Upped my calories and not losing, but gaining????!

FitnessLover001

Okay I have taken everyone's advice, and upped my calories from 1,200 to 1,830. (I went from lose 2lbs per week to .5lbs per week: current weight 128, goal weight 120. I am 5'2" and my body fat % is 21). However I have been doing cardio and weight training, and of course upped my calories, and now I am gaining weight. I eat healthy and write down everything on MFP and measure it out. I check the scale daily (every morning when I get up), and it goes up a pound a day. Is this normal?? I'm trying to lose weight but if I am upping my calories, does that mean my weight will increase and then drop suddenly??? And I know in order to lose weight I need to be in a deficit, but how do I know if I'm still in that deficit?? If I'm supposed to be eating 1,830, and I burn 500 calories, and eat 2,330 yet net 1,830 (to reach my goal weight), does that mean I am in my deficit??? Or should I be Netting less than 1,830 to be in a deficit????

neanderthin

Consuming more food never facilitates more weight loss. More than likely your estimates of how much you ate and how much energy your body burns a day was wrong.

SezxyStef

you didn't take "everyones" advice I would never give that advice...if you aren't losing at 1200 how could you lose at 1830?

Here is my advice...

you are probably eating more than you think.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/872212-you-re-probably-eating-more-than-you-think
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

you don't use a kitchen scale for solids...without that you are eating more than you think.

Yes to lose weight you need to be in a deficet and the only way to know that is weigh your food...a serving of cereal says 3/4c or 110g...guess what 3/4 of a cup is more than 110g...and when you spoon potatoes on your plate how do you know it's 3oz or 4oz...

Get a kitchen scale...weigh all your solids and measure with cups/spoons liquids...

As for exercise the database is on the high side...eat back 50-75% of your burned calories.

leave you loss goal at 1/2lb because you don't have much to lose.

If you are gaining and not doing new exercise (which would be water weight) you are not in a deficet.

FitnessLover001

you didn't take "everyones" advice I would never give that advice...if you aren't losing at 1200 how could you lose at 1830?

Here is my advice...

you are probably eating more than you think.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/872212-you-re-probably-eating-more-than-you-think
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

you don't use a kitchen scale for solids...without that you are eating more than you think.

Yes to lose weight you need to be in a deficet and the only way to know that is weigh your food...a serving of cereal says 3/4c or 110g...guess what 3/4 of a cup is more than 110g...and when you spoon potatoes on your plate how do you know it's 3oz or 4oz...

Get a kitchen scale...weigh all your solids and measure with cups/spoons liquids...

As for exercise the database is on the high side...eat back 50-75% of your burned calories.

leave you loss goal at 1/2lb because you don't have much to lose.

If you are gaining and not doing new exercise (which would be water weight) you are not in a deficet.

Well that's what I thought!!! But I would ask and ask and people would say you need to be eating more and set your calorie goal higher than 1,200. Last semester, I would burn 900calories doing cardio and I would eat over 1,200 calories in food but net a little less than 1,000 and saw weight loss. So I'm really confused and frustrated. So just because my goal is 1,830 do I have to eat that much???

caramammal

you didn't take "everyones" advice I would never give that advice...if you aren't losing at 1200 how could you lose at 1830?

Here is my advice...

you are probably eating more than you think.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/872212-you-re-probably-eating-more-than-you-think
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

you don't use a kitchen scale for solids...without that you are eating more than you think.

Yes to lose weight you need to be in a deficet and the only way to know that is weigh your food...a serving of cereal says 3/4c or 110g...guess what 3/4 of a cup is more than 110g...and when you spoon potatoes on your plate how do you know it's 3oz or 4oz...

Get a kitchen scale...weigh all your solids and measure with cups/spoons liquids...

As for exercise the database is on the high side...eat back 50-75% of your burned calories.

leave you loss goal at 1/2lb because you don't have much to lose.

If you are gaining and not doing new exercise (which would be water weight) you are not in a deficet.

This...

SezxyStef

you didn't take "everyones" advice I would never give that advice...if you aren't losing at 1200 how could you lose at 1830?

Here is my advice...

you are probably eating more than you think.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/872212-you-re-probably-eating-more-than-you-think
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

you don't use a kitchen scale for solids...without that you are eating more than you think.

Yes to lose weight you need to be in a deficet and the only way to know that is weigh your food...a serving of cereal says 3/4c or 110g...guess what 3/4 of a cup is more than 110g...and when you spoon potatoes on your plate how do you know it's 3oz or 4oz...

Get a kitchen scale...weigh all your solids and measure with cups/spoons liquids...

As for exercise the database is on the high side...eat back 50-75% of your burned calories.

leave you loss goal at 1/2lb because you don't have much to lose.

If you are gaining and not doing new exercise (which would be water weight) you are not in a deficet.

Well that's what I thought!!! But I would ask and ask and people would say you need to be eating more and set your calorie goal higher than 1,200. Last semester, I would burn 900calories doing cardio and I would eat over 1,200 calories in food but net a little less than 1,000 and saw weight loss. So I'm really confused and frustrated. So just because my goal is 1,830 do I have to eat that much???

When you start weighing your food you will see it's a decent amount of food. I eat almost that a day and lose 1/2lb a week (notice I only have 6lbs left) my diary is open if you want to see it...and what I eat.

I can understand being confused and frustrated...it frustrates the hell outta me when I see those responses..

the key is to weigh your food. You will be surprised. When I got my food scale I tested myself.

I took a portion of what I thought was 4oz of chicken...it was 4.5oz...what I thought was a serving of potatoes..about 50g it was 150g, my 30g of cheese was over 60g...even my veggies were way off.

after size months it takes me all of 5mins a day to weigh my food. It's not a big deal and it will help you lose those 8lbs that you want without suffering through hunger and wondering and being frustrated.

Good luck

editorgrrl

With only 8 lb. to lose, you need to set your goal to .5 lb. per week and be very, very patient. The less you have to lose, the more slowly it comes off. That's just how the human body works.

As many people have already said, read this: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

You lose weight by eating at a deficit. That means eating less than you burn. I looked at your diary, and you're not weighing everything. Which means you're underestimating your food. Get a food scale and weigh everything—including packaged food.

Set your goal to .5 lb., weigh everything, and you will lose weight. Slowly, but you will lose. You should also think about body recomposition, which means building muscle through weight-bearing exercise, including body weight exercise.

Blacklance36

1800 calories is a lot for someone your size.
If you are gaining weight at that amount you are eating too much as compared to what you are burning..
Its simple math.

animatorswearbras

If you've upped your cardio and weight training there's a good chance you're gaining water weight for muscle repair until your body gets used to it, I wouldn't go back down to 1200 if you're trying to build or maintain muscle. You're probably still losing fat, I'd get the tape measure out whilst you're in the transition period of intensifying your work outs. x

_Zardoz_

You're eating too much it's that simple

JTick

To answer the original question, it is pretty normal for the scale to spike anytime you raise calories. Most people recommend raising by only 100-200/week until you are at your desired intake. The whole theory of "eating more" is not so that you necessarily lose more weight, but rather to be at a lesser deficit. This can make "dieting" much easier physically and mentally...you have a smaller deficit, you can eat more food, you'll feel less hungry, but can still lose weight. I also agree with those who said you need to be set at .5 lb/week. You also have to understand that .5 lb/week is a very small deficit, which means you need to be as exact as possible in your calculations. This means you need to weigh all your food...even condiments like mayo should be weighed. It is incredibly easy to eat your deficit away if you are not weighing your food, and suddenly you find yourself gaining weight because you're eating above maintenance.

TheEffort

Sounds like, to me, that your body adjusted to the 1200 calories and plateaued. In my opinion, an increase in calories is only beneficial if you're increasing your total daily energy expenditure (TDEE) substantially. You could try lowering your calories back down and see how your body responds to change.

SezxyStef

1800 calories is a lot for someone your size.
If you are gaining weight at that amount you are eating too much as compared to what you are burning..
Its simple math.

1800 calories is not a lot for someone her size my sister is about the same size and maintains at 2400...

JTick

1800 calories is a lot for someone your size.
If you are gaining weight at that amount you are eating too much as compared to what you are burning..
Its simple math.

Not necessarily. It depends on how active she is. Lots of women her size can maintain around 2200-2300, even more if they are doing heavy weight training.

I also think it's too soon to decide if she really is eating too much. She doesn't have as big of a deficit, which means her glycogen stores are probably refilling some. This is going to add water weight, which can mask fat loss for a little while. I'd give it a few more weeks before deciding if this number is right. She is definitely NOT gaining fat if the scale is going up a pound each day.

geekyjock76

You mention you were losing 0.5 lbs per week at 1830 calories. Thus, you maintain at about 2080. So a 2300 calorie diet would be a surplus for you unless you increased total physical activity expenditure. Even if you increase activity, you don't want to overestimate additional burn or overeat. On a related note: an interesting finding in studies demonstrates that increased activity doesn't necessarily lead to a matching increase in TDEE. Again, it goes back to making sure you don't add too many calories too quickly without seeing how your body responds.

a_stronger_me13

You mention you were losing 0.5 lbs per week at 1830 calories. Thus, you maintain at about 2080. So a 2300 calorie diet would be a surplus for you unless you increased total physical activity expenditure.

This. Do the math. If your activity is consistent there is no way you would be maintaining at 2300 calories.

LH85DC

1800 calories is a lot for someone your size.
If you are gaining weight at that amount you are eating too much as compared to what you are burning..
Its simple math.

Not necessarily. It depends on how active she is. Lots of women her size can maintain around 2200-2300, even more if they are doing heavy weight training.

I also think it's too soon to decide if she really is eating too much. She doesn't have as big of a deficit, which means her glycogen stores are probably refilling some. This is going to add water weight, which can mask fat loss for a little while. I'd give it a few more weeks before deciding if this number is right. She is definitely NOT gaining fat if the scale is going up a pound each day.

I agree with the advice above- there is a possibility that your glycogen stores are refilling, especially if you've been eating at or below for 1200 for a long time. Gaining a pound a day doesn't sound like fat gains, unless you are WAY overeating.

Question- when you decided to set your calories to 1800, was that based on MFP's suggestion? Or based on a TDEE method? Because if you're doing TDEE then you should have already calculated in your exercise. In that case you would not need to eat exercise calories back...

But that said, are you sure that you're accurately counting what you're eating? It seems that you might be underestimating. Because if you were underestimating your calories at 1200 (which does seem low for how active you say you are) and overeating as a result, and now you're doing the same thing but at 1800 calories, then that would explain why you didn't see weight loss before and are seeing gains now.

My advice: If you are sure you are weighing/measuring/logging accurately, then give it a little more time. But if you're having this much trouble and weren't losing weight at such a low calorie level, you should probably look into a food scale and make sure that you're not overeating. Most of all, be patient. There will be a period of trial and error here.

ChrysalisCove

Depending on your height/weight, 1200cal may very well have been too little for you. However, without accurate measuring there is no way of knowing whether what you were eating was actually that low, or if you were under-estimating. Now that you have increased, any errors you had before are inflated. Buy a kitchen scale, weigh & measure EVERYTHING. Also, you would have to eat an insane amount to truly gain a pound a day - most likely it's at least partially water weight fluctuations. If the daily ups & downs are going to freak you out, just weigh weekly.

Francl27

First, you got to weigh your food. Your 1200 calories might have been 1600 for all I know.
Second, yeah, if you were really eating 1200... way too little.
Third, going from 1200 to 1800, yes you will gain water weight. That's a big increase. It really can't be fat though unless your metabolism is incredibly low.

FitnessLover001

I would say I'm pretty active. I do cardio for 45-60 minutes and I go as hard as I can and I have sweat pouring off of me and my t-shirts are soaked. I also run 10miles once a week and I lift weight 3 times a week. Also, thank you all for the advice so far. I measure with measuring cups, but I am leaving after class to go straight to wal-mart to buy a scale!!!

JTick

I would say I'm pretty active. I do cardio for 45-60 minutes and I go as hard as I can and I have sweat pouring off of me and my t-shirts are soaked. I also run 10miles once a week and I lift weight 3 times a week. Also, thank you all for the advice so far. I measure with measuring cups, but I am leaving after class to go straight to wal-mart to buy a scale!!!

Your activity sounds close to mine, and I eat 1950 aiming for 1 lb/week. The 1890 should be just fine, but you don't eat back exercise calories with TDEE. I just log my exercise as 1 calorie.