FIT & ANNOYED

Caritocolombiana12

HI HELLO THERE,
i WAS DOWN 65LBS AND STARTED TRAINING FOR A TRIATHLON- I ENDED UP GAINING 15-20LBS (BUT LOST MEASEUREMENTS SO IT WAS MUSCLE, FROM PRACTICING SWIMMING AND BIKING TWO NEW SPORTS TO ME) I'VE DOWN THR TRIATHLON AND AM NOW TRYING TO BREATHE BUT I AM GAINING WEIGHT. i STRENTH TRAIN IN A CROSSFIT SETTING, I RUN/WALK/JOG 3-4 TIMES A WEEK ANYWHERE BWTWEEN 1-6 MILES, I EAT WELL USUALLY RIGHT ABOUT OR LESS THEN MY CALORIC INTAKE. WHY AM I INCREASING IN WEIGHT., ITS STRESSING ME OUT. I GOT DOWN TO 184 IN MAY, WAS AT 195-200 IN JULY-AUG, NOW IM AT 205.6. FIT & PHAT. LOL IT'S JUST ANNOYING.

AnnPT77

I've been fat but fit - training and competing as a rower (on water races, plus machine races). In fact, I was pretty fit but fat for over 15 years - mostly class 1 obese, mid-180s to 190s pounds at 5'5".

On top of that, I was getting generally good nutrition, eating healthy foods (veggies, fruits, whole grains in the mix).

I stayed fat.

Until I started consistently averaging around the right calorie level over long time periods. When I did that, I lost 50+ pounds in less than a year, reached a healthy weight, have stayed at a healthy weight for 7 years since.

For me, "the right calorie level" was not MFP's or some other calculator's estimate. Those calculators will be close for most people, a bit off (high or low) for a few, and surprisingly far off for a very rare people. That's because the calculators just spit out a statistical estimate for the average person of our characteristics, and most people are close to average. A few of us aren't. For me, MFP's estimate was - shockingly - 25%-30% off. That's rare, but it can happen.

You say "usually right about or less than my caloric intake". The issue is in there somewhere.

Commit yourself to go for 2 full menstrual cycles at a given calorie level (if you're in menopause, 4-6 weeks minimum). You can be a little high or low day to day, but make sure your calorie intake averages out near your goal over the course of each week. Plus or minus 50 calories on average: That would be good. At the end of that, compare your body weight at the same relative point in at least 2 different menstrual cycles. Use that to calculate an average weekly weight loss rate over the whole time period.

At that point, you have a reasonable basis for adjusting your calorie goal. For each pound you're away from the weight loss rate you requested from the calculator, adjust your daily goal by 500 calories. For example, if you asked to lose 1.5 pounds a week, and you lost 1 pound a week, subtract 250 calories from your daily goal.

Then repeat the experiment with the new calorie goal. Use your own data to figure out your calorie goal going forward. When you adjust, stick with the goal (on average over a few days) until you have a full menstrual cycle of weight-change data.

That can work.

Also, at your current size, and with fitness goals, don't try to lose weight super fast. Technically, you could probably afford to lose 1.5 pounds a week for a short time (making sure to fuel your exercise load if it varies), but a better choice would be a pound a week for a while, until you're within 10-20 pounds of goal, then drop it to 0.5 pounds a week.

For now, even slower - 0.5 pounds a week - is fine, if it's more doable for you, as long as you don't have significant weight-related health problems. Be aware that loss that slow may take at least a couple of months, maybe more, to show up clearly on the scale amongst daily water retention fluctuations.

Get good overall nutrition as you do this, not for the sake of weight loss (not so relevant for that), but for the sake of your health and athletic performance. Adequate protein is important, but you also need an adequate amount of fat and plenty of varied, colorful fruits and veggies for micronutrients and fiber. Supplements aren't as good as foods, as a nutrient source.

Also, please don't type in all capital letters. If you're doing that because you're angry/frustrated, I get that, but all caps is really hard to read. It may discourage others from helping you. If you're using a phone and can't cope with typing in a mix, all lower case would be better than all caps.

Best wishes!

zebasschick

exercise doesn't mean you're not eating more calories than you burn. i was fit and fat for years. i worked out heavy in the gym 6 days a week, did stairs, walking and running. but i weighed in at 170 pounds - very muscular, but still, at 5'4", definitely overweight.

that being said, if you're putting on weight, it's either because you're eating more calories than you think or burning less calories than you think. or you have a health issue.

if you're weighing and logging all your food, check the database entries you're using. some here are very off - one guy carefully logged his food and put on more and more weight, only to discover a daily food item he ate was 4x more calories than the listing on MFP entry listed.

how are you measuring your calorie burn?

crb426

Real question here:

If you have lost in your measurements, meaning your clothes are fitting loser and you look smaller, does it really matter if you weigh more?

Like you said, it's muscle, so you're probably looking better now than you did at the lower weight.