3lb gain???? Seriously

KELM0710

This is why i DISLIKE exercising..Everytime I start doing anything to lose weight, i gain 3-5lbs in the first week or 2 so I get mad and quit. I dont understand how people can say oh i lost 7(guestimated number)lbs the first week or 2 when all I do is gain. I am following the calorie intake and staying as close as possible. I do eat the exercise calories because most days i burn at least 200 calories. What am I doing wrong? Why should I keep going? Im having a really hard time with this today. I havent even noticed a change in my clothes, that would at least be motivation for me to keep going. Its not like I will be so muscular from the 30 day shred that I will always be 200+lbs..I think that is crap. I played golf in high school for 2 years and walked at least 9 holes 2-3 times a week and was 155lbs..how can I only be gaining weight now...
Please explain this to me..anyone..Im having a really crappy day today because of this.

dawnkitchen

It could be water retention. I remember learning that your muscles will swell a bit after working out and your body will sometimes retain water. But this was when I was still in school a few years ago... so I don't know if it still holds up.

morganadk2_deleted

Are you eating your exersise calories ? Are you drinking enough water? getting enough sleep?

You might also find the links below helpful...

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10589-for-those-confused-or-questioning-eating-your-exercise-calo

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/61706-guide-to-calorie-deficit


This is just a part of it! please read the link above


Generally someone with a BMI over 32 can do a 1000 calorie a day (2 lbs a week) deficit
With a BMI of 30 to 32 a deficit of 750 calories is generally correct (about 1.5 lbs a week)
With a BMI of 28 to 30 a deficit of 500 calories is about right (about 1 lb a week)
With a BMI of 26 to 28 a deficit of about 300 calories is perfect (about 1/2 lb a week)
and below 26... well this is where we get fuzzy. See now you're no longer talking about being overweight, so while it's still ok to have a small deficit, you really should shift your focus more towards muscle tone, and reducing fat. This means is EXTRA important to eat your exercise calories as your body needs to KNOW it's ok to burn fat stores, and the only way it will know is if you keep giving it the calories it needs to not enter the famine response (starvation mode)



Good luck on your journey

erickirb

It could be water retention. I remember learning that your muscles will swell a bit after working out and your body will sometimes retain water. But this was when I was still in school a few years ago... so I don't know if it still holds up.

You are right. When starting a new program or changing routines your muscles get shocked and store water to protect them. Once your body gets use to the exercises you are doing you will shed the water weight. Best thing to do now is stay off the scale for 2-3 weeks.

wiggleroom

Drink tons of water! And you might want to buy a heart rate monitor, since I'm never 100% sure I believe the calories-burned estimates on the site.

Watch more than just calories. Make sure you're getting lots of fiber and lean protein, and really watch the sodium. I don't know if you're eating diet foods (like frozen meals, etc.), but those are super high in sodium.

Whatever you do, don't give up -- that's when the fat wins! Fight back and beat it. You really and truly can!

carolyne2

A study by Cornell University 2011 (as printed in Healthy food guide April 2011) found that just planning a workout can make you eat up to 50% more The study found that the mere thought of excersise makes us feel so virtuous we scoff more indulgent food - before we have so much as set foot in the gym!:huh:

nikkionamission

I only weigh myself once a week normally but this week when I weighed myself I had gained 4lbs! I was convinced this couldn't be right so weighed myself the next day and was back to my weight of the previous week.

Water retention, sodium intake and other such things can make big differences in a short period of time! Also the time of day...you should try to weigh yourself first thing in the morning before eating anything.

Stick with it, I know how bad it feels but weight loss is a long term thing so don't worry too much about what the scales say in just a week, many people find it comes in fits and starts

:flowerforyou:

RachVR6

Stick. It. Out.

Get off the scale and get out the measuring tape once a month.

petithamu

That happened to me when I started a new program. I was really discouraged, too but everyone's right. You do gain weight when you start because your body is trying to protect you. You have to push through and you will lose. I lost 5lbs the first week I started on MFP and I gradually lost about 1.5lbs each week but there were weeks where I just gained and was so close to quit but I come here and vent instead of quitting.

I don't eat all of my exercise calories just in case the numbers on MFP is not accurate. Do you have a heart rate monitor that's calculation your burned calories correctly? If you don't and you're just using gym equipments or MFP's database to log calories, be very careful on eating your calories back because you might not even realize you're eating more than you should.

All I can say we all go through these phases but you have to push through because it will change.

smilebhappy

Hi there,
I took a quick look at your food dairy......
My suggestions would be to cut down on the amount of pop you are drinking
drink more water & watch your sodium intake
exercising is great but maybe take an honest look at what types of foods you are putting into your body
Don't give up.....You Can do this!!!!
Good Luck

NatalieMelanson

I took a peek at your food diary. I think maybe you should try drinking more water, less-or no soda, and incorporate more fruits and vegetables in your diet. Fruits & veggies (not the starchy kinds) can actually help you burn more calories by boosting your metabolism.

ascollette

I'm with everyone about the water retention thing. You always gain the first few weeks when you just start excersising after not doing it for awhile. Just DON'T weigh yourself for a couple weeks! It'll start coming off after that, I promise!

justleeanne

I'm new to this myself but if this is really what you want then you are in it for the long haul, losing weight is not a short term thing and this is something I am coming to realise myself. It takes a long long time, months, even years for some people to get where they want to be. Don't give up. Learn and keep asking for advice and put it all into practice. You can do it and you will get results.

NatalieMelanson

smilebhappy, you read my mind.

JenniferAutumn

I just took a look at your food diary, (First thing I do when some one asks a question regarding weight gain)

Nutrition = Losing weight.

There were days you did not log. When you did, you were eating fried chicken, Subway- chicken, bacon ranch sandwiches etc.

You can exercise all you want- but if you do not properly fuel your body with good nutrition, you will not see a great loss on the scale.

Oh- And stay away from soda.

tltincher

Don't get down on yourself! You will see a difference I promise! Unfortunately our bodies are all different and respond differently. I am in my 11th week of my journey and I just had a 1.1 lb gain. So, I looked back over weeks that I had a decent loss and to my surprise during those weeks I was consuming 300 more calories daily than what my MFP allowance gave me. Use this formula to find your BMR:

Women: BMR = 655 + ( 4.35 x weight in pounds ) + ( 4.7 x height in inches ) - ( 4.7 x age in years )
Men: BMR = 66 + ( 6.23 x weight in pounds ) + ( 12.7 x height in inches ) - ( 6.8 x age in year )

and then find your daily calorie allowance by figuring in activity:

Activity Multiplier
Sedentary = BMR X 1.2 (little or no exercise, desk job)
Lightly active = BMR X 1.375 (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/wk)
Mod. active = BMR X 1.55 (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/wk)
Very active = BMR X 1.725 (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days/wk)
Extr. Active = BMR X 1.9 (hard daily exercise/sports & physical job or 2X day training, i.e marathon, contest etc.)

Then subtract 500 to find your calories needed to lose 1 lb a week, or 1000 to lose 2 lb a week.


This is right on target for the calories I had been consuming during the weeks that I lost. After this I upped my activity level on MFP to reflect the calorie allowance I got from this formula. So, I really think it's true that if you consume too few calories you will gain. I hope this helps:)

Atlantique

Some of it is, as others have said, water and glycogen going into the muscles you are suddenly using. I agree with tthe person who said stay off the scale for a week or two so you won't upset yourself.

You really have to decide what your goal is here. Is it to see a certain number on the scale? Unless you're going to walk around with that number pasted to your forehead, I don't see why the number would be the goal.

Or is your goal to be fit, healthy and confident? To be around for your two young kids? To set a good example for them and teach them how to build a healthy lifestyle?

I looked at your diary for a few days and I'm not sure what to make of it. (Perhaps at this point you are just logging, getting a sense of what you do actually eat, rather than trying to change eating habits.) I see a lot of takeout, drive-thru and processed stuff and almost no real food. And several days with no logging at all. It's not surprising that you'd feel less than great if the days I saw are representative of how you normally eat. You're going to alternate between feeling sluggish and starving with those food choices. Hopefully, over time, you'll be able to ditch a lot of the drive-thru, take-out and processed stuff and incorporate more real foods. That will help with your weight loss goals, your energy for workouts and your overall fitness and health.

justleeanne

I just had a quick look too and agree with other posters about drinking pop, if you choose to drink this, then you could try and substitute for a diet version with less calories and sugar.

Also I would try and have better breakfasts to start the day ie; instead of having coffee with syrup and a donut, have something more nutritious, there was one day when you had a drink of pop for breakfast. Start the day off better and hopefully it will get you on the right track for the rest of the day!

mara232

I would suggest you get Tosca Reno's Clean Diet book and try to follow that. I've had excellent success using this program before. The focus is on good and nutritious food.

You may be eating within your calories but looking through your food diary, you are eating a lot of junk including fast food. Also weigh everything out and measure. You'd be surprised how much you think a cup food is compared to how much it really is. Drink more water too. Good luck - you can do this!


eta: I looked through a weeks menu and you did not eat one pc of fruit, one vegetable nor a piece of lean protein. Take a hard look at what you are eating. Turn it around if you are serious about weightloss. Donuts and pop are not giving your body the nutrition it needs.

Paulette56

I also took a peak at your diary. You need to get your carbs from fresh fruits and vegies--not processed foods. Ditch the soda altogether and opt for unsweetened tea w/lemon or lime, or water. And NO processed sugar! (if at all possible)

Even though you are staying under your allowance of carbs most days, that is way too much carbs in a day for weight loss. The more carbs you eat--the hungrier it makes you. Get the carbs you do eat mostly from fruits, vegies, and limited amount of whole grain bread. I guarantee you'll start to see the difference in a matter of days.

hpsnickers1

I just took a look at your food diary, (First thing I do when some one asks a question regarding weight gain)

Nutrition = Losing weight.

There were days you did not log. When you did, you were eating fried chicken, Subway- chicken, bacon ranch sandwiches etc.

You can exercise all you want- but if you do not properly fuel your body with good nutrition, you will not see a great loss on the scale.

Oh- And stay away from soda.

Weight loss is 80% diet. You don't even need to exercise to lose weight. Cardio helps burn calories and fat and strength training helps you get stronger and helps the lean muscle mass loss that goes along with dieting. You have to change what you put in your body. Why drink your calories? There's no satisfaction from it. Water will flush your system and help flush the fluid out of your muscles. And all of that sodium in fast food will just make you retain more water. Bad food and exercise don't mix very well.

carlinip

I had the same problem! Could not get under 200 lbs. and it seemed like I was ALWAYS dieting. I am 56 years old and it is sooooooo hard to lose weight as you get older! Then.... my husband reached his highest weight and joined Weight Watchers and I attended as well as his support person. That is where I realized what my problem was....I was "guessing" portions! You have to weigh your portions and I think you will be really surprised at how you may have been "guessing" portions incorrectly as now I eat probably only 1/3 of what I used to eat at "guessing" and learned what foods satisfy me without the calories....fruits and veggies...which are freebies on the new Weight Watchers program. With Weight Watchers you can eat anything you want....as long as you count the points for the portions you are eating! So far in 7 weeks, I have lost 10 lbs. Ya, it's slow, but I am eating VERY healthy and feel great...hopefully it will stay off longer because I lost it slow! I am now under 200 lbs. and NEVER intend to go past that ugly number again! I do intensive Bootcamp workouts 2x week, plus I workout 5x week in our gym at work on my a.m. break-lunch-p.m. break. A.M. break I stretch out. On my 30 minute lunch I do eliptical one day and next day the bicycle. For my last break of the day, I try to walk outside to get fresh air and enjoy our nature trail if weather permits, and if not, I do the stairs in our building. Also, be careful with WHAT you eat! Stay away from ALL canned foods as there is a ton of sodium in them! I always prepare homemade food in extra portions and freeze the extra for days when it's hard to cook fresh as I get home late on some days. I make a lot of soup with Organic Low Sodium Broth and simply add frozen or fresh veggies to it. Watch your beef, chicken and dairy product intake too as this adds massive hormones to your body (as they are pumping up the animals with hormones to make them produce faster) I rarely eat anything with white flour nor do I like sweets....which definitely helps! If you have a sweet tooth, like my husband does, make Jello Fat Free/Sugar Free Jello or Pudding and add Fat Free Cool Whip to satisfy your sweet tooth. Remember....working out will also make you gain weigh too because you are gaining muscle while you are losing fat. Drink lots of water to eliminate the fat and increase your muscle. Bottom line....weigh your food....and don't weigh yourself every day! It can discourage you that day if you see you did not lose anything and you will give up! Not knowing your weight every day will make you really try hard to watch your intake all week long...hoping for that end of week reward on the scale! When I used to weigh myself every day, I found that if I saw a weight loss...it tended to make me think I could cheat a little more that day! Plus Weight Watchers explained that a common problem of constipation in woman, which can throw off your weight too if you weight yourself every day. I take "Organic Smooth Move" senna tea every other night to keep me regular. It does exactly what it's title says..."Smooth Move" (one nice and easy movement in the morning...not too loose). As much as I hate preparing goals....that really does help too! Now go to Bed Bath and Beyond and buy the digital white scale (approx. 6" wide) with the round clear glass surface plate for $19.99 w/a 20% off coupon you can get online. This scale will actually calculate a tare weight of your bowl, so you can just weight the food in the bowl. I can't remember the name of the scale, but it was not a brand name, and it is a fine quality product! Wishing you lots of weight loss....good luck!

KELM0710

Thanks all for the responses.. I will read them all more in depth later..
Here are a few answers to what you all are asking...
I do drink a lot of soda..I have been trying to cut back but some days are harder than others.
I do NOT get enough sleep at night..have an 11 month old with reflux who sleeps maybe 5 hours a night so I sleep about 4. Nothing I can do about that..
Water.. I despise the taste of water..I put True Lemon in it and it definitely helps but if I drink too much water too fast I feel like I am going to puke so that doesnt help.
As far as what I eat, I am super limited to what I can buy, finances, and I dont really have the money to be buying stuff for me and then stuff for my husband and kids.
They will eat healthy food to a point, husband doesnt like to try new things so that makes this even harder.
The weekends SUCK i fall off the wagon every weekend.. I guess I get the mentality that hey if my hubby can do it and not gain i can too and that is SO not the case.

KELM0710

I wish I could skip the soda and coffee. I add choc syrup to my coffee because I dont like the taste of coffee without it.
Its almost like I have been drinking coffee or soda for so many years in the mornings that it is just habit. And especially with the lack of sleep I get, it helps wake me up.

What are some food choices that you all suggest? I may take a look at some of your diaries to see if there is anything that I know I can please my family with as well as myself that is better for us.

waverly9876

I saw that you posted that you dont have alot of money to spend on foods. I am 29 years old and on long term disability and Medicare the rest of my life. Some foods I would suggest buying are a bag of Romaine salad (you can always add some tuna to it), whole grain pasta, yogurt (with low sugar ), some fresh fruit to add to it, bear naked fit granola, zone bars (for your breakfast). They have tons of protein and nutrients and ground turkey. You could make turkey burgers for your family. They are really good! Also, try to get more whole grain in your diet.
You also said that you dont like water. Have you thought of getting crystal light? There are tons of different flavors and that might help you drink more water. You also said you like soda.. Try getting coke zero or lite sodas. As for desserts, try sugar free puddings.. They sound gross but really they arent that bad and I feel better than eating ice cream or something.

DO NOT GIVE UP.
I worked out for three weeks straight and ate healthy and only lost 1 lb. I almost gave up but kept to it and so far I have lost 7 lbs. Add me as a friend and we can help each other!!


Created by MyFitnessPal.com - Free Weight Loss Tools

waverly9876

I saw that you posted that you dont have alot of money to spend on foods. I am 29 years old and on long term disability and Medicare the rest of my life. Some foods I would suggest buying are a bag of Romaine salad (you can always add some tuna to it), whole grain pasta, yogurt (with low sugar ), some fresh fruit to add to it, bear naked fit granola, zone bars (for your breakfast). They have tons of protein and nutrients and ground turkey. You could make turkey burgers for your family. They are really good! Also, try to get more whole grain in your diet.
You also said that you dont like water. Have you thought of getting crystal light? There are tons of different flavors and that might help you drink more water. You also said you like soda.. Try getting coke zero or lite sodas. As for desserts, try sugar free puddings.. They sound gross but really they arent that bad and I feel better than eating ice cream or something.

DO NOT GIVE UP.
I worked out for three weeks straight and ate healthy and only lost 1 lb. I almost gave up but kept to it and so far I have lost 7 lbs. Add me as a friend and we can help each other!!


Created by MyFitnessPal.com - Free Weight Loss Tools

Atlantique

Thanks all for the responses.. I will read them all more in depth later..
Here are a few answers to what you all are asking...
I do drink a lot of soda..I have been trying to cut back but some days are harder than others.
I do NOT get enough sleep at night..have an 11 month old with reflux who sleeps maybe 5 hours a night so I sleep about 4. Nothing I can do about that..
Water.. I despise the taste of water..I put True Lemon in it and it definitely helps but if I drink too much water too fast I feel like I am going to puke so that doesnt help.
As far as what I eat, I am super limited to what I can buy, finances, and I dont really have the money to be buying stuff for me and then stuff for my husband and kids.
They will eat healthy food to a point, husband doesnt like to try new things so that makes this even harder.
The weekends SUCK i fall off the wagon every weekend.. I guess I get the mentality that hey if my hubby can do it and not gain i can too and that is SO not the case.

The soda is not your friend. I think you're finding it hard to break the habit because you are so incredibly tired and the soda gives you a quick hit of caffeine and sugar. That will temporarily give you an energy burst, yes, but it's packing on the pounds which is in turn making you more tired! Vicious circle there.

If you think you could switch to diet soda, then try this: mix your soda half regular and half diet for a few days. Then try going all diet soda. Ultimately, it would be better to get off the caffeine ride though.

Or try something like iced tea with artificial sweetener (very inexpensive if you brew it yourself--a lot cheaper than soda too).

Coffee: The Starbucks Verona actually tastes sort of chocolately. You can buy it at the grocery store, at Target or at Starbucks itself. It's a little pricey, but when it goes on sale (Target frequently has it on sale) I buy extras.

Chicken is cheap and you can do a gazillion things with it. A big bag of brown rice is also cheap. Both of these can be cooked ahead of time and then portioned out for quick reheating when you're in a hurry.

There are a lot of threads in the Recipes section that focus on healthy meals and even helathy and inexpensive meals.

The kids will eat whatever you put in front of them. When I was a kid, we ate what was served or we went hungry. there was no way on God's green earth that my mom was going to make 6 meals (2 adults and 4 kids) just because someone complained. You don't have to either.

There are a lot of changes you want to make, but don't try to do them all at once or you'll get frustrated and quit. Try to focus on one or two goals a week: Cutting back on soda, getting some vegetables into your diet, exploring lean sources of protein, etc. One or two a week is plenty, then just keep building on those habots as you develop them.

RachVR6

I wish I could skip the soda and coffee. I add choc syrup to my coffee because I dont like the taste of coffee without it.
Its almost like I have been drinking coffee or soda for so many years in the mornings that it is just habit. And especially with the lack of sleep I get, it helps wake me up.

Honestly, fruits in the mornings (with all their natural carbs and sugars) wake me up better than coffee!! You can get a BIG bag of frozen fruit at walmart for less than $10 and if you have a blender or in my case I have blender wand ($19 at walmart, Hamilton Beach brand) you can make a smoothie in less than 2 min. I throw 1-1.5cups of frozen fruit in a cup, half a banana, and fill to the top of the fruit with orange juice and blend. Gives me tons of energy in the morning! Better than caffeine!

I have that for breakfast almost every morning along with a hard boiled egg white for protein.

ladyhawk00

I wish I could skip the soda and coffee. I add choc syrup to my coffee because I dont like the taste of coffee without it.
Its almost like I have been drinking coffee or soda for so many years in the mornings that it is just habit. And especially with the lack of sleep I get, it helps wake me up.

What are some food choices that you all suggest? I may take a look at some of your diaries to see if there is anything that I know I can please my family with as well as myself that is better for us.

It's difficult when you have other family members to cook for - but healthy food doesn't have to lack flavor or taste like "rabbit food". And really, even if you make the same things that you buy at a fast food place (hamburgers, sandwiches, etc) - if you make them at home, you can make them a million times healthier and actually way cheaper.

As for coffee and soda - I've been there. I drank at least 40 oz of soda (many times up to 72) and several cups of coffee. When I started this, I just made a commitment. I limit myself to one 12 oz soda a day, and 1 coffee in the morning. Period. It's a conscious decision. It was hard for a couple of days - and then I realized that I didn't miss it that much. I still want my one - but I'm ok with just one. And hopefully I can wean off the one. But no matter what, I've made a huge change that has drastically changed how I feel and my energy level. Soda does AWFUL things to your appetite and metabolism. You simply have to decide to change it. Get a water filter (faucet or pitcher) and start carrying a sports bottle - EVERYWHERE. It makes a huge difference in being able to get your water in. (I detested water too - now I get at least 48 oz a day)

The other change that will make a huge difference is breakfast. I NEVER ate breakfast. I made a commitment to eat SOMETHING healthy every morning. Breakfast must have protein and good fats - that determines how your appetite and metabolism run for the rest of the day. Simple carbs (like a donut) will KILL that. Sometimes I still hate it - but I notice a huge difference in my energy level and the quality of my choices throughout the day if I don't have something good in the morning.

You'll just have to experiment to find things that the family likes that are healthier. Just gradually add them in. Also might try getting a cookbook for cooking for kids - they show lots of ways to disguise healthy stuff to get kids to eat them, and that may help your husband. And yes, look at others' diaries to find recipes or foods that would be better choices. Cause at this point, almost anything is better than fast food and soda. Good luck with it!

kbray003

Exersizing is just plain healthy. Don't focus so much on what the scale says and losing weight... focus on being a healthier person. I personally don't weight myself when I begin exersizing after I've been lazy for a while because I don't want that feeling of being discouraged. Take measurements instead and keep a positive attitude because working out is good for you.

cfolkens

Looking at your diary...you are consuming too much sugar and sodium (pop, pretzels) and not enough protein.. You need to drink A LOT more water!!!!