Someone explain to me why I'm gaining weight? :P

TrishJimenez

The quick add calories is just the past few days, I had a lot of things my grandma cooked I had to eat and it's foreign food with no real equivalent here.

As for prior exercise, I used to be a figure skater. I don't exercise as much as I used to but more than most people. My BMR is 1,382 calories. I log everything I eat, and I'm fairly sure the quick adds from those couple days are within 100 calories of actual, I'm a scientist I understand error lol. I wonder if my metabolism is really messed up.

And um, I said 1) disregard the past few days. I don't think my eating choices are poor enough to be a joke, I'm a teenager still so I should technically have a higher metabolism, and I eat healthier than most college students around me...

If you are a teenager maybe you are still growing? You wont reach your full height and mass until you reach your early 20s 21-22 maybe even 23 depending on your ancestry. Maybe you are not getting enough healthy fats like avocados, nuts, etc and enough fiber? It could be a combination of several things all put together. Sodium, glucose in the muscles, and not enough fiber causing you to be a little plugged up. Have some yogurt with live cultures, some whole grains, trust me whole wheat bread and tortillas is not like it used to be. Is actually pretty tasty, and brown rice is not that hard to get used to. That along with the fruit you are eating and things should settle out pretty easily. And I dont know what your water intake is but if your sodium levels are high and you are dehydrated your body will hold on to every drop of water it can get its hands on. And that will make you add inches every where.

LucyvdPelt

besides the water intake - are you sleeping enough?

EngineerPrincess

Darn, I'd better not be growing, I'm already an inch taller than my bf!
And no, I'm not sleeping enough, usually 7-8 hours and I'm always tired but that's college.

I'll keep in mind the sugar and sodium level things, I never look twice at sodium and I have a weakness for sugar and carbs, honestly if I'm still having too many carbs and sugars now you all would have died looking at what I ate when I was still ice skating, I would down half a pizza, or half a french baguette with cheese. T'was ridiculous.

lisa28115

Age 19
Height 5'8
Weight normally 120, recently went to 126
Body Fat% unsure, online tests say anywhere between 18 and 28
And how often you work out? I'm on my feet all day, walk literally miles between classes, and sports/gym 3-5 times a week.

First off you are underweight so no need to lose any.

BMR 1327
TDEE 2057

Perfect weight 145

Eat 2200 daily and lift weights at the campus gym 3 times a week for about 20 mins-45mins.
Dont worry about cardio because you do that running around to classes.
You probably think you are overweight because of the body fat.
You just need to recomposition it to lean tissue.

Your lean mass is quite low for your height so I would definitely eat about 2200-2500 daily for the next 2 weeks to fix your metabolism.
Eat meat as well as 2 cups veg and 2 fruit a day.
Alarming isnt it?!

PS: losing anymore weight now may screw up your hormones even more.
you gaining fat is a side effect of a hormonal imbalance from being underweight and eating too few calories.
So eat.

this ^^^^^^^^

heybales

Darn, I'd better not be growing, I'm already an inch taller than my bf!
And no, I'm not sleeping enough, usually 7-8 hours and I'm always tired but that's college.

I'll keep in mind the sugar and sodium level things, I never look twice at sodium and I have a weakness for sugar and carbs, honestly if I'm still having too many carbs and sugars now you all would have died looking at what I ate when I was still ice skating, I would down half a pizza, or half a french baguette with cheese. T'was ridiculous.

I'm sure it wasn't ridiculous - it was appropriate for your level of activity.

And while your current level may not be as great, it still appears to be more than you think you should eat at.

So you have experience with the fact that with increased activity, comes increased eating.
You may not have the experience before, but you do now, if not having enough to feed your level of activity.

You really don't want to lose muscle mass and make this even harder.

ladyraven68

You're pregnant. Congrats!

Alert the Vatican! :O
lol

And yeah, the foods really are so foreign that I would have needed to have a detailed conversation with my grandmother to figure out what exactly was in the food and what the ingredients are called in english and then done an internet search to find their caloric value, all the while estimating whether her idea of "a dash" is more of a teaspoon or a tablespoon...it really wasn't worth it for a few meals.

Lifting weights is an interesting idea, I'm a bit intimidated though they look so heavy...

As a figure skater, surely weights would have been part of your strength training programme?

I've never seen a skater yet without muscular legs.

EngineerPrincess

I had very muscular legs but that's gone now, and I never lifted weights to do it, just skating in itself and doing different spins and exercises did that. Ice skates are really weights in and of themselves.

Kell_Smurthwaite

Your basic calories allowance before exercise is very low and doesn't give you much wiggle room. Could be that your body has got used to eating lower amounts of calories and your metabolism has evened out to compensate for that. What do you have your desired weekly weight loss set to? Try rejigging it so that you only have it set to lose 1lb a week, which will give you a bit of leeway. Also, if you're a bit more consistent with your exercise your metabolism should become more efficient (from what I understand). I notice some days you don't have any exercise logged at all, then a little on some days, and quite a lot on a couple of days. If yo ueven it out a bit and try to get some exercise every day, even if it's just a long walk after dinner, that could help. make sure you're drinking plenty of liquid. It doesn't have to be water, but water really is the best - it's the stuff of life!

Elleinnz

Goodness girl - you are starving yourself - I think it is time to start treating your body right....as others have commented you are already lower than a healthy weight....
Dan (helloitsdan) is right - eat well - and start lifting - build some muscle

I have not lost weight since September last year - ate around 1400 calories a day - and burned 500 calories 5 to 6 times a week....

About a month ago I upped my calories with 500 calories a day - I now eat more than 2000 calories every day - and I have lost 4kg's (8.8lbs) since easter.....

Excuse the pun, but you have nothing to lose by trying this (upping your calories).....that is your one choice - the other one is that you will be posting "why am i not losing weight / why am I gaining weight" again in a few weeks time, and a few weeks after that....

EngineerPrincess

This *was* upping my calories, I'm not used to reaching 2000. I always feel really full between 1400 and 1800, it seems wrong to eat more when I'm quite full...

boston6

I know you're only 19 but you're away at school & I have to ask....are you consuming alcoholic beverages that you're not logging? Hope you don't take offense at this.

ZoeLifts

Darn, I'd better not be growing, I'm already an inch taller than my bf!
And no, I'm not sleeping enough, usually 7-8 hours and I'm always tired but that's college.

I'll keep in mind the sugar and sodium level things, I never look twice at sodium and I have a weakness for sugar and carbs, honestly if I'm still having too many carbs and sugars now you all would have died looking at what I ate when I was still ice skating, I would down half a pizza, or half a french baguette with cheese. T'was ridiculous.

Not to be hard on you, but 7-8 hours of sleep is the ideal amount of sleep for anyone. I would kill to get that right now at 34, and I certainly wasn't fortunate enough to get that in school, so kudos to you!!

Your last sentence, about when you were ice skating and how much you ate at that time, that is the key that everyone is trying to help you see. You were very active, at a high intense level and had quite a bit of muscle on you (I think you even mention that in another post on how muscular your legs were) and that muscle needed those nutrients and your body did not store it as fat, it used it up as fuel. The same thing still applies. You need to eat more nutrients, gain muscle through strength training, and you will be at an ideal body fat % for your height and weight. You will then find that clothes will fit better, even though the scale may be telling you something you don't like. Ignore the scale, feed your body, be healthy.

I posted this article on another discussion, but it is an eye opener about eating more and strength training for women. It's a good read!! http://www.xojane.com/healthy/lift-weights-to-build-metabolism-eat-whatever-you-want

pinkdayzies2

Are you eating at least every three hours?

beckajw

Age 19
Height 5'8
Weight normally 120, recently went to 126
Body Fat% unsure, online tests say anywhere between 18 and 28
And how often you work out? I'm on my feet all day, walk literally miles between classes, and sports/gym 3-5 times a week.

First, you're a healthy weight to under weight. You may be gaining because your body is trying to normalize itself. You're 19, it's pretty normal to start getting a more adult body, which often means a few extra pounds.

Second, when did you gain this 6 pounds? After the last couple of days? or over a period of weeks. If it's just in a few days, it may not even be real, give it time. It could just be excess sodium.

Third, have you measured inches or just pounds? The scale is really an inaccurate fitness measurement device.

heybales

This *was* upping my calories, I'm not used to reaching 2000. I always feel really full between 1400 and 1800, it seems wrong to eat more when I'm quite full...

Upping calories for short period of time, 1 week even, is not enough for body to know metabolism can be raised, it may have looked at first few days as opportunity to store surplus in case the insanity continued.

And just as many have pointed out, weight by itself is terrible measure of being fit or healthy when you are down in correct range aynawy, because you appear to be at healthy weight, but perhaps you see more flab than when ice-skating.
And perhaps so if you've been doing it wrong, eating too little for level of activity.

And while your body has gotten used to less calories, just eating more usually kicks it up a notch, that's when you know the recovery is happening, you start being hungry again.

And it is not wrong, you mentally tell yourself your body needs this extra good food for your level of activity, and desire to get muscle and lose fat. After you did your first few pizza's while skating and didn't gain any weight, did you continue to think it was a bad thing, or rather you knew it had no effect, therefore who cares?

EngineerPrincess

Eating every three hours isn't practical at school, I often have classes in four hour blocks without actual breaks and most of my classes I can't eat during.
This wasn't over a few days it's been over several weeks I've gained, and it's both inches and pounds.

littlemiss5foot1

boost your metabolism eat every 2- 3 hours munch on carrot sticks, celary ect and drink heaps of water!!!!

try supps like Oxy Eleite its a powder that boost yoru metabolism.

If ur to busy to eat i use Maxines Burn, 200mills of browns Hilo Milk and 1 tb roughly 25 grams and drink that or use water, i sip on that most days put it in a water bottle if u have to disguise it. Also if u cant find maxines just use any low carb protein shake

Hope that helps. im no expert but thats what a few of my fitness freak mates have told me seems to e working

emmalou2206

Hi, I don't think you should be looking to lose anymore weight, I am the same height as you and based on BMI which I don't believe is a good thing to go by at times, the lower end of the healthy weight range is around 117lbs. If you are not happy with the way you look still maybe you just need to tone up (sorry I can't see your profile).

littlemiss5foot1

Hi, I don't think you should be looking to lose anymore weight, I am the same height as you and based on BMI which I don't believe is a good thing to go by at times, the lower end of the healthy weight range is around 117lbs. If you are not happy with the way you look still maybe you just need to tone up (sorry I can't see your profile).

GalaxyDuck

Thanks msliu, I know I don't get enough protein so I bought some shakes. To put things in perspective I am in college and my choices are often restricted to what the dining hall offers, I can't just go and buy and cook my own food I don't have that option sometimes, that's what's with all the tortillas. The only sort of veggies our dining halls offer are soaked in oil. *eyeroll* It's awful.

To all the people asking if this is a joke, that's really not necessary. I'm eating an average of around 1600 and still gaining so it's a valid question.

Good thing you got the protein shakes... its a great start. Maybe you can start replacing those for cereal bars for breakfast (mix them with lowfat milk or water) and have a piece of fruit. That will easily bump up your protein in a healthy manner.

Also- I totally remember college options and feel for you. Try this- when you go for dinner or lunch, load up on veggies (like 2x or 3x what you would normally get) and skip the breads, or get the bread and only eat a little. Then also load up on the meats (protein). If you learn to fill up on meat and veggies... you almost wont even crave the bread after a few days. I understand what you mean about the veggies being soaked in oil... but we all need a little fat in our diets. From what I recall, you were mainly way over on carbs/sugar but not protein or fats. Remember that fat doesn't make you fat, so there is no harm in eating a little. I try to stick around 30-45 g per day.

While I totally agree with almost everything you've said here, the oils that foods are cooked in/soaked in at most universities are not healthy fats. They use the cheapest fats they can, usually Canola & Soybean oil. I do agree that we need fats in our diets, but think you might want to watch what fats you eat while on campus. Some healthier fats can come from sources like avocado (easy to make your own guacamole in your dorm room - I say from experience!) or drizzling some olive oil on your salads instead of a pre-made dressing. Even adding a handful of nuts to a salad is a great way to get in some good healthy fats!