gaining weight

Hi. Over the past few month I've lost about 24lbs. I am supposed to be eating 1690 calories per day with no exercise to lose 2lbs per week. I walk about about 3-4 miles per day with the dog and at the end of the day I normally net about 1000. I've gained nearly 3lbs in 2 days. Water or should I be eating more?

Replies

  • pennyllayne
    pennyllayne Posts: 265
    You can't gain fat in a calorie deficit, but if your body is fighting back hard it will make it more difficult to lose anything. You don't look like you have much to lose at all so that may be a problem. It could be down to regular weight fluctuations or down to something you've been eating so having a look at your diary would be the first step. Cortisol can be another problem if your body is stressed out from not getting enough nutrients or energy or lack of sleep, which is very possible considering the low amount of calories you are netting.

    24lbs is a lot to lose in a few months and eating at such low levels will affect metabolism, thyroid and leptin. In all honesty I would suggest taking a break for a few weeks and eat at maintenance, focusing on increasing carbs and getting leptin and thyroid levels back up. After this you might find it easier to keep things moving. A few months would be better, but not many people want to take that long of a break and a few weeks will still be helpful. You will gain water weight but it will come back off again when you go back to dieting.

    Having said that, you may find that the scale drops again after a few days and you should really be keeping track of measurements too as the scale alone is not a good indicator of fat loss. I would still recommend a break for a few weeks of dieting for months but that is obviously up to you. The longer you diet, the worse effect it has on hormones and metabolism so keep that in mind.
  • _Zardoz_
    _Zardoz_ Posts: 3,987 Member
    Normal daily fluctuations your body can differ up to 5 pounds a day (sometimes more). Just follow the trend over time don't change what your doing at every leap of the scales as you'll be changing every day. If you can't handle seeing these normal fluctuations maybe weighing weekly could work better for you
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    Hi. Over the past few month I've lost about 24lbs. I am supposed to be eating 1690 calories per day with no exercise to lose 2lbs per week. I walk about about 3-4 miles per day with the dog and at the end of the day I normally net about 1000. I've gained nearly 3lbs in 2 days. Water or should I be eating more?

    If that is you in the profile pic your male...if you are male wth are you doing eating a net of 1k calories?

    If you are a women wth are you doing eating a net of 1k calories??

    Min recommended for women is 1200, males it is 1800...esp with 50lbs to lose 1lb a week is a good goal that is sustainable...and chances are if you do it at 1lb a week eating enough food without depriving yourself you have less of a chance of gaining it back or quitting.