Gaining Weight while working out and eat rite.. WHAT GIVE???

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osorio1
osorio1 Posts: 63
in Health and Weight Loss
I am new to this MFP but i have been working out 7 days a week 1-2 hour a day and eating 1200 cals and i cant seem to lose weight??? I am 5'5" now 206.6 lbs. I actually gained 2.6 lbs in the 2 weeks i have been on this... What am i doing wrong?? Any advice would be good. Also what does the net calories mean as well??? I have to eat those back?? I just cant fathom that thought to work out like crazy and then to eat the cals back.....

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  • koosdel
    koosdel Posts: 3,317 Member
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    I am new to this MFP but i have been working out 7 days a week 1-2 hour a day and eating 1200 cals and i cant seem to lose weight??? I am 5'5" now 206.6 lbs. I actually gained 2.6 lbs in the 2 weeks i have been on this... What am i doing wrong?? Any advice would be good. Also what does the net calories mean as well??? I have to eat those back?? I just cant fathom that thought to work out like crazy and then to eat the cals back.....

    Your working out like a mad woman, while on a starvation diet. Don't do that.
  • infamousmk
    infamousmk Posts: 6,033 Member
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    Check out the threads here at the Unofficial MFP FAQ ... it will answer a lot of your questions (even ones you don't even know you have yet) about why you're not seeing the results you'd like:


    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/457-unofficial-mfp-faq
  • ntm76
    ntm76 Posts: 25
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    not enough calories + working out excessively = disaster. Your body is in starvation mode and storing all that you eat. You need to eat a lot more calories if you are going to work out so much. Even if you cut back some on the workouts you still will have to eat more.
  • osorio1
    osorio1 Posts: 63
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    Ok so then i need to eat more???
  • ntm76
    ntm76 Posts: 25
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    yes. if you open your food dairy up for us to see suggestions can be made
  • kristi_asco
    kristi_asco Posts: 183
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    yes you do need to eat more. if you're working out intensely, log all of the calories you burn doing exercises, then try to eat back most of those calories during the day. MFP already calculates a deficit when providing you with a goal number of calories to eat, therefor you are cutting back more than reccomended and not eating any of it back. if you log 600 calories burned from working out for 2 hours, MFP will then tell you your daily calorie goal is now set at 1800 instead of the 1200 you set it as. you should try to eat back most of those 600 calories in order to keep your body from going into starvation mode and storing your fat. this equals out over the course of the week to keep your metabolism going strong.
  • ironanimal
    ironanimal Posts: 5,922 Member
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    Working out is to reduce your fat:muscle ratio, not for weightloss in of itself. The calorie defecit versus your TDEE is what causes you to lose weight. Exercising is beneficial to losing weight however, as more muscle will burn more calories when you're idle or working out. However, if you exercise too hard and are starving your body, your body will attempt to retain anything you put into it and you won't lose weight.

    Net Calories = Calories Consumed - Calories Burned.

    Your net calories need to exceed 1200, and by exercising vigorously and NOT eating the exercise calories back, you are probably well under that 1200 figure. Your net every day needs to be 1200 or more.

    Your net everyday needs to be 1200 or more.

    Up your eating, and report back in a couple of weeks :)
  • rautaty
    rautaty Posts: 44 Member
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    it could be water weight due to exercising, do u do only cardio or u lift weights as well? i'd say stop for 3 days and weight yourself, u might be surprised how fast this weight might come off.
  • cuteness81104
    cuteness81104 Posts: 131 Member
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    I am new to this MFP but i have been working out 7 days a week 1-2 hour a day and eating 1200 cals and i cant seem to lose weight??? I am 5'5" now 206.6 lbs. I actually gained 2.6 lbs in the 2 weeks i have been on this... What am i doing wrong?? Any advice would be good. Also what does the net calories mean as well??? I have to eat those back?? I just cant fathom that thought to work out like crazy and then to eat the cals back.....

    try eating more I know it seems backwards but if you eat more when you wokout like that you will lose weight I had the same problem and I upped my cal intake and workout a ton and it works better
  • firesoforion
    firesoforion Posts: 1,017 Member
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    A lot of people are having this complaint right around now, me being one. Advice from others is to up the protein content in your diet, strength training (you say you work out but thought I'd specify), and don't get disheartened. Everyone goes through this, it'll sort itself out.
  • mallory3411
    mallory3411 Posts: 839 Member
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    At the weight you said you were you should not be eating only 1200 calories a day. I know that's sometimes what MFP tells us but they aren't always right. Working out for 1-2 hours a day and eating only 1200 calories can actually make you gain weight! Your body is not getting nearly enough nurishment that it needs and therefore is holding onto everything you eat because it's in survival/starvation mode. I know we're made to think that less calories and more exercise is the key to losing weight but sometimes that isn't the correct way.

    Look at what you BMR is (there is a calculator under "TOOLS"). This is the amount of calories your body will burn without doing anything. Sometimes best weight loss is eating that amount and sometimes some of your exercise calories earned. My BMR is over 400 calories a day more than the 1200 that MFP told me I should be eating. I have upped my calorie intake daily and am losing more weight.
  • JennieAL
    JennieAL Posts: 1,726 Member
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    A lot of people are having this complaint right around now, me being one. Advice from others is to up the protein content in your diet, strength training (you say you work out but thought I'd specify), and don't get disheartened. Everyone goes through this, it'll sort itself out.

    Love this answer! Some good advice along with compassion, don't see that often enough.
  • rautaty
    rautaty Posts: 44 Member
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    Btw, if u just started exercising and you didn't have any crash diets before this, i can't see how can your body go into starvation mode so soon. I do think that u can: 1. forget or ignore to log some small snacks, that are high in calories ( like small candies etc) or 2. ur muscles are not used to the exercise yet and they retain water in the process. Happened to me last week, went up by 6 pounds, now i took 2 days off and my weight is back to normal.
  • osorio1
    osorio1 Posts: 63
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    Thanks everyone!.. I appreciate everyones advice! I will definately up my cal intake and go from there!... thanks again! :)
  • osorio1
    osorio1 Posts: 63
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    Btw, if u just started exercising and you didn't have any crash diets before this, i can't see how can your body go into starvation mode so soon. I do think that u can: 1. forget or ignore to log some small snacks, that are high in calories ( like small candies etc) or 2. ur muscles are not used to the exercise yet and they retain water in the process. Happened to me last week, went up by 6 pounds, now i took 2 days off and my weight is back to normal.

    Well before this i was only eating 1 time a day!!..My job requires me to drive alot during the day so i would literally not eat a thing until maybe 5pm when i would get home. My water intake was bad too because i didnt want to stop at every gas station to use the washroom. I know my metabolism is/was shot and i know i have to get it to "rev" up again. Now my job has changed a lil so now i do make sure to eat 3 meals a day and snacks too :)
  • rautaty
    rautaty Posts: 44 Member
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    Btw, if u just started exercising and you didn't have any crash diets before this, i can't see how can your body go into starvation mode so soon. I do think that u can: 1. forget or ignore to log some small snacks, that are high in calories ( like small candies etc) or 2. ur muscles are not used to the exercise yet and they retain water in the process. Happened to me last week, went up by 6 pounds, now i took 2 days off and my weight is back to normal.

    Well before this i was only eating 1 time a day!!..My job requires me to drive alot during the day so i would literally not eat a thing until maybe 5pm when i would get home. My water intake was bad too because i didnt want to stop at every gas station to use the washroom. I know my metabolism is/was shot and i know i have to get it to "rev" up again. Now my job has changed a lil so now i do make sure to eat 3 meals a day and snacks too :)

    Ohhh, i see, you might have digestive or urinary problems that could be also the cause of your weight gain. Good choice in changing your life style.:)))

    once a day? hmmm, did u eat over 1200 cals? because if u were eating only 500 to 1000 a day, ur metabolism is slow, in this case eating 1800 would be realy not smart. If u eat more before, then u can easily eat abt 1500 and exercise and u'll see results in few weeks from now. Plus, measuring yourself is a good idea too, the scale is not the best indicator of fat loss.:)

    good luck to you, but people are right, 1200 and if u burn 500 a day= 700 cals, while your resting metabolism is abt 1400, it's still yoyo dieting.Although 1200 is the minimal accepted and many people, that are naturaly skinny do consume abt that much a day, the only difference is that they don't exercise excessevly.

    So, if i was you, i'd give the body a rest for few days just to see if its water weight. If so, then i'd try to get up the calories to about 1400-1500 a day, just to avoid the yoyo effect.

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