Gaining weight....What am I doing wrong?

Aprilbaby099

Hi all,

I am fairly new to Myfitnesspal, Im in my second week.

In my first week I gained 5lbs!!! I am due to weigh myself on Tuesday for my 2nd weigh in but I got on the scales out of interest this morning and I have all ready gained another 3lbs.

I am allowed 1520 calories per day based on my height, weight and a 2lb a week loss. Everyday I tend to have about 1300-1400 so only a little under.

I know I am gaining the weight as my clothes are feeling tighter, I now weigh more than when I started....I am so disheartened and I don't understand what I am doing wrong.

I tend to go for a walk with my daughter everyday for an hour so I get a little exercise.

Any advice or tips would be great as the way I feel this morning I just want to chuck the towel in and give up!

Thanks

Em xx

xraychick77

i dont know that doesnt make sense.

perhaps you arent keeping a good a track of your calories as you think. i'm not sure. just give it some time, maybe bump up your exercise a little bit.

remember you body doesnt want to 'store' fat at a calorie deficit..it wants to burn it...it still needs energy to work, and it wont store it, it'll use it and you'll lose fat.

sunshine79

It depends on how much you were eating before you started MFP maybe. You say you are new, were you severely under eating before you started?

registers

Hi all,

I am fairly new to Myfitnesspal, Im in my second week.

In my first week I gained 5lbs!!! I am due to weigh myself on Tuesday for my 2nd weigh in but I got on the scales out of interest this morning and I have all ready gained another 3lbs.

I am allowed 1520 calories per day based on my height, weight and a 2lb a week loss. Everyday I tend to have about 1300-1400 so only a little under.

I know I am gaining the weight as my clothes are feeling tighter, I now weigh more than when I started....I am so disheartened and I don't understand what I am doing wrong.

I tend to go for a walk with my daughter everyday for an hour so I get a little exercise.

Any advice or tips would be great as the way I feel this morning I just want to chuck the towel in and give up!

Thanks

Em xx

For a woman, that special time of the month effects water retention which can make you weigh more. I tried to view your diary, its locked so I really can't see what you have been eating. There are 1 thing that causes fat gain, too many carbs, or too many calories.

One of those is the culprit.

MellowGa

are you doing any exercise besides walking? What sport activities interest you? Plus what kind of foods are you consuming? Are they on the healthy side ?

Sarah_uk

Hiya,

Sorry to hear about your weight gain.


Do you weigh your food? It's very very easy to underestimate calories (am talking from experience here)

I used to estimate,but found out that buying my kitchen scale was one of the best things I've ever bought.


Your calorie intake and exercise seems fine,so that can't be the problem.


Is it your time of the month or will it be soon? I always gain a lot of weight during my period, about 2-3kg (very depressing, even if you know it's not fat)

mum2littledove

I wondered if you are breastfeeding? I did that for 4 years, and no matter what the literature says about it burning calories, I believe it makes your body "hold on" to fat. When I was breastfeeding, even if I had a horrible stomach bug and ate nothing for 48 hours, I still wouldn't lose any weight.

The only other thing I can think is that you are underestimating what you eat (either through portion size, or forgetting about the little extra things that pass your lips). Keeping an accurate food diary is not as easy as it first appears, and I have starting weighing pretty much everything that is practical to do so, because I've always been a big eater so my portion sizes are much higher than standard ones (even though they look standard to me!).

Although walking is good exercise, you need to do vast amounts of it to make any difference to your weight. It simply doesn't burn enough calories, unless you power walk up a mountain for 4 hours or something. If you are struggling to keep to your calorie intake (I do) then you need to introduce a much more intensive cardio exercise into your routine. If you can't get out much then perhaps one of those DVDs may help. There's lots of suggestions on this site.

If none of this applies, and your weight gain continues, then you should probably get some blood tests to check your thyroid function.

Sesilje

I think you should try keeping closer to your calorie goal (and make sure you eat back your exercise calories). Especially if you are used to eating a lot more this is important.

If you eat too little the body will switch into starvation mode (you can read more about that in the forums here, or google it) and do its best to store energy for later. So eating too little will actually make you gain weight. Everyone is different in when the body will switch to starvation mode, but they say it's usually between 1200-1500 net calories per day.

Don't give up! You can do this, it just takes a little experimentation sometimes to find what works best for you. :-)

realrayne10

How is your sodium intake? Are you drinking enough water?

kymarai

Try not to get discouraged. It takes time to learn new things for you and your body. Make sure you log what you eat (everything), you have to be honest with yourself. Be aware of TOM, it can add water weight. Watch sodium intake and water intake. Stay close to your suggested intake. I had to tweak mine. I changed my goals and am now losing successfully. Stick with it! It didn't go on in a day, won't come off in a day! Good luck on your journey!

KarenLouise1981

Hey, I am so sorry to hear you are finding a gain rather than loss. Please bear with it, it will get easier.

If it comforts you at all I also found when I started this journey that I had a slight increase. If you have tidied up your diet your body will undergo lots and lots of little changes to accomodate and get used to your new lifestyle. These little changes can all account for a slight weight increase but if you are at 7lbs already this seems a litle more than normal? Have your bathroom habits changed at all? (sorry!) You may have some food erm, in-transit!?

As long as your food is weighed/measured until you are able to judge portions better and processed foods are scrapped (alas I also said goodbye to my precious doritos) with lotsof vegies than give it another week or so before you start panicking and up your water intake in the meantime to flush those nasty toxins out which your fat cells will be releasing.

I hope this was useful and good luck! Karen

KarenLouise1981

Oh yea and one last thing...STOP jumping on the scales so often! haha, I know it's tempting but the body fluctuates upto 4lb PER DAY!! you may not have put 3lb on this week after all...