Dieting but gaining weight

presentcompany7974

Hi guys
I started using MCC a few months back, I weigh 120 and am 5’5. Looking to lose a couple pounds- been exercising a lot and cutting calories to 1300/day. To my dismay i gained about 3 lbs and now I’m just getting more muscular. I know muscle weighs more but I’m trying to go down to 115 and fit into some of my clothes again. What do I do?! I know this is something I probably shouldn’t be complaining about, but would love some advice.
Thanks

kshama2001

presentcompany7974 wrote: »

Hi guys
I started using MCC a few months back, I weight 120 and am 5’5. Looking to lose a couple pounds- been exercising a lot and cutting calories to 1300/day. To my dismay i gained about 3 lbs and now I’m just getting more muscular. What do I do?!

You may be retaining water from the new exercise. When exactly did that start?

Also, if you are a woman with a menstrual cycle and are near ovulation or premenstrual, that can cause water weight increases as well.

It's rather unlikely that you are more muscular already. If you didn't already take measurements, take them now. My lying eyes often tell me that my biceps are bigger but the tape measure says they are smaller.

However, there are mistakes that people commonly make that cause them to not lose weight that we might be able to spot if you change your Diary Sharing settings to Public: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/diary_settings

presentcompany7974

Hi kshama2001, thanks for responding. I just changed my settings to public. Let me know what I should change!

cwolfman13

Becoming more muscular is hard and takes a lot of time even under optimal conditions. If you think you're becoming more muscular it is most likely you have lost some fat and you are seeing "pump"...ie your muscles filled with water, which is going to have weight on the scale.

You gained 3 Lbs in what amount of time?

And really, if you were getting more muscular and weighed more, you would actually fit into those clothes...

Meet Staci...



She is actually 11 Lbs heavier (142 Lbs) on the right than she is on the left (131 Lbs)

presentcompany7974

Also, to answer your question, I’ve been doing HIIT once a week, jogging/walking 4 miles a day, doing yoga daily, all for the past 2 months now.

presentcompany7974

Well, i used to be 105, so I’m kind of resigned to the potential that I may never fit into those clothes again. I have never worked out before and to my surprise, my body has responded a bit more than I’d like to these workouts I’ve been doing.

Muscleflex79

presentcompany7974 wrote: »

Also, to answer your question, I’ve been doing HIIT once a week, jogging/walking 4 miles a day, doing yoga daily, all for the past 2 months now.

you are certainly not putting on muscle mass eating at a deficit and doing HIIT, jogging and yoga. as was said above, if you were losing fat and gaining muscle you would be fitting into those clothes better. much more likely to be a logging/intake issue.

Muscleflex79

just took a quick look at your diary - it is almost all in "pieces" and "cups" - start with weighing all your food - you'll be in for a real eye opener!

presentcompany7974

I am being compulsive with my logging, actually because I want to have an accurate idea what what I’m intaking. I am even logging starburst, as you can see. Also, i know I am gaining muscle- I can feel it, my boyfriend says I look way more muscular, and so do my friends.

cwolfman13

presentcompany7974 wrote: »

Well, i used to be 105, so I’m kind of resigned to the potential that I may never fit into those clothes again. I have never worked out before and to my surprise, my body has responded a bit more than I’d like to these workouts I’ve been doing.

You're primarily doing cardio and some yoga...you're not putting on muscle mass doing that...you also don't put a bunch of muscle mass on eating in a calorie deficit...a calorie deficit is a catabolic state...gaining muscle is an anabolic process.

A genetically gifted male eating a 250 calorie surplus and engaging in a well structured hypertrophy weight training program might be able to put on about 1-2 Lbs of muscle per month.

New exercise causes water retention...water has weight that shows up on the scale.

cwolfman13

presentcompany7974 wrote: »

I am being compulsive with my logging, actually because I want to have an accurate idea what what I’m intaking. I am even logging starburst, as you can see. Also, i know I am gaining muscle- I can feel it, my boyfriend says I look way more muscular, and so do my friends.

But you are using things like "pieces" and "cups", etc. That is not the most accurate way of going about things.

You aren't gaining muscle...'cuz science...you and your friends are seeing "pump"...your muscles filled with water from exercise.

Muscleflex79

presentcompany7974 wrote: »

I am being compulsive with my logging, actually because I want to have an accurate idea what what I’m intaking. I am even logging starburst, as you can see. Also, i know I am gaining muscle- I can feel it, my boyfriend says I look way more muscular, and so do my friends.

except you are not compulsively logging accurately because most of your entries are in "pieces" and "cups" - that is no way accurate.

and regarding the muscle - cwolfman13 covered that well.

SueSueDio

presentcompany7974 wrote: »

I am being compulsive with my logging, actually because I want to have an accurate idea what what I’m intaking. I am even logging starburst, as you can see. Also, i know I am gaining muscle- I can feel it, my boyfriend says I look way more muscular, and so do my friends.

But are you actually weighing all of your food? It's important. Your entries suggest that you're not.

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10634517/you-dont-use-a-food-scale/p1

presentcompany7974

I have weighed my food, and it’s most often at par with what the “cups” state as I know to not fill the cups up all the way.

Justin_7272

presentcompany7974 wrote: »

I am being compulsive with my logging, actually because I want to have an accurate idea what what I’m intaking.

Based on your diary you're clearly not weighing your food. You may be compulsive in logging, but if your not weighing, it is not accurate logging. It's a common mistake for people to believe they're eating less than they are and/or burning more calories than they are. You will only gain weight at a caloric surplus, which means you are eating more calories than you think.

Buy a cheap food scale and start weighing your food, and your logging will become accurate.

presentcompany7974

so there is no way I could be be gaining muscle with my current diet and exercise schematic?

presentcompany7974

OK so key takeaway here is that I should start weighing my food.

SueSueDio

presentcompany7974 wrote: »

OK so key takeaway here is that I should start weighing my food.

Absolutely.

I find it hard to believe that every papaya and ear of corn you eat is the exact same size and weight, for example.

Also, do you never have milk on your cereal? I see a few entries for Corn Pops with just fruit or other cereals, and I for one couldn't eat them without milk no matter how much I like them!

Do you log all your oils, condiments, drinks other than water etc. as well? It's commendable that you're logging all your candy and cookies, but you need to include everything.

Muscleflex79

presentcompany7974 wrote: »

so there is no way I could be be gaining muscle with my current diet and exercise schematic?

muscle growth is a long and slow process - especially in females. it requires a calorie surplus and some sort of progressive lifting program - you don't even mention lifting weights? it is more likely that your weight gain is regular fluctuations, water retention, etc. if you are interested in gaining muscle mass - look into a structured lifting program!

presentcompany7974

Ha, I love dry cereal. I know, super weird. Also, I try to abstain from condiments. I do eat out a lot so I take advantage of the food logging via restaurant menu feature on here- is that at all accurate?

Pamela_Sue

presentcompany7974 wrote: »

OK so key takeaway here is that I should start weighing my food.

The reality is 'yes'. I am obese and working on losing 70 pounds. Because I have so much weight to lose, I am able to track and log without weighing some of my food. But as I get closer and closer to goal it will become increasingly difficult to take off those last pounds and I know there will come a time when I will also need to weigh everything. There is so little leeway when you only need to lose 5 or 10 pounds, that every calorie must be weighed and accounted for.
I don't like the idea of weighing everything, but it is a reality. The closer to goal, the more accurate you must be.

SueSueDio

presentcompany7974 wrote: »

Ha, I love dry cereal. I know, super weird. Also, I try to abstain from condiments. I do eat out a lot so I take advantage of the food logging via restaurant menu feature on here- is that at all accurate?

It's very hard to be accurate with restaurant food - even if there's nutritional info on the company's website, it depends on how the individual chef made it that day, among other things. Best you can do is learn to make an educated guess, and see over time whether your expected rate of loss lines up with the calories you're estimating. (And make sure you don't always pick the lowest calorie option in the MFP database, too! If you scroll through a few entries, you'll see that what sounds like the same dish can vary by dozens, if not hundreds, of calories.)

cwolfman13

presentcompany7974 wrote: »

Ha, I love dry cereal. I know, super weird. Also, I try to abstain from condiments. I do eat out a lot so I take advantage of the food logging via restaurant menu feature on here- is that at all accurate?

Calories listed on restaurant websites and in the database can be off...not every meal is going to be prepared exactly the same every single time with exactly the same amount of x, y, or z. Frankly, when I was trying to lose weight I cut way, way back on eating out.

presentcompany7974 wrote: »

so there is no way I could be be gaining muscle with my current diet and exercise schematic?

No, not really...as I stated earlier, building muscle is an anabolic process, just like building fat stores...and it is difficult and takes a long time...people go through bulking and cutting cycles for years to get the muscle mass they want.

Dieting or otherwise being in a calorie deficit is catabolic. Essentially, you can't build something from nothing. The one caveat would be noob gains, particularly in an overweight or obese individual (which you aren't) engaging in a well structured resistance training/weight lifting program (which you aren't).

Cardiovascular exercise is great for your heart health and cardiovascular system...it's like weight lifting for your heart and lungs...but it does not add meaningful muscle mass, particularly in a calorie deficit. Yoga is great for relaxation, balance, and flexibility...but again, not a meaningful muscle builder.

mbaker566

wrong thread

NovusDies

Over time I have learned which restaurants I can trust more than others. It is easier to trust when they list weights but that is rare. I have a system of logging 10 percent or 20 percent above the restaurants I do not trust. I use 10 percent for simple and leaner dishes and 20 percent for dishes that are less controlled like pasta or a stir fry, more complicated with sauces and multiple ingredients, or just look big for their calories. Yesterday I had fish but the portion size was big for the calories so I bumped it up to 20. I usually only do this with entrees or salads not grilled or steamed vegetables.

Over a very large period of time I do lose weight slightly faster than my logging but not by a significant amount. It could just as easily be a variance in my activity as it is that I log slightly high... or a combination of both.

kshama2001

presentcompany7974 wrote: »

OK so key takeaway here is that I should start weighing my food.

Yes

When I used to use measuring cups I stressed over how full to fill them. That is a non-issue now, as is washing them.

PAV8888

presentcompany7974 wrote: »

Well, i used to be 105, so I’m kind of resigned to the potential that I may never fit into those clothes again. I have never worked out before and to my surprise, my body has responded a bit more than I’d like to these workouts I’ve been doing.

actually the takeaway here is that we sometimes miss the forest for the trees.

You are currently at a very healthy weight at BMI 20 @ 120lbs and trying to lose weight without gaining muscle so that you will fit into clothes that were fitting you when you were underweight at BMI 17 and a half and 105 lb.

I really don't think that compulsively logging more accurately is the best thing for you.

Regardless of the advice you have received above. And regardless of whether you're gaining more muscle or revealing more muscle or getting a water pump of what's already there.

Your goals, motivation, and how they affect your long term health are probably of more concern...

And it is perfectly normal to retain water when performing more exercise then you have done in the past

presentcompany7974

I don’t think a holy *kitten* you guys were right is needed here...but holy *kitten* you guys were right.

amy19355

presentcompany7974 wrote: »

I have weighed my food, and it’s most often at par with what the “cups” state as I know to not fill the cups up all the way.

“Most often” is where your risk lies.

Think about it this way. At your CW, healthy weight loss will be slower than if you were much heavier. My goals are set at 1400 calories a day to lose 1/2 pound a week.

If I don’t weigh my food portions, there is a real chance I’ll exceed my calorie limits because 100-200 calories worth of most foods does not represent a large portion on the plate.

My two best tricks for weight control success have been : $25 invested in a good digital scale that measures grams, and religiously logging every single bite you consume (especially including the dab of butter and oil used for cooking) .

Good luck to us all.!

SueSueDio

presentcompany7974 wrote: »

I don’t think a holy *kitten* you guys were right is needed here...but holy *kitten* you guys were right.

What did you discover?

presentcompany7974

SueSueDio wrote: »

presentcompany7974 wrote: »

I don’t think a holy *kitten* you guys were right is needed here...but holy *kitten* you guys were right.

What did you discover?

Primarily, that granola weighs ALOT. Since I’ve started weighing my food, I noticed I’ve underestimated my caloric intake more often than I overestimate...also makes tracking a lot easier now and takes the guesswork out of MOST of my food- especially in regards to snacks.
I think I’ve been eating more around the 1500 calories/day mark. I do feel like I have slimmed down a bit in the last few months...I actually weigh 118, I just rounded up when I said I weigh 120 and my starting weight was 115....so I’m not quite sure what’s going on there...probably water weight, I’m hoping. I’m not checking the scale very often...how long should it take for me to lose 5 lbs? Is 1500 still a deficit?
I guess perhaps I need to be more patient with this endeavor. Ugh.
Regardless, thanks for the help.