rant WTF am i doing wrong?

Meg_78

Hey guys, I need to rant, I don't understand my body...maybe its just MFP, but i I have all my settings almost as high as i can go (I can add another 100 Cal's if i change my active level) but it seams that;
When I'm set to maintain, I lose, and fast.
-250 Cal deficit = maintain
-500 Cal deficit = 0.5lb per week gain
So would this mean I would need a -750 per week deficit to gain, thats a net of 2400 and around 2650 on exercise or lift days. I don't know how I can do that, seriously I'm 101 lbs, I'm eating between 100-115g protein a day at the moment on 2160, and I'm over my fat levels every day which I hate, and i don't even want to know what my sugar looks like some days. I want to do this reasonably healthily, but i find I have been cutting out my usual amount of vegetables to add more calorie dense foods which is abserd.

My down falls tend to be breakfast and lunch, breakfars i eat with a limited time, so I need some fast healthy high calorie dense ideas. Lunch I eat on the run, usually in transit, so its just a sandwich, and some fruit. Going to get busy with some different muffin type things I can bring with me to eat, but ideas are welcome

But guys, really, am I doing something obviously wrong here?? do I need to be so afraid of the fats? Any meal suggestions? But remember I am a small girl, I can only eat so much in one meal and i HATE bananas (except in my muffins)

Meg

joshalapp

Meg you've got a crazy metabolism like myself. I'm eating almost 2000 calories over my maintenance and barely gaining weight.
Add shakes to your diet for easy calories...my fat intake is quite high but a good chunk of it is healthy fats (nuts) so it doesn't bother me at all.
Try this for a shake: 1/4-1/2 cup walnuts. 1/2 cup frozen mango. 1.5cups milk. (or OJ) Some sort of protein powder. (I use Vi-shape) Scale it back a bit if it's too big for you. It's also good with frozen raspberries in there. Walnuts have close to 400 calories per half cup.

JonesJennings

I think MFP was designed primarily for people with slower metabolisms, so the calorie goals might be a little low. I set my goal to 3000, with 20% protein, and have been gaining a little.

Meg_78

Thanks guys. So i have set my mfp goals to the Max and I'll just have to attempt to push it over, I are alot of my days are good fats too (I forget that) but why do those red numbers look so nasty.

Lol not funny, but cause I always weigh in Fri morn, I did a test weigh in last night 103.4 before bed, 101.1 this morn, I lost 1.7lbs in 5 hrs sleep, now tell me where that went??

LovesGG

Hey, when I wasn't gaining, I also set my MFP settings to the max. Turns out, I was barely gaining a pound a week and I plateaued a few weeks after... even on the max setting. I had to do a manual increase to 2500 calories to start seeing results again. In my experience, the "You will be ___ lbs in 5 weeks" in the food diary has been more accurate than MFP's automatic settings for my fast metabolism. You don't have to buy everything low-fat and 2% milk unless you're watching your cholesterol. You don't have to be afraid of frying food every now and then especially if you're exercising regularly. Fats are the highest (though, perhaps not the best) source of calories.

bluetzu

well, to be honest that info is very limited to diagnose it may be
your training style
types of carbs slow / fast
types of protein slow / fast
amount of bcaa's
electrolite levels
but I would suspect you may be working out too much as an offhand guess or possibly working out improperly not sure as to what ur training schedule is or what format u are following
as far as the weight loss during rest i would suspect a big loss like that to be water loss but make sure to supliment before sleep on workout nights and immediately in the morning
ps 8 hours of sleep every day is a very important growth factor

Meg_78

Half of those I can't answer...re the fast/slow carb and proteins, or my electrolyte levels, or even what bcca's are, but as for my work out. I'm lifting for about 40-50 min 2-3 times a week, and I do 25 min circuit training x1per week , which hardly seems excessive and I eat an extra 200-300 on those days. As for the sleep, yeah 8 hours would be fantastic but as a full time working mum, its not gonna happen anytime soon LOL....I guess if these are the things that are so important, I'll just have to keep struggling along with slow gain.

well, to be honest that info is very limited to diagnose it may be
your training style
types of carbs slow / fast
types of protein slow / fast
amount of bcaa's
electrolite levels
but I would suspect you may be working out too much as an offhand guess or possibly working out improperly not sure as to what ur training schedule is or what format u are following
as far as the weight loss during rest i would suspect a big loss like that to be water loss but make sure to supliment before sleep on workout nights and immediately in the morning
ps 8 hours of sleep every day is a very important growth factor

sevenminaya

@Cocos_mum take a look at this: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/583808-dear-people-that-say-large-weight-gain-is-muscle

bluetzu

well don't be let down by slow gain...slow gain is most often quality gain and maintainable
fast gain is usually easily lost and easily got
bcaa brach chain amino acids are reported to help in cases where nutritive intake is close to minimum necessary levels
you may need to shock your body try working out 4 days a week or 1 day for a few weeks my gains slow after about 6 months in a pattern of training so every 6 months i alter my routine low reps to high reps 3 days a week to 4 sometimes only 2 days a week but then i find i get crazy nightime energy if you want in 3 weeks my doctor has cleared me to start training again after an accident left me at 129 lbs from 155 i could post my training/meal planning for you to look at granted my gains will probably be pretty fast because ill be going up to my normal fight weight but if you think it would help i would do that for ya

Meg_78

Thanks again, yeah I think I was being unrealistic to want to gain so fast...If I want to pack on the pounds I probably could if I ate crap all the time, but then it would just be fat. So as I'm trying to keep to my reasonably healthy (but not totally clean) diet, just bigger amount, I think i need to be pleased that I at least have reasonably steady gain.

Would love to see your meal plans thank you, it will help me to plan my own meals, find some good combos of food maybe! I need to adapt for family eating, but I can tweak my own stuff a bit extra if need be.

Thanks so much again for the help and support!

Meg

well don't be let down by slow gain...slow gain is most often quality gain and maintainable
fast gain is usually easily lost and easily got
bcaa brach chain amino acids are reported to help in cases where nutritive intake is close to minimum necessary levels
you may need to shock your body try working out 4 days a week or 1 day for a few weeks my gains slow after about 6 months in a pattern of training so every 6 months i alter my routine low reps to high reps 3 days a week to 4 sometimes only 2 days a week but then i find i get crazy nightime energy if you want in 3 weeks my doctor has cleared me to start training again after an accident left me at 129 lbs from 155 i could post my training/meal planning for you to look at granted my gains will probably be pretty fast because ill be going up to my normal fight weight but if you think it would help i would do that for ya

bciochetti

I like a few things at Costco if you have them where you live:
Cashews, Almonds and Pumpkin seeds clusters: 150 calories per 5 clusters.
Premier Nutrition Protein Bars: 250+ calories 30g of Protein

Blaqheart

well don't be let down by slow gain...slow gain is most often quality gain and maintainable
fast gain is usually easily lost and easily got
bcaa brach chain amino acids are reported to help in cases where nutritive intake is close to minimum necessary levels
you may need to shock your body try working out 4 days a week or 1 day for a few weeks my gains slow after about 6 months in a pattern of training so every 6 months i alter my routine low reps to high reps 3 days a week to 4 sometimes only 2 days a week but then i find i get crazy nightime energy if you want in 3 weeks my doctor has cleared me to start training again after an accident left me at 129 lbs from 155 i could post my training/meal planning for you to look at granted my gains will probably be pretty fast because ill be going up to my normal fight weight but if you think it would help i would do that for ya

Yes please do post your menu planning. Looking for way to actually gain not lose weight too. At a loss of what to eat to gain weight. :sad:

Here's a topic we've been discussing:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/616028-menu-planning

Blaqheart

NOOOO don't eat crap! I'm desprate to gain too ,but can't fall back on eating crap. :sad: It will not help or make us feel good. It is also not good for us due to rapid gaining. We need slooow steady gain that way we keep the weight.

Hang in there this can be done. :drinker: others have done it and we can too just gotta get the right info on what to eat because we already know how much. :laugh: