Why Am I Gaining Weight on this Meal Plan? I want to maintain.
Options
Replies
-
SaraBrinksey9 wrote: »SaraBrinksey9 wrote: »Do you think less than 1800 is normal for maintenance
Read through the posts here on this thread about your logging and maintenance.
I did and nobody has given me a straight answer
I ran your stats through a calculator and it gave you an estimated maintenance of 1575.
Maybe work with that number and see how things work out for you.2 -
SaraBrinksey9 wrote: »SaraBrinksey9 wrote: »Do you think less than 1800 is normal for maintenance
Read through the posts here on this thread about your logging and maintenance.
I did and nobody has given me a straight answer
We can't give you a straight answer. Put your stats in MFP and instead of setting it to lose weight, set it to maintain weight, That should get you a close estimate as to how many calories you should eat to maintain. Watch your weight for a month, if it goes up, cut 100 calories and try for another few weeks. Whether or not 1700 or 1800 calories are appropriate to maintain totally depends on how much activity you do everyday. It may or may not be enough or too much.7 -
If you're gaining weight, you're eating too much. It's really that simple.4
-
SaraBrinksey9 wrote: »SaraBrinksey9 wrote: »Do you think less than 1800 is normal for maintenance
Read through the posts here on this thread about your logging and maintenance.
I did and nobody has given me a straight answer
And I took the time to add up your calories from above meals (plugged in 200 cals for the meat since you did not add that), and it comes to 1370-1400 calories. You are eating more than you think.
It looks like you just setup your account in MFP today? So you are not weighing and logging here?10 -
I put your stats in MFP and it gave me 1650 to maintain according to your height, weight, age and gender.
If you aren't using MFP to correctly track your calories, you probably are eating more than you think. Accurately track for a month and see what happens.0 -
SaraBrinksey9 wrote: »SaraBrinksey9 wrote: »Do you think less than 1800 is normal for maintenance
Read through the posts here on this thread about your logging and maintenance.
I did and nobody has given me a straight answer
It's just not that simple. If you won't give more information, then all answers are nothing more than a guess (some are very educated guesses, but guesses, none-the-less).3 -
SaraBrinksey9 wrote: »SaraBrinksey9 wrote: »Do you think less than 1800 is normal for maintenance
Read through the posts here on this thread about your logging and maintenance.
I did and nobody has given me a straight answer
Because it's not as simple as yes or no.
Are you logging right?
Are you understanding that weight gain when going into maintenance is normal?
Those are the factors you need to address first.
1 -
SaraBrinksey9 wrote: »SaraBrinksey9 wrote: »Do you think less than 1800 is normal for maintenance
Read through the posts here on this thread about your logging and maintenance.
I did and nobody has given me a straight answer
No one can tell you what your maintenance will be, exactly.
The best estimate would be based on your own logging data during weight loss. You could add the calories represented by your weight loss in the last couple of weeks to the calories you actually ate in that same time period, and that would let you calculate your maintenance . . . approximately, because none of us do exactly the same things every single day, so we don't burn exactly the same number of calories every single day, just approximately the same. It would be pretty close, if your logging had been accurate during that time.
The next best way to estimate your maintenance calories would be to let MFP tell you how many calories to eat. You've done that; it said 1800. None of us can give you a better estimate than that. It could be inaccurate, because we're all unique individuals, and it gives the same estimate to anyone who's the same size/age/weight who claims the same activity level. It won't be exact. So, you try it for around 6 weeks, then adjust. That's the best information we can give you.
We're not hiding anything. We're not being evasive. We don't know the answer. You have to try it out to find the answer.
For those of us who are in maintenance (like me), one of those methods above is more or less what we did . . . or gradually start eating more systematically, until our weight stabilized . . . or set a maintenance weight range, and when we hit the top of it, cut calories until we dropped down again (letting weight cycle up and down). There are only so many options. None of those options are "someone tells you the exact answer". That's not possible.7 -
SaraBrinksey9 wrote: »SaraBrinksey9 wrote: »Do you think less than 1800 is normal for maintenance
Read through the posts here on this thread about your logging and maintenance.
I did and nobody has given me a straight answer
And I took the time to add up your calories from above meals (plugged in 200 cals for the meat since you did not add that), and it comes to 1370-1400 calories. You are eating more than you think.
It looks like you just setup your account in MFP today? So you are not weighing and logging here?SaraBrinksey9 wrote: »SaraBrinksey9 wrote: »Do you think less than 1800 is normal for maintenance
Read through the posts here on this thread about your logging and maintenance.
I did and nobody has given me a straight answer
And I took the time to add up your calories from above meals (plugged in 200 cals for the meat since you did not add that), and it comes to 1370-1400 calories. You are eating more than you think.
It looks like you just setup your account in MFP today? So you are not weighing and logging here?
Thank you for this insightful response! You said you added it up and it came out to be roughly 1400 cal, so I was confused by what you meant when you said Im eating more than I think (I counted it as 1700/1800). Yes I just joined today; I have been in recovery from anorexia for 5 1/2 years and took a break but I’m really motivated and wanted to seek out reassurance because my eating disorder is convincing me otherwise.1 -
SaraBrinksey9 wrote: »SaraBrinksey9 wrote: »SaraBrinksey9 wrote: »Do you think less than 1800 is normal for maintenance
Read through the posts here on this thread about your logging and maintenance.
I did and nobody has given me a straight answer
And I took the time to add up your calories from above meals (plugged in 200 cals for the meat since you did not add that), and it comes to 1370-1400 calories. You are eating more than you think.
It looks like you just setup your account in MFP today? So you are not weighing and logging here?SaraBrinksey9 wrote: »SaraBrinksey9 wrote: »Do you think less than 1800 is normal for maintenance
Read through the posts here on this thread about your logging and maintenance.
I did and nobody has given me a straight answer
And I took the time to add up your calories from above meals (plugged in 200 cals for the meat since you did not add that), and it comes to 1370-1400 calories. You are eating more than you think.
It looks like you just setup your account in MFP today? So you are not weighing and logging here?
Thank you for this insightful response! You said you added it up and it came out to be roughly 1400 cal, so I was confused by what you meant when you said Im eating more than I think (I counted it as 1700/1800). Yes I just joined today; I have been in recovery from anorexia for 5 1/2 years and took a break but I’m really motivated and wanted to seek out reassurance because my eating disorder is convincing me otherwise.
then seek further help for your disorder first and foremost. you were given good advice and maintenance is an estimate. nothing when it comes to weight loss,gain or maintenance is going to be an exact number. like the calculators say my BMR is 1400-1500+ but its not its actually a little over 1200 from all the data I have collected over the past few years.
it says my mainteanance is 2100-2300. I maintain on about 1900 calories and I burn quite a bit of calories a day. so everything is an estimate. so you will have to eat at a certain amount of calories and do that for awhile and see what happens. your weight also fluctuates every hour every day. so fluctuations are normal0 -
SaraBrinksey9 wrote: »SaraBrinksey9 wrote: »SaraBrinksey9 wrote: »Do you think less than 1800 is normal for maintenance
Read through the posts here on this thread about your logging and maintenance.
I did and nobody has given me a straight answer
And I took the time to add up your calories from above meals (plugged in 200 cals for the meat since you did not add that), and it comes to 1370-1400 calories. You are eating more than you think.
It looks like you just setup your account in MFP today? So you are not weighing and logging here?SaraBrinksey9 wrote: »SaraBrinksey9 wrote: »Do you think less than 1800 is normal for maintenance
Read through the posts here on this thread about your logging and maintenance.
I did and nobody has given me a straight answer
And I took the time to add up your calories from above meals (plugged in 200 cals for the meat since you did not add that), and it comes to 1370-1400 calories. You are eating more than you think.
It looks like you just setup your account in MFP today? So you are not weighing and logging here?
Thank you for this insightful response! You said you added it up and it came out to be roughly 1400 cal, so I was confused by what you meant when you said Im eating more than I think (I counted it as 1700/1800). Yes I just joined today; I have been in recovery from anorexia for 5 1/2 years and took a break but I’m really motivated and wanted to seek out reassurance because my eating disorder is convincing me otherwise.
Talk to your therapist. Find a dietitian.4 -
The fact that in your first post you referred to cups instead of weight of food indicates to me that you are not weighing your solids or your prepackaged foods. Get a kitchen scale and use it for everything except liquids. People that rely on cup measures and don't weigh prepackaged food nearly always eat more than they think they are. Until you get more accurate in logging you can not work out maintenance calories which will always be trial and error until you find the amount as everyone is different.4
-
I think you had a thread with the same thing a month or so ago under a different username and were given the same advice? There is no way you should be gaining on 1700. It is most likely water weight unless there is a possibility you are eating more calories than you are weighing.1
-
SaraBrinksey9 wrote: »SaraBrinksey9 wrote: »SaraBrinksey9 wrote: »Do you think less than 1800 is normal for maintenance
Read through the posts here on this thread about your logging and maintenance.
I did and nobody has given me a straight answer
And I took the time to add up your calories from above meals (plugged in 200 cals for the meat since you did not add that), and it comes to 1370-1400 calories. You are eating more than you think.
It looks like you just setup your account in MFP today? So you are not weighing and logging here?SaraBrinksey9 wrote: »SaraBrinksey9 wrote: »Do you think less than 1800 is normal for maintenance
Read through the posts here on this thread about your logging and maintenance.
I did and nobody has given me a straight answer
And I took the time to add up your calories from above meals (plugged in 200 cals for the meat since you did not add that), and it comes to 1370-1400 calories. You are eating more than you think.
It looks like you just setup your account in MFP today? So you are not weighing and logging here?
Thank you for this insightful response! You said you added it up and it came out to be roughly 1400 cal, so I was confused by what you meant when you said Im eating more than I think (I counted it as 1700/1800). Yes I just joined today; I have been in recovery from anorexia for 5 1/2 years and took a break but I’m really motivated and wanted to seek out reassurance because my eating disorder is convincing me otherwise.
I mentioned eating more than you think because weight gain (which you stated you went from 113 to 118) is caused by eating more than we need to maintain, so the way you were logging and counting calories is off. Wanting to maintain at your current weight is a very sound and good idea, of course letting your doctors or treatment team aware of this should be a step I encourage you to do.
If you plan to eat those meals you laid in your original post (which is perfectly fine) during maintaining your weight, you need to learn how to weigh out our food and log accurately in MFP if you plan to use the MFP app. However I am leary of a person with an eating disorder to take this on without supervision from their doctor/treatment team.
You were given an estimated TDEE (maintenance) off an online calculator and another which used MFP (1650 cals) as you can see these vary, however any numbers you get from various sources are just baseline starting points only. The only way to arrive at your true maintenance is for you weigh and log food for 3-4 weeks, keep up with your body scale weight and adjust in small increments as needed and trend it again, so on and so on.6 -
SaraBrinksey9 wrote: »SaraBrinksey9 wrote: »SaraBrinksey9 wrote: »Do you think less than 1800 is normal for maintenance
Read through the posts here on this thread about your logging and maintenance.
I did and nobody has given me a straight answer
And I took the time to add up your calories from above meals (plugged in 200 cals for the meat since you did not add that), and it comes to 1370-1400 calories. You are eating more than you think.
It looks like you just setup your account in MFP today? So you are not weighing and logging here?SaraBrinksey9 wrote: »SaraBrinksey9 wrote: »Do you think less than 1800 is normal for maintenance
Read through the posts here on this thread about your logging and maintenance.
I did and nobody has given me a straight answer
And I took the time to add up your calories from above meals (plugged in 200 cals for the meat since you did not add that), and it comes to 1370-1400 calories. You are eating more than you think.
It looks like you just setup your account in MFP today? So you are not weighing and logging here?
Thank you for this insightful response! You said you added it up and it came out to be roughly 1400 cal, so I was confused by what you meant when you said Im eating more than I think (I counted it as 1700/1800). Yes I just joined today; I have been in recovery from anorexia for 5 1/2 years and took a break but I’m really motivated and wanted to seek out reassurance because my eating disorder is convincing me otherwise.
I mentioned eating more than you think because weight gain (which you stated you went from 113 to 118) is caused by eating more than we need to maintain, so the way you were logging and counting calories is off. Wanting to maintain at your current weight is a very sound and good idea, of course letting your doctors or treatment team aware of this should be a step I encourage you to do.
If you plan to eat those meals you laid in your original post (which is perfectly fine) during maintaining your weight, you need to learn how to weigh out our food and log accurately in MFP if you plan to use the MFP app. However I am leary of a person with an eating disorder to take this on without supervision from their doctor/treatment team.
You were given an estimated TDEE (maintenance) off an online calculator and another which used MFP (1650 cals) as you can see these vary, however any numbers you get from various sources are just baseline starting points only. The only way to arrive at your true maintenance is for you weigh and log food for 3-4 weeks, keep up with your body scale weight and adjust in small increments as needed and trend it again, so on and so on.
What would you consider “skinny” for 5’5? Do I have wiggle room? I increased to 1700 and fear that I am going to continuously gain.
0 -
SaraBrinksey9 wrote: »SaraBrinksey9 wrote: »SaraBrinksey9 wrote: »SaraBrinksey9 wrote: »Do you think less than 1800 is normal for maintenance
Read through the posts here on this thread about your logging and maintenance.
I did and nobody has given me a straight answer
And I took the time to add up your calories from above meals (plugged in 200 cals for the meat since you did not add that), and it comes to 1370-1400 calories. You are eating more than you think.
It looks like you just setup your account in MFP today? So you are not weighing and logging here?SaraBrinksey9 wrote: »SaraBrinksey9 wrote: »Do you think less than 1800 is normal for maintenance
Read through the posts here on this thread about your logging and maintenance.
I did and nobody has given me a straight answer
And I took the time to add up your calories from above meals (plugged in 200 cals for the meat since you did not add that), and it comes to 1370-1400 calories. You are eating more than you think.
It looks like you just setup your account in MFP today? So you are not weighing and logging here?
Thank you for this insightful response! You said you added it up and it came out to be roughly 1400 cal, so I was confused by what you meant when you said Im eating more than I think (I counted it as 1700/1800). Yes I just joined today; I have been in recovery from anorexia for 5 1/2 years and took a break but I’m really motivated and wanted to seek out reassurance because my eating disorder is convincing me otherwise.
I mentioned eating more than you think because weight gain (which you stated you went from 113 to 118) is caused by eating more than we need to maintain, so the way you were logging and counting calories is off. Wanting to maintain at your current weight is a very sound and good idea, of course letting your doctors or treatment team aware of this should be a step I encourage you to do.
If you plan to eat those meals you laid in your original post (which is perfectly fine) during maintaining your weight, you need to learn how to weigh out our food and log accurately in MFP if you plan to use the MFP app. However I am leary of a person with an eating disorder to take this on without supervision from their doctor/treatment team.
You were given an estimated TDEE (maintenance) off an online calculator and another which used MFP (1650 cals) as you can see these vary, however any numbers you get from various sources are just baseline starting points only. The only way to arrive at your true maintenance is for you weigh and log food for 3-4 weeks, keep up with your body scale weight and adjust in small increments as needed and trend it again, so on and so on.
What would you consider “skinny” for 5’5? Do I have wiggle room? I increased to 1700 and fear that I am going to continuously gain.
I'm 5'5". I felt thin at 120, and too thin at 116. I'm up to low 130s, and people around me still call me "thin". I eat over 2000 calories gross every day. (No, I didn't gain from 116 to 130s eating that amount. I gained by eating substantially more than that amount during certain periods each year. I maintained 120 pounds on over 2000 calories for many months.) I am also roughly forty years older than you are.
If you increase to 1700, you will not "continuously gain". It isn't possible. In the worst possible scenario, if you are already at your maintenance calories before going to 1700 - a scenario that is extremely unlikely to be true - you might gain a little, only up to the bodyweight for which 1700 calories would be the maintenance level, and then you would stop gaining. You wouldn't, couldn't, just keep gaining and gaining at 1700. That's not possible, that's not how it works.8 -
SaraBrinksey9 wrote: »SaraBrinksey9 wrote: »SaraBrinksey9 wrote: »SaraBrinksey9 wrote: »Do you think less than 1800 is normal for maintenance
Read through the posts here on this thread about your logging and maintenance.
I did and nobody has given me a straight answer
And I took the time to add up your calories from above meals (plugged in 200 cals for the meat since you did not add that), and it comes to 1370-1400 calories. You are eating more than you think.
It looks like you just setup your account in MFP today? So you are not weighing and logging here?SaraBrinksey9 wrote: »SaraBrinksey9 wrote: »Do you think less than 1800 is normal for maintenance
Read through the posts here on this thread about your logging and maintenance.
I did and nobody has given me a straight answer
And I took the time to add up your calories from above meals (plugged in 200 cals for the meat since you did not add that), and it comes to 1370-1400 calories. You are eating more than you think.
It looks like you just setup your account in MFP today? So you are not weighing and logging here?
Thank you for this insightful response! You said you added it up and it came out to be roughly 1400 cal, so I was confused by what you meant when you said Im eating more than I think (I counted it as 1700/1800). Yes I just joined today; I have been in recovery from anorexia for 5 1/2 years and took a break but I’m really motivated and wanted to seek out reassurance because my eating disorder is convincing me otherwise.
I mentioned eating more than you think because weight gain (which you stated you went from 113 to 118) is caused by eating more than we need to maintain, so the way you were logging and counting calories is off. Wanting to maintain at your current weight is a very sound and good idea, of course letting your doctors or treatment team aware of this should be a step I encourage you to do.
If you plan to eat those meals you laid in your original post (which is perfectly fine) during maintaining your weight, you need to learn how to weigh out our food and log accurately in MFP if you plan to use the MFP app. However I am leary of a person with an eating disorder to take this on without supervision from their doctor/treatment team.
You were given an estimated TDEE (maintenance) off an online calculator and another which used MFP (1650 cals) as you can see these vary, however any numbers you get from various sources are just baseline starting points only. The only way to arrive at your true maintenance is for you weigh and log food for 3-4 weeks, keep up with your body scale weight and adjust in small increments as needed and trend it again, so on and so on.
What would you consider “skinny” for 5’5? Do I have wiggle room? I increased to 1700 and fear that I am going to continuously gain.
Why does it matter what skinny is, and whether you have wiggle room?0 -
SaraBrinksey9 wrote: »Thank you for this insightful response! You said you added it up and it came out to be roughly 1400 cal, so I was confused by what you meant when you said Im eating more than I think (I counted it as 1700/1800). Yes I just joined today; I have been in recovery from anorexia for 5 1/2 years and took a break but I’m really motivated and wanted to seek out reassurance because my eating disorder is convincing me otherwise.
With the OP's late edition of the very relevant info of a history of anorexia and based on some of her comments here, the best move for her would be to seek professional guidance, and for us to stop giving info/advice that may only serve to trigger her.
9 -
There is the Brain Weight vs. the Dream Weight. Every time you put yourself through another brutal dieting phase seeking the Dream Weight - the Brain Weight goes higher and higher.
The Dream Weight becomes totally out of reach. Imaginary.
When the body is content at the optimum Brain Weight you will eventually hit the wall with the Dream Weight.
Constantly starting over and over and over again with another dieting phase, the Brain Weight will fight against you. The body and brain are bent on survival. The Brain Weight is chemical, biological. It is driven by the appetite control center that is located in the brain and not the stomach.
The Brain Weight is the master controller. Temporary quick weight loss is amazing. Until it isn't.
10 -
SaraBrinksey9 wrote: »SaraBrinksey9 wrote: »SaraBrinksey9 wrote: »SaraBrinksey9 wrote: »Do you think less than 1800 is normal for maintenance
Read through the posts here on this thread about your logging and maintenance.
I did and nobody has given me a straight answer
And I took the time to add up your calories from above meals (plugged in 200 cals for the meat since you did not add that), and it comes to 1370-1400 calories. You are eating more than you think.
It looks like you just setup your account in MFP today? So you are not weighing and logging here?SaraBrinksey9 wrote: »SaraBrinksey9 wrote: »Do you think less than 1800 is normal for maintenance
Read through the posts here on this thread about your logging and maintenance.
I did and nobody has given me a straight answer
And I took the time to add up your calories from above meals (plugged in 200 cals for the meat since you did not add that), and it comes to 1370-1400 calories. You are eating more than you think.
It looks like you just setup your account in MFP today? So you are not weighing and logging here?
Thank you for this insightful response! You said you added it up and it came out to be roughly 1400 cal, so I was confused by what you meant when you said Im eating more than I think (I counted it as 1700/1800). Yes I just joined today; I have been in recovery from anorexia for 5 1/2 years and took a break but I’m really motivated and wanted to seek out reassurance because my eating disorder is convincing me otherwise.
I mentioned eating more than you think because weight gain (which you stated you went from 113 to 118) is caused by eating more than we need to maintain, so the way you were logging and counting calories is off. Wanting to maintain at your current weight is a very sound and good idea, of course letting your doctors or treatment team aware of this should be a step I encourage you to do.
If you plan to eat those meals you laid in your original post (which is perfectly fine) during maintaining your weight, you need to learn how to weigh out our food and log accurately in MFP if you plan to use the MFP app. However I am leary of a person with an eating disorder to take this on without supervision from their doctor/treatment team.
You were given an estimated TDEE (maintenance) off an online calculator and another which used MFP (1650 cals) as you can see these vary, however any numbers you get from various sources are just baseline starting points only. The only way to arrive at your true maintenance is for you weigh and log food for 3-4 weeks, keep up with your body scale weight and adjust in small increments as needed and trend it again, so on and so on.
What would you consider “skinny” for 5’5? Do I have wiggle room? I increased to 1700 and fear that I am going to continuously gain.
The questions you ask have now taken a different turn and I understand that your eating disorder may be prompting you to ask these questions as your eating disorder is clearly still relevant, the only recommendation that is best for you is to refer you back for the guidance and assistance of your doctors and treatment team.11
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 391.7K Introduce Yourself
- 43.5K Getting Started
- 259.7K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.6K Food and Nutrition
- 47.3K Recipes
- 232.3K Fitness and Exercise
- 394 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.4K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 152.7K Motivation and Support
- 7.8K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.3K MyFitnessPal Information
- 23 News and Announcements
- 951 Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.3K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions