Gaining weight with exercise

2gabbee

Why is it for weeks now I lose then gain, lose then gain? I have been more active then I ever have in this lifetime. Exercising every day. Changing type of activities I'm doing from walking, zumba, step & core, some weights, Started back into Tae Bo. With weather getting nice doing gardening. My point is I change it up for variety & so I don't get bored. Muscle weighs more I get that. I see members week after week losing on a steady rate. I keep my calories at 1200. When I increased to 1300 I gained some of what I had loss. Eat fish,vegies, fruit. No bread unless gluten free. Don't bring junk in house. Drink green tea, water. I loss more weight in the past not exercising at all! Frustrated open to positive suggestions in what has worked for those losing weight each week. Are you eating more fiber, using whey or protein drinks, juicing things I'm looking into trying. Thank you for your time & support.

rileysowner

Not knowing more about you doesn't help. All I can discover from what I can see of your profile is that you are a 54 year old female who has a lot to lose. No height information and no weight information. Not seeing your food diary, I can't comment on that either. Based on this, it is sort of difficult to try to help.

Some suggestions,

1) Measuring food. Measuring food is very important. If you are going to do this not only do you need to log everything you consume no matter how small, but you need to measure it carefully. The vast majority of people estimate their portions incorrectly. Free pouring stuff is not good. I would suggest a kitchen scale for food items that include a weight amount and use that as the volume equivalent is an estimate while the weight is precise. For foods that are measured by volume, most liquid things, use actual measuring spoons and cups to get an accurate measure. If you have been doing this, good for you. If not, start so you can be sure on the amounts you are actually eating.

2) Eating the calories you burn during exercise. MFP includes your calorie deficit without exercise. If you exercise you take that reasonable deficit and make it a huge deficit. Along with this selecting an appropriate activity level is important. Eating a huge deficit will hinder weight lose in the long run, and for some people in the short run.

3) Make sure you don't have any medical issues that could hinder weight loss. This would include things like thyroid function problems, metabolic disorders, PCOS, and the like. Your doctor can test for these. For that matter, check any prescription medication you are on as some of these will hinder weight loss as well.

There are probably other things I am forgetting, but this at least gives you a place to start.

Drastiic

What I'm getting from her profile and post is that she is trying to lose 100 lbs, but only eating 1200-1300 calories. She's under-eating and over training.

AZackery

Hi 2gabbee. Please don't compare yourself to other people. Your body is special. How often do you weigh yourself and under what condition? How much weight are you trying to lose in a week? Scale weight loss and fat loss aren't the same thing. I think you should up your calories. Do you eat blackeye peas?

I aim to eat 1500 calories a day, sometimes a little more, due to the intense workouts that I do. I don't focus on scale weight. I focus on my body fat percentage, pounds of fat and inches loss. I'm on the slow road. I aim to lose 2 to 4 100% pounds fat. Trial and error.

Don't gauge your success on scale weight. If you are losing inches, you are doing good. Scale weight doesn't determine the size clothes a person wears or even if a person is healthy or not. Keep up the good work. Baby steps and patience is the key.

MoreBean13

You should open up your diary to get better answers, but I think 1200-1300 calories sounds too low. I don't know about overtraining, because I have no idea the length or intensity of these workouts you're doing and how many calories you're burning. Going from 1200 to 1300 and gaining weight must have been scary, I understand that totally, especially when you're working so hard! With 100 lbs to lose you can probably lose on 1200 or 1300 cals for a while, but unless you are planning on maintaining at 1300 calories for the long term, you probably want to up your calories. It may make you fluctuate a few pounds at first but ultimately it will allow you to eat more fuel while still losing weight.

tigersword

What I'm getting from her profile and post is that she is trying to lose 100 lbs, but only eating 1200-1300 calories. She's under-eating and over training.

This.

2gabbee

I'm 5'4 have appx 100 I want to lose. I started eating back my exercise calories only to gain. I gained this weight due to medical issues and medication. Several Dr & tests later found out I had a ten pound tumor which has been removed a few years ago. It's taken time to get my iron levels near where they should be. I was over tired due to lack of oxygen in my blood so didn't exercise. Add asthma with steriods which I have eliminated the steriods I'm trying to lose 1-2 pounds a week so not unreasonable. I working on
getting past 5-6 glasses of water. Thank you to each of you for your support & help.





Bump to read answers for help.

rileysowner

How many calories would MFP give you at a 1 pound per week goal? I would suggest doing that rather than two per week. If you have been eating really low calorie for a long time, your metabolism has likely slowed to compensate which will make things more difficult. How long did you eat your exercise calories back? If it was only for a short time, you would likely need to allow more time for the adjustment.

Just for a baseline, I did some guessing at your weight at about 220 to calculate you estimated Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) using this site, http://www.fitnessfrog.com/calculators/tdee-calculator.html At 5'4", 54 years old, female it gives a TDEE number for little or no exercise as 1985. Your BMR is 1659. Just so you know TDEE is the amount of calories you would need to eat to maintain your weight. Anything under 1985, assuming your metabolism is in the normal range, and you should lose weight. BMR is the minimum number of calories needed to keep your vital functions going with no activity at all. So if you were in a coma, you would still need that number.

Ideally, if you are a sedentary individual you would want to eat between those two numbers. Since you have a lot to lose, your body should be able to handle a larger calorie deficit.

Having said this, your previous health issues could very likely have changed what your real numbers are compared to these estimates, but it seems 1200 calories without eating your exercise calories is not working for you. Eating less than that would not be advisable so I would say don't do that.

Finally, if you have not taken measurements, do so now (at least chest, waist, hips) since the scale can often not change but your measurements can still go down meaning you are losing fat. If your measurements are going down with exercise, you will eventually lose weight too.