Help: exercise causing weight gain

qifitness

On the whole "muscle weighs more than fat" thing...it *is* about volume. It's a colloquialism to say that you can be a size 8 and all muscle or be a size 12 and all fat and weigh exactly the same. I'm shooting for being smaller and more muscle. On that note, I did put on weight, but have noticed that all my clothes still fit comfortably (I have lost my tape measure!). So i'm going with the water retention theory...for now.

Qfitness, I agree that the scale isn't the end all be all of whether I am doing good or not...it's a tool, like anything else. And I agree that many women have unrealistic goals...I just don't happen to be one of them. I understand why someone would feel it's so important to push that- I see posters here on MFP who look too thin already talking about wanting to lose more weight. I know my body, I know myself. I know that I am exceptionally healthy anywhere between 135 and 145. Above 145, I am either retaining water or I'm putting on fat (or muscle, I suppose but that's never been the case with me). Under 135, and I'm not eating enough. ....if I were to use a BMI calculator, based on my heigh (5'4") I should have a goal more like 125-135....so I think my goals are realistic and healthy and considering I was 142 a month ago, not out of the realm of possibility at all. Which is exactly the problem- I was in my goal when I started running (honestly thinking it might kick off a few more pounds) and instead the scale goes up.

Also, just because I"m training for a marathon doesn't mean I do no weight training. I believe I already said (or maybe I didn't) that I do weight training using my body- ex. chin ups, push ups, lunges, yoga, corde-lisse and other such things. My arms are hella buffer than they were this time last year

I agree that my diet needs to change. I think there's more to the story than just calories. 1200 calories of veggies and fruit and brown rice is gonna be different than 1200 calories of doritos and pepsi. Not that I've been eating doritos and pepsi, but I do think I've started eating moret things that are processed and I think this might be a source of the problem (and drinking waaaaay more coffee than water

You seem to getting things into perspective.

I'd just suggest you modify your MFP goals and shift your basic dailiy intake above 1200 calories.
It appears almost everyone at MFP sticks to this target and it isn't healthy, particularly for someone training for a marathon.

Consider modifying your goals to a recommendened 1lb week loss? This would shift your daily recommended calories to something more realistic for your weight loss target.

However, you'd still need to increase your carbohydrate intake to train for the marathon.

HIzara

I am 5'3" and my starting weight was 125lbs and I had major love handles and huge thighs. But I also have a small frame being Asian. So, that must be taken into consideration.

So, your goals are not unrealistic... with the assumption that your body frame is "average".

Maybe you should eat more than 1,200 cal a day, since you are training to run a marathon. Eating too less puts your body in starvation mode and thus, your body holds on to the fat, "just in case" and for emergency purposes.

I can barely eat 1,300 cal/day when I do intensive 90+ min exercises 6x a week (and the other 2x a week being only 50 min exercises). My total exercises a week is around 7x-10x.

say_rah

If you haven't already, I would suggest looking at Runners World.com for information about running and weight and things like that. Training for a marathon is no joke. Your body definitely needs the fuel, it might just be finding the right balance and the right kinds of foods to properly fuel your body.