Help figuring out why I am gaining weight...

shiggi22

I am 5'4" and stuck at 122ish lbs. I eat roughly the same meals all week long, I have two small children so its easiest to keep things simple. I log my food, measuring/weighing as best I can. I even log the bites of quesadilla/pb&J I grab off their plates. I have been given the macro breakdown and calorie total in two separate workout challenges. In addition to lifting 4 times, 1 20 min conditioning class I walk my kids naps, which is 8 miles a day. Prior to kids I was about 115 lbs and I would admit I didnt have a balanced diet and ran/worked out way too much. On weeks when I really pay no attention and allow myself to eat treats and go out to eat, have a glass of wine the scale moves to like 125… so I guess I feel like I am so strict while I am trying to lose weight but the results are not coming for the effort I put in. Any suggestions? Happy to post what a typical day of eating is.

cmriverside

If you're not losing, you need to eat a little less or increase your exercise or both. No other way around it.

With so little weight to lose, it's going to be tough and it takes time so you're on the right track with your logging and your activities/exercise. I don't know where you came up with your calorie budget, but if you used an online calculator they can be wrong - they often are.

If this "stall" has been for more than a month (one full menstrual cycle) then lower calories by 250 and keep going.

As far as "gaining" up to 125, that's common after a meal out…sodium, alcohol. It usually drops back off in 2-4 days.

ddsb1111

You’re essentially describing a past where you were under eating and overtraining to stay at a lower weight, and now, with a more balanced approach and more life responsibilities, you’re frustrated that your body isn’t reacting the same. But that’s the key insight- your old weight was tied to unsustainable habits. Now that you’ve shifted toward a more reasonable, consistent routine, your body is simply responding to a healthier (and likely more realistic) lifestyle.

So the responsible questions now are:

1. Is that old weight really your goal, or is it the body composition and feeling you associate with it?

2. Is it worth what it would take to get back to that weight?

Because truthfully, you might weigh more now but look and feel better with proper lifting, nutrition, and recovery. That’s called body recomposition, you could be leaner, stronger, and healthier at 122 lbs than you ever were at 115.

It’s also worth examining whether the number on the scale is rooted in logic or just a leftover benchmark from a totally different phase of life. Your body and priorities have evolved, you’re lifting, walking 8 miles a day, parenting, and eating consistently. That’s a lot of discipline and should be seen as success, not failure.

It might help to reframe your goal- aim for strength, shape, and energy, not just a number. If you want help optimizing your food for recomposition or dialing in training, share a typical day. But know this… if your main metric is the scale, you may be chasing a version of yourself that doesn’t align with who you are or what you need now.

shiggi22

I meant to also say the macro count I was given is FAT LOSS 1466 Calories 135 g Carbs 126 g Protein 47 g Fat

csplatt

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PAV8888

"run worked out way too much" to be 115lbs

Two kids later (it does take something to create kids.... right????) after a glass or three of wine and a couple of extra treats hits to as high as 125 lbs

So: 115lbs good! 125lbs yikes!

Really?

115 to 125 is not exactly a huge range. Far from it. Not even counting that the BMI range under discussion goes from a high of 21.5 down to 19.7 We are not talking 27 to 25 here.

And if 125lbs is at the top end of the range, then we are probably talking 2 to 3lbs less than that most of the time.

So two kids and less than 10lbs up from minimal pre kid bmi…

Anyway/ We have the mechanics of what you're doing. And the goals you are going after.

Troubleshooting some of the mechanics is almost "easy".

Even if you do log bites and licks you get off the kids and while cooking.... there's actual bites and licks going on! Nobody is going to accurately record bites and licks with two kids in their hands even if they're superwoman! The easiest thing to do there is to just say NO to ALL bites and licks!

BUT, truth and transparency: while I think that this would help you chop off a lb or three, I suspect strongly that it would continue to feed into you overdoing things and being too extreme.

Because that's the vibe I'm getting from your post! Whether the vibe is correct or incorrect, only you know! I mean it's not like I know you in person!

But. Perspective check: Your whole mindset and goal setting should be reviewed by a woman with grown up kids looking back to you today from 20 to 30 years in the future from now. Thinking back as to how she would have liked to have treated her body and her mind when she and her kids were all 20 to 30 years younger.

Can you make that leap of imagination and be that woman for a few hours and think back at what you would have liked to see yourself doing with yourself today?