sounds condesending but make sure you remember exactly where on your body you put the tape - it's kind of obvious for your waist, but not for thighs etc, and it's frustrating to come back a week later and not be able to tell if you've lost or just moved the tape (I line my tape up with a scar and a freckle) also note how tight you have the tape.