A little fustrated, gaining weight!

SuePin02

I've been with MFP for 2 weeks tracking every thing I eat with in my calorie goal, and working out. I have a new set of muscles sore each day it seems yet, I'm still gaining weight and my measurements are barely budging. Starting to wonder whats going on. I read that your muscles retain water when you begin a new routine so I have up'd my water intake and today I've gained another .5 lb. Maybe I need to eat more? More water? New scale even, it is old school and maybe not working correctly....any advice is appreciated! Thanks guys! :noway:

parkscs

Odds are you don't need to eat more to lose weight, unless you're eating so little that your exercise routine is stressing your body. I can't see what you're eating or what you should be eating, so I can't say for sure, but typically "eat more to lose weight" is not the proper advice and it's thrown about a bit too frequently (just my humble opinion). As a general matter though, eating less (i.e., a greater caloric deficit) will result in faster weight loss.

As for your weight though, stop freaking out. You just started exercising and yes, your body is retaining extra water which adds extra weight. Give it a few weeks for your body to adjust to your routine, and keep in mind that weight is not important - how much body fat you're carrying around is. If you're truly eating at a caloric deficit, you aren't adding fat; if you're simply adding water weight, that's not something to be worried about. Honestly, people fixate on their "weight" way too much and it causes more stress than it should.

Now that said, if after 4 weeks you're still the same weight/gaining, then it's time to reexamine your diet . But with only 2 weeks of progress and being a newbie to exercise, stop worrying about it and stick to your routine. You do not need to make any changes yet.

I_Will_End_You

It's only been two weeks. Don't freak out over two weeks and a half pound gain. My weight fluctuates 4-5 pounds from morning till night daily, and some mornings are heavier than others. Give it some more time, and maybe stop weighing yourself so much.

LoosingMyLast15

are you weighing your food or guessing? you should weigh your food with a food scale so you can accurately record what you are eating. it does take time. i didn't see any loss for 3 weeks to almost a month. can't really give any other advice without your food diary being open.

SLLRunner

I've been with MFP for 2 weeks tracking every thing I eat with in my calorie goal, and working out. I have a new set of muscles sore each day it seems yet, I'm still gaining weight and my measurements are barely budging. Starting to wonder whats going on. I read that your muscles retain water when you begin a new routine so I have up'd my water intake and today I've gained another .5 lb. Maybe I need to eat more? More water? New scale even, it is old school and maybe not working correctly....any advice is appreciated! Thanks guys! :noway:

Hi Sue.

If you are gaining weight you don't need to eat more. You need to make sure you are accurately logging all food and exercise. There could be a miscalculation somewhere, especially if you don't weigh solid foods and measure liquids and log every single thing you put in your mouth. Also, watch out for MFP and gym machine calorie estimations, as they are often overestimated. I would suggest eating about 75% or less of those exercise calories back to account for error if you use MFP and gym machine estimations.

With that said, it's only been two weeks and I think you need to give it time. It's also true that we generally retain water when starting a new exercise routine.

SuePin02

Thanks everyone and y'all are absolutely right, I'm over thinking it way to much it's only been 2 weeks. I dont have a food scale yet but I do have measuring cups that I use frequently. The most important thing that I need to remember is that since eating better and working out I feel way better and have more energy, I'm sure with time everything will fall into place, and yes the fixation on "weight" is way overrated which I'm guilty of myself!

sandobr1

Just for funsies I weighed an apple I ate yesterday, I would have logged as "medium" which was 80 some calories on MFP. However its weight not quite twice that amount should have been 140 calories, I still had the apple I just shared with my 8 year old. Do this with several items throughout the day, and you have consumed a few hundred calories...it is easy to do. I often don't worry too much about fruits and veggies calories but they too can add up.

Measuring cups are not always the most accurate either, for example if a 1/2 cup of say oatmeal should be X number of grams, if the 1/2 cup actually weighs more then the gram amount on the label you have consumed and not accounted for those calories. Measured amounts are not always the same as weighing the item. Hope that made sense

eta: more clarification, I hope.

SuePin02

Another great reason to get a food scale :happy: