Need some help here...

court617

Can anyone tell me how working out and eating 1200 calories (NET) is helping me GAIN weight?! I've been working hard for 2 weeks. And this week I just gained back the three lbs I lost. And it took me WEEKS to lose those. I don't understand what I'm doing wrong. I'm about to throw the scale out the window.

Can anyone suggest some things that might help me jump start this. I need to lose 20 lbs in 2 months. And it would appear that working out and eating right aren't doing it for me haha.

Shellyyy7928

Are you eating back your exercise calories? If not, then your body may not be getting enough fuel. Mfp works off a calorie deficit so it gives you the amount of calories you would need to eat without exercise to lose weight. So if you exercise you need to eat atleast some of those calories back otherwise your body will hold onto whatever you are feeding it.

jigglewiggles

The same thing is happening to me. I gained a little over 2 lbs back and it won't leave. I don't know how this happened either. I'm also getting extremely frustrated.

court617

I make sure to eat those back... that's what I mean by 1200 net. If I am given some calories back from exercise, I usually eat those and yet still stay around 1200 calories a day. If that makes sense.

s00kied

Are you drinking the water? If not, you may be retaining fluid.

lisajaneburgess

What about sodium intake are you watching that also?

tinana_RN

1200 net, with exercise, does not sound like it's enough right now for you. You may need some more. I don't know what you're eating or how much you're exercising, but your body might just need more fuel.

_canuckrunner_

A couple of thoughts, if you're working out a lot you could be gaining muscle which weighs more than fat (are you losing inches?) and the other thought is that if you are now eating a higher proportion of carbohydrate in your diet then carbs hang onto water.

HelloSweetie4

I have been having the same problem. A few people on MFP suggested I up my calorie intake. The eat more, weigh less method.I think I may try it out.

vjrose

Since your diary is private here's a suggestion or two. Are you tracking sodium and carbs? Eating more means eating more healthy foods, I had to strike a careful balance to get 1200 net and the weight loss to dovetail but it works honest and I was super skeptical. One good question is what your BMR is and your TDEE and are you really somewhere between the two? If you were eating low but your body is still underfunded it will try to store up fuel. So do the match and see if you are striking the perfect balance. There is a spreadsheet that helps a bunch and it was dead on, I started following that a lot better and I started losing 1-2 lbs a week. If you are very close to the ideal weight cut your settings back to .5lbs.

Oh well, too many suggestions, you have likely looked at all of that but it's the ones I see most often when someone is struggling.

hairmama1

I found this great info here on myfitnesspal.com. Hope it helps.

---

I often hear people asking why eating your exercise calories is a good thing?
These people think 'That's extra calories burned, so that will speed up my weight loss.'
Well, yes and no.

The thing is, your body needs fuel.
Your metabolism, typically around between 1200 and 1800 calories, are the calories that your body will burn, during the day, e...very day. Even if you sat around on the sofa, or slept, or were in a coma. You would need this to allow natural processes like hair/nail growth, skin replenishment, organ function, etc to continue.
That's why it's very dangerous to eat anything under 1200 calories!

So, lets take the average 1500 calorie metabolism.
- If you live a sedentary lifestyle (desk job or no exercise), you would probably only burn 300 - 500 calories in a day by moving around. So you need 1800 - 2000 calories to maintain.
A significant amount of the population leads a sedentary lifestyle, so most doctors recommend 2000 calories a day is good.
- If you live a lightly active lifestyle (job involving some walking or some exercise (1/2 days) then you'd burn around 500 - 700 by moving around. So you need 2000 - 2200 to maintain.
- If you are quite active (some manual labour or exercise 3 - 5 days/week) then that's probably 700 - 900. Thus, you need 2200 - 2400 calories to maintain.
- And if you are very active (manual job or exercise 6 - 7 days/week) then you're burning around 1000. So, you need about 2500 calories to maintain.

This is your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (or TDEE)

MFP will set your deficit at what you want 0.5/1/1.5/2 lbs/week or -250/-500/-750/-1000 calories below your TDEE.

Simple, right?

Well, ish. Let's take an average scenario:

--

Meet Jane. She weighs 200lbs, and wants to lose 50lbs.
Jane has a metabolism of 1500. She leads a sedentary lifestyle, so she burns about 2000 calories per day.
Jane wants to lose 1lbs/week

MFP calculates Jane's calorie intake and deducts 500 calories. She will require 1500 calories to lose 1lbs/week.

But Jane decides she will start running.
Jane burns 400 calories when she runs for 30 minutes.
She does not eat back those 400 calories.

Jane is now NETTING 1100 calories.

*NET = Calories Consumed - Calories Burned from Exercise
You're NET should equal your CALORIE GOAL to achieve weightloss.

Because of the extra activity, 400/1500 of the calories consumed have been burnt by Jane. That means the body must function on only 1100 calories per day to allow natural processes like hair/nail growth, skin replenishment, organ function to continue.

THUS, Jane's metabolism drops* to meet her NET calories (1100).
NB* This may take several weeks and will not respond to occasionally high deficits.
Over the same period of time, Jane's body will respond to the huge caloric defecit and try to preserve the body, by burning Jane's muscle rather than her fat. The number on the scale drops, but Jane does not seem to get any skinnier.

Now she burns 1600 calories on sedentary days, and 2000 calories on exercise days.

When Jane has lost 50lbs and returns to normal eating, she can only eat 1600 calories on sedentary days or she will gain weight again.

HOWEVER. If Jane decides to eat back the 400 calories:

She continues to lose 1lbs/week
Her metabolism will increase because (a) she is exercising (which increases the metabolism) and (b) because she is eating 1900 calories (the more calories she eats, the more her metabolism is raised.)
However, her NET calories remain at 1500, so she achieves ideal weightloss.
When Jane reaches her goal of 150lbs, her metabolism will be faster so she is able to eat more than 2000 calories to maintain her weight.

--

Do you see? But eating back her exercise calories, Jane is able to continue her weightloss without damaging her metabolism for the future.

Exercising and then eating back your calories is just about the best thing you could do for your weightloss. It raises your metabolism, allows you to eat more, and helps to tone/build muscle rather than burn it so you don't get that flabby look of loose skin.

I really hope this helps someone.

LizKurz

Since your diary is private here's a suggestion or two. Are you tracking sodium and carbs? Eating more means eating more healthy foods, I had to strike a careful balance to get 1200 net and the weight loss to dovetail but it works honest and I was super skeptical. One good question is what your BMR is and your TDEE and are you really somewhere between the two? If you were eating low but your body is still underfunded it will try to store up fuel. So do the match and see if you are striking the perfect balance. There is a spreadsheet that helps a bunch and it was dead on, I started following that a lot better and I started losing 1-2 lbs a week. If you are very close to the ideal weight cut your settings back to .5lbs.

Oh well, too many suggestions, you have likely looked at all of that but it's the ones I see most often when someone is struggling.

I'm curious bout this spreadsheet of which you're speaking......

AReasor

Your body is doing 2 things.
1) Losing fat.
2) Building muscle

Muscle weighs more than fat. It is not uncommon for the scale to go up when you first start(esp when you are working out hard). Start going by inches lost. At a certain point things will level out.

Keep going!:flowerforyou:

Shellyyy7928

If you open your diary people might be able to help more. And maybe give your numbers?(height, weight, bmr, tdee, ect)

Do you feel full at those 1200net? If not you could try and up them a bit. And Maybe track your sodium, it could be water retention.

Oh and if you are pretty close to your goal weight, and you have it set to lose 2lbs a week (not sure if you do) you might want to change it to like 0.5 a week. The closer you are to your goal the harder it is for it to come off.

Ps. Not to be creepy but does the 617 stand for the Boston area code? Lol

Emv79

There can be multiple reasons why (I've been there):
1. If you are working out more than before, weight gain can be muscle (which is not a bad thing as muscle allows you to burn more calories even when you rest), as muscle weighs more than fat.
2. If you're not eating back the calories you burn off in your workouts or eating less than suggested, you are setting yourself up to fail (you'll see pounds coming off quickly at first and then come back with a vengeance, even if you do everything the same)
3. We're women, if you're anywhere close to getting your period or have it, then water retention happens (it goes away, but yes, it can be frustrating).
4. You're not getting enough water (your body retains what it can). You should try to drink 6 glasses of water (about 8 cups) a day and if you workout, more. Try to have them throughout the day (not chugging it all at once )
5. Sodium. If you log your food, pay special attention to sodium. You always want to be at or bellow the suggested mg and like water, have your sodium spread out in the day. A good way to do this is to eat 6 times a day (3 meals, 3 snacks....and make sure not to skip breakfast).

I know it's frustrating, I've been there...but stick with it!

vsay215

I am new at this also and can not get it right either.

court617

Keep the suggestions coming! I'm listening to all of them!

I'll add sodium to the diary to see if that might be part of the problem. I drink a good amount of water every day... probably around 80 oz or so daily, so I don't think it's lack of water.

I'm going to start over today, we'll see if this week I can make a few changes and see if anything changes. I have also been thinking about lifting, gaining more muscle. I realize that will keep the scale where it is but I'd feel better I think. As lame as it sounds too, I'm wondering if I should get a different scale too. There's something fishy about this one. I like digital ones, but the fact that it changes so much depending on where it's placed isn't helping. Not to mention the fact that I can step on it and be one weight and try again 2 seconds later and be a few lbs different. I'm almost convinced that giving up on a scale is the right thing for a while too... like I should be more worried about how I FEEL than numbers.

I'm just frustrated because I'm 165lbs now and was 140 lbs last summer. I'm 5'6" and I feel so badly. I'm trying to get back to where I was last year and it's not happening at all. I just can't figure out why. Normally when I start a weight loss program I lose a few lbs the first week but that's not how it's happening. It's taking a long time to lose and then it doesn't stay off! I'm not going to get anywhere at this rate and it's really affecting me mentally. Not to be a whiner... haha

ladyraven68

What is your BMR? For many eating below their BMR affects weight loss.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/538381-in-place-of-a-road-map?

ladyraven68

Since your diary is private here's a suggestion or two. Are you tracking sodium and carbs? Eating more means eating more healthy foods, I had to strike a careful balance to get 1200 net and the weight loss to dovetail but it works honest and I was super skeptical. One good question is what your BMR is and your TDEE and are you really somewhere between the two? If you were eating low but your body is still underfunded it will try to store up fuel. So do the match and see if you are striking the perfect balance. There is a spreadsheet that helps a bunch and it was dead on, I started following that a lot better and I started losing 1-2 lbs a week. If you are very close to the ideal weight cut your settings back to .5lbs.

Oh well, too many suggestions, you have likely looked at all of that but it's the ones I see most often when someone is struggling.

I'm curious bout this spreadsheet of which you're speaking......

It could be this one, http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/510980-my-gift-excel-spreadsheet-for-bmr-tdee-cut-build-and-ma?

Or the one by hey bales in the eating for future you group.

lornathewizzard

I think the key thing here first of all is not to lose heart. At the end of the day, you didn't put those unwanted lbs on in a week, you need to give them time to come off.
If you think about it, in order to have put on 1lb of 'actual' fat in a week, you'd need to have eaten 3500 calories over maintenance calories for that week. Now I know you haven't done that without having to even see your diary. Water is the most likely culprit, so keep the good water intake up and like others have said, keep an eye on the sodium, as this will make you retain fluid.
Personally, if you've only got 20lbs to lose, I would suggest upping the calorie intake. Change your goals to lose 0.5 or 1lb a week, which will up your goal calories. I know it seems counter-intuitive, but trust me, eating more does work. You need to fuel your body, not only for you to use with all that exercise and recovery from exercise, but there is absolutely no use in eating hardly anything and feeling miserable.
And unfortunately, the long haul way is the best way. More time to develop new habits and change old ones, means more chance of sticking to them.

And sometimes - just ignore those bloody scales, they are evil!

Emv79

I'll add sodium to the diary to see if that might be part of the problem. I drink a good amount of water every day... probably around 80 oz or so daily, so I don't think it's lack of water.

I'm going to start over today, we'll see if this week I can make a few changes and see if anything changes. I have also been thinking about lifting, gaining more muscle. I realize that will keep the scale where it is but I'd feel better I think. As lame as it sounds too, I'm wondering if I should get a different scale too. There's something fishy about this one. I like digital ones, but the fact that it changes so much depending on where it's placed isn't helping. Not to mention the fact that I can step on it and be one weight and try again 2 seconds later and be a few lbs different. I'm almost convinced that giving up on a scale is the right thing for a while too... like I should be more worried about how I FEEL than numbers.

Sodium may not be the culprit, but you should always track it. Many low cal/low fat foods are really high in sodium (that's how they get it to taste like something decent! lol).

As for the scale, I totally get you: got a new one about 4 months ago as I kept getting different readings. Best thing is to have it level, and then weigh yourself 3 times at 2-3min intervals. If it varies by more than .5lbs, GET A NEW ONE! I used the scale at first (I'm 5'10'' and I was 195lbs at my heaviest) at it proved good motivation. However, I drilled myself to only weigh-in once a week (this prevented me from the "panic" mood from normal fluctuations). I noticed that every month, I'd have at least 1 week per month where the weight would either stay the same or go up, but it would go back to normal (going down) the week after. When I got down to 170lbs and started integrating weights to my workouts, I stopped using the scale and used a pair of jeans as my measurement tool (suggestion I had found on-line). I did that for 3 months as I did not want again, to get depressed by seeing the numbers on a scale go up from this healthy transition. When I checked (recently), I only lost 10lbs in 4 months, but I was literally floating in the jeans! Fact is, numbers are not everything. I'm going back to checking weight now as part of my new training program, but also measurements, endurance, muscle mass, etc.

I will say that 20lbs in 2 months is allot. I encourage you whatever you chose, but for something to stick, you should not be exceeding 1.5, max 2lbs per week. Think about it: it took you longer than 2months to gain the 20lbs, it's normal that it takes longer than 2months to lose it (and keep it off!).