Exercising & Cutting Calories but Still Gaining :(
rslapine
Posts: 8 Member
I am a 22 year old woman who was previously a varsity athlete in college. I have put on about 20 pounds (of fat) in the past few months, and it is causing me serious distress and mental frustration. I work out 4 to 5 times a week, weight lifting upper and lower body (3 or 4 days of that), HIIT, and steady state cardio, averaging 300-500 calories per workout. My Apple Watch thinks I burn 2600-3200 calories a day, and I have been cutting carbs, dairy, and sugar regularly.
Despite having a significant calorie deficit, I cannot stop gaining fat. I know it is fat because it is on my chin and waist, and it feels like day. For a little over a week I have been using myfitnesspal, which recommended 1230 calories per day. I am 5'9", so that seemed low, but I tried it anyways, and ate around 1200-1600 calories per day while exercising the same amount described. To my dismay, despite a major calorie deficit, I have gained 3 more pounds (I checked over multiple days and it stayed the same).
How do I continue to gain weight (fat), while exercising and having a calorie deficit? I am miserable being this large (I'm now 5'9", 172.5 lbs, severely overweight). Does anyone have any tips on how to lose weight or how to stop this weight gain?
Despite having a significant calorie deficit, I cannot stop gaining fat. I know it is fat because it is on my chin and waist, and it feels like day. For a little over a week I have been using myfitnesspal, which recommended 1230 calories per day. I am 5'9", so that seemed low, but I tried it anyways, and ate around 1200-1600 calories per day while exercising the same amount described. To my dismay, despite a major calorie deficit, I have gained 3 more pounds (I checked over multiple days and it stayed the same).
How do I continue to gain weight (fat), while exercising and having a calorie deficit? I am miserable being this large (I'm now 5'9", 172.5 lbs, severely overweight). Does anyone have any tips on how to lose weight or how to stop this weight gain?
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Replies
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3lb can be just water weight even if it's there for a couple of days, you'd have to eat 10,500 calories over your maintenance to put on 3lb of fat. Which seems highly unlikely even if you're not accurately logging food.
Is your period due?
Are you dehydrated (your pee should be light yellow if it's darker you're probably not drinking enough)?
Have you changed your workouts at all?
Have you been eating a high level of sodium?
Have you drank any alcohol?
These things can all cause water retention, you also said you've started cutting carbs (which isn't necessary for weight loss by the way), altering your diet can also do it.
You need to be sticking to something for 4 weeks to be able to tell if it's working or not. A little over a week is not enough time to see if you're losing weight.2 -
tinkerbellang83 wrote: »3lb can be just water weight even if it's there for a couple of days, you'd have to eat 10,500 calories over your maintenance to put on 3lb of fat. Which seems highly unlikely even if you're not accurately logging food.
Is your period due?
Are you dehydrated (your pee should be light yellow if it's darker you're probably not drinking enough)?
Have you changed your workouts at all?
Have you been eating a high level of sodium?
Have you drank any alcohol?
These things can all cause water retention, you also said you've started cutting carbs (which isn't necessary for weight loss by the way), altering your diet can also do it.
You need to be sticking to something for 4 weeks to be able to tell if it's working or not. A little over a week is not enough time to see if you're losing weight.
Thanks. I have been dieting for a few months now, since January or so. I never had problems with weight gain before (because of 3+ hours of training a day for years), so I've been taking other people's advice, and I was thinking mathematically that much of a calorie deficit (up to 1,000 daily) would have some result. I feel like I'm going crazy constantly gaining this weight while restricting myself so much.
Thank you for your advice and help!1 -
Have you had any major life changes recently? You say you were a former varsity athlete; have you graduated or left the team? It's possible that you used to burn a lot more calories than you do now, without realizing it. When I moved from Chicago to rural western Massachusetts, I started to put on weight because I was walking a lot less and driving or taking the bus a lot more, but I was still eating as if I were walking 5-6 miles a day.
20 pounds in a few months is a lot, though. If that happened to me, I would be seeing a doctor.2 -
Have you had any major life changes recently? You say you were a former varsity athlete; have you graduated or left the team? It's possible that you used to burn a lot more calories than you do now, without realizing it. When I moved from Chicago to rural western Massachusetts, I started to put on weight because I was walking a lot less and driving or taking the bus a lot more, but I was still eating as if I were walking 5-6 miles a day.
20 pounds in a few months is a lot, though. If that happened to me, I would be seeing a doctor.Have you had any major life changes recently? You say you were a former varsity athlete; have you graduated or left the team? It's possible that you used to burn a lot more calories than you do now, without realizing it. When I moved from Chicago to rural western Massachusetts, I started to put on weight because I was walking a lot less and driving or taking the bus a lot more, but I was still eating as if I were walking 5-6 miles a day.
20 pounds in a few months is a lot, though. If that happened to me, I would be seeing a doctor.
Yes, that's what I thought it may be. I graduated and, while I still am very active (2-3 hours of exercise a day), it is not as much as I was back when I had 3 hours of active training per day. I can't realistically go back to that, so I thought that having this calorie deficit would help, but it has not.
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amyrebeccah wrote: »You've gotten some good advice on water retention. If after a couple more weeks you are still gaining, then you may need to reassess the accuracy of your logging.
Posting, however, to let you know that you are not "severely overweight." You are five pounds away from a normal BMI. That doesn't mean you shouldn't try to lose if you are more comfortable at a lower weight, but the way you are talking about it makes me think it has become more of a fixation and source of anxiety for you than is good. You may want to reassess your expectations and your relationship with your weight.
You do not, for example, need to be trying to lose two pounds a week.
Thank you, I definitely have an unhealthy view of myself, especially because I was happy with my body for a few years while extremely active. I will try to be happier, but it is easier said than done. Thanks for your support.1 -
I agree with the advise that if you track diligently and truly measure for another 2-3 weeks and you are still gaining, see a doctor. Inexplicable weight gain can often be a sign of something wrong. I've never been an athlete, but the only time I every gained more than 5-10# over the course of a few months happened to be when I developed an under-active thyroid.0
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Do you use a digital kitchen scale to weigh out any and all foods that aren't liquids? I wasn't losing and I thought the same as you until I bought a scale and realized I wasn't eating in a deficit. Ex: I was logging 1 tbsp of peanut butter for breakfast...when I weighed it, it was actually 3 and a half times that. That's 225 cals over what I was logging. The scale is what has made my weight loss successful.5
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DaniCanadian wrote: »Do you use a digital kitchen scale to weigh out any and all foods that aren't liquids? I wasn't losing and I thought the same as you until I bought a scale and realized I wasn't eating in a deficit. Ex: I was logging 1 tbsp of peanut butter for breakfast...when I weighed it, it was actually 3 and a half times that. That's 225 cals over what I was logging. The scale is what has made my weight loss successful.
I eat 70+% of my food away from home (two meals a day are at work), so I'm not sure if they will work for me. I'll consider it for my home meals, though! Also, how do you weigh a tablespoon, isn't that a physical measure of volume and not weight? (Serious question!)0 -
DaniCanadian wrote: »Do you use a digital kitchen scale to weigh out any and all foods that aren't liquids? I wasn't losing and I thought the same as you until I bought a scale and realized I wasn't eating in a deficit. Ex: I was logging 1 tbsp of peanut butter for breakfast...when I weighed it, it was actually 3 and a half times that. That's 225 cals over what I was logging. The scale is what has made my weight loss successful.
I eat 70+% of my food away from home (two meals a day are at work), so I'm not sure if they will work for me. I'll consider it for my home meals, though! Also, how do you weigh a tablespoon, isn't that a physical measure of volume and not weight? (Serious question!)
Most nutrition labels have the gram equivalent. I weigh to the grams and figure my calories from there.
Those away from home meals could very well be canceling your deficit. Weighing foods and seeing actual portion sizes is very very eye opening.1 -
There are great calculators out there that figure your tdee, total daily energy expenditure. Plug your numbers in and for exercise use moderate exercise (it's the middle of the road) and see what it says. For weight loss u should subtract 300 to 500 from that number and stick with it for 2 weeks before u change anything. After 2 weeks if weight loss is occuring, stay the course for 2 more weeks! If not lower ur calories another 300. Your macros should be 1g protein per pound of bodyweight, ur fats should b no less than .45g per pound of bodyweight and the rest is really up to u! Carbs, fats, or more protein. Try to eat whole foods and weigh everything on a digital scale. I found this very important!!! The healthier your diet, the more food u get to eat to fill ur calorie goal!! Try to drink no soda, and they say to drink a gallon of water a day!! During your calorie deficit your body uses stored fat as energy and when a fat cell is emptied of triglycerides it gets filled up with water0
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Then when your body is ready it will woosh the water out and fat cells will begin shrinking, that's a good thing! When this happens is when u see results!! Good luck, stay positive!0
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I suspect there is something wrong with your calculations/measurements as regards a deficit. If you maintain a regular deficit you will lose weight. Weigh food with digital scale and use a reliable exercise monitor... good luck0
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I don't want to come across as being negative but one if MFP is giving you 1230 calories a day and 5'9 that is wrong no matter how much you are restricting and exercising it isn't feasible long term and will make you miserable. If MFP isn't working well then use Microsoft Excel Calorie Aromatization. It will tell you how much you need to lose for weight and height, with your activity level. 1200 is for a sedentary person, or a really short person (like 5'2 or less) and you are neither. Leave the weighing scale, get a tape measure try that and record your measurements month to month. And decrease the stress over the number on the scale. Try just tracking calories for a bit without the exercise you will lose weight if you create a deficit and then add in exercise for the health benefits. Good luck. Please be nicer to yourself. Ok my rant over.0
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DaniCanadian wrote: »
Most nutrition labels have the gram equivalent. I weigh to the grams and figure my calories from there.
Those away from home meals could very well be canceling your deficit. Weighing foods and seeing actual portion sizes is very very eye opening.
That makes sense. Most of the foods I eat are reasonable (fresh kale, chia seeds, pea protein powder, and a tiny bit of frozen fruit in a smoothie), homemade salads with turkey bacon or eggs, etc, but I will look into weighing things. It is possible, like you said, that is why I'm still gaining all of this weight. It's such a shock to go from being fit and only caring what types of things I'm eating to being overweight and gaining weight while measuring every calorie (or now every gram), so I'm still getting used to all of this. Thanks for your advice!0 -
DaniCanadian wrote: »Do you use a digital kitchen scale to weigh out any and all foods that aren't liquids? I wasn't losing and I thought the same as you until I bought a scale and realized I wasn't eating in a deficit. Ex: I was logging 1 tbsp of peanut butter for breakfast...when I weighed it, it was actually 3 and a half times that. That's 225 cals over what I was logging. The scale is what has made my weight loss successful.
I second the idea of a digital kitchen scale. They make ones slim enough to fit in a purse or bag. The pic below is of one I take with me when I work onsite.
Good luck to you!1 -
I second the scale. And meal prep your away from home meals as opposed to getting take out or something. Fast food has a lot of sodium that can cause water retention (and as a female so can TOM which someone already pointed out) which for many shows as bloat and puffiness in the face. I'm assuming that the meals you eat out are breakfast and lunch - those are easy peasy to pack (and weight) at home and take with you.
Breakfasts -
~make smoothie packs over the weekend and weight out the ingredients and put in MFP as a recipe. Store in the freezer then toss into your blender with liquid and some protein powder and you are out the door
~overnight oatmeal - make it up the night before or make a few to grab and go
~egg cups - if you are a meat eater line a muffin cup with a slice of deli ham, whisk up some eggs with milk and veggies and bake
~protein muffins - lots of recipes on Pinterest
~homemade breakfast burritos or burrito bowls
~Yogurt with nuts or granola and berries (I put a tupperware bowl on my scale and tare it out then add berries, note the weight, add the granola, note the weight, and the at work add a single serving Greek yogurt and stir it up)
Lunches -
~homemade bento boxes - fill up a container with a nice selection of proteins (hard-boiled egg, deli meat, cheese, hummus), good fats (avocado, nuts/seeds), fruit and/or veggies
~leftovers from evening meals
~a sandwich and sides
~salad from home (hot tip - keep pre-measured dressing in a separate container and put HALF of it on the salad, top with salad container lid, and then shake it until dressing coats the entire thing - bet you don't need the second half of the dressing)
~Good frozen meals - watch sugar and sodium content
I also make veggie and fruit snack bags to grab and go. I just put the baggie on the scale and fill it up and write the contents and weight on the baggie for easy logging. Bit of time on the front end but easy to accurately log and stay within my calories and the payoff is I am down 15 lbs in about 8 weeks.
Also at 5'9" and 172.5 lbs you are not severely overweight especially since you seem to have a significant amount of lean muscle mass from your athletic history and the weightlifting. You need to reset your thinking on that immediately. I am also 5'9" but have 5 lbs on you and I guarantee more of mine is fat (limited weightlifting due to injury) and my doctor and I do not consider me severely overweight.0 -
I think the problem is two fold.
1. you really don't know how much you're eating because you're not weighing your food and
2. your defecit might not be accurate. calorie burns are estimates.2 -
DaniCanadian wrote: »Do you use a digital kitchen scale to weigh out any and all foods that aren't liquids? I wasn't losing and I thought the same as you until I bought a scale and realized I wasn't eating in a deficit. Ex: I was logging 1 tbsp of peanut butter for breakfast...when I weighed it, it was actually 3 and a half times that. That's 225 cals over what I was logging. The scale is what has made my weight loss successful.
I eat 70+% of my food away from home (two meals a day are at work), so I'm not sure if they will work for me. I'll consider it for my home meals, though! Also, how do you weigh a tablespoon, isn't that a physical measure of volume and not weight? (Serious question!)
Besides the tip about finding how many grams in a tablespoon, here's another tip: Get a digital scale that will display negative weights (most do).
Put your peanut butter jar on the scale, lid off. Dip out some peanut butter on a spoon or knife. Note the negative number on the scale: That's the amount you have on your spoon or knife. Log it. Easy, and no measuring spoon required.
As a bonus, here's my full set of food weighing tips, as long as the subject's come up:- Assembling a salad in a bowl, a stew in a pan, sandwich on a plate? Put the bowl/pan/plate on the scale, zero, add an ingredient, note the weight, zero, add the next ingredient, note the weight . . . .
- Using something from a carton or jar, or cutting a slice from a hunk of cheese? Put the container or chunk on the scale, zero, take out portion, note the negative value (it's the amount you took out).
- Eating a whole apple, banana, unhulled strawberries, corn on the cob? Weigh the ready-to-eat food, eat the yummy parts, weigh the core/hulls/peel, subtract & note.
- I like to keep a few clean plastic yogurt-tub lids around to weigh small items, like a handful of nuts or chopped hardboiled eggs or something. Drop the lid on the scale, zero, add item, note weight, eat or use - just a quick rinse of the lid under the faucet & you're done.
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5'9 and 172 is not considered severly overweight not sure who told you that. 1230 calories for your activity level doesnt seem right at all.0
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Although you are overweight you are not hugely overweight. This is similar to me. It took me to the 3-4 week time frame of watching my calories and food intake and exercising till I finally starting losing weight (this is ne now). Hang in there. It will probably just take time. It's a slow process for me. Just be really accurate in logging your food. Be honest with yourself. Note down everything you eat, drink and exercise. Weight loss will happen soon.0
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