eating under calories and exercising yet gaining weight

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llhew
llhew Posts: 6
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi all,

I have noticed over the past two weeks I have not been losing weight but rather gaining. I am eating well under my allotted calories and exercising 5 times a week yet I keep fluctuating between 5-7 lbs more than my last loss. I have at least 150lbs to lose still so I know I should still be losing. I drink lots of water during the day but I think water retention may be a piece of it. I am going to keep a close eye on my sodium intake to see if that makes a difference but was wondering if anyone else experienced this or has any tips on how to get the weight loss kick started again.
Thanks!
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Replies

  • Holly_Roman_Empire
    Holly_Roman_Empire Posts: 4,440 Member
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    Hi all,

    I have noticed over the past two weeks I have not been losing weight but rather gaining. I am eating well under my allotted calories and exercising 5 times a week yet I keep fluctuating between 5-7 lbs more than my last loss. I have at least 150lbs to lose still so I know I should still be losing. I drink lots of water during the day but I think water retention may be a piece of it. I am going to keep a close eye on my sodium intake to see if that makes a difference but was wondering if anyone else experienced this or has any tips on how to get the weight loss kick started again.
    Thanks!

    Open your food diary? Also, are you weighing your foods and using a HRM for exercise? What kind of workouts are you doing? How many calories are you aiming for per day?
  • kr1stadee
    kr1stadee Posts: 1,774 Member
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    Can you open up your diary?
    Do you eat back exercise calories? What are you using to estimate your burns (HRM or MFP)?

    Exercise is for fitness, diet is for weight loss. You can't out-exercise a bad diet (not saying you do - because I don't know yet)
  • emilyisbonkers
    emilyisbonkers Posts: 373 Member
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    maybe you need to readjust how much you eat to be lower so you still have a deficit
  • LuLuChick78
    LuLuChick78 Posts: 439 Member
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    1. Make your diary public so we can see both your calories in/out and food choices.
    2. You should not be eating "well under" your calories.
    3. Keep drinking the water, do not stop because you think it is water retention.
    4. What are you doing for exercise on these 5 days per week?
    5. 2 weeks is a short time span....look at the bigger picture instead of focusing on small periods of time as they can be deceiving.
  • AmyRhubarb
    AmyRhubarb Posts: 6,890 Member
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    1. Make your diary public so we can see both your calories in/out and food choices.
    2. You should not be eating "well under" your calories.
    3. Keep drinking the water, do not stop because you think it is water retention.
    4. What are you doing for exercise on these 5 days per week?
    5. 2 weeks is a short time span....look at the bigger picture instead of focusing on small periods of time as they can be deceiving.
    The "well under calories" caught my eye too - people seem to forget that this is a calorie GOAL, something to attain, achieve, aim for, not a mark to fall well short of. Food is fuel!

    And as other have said, opening your diary would make it much easier to offer advice. :smile:
  • I_Will_End_You
    I_Will_End_You Posts: 4,397 Member
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    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/872212-you-re-probably-eating-more-than-you-think
  • Rosannajo88
    Rosannajo88 Posts: 212 Member
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    Hi all,

    I am eating well under my allotted calories and exercising 5 times a week yet I keep fluctuating between 5-7 lbs more than my last loss.

    MFP works out your calories to include a deficit, you dont need to eat under the calories MFP provides. Your body is probably struggling with so much exercise and not enough fuel. I know it can be tempting to do everything at once and as fast as possible but you have to do things slowly and let your body adjust to sudden changes.
  • eissacf25
    eissacf25 Posts: 151 Member
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    Agree with everyone else, if you could please open up your diary so we can try and help. Also, drinking MORE water will actually help release any water retention. I know it sounds counter-intuitive but once your body is getting the water it needs, it will no longer hold on to extra fluids. You will probably be going to the bathroom a lot at first but your body will adjust to that as well.

    Make sure you're eating 5-6 small meals instead of 3 large ones, it'll help fuel your metabolism. You definitely shouldn't be eating well under your calories though. That is probably the problem right there, your body isn't getting enough fuel so its going into survival mode and holding onto whatever you put in.

    Biggest things to watch for, portion control, drink LOTS of water, (you'd be amazed at how helpful water is for weight loss), salt intake and just move more! Walk everywhere, take the stairs instead of an elevator and your best bet is to get a monitor for your workouts. Fitbit or bodymedia are both great monitors, or just get a standard HRM so you can track what calories you're burning accurately.

    Good luck!! Feel free to PM if you have more questions.
  • linzchapates
    linzchapates Posts: 135
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    http://www.acaloriecounter.com/blog/why-am-i-not-losing-weight
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
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    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/872212-you-re-probably-eating-more-than-you-think

    agreed.
  • askeates
    askeates Posts: 1,490 Member
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    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/872212-you-re-probably-eating-more-than-you-think

    ^^This... very VERY good information!
  • Holly_Roman_Empire
    Holly_Roman_Empire Posts: 4,440 Member
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    http://www.acaloriecounter.com/blog/why-am-i-not-losing-weight

    This. I think some of you are jumping the gun a little by saying she needs to eat more or saying her body is in survival mode. A food diary and/or more information from the OP would be really useful here.
  • bradleyhope
    bradleyhope Posts: 1
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    Yes !!!! I have the same issue..under my calorie intake ..plus I go to bootcamp 3 to five times a week and NOTHING.....So I took my calorie intake down and decided not to us my extra calories from exercising..and see how that work for me..but its been 5 weeks and nothing. I already lose 21pd on my own...started fitness pal to get pass this plateau(;
  • Mia_RagazzaTosta
    Mia_RagazzaTosta Posts: 4,885 Member
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    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/872212-you-re-probably-eating-more-than-you-think

    agreed.

    X2

    Something in your calculation is off. You're either overestimating your exercise burn or underestimating your intake, or both.
  • lejla2002
    lejla2002 Posts: 118 Member
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    Hi all,

    I am eating well under my allotted calories and exercising 5 times a week yet I keep fluctuating between 5-7 lbs more than my last loss.

    MFP works out your calories to include a deficit, you dont need to eat under the calories MFP provides. Your body is probably struggling with so much exercise and not enough fuel. I know it can be tempting to do everything at once and as fast as possible but you have to do things slowly and let your body adjust to sudden changes.

    well said!
  • Holly_Roman_Empire
    Holly_Roman_Empire Posts: 4,440 Member
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    Yes !!!! I have the same issue..under my calorie intake ..plus I go to bootcamp 3 to five times a week and NOTHING.....So I took my calorie intake down and decided not to us my extra calories from exercising..and see how that work for me..but its been 5 weeks and nothing. I already lose 21pd on my own...started fitness pal to get pass this plateau(;

    Feel free to make your diary public if you'd like some input. :-)
  • eissacf25
    eissacf25 Posts: 151 Member
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    http://www.acaloriecounter.com/blog/why-am-i-not-losing-weight

    This. I think some of you are jumping the gun a little by saying she needs to eat more or saying her body is in survival mode. A food diary and/or more information from the OP would be really useful here.

    I don't think that's jumping the gun at all, she herself said she is eating "well" under her calories. I took that as she's trying to eat so few calories thinking that will make her lose weight, and it won't. Your body needs fuel to function properly, especially if you are trying to work out 5 days a week. Think of a fire, the more logs you put on it, the bigger and faster it will burn. Stop putting logs on the fire, it will eventually burn out. You are right about her diary though, the very first thing I said in my comment was that she needs to open up her diary so we can all help. Everyone is commenting blind here since its private and just trying to do the best with what information we were given. :)
  • NSMustanggirl
    NSMustanggirl Posts: 70 Member
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    I recently found that I was in the same situation, running a daily deficit of 3-500 calories, (I log religiously, including all fats, oils and spices that I eat and also enter recipes that I make so I can properly log those). I eat very well with lots of veggies, very little white anything, protein, good fats, etc and engaging in lots of exercise - Turbofire 6 days a week, running 3-4 days a week, and then strength training 2 days a week. And I found I was gaining. SO I actually UPPED my calorie intake so that I wasn't running such an extreme deficit - I aim to be within 100 calories of my goal, and I'm losing again. If you're not fuelling your body properly for your exercise, you're body will retain what fuel it can as a reserve...
  • LiminalAscendance
    LiminalAscendance Posts: 489 Member
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    http://www.acaloriecounter.com/blog/why-am-i-not-losing-weight

    This. I think some of you are jumping the gun a little by saying she needs to eat more or saying her body is in survival mode. A food diary and/or more information from the OP would be really useful here.

    I don't think that's jumping the gun at all, she herself said she is eating "well" under her calories. I took that as she's trying to eat so few calories thinking that will make her lose weight, and it won't. Your body needs fuel to function properly, especially if you are trying to work out 5 days a week. Think of a fire, the more logs you put on it, the bigger and faster it will burn. Stop putting logs on the fire, it will eventually burn out. You are right about her diary though, the very first thing I said in my comment was that she needs to open up her diary so we can all help. Everyone is commenting blind here since its private and just trying to do the best with what information we were given. :)

    So what happens when a body "burns out?" It dies, right? Well, the OP is far from dead. She's posting AND gaining weight.

    Only on MFP does "I'm not losing weight" = "eat more food."
  • calliekitten9
    calliekitten9 Posts: 148 Member
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    This happened to me over the weekend...I was making great strides...and then....I gained some weight back. And although I would love to say it was my scale's fault...the fact is....I was definately eating more calorites then what were recorded. Unless you weigh everything and someone has done all the entry work for you....most of what is in MFP is a guess at best (including how many calories you will burn with certain exercises) with lots of room for underestimating. Yes it was disappointing to see that number fluctuate up...but I can't blame anything or anyone else but me. The food I put into my body is my choice..and I am simply going to use this informaton to make better choices in the future.

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