Why am I stuck at a certain weight? Can't seem to gain past it?
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Morriganmum
Posts: 37 Member
This happened before, I gained up to 98lbs and that was it. Just couldn't break past 100lbs. Then a bunch of stuff happened and I lost a bunch again but now I'm back trying to gain, eating 2200 or so cal per day, got to 98 and am stuck. Do I have to keep upping my calories as I gain?
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Replies
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I'm regularly eating 300-400 over what mfp says I need in order to gain. I think I often underestimate how active I am -maybe that's the case with you?2
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Morriganmum wrote: »This happened before, I gained up to 98lbs and that was it. Just couldn't break past 100lbs. Then a bunch of stuff happened and I lost a bunch again but now I'm back trying to gain, eating 2200 or so cal per day, got to 98 and am stuck. Do I have to keep upping my calories as I gain?
Yes, as you gain, your TDEE or maintenance calories, will increase along with that. Add another 250 calories to gain again.2 -
Rather than jump the gun and add more calories, I would suggest to take a step back and anaylze every aspect of your current fitness plan.
How long have you been eating your current cals?
How much cardio do you do?
How long have you been doing your current weight lifting program?
What exactly is your weightlifting program?
and so on..
these questions have impact on your weight gain/muscle gain process.2 -
Rather than jump the gun and add more calories, I would suggest to take a step back and anaylze every aspect of your current fitness plan.
How long have you been eating your current cals?
How much cardio do you do?
How long have you been doing your current weight lifting program?
What exactly is your weightlifting program?
and so on..
these questions have impact on your weight gain/muscle gain process.
While those are all good questions, OP is a 98 lb female so unless she is shorter than 5' she is underweight. She needs to gain weight, she didn't say anything about muscle.
OP, as @psulemon said, yes you will need to continue to increase your calories as you gain. Good luck!1 -
Morriganmum wrote: »This happened before, I gained up to 98lbs and that was it. Just couldn't break past 100lbs. Then a bunch of stuff happened and I lost a bunch again but now I'm back trying to gain, eating 2200 or so cal per day, got to 98 and am stuck. Do I have to keep upping my calories as I gain?
yes, you need to eat more calories....and you should re-assess your intake at about every ten pound gain.1 -
Morriganmum wrote: »This happened before, I gained up to 98lbs and that was it. Just couldn't break past 100lbs. Then a bunch of stuff happened and I lost a bunch again but now I'm back trying to gain, eating 2200 or so cal per day, got to 98 and am stuck. Do I have to keep upping my calories as I gain?
OP, you need to eat way more calories than 2200. Google TDEE calculator online and figure out your estimated TDEE, this is the amount of calories needed for YOU to MAINTAIN weight. Then you add 250 to that until you're gaining weight at the rate you want. I recommend gaining 0.5 lbs per week so I would weigh yourself every 2 weeks and see if it goes up about a pound, if it's more than you might be gaining too quickly and risk getting fat. Also, I'm assuming by gaining weight you want to gain muscle and not fat, so you also need to make sure you're doing a good lifting routine, there are lots of different routines, bodybuilding.com has a lot of good ones, but always stick with the basics and strive to do more weight, more reps, every week. That with adding your calories (eating healthy calories) will get you to your goal? If you have any other questions or need any other help feel free to message me and I"ll help you out the best I can.2 -
Morriganmum wrote: »This happened before, I gained up to 98lbs and that was it. Just couldn't break past 100lbs. Then a bunch of stuff happened and I lost a bunch again but now I'm back trying to gain, eating 2200 or so cal per day, got to 98 and am stuck. Do I have to keep upping my calories as I gain?
yes, you need to eat more calories....and you should re-assess your intake at about every ten pound gain.
With all do respect, I don't agree with your advice for the OP. You should re-assess after a couple of weeks based on how they look and their weight. You've got to consider rate of weight gain. If you gain weight quickly, that results into visceral fat and nobody wants that. If someone wants to gain weight they want to gain muscle, otherwise what would be the purpose of gaining weight to look fat? Unless you're an actor trying to perform a role for someone who is fat LOL. If one gains ten pounds in a month, that's all going to be likely fat. If you gain ten pounds in 3-6 months though that can be muscle gains. Muscle gains take way longer than fat gains. Just something to keep in mind, I would not reassess after simply gaining 10 lbs. You've got to monitor your weight weekly and it should steadily increase.1 -
Morriganmum wrote: »This happened before, I gained up to 98lbs and that was it. Just couldn't break past 100lbs. Then a bunch of stuff happened and I lost a bunch again but now I'm back trying to gain, eating 2200 or so cal per day, got to 98 and am stuck. Do I have to keep upping my calories as I gain?
OP, you need to eat way more calories than 2200. Google TDEE calculator online and figure out your estimated TDEE, this is the amount of calories needed for YOU to MAINTAIN weight. Then you add 250 to that until you're gaining weight at the rate you want. I recommend gaining 0.5 lbs per week so I would weigh yourself every 2 weeks and see if it goes up about a pound, if it's more than you might be gaining too quickly and risk getting fat. Also, I'm assuming by gaining weight you want to gain muscle and not fat, so you also need to make sure you're doing a good lifting routine, there are lots of different routines, bodybuilding.com has a lot of good ones, but always stick with the basics and strive to do more weight, more reps, every week. That with adding your calories (eating healthy calories) will get you to your goal? If you have any other questions or need any other help feel free to message me and I"ll help you out the best I can.
Why would someone use a calculator if they are already tracking calories? If they arent gaining on 2200, we know their maintenance...Now this is pending its been more than a week or two. But after that, calories should be increased by 10%.
And i would assume if the OP wants muscle they should know there is a need to lift. But it could be possible that they might just need weight gain.2 -
Morriganmum wrote: »This happened before, I gained up to 98lbs and that was it. Just couldn't break past 100lbs. Then a bunch of stuff happened and I lost a bunch again but now I'm back trying to gain, eating 2200 or so cal per day, got to 98 and am stuck. Do I have to keep upping my calories as I gain?
yes, you need to eat more calories....and you should re-assess your intake at about every ten pound gain.
With all do respect, I don't agree with your advice for the OP. You should re-assess after a couple of weeks based on how they look and their weight. You've got to consider rate of weight gain. If you gain weight quickly, that results into visceral fat and nobody wants that. If someone wants to gain weight they want to gain muscle, otherwise what would be the purpose of gaining weight to look fat? Unless you're an actor trying to perform a role for someone who is fat LOL. If one gains ten pounds in a month, that's all going to be likely fat. If you gain ten pounds in 3-6 months though that can be muscle gains. Muscle gains take way longer than fat gains. Just something to keep in mind, I would not reassess after simply gaining 10 lbs. You've got to monitor your weight weekly and it should steadily increase.
As per the bolded, there are many MFP users seeking advise in the "Gaining Weight" section who are at a health risk because they are underweight, whether due to illness, eating disorder, etc. For them they just need to gain any kind of weight to regain their health, including gaining fat.
Since OP didn't specify what her goal is other than to gain, I probably shouldn't speculate, but at 98 lbs unless she is shorter than 5 ft, she is quite likely underweight and gaining fat may be healthy for her.4 -
Morriganmum wrote: »This happened before, I gained up to 98lbs and that was it. Just couldn't break past 100lbs. Then a bunch of stuff happened and I lost a bunch again but now I'm back trying to gain, eating 2200 or so cal per day, got to 98 and am stuck. Do I have to keep upping my calories as I gain?
yes, you need to eat more calories....and you should re-assess your intake at about every ten pound gain.
With all do respect, I don't agree with your advice for the OP. You should re-assess after a couple of weeks based on how they look and their weight. You've got to consider rate of weight gain. If you gain weight quickly, that results into visceral fat and nobody wants that. If someone wants to gain weight they want to gain muscle, otherwise what would be the purpose of gaining weight to look fat? Unless you're an actor trying to perform a role for someone who is fat LOL. If one gains ten pounds in a month, that's all going to be likely fat. If you gain ten pounds in 3-6 months though that can be muscle gains. Muscle gains take way longer than fat gains. Just something to keep in mind, I would not reassess after simply gaining 10 lbs. You've got to monitor your weight weekly and it should steadily increase.
If you feel skinny/underweight to start with then you may well want to gain fat. It's what I set out to do - I basically prefer the way I look when I'm heavier. Having said that, I know if I'm not careful it will all end up round my middle -not a great look -so I've now started a bodyweight programme. But, some people do simply want to gain weight.1 -
Morriganmum wrote: »This happened before, I gained up to 98lbs and that was it. Just couldn't break past 100lbs. Then a bunch of stuff happened and I lost a bunch again but now I'm back trying to gain, eating 2200 or so cal per day, got to 98 and am stuck. Do I have to keep upping my calories as I gain?
OP, you need to eat way more calories than 2200. Google TDEE calculator online and figure out your estimated TDEE, this is the amount of calories needed for YOU to MAINTAIN weight. Then you add 250 to that until you're gaining weight at the rate you want. I recommend gaining 0.5 lbs per week so I would weigh yourself every 2 weeks and see if it goes up about a pound, if it's more than you might be gaining too quickly and risk getting fat. Also, I'm assuming by gaining weight you want to gain muscle and not fat, so you also need to make sure you're doing a good lifting routine, there are lots of different routines, bodybuilding.com has a lot of good ones, but always stick with the basics and strive to do more weight, more reps, every week. That with adding your calories (eating healthy calories) will get you to your goal? If you have any other questions or need any other help feel free to message me and I"ll help you out the best I can.
I don't know how tall the op is, but i'm 5'3 and weigh 121 ppunds. The tdee calculator tells me my maintenance is 1680 daily. So surely 2200 is reasonable?1 -
if you arent gaining weight there is only one reason which is you arent eating enough calories. If you eat a surplus of calories you will gain weight no matter what whether thats put on as fat or as muscle. If you are gaining muscle then your BMR will increase, as your extra muscle will require more calories for maintenance. So you will need to increase calorie intake as you gain weight. Also even if you just gain fat, it will make everything you do require you to expend more calories, so you'd maybe need to up the calories to keep on gaining even just pure fat weight. If you're underweight then just putting on weight by eating more will make you become a bit more muscular too even if you dont really work out.1
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I guess that does make sense: if I am getting bigger, I'll need more calories to maintain and gain. It's just that 2100+ is very hard for me to do every day. I am underweight- 5'2" and looking to end up I think around 110lbs. I have always been thin, but I need to get up into the healthy weight range. I was looking forward to gaining to my goal then being able to back off on the calories until I find maintenance at that 110 or whatever.
And yes, I am looking to gain anything right now, even fat. Actually, yes to fat
as I need to fill out and not be so angular. I am also doing body weight exercises as well as running a bit and bike riding a bit every week.
I just used a calculator for my height and target weight, and it says to maintain 110lbs I'll need only 1190 calories. When I tell it I do intense exercise and have an active job, I still will only need 1840 to maintain 110lbs. Yet, I am currently consuming at least 2100 per day. And I've been tracking for many weeks now. So that is roughly 900 calories per day surplus.
Ok, just looked back over my logs and I started tracking calories on here 5 Aug, so for 2 solid months/ 9 weeks. Why does it feel sooooo much longer? Which I guess works out to roughly a pound a week. But, really? 900 calories per day extra to gain one pound per week? Is that normal?
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Morriganmum wrote: »I guess that does make sense: if I am getting bigger, I'll need more calories to maintain and gain. It's just that 2100+ is very hard for me to do every day. I am underweight- 5'2" and looking to end up I think around 110lbs. I have always been thin, but I need to get up into the healthy weight range. I was looking forward to gaining to my goal then being able to back off on the calories until I find maintenance at that 110 or whatever.
And yes, I am looking to gain anything right now, even fat. Actually, yes to fat as I need to fill out and not be so angular. I am also doing body weight exercises as well as running a bit and bike riding a bit every week.
I just used a calculator for my height and target weight, and it says to maintain 110lbs I'll need only 1190 calories. When I tell it I do intense exercise and have an active job, I still will only need 1840 to maintain 110lbs. Yet, I am currently consuming at least 2100 per day. And I've been tracking for many weeks now. So that is roughly 900 calories per day surplus.
Yes I've been gaining, but very slowly. Not even a pound a week. And now this stall for weeks. I can see a little difference, as in my ribs don't show as much any more, but there isn't a huge difference in how I look yet.
I am confused still.
1190 wouldn't be your maintenance calories. That would be your bmr, the amount of calories you burn just by existing.0 -
singingflutelady wrote: »Morriganmum wrote: »I guess that does make sense: if I am getting bigger, I'll need more calories to maintain and gain. It's just that 2100+ is very hard for me to do every day. I am underweight- 5'2" and looking to end up I think around 110lbs. I have always been thin, but I need to get up into the healthy weight range. I was looking forward to gaining to my goal then being able to back off on the calories until I find maintenance at that 110 or whatever.
And yes, I am looking to gain anything right now, even fat. Actually, yes to fat as I need to fill out and not be so angular. I am also doing body weight exercises as well as running a bit and bike riding a bit every week.
I just used a calculator for my height and target weight, and it says to maintain 110lbs I'll need only 1190 calories. When I tell it I do intense exercise and have an active job, I still will only need 1840 to maintain 110lbs. Yet, I am currently consuming at least 2100 per day. And I've been tracking for many weeks now. So that is roughly 900 calories per day surplus.
Yes I've been gaining, but very slowly. Not even a pound a week. And now this stall for weeks. I can see a little difference, as in my ribs don't show as much any more, but there isn't a huge difference in how I look yet.
I am confused still.
1190 wouldn't be your maintenance calories. That would be your bmr, the amount of calories you burn just by existing.
Cam you explain that? I'm new to this! All the calculators I've tried set my maintenance at around 1600 -1700 and mfp calculates I need 2000 to gain. I'm consistently going over that and happy to say I'm at last gaining. Are you saying it should be higher? What is the difference between maintenance and BMR?0 -
comptonelizabeth wrote: »singingflutelady wrote: »Morriganmum wrote: »I guess that does make sense: if I am getting bigger, I'll need more calories to maintain and gain. It's just that 2100+ is very hard for me to do every day. I am underweight- 5'2" and looking to end up I think around 110lbs. I have always been thin, but I need to get up into the healthy weight range. I was looking forward to gaining to my goal then being able to back off on the calories until I find maintenance at that 110 or whatever.
And yes, I am looking to gain anything right now, even fat. Actually, yes to fat as I need to fill out and not be so angular. I am also doing body weight exercises as well as running a bit and bike riding a bit every week.
I just used a calculator for my height and target weight, and it says to maintain 110lbs I'll need only 1190 calories. When I tell it I do intense exercise and have an active job, I still will only need 1840 to maintain 110lbs. Yet, I am currently consuming at least 2100 per day. And I've been tracking for many weeks now. So that is roughly 900 calories per day surplus.
Yes I've been gaining, but very slowly. Not even a pound a week. And now this stall for weeks. I can see a little difference, as in my ribs don't show as much any more, but there isn't a huge difference in how I look yet.
I am confused still.
1190 wouldn't be your maintenance calories. That would be your bmr, the amount of calories you burn just by existing.
Cam you explain that? I'm new to this! All the calculators I've tried set my maintenance at around 1600 -1700 and mfp calculates I need 2000 to gain. I'm consistently going over that and happy to say I'm at last gaining. Are you saying it should be higher? What is the difference between maintenance and BMR?
BMR is basal metabolic functions. This is the amount of calories that you would burn if you were in a coma. Total daily energy expenditure (TDEE) or maintenance includes BMR + thermal effect of food (TEF) + Non Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT) and Thermal Effect of Activity (TEA).
TEF - calories burned through digestion.
TEA - calories burned during exercise.
NEAT - calories burned through daily activities like walking around the house/office, making a sammich, etc..0 -
Morriganmum wrote: »I guess that does make sense: if I am getting bigger, I'll need more calories to maintain and gain. It's just that 2100+ is very hard for me to do every day. I am underweight- 5'2" and looking to end up I think around 110lbs. I have always been thin, but I need to get up into the healthy weight range. I was looking forward to gaining to my goal then being able to back off on the calories until I find maintenance at that 110 or whatever.
And yes, I am looking to gain anything right now, even fat. Actually, yes to fat as I need to fill out and not be so angular. I am also doing body weight exercises as well as running a bit and bike riding a bit every week.
I just used a calculator for my height and target weight, and it says to maintain 110lbs I'll need only 1190 calories. When I tell it I do intense exercise and have an active job, I still will only need 1840 to maintain 110lbs. Yet, I am currently consuming at least 2100 per day. And I've been tracking for many weeks now. So that is roughly 900 calories per day surplus.
Ok, just looked back over my logs and I started tracking calories on here 5 Aug, so for 2 solid months/ 9 weeks. Why does it feel sooooo much longer? Which I guess works out to roughly a pound a week. But, really? 900 calories per day extra to gain one pound per week? Is that normal?Morriganmum wrote: »I guess that does make sense: if I am getting bigger, I'll need more calories to maintain and gain. It's just that 2100+ is very hard for me to do every day. I am underweight- 5'2" and looking to end up I think around 110lbs. I have always been thin, but I need to get up into the healthy weight range. I was looking forward to gaining to my goal then being able to back off on the calories until I find maintenance at that 110 or whatever.
And yes, I am looking to gain anything right now, even fat. Actually, yes to fat as I need to fill out and not be so angular. I am also doing body weight exercises as well as running a bit and bike riding a bit every week.
I just used a calculator for my height and target weight, and it says to maintain 110lbs I'll need only 1190 calories. When I tell it I do intense exercise and have an active job, I still will only need 1840 to maintain 110lbs. Yet, I am currently consuming at least 2100 per day. And I've been tracking for many weeks now. So that is roughly 900 calories per day surplus.
Ok, just looked back over my logs and I started tracking calories on here 5 Aug, so for 2 solid months/ 9 weeks. Why does it feel sooooo much longer? Which I guess works out to roughly a pound a week. But, really? 900 calories per day extra to gain one pound per week? Is that normal?
Completely ignore using calculators. You have actual results which is much more important than generic averages from a calculator. But we should have asked this, how long has it been since you gained weight? And can you open your diary? Also, having an active job really can increase your TDEE, especially if you are exercising. So are you exercising and if so, what are you doing?0 -
From a TDEE calculator: even at my GOAL weight of 110lbs (not my current weight of 98 and certainly not my starting weight of 90lbs), my BMR is 1082 cal/day. It says light exercise would be 1500 cal/day, and if I were an ATHLETE 2056. I do not have an active job. I am only doing body weight exercises not even as much as I should be and I "run" (jog/walk) and/or ride my bike a couple times a week- not a lot of cardio.
My scale has been saying I'm at 98lbs for 2 weeks now.
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Morriganmum wrote: »From a TDEE calculator: even at my GOAL weight of 110lbs (not my current weight of 98 and certainly not my starting weight of 90lbs), my BMR is 1082 cal/day. It says light exercise would be 1500 cal/day, and if I were an ATHLETE 2056. I do not have an active job. I am only doing body weight exercises not even as much as I should be and I "run" (jog/walk) and/or ride my bike a couple times a week- not a lot of cardio.
My scale has been saying I'm at 98lbs for 2 weeks now.
Calculators are just estimates. If you are gaining almost a lb a week, your actual maintenance is ~1700 calories but that will increase potentially based on your gains. Stick with 2200 for another week or two and if it doessn't change, add another 250 calories. It is not uncommon for those rebounding from being underweight to have increases in metabolic rate.1 -
Morriganmum wrote: »This happened before, I gained up to 98lbs and that was it. Just couldn't break past 100lbs. Then a bunch of stuff happened and I lost a bunch again but now I'm back trying to gain, eating 2200 or so cal per day, got to 98 and am stuck. Do I have to keep upping my calories as I gain?
OP, you need to eat way more calories than 2200. Google TDEE calculator online and figure out your estimated TDEE, this is the amount of calories needed for YOU to MAINTAIN weight. Then you add 250 to that until you're gaining weight at the rate you want. I recommend gaining 0.5 lbs per week so I would weigh yourself every 2 weeks and see if it goes up about a pound, if it's more than you might be gaining too quickly and risk getting fat. Also, I'm assuming by gaining weight you want to gain muscle and not fat, so you also need to make sure you're doing a good lifting routine, there are lots of different routines, bodybuilding.com has a lot of good ones, but always stick with the basics and strive to do more weight, more reps, every week. That with adding your calories (eating healthy calories) will get you to your goal? If you have any other questions or need any other help feel free to message me and I"ll help you out the best I can.
Why would someone use a calculator if they are already tracking calories? If they arent gaining on 2200, we know their maintenance...Now this is pending its been more than a week or two. But after that, calories should be increased by 10%.
And i would assume if the OP wants muscle they should know there is a need to lift. But it could be possible that they might just need weight gain.
To answer your question because MFP doesn't always have the same calories or accurate calories for your goals. This is coming from my own experience. He might have a TDEE that's different using different parameters. The one TDEE I used had a different amount of calories because it utilized more data that this one, but hey that's up to him.0
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