Why am i gaining weight?

kaykayolson93

I generally eat between 1000-1200 calories a day. Once a week usually I'll be closer to 1400. I am 1 month and 10 days into my diet. I had lost just about 15 pounds but than stalled out on weight loss for 3 days and now for the past 3 days have been gaining weight. I'm up 3 pounds! I just don't understand what I'm doing wrong. I swim laps twice a week and just started doing zumba once a week and usually go for a walk alltleast once a week. Starting weight was 205 I'm now 192.6. What am I doing wrong that is making me gain instead of loose?

dangerousdumpling

It's probably water weight. It's normal to have weight fluctuations. It sounds like you're very active. Consider increasing your calorie allowance.

RachellaJ

Have you eaten a lot of salt? Is it your time of the month? There are varying factors, but remember that weight loss is not linear; everyone has ups and downs even when they are within their calories. 15 lbs is a great start! Don’t give up, just make sure you are accurately weighting and tracking your food and it will keep coming off.

Leannep2201

I’ve also gone up and down a little. Give it more time.... 3 days isn’t very long! There could be many reasons for the scales going up. Keep tracking and making good choices and I’m sure it will come down again.

I also wonder if you’re eating enough. 1,000-1,200cal per day is very low. Starvation mode is a thing.... the idea is to eat up to the calories MFP gives you, you should still lose weight. I’ve read comments on here in the past where people have done the same thing and struggled to lose.... sometimes you need to feed your body to lose weight!

gamerbabe14

I imagine your goal is to lose fat, not necessarily weight. Think of it that way. Your scale will not always reflect fat loss since your weight can fluctuate depending on water retention, hormones, sodium.

netitheyeti

salty food? not.. uh... "going" as regularly as usual? new exercise routine? if you're a woman - that time of the month? any of those will easily make me temporarily gain up to 5lbs

L1zardQueen

kaykayolson93

Leannep2201 wrote: »

I’ve also gone up and down a little. Give it more time.... 3 days isn’t very long! There could be many reasons for the scales going up. Keep tracking and making good choices and I’m sure it will come down again.

I also wonder if you’re eating enough. 1,000-1,200cal per day is very low. Starvation mode is a thing.... the idea is to eat up to the calories MFP gives you, you should still lose weight. I’ve read comments on here in the past where people have done the same thing and struggled to lose.... sometimes you need to feed your body to lose weight!

I was wondering that if maybe I'm not eating enough I will try harder to stay closer to 1200. Which is what mfp has recommended for me to loose 2 lbs a week. Thank you.

kaykayolson93

netitheyeti wrote: »

salty food? not.. uh... "going" as regularly as usual? new exercise routine? if you're a woman - that time of the month? any of those will easily make me temporarily gain up to 5lbs

I did just start doing zumba and it's been since my First Class that I've been gaining. I wasn't aware a new workout could increase weight.

poisonesse

One other thing to remember... you're starting to work out. Which means you'll be gaining muscle as you lose fat. And muscles weighs more than fat! So, as everyone has said, just give it time. As long as you're doing the right things (staying active, weighing your food, keeping sodium to the recommended amounts, and DRINKING TONS OF WATER) you should be fine.

Marilyn0924

kaykayolson93 wrote: »

netitheyeti wrote: »

salty food? not.. uh... "going" as regularly as usual? new exercise routine? if you're a woman - that time of the month? any of those will easily make me temporarily gain up to 5lbs

I did just start doing zumba and it's been since my First Class that I've been gaining. I wasn't aware a new workout could increase weight.

When you start new exercise regimes, your muscles will retain water to aid in repair.
Give it time, it will drop off again.

Poisonedpawn78

3 days, are you really that impatient?

malibu927

kaykayolson93 wrote: »

Leannep2201 wrote: »

I’ve also gone up and down a little. Give it more time.... 3 days isn’t very long! There could be many reasons for the scales going up. Keep tracking and making good choices and I’m sure it will come down again.

I also wonder if you’re eating enough. 1,000-1,200cal per day is very low. Starvation mode is a thing.... the idea is to eat up to the calories MFP gives you, you should still lose weight. I’ve read comments on here in the past where people have done the same thing and struggled to lose.... sometimes you need to feed your body to lose weight!

I was wondering that if maybe I'm not eating enough I will try harder to stay closer to 1200. Which is what mfp has recommended for me to loose 2 lbs a week. Thank you.

Not eating enough will not cause you to gain weight. And 1200 is the minimum MFP will give, which means a 2 pound a week goal is too aggressive for you.

That said, it’s been three days. You will not lose every single day or even every week. This thread explains the different reasons weight fluctuates: https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10084670/it-is-unlikely-that-you-will-lose-weight-consistently-i-e-weight-loss-is-not-linear

kaykayolson93

Poisonedpawn78 wrote: »

3 days, are you really that impatient?

Lol I am. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't doing something wrong that would make me continue to gain. 3 days is fine I just didn't want to gain it all back by making some stupid mistake that I was unaware of.

MichelleSilverleaf

poisonesse wrote: »

One other thing to remember... you're starting to work out. Which means you'll be gaining muscle as you lose fat.

Nope, that's not likely happening in this case.

fr33sia12

Leannep2201 wrote: »

I also wonder if you’re eating enough. 1,000-1,200cal per day is very low. Starvation mode is a thing.... the idea is to eat up to the calories MFP gives you, you should still lose weight. I’ve read comments on here in the past where people have done the same thing and struggled to lose.... sometimes you need to feed your body to lose weight!

Starvation mode is not a thing to make you gain weight. If you're eating less calories than you burn you should have weight loss. If starvation mode were a thing how do people with eating disorders get so thin and lose so much weight.

kimny72

kaykayolson93 wrote: »

Poisonedpawn78 wrote: »

3 days, are you really that impatient?

Lol I am. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't doing something wrong that would make me continue to gain. 3 days is fine I just didn't want to gain it all back by making some stupid mistake that I was unaware of.

15 lbs in 6 weeks is VERY aggressive. Based on your starting weight, the absolute most you should be aiming for is 2 lbs per week. Losing faster means risking losing a measurable amount of muscle along with fat. Eat all the calories MFP gives you. You should also be logging your exercise and eating back some of those as well. 1200 is the absolute minimum.

Weight loss isn't linear and water weight can easily swing as much as 5 lbs up and down based on exercise, sodium, hormones, etc.

The response blaming starvation mode is incorrect. Eating too little can slow down your weight loss over months and years, but it doesn't make you stop gaining weight over a week. It's also incorrect to think you are building muscle. Women who are eating at a surplus and lifting heavy weights with a trainer may build 1 or 2 lbs per month. As you are eating at a very steep deficit, your body would have no fuel to build muscle with.

Be patient and make sure you are taking good care of yourself so when you get to goal you are fit and trim, nt skinny and hangry Good luck!

PAV8888

Look at weight trend over time and adjust based on 4 to 6 week long stretches of results based on your trend.

It is obvious from your results that your current deficit is excessive.

Eat more to support your activity level and continued healthy weight loss at a slower rate.

Lots of things cause water retention and weight bounces around. Educate yourself on this to avoid poisoning excellent results with unreasonable expectations...

Same applies to rate of loss...

Take care and have fun!

OldHobo

I started weight training this week and gained 3 over pounds. Why? Well going to the gym every day seriously altered my schedule so I missed lunch a couple days in a row. Then I got so hungry I couldn't think straight and ordered who knows how many calories worth of Chinese takeout. Took more than two days to eat it but certainly more calories than I had been eating and a whole lot saltier so added water weight as well. But the bottom line is life is gonna throw curveballs and weight is going to go up and down no matter what. Keeping the trend line headed in the right direction over the long haul is all that matters to me.

Turned my 4-week weight change graph into the shape of a fish hook but it will turn around again and this will just be a little bump in a long road.

kaykayolson93

Do you usually gain weight ffrom a cheat meal? How many calories for the day do you usually have when you have a cheat meal? I had a date night the other night and ate 2534 calories for the day. I weighed my self today (2 days after meal) and I gained 2lbs. Is it from the cheat meal?

cathipa

kaykayolson93 wrote: »

Do you usually gain weight ffrom a cheat meal? How many calories for the day do you usually have when you have a cheat meal? I had a date night the other night and ate 2534 calories for the day. I weighed my self today (2 days after meal) and I gained 2lbs. Is it from the cheat meal?

Chances are its water weight (sodium, carbs, alcohol can all do that). Push the water and go back to your routine. It will be gone within a few days.

cwolfman13

kaykayolson93 wrote: »

Do you usually gain weight ffrom a cheat meal? How many calories for the day do you usually have when you have a cheat meal? I had a date night the other night and ate 2534 calories for the day. I weighed my self today (2 days after meal) and I gained 2lbs. Is it from the cheat meal?

Body weight fluctuates day to day and throughout the day naturally...you need to get out of the minutia and start looking at long term trends, not the day to day.

Also, do you understand the math? To actually gain 2 Lbs of fat you would have to eat 7,000 calories over your maintenance calories...not very likely in 2 days.

Most people experience fluctuations anywhere from 1-3 Lbs day to day...and even up or down 5. You need to look at trends over weeks and months or you're going to drive yourself mad.

ConnieAGinther

Are you sure that your body weight isn't going in to starvation mode due to not eating more calories. Only eating 1,000 to 1,200 a day is not enough to continue to lose weight. You really need to see what your correct calorie intake should be per day.

aeloine

Is it that time of the month??

RAinWA

ConnieAGinther wrote: »

Are you sure that your body weight isn't going in to starvation mode due to not eating more calories. Only eating 1,000 to 1,200 a day is not enough to continue to lose weight. You really need to see what your correct calorie intake should be per day.

See fr33sia12's excellent response re: starvation mode upthread. Starvation mode the way you are using it does not exist.

musicfan68

ConnieAGinther wrote: »

Are you sure that your body weight isn't going in to starvation mode due to not eating more calories. Only eating 1,000 to 1,200 a day is not enough to continue to lose weight. You really need to see what your correct calorie intake should be per day.

Really???!!! You've been around long enough to have over 400 posts - you haven't read one of the 10,000 threads that get posted every single day that STARVATION MODE IS NOT A THING?

briscogun

kaykayolson93 wrote: »

Do you usually gain weight ffrom a cheat meal? How many calories for the day do you usually have when you have a cheat meal? I had a date night the other night and ate 2534 calories for the day. I weighed my self today (2 days after meal) and I gained 2lbs. Is it from the cheat meal?

Generally speaking 1 pound = 3,500 calories, so to truly gain 2 pounds you'd have to over-indulge by 7,000+ calories. Its probably a combination of extra calories, sodium, water, etc. Plus your body isn't a machine, its a living organism that fluctuates day to day. Sounds like you are way too obsessive about your results on the scale. Maybe try weighing yourself once a week to avoid these day-to-day fluctuations that are causing you strife?