gaining weight, dont know where im going wrong?

savbarbz
savbarbz Posts: 7
in Health and Weight Loss
Okay so i eat around 1500-1700 calories a day, breakfast lunch dinner and snacks, all in moderation. I exercise 4 times a week, cardio and different body parts eg leg day ab day etc. I want to maintain my weight or lose a few pounds, but all i seem to be doing is gaining? I dont drink loaaaads of water probably 2 or 3 bottles a day, so it doesn't look like its water attention, i cant gain 4 pounds of muscle in a week so its not that either?? Help!!!!

Replies

  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    According to your diary in the last week

    Sunday over your calories 1k+, Tuesday you ate back all your exercise calories + some, Wed again all exercise calories + and yesterday almost 1k over without exercise.

    At the start of the month no logging for a couple of days then a partial day, then over by a fair amount then you were set at 1200 and ate over 2k and it goes on all month like that...

    This week alone would put you at maintenance or pretty close to it and the lack of logging, partial logging and all the other days you are way over will put in a maintenance or gaining situation.

    If you want to lose weight eat at a deficet...with a few pounds TDEE-5% if you want to maintain eat at maintenance....
  • _Zardoz_
    _Zardoz_ Posts: 3,987 Member
    Okay so i eat around 1500-1700 calories a day, breakfast lunch dinner and snacks, all in moderation. I exercise 4 times a week, cardio and different body parts eg leg day ab day etc. I want to maintain my weight or lose a few pounds, but all i seem to be doing is gaining? I dont drink loaaaads of water probably 2 or 3 bottles a day, so it doesn't look like its water attention, i cant gain 4 pounds of muscle in a week so its not that either?? Help!!!!
    You're eating too much . You're having multiple days of 2000 plus calories . Also I'm guessing your logging is inaccurate as you have quite a few that seem to be generic homemade recipes taken off the database. So you're likely to be eating far more than you think and that will include salt which will make you retain water. How do you know what someone else puts in a meal. Use the recipe builder for your own recipes. The first thing you need to do is get your logging accurate so you actually know what you are really eating. then you can adjust for a reasonable calorie allowance. Also I'd have a look at what you are eating and make sure you're using your calories wisely
  • savbarbz
    savbarbz Posts: 7
    Yes yesterday i ate alot but i dont do that everyday, im 5'7 now weigh 138 lbs i wanted to maintain my weight at 134lbs so is 2000 kcal too much for an 18 year old who exercises 3-4 times a week? Granted i only
    Do 1800-2500 maybe once a week like on a Friday when i dont do exercise and have a chill night with my friends and family. Am
    I eating too much then or just not keeping a constant eating log
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    Yes yesterday i ate alot but i dont do that everyday, im 5'7 now weigh 138 lbs i wanted to maintain my weight at 134lbs so is 2000 kcal too much for an 18 year old who exercises 3-4 times a week? Granted i only
    Do 1800-2500 maybe once a week like on a Friday when i dont do exercise and have a chill night with my friends and family. Am
    I eating too much then or just not keeping a constant eating log

    Both. I looked at march in total and you are over a lot of days or don't log.
  • savbarbz
    savbarbz Posts: 7
    Logging everything added to homemade meals seems abit much though? Like its homemade and never too much extras added eg salt oil, just average amount. So surely it shouldnt matter if theres a bit extra oil on
    Potatoes for example because its a balanced meal? And if im exercising regularly it shouldn't make that much difference surely? Does that make sense
  • savbarbz
    savbarbz Posts: 7
    Could you maybe give me examples of what a typical food diary for my height weight and age should contain, with basic foods that ill have in my kitchen? So i have an idea of what and when i should be eating
  • JustSomeEm
    JustSomeEm Posts: 20,269 MFP Moderator
    It's obviously making a difference, or you wouldn't be gaining when you don't want to be. I'm a lazy logger, too - but if I started having trouble with gaining weight when I didn't want to be, you can bet I'd get a little more accurate with it. If you use the recipe builder to accurately build your homemade foods, you only need do so once. Then, each time you have that food, it's already built.
  • savbarbz
    savbarbz Posts: 7
    Yeah i guess your right, its just my mum homecooks the meals so its difficult especially when im not there, ill have to work something out so i know whats exactly going in my food! Thanks
  • JustSomeEm
    JustSomeEm Posts: 20,269 MFP Moderator
    Sigh... NVM.
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  • Phrick
    Phrick Posts: 2,765 Member
    Logging everything added to homemade meals seems abit much though? Like its homemade and never too much extras added eg salt oil, just average amount. So surely it shouldnt matter if theres a bit extra oil on
    Potatoes for example because its a balanced meal? And if im exercising regularly it shouldn't make that much difference surely? Does that make sense

    Obviously it DOES make a difference though or you wouldn't be in this situation, gaining/not losing. Accuracy is everything. What LOOKS like a "reasonable" amount of oil added to a potato - is that 1 teaspoon or 1 tablespoon - or more? That's a huge calorie difference, about 40 calories for 1 teaspoon of olive oil vs 120 calories for 1 tablespoon, surely you can see how this would indeed make a difference?
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  • savbarbz
    savbarbz Posts: 7
    Yeah i guess your all right, it must be to do with that or i wouldnt be gaining. may have to cook my own meals from now on so i know exactly what im eating. Its just ive had eating problems in the past therefore when i do focus on my calories and what goes into my food i get a lecture that im worrying too much. But ill sort it out
  • gypsy_spirit
    gypsy_spirit Posts: 2,107 Member
    Yeah i guess your all right, it must be to do with that or i wouldnt be gaining. may have to cook my own meals from now on so i know exactly what im eating. Its just ive had eating problems in the past therefore when i do focus on my calories and what goes into my food i get a lecture that im worrying too much. But ill sort it out

    Set a realistic calorie goal and then work on meeting it each day.

    Weigh/measure/log everything you eat every day.

    When you are doing the first two things, work on meeting your macro goals (protein, fat, carbs).

    When you can do that - you are eating in a way that will meet your health goals.
  • alicealexander1
    alicealexander1 Posts: 3
    Maybe it's just pre menstrual gain. I always gain a few pounds in the days leading up to my period. If you keep up your exercise program, and continue to eat healthy (even at 2000 cal per day) you will look great for the rest of your life. You are at an ideal weight and beautiful, so there is no need to obsess over a few pounds. Just keep doing what you're doing girl!
  • Gerkuman
    Gerkuman Posts: 1 Member
    Really, you just gotta keep logging everything. Making recipes can help as you won't need to manually put stuff in. It's not fun but losing weight is a bit of a discipline anyway. It's not so much 'what can I or can't I eat' as much as planning what you're going to have before you make it and checking to see if it's balanced. (The food pyramid is bunk, but the nutritional goals set by MFP are pretty decent, though some might argue that it needs more protein and less carbs)

    As for exercise, it's not a magic bullet; it's the booster shot to the graft put into monitoring what one eats. The plan is to stay under the limit before the exercise is calculated and to not eat the calories back. (Admittedly, much easier said than done.) Doesn't help that the calories given on the app can be inaccurate depending on your weight, since more weight = more burnt off.

    I also second Doob's point about being careful of what you eat since there are things that are high in calorie and low in filling you up. (BK meal is about 800-1200 calories, whereas a home-made meal can be 300-600 and fills a person up more). Hidden calories, like calories from cooking oil can also trip people up.

    I will admit though that I am having a similar issue and it isn't easy, so maybe my advice isn't helpful

    EDIT: It's definitely more difficult when you have others cooking for you, but I'm sure your mum wouldn't mind writing down what she's put into the meal. It's easier to lose weight when people are actively supporting you. :)
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    Maybe it's just pre menstrual gain. I always gain a few pounds in the days leading up to my period. If you keep up your exercise program, and continue to eat healthy (even at 2000 cal per day) you will look great for the rest of your life. You are at an ideal weight and beautiful, so there is no need to obsess over a few pounds. Just keep doing what you're doing girl!

    did you look at her diary...there are multiple days where she is eating 1000 calories + over what should be maintenance, very few days are under and lots of days are incomplete.
  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,330 Member
    Could you maybe give me examples of what a typical food diary for my height weight and age should contain, with basic foods that ill have in my kitchen? So i have an idea of what and when i should be eating

    The key is logging consistently and accurately. In terms of homemade entries from the food database, they are pretty much useless as a guide because you have no way to know what is in them. They may have been modified to make they lower calorie, but you are eating the 'normal' version which has a lot more calories. If you are not logging your food consistently, or not logging accurately you are simply guessing at what you might be eating. Obviously it is more than you think since you have put on 4 pounds.

    Having said that, what about other measurements? This could be water retention which happens for a bunch of reasons including not drinking enough fluids.

    BTW, 2000 calories is very reasonable for you height, age and weight. Maintenance might even be more than that. Start logging consistently and accurately to see what you are actually eating. Then start considering how to change your calories.
  • trekkie_bbs
    trekkie_bbs Posts: 64 Member
    Hi,

    Oil in pretty much any form is a LOT of calories per teaspoonful. Condiments may contain more calories than the meal you put them on. For this reason I log all my food items to the last drop of oil. I do NOT weigh what I eat to verify the weight as some do but I do measure based on the ingredient listings for portions. This gives me a good estimate of calories per day I am eating.

    I was shocked to see how many calories are in olive oil vs butter. Some types of butter have far fewer calories and taste a LOT better in my opinion, however I have decided to avoid oil's and butters as much as I can using water and lower heat or baking in it's place.

    Right now I am eating a lot of pre-made meals by Boston Market. They are tasty and fit well within my calorie restrictions.

    I have also tried to use more seasonings to give my food a better taste and it works. My thought is I need to find something I can live with eating not just eat to live.

    You may also be consuming too much salt. Salt will cause you to hold onto water causing your weight to go up or hold level on you. I just lost 4 pounds in 2 days per the scale however in all reality I know it was water weight I lost.

    I know for a fact what I log is only a guess based on labels that give estimates. So I assume a little wiggle room when I reach the end of the day.

    Read labels, find a new way to not only lose weight but enjoy what you eat and you will never have to diet again. For me this is a life changing experience that I am not willing to fail. I know I will test many different combinations on the way and have.... had to throw some away (I hate wasting food) but sadly that is part of learning.

    Something else that may help you but again this is ONLY an estimate totaling your calories per meal is to add everything up in advance from your meal divide it into cups, half cups, or however you plan portion it out and divide the total by that. This only works if the ingredients are spread around when you take your serving out so do your best to be honest and draw from the top, and bottom of your food if need be to balance out what you are consuming. For example soup. Stuff settles to the bottom and you normally have the broth on top. Make sure you mix it well before pulling out your serving.

    Have faith, be honest with everything you eat even if it's way over your intake. You will never learn unless you can see what's causing your problems.

    I log everything I can. Sometimes it is a total pain but it has helped me prevent quite a few mistakes.

    Best wishes, keep your chin up, it's all practice until you get a system going that works for you like I have for me.

    Jim
  • LC458
    LC458 Posts: 300 Member
    Yeah i guess your right, its just my mum homecooks the meals so its difficult especially when im not there, ill have to work something out so i know whats exactly going in my food! Thanks
    Anytime I'm eating my mom's food it becomes a thing of portion control (just like if you were at a restaurant ) because yes you have no idea what mom is putting in it. If your mom is anything like mine she adds full fat butter and heavy whipping cream to make mashed potatoes. Grant it they're delish but I'm trying to get in shape so I usually fill up on salad when I'm at her place (just a bit of dressing). Also with my new 'diet" my mom has been totally open to trying various healthier options. Sweet potatoes vs russet, quinoa vs spaghetti, lentil soup vs potato and cheddar soup, etc. I'm sure she appreciates the help in the kitchen too :)

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