weight gain at a deficit?

lindsey1979

Let's say all of you are right. I'm over eating. At a calculated 1200 net calories I'd have to be not counting an additional 1800 calories to account for 1 lb gained in a week. I've gone up 7 in 3 weeks. No way is that from miscalculation. My bmr is 1700 and I don't lie in bed all day so on average I burn 2500 per day with exercise and natural movement.

If you're confident in you food and exercise numbers, then there is likely something else off in your body that is creating a lower BMR than would be expected for someone with no issues.

Or you're retaining more water for some reason -- my fiance's weight can fluctuate more than 7 lbs depending on time of day, recent activity and diet (granted, he's much bigger than you at 6'5" and 225ish -- but just saying). And if there are other medical issues why you're retaining water, it can certainly fluctuate more than that (edema, and whatnot).

digregorio84

I appreciate everyone's responses btw. Will try and cut more, drink more water, see what happens. Thanks

sodakat

If you have been counting calories for 4 years and lost over 200 pounds, you probably know more than most of us who reply to your thread. Did you ever gain when you were in the weight loss phase?

digregorio84

you measure ...

Not weigh

Kitchen scales...weigh your food

I don't eat much that requires weighing. Most of what I eat are vegetables or foods that get measured by cup or tbsp. I don't eat chicken beef or pork. I eat fish which I can eyeball 4 oz or beans which I measure by cup

You can't eyeball.

You need to weigh all foods consumed.

Do you take any medications?

When you eat prepackaged frozen salmon or a can of tuna it's about the same every time.. If it's off by an ounce every night it still shouldn't make me gain. There's not much of a calorie difference between 4 oz or 5 oz of salmon. I rarely ever eat rice or pasta, I could see weighing that. But I've never weighed anything and never had gains before, only plateaus. The one time I had gains was when someone on here suggested I wasn't eating enough years ago when I sought advice about my plateau.

Robide

Can't understand the cup crap, I measure in weight only. If i can get it to the nearest gram I'm happy. A cup is a volume, not a weight. Calories are more easily determined by weight. Your logging is innacurate.

Most nutrition facts are determined by volume. 1 tbsp peanut butter, 3/4 cup cereal, etc

No, no, no, no, no!!

Weigh EVERYTHING. Seriously. I'll give one simple example. The protein powder I use. In the same cup, which should be 25g exactly comes out as 27g, and the chocolate peanut butter flavour comes out at 33g, which is a significant delta.

PB is one of the worst. A small variation in the amount you eat has huge impacts on calories.

I'd really encourage you to do an experiment. Take 5 or so foods you are measuring my cup or whatever, and write down how many cals that you think you are consuming. Then, weigh it, and to be pedantic, if it is something like PB, don't weigh what you put down on a plate etc, put the jar on the scale, 0 it, and write down what you take out of the jar, because I'll bet you're also underestimating based on what you're licking off the spoon.

Think you may be a little surprised at the results.

digregorio84

I will try that and try cutting overall. Just seems a bit odd I've never had this problem before

_Zardoz_

Denial is not just a river in Egypt

Julesoola

7lbs isn't too much for water retention at all. I can fluctuate that much in under a week. You just started insanity 2 weeks ago and my guess is the scale will start moving down again in another week or so. Just keep on keeping on.

FoxyLifter

Can't understand the cup crap, I measure in weight only. If i can get it to the nearest gram I'm happy. A cup is a volume, not a weight. Calories are more easily determined by weight. Your logging is innacurate.

^Agree! Weigh it! I've weighed cereal after I measured out a cup and it was about 20% off... I was under reporting my calories and didn't even know it! I don't eat cereal much these days, but I weigh foods as much as I can.

FatFreeFrolicking

you measure ...

Not weigh

Kitchen scales...weigh your food

I don't eat much that requires weighing. Most of what I eat are vegetables or foods that get measured by cup or tbsp. I don't eat chicken beef or pork. I eat fish which I can eyeball 4 oz or beans which I measure by cup

You can't eyeball.

You need to weigh all foods consumed.

Do you take any medications?

When you eat prepackaged frozen salmon or a can of tuna it's about the same every time.. If it's off by an ounce every night it still shouldn't make me gain. There's not much of a calorie difference between 4 oz or 5 oz of salmon. I rarely ever eat rice or pasta, I could see weighing that. But I've never weighed anything and never had gains before, only plateaus. The one time I had gains was when someone on here suggested I wasn't eating enough years ago when I sought advice about my plateau.

Call your doctor. Get your hormones and thyroid checked.

FoxyLifter

I will try that and try cutting overall. Just seems a bit odd I've never had this problem before

Maybe you became over confident with your measuring skills. Maybe now that you're at a lower weight, being precise is going to become increasingly more important. Who knows?

Most nutrition facts are determined by volume. 1 tbsp peanut butter, 3/4 cup cereal, etc

If you look just after the serving size, it give the weight in parentheses. Go by that.

jofjltncb6

Can't understand the cup crap, I measure in weight only. If i can get it to the nearest gram I'm happy. A cup is a volume, not a weight. Calories are more easily determined by weight. Your logging is innacurate.

Most nutrition facts are determined by volume. 1 tbsp peanut butter, 3/4 cup cereal, etc

This is your problem.

Unlearn this.

Weigh these non-liquid foods. The nutritional information will also be in weight (assuming you're in the US that is...and likely other countries as well). This will likely be a true dietary revelation for you.

rileysowner

I'm pretty good at measuring what I eat. I've been doing this for 4 years lol. I eat around 1700 to 2100 while burning around 600 to 900. My net calories are always around 1200 or so. I have a heart rate monitor that I use and I always write down less than what it says to underestimate bc they tend to overestimate. But maybe like you said my body isn't actually burning that much for some reason. I'd have my thyroid checked but no insurance. 7 lbs is too high for water retention. This sucks, I've been putting up with Shaun T and have nothing to show for it. I have been getting stronger I can tell, and I don't appear bigger but I trust the waist measurement. maybe you all are right and I'm just not measuring right. Could be a combination of eating more than I think, burning less than I think, and retaining water. Too many variables. My goal is no longer about a scale number but I want 7% bf. However, an inch added to my waist increased my bf so still going in the wrong direction.

7 Pounds is not too high for water retention. I am on a diuretic for my blood pressure. I ran out and it took 3 days to get the renewal faxed in to the pharmacy. I put on 3.5Kg so that would be over 7 pounds in those three days. That was without muscle soreness, eating at a consistent deficit and exercising. It is not out of the realm of possibility due to eating a lot of sodium more than you usually do, and the soreness of muscles retaining water to help with repair.

Maleficent0241

I hate to go there, but are you constipated? Constipation can cause a false gain on the scale and in the waist if you're bloated. Just something to think about beyond water weight, calories in/out, etc.

SezxyStef

I will try that and try cutting overall. Just seems a bit odd I've never had this problem before

How close are you to goal...within maybe 5lbs that is why you've never had this issue.

I've had this issue except I wasn't losing what I "should" have been losing...I started weighing bam 1lb a week like I should have been...haven't looked back.

I will however re-iterate that nutrional calcs are on weight not volume unless it's a liquid.

However that being said...I think it's water retention...not that you should start weighing...but give it another week or two.

digregorio84

Denial is not just a river in Egypt

Insightful, do tell more

digregorio84

I will try that and try cutting overall. Just seems a bit odd I've never had this problem before

How close are you to goal...within maybe 5lbs that is why you've never had this issue.

I've had this issue except I wasn't losing what I "should" have been losing...I started weighing bam 1lb a week like I should have been...haven't looked back.

I will however re-iterate that nutrional calcs are on weight not volume unless it's a liquid.

However that being said...I think it's water retention...not that you should start weighing...but give it another week or two.

Goal weight? It was 150 but honestly I only care about the bf%, so the inch gained on my waist is what really troubled me.

digregorio84

I hate to go there, but are you constipated? Constipation can cause a false gain on the scale and in the waist if you're bloated. Just something to think about beyond water weight, calories in/out, etc.

Nope, if anything i probably consume too much fiber

digregorio84

See this is what I hate about these threads.

OP, I'm not scolding you or anything, but this happens a lot where someone gives a tiny bit of information, then later, some really important stuff comes out that should have been in the original post.

Anyway, sounds like the only difference is the Insanity workout. So, I would wait a couple weeks and see. Might be water.

One thing that caught my eye though is your calorie burns. I would wonder if you're really burning that much. that's a crazy daily burn. So, just something to think about. You might be eating too much if you're eating all those back.

On any given day, I've done about 25 mins of insanity (200 calories burned underestimating), I run a 9 min mile and i usually run a couple miles and walk at start and end (300 underestimating) and 30 mins with moderate to vigorous effort on a stationary bike (250 to 300). On light days I don't do insanity or if I'm lifting I do less cardio but this is typical not to mention my fitbit adds calories burned to mfp many times automatically, I guess from me underestimating.