i don't understand!

AEcklar813

Hey everyone. For a month i've been on here and lost 15lbs. Just this week things started going the opposite direction. I'm still eating right and exercising but i'm GAINING! I don't know why. I eat usually on average 1300 cals per day and exercise 20-40 mins burning at least 200 cals. What am I missing here?

Kagard11

Are you eating the same thing day after day and doing the same workout? Maybe it's time to shake up your routine!

Bunnzye

WHEN YOU FIND OUT PLEASE TELL ME CAUSE ITS SICKENING ISNT IT? ITS JUST SOMETHING THAT HAPPENS TO MAKE US FIGHT HARDER. YOU'VE LOST 15, WOW. I'D SAY WHAT EVERYONE ELSE IS GOING TO SAY WHEN YOU GET MORE RESPONSES - YOU CAN DO IT, KEEP ON, WATCH YOUR FOOD DIARY, DRINK PLENTY OF WATER - BUT I'M NOT GONNA SAY THOSE THINGS CAUSE WE KNOW THAT. LET'S BOTH OF US JUST KEEP ON DOING WHAT WE DO - HERE'S TO HEALTH AND MORE POUNDS LOST IN THE NEAR FUTURE.

WolfieCougar

Hi there,

I had the same problem recently. I had been very sedentary before joining MFP, so I think after losing some weight, I was gaining muscle which made the scale go up 3 lbs and then down and then up again. It took 2.5 weeks to break that cycle for me but now I'm losing again steadily.

Hope that helps!

Atlantique

Hey everyone. For a month i've been on here and lost 15lbs. Just this week things started going the opposite direction. I'm still eating right and exercising but i'm GAINING! I don't know why. I eat usually on average 1300 cals per day and exercise 20-40 mins burning at least 200 cals. What am I missing here?

We could offer better suggestions if we could actually view your diary.

15 pounds in a month is a HUGE loss. How much are you seeking to lose overall? It's possible that you have been too aggressive in your goals, which eventually backfires.

What do you mean by "on average"? How wide are these daily swings that "average" out to 1300?

How are you measuring your food? With a food scale? Eyeballing?

What is your definition of "eating right"? Is your diet primarily lean proteins and vegetables? Or is much of it eaten from restaurants or comes out of a bag/box/can?

You don't explain what these workouts are, but if you've been doing basically the same thing since you began, then you are probably not still burning the same amount of calories. Over time, your body gets more efficient at performing an exercise, meaning it's not working as hard to complete it/burning fewer calories completing it. You may need to increase either the intenstiy or duration of your workouts.

AEcklar813

I'll make my diary open if you want to take a look. I don't always eat the same thing and I have been changing up my workout recently. I thought that might have been the problem.

Atlantique

Can see the profile, but not the diary.

AEcklar813

Try now. I think I just did it. Lol doing it from my phone so it takes a minute.

girlontheseesaw

I think you consistently eat too few calories. Food is fuel, and with all the energy you're burning with those workouts, you need to replenish your stores.

What you're eating looks really healthy, there's just not quite enough of it.

I'm not a believer in eating back *all* exercises calories, but you are going under by quite a lot.

stormieweather

Some of that initial loss is likely water weight. We all fluctuate normally a few pounds, even in a day. And you're not going to be putting on pounds as long as you are being truthful and honest with your calories and have your settings correct (activity level, desired loss, etc.).

What you need to look at is the overall trend. In a month, you've lost 15 pounds. That is nearly 4 pounds a week, well over the guidelines of no more than 2 per week. If you are very overweight, that is certainly possible. But it's probably not going to happen every single month/week. I go for weeks sometimes without losing, then BAM! I lose a couple pounds all at once. I mean, our fat doesn't fall off at exactly 12:01am every Sunday .

Be patient and stick to the plan. As long as you are eating at a deficit (not cheating), you WILL lose weight. It's the laws of physics Make sure you are eating enough, so that the loss is fat, and not muscle. No one wants to look 'skinny-fat'.

AEcklar813

I try to eat lol. I think my problem is that since I used today eat a lot of very unhealthy stuff I feel like if I eat a lot of healthy i'll gain. I am very overweight. I'm 5'2 and 278. Not sure what else I should be eating.

girlontheseesaw

Nuts and seeds are really packed with calories *and* goodness. Add in a handful of those each day and that should help.

melaniecheeks

I think you're doing great! Your diary looks fine, and you're exercising every day. Weight doesn't come off evenly, some weeks will show more loss than others. I say keep on doin' what you're doin'!

Atlantique

Got to take a look at the diary. Overall, the foods look pretty good, but I would agree with some others who have said that you have a tendency to be too far under goal. I try to stay within 100 calories of goal (on either side) while eating back half my exercise calories. You could also use more protein in your diet. Have you considered checking/tracking your sodium? Might be a good idea to watch that too, as spikes in sodium can add some water weight for a day or two. You don't seem to be tracking your water, and you might want to do that as well.

I understand that it's really exciting and motivating to see the pounds come flying off each week, but when the weight is coming off at 4 lbs per week, that usually means you are also losing a lot of muscle. You may find that eating slightly more calories gets your weight loss going again.

AEcklar813

Thanks. I have noticed as well a few weeks ago when I was losing weight I was eating a lot more at dinner time. I forget how much water I drink per day so that's why its not logged. I don't drink anything else only water.I guess I should keep track of that. So if I don't plan on eating too much that day should I skip the workout? I just don't know where to add extra calories.

Atlantique

Thanks. I have noticed as well a few weeks ago when I was losing weight I was eating a lot more at dinner time. I forget how much water I drink per day so that's why its not logged. I don't drink anything else only water.I guess I should keep track of that. So if I don't plan on eating too much that day should I skip the workout? I just don't know where to add extra calories.

I found that if I didn't have a rough idea of my likely exercise burn early in the day, I could never get enough calories into my day. If you tend to exercise late in the day and don't consider those calories until then, it's hard to catch up!

But if you can plan for those exercise calories throughout the day, it's pretty easy to work them in. Sometimes just adding 50 calories to each meal and snack will get you there, or having a post-workout snack. When you're really in a pinch, an ounce of nuts (roughly 140-170 calories) or 2 tablespoons of nut butter (roughly 170-200 calories) is pretty easy to eat and will get you to that day's goal.

Dtho5159

Definitely eat back your exercise calories!! Or at least most of them.. If you eat 1300 and burn 200 and not eating them back, you're only netting 1100. Your diary looks really good, lots of healthy foods but if you go too low, your body will hold onto all that fat, thinking you're starving yourself. I net between 1600-1900 each day depending on my workouts and Im never hungry, I eat what I want and Ive lost nearly 50lb.

AEcklar813

Guess it's time to indulge a little bit more on snacks haha. I don't mean to be netting so little. Wow, I go from eating wayy too much to not eating enough. I have to find my happy middle.

AEcklar813

How does my diary for today look?