Under Daily Calorie Goal But Still Gaining Weight

lovelylaura78

I’m only in my first week of tracking, but I’m not sure that I’m doing things right. I’ve come in under my calorie goal for the last seven days, and have completed low impact beginner level workouts three times this week. However, I have actually gained weight. I am not one for wasting food, so my pantry and refrigerator are about half and half on healthy versus unhealthy foods since I just started this whole weight loss thing again. I’m hoping that once I am out of the unhealthy stuff, and can focus on just healthier options that I’ll start seeing positive results. Is it possible that I’m just not eating the right foods (unhealthy fats? bad carbs?) even though I’m under calories for the day? Any tips or helpful advice would be greatly appreciated.

zeejane03

For weight loss it doesn't matter what kinds of foods you're eating, just that you're at the correct calorie deficit for your weight loss goals.

1. It's only been a week, give it more time
2. Are you using a food scale to measure out serving sizes?
3. Weight fluctuations are normal and may be hiding a loss-things like sodium intake, digestion timing, hormones/tom/PMS etc
4. If you started a new exercise routine or are adding exercise that can affect the scale for a few days due to water retention

zeejane03

Also, focus on your monthly weight trends to get a more accurate idea of where you're at. A weight trending app can be very helpful-Happy Scale for iPhone and Libra for android are both really good.

kami3006

While the foods you eat have an impact on health, satiety, and body composition, it does not have an effect on weigh loss. That's all about calories.

First, one week is not enough time to see if what you're doing is working. You have to be consistent for several weeks to really evaluate what's happening.

Secondly, when you start a new exercise, or increase the amount you're already doing, your body will hold on to water to help repair itself. This can last a week or two before leveling out; how long it lasts varies by person. So the scale may go up due to that.

Third, if you're new to tracking calories, I highly recommend using a food scale at least in the beginning to see what actual portions are like. Measuring cups and labels are just not good enough for a lot of people. Using cups and spoons can cause people to eat sometimes a few hundred extra calories than they're logging. This is a good thread with a video on that: https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10634517/you-dont-use-a-food-scale/p1

Lastly, it's good to get a handle on how your weight will fluctuate throughout the process. So many things can affect the scale and you can be doing everything perfectly and still have days your weight will be up. So, if you weigh daily, using a weight trending app which gives you overall weight trend is very helpful. Measurements and photos are great to track progress as well.

Welcome to the app and the forums. There's a ton of great insight and support here. If you haven't already, read through the "must read" posts at the top of each forum. They're a fantastic source of information. :drinker:

Edited because autocorrect is not my friend today. 😜

lovelylaura78

Wow! Lots of good information in these posts, and so quickly too. I am definitely going to get a scale and will try the tracking app also. I didn't know about the water retention from working out, so I've learned something new today. Thank you!!

callsitlikeiseeit

pinuplove

The sad fact I've learned from measuring food is, a portion is almost always less food than I think it should be :laugh: I hope the food scale helps you dial things in and start losing.

lin_be

Once you start weighing, I would suggest eating at the calorie goal MFP set for you, not under. Get as close to it as possible. It’ll just be easier in the long run to maintain a deficit. I find that if I am under my goal, I get super hungry and go off of my plan.

berube0604

Also, make sure you’re drinking enough water! Water helps all your organs do it’s work. When I first started to try to lose weight I wasn’t drinking enough water and my body wouldn’t lose weight. As soon as I started drinking water (and eating healthier foods) I started to lose weight.
When I first started, I had to ween myself off of those foods I was addicted to, so I would take a bite or two of whatever it was and then throw the rest away seems how if I didn’t I would eat it all. Then it got easier to not eat them at all. But that’s just me.
Also, though people said what you eat doesn’t count to lose weight, it does count to lose fat/get more fit. I have a friend of MFP who eats out twice a day at fast food restaurants, comes in under her “1300 calorie goal” (which is also about as low as a woman should go), and still can’t lose fat (she loses about 2lbs and then will gain it back the next month).

paperpudding

berube0604 wrote: »

Also, make sure you’re drinking enough water! Water helps all your organs do it’s work. When I first started to try to lose weight I wasn’t drinking enough water and my body wouldn’t lose weight. As soon as I started drinking water (and eating healthier foods) I started to lose weight.
When I first started, I had to ween myself off of those foods I was addicted to, so I would take a bite or two of whatever it was and then throw the rest away seems how if I didn’t I would eat it all. Then it got easier to not eat them at all. But that’s just me.
Also, though people said what you eat doesn’t count to lose weight, it does count to lose fat/get more fit. I have a friend of MFP who eats out twice a day at fast food restaurants, comes in under her “1300 calorie goal” (which is also about as low as a woman should go), and still can’t lose fat (she loses about 2lbs and then will gain it back the next month).

So you changed your diet to "healthy foods" and then lost weight???

so your new diet (foods you eat) contained less calories than your previous diet - and not surprisingly you lost weight.
Drinking more water may also have meant eating less food - aka less calories - and not surprisingly you lost weight.

The water didnt do anything magic.

Not sure how you know that your friend is accurately eating 1300 calories?

Perhaps if she started a thread on MFP we could pinpoint for her where her problem lies.
My guess is that it would lie in actually eating more calories than she thinks she does.

kami3006

berube0604 wrote: »

Also, make sure you’re drinking enough water! Water helps all your organs do it’s work. When I first started to try to lose weight I wasn’t drinking enough water and my body wouldn’t lose weight. As soon as I started drinking water (and eating healthier foods) I started to lose weight.
When I first started, I had to ween myself off of those foods I was addicted to, so I would take a bite or two of whatever it was and then throw the rest away seems how if I didn’t I would eat it all. Then it got easier to not eat them at all. But that’s just me.
Also, though people said what you eat doesn’t count to lose weight, it does count to lose fat/get more fit. I have a friend of MFP who eats out twice a day at fast food restaurants, comes in under her “1300 calorie goal” (which is also about as low as a woman should go), and still can’t lose fat (she loses about 2lbs and then will gain it back the next month).

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10348650/cico-still-skeptical-come-inside-for-a-meticulous-log-that-proves-it

wilson10102018

Calorie counting is a process not an event. Weigh yourself infrequently. No more than weekly. But, log calories several times per day, most helpfully, immediately after eating.

DevynCu

The biggest thing to keep in mind here is that you really want to adjust to a new lifestyle. It can be super difficult to do everything all at once because it can be overwhelming and hard to stick with. As you go along your journey to better health, you'll add on things like increasing your daily water intake and figuring out what vegetables and fruits you can incorporate into your regular diet. Heavens, it even takes a while just to find healthy recipes you like!

If you start with first being consistent with logging what you eat, then you can become consistent with increasing your water intake, then build more healthy habits after that. I think you're on the right track, just take a few steps at a time and you'll definitely start feeling/seeing a change.

Oh and, don't kick yourself if something doesn't stick right away the way you want it to. You deserve to give yourself so much more love and grace than that, just pick up where you left off and keep going!

zeejane03

wilson10102018 wrote: »

Calorie counting is a process not an event. Weigh yourself infrequently. No more than weekly. But, log calories several times per day, most helpfully, immediately after eating.

I've been a daily weigher for almost 7 years now. Nothing wrong with weighing yourself more frequently than once a week-it gives you data that helps you understand your weight trends better.

MelanieCN77

zeejane03 wrote: »

wilson10102018 wrote: »

Calorie counting is a process not an event. Weigh yourself infrequently. No more than weekly. But, log calories several times per day, most helpfully, immediately after eating.

I've been a daily weigher for almost 7 years now. Nothing wrong with weighing yourself more frequently than once a week-it gives you data that helps you understand your weight trends better.

I'm also a daily weigher and I think the more data points the better. Rather see the number every day in its increments than "catch" a high number one day and have to chew on that for a week.

Secondly, that's some strange logging advice. I'm weighing and measuring and logging as the meal is being put together. I'm not actually sure how you log after unless you're guessing things or writing down weights and quantities in which case you may as well have just logged it in the first place.

Everyone needs to be careful not to preach their preferences as fits-all.

marshjon74

try intermittent fasting. I have a 5 hour window in which I can eat. I have been on a plateau for almost a year. started the fast five fasting and have lost 10 pounds in 3 weeks. just an idea.

paperpudding

There is absolutely no need for OP to try IF unless she really wants to.

That is totally not the issue.

OP read the flow chart posted above and tighten your logging and get back to us in a month if still making no progress and be willing to open your diary for us to help pinpoint any issues.

whathapnd

OP, there's lots of great advice above. Weight loss really is a matter of CICO. The thing some people forget is that weight loss isn't linear, and sometimes it takes the scale awhile to catch-up with our efforts. And many small things can affect a single weigh-in like how salty was your last meal, how inflamed are you, menstrual cycle, etc. So to echo others, it's the trend over time that matters.

I also think it's possible for a lot of folks (not suggesting you did this) that their initial weigh-in is under-represented. Many people eat/drink "lightly" for a few days/a week before finally facing the scale, and that can impact the initial weigh-in to which all future weigh-ins are compared. Which means it might take a couple weeks to see scale movement.

But the scale will catch up with your efforts if you consistently track and create a calorie deficit.

Good luck!

garystrickland357

pinuplove wrote: »

The sad fact I've learned from measuring food is, a portion is almost always less food than I think it should be :laugh: I hope the food scale helps you dial things in and start losing.

I know, right? I always think, “That small portion will never fill me up.” I usually make a deal with myself - if I’m still hungry in 30 minutes I’ll eat some more. The truth is though - that small portion is always enough. I very rarely want more - it’s a mental game more than a physical/metabolic issue.