Gaining weight if not eating enough?

tara_1202

I'm getting really frustrated. I was measured and my total body fat is 22%. I am 5'3 and weigh 138 lbs. I set a goal of losing between 5-10 lbs and just toning up.

I've been eating clean(er) for 5 weeks. I gained 3 the first week. I lost 3 lbs in the second week (I'm assuming a lot of water weight). I've lost another 3, so I was down to 135. Today I'm up to 139.

I don't understand. I have set my calorie intake for 1200 a day. Lately I have not been getting those calories, and have indeed been getting closer to around 900 or so. I started doing Jillian Michael's Ripped in 30 on Tuesday...could I be retaining water from starting the workouts? Am I not getting enough calories? Will not getting enough calories actually cause you to GAIN weight?

I would appreciate any help. It is so frustrating eating right and trying to do right and not seeing much results. I am noticing that I am trimmer, my clothes are fitting me better and my belly is almost flat. I would just like to see the scale move a bit as well.

morganadk2_deleted

On the days i'm going to the gym i log my exersie in the morning and eat slighly bigger meals all day so i'm not left with lots to eat in the evening.. my diary is public if you want to look my gym days are monday and wednesday..


Are you eating to enough?

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)


Also this might be helpful http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/00trayn/view/how-to-bust-a-3-month-plateau-87677



Good luck on your journey

janalayn

You definintely need to eat more .... your body is going to hold onto everything it can if you starve it.

fteale

You already have an athletic body fat%. Your body will resist any attempt to get below 20%. You need that much for basic functions, like menstruating (assuming you are a girl!), cushioning your internal organs etc.

sarah307

we have similar goals/starting goals -
and looks like you are NOT eating enough at all!!!

you need to get 1200 net AT LEAST!! you will gain weight if you eat less than that in the long run. if you are exercising AND only eating 900 cals. =setting yourself up for failure.

but that is why we are here!! Eat back exercise calories! and eat all the calories MFP allows you and you will reach your goals

as for toning up --- strength training and protein, protein, protein!
hope this helps!!

good luck!!!
****EDIT***

i found that when i was eating not enough - i would gain weight and/or not lose - but once i started to eat a little bit more and healthier options, i lost in a big way!

Msaip

You def need to eat more calories! and eat back your exercise calories! your body is just holding onto whatever you give it!

laddyboy

My Guess...another classic case of womenstarvetoloseweightand exersicelikecrazyidice.

Most women feel it's necessary to eat less and exercise more to lose weight. It just doesn't work that way. You have to know your maintenance calorice intake and reduce that to lose weight. You also have to understand net calories.
How many calories are you burning during your workouts?
Are you eating your workout calories?

newport3158

I dont eat my 1200 calories either. I usually net around 600. I'm guessing that your weight gain may be from weight training? I'd say be sure to drink 8-10 glasses of water a day and take a multivitamin. Also your weight gain may be attributed to your time of the month, if that is coming. Also, I'd suggest taking your measurements. You may not be loosing on the scale, but you may be loosing inches.

chris5432

Tara I've struggled with the same thing you are going through for a while now. This site is teaching me when we have a huge calorie burn for the day, we really need to up our caloric intake. I know it's a hard concept to get used to, but being here will really help. I've been trying to lose 15 lbs now for 2 years and have realized that I haven't been eating enough and killing myself with exercise only to be at the same weight. :explode:

iq5203

When I started dieting I also started working out a lot, running, weights, and the like. I was maintaining/gaining weight for maybe 2-3 weeks, but losing size. Could you be putting on muscle?

Curry0724

What is your body % now? If you say your clothes are fitting better and your belly is flatter, then you probably have gained A LITTLE due to muscles. I would measure that again for sure. BUT your body might be struggling at the same time because if you are not getting enough calories the first thing that goes is NOT fat... but Muscles... your body will begin to feed itself off of muscle if you are not getting enough energy from the food you eat. So all in all I say this:

1. Measure your body fat % now to see if there was a change yet
2. Eat a MINIMUM of 1200 calories a day!
3. Don't forget cardio along with strength training

It will be a long journey since you are already fit, but I hope this helps

young1726

Yes, you need to eat more. If your body thinks it's starving, then it's going to hold on to EVERY THING YOU PUT IN YOUR MOUTH!! This is survival mode! If your baseline calorie goal is 1200 (as mine is), then at the end of the day you should have your bottom number be slightly in the red. I always target anywhere from -1 to -100. And I'm consistently losing weight. If you exercise, you will need to eat MORE. Again, follow exactly what your diary says to do and you WILL lose weight.

P.S. Others have suggested maybe you are gaining because of your weight training. Highly unlikely!!! You would have to gain ALOT of muscle in one week to gain 3 pounds! It is definitely due to "starving".

MrBrown72

As a species we were all originally nomadic. Your body is tuned to that lifestyle (this was of course before magazines like GQ came along to tell us how anorexic we were supposed to look) and if it is starved of a nutrient it will do its best to store that nutrient as fat against the threat of being starved again.

To loose weight you MUST eat enough good food. Otherwise you're sabotaging yourself with your own self control.

rfcollins33

I dont eat my 1200 calories either. I usually net around 600. I'm guessing that your weight gain may be from weight training? I'd say be sure to drink 8-10 glasses of water a day and take a multivitamin. Also your weight gain may be attributed to your time of the month, if that is coming. Also, I'd suggest taking your measurements. You may not be loosing on the scale, but you may be loosing inches.

If you have decided to starve yourself or lower your calories to an extremely unhealthy amount, ok. But, I don't think it's right to suggest this to other people or even give advice on nutrition at all. Sorry, don't want to offend, but people may read what you've written and actually try it out. This is NOT healthy and I would not suggest this. I'd say by taking in 600, that'd probably fall under eating disorder. Maybe get some help? Again, not trying to hurt your feelings, just a little suggestion

that was directed at the poster who wrote the above, not the original poster of this topic

cckeimig

You need to EAT YOUR 1200 CALORIES plus the exercise calories you burn. Remember that MFP calculates in a safe deficit that will keep you from going into starvation mode and holding onto whatever you eat. The 1200 calories recommended by the site isn't really an optional thing. You are HURTING YOURSELF if you eat 900 (or 600 as in the case of the other person who posted later in your thread). It's one thing to be under by 20 calories or so, and quite another to be hundreds under the basic needs of your body.

As scary as it might seem, try following the recommendations for a week or so. I'm certain you will see results!

tara_1202

Thank you all for your responses...you have confirmed my suspicions. I am actually going to up my calorie intake I think to 1300 and see what happens, as I was taking in way more calories a day before I started counting and I was just maintaining. So I think it is correct to assume that I'm not getting enough.

And no, I'm not intentionally starving myself I do like to eat, lol! I have always been thin (good metabolism) and have always been able to eat what I want, but now I am 32 and have had two children and would like just the extra padding to go away and to feel better about myself. I'm not looking to lose a crazy amount of weight, really!

I do appreciate all of your thoughts.

LisaKyle11

I am in the same boat..... I was just looking at my history/reports on Progress and over the course of 6 months I actually gained 2 pounds. I lost a few along the way, but they returned. Long story short, I have NOT lost any weight in the whole time I've been logging on MFP. My thinking at this point is its because of not eating enough over a long period of time. It must be! I mean, I exercise on an almost daily basis (granted not 1000 cal burns), am an active Mom and eat right. Just wanted to revive this thread to get more insight and see how others are fairing....

candistyx

Probably at your weight fine tuning macronutrient ratios are needed to make a difference.