I keep GAINING weight instead of LOSING!!

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  • firef1y72
    firef1y72 Posts: 1,579 Member
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    Personally I'd not only weigh everything you eat but would also weigh yourself more often. I weigh myself daily but only record lowest weights. I'm currently 3lb up on my lowest recorded weight, but I'm pretty sure it's not fat. In fact I know it's a combination of approaching ToM and last week being the heavy week of my lifting cycle. All sorts of things can affect your weight, exercise, monthly cycle, sodium, etc. It's highly unlikely that it's muscle gains though, it is possible to gain a little muscle on a deficit but it takes a lot of work and it is only a little (taken me 3 months to start seeing any results in my shoulders/chest, and I've been working them really hard).
  • readytobeatfat54
    readytobeatfat54 Posts: 91 Member
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    The other thing you could ask yourself is to look at what you are eating. If you eat a high fiber meal, say a nice leafy green salad full of different vegetables and just a little bit of dressing, really the only thing you need to know is the types of vegetables in the salad and how much dressing you took in. Fiber will fill you up, is not calorie dense, and for most types of fiber in a meal you don't need to scale.
  • RachaelIsLosingIt
    RachaelIsLosingIt Posts: 15 Member
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    What kind of exercise have you been doing? In 6 weeks, cardio will start to lose its effect. If you've been doing weights and hiit workouts, you can gain muscle and lose fat keeping the scales the same.
    I'd highly recommend doing measurements rather than looking at the scales - They can really make you lose your motivation. However, if you going to weigh yourself, do it at the same time each week.
  • joaniebalonie088
    joaniebalonie088 Posts: 93 Member
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    Also helps to weigh at the same time under the same conditions. First thing in the morning, after using the restroom, and before I hop in the shower works for me! Definitely the lowest number I'll see all day, so it is good for my sanity ;)
  • CharlieBeansmomTracey
    CharlieBeansmomTracey Posts: 7,682 Member
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    RachaelIsLosingIt wrote: »
    What kind of exercise have you been doing? In 6 weeks, cardio will start to lose its effect. If you've been doing weights and hiit workouts, you can gain muscle and lose fat keeping the scales the same.
    I'd highly recommend doing measurements rather than looking at the scales - They can really make you lose your motivation. However, if you going to weigh yourself, do it at the same time each week.

    not happening if she is eating in a deficit. 6 lbs of muscle in a month isnt going to happen,even with slight newbie gains. it would be hard to build that much muscle in a surplus.shes not going to lose 6lbs of fat and gain 6lbs of muscle. muscle is not built that easily especially in females
  • try2again
    try2again Posts: 3,562 Member
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    Just want to point out that your title said you *keep* gaining, when you've actually only been on the scale once. Many of us can experience water weight fluctuations of 5-6 lbs from one day to the next. You may have actually had a decent loss this month and just got on the scale at a bad time. I get wanting to stay away from the scale, but it does help us understand our body's natural fluctuations better.
  • Jruzer
    Jruzer Posts: 3,501 Member
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    Also: 2 measurements of weight, 1 month apart, pretty much tells you nothing.
  • Erfw7471
    Erfw7471 Posts: 242 Member
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    courtneyfabulous wrote: »
    csbeesley wrote: »
    I haven't been using a food scale, I will start that.
    I've been using a scale that I've had for years, so maybe I should buy a new one.

    Thanks for some insight

    You're going to be quite surprised the difference in portions once you start using a food scale to weigh all your food. That's probably the problem.

    I agree with this. People can log log log all the live long day, but if you're logging 30 grams when you're actually eating 50, then it's wrong. IMO the only way to actually know how much you're consuming is to properly weigh & measure.

    There are YouTube videos showing the importance of accurately measuring, and I'm sure someone here can maybe link. It's so eye-opening!
  • mustb60
    mustb60 Posts: 1,090 Member
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    Have you taken pics during this month? Sometime pictures and measuring tell better about the physical changes then the weight scale.
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,426 Member
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    Weigh in more regularly so you have more data to compare. Weight fluctuates. Never freak out over one weigh in. Compare weight change over 3-4 weigh ins.
    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10084670/it-is-unlikely-that-you-will-lose-weight-consistently-i-e-weight-loss-is-not-linear/p1
    You may have hit on a day of the month where you are retaining water. If you are a woman be aware that it is common to retain water due to ovulation/period.
    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10359984/women-menstrual-cycle-weight-and-fitness-matters/p1
  • bagge72
    bagge72 Posts: 1,377 Member
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    CharlieBeansmomTracey wrote: »
    RachaelIsLosingIt wrote: »
    What kind of exercise have you been doing? In 6 weeks, cardio will start to lose its effect. If you've been doing weights and hiit workouts, you can gain muscle and lose fat keeping the scales the same.
    I'd highly recommend doing measurements rather than looking at the scales - They can really make you lose your motivation. However, if you going to weigh yourself, do it at the same time each week.

    not happening if she is eating in a deficit. 6 lbs of muscle in a month isnt going to happen,even with slight newbie gains. it would be hard to build that much muscle in a surplus.shes not going to lose 6lbs of fat and gain 6lbs of muscle. muscle is not built that easily especially in females

    This is just semantics, and I know you aren't the one even talking about the OP gaining muscle, but actually it would be 12lbs of muscle gained if she lost 6lbs of fat! I mean we all know that didn't happened, she wouldn't have even gained 1lb of muscle on a deficit. But it's scary that people are telling this person that they could have gained that much muscle. This is the exact reason weight loss is so hard, too many people telling somebody how to lose weight!

    There should be required reading on this site, with a test at the end before you are able to reply to any post that isn't your own.

  • ritzvin
    ritzvin Posts: 2,860 Member
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    Fluctuations due to water weight gain can be several pounds, especially if you had something very salty yesterday. It can be helpful to weigh more frequently and look for trends in the graphed data.

    If it isn't all water weight, then [1] make sure you are weighing at least the more calorie dense foods (it's very easy to be off by a LOT on things like mayo, salad dressing, peanut butter if you are trying to measure by spoonfuls); [2] makes sure your exercise calorie burn estimates are reasonable (and make sure you aren't adding in rest time).
  • RachaelIsLosingIt
    RachaelIsLosingIt Posts: 15 Member
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    Oh my god am I being trolled? Is this my first troll? 2 days in to joining the community and I've had my first troll and mansplain. Amazing.
  • ritzvin
    ritzvin Posts: 2,860 Member
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    ritzvin wrote: »
    Fluctuations due to water weight gain can be several pounds, especially if you had something very salty yesterday. It can be helpful to weigh more frequently and look for trends in the graphed data.

    For instance:
    f5pzjtiql1fk.jpg



  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,565 Member
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    RachaelIsLosingIt wrote: »
    Oh my god am I being trolled? Is this my first troll? 2 days in to joining the community and I've had my first troll and mansplain. Amazing.

    No. Even under the most optimal conditions (which include a calorie surplus, a progressive heavy lifting program, and adequate protein intake), a woman can only gain 1-2 pounds of muscle a month.
  • CorneliusPhoton
    CorneliusPhoton Posts: 965 Member
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    But we sure can lose muscle if we are in a deficit, don't eat enough protein, and don't exercise!
  • CharlieBeansmomTracey
    CharlieBeansmomTracey Posts: 7,682 Member
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    bagge72 wrote: »
    CharlieBeansmomTracey wrote: »
    RachaelIsLosingIt wrote: »
    What kind of exercise have you been doing? In 6 weeks, cardio will start to lose its effect. If you've been doing weights and hiit workouts, you can gain muscle and lose fat keeping the scales the same.
    I'd highly recommend doing measurements rather than looking at the scales - They can really make you lose your motivation. However, if you going to weigh yourself, do it at the same time each week.

    not happening if she is eating in a deficit. 6 lbs of muscle in a month isnt going to happen,even with slight newbie gains. it would be hard to build that much muscle in a surplus.shes not going to lose 6lbs of fat and gain 6lbs of muscle. muscle is not built that easily especially in females

    This is just semantics, and I know you aren't the one even talking about the OP gaining muscle, but actually it would be 12lbs of muscle gained if she lost 6lbs of fat! I mean we all know that didn't happened, she wouldn't have even gained 1lb of muscle on a deficit. But it's scary that people are telling this person that they could have gained that much muscle. This is the exact reason weight loss is so hard, too many people telling somebody how to lose weight!

    There should be required reading on this site, with a test at the end before you are able to reply to any post that isn't your own.

    well the other person was saying that the OP replaced lost the fat and replaced it with muscle,which the OP says she gained 6 lbs. but either way that didnt happen.for most its not a 1:1 ratio or at least from what I have read its not. people believe some of the sites out there and those sites believe in old myths and its scary.
  • CharlieBeansmomTracey
    CharlieBeansmomTracey Posts: 7,682 Member
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    RachaelIsLosingIt wrote: »
    Oh my god am I being trolled? Is this my first troll? 2 days in to joining the community and I've had my first troll and mansplain. Amazing.
    first time Ive ever been called a troll lol. as for being a troll,if giving the OP information that is correct and telling them something that has been noted on this site over and over is being a troll then I guess a lot of us who have been here for years are trolls lol
  • RachaelIsLosingIt
    RachaelIsLosingIt Posts: 15 Member
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    Eugh - No I didnt. I said that she could stay the same. And don't call me "the other person" I have a screen name that I made up on the spot you know.

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