Gaining weight on 1200 calories HELP!!

jrobinson100176
jrobinson100176 Posts: 6 Member
in Motivation and Support
Hi - I’m just after a little inspiration really to keep going! I’ve been soooo good this week. Not one day have I had more than 1200 calories. Got on the scales this morning and 4 pounds up. Depressing! Any input please as to why?

Thanks 😊

Replies

  • purple4sure05
    purple4sure05 Posts: 287 Member
    Are you weighing all of your food on a food scale? Have you started a new exercise routine? Did you happen to eat a lot of sodium yesterday? If you truly ate 1200 calories a day all week there is a 0% chance you've gained any fat whatsoever.
  • Bchbaby
    Bchbaby Posts: 1 Member
    Body weight tends to fluctuate by a few pounds. It depends on the foods you are eating, and hormones can also have a major effect on how much water your body retains (especially in women). I notice a hormonal change quite often. Not every month but most. I know they say not to use the scale, but I do check it every few days just to see where i'm at. I can definitely tell by the way my clothes fit more than anything though.

    Also, it is possible that you gained muscle. This is particularly common if you recently started exercising.
    So don't fret just stay on track and i'm sure it will work itself out again. :) you've got this!
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
    If you are new to exercise, your muscle will be retaining water to aid in recovery and protect them from the new exercise.
  • Commander_Keen
    Commander_Keen Posts: 1,181 Member
    How's your carbs and sodium levels. -- They both have or hold on to water.
  • jrobinson100176
    jrobinson100176 Posts: 6 Member
    Hi and thank you for your answers. I decided on 1200 calories because I have a sedentary job and an under active thyroid. I am medicated but it’s hard to shift weight. I want to start by losing 14 pounds. Baby steps! I genuinely have not had above 1200 calories any day. I’ve weighed all my food and kept an honest food diary. I’m not going to the gym or anything but we have two mad Border Collies who need a lot of walking so doing 3 miles a night. I know it’s early days and week isn’t very long and hormones make a massive difference. I’m hoping that’s what it is and not just that I’m destined to get fatter and fatter 😂
  • herbertnenenger1
    herbertnenenger1 Posts: 2 Member
    Very helpful ! Remember weight loss is not linear ! You've got to hear that until it sinks in ! https://blog.myfitnesspal.com/8-sneaky-offenders-cause-weight-fluctuations/
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,442 Member
    http://physiqonomics.com/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-weight-and-fluctuations/
  • pogiguy05
    pogiguy05 Posts: 1,583 Member
    My weight sometimes fluctuates 3 to 5 pounds based on hydration or lack of it. Also you said you take medication which can effect your weight as well. Have you talked to your doctor about losing weight and advice?
  • jrobinson100176
    jrobinson100176 Posts: 6 Member
    Yes I take thyroxine which is ok for controlling my under active thyroid but makes losing weight a challenge 😂. I haven’t spoken to my doctor, I thought I could do this myself. I’m going to give it a month I think. Another 3 weeks and if still nothing happens then I’ll go and see the doc! Thanks for your help x
  • 1991court
    1991court Posts: 230 Member
    jrobinson100176 wrote: »
    Hi and thank you for your answers. I decided on 1200 calories because I have a sedentary job and an under active thyroid. I am medicated but it’s hard to shift weight. I want to start by losing 14 pounds. Baby steps! I genuinely have not had above 1200 calories any day. I’ve weighed all my food and kept an honest food diary. I’m not going to the gym or anything but we have two mad Border Collies who need a lot of walking so doing 3 miles a night. I know it’s early days and week isn’t very long and hormones make a massive difference. I’m hoping that’s what it is and not just that I’m destined to get fatter and fatter 😂

    When are you weighing yourself?
  • murphomatic
    murphomatic Posts: 3 Member
    I’m not going to the gym or anything but we have two mad Border Collies who need a lot of walking so doing 3 miles a night. I know it’s early days and week isn’t very long and hormones make a massive difference. I’m hoping that’s what it is and not just that I’m destined to get fatter and fatter 😂

    What pace do you walk the dogs at? Are you getting your heart rate up or is it a more leisurely pace?

  • jrobinson100176
    jrobinson100176 Posts: 6 Member
    I suppose if I’m being totally honest, we don’t walk as briskly as we should for the whole time. However, it’s through the woods so it’s quite steep at times with quite a few steps. Maybe that’s the key to just move more. Might have to look into a gym 🥴
  • jrobinson100176
    jrobinson100176 Posts: 6 Member
    I always weigh myself first thing of a morning when I get up.
  • try2again
    try2again Posts: 3,562 Member
    edited May 2019
    jrobinson100176 wrote: »
    Yes I take thyroxine which is ok for controlling my under active thyroid but makes losing weight a challenge 😂. I haven’t spoken to my doctor, I thought I could do this myself. I’m going to give it a month I think. Another 3 weeks and if still nothing happens then I’ll go and see the doc! Thanks for your help x

    An underactive thyroid can make losing weight a challenge, thyroid meds do not. It's my understanding (backed by multiple person experiences on these boards, including my own) that once an underactive thyroid is being properly medicated, there is no effect on weight loss.

    A 4 lb gain while in a calorie deficit is a water weight fluctuation. Fat is lost or gained over time, and specifically, a 4 lb fat gain would have required you to have eaten 14,000 calories above your maintenance level this week. :)
  • Quasita
    Quasita Posts: 1,530 Member
    My impression is that, assuming you are overweight, that you are probably underfueling for your lifestyle. Walking a continuous 3 miles at variable incline and pace every day is not a sedentary lifestyle. You might have a sedentary job, but you are regularly exercising.
    Also, it is my opinion (obviously) that you shouldn't use something like thyroid issues to do the bare minimum calorie intake of 1200 unless your doctor expressly requests you do so and you are having your vitamins and other nutrient profile factors regularly checked.

    You don't indicate in what time frame this increase was. If it's 4lbs in one week, it's almost guaranteed to be water retention because you can't organically gain 4lbs of fat on a 1k+ deficit in one week. It's just not going to happen. I mean, unless you're like, SUPER constipated.

    Frankly, I wouldn't recommend eating on the extreme side as you're describing without supervision unless you're prepared to research a lot and accept that any results will not be linear. If I were you, I'd quit doing this guessing at an extreme caloric intake diet and opt, instead, for a more robust level of intake and focus on a lifestyle change rather than the scale. The scale victories are nice, but the non-scale victories are what safe your life.

    Also, food for thought... You may have hypothyroidism, subclinical or otherwise, but if you're on the proper therapeutic level of hormones, your metabolism should be relatively "normal" and need minimal accommodation. You could be causing some unnecessary secondary issues.

    Try weighing only once a month at first if you can't manage the feels that go with fluctuating from day to day... You could even discuss with your physician a desire to build a healthy diet and exercise program for your medical condition and request weigh-ins every month, and simply focus on non-scale stuff other than that. That way, you can get the input from them regarding how much you should eat, what you should eat, any supplements you might need, etc.
  • Hungry_Shopgirl
    Hungry_Shopgirl Posts: 329 Member
    try2again wrote: »
    jrobinson100176 wrote: »
    Yes I take thyroxine which is ok for controlling my under active thyroid but makes losing weight a challenge 😂. I haven’t spoken to my doctor, I thought I could do this myself. I’m going to give it a month I think. Another 3 weeks and if still nothing happens then I’ll go and see the doc! Thanks for your help x

    An underactive thyroid can make losing weight a challenge, thyroid meds do not. It's my understanding (backed by multiple person experiences on these boards, including my own) that once an underactive thyroid is being properly medicated, there is no effect on weight loss.

    ^^This. I've taken Levothyroxine for +10 years now. In that time I've gained weight, lost weight (50lbs) and have been maintaining. All while on the same dose. Turns out that the culprit for my weight gain wasn't that little pill I take in the am, it was all the food I was putting in my mouth the rest of the day ;-)
  • purwonder
    purwonder Posts: 25 Member
    Please don’t let the scale stop you. I’m also on a 1200-1300 calorie meal plan. The scale can be tricky, why? I don’t know. I made a conscious effort to track my weight daily because I’ve let the scale hinder my progress many times in the past. My weight can fluctuate up to a 5 lb increase in one day despite sticking to my plan and exercising. Recently I decided to take a day to increase my activity and do some extra cardio and strength training. I burned a ton of calories and the scale went through the roof the next day. It’s probably water retention or something else, but I’m certain it’s not fat gain or from an increase of calories. It’s just the body adjusting the way that it does. I still lost 9 lbs at the end of my first month. 1 lb more than I expected. Life and weight loss is a journey, focus on the progress you make in doing what you know you should and being consistent. The scale will reflect that in time.
  • liz0269
    liz0269 Posts: 139 Member
    It may be beneficial to weight daily and average weekly. That evens out the fluctuations. Also track your monthly cycle. Before menopause, my weight would creep up until my period and then drop. My lowest weight would be the week after my period. I didn't know that until I started logging my weight and cycle regularly.

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