Help - gaining weight!

naverra2001

Hi
Although I'm not really overweight (9 and half stone) my middle section is extremely flabby and this is the area I want to focus on.
For the past two weeks I've been walking roughly 60 - 75 minutes a day, very brisk walking (about 3.5 mph) and spread out over two 30 min periods and then a 15 minute period. I've also cut my calories (as per MFP suggestion) to around 1,200 per day (sometimes I go a little over, sometimes a little under) drinking tons of water etc. Also the calories I am consuming is all healthy food, salads, fish etc.
Yet I have somehow managed to gain weight and do not see any improvement in my fatty areas.
Is it possible that the 2lbs weight gain is muscle? I would not have thought that I could build muscle that quickly, but cannot understand how I've gained weight. I'm feeling quite demotivated so any help/advice would be appreciated as I don't want to give up now.

bunbunzee44

it could be just water retention, happens sometimes when you start exercising.

naverra2001

Thanks for your reply, I had hoped by drinking lots of water that wouldn't happen. Would just like to see some result from all the hard work. Neither chocolate, crisps nor white bread have passed my lips in two weeks, all 3 are my big weakness so I think I deserve even half a pound drop!!

mperrott2205

Thanks for your reply, I had hoped by drinking lots of water that wouldn't happen. Would just like to see some result from all the hard work. Neither chocolate, crisps nor white bread have passed my lips in two weeks, all 3 are my big weakness so I think I deserve even half a pound drop!!

If you're looking for results from hard work, take measurements. Far better than scales.

3laine75

if you're not used to all the walking, it will definitely just be water weight. make sure you enter your walks and eat back your exercise calories.

most people will tell you 1200 is too low but i'm not going to be a hypocrite, as thats what i'm doing too - just make sure you eat back the extra calories and be patient.

as you're at a healthy weight already, it is harder to lose those stubborn lbs.

BlackPup

2lb could just be a normal fluctuation in weigh throughout the day. Make sure you measure your food. Record it all and eat back your exercise calories. Definitely measure not weigh.

naverra2001

Thank you everyone for your advice, it's helped motivate me to carry on. And yes, I think I'll ditch those scales and opt for a measuring tape instead.
Just one more question though, a few of you have said to make sure I eat back the exercise calories. The thing I'm finding is that, because I'm eating very healthy foods like salads (and little and often throughout the day) I'm not actually getting too hungry. As such there have been a few days that I do not eat back the exercise calories. For example yesterday I ate 1,308 calories but burned 374 through exercise, so technically I should have eaten another 266 calories. Is it really necessary to eat these back, even if I'm not really hungry?
That said there are some days I'm really hungry and go over both the 1,200 and my exercise calories (although generally by not much more than 50 cals) so would those type of days make up the deficit on the days I'm not hungry?

BlackPup

Yes itall evens out in the end look at your weekly averages