Why am I gaining weight?

pkteen

Hi guys. I've been losing loads of weight and am doing to 87.6 kg from 115Kg. I'm weight training 5 days a week with cardio everyday. I weighed in this week and I've gained around half a Kg (I was at 87Kg before). Why would this happen? Am I doing anything wrong? This is an honest question, not a panic attack :P

QuietBloom

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/872212-you-re-probably-eating-more-than-you-think

pkteen

That's definitely not the case. I'm eating WAY less than my maintenance and measuring everything on a scale.

writergeek313

You're eating dangerously too few calories for a 19-year-old guy at your height and weight. Your BMR is around 2000 calories. That's the calories your body needs to complete its basic functions. In other words, if you slept all day or were in a coma, you'd still need 2000 calories for your body to do what it needs to for you to stay healthy. Eating under your BMR is going to catch up with you eventually. You're going to have no energy and feel lousy, and it could cause health problems.

This is the calorie calculator I used, and I entered the height and weight from your profile: http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

The goal isn't to eat as few calories as possible, but to make sure you're eating at a deficit from your TDEE but not below your BMR. Too much food is bad, but not eating enough is like trying to drive a car that's almost out of gas. You're not going to get very far.

Also, there are a lot of generic entries in your diary, which means they probably aren't accurate. The best way to ensure you're accurately logging what you're eating is to get a food scale and weigh everything you eat.

pkteen

You're eating dangerously too few calories for a 19-year-old guy at your height and weight. Your BMR is around 2000 calories. That's the calories your body needs to complete its basic functions. In other words, if you slept all day or were in a coma, you'd still need 2000 calories for your body to do what it needs to for you to stay healthy. Eating under your BMR is going to catch up with you eventually. You're going to have no energy and feel lousy, and it could cause health problems.

This is the calorie calculator I used, and I entered the height and weight from your profile: http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

The goal isn't to eat as few calories as possible, but to make sure you're eating at a deficit from your TDEE but not below your BMR. Too much food is bad, but not eating enough is like trying to drive a car that's almost out of gas. You're not going to get very far.

Also, there are a lot of generic entries in your diary, which means they probably aren't accurate. The best way to ensure you're accurately logging what you're eating is to get a food scale and weigh everything you eat.

I'll definitely up my calories then but that still doesn't explain the weight gain. Also, those things are t generic. They're my own recipes that I've added manually. All those stir fries are my own entered recipes.

SKME2013

There could be a thousand reasons for half a kg weight fluctuations: water retention just being one of them, due to exercise or too much sodium. Did you use the toilet before you weighed yourself? I have that amount of weight fluctuation within ONE day. It is the trend that counts! Give it time.
Stef.

pkteen

Thanks stef!
Ok to recap (and clarify), I'm ok and not panicky at all. This was only to gain knowledge of the reasons for something like this.
I will be upping my calories for sure and I won't be weighing myself more than bimonthly to have a better view of my general weight loss trend.
I'm upping my cals to 1800 a day btw (I need a deficit as well you know. Can't eat my maintenance can I)

SLLRunner

That's definitely not the case. I'm eating WAY less than my maintenance and measuring everything on a scale.

Your diary does not reflect weighs but servings. Do you use a digital scale? Do you measure in grams or ounces? Do you weigh all food you eat?

Where are you getting those exercise estimates from?

I think it's water retention.

TavistockToad

It's not neccessary for weight loss, but from a health perspective you may want to eat some fruit and veg...

NotJustADieter

Thanks stef!
Ok to recap (and clarify), I'm ok and not panicky at all. This was only to gain knowledge of the reasons for something like this.
I will be upping my calories for sure and I won't be weighing myself more than bimonthly to have a better view of my general weight loss trend.
I'm upping my cals to 1800 a day btw (I need a deficit as well you know. Can't eat my maintenance can I)

Your BMR is not your maintenance. Your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) is. You need to eat at least your BMR. I do TDEE - 20%, which puts me a bit above my BMR. Here's a good basic tutorial on calorie counting and nutrition. http://www.reddit.com/r/xxfitness/wiki/faq#wiki_12._what_are_the_basics_of_calorie_counting_and_nutrition.3F Even though it is from a women's site, it stays true for men.

A possible culpret for your weight gain that no one seems to have mentioned- muscle. Muscle weighs more than fat. If you're putting on muscle, the scale will reflect that. I lift, and I've been taping (using a measuring tape to measure waist, chest, legs) instead of using a scale and it shows my results far better as you can be losing fat but staying the same weight.

sheltol

Thanks stef!
Ok to recap (and clarify), I'm ok and not panicky at all. This was only to gain knowledge of the reasons for something like this.
I will be upping my calories for sure and I won't be weighing myself more than bimonthly to have a better view of my general weight loss trend.
I'm upping my cals to 1800 a day btw (I need a deficit as well you know. Can't eat my maintenance can I)

Your BMR is not your maintenance. Your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) is. You need to eat at least your BMR. I do TDEE - 20%, which puts me a bit above my BMR. Here's a good basic tutorial on calorie counting and nutrition. http://www.reddit.com/r/xxfitness/wiki/faq#wiki_12._what_are_the_basics_of_calorie_counting_and_nutrition.3F Even though it is from a women's site, it stays true for men.

A possible culpret for your weight gain that no one seems to have mentioned- muscle. Muscle weighs more than fat. If you're putting on muscle, the scale will reflect that. I lift, and I've been taping (using a measuring tape to measure waist, chest, legs) instead of using a scale and it shows my results far better as you can be losing fat but staying the same weight.

^^^this^^^ you mentioned weight training 5 days a week. As you get closer to your goal I would start evaluating your progress with body fat % not weight. I've been 152 lbs at 18% body fat and 153 lbs at 9% bf. I'd rather weigh more and at the 9% bf any day.

gotolam

Hi guys. I've been losing loads of weight and am doing to 87.6 kg from 115Kg. I'm weight training 5 days a week with cardio everyday. I weighed in this week and I've gained around half a Kg (I was at 87Kg before). Why would this happen? Am I doing anything wrong? This is an honest question, not a panic attack :P

Ignore the people who are saying you are eating more than you think. When I started working out, my downward weight loss trend went out the window. Your muscles require glycogen to repair themselves which is mostly water. When your muscles are sore, they hold on to more water. It's as simple as that.

Now if you start gaining weight every week, then we can talk about your diet. But right now, it's just your muscles doing what they're supposed to be doing.

SLLRunner

A possible culpret for your weight gain that no one seems to have mentioned- muscle. Muscle weighs more than fat. If you're putting on muscle, the scale will reflect that. I lift, and I've been taping (using a measuring tape to measure waist, chest, legs) instead of using a scale and it shows my results far better as you can be losing fat but staying the same weight.

No, if he's truly eating at a deficit he will not put on muscle, except for initial small gains from new weightlifting. That's just not how it works.

zoeysasha37

It's normal for the scale to fluctuate sometimes. There are many reasons why this happens. For example, if I eat anything with salt, the scale goes up a few pounds for the next few days.

you should definitely look into what your calories should be set at. I think that it looks a little low for a 19yr old male.
If your weighing and measuring everything and sure that your eating at a deficit, then I doubt it's gained muscle.

SLLRunner

Hi guys. I've been losing loads of weight and am doing to 87.6 kg from 115Kg. I'm weight training 5 days a week with cardio everyday. I weighed in this week and I've gained around half a Kg (I was at 87Kg before). Why would this happen? Am I doing anything wrong? This is an honest question, not a panic attack :P

Ignore the people who are saying you are eating more than you think. When I started working out, my downward weight loss trend went out the window. Your muscles require glycogen to repair themselves which is mostly water. When your muscles are sore, they hold on to more water. It's as simple as that.

Now if you start gaining weight every week, then we can talk about your diet. But right now, it's just your muscles doing what they're supposed to be doing.

No, do NOT ignore people who bring up the possibility of calorie miscalculation, because it's the MOST COMMON (caps for emphasis only) cause of not losing or gaining weight. It's science.

However, as I and others previously said, it could be water retention.

gotolam

Hi guys. I've been losing loads of weight and am doing to 87.6 kg from 115Kg. I'm weight training 5 days a week with cardio everyday. I weighed in this week and I've gained around half a Kg (I was at 87Kg before). Why would this happen? Am I doing anything wrong? This is an honest question, not a panic attack :P

Ignore the people who are saying you are eating more than you think. When I started working out, my downward weight loss trend went out the window. Your muscles require glycogen to repair themselves which is mostly water. When your muscles are sore, they hold on to more water. It's as simple as that.

Now if you start gaining weight every week, then we can talk about your diet. But right now, it's just your muscles doing what they're supposed to be doing.

No, do NOT ignore people who bring up the possibility of calorie miscalculation, because it's the MOST COMMON (caps for emphasis only) cause of not losing or gaining weight. It's science.

However, as I and others previously said, it could be water retention.

What is also science is that muscles, when strained, retain water. Which will lead to a 1/2 kilo weight gain over the course of a week. Which is what I said.

EDollah

If you have a process that's working, then keep following it until you see a sustained period of a lack of results. A one time, one pound (or .5 kg) fluctuation is absolutely irrelevant. A gain of 1 kg per week for 3 weeks is an occasion to rethink your process. Stepping on the scale once and seeing a blip? Ignore. As to why you'd see a blip, a million reasons. Did you pee just before your measurement before last and didn't for the last one? Maybe there was a high volume poo in there somewhere, or a lack of the same. It's all noise, pay more attention to your trends.

ahoy_m8

I will be upping my calories for sure and I won't be weighing myself more than bimonthly to have a better view of my general weight loss trend.

Generally speaking, more data points yield better trend accuracy. As other have said, water retention can obfuscate the picture. If you happened to have had an unusually high sodium or high carbohydrate or high cortisol day right before your bi-monthly weigh in, you might not get a very accurate snapshot on that day. There's nothing wrong with that! And most people on here would say it's good not to obsess over a number. But if you are interested in seeing an accurate weight loss trend, try weighing consistently (e.g. after waking & using the restroom but before consuming anything), and averaging it bi-monthly. If you note your daily weight in excel, you can chart a 15-day rolling average, but some might consider that in obsessive territory. ;-)

SLLRunner

Hi guys. I've been losing loads of weight and am doing to 87.6 kg from 115Kg. I'm weight training 5 days a week with cardio everyday. I weighed in this week and I've gained around half a Kg (I was at 87Kg before). Why would this happen? Am I doing anything wrong? This is an honest question, not a panic attack :P

Ignore the people who are saying you are eating more than you think. When I started working out, my downward weight loss trend went out the window. Your muscles require glycogen to repair themselves which is mostly water. When your muscles are sore, they hold on to more water. It's as simple as that.

Now if you start gaining weight every week, then we can talk about your diet. But right now, it's just your muscles doing what they're supposed to be doing.

No, do NOT ignore people who bring up the possibility of calorie miscalculation, because it's the MOST COMMON (caps for emphasis only) cause of not losing or gaining weight. It's science.

However, as I and others previously said, it could be water retention.

What is also science is that muscles, when strained, retain water. Which will lead to a 1/2 kilo weight gain over the course of a week. Which is what I said.

You are missing the point. Yes, it could be water retention but it could be that he's miscalculating. You told him to ignore the advice regarding the most common cause of weight gain. That's bad advice.

sugarlemonpie

I don't know why everyone thinks you cannot gain weight without eating more than you think you are. There are many number of factors to cause a slight weight gain.

1. You aren't drinking enough water, so your body is retaining water.
2. You are eating too much sodium in your diet, so your body is retaining water.
3. You are eating too many carbs, so your body is retaining water.
4. You need to reassess your diet plan because you may be eating too much or too little in regards to your new smaller body.
5. You have temporarily gained muscle weight from exercising (more common in men than women, they gain muscle faster biologically).
6. You are retaining water after strenuous exercise to repair muscles.

Check this out: http://livehealthy.chron.com/normal-gain-pounds-occasionally-losing-weight-2947.html

That being said, it is always a good idea to look over your food calculations daily and round up. In your case this may not be the issue, which is why I presented those cases above.