fustrated

mamabravo68
mamabravo68 Posts: 27
in Health and Weight Loss
OK,
Here i go...
I started at the gym on December 15 2013 5 days a week 1 1/2 hr each time.. I do cardio and weights
MFP tells me i should be eating 2010 cal a day...
I try not to step on the scale, but yesterday 1 did and i was up 5 since i started.. So i know I'm gaining muscle
but with muscle, should i not be burning fat??

I'm ready to pull my hair out...lol

WTH am i doing wrong???

Replies

  • psych101
    psych101 Posts: 1,842 Member
    are you sure your calories are set correctly? Are you logging and weighing everything that you eat? Have you taken your measurements?
  • bwogilvie
    bwogilvie Posts: 2,130 Member
    You're not going to be gaining muscle unless you're lifting heavy, and for longer than 15 minutes at a time (which is what you said you were doing back in April - 1 hour on the treadmill and 15 minutes of lifting).

    What's more likely is that you're overestimating your activity level or exercise calories and underestimating how much you eat. Those aren't accusations; I was off by nearly 400 calories a day (a day!) when I started MFP just over a year ago, and I use one of the most accurate HRMs available. The following links are very useful; I strongly recommend reading them:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/818082-exercise-calories-again-wtf
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/872212-you-re-probably-eating-more-than-you-think

    If you have increased the amount of cardio exercise you do, it's also possible that your muscles are storing more glycogen and water as fuel, and retaining water as they repair themselves. But that wouldn't account for 2 months without any loss.

    A final point: MFP's estimates are just that: estimates. If you're eating 2010 calories a day, logging all your food as accurately as possible, and maintaining your weight, then for weight loss you're going to have to eat less. I started out at 214.8 lb. (44-year-old 5' 10" male) and my initial calorie goal was 1570 for losing 1.5 lb./week. In reality, aiming for that got me only 1.1 lb./week, hence the 400 calorie discrepancy I mentioned. I was content with 1.1/week, but if I had really wanted 1.5 I would have had to lower my goal or increase my exercise.
  • mamabravo68
    mamabravo68 Posts: 27
    I'm measuring what i eat, yes..
    how many cal should i eat then??

    my 400 calls that i burn is just cardio only
    I don't even know what i burn with weights
  • psych101
    psych101 Posts: 1,842 Member
    I have no idea how many calories you should be eating because you haven't told me how tall you are, your current weight, your activity level etc

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