Not Losing

katiemcm1125

Hi ya'll! I have been counting calories, measuring food, and doing 30-45 minutes of cardio on most days, and doing some resistance training... and I have gained 5 lbs! My brother says that I'm probably gaining muscle and also I'm about to start my period, but it's so discouraging. Any thoughts? Please don't ask if I am measuring my food because I am and I'm overestimating my calories if I am not 100% sure of them. Also I am using my watch to calculate my fitness. I am about 250 lbs right now and started at around 245. Ugh!

rileysowner

First, you are not gaining muscle while in a calorie deficit. Water retention both because you are about to start your period is highly likely. The question is not if you are measuring, but how. Are you using a scale? Also, have you verified the database entries you are using as the database is user-generated, that means some of the entries are extremely incorrect and some are only correct in certain regions but not in others. Make sure the ones you are using are correct. Also, how long have you been doing this? It can take several weeks for some people to show losses.

Lietchi

rileysowner wrote: »

First, you are not gaining muscle while in a calorie deficit. Water retention both because you are about to start your period is highly likely. The question is not if you are measuring, but how. Are you using a scale? Also, have you verified the database entries you are using as the database is user-generated, that means some of the entries are extremely incorrect and some are only correct in certain regions but not in others. Make sure the ones you are using are correct. Also, how long have you been doing this? It can take several weeks for some people to show losses.

The bolded is not true, in the sense that it is possible to gain muscle while being in a calorie deficit (if consuming enough protein and doing resistance training and not being at a very aggressive deficit). But if will be a matter of months, so I second the question regarding how long you've been counting calories.
The other advice given is good as well.

New exercise routines, especially resistance training, can cause water retention to repair your muscles. Your monthly cycle can cause water retention.
This is a good link regarding weight fluctuations:
https://physiqonomics.com/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-weight-and-fluctuations/

Another question: when you say your watch calculates your fitness, do you mean it calculates how many calories you burn? If you give some examples of calorie burns, we could check that the numbers aren't inflated, fitness trackers aren't always accurate.

katiemcm1125

I do moderate to intense indoor cycling for 30-45 minutes and active calories show between 300-540 calories depending on time and intensity. For example, moderate to high intensity I burn about 350 active calories in 30 minutes. MFP overestimates so I change it to match what my watch says. Thanks for your help.

katiemcm1125

Also thanks for the article. It was really helpful.

katiemcm1125

Oh another thing, I don’t eat all my fitness calories. Sometimes I eat half and then sometimes I don’t eat them at all.

moonangel12

Are you measuring or weighing your food? And is that for everything, even prepackaged or “per piece” items?

katiemcm1125

In my post I said I am measuring and don’t ask me that lol

DancingMoosie

Opening your diary might be helpful. We might be able to spot some mistakes in your logging that way. Even if you are gaining strength/and or muscle, being in a calorie deficit would still mean that you lose weight. How many calories are you eating daily?

Redordeadhead

katiemcm1125 wrote: »

In my post I said I am measuring and don’t ask me that lol

I would recommend a food scale, weighing is much more accurate than measuring for anything solid (so almost all your food). You may be eating more calories than you think. It's possible your watch is also over estimating the calories burned.

Lietchi

I think we need to return to the basics:
- the question you didn't answer: how long have you been counting calories? If you've gained 5lbs over one week, our answer will not be the same as when you tell us you've gained 5 lbs gradually over a longer period of time.
- you weigh 250lbs, how tall are you?
- what activity level and weight loss rate did you select on MFP?

Even though you don't want us asking about it, accurate food logging is one of the first things to look at when we aren't losing weight as intended. And accurate food logging means weighing, but also making sure you use accurate food entries.

elizabethherberger

I would say wait to re-weigh yourself until the Wednesday after your period. A woman’s cycle can definitely cause 5 pounds in water retention. And Wednesdays are usually the most accurate day to weigh in according to some research.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/health.clevelandclinic.org/when-is-the-best-time-to-weigh-yourself/amp/

https://www.womenshealthmag.com/weight-loss/a19995542/weight-gain-during-period/