"I Though I Was Doing This Right--So Why Am I Gaining?"
songbyrdsweet
Posts: 5,691 Member
Now that I've seen several posts on this subject, I'd like to address the matter so no one has to worry another minute about it. I hope it helps everyone relax a bit and keep on keepin' on. 
So why, are you gaining? There are a lot of reasons. Here they are, in no particular order.
1) You aren't using the same scale or clothing. Different scales are calibrated differently...so at the doc you might weigh more or less. Stick with one scale. If you weigh yourself with clothing on, wear the same outfit each time. Or, if you weigh in the buff, do that every time. Clothing can add a few lbs.
2) You haven't used the restroom since your last meal. Everything you eat or drink weighs something. There are 16 oz. in a pound, so two 8oz. cups of water weigh one pound. A 4 oz chicken breast weighs a quarter of a pound. Even if you weigh yourself first thing in the morning, you have yesterday's food in your bowels, and since you have a lot of intestinal tract, even if you do make a movement or urinate once before weighing, if you had a big meal there may still be waste in your gut making its way out.
3) You are undereating. Unless you took the time to calculate your BMR with a BMR calculator, and then added to that your Daily Activity and Exercise calories burnt, and then subtracted the 500 calories for the deficit, you may be undereating. The 1200 calorie suggestion is so general it should be called arbitrary. It is not suitable for everyone. You need to find what suits you as an individual, because we are all different due to our height, weight, and body composition. If you are eating too few calories, your metabolism will slow until that amount of calories becomes enough to maintain your current weight. If that happens, you need to increase calories to what they SHOULD be, and you will start losing again.
3) You are overeating. Are you being honest and tracking all of your food? Are you measuring and/or weighing it? Are you sneaking snacks--a couple chips here, a cookie there? Of course, eating over maintenance calories will cause fat gain.
4) You are doing everything right, and gaining some muscle mass. "Building" a lb of muscle takes about half the calories of building a lb of fat. If you're performing resistance training and you're either brand new, or have a great program with heavy lifting, you can fairly easily gain some muscle mass. Muscle doesn't actually weigh more than fat; a lb of muscle weighs the same as a lb of fat. But if you're losing a lb of fat and gaining a lb of muscle, your scale weight won't change. Or, if you're gaining more muscle, it may increase. So how do you know you're making progress? Muscle is more dense than fat, so it takes up less space. Thus, you should measure progress in inches rather than pounds! You will shrink even if your scale weight doesn't budge or increases.
5) You are dieting without exercise. This is the #1 way to drastically reduce your metabolism and cause the same effect as undereating. In order to lose weight in a healthy way and keep it of, you MUST perform cardiovascular activity and AND resistance training each at least 3 times a week to maintain muscle mass. One pound of muscle burns 40-60 calories per hour. Put yourself in a deficit and don't lift, and you're losing that muscle mass because it's metabolically expensive to maintain and you're not stimulating it, so your body treats it as an unnecessary burden and fails to maintain it. Cardiovascular activity stimulates the production of mitochondria, which are organelles in your cells that help produce ATP, and increase your metabolism. If you don't need them, you won't make any extra.
6) You are weighing more than once a day, or at different times of day. You shouldn't really weigh yourself more than once a week. If you insist on doing more than that, always weigh yourself at the same time of day, and in the morning. Like I mentioned earlier, food has weight. Most people gain several pounds from morning to night from the drinking and eating they do throughout the day. You can also gain some weight after a workout if you're doing a good job of drinking water. If you found you have lost weight after your workout, drink water until you reach your pre-workout weight to re-hydrate.
7) You are eating too much of one nutrient (protein, carbohydrates, or fat). Your diet should be balanced. If you eat too much of one nutrient, you will be deficient in another. It won't always cause fat gain, but it can cause muscle loss, high blood sugar, and a decrease in important hormone levels depending on what you're deficient in. Do some research and find alternative ratios. How much you eat is just as important as what you eat. A healthy range of carbohydrates is 30-50% of calories. A healthy range of protein is 20-50% of calories. A healthy range of fat is 20-30% of calories. Keep in mind that, since you are an active population, you have to eat differently from the average guy who doesn't exercise.
So there you have it! If there's anything else anyone can think of, go ahead and add it.
So why, are you gaining? There are a lot of reasons. Here they are, in no particular order.1) You aren't using the same scale or clothing. Different scales are calibrated differently...so at the doc you might weigh more or less. Stick with one scale. If you weigh yourself with clothing on, wear the same outfit each time. Or, if you weigh in the buff, do that every time. Clothing can add a few lbs.
2) You haven't used the restroom since your last meal. Everything you eat or drink weighs something. There are 16 oz. in a pound, so two 8oz. cups of water weigh one pound. A 4 oz chicken breast weighs a quarter of a pound. Even if you weigh yourself first thing in the morning, you have yesterday's food in your bowels, and since you have a lot of intestinal tract, even if you do make a movement or urinate once before weighing, if you had a big meal there may still be waste in your gut making its way out.
3) You are undereating. Unless you took the time to calculate your BMR with a BMR calculator, and then added to that your Daily Activity and Exercise calories burnt, and then subtracted the 500 calories for the deficit, you may be undereating. The 1200 calorie suggestion is so general it should be called arbitrary. It is not suitable for everyone. You need to find what suits you as an individual, because we are all different due to our height, weight, and body composition. If you are eating too few calories, your metabolism will slow until that amount of calories becomes enough to maintain your current weight. If that happens, you need to increase calories to what they SHOULD be, and you will start losing again.
3) You are overeating. Are you being honest and tracking all of your food? Are you measuring and/or weighing it? Are you sneaking snacks--a couple chips here, a cookie there? Of course, eating over maintenance calories will cause fat gain.
4) You are doing everything right, and gaining some muscle mass. "Building" a lb of muscle takes about half the calories of building a lb of fat. If you're performing resistance training and you're either brand new, or have a great program with heavy lifting, you can fairly easily gain some muscle mass. Muscle doesn't actually weigh more than fat; a lb of muscle weighs the same as a lb of fat. But if you're losing a lb of fat and gaining a lb of muscle, your scale weight won't change. Or, if you're gaining more muscle, it may increase. So how do you know you're making progress? Muscle is more dense than fat, so it takes up less space. Thus, you should measure progress in inches rather than pounds! You will shrink even if your scale weight doesn't budge or increases.
5) You are dieting without exercise. This is the #1 way to drastically reduce your metabolism and cause the same effect as undereating. In order to lose weight in a healthy way and keep it of, you MUST perform cardiovascular activity and AND resistance training each at least 3 times a week to maintain muscle mass. One pound of muscle burns 40-60 calories per hour. Put yourself in a deficit and don't lift, and you're losing that muscle mass because it's metabolically expensive to maintain and you're not stimulating it, so your body treats it as an unnecessary burden and fails to maintain it. Cardiovascular activity stimulates the production of mitochondria, which are organelles in your cells that help produce ATP, and increase your metabolism. If you don't need them, you won't make any extra.
6) You are weighing more than once a day, or at different times of day. You shouldn't really weigh yourself more than once a week. If you insist on doing more than that, always weigh yourself at the same time of day, and in the morning. Like I mentioned earlier, food has weight. Most people gain several pounds from morning to night from the drinking and eating they do throughout the day. You can also gain some weight after a workout if you're doing a good job of drinking water. If you found you have lost weight after your workout, drink water until you reach your pre-workout weight to re-hydrate.
7) You are eating too much of one nutrient (protein, carbohydrates, or fat). Your diet should be balanced. If you eat too much of one nutrient, you will be deficient in another. It won't always cause fat gain, but it can cause muscle loss, high blood sugar, and a decrease in important hormone levels depending on what you're deficient in. Do some research and find alternative ratios. How much you eat is just as important as what you eat. A healthy range of carbohydrates is 30-50% of calories. A healthy range of protein is 20-50% of calories. A healthy range of fat is 20-30% of calories. Keep in mind that, since you are an active population, you have to eat differently from the average guy who doesn't exercise.
So there you have it! If there's anything else anyone can think of, go ahead and add it.
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Replies
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Now that I've seen several posts on this subject, I'd like to address the matter so no one has to worry another minute about it. I hope it helps everyone relax a bit and keep on keepin' on. So why, are you gaining? There are a lot of reasons. Here they are, in no particular order.
1) You aren't using the same scale or clothing. Different scales are calibrated differently...so at the doc you might weigh more or less. Stick with one scale. If you weigh yourself with clothing on, wear the same outfit each time. Or, if you weigh in the buff, do that every time. Clothing can add a few lbs.
2) You haven't used the restroom since your last meal. Everything you eat or drink weighs something. There are 16 oz. in a pound, so two 8oz. cups of water weigh one pound. A 4 oz chicken breast weighs a quarter of a pound. Even if you weigh yourself first thing in the morning, you have yesterday's food in your bowels, and since you have a lot of intestinal tract, even if you do make a movement or urinate once before weighing, if you had a big meal there may still be waste in your gut making its way out.
3) You are undereating. Unless you took the time to calculate your BMR with a BMR calculator, and then added to that your Daily Activity and Exercise calories burnt, and then subtracted the 500 calories for the deficit, you may be undereating. The 1200 calorie suggestion is so general it should be called arbitrary. It is not suitable for everyone. You need to find what suits you as an individual, because we are all different due to our height, weight, and body composition. If you are eating too few calories, your metabolism will slow until that amount of calories becomes enough to maintain your current weight. If that happens, you need to increase calories to what they SHOULD be, and you will start losing again.
3) You are overeating. Are you being honest and tracking all of your food? Are you measuring and/or weighing it? Are you sneaking snacks--a couple chips here, a cookie there? Of course, eating over maintenance calories will cause fat gain.
4) You are doing everything right, and gaining some muscle mass. "Building" a lb of muscle takes about half the calories of building a lb of fat. If you're performing resistance training and you're either brand new, or have a great program with heavy lifting, you can fairly easily gain some muscle mass. Muscle doesn't actually weigh more than fat; a lb of muscle weighs the same as a lb of fat. But if you're losing a lb of fat and gaining a lb of muscle, your scale weight won't change. Or, if you're gaining more muscle, it may increase. So how do you know you're making progress? Muscle is more dense than fat, so it takes up less space. Thus, you should measure progress in inches rather than pounds! You will shrink even if your scale weight doesn't budge or increases.
5) You are dieting without exercise. This is the #1 way to drastically reduce your metabolism and cause the same effect as undereating. In order to lose weight in a healthy way and keep it of, you MUST perform cardiovascular activity and AND resistance training each at least 3 times a week to maintain muscle mass. One pound of muscle burns 40-60 calories per hour. Put yourself in a deficit and don't lift, and you're losing that muscle mass because it's metabolically expensive to maintain and you're not stimulating it, so your body treats it as an unnecessary burden and fails to maintain it. Cardiovascular activity stimulates the production of mitochondria, which are organelles in your cells that help produce ATP, and increase your metabolism. If you don't need them, you won't make any extra.
6) You are weighing more than once a day, or at different times of day. You shouldn't really weigh yourself more than once a week. If you insist on doing more than that, always weigh yourself at the same time of day, and in the morning. Like I mentioned earlier, food has weight. Most people gain several pounds from morning to night from the drinking and eating they do throughout the day. You can also gain some weight after a workout if you're doing a good job of drinking water. If you found you have lost weight after your workout, drink water until you reach your pre-workout weight to re-hydrate.
7) You are eating too much of one nutrient (protein, carbohydrates, or fat). Your diet should be balanced. If you eat too much of one nutrient, you will be deficient in another. It won't always cause fat gain, but it can cause muscle loss, high blood sugar, and a decrease in important hormone levels depending on what you're deficient in. Do some research and find alternative ratios. How much you eat is just as important as what you eat. A healthy range of carbohydrates is 30-50% of calories. A healthy range of protein is 20-50% of calories. A healthy range of fat is 20-30% of calories. Keep in mind that, since you are an active population, you have to eat differently from the average guy who doesn't exercise.
So there you have it! If there's anything else anyone can think of, go ahead and add it. 0 -
This is an excellent post. Are you a doctor or nutritionist??
I've printed this off and posted it on my home office BB, so I can refer to it as needed.
Thanks!!! 0 -
This is great! Thanks Songbyrd:bigsmile:0
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Great Post:flowerforyou: :flowerforyou:0
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Yep, I'd agree with you. But also, I'd liek to add I read todays paper and they stated 40-30-30. Average intake per day 40% carb 30%protien 30%fat, would you agree song, seems like your a serious nutritionalist and you input would be greatly appreciated and highly accepted.0
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Yep, I'd agree with you. But also, I'd liek to add I read todays paper and they stated 40-30-30. Average intake per day 40% carb 30%protien 30%fat, would you agree song, seems like your a serious nutritionalist and you input would be greatly appreciated and highly accepted.
I'm glad you guys like this!
slieber, I am currently studying Exercise, Sport, and Health Ed with a concentration in Commercial and Corporate Fitness. I am planning on entering the Nutrition or Exercise Science grad program at JMU in 2009. I'm currently working on my personal training certification, and I will do the nutrition certification after grad school. So I'm still in the midst of things, but I have done plenty of my own research because I am also planning on competing in a natural bodybuilding competition before I graduate.
lilspitfire, there are many different macronutrient ratios, and everyone will benefit from something different. That ratio looks excellent because it's not too high or low in anything for an active person. I personally eat 40/40/20 or 30/50/20 CPF because I lift very heavily 5 days a week and do cardio 6 days a week and need the extra protein, plus I change my carbohydrate levels with my activity. What I'm doing is more complicated because I am trying to gain more muscle mass than the average person.
Some people eat 50% carbs, 30% protein, and 20% fat because they lean out better that way. Others eat 65% fat, 30% protein, and 5% carbohydrates, which are timed around the workouts; they also take carbohydrate refeeds every week. I did that for almost a year and lost a good amount of body fat while gaining muscle mass. Actually, that way of eating was discovered as a way to treat epilepsy, and fat loss was a neat side effect. It is very good for diabetics or others who need to watch their sugar intake, as it keeps blood sugar levels stable. And other people eat a straight 33% split of all nutrients. Ratios can also change whether an individual is trying to lose fat, maintain, or gain muscle. It all comes down to what works for you. We are all different. 0 -
Okay, I'm very confused by what you just said but am also very interested, so I'm gonna "come out" so to speak.
Here's my daily schedule (workout-wise):
Mondays and Wednesdays - an hour-long ballet class at intermediate level. Half-hour or so of barre work, the rest floor work with about 5 minutes of jumping included.
Saturdays - Pointe class - almost all barre work - beginners pointe (I had had a broken ankle so can't do much more than that, and even that's hard right now!)
Tuesday /Thursday/Sunday - Gym workout - 25-30 minutes cardio (random, constantly adjusting levels on the elliptical and treadmill vertical level 13 at 3.5mph, going to a jog at 1.0 vertical about 4.5 mph), then weights for a half-hour or so, stretching and abs (must admit, I skimp a bit on abs).
What I do with weights alternates on the days between upper body and lower body, with some leftover PT for my ankle that I do EVERY time. Abs and stretching are done EACH time, however.
Mixed in with that might be one of those three gym days swimming, which I do only 20 minutes but use pool gloves. Depends on my mood whether I do a full workout or a swim. I try to get at least one or the other on those days.
And often, on Saturdays, I do either a swim or gym workout after pointe class.
On Saturday, this little computer program said I'd earned 500 extra calories because I had a training session (I can't move my arms right now, actually...it were a GOOD session) as well as my pointe class.
On days where I do the heavy workout, I rarely manage to eat all the calories the fitnesspal says I should. I err on the side of fewer when I put in my workout info, too, so's not to seem to be cheating.
What do you think? Where should I concentrate the eating? I do have problems with sugar level dropping during the day (I teach), so am still working on regulating that.
Thanks!0 -
slieber, if you used the Guided goals, you do need to eat all of those calories. They have created a built-in deficit of 500 calories. If you are eating less than that, you are undereating, and that's not a good thing with the amount of activity you're doing. You really do need to take one day off a week, too. Your muscles can only fully repair when you're not using them, and it can take days to do that.
Do you pay any attention to your macronutrients now?
For my level of fitness, 1-1.5 g of protein per lb of bodyweight is recommended. Since you are more into calisthenics and cardio than weights, you'd be good with .7-1 g per lb of bodyweight. Fats can be anywhere from 20-30% of your calories, and carbs make up the rest. Protein is really important, but since you do a lot of cardio, carbs are equally so. If you want to make it easy, You could do 40% carbs, 40% protein, and 20% fat. That might not work out to .7-1 g of protein per lb of bodyweight, but it's easy because you eat equal amounts of carbs and protein. I eat 160 g of each a day, and 38 g of fat.
If you would like to change your goals, you'll have to use the Custom option. To find your caloric needs, perform the
BMR+Daily Activities+Exercise-500 Calories
equation. That is how many calories you need to eat. Then choose 40% for carbs and protein, and 20% for fat. However, it gets a little tricky here. MFP will STILL add calories that you've 'earned', but you'll have to ignore that if you have your own goals. For instance:
My Custom Goals are 1600 cals/day, 160 g protein and carbs, 38 g fat.
When I exercise, it adds about 500-600 calories...so MFP says that my new goal is 2100.
However, I know that I only need 1600 because I want the 500 calorie deficit, and I burnt 2100 calories that day.
It is kind of confusing, I wish they didn't do that for Custom goals.
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Thanks for this! I've copied and printed it to post to my board, yet again.
Taken your advice and have eaten up to my points on WW each day, with one or two over the base points due to exercise. NOW my weight appears to be dropping like a stone. I hope this keeps up. My "before bed" weight is under the 170 mark, with a full meal and wet hair on top of that. That means my weight's actually slightly lower than it shows on the scale.
This morning's weight showed a much lower drop than last week at the same time. I guess my body was going into starvation mode last week.
Thanks so much!! :happy:0 -
The thanks stands but I just read your reply regarding how much to eat, did some figuring with the calculator and am now even more confused.
Sorry to be so dim!
Am I calculating percentage of carbs/protein on bodyweight or on calories?
E.g. if I eat 1500 cals a day, is 40% of that going to be carbs, 40% protein and the rest fats?
If that's the case, then the protein level is around 600g!!!!
Or is it based on weight? If it's based on weight, then I'm looking at 66g of protein, same for carbs and the rest fats.
If you have a calorie intake of 1600 a day, and only .... hang on, I'm beginning to see the light - it's not based on weight OR calorie, is it? Grams and calories are two different animals.
So in that 160g of protein you eat, it would be about 640 calories of proteins, the same for carbs and the rest for fats. Yes?
Please tell me I've finally got it....?
Thanks!
S.0 -
What!? You mean I have to actually pay attention and start going about this the right way.......shoot. LOL
Thanks song, that info is awesome. I weigh in at the gym, wearing the same clothes and shoes every Monday and I use the restroom first! I discovered that with all my clothing on at the gym I am a full 5.5 lbs heavier than buck nekid. How did I figure this beauty out? Weighed in with all clothes on, came home and calibrated home scale to match the gym, stripped down to what the good lord gave me and wah lah, instant weight loss!
good luck ladies :happy:0 -
You really do need to take one day off a week, too. Your muscles can only fully repair when you're not using them, and it can take days to do that.
Do you mean one day off from ALL activity, even basic cardio like walking/hiking, or just from formally working out, weights etc?
Thanks!
Jen.0 -
slieber: That is 40% fo calories from protein and carbs..remember there are 4 calories per g of carbs, and 9 cals per gram of fat.
So, 1500 calories X.4 = 600 *calories*
600/4=150g.
You eat 150 of protein, 150 g of carbohydrates, and 33 g of fat a day.
To figure fat, it's 1500X.2= 300 *calories*
300/9=33
sundaygirl85: Yes, I mean a day off *everything*. You can still get up and do things you need to do, but no hiking/swimming/lifting/elliptical. It's all taxing on your CNS (central nervous system) even if it doesn't feel like it's taxing in your muscles (which it is).
mnbarnum: Clothes do weigh a lot! Shoes too! Unless you get runner's shoes, which are specifically made to be lighter, they will weigh a lb or so.0 -
Thanks! I'm so glad you joined MFP, you're a fountain of knowledge!!0
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Thanks and ditto on all of the rpevious posts teehee..
dd:happy:0 -
Thanks as always. By the way the 40-30-30 is the Zone diet and isn't a nationally recognized guideline.
I have such a hard time taking a day off. Haven't done it in months! (I go over my calories if I do) - I do have easy days where I just walk and/or do yoga though. In my own, justify my own behavior mindset
, I think of those people who live in NYC that walk everywhere and it's not counted as working out. 0 -
slieber: That is 40% fo calories from protein and carbs..remember there are 4 calories per g of carbs, and 9 cals per gram of fat.
So, 1500 calories X.4 = 600 *calories*
600/4=150g.
You eat 150 of protein, 150 g of carbohydrates, and 33 g of fat a day.
To figure fat, it's 1500X.2= 300 *calories*
300/9=33
My bulletin board is getting quite full now!! Thanks so much for making this clearer. I shall now endeavor to eat the amounts you've suggested of each type of food, although with my restrictive diet (gluten and lactose/dairy-free) it'll be something of a challenge.
Thanks again! :happy:0 -
Bumping:drinker:0
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bump :flowerforyou:0
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Wow, this is an old one! I was still planning on going to JMU and hadn't realized my love for teaching yet.
I still agree with everything I said, though! 0 -
I am saving to favs for future bumping!
:flowerforyou:0 -
This is an excellent post. Are you a doctor or nutritionist??
PhD (Dr. ) in Nutrition SDS (Some Day Soon)
Thanks, SBS for the info. I kinda know already where I'm situated, but I liked the ratios-info. I guess I need to be more carefull there...0 -
SBS, thanks for this info...this is great! Can you address the topic of how many minimum calories a morbidly obese person can safely eat per day without doing any damage to her metabolism or body? I of course realize that everyone is different, but is there a general guideline?0
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I
you song! :bigsmile: 0 -
SBS, thanks for this info...this is great! Can you address the topic of how many minimum calories a morbidly obese person can safely eat per day without doing any damage to her metabolism or body? I of course realize that everyone is different, but is there a general guideline?
I wish I could answer that, but I'm nowhere near that specialized. In general, though, morbid obesity is treated with a very large deficit because the risk to the person's health is so great that it's better to drop the weight as quickly as possible and worry about repairing the BMR and muscle mass later on. They will go on VLCD's or sometimes liquid diets of less than 800 calories per day, under a doc's supervision of course.0 -
Great info SBS, thanks for the post,:flowerforyou:
Good luck with school and your competition:bigsmile:0 -
what I'm not doing it right...................that's what I hear all the time :laugh: :laugh:0
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bumping to read later0
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bumping to read when i get the little kids to bed0
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what I'm not doing it right...................that's what I hear all the time :laugh: :laugh:
LOL well lucky for you this just pertains to fat loss, and it looks like you've got it down. :laugh:0
This discussion has been closed.
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