Why do I gain weight when I try EM2WL?

OneTwentyThree

I am 5'5, f, 140 lbs. I was in the 160s and after trying many things including EM2WL the only way I was able to lose weight is by eating 1200-1500 calories and exercising (1200 at sedentary). As soon as I eat above 1500 calories I instantly gain weight. I exercise 1 hour, 7 days either on treadmill, or classes which can include cardio, weights up to 5 lbs, body bar, kickboxing. When I put this info into scoobys calculator and indicate I want to lose 20% .. it tells me my TDEE is 2182 and based on goal should eat 1746. I struggle on 1200-1500 calories because I feel low energy (not hungry) and this is why I want to increase my calories but my question is why do I start gaining weight if TDEE is 2182.

Raynn1

The short answer is because your body is starving. Eating low calories is not replenishing your fuel stores, which is why you are tired all the time. When your body takes an increase in calories, it has no idea if you are going to 'pull the rug out" again, and drop back down to 1200 cals. So it stores every last calorie you give it... Hence the weight "gains".

Reading through our Starter Kit might be a good place for you to start.
http://eatmore2weighless.com/start

Anyone can lose weight on 1200 cals. But eventually the body adjusts the metabolism so far down, that the only thing to do is continue to lower cals.. which is insane. So you have to train your metabolism to burn at a higher level again, which means eating more. The "gains" that happen arent from resetting. They would have happened the second you went off your 1200 cal diet plan regardless. But by healing the metabolism and having it burn at its proper levels, will then allow you to eat more food and still see the pounds/inches go down

Kelly
EM2WL Ambassador and Moderator

OneTwentyThree

But I gained weight gradually by eating more and reached to 160. How would implementing eat more be different now.

OneTwentyThree

Sorry, does that mean people that gain weight are eating 3000+ calories. I dunno how it's possible to eat this much. I'm pretty sure I gained weight by eating 2000-2200 calories

Raynn1

What eating more means is that your body requires so much energy just to function. That means normal body functions like organs working properly. That is called your BMR, (Basal Metabolic Rate). Anything your body does on top of of normal organ function, also needs calories to burn. That is called your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) That number is what your body requires just to MAINTAIN its current status quo.
So if you are not giving your body the energy it needs to function, then the body has to start working more effeciently with the energy you give it. That means things start to "shut down" so to speak. This is why when people drop below a certain calorie level for themselves, they are tired, their hair starts falling out, they have dry skin, etc.. The body isnt given enough energy to support those things anymore, so it cant do them.

When we eat more, the body doesnt know what to do with this supposed overabundance of energy. It has gotten so used to functioning on so little, that it decides to hoard everything you are giving it, in case you decide to drop the cals back down to lower levels. This is why you "gain" weight when you eat more initially. It isnt that its too much food for your body... its that your body has slowed its metabolism down so low that it is stocking up on energy reserves for the next time you diet, so it has more to hold on to. Eventually when you eat "more" (which means eating at the level your body requires to function and move), then your body will eventually heal its broken metabolism and allow the energy to be expended properly. Thats when gains stop and the weight evens out.

If you read through the starter kit, follow it up with the Metabolism reset guide which goes more into the cals needed and why you need more food to see real fat losses.
http://eatmore2weighless.com/the-metabolism-reset-guide/

While it seems in the beginning that all you do is gain and gain, I assure you it does level out when you find the correct TDEE level your body needs. I eat 3200 cals a day, EACH DAY and my weight has maintained at this level for months now. The diet industry has programmed use into believing that we need to starve ourselves on low cal plans in order to see losses and yes losses happen. But eventually it doesnt matter how low you dip your calories, it will eventually stop working. Now you are starving on even less cals and still not seeing the weight drop. Thats what metabolic Damage does. By spending time healing the metabolism and investing in your future health by resetting, you will come to realize that no one should be eating 1200 cals and you can actually eat Double or even triple that number and still have fat losses.

I hope this helps a bit more. Please do read through the links I gave you and see if that helps answer some questions. If not, feel free to ask more:)

Kelly
EM2WL Ambassador and Moderator

empressichel

Your metabolism has reset to a lower number. You are doing a lot of exercise plus under eating, and your body has adapted to this level.
I know it's counter intuitive to everything the diet industry tells us. But you need to eat more!
When I first came to EM2WL about 5 years ago, I wasn't losing weight eating 800 calories a day and doing an hour on the bike each day.
But it can totally be fixed! You need to be committed and have a BAG of patience and fully embrace the reset phase.
You won't see fat loss or weight loss because that is not what the reset phase is about. It's about slowly increasing calories and bringing your metabolism back to normal levels so that you can have a successful fat loss phase in the future.
I now can maintain on 3300 calories a day, so it can be done!
This blog posts addresses your questions really well
http://eatmore2weighless.com/gaining-weight-during-reset/
Ichel
EM2WL ambassador and moderator

Sevio

Thanks ladies.. I needed to read this right now!

jvezzsb01

I'm with Sevio, I needed this. I'm all over the place. Just need to sit and wait and keep calm and doing what we have been doing.

Sevio

Going up to 2300 this week. What difference does it make. Not losing and just hanging out within a lb or two for about 6 weeks now eating at 2000 to 2100.