Putting on weight while maintaining calories

huinfo

I'm on a 1500 calorie a day diet.
Almost all days I am under my 1500 calories including snacks and meals but lately I have been putting on weight.
5 lb in the last 3 weeks.
Also about 2 months ago I stopped losing additional weight while maintaining my 1500 calories or less per day.
Seems like I hit a wall back then of losing more weight

Any advice would be grateful and helpful

sollyn23l2

You stalled and then started gaining weight back... you need to decrease your calories. It's really unlikely you're only eating 1500 and gaining weight. Undercounting calories eaten in super common, no big deal, just adjust. And watch your tracking.

Lietchi

It seems unlikely to lose weight and then gain weight on the same number of calories, unless there's some info we are missing.

Has anything changed recently, these past weeks? A change in your activity level? A change in your exercise? A higher carb and/or salt intake? Constipation?
And how long was the period when you lost weight on 1500 calories? How much weight did you lose before stalling?
If you have a menstrual cycle, hormonal water retention could also be causing/contributing to the fluctuations.

tomcustombuilder

What is your height and weight?

Regardless, it’s sounds like you are in a caloric surplus and not a deficit. This is a product of too many weekly calories. You’re eating more than you’re reporting. This can be due to a few different factors

kshama2001

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. In the app, go to Settings > Diary Setting > Diary Sharing > and check Public. Desktop: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/diary_settings

cmriverside

Right...read this very helpful post:
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10012907/logging-accuracy-consistency-and-youre-probably-eating-more-than-you-think/p1

springlering62

So you’ve been at 1500 the whole time?

Did you adjust your calories downward as you lost weight? You need to eat less as you lose to lower weights. The calorie threshold drops along with weight for most people.

MFP does not automatically make adjustments.

Having said that, my YMMV actually varied from this. I had to increase the entire time because my activity level increased (because I felt so much better) so much with weight loss.

This is why you should make sure your current weight, goal, activity level etc are properly set in the app and see what it does to your calorie goal. It pays to make sure you stay on top of it for both under and over eating purposes.

Just throwing that out there as a thought.

Hope you find your way again, or at least find maintenance til you can figure it out.

Also, btw, doing an unusual amount of travel lately? I did six or seven international and coast-to-coast trips last year and the new foods, cabin pressure etc, played havoc with the scale. I didn’t gain any size, but the roller coaster scale readings were mind blowing.

Fortunately, I knew to expect it, and tried to make it a game/science expiration to see how fast I could bring it back to an acceptable range.

AnnPT77

When looking at a track record of body weight on average over a period of at least 4-6 weeks (whole menstrual cycles if you have those), it's your actual weight change that tells you whether you're in a deficit, surplus or at maintenance . . . not some calorie calculator, fitness tracker, MFP, etc.

The calorie calculator, fitness tracker or MFP give you a starting estimate, based on statistics about demographically similar people. You're an individual. Your results give you a personalized calorie estimate - more accurate.

The reasons you've stalled so long are probably one of the things folks have mentioned above. However, unexplained weight gain can signal certain health problems. If you're concerned, it could be good to check in with your doctor.

paperpudding

silly question perhaps - but obvious possibility (at least without more info from OP ) - you are not pregnant?

csplatt

My thought is perhaps your general movement throughout the day has decreased leading to needing fewer calories than before?

zebasschick

i'm 5'4", and unless i work out, i very slowly gain weight at 1500 calories a day. if i work out (say 45 minutes a day on the bike), i can eat 1500 calories and maintain.