GAINED 4 pounds!!! WHAT THE HECK!

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  • seekingstrengthX2
    seekingstrengthX2 Posts: 771
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    Oh my goodness, YES, you need to eat more than 1200 calories. If you EAT 1200, burn 400 and don't eat them back, your body is only getting 800 calories/day. EAT!!!!!!!!!! :bigsmile:
  • sc1572
    sc1572 Posts: 2,309 Member
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    I've learned to NOT go by the machine calories all the time...I got a HRM and here is what happened...

    Elliptical:
    Machine= Around 600 or so for an hour
    HRM= Around 300 or so for an hour
    ^300 calorie difference

    Treadmill:
    Machine= About 450 or so for an hour
    HRM= About 400 or so for an hour
    ^50 calorie difference

    Bike:
    Machine= About 400 calories or so for an hour
    HRM= About 300 or so for an hour
    ^100 calorie difference

    Sometimes, if I can't use my HRM or forgot it or something, I will have to use the machine. However, I always take off some calories, based off of what I've burned in the past with my HRM and what not.

    Also, do you strength train? Have you lost inches? Do you drink a lot of water? Is it TOM? These can all play a factor!

    My last suggestion, don't weigh everyday, and DO eat your exercise calories!

    :)
  • mrpurdy
    mrpurdy Posts: 262 Member
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    4 lbs of muscle? Only Bruce Banner can gain muscle that fast, and only if you make him really angry.

    Ha! This made me laugh out loud. :laugh:
  • wellbert
    wellbert Posts: 3,924 Member
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    Ok, so I DO need to eat back my exercise calories??

    Your net calories are the important bit. So, in a general sense, yes.

    Let's say you need 2000 calories.
    To diet, you eat 1500 calories.

    You exercise 500 calories, and eat 1500 calories.
    Now you've only netted 1000 calories. You need 500 more calories.

    Here's a problem scenario:

    Your serving sizes are bigger than you think. You really ate 1850 calories.
    Your exercise burned less than MFPs database said. Maybe only 300 calories.
    You eat the extra 500 calories.
    You net 2050 calories in reality.

    Of course you can have the opposite problem too, but the above is far more likely.
    This is why a lot of people use a heart rate monitor.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    You know, my husband has often said that you can't trust that darn elliptical and what it says I'm burning! UGH! The workout that I do on the elliptical is VERY INTENSIVE (I am POURING sweat and I feel like I'm going to DIE!!!) but I push through it. It's actually a 35 min.workout now that I think about it. I will estimate that I burned HALF those calories from now on. I will also just eat my 1200 cal. diet. Do you all think that 1200 is ok or should it be a little higher? I appreciate ALL of your advice sooooo much!

    My start weight was 196. My goal weight is 150. My current weight WAS 173 but now I'm 177.

    1200 might be enough on days you don't workout, but on days you workout you should be eating 1200 Net (1200 plus what you burned) If you are using MFP or the machine I would eat back 60-75% of those cals to make up for any overestimation.
  • FrugalMomsRock75
    FrugalMomsRock75 Posts: 698 Member
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    1) Where you are in your lady cycle can totally vary your water weight. If you are either ovulating or getting very close to TOM, your weight can go up. Mine sometimes goes up six or seven POUNDS practically overnight! O.o

    2) If you are working intensely on the elliptical, it isn't out of the question to consider a burn of 10-11 calories per minute. I am at 150ish and burn a good 10 per minute on average doing a 20-30 minute HIIT session. I have found that the machine is inaccurate though. Yesterday, my HRM registered 210 for a 20 minute workout, the machine was 389! Big difference...
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
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    4 pounds of muscle in 2 weeks is not possible. Water.
  • dbvega
    dbvega Posts: 1 Member
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    RE: Your question about the elliptical calorie estimate. I use a heart rate monitor when I use the elliptical and find the elliptical overestimates my calorie burn by 1/3 - 1/2 so using half the number you see is a good conservative strategy - "worst" case is you underestimate a bit which means you may see a bigger drop in weight/inches - a nice thing. Just make sure you are eating right so you aren't losing too much at once. I always try to eat a little less than my food goal for the day to account for overestimates on exercise and forgetting to log in something small.

    I agree with the other poster that if you can afford to buy a heart rate monitor, you should! It will also help if you mix up your workout - you can wear it running, biking, etc. Some of them even work under water for swimming. Keep going - you are doing GREAT!
  • ademiter
    ademiter Posts: 176 Member
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    I've learned to NOT go by the machine calories all the time...I got a HRM and here is what happened...

    Elliptical:
    Machine= Around 600 or so for an hour
    HRM= Around 300 or so for an hour
    ^300 calorie difference

    Treadmill:
    Machine= About 450 or so for an hour
    HRM= About 400 or so for an hour
    ^50 calorie difference

    Bike:
    Machine= About 400 calories or so for an hour
    HRM= About 300 or so for an hour
    ^100 calorie difference

    Sometimes, if I can't use my HRM or forgot it or something, I will have to use the machine. However, I always take off some calories, based off of what I've burned in the past with my HRM and what not.

    Also, do you strength train? Have you lost inches? Do you drink a lot of water? Is it TOM? These can all play a factor!

    My last suggestion, don't weigh everyday, and DO eat your exercise calories!

    :)

    THANK YOU!!! I don't do any strength training and I know I need to. Since I started in Jan. I have lost inches in my waist. I need to drink MORE water!
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    THANK YOU!!! I don't do any strength training and I know I need to. Since I started in Jan. I have lost inches in my waist. I need to drink MORE water!

    If you don't strength train why did you think any of the gain would be muscle?
  • ademiter
    ademiter Posts: 176 Member
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    THANK YOU!!! I don't do any strength training and I know I need to. Since I started in Jan. I have lost inches in my waist. I need to drink MORE water!

    If you don't strength train why did you think any of the gain would be muscle?

    The elliptical workout is very intensive for my lower body so I thought it might be muscle gained in my legs.
  • slim_photographer
    slim_photographer Posts: 310 Member
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    Ok I'm on the same boat but my understanding is this:
    2 weeks ago I was 231.4 with 34% fat
    1 week ago I was 228 with 33% fat
    today I am 231.4 with 32.5% fat.
    If you do the math there's about a 4 pound re-composition from fat to muscle/fiber.
    So If you are training intensively chances are you are getting leaner.
    Plus think about how you feel, how your clothes fit, you probably feel great and you clothes should feel loose as 4 pound ago.
    There's also something to be said about undereating, working too hard and overstimating calories, just pay more attention to those variables.
    Overall stay consistent, eat right and exercise you will see results, sooner or later (later is not ideal but I'm sure you'll take it).
    :)
  • ademiter
    ademiter Posts: 176 Member
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    Ok I'm on the same boat but my understanding is this:
    2 weeks ago I was 231.4 with 34% fat
    1 week ago I was 228 with 33% fat
    today I am 231.4 with 32.5% fat.
    If you do the math there's about a 4 pound re-composition from fat to muscle/fiber.
    So If you are training intensively chances are you are getting leaner.
    Plus think about how you feel, how your clothes fit, you probably feel great and you clothes should feel loose as 4 pound ago.
    There's also something to be said about undereating, working too hard and overstimating calories, just pay more attention to those variables.
    Overall stay consistent, eat right and exercise you will see results, sooner or later (later is not ideal but I'm sure you'll take it).
    :)

    THANKS SO MUCH! :)
  • lisakyle_11
    lisakyle_11 Posts: 420 Member
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    likely overestimating the exercise cals... and possibly underestimating the amount of food you are taking in on a daily basis. i would cut the exercise cals in half if i were you. have you taken any measurements?
  • Awkward30
    Awkward30 Posts: 1,927 Member
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    Ok I'm on the same boat but my understanding is this:
    2 weeks ago I was 231.4 with 34% fat
    1 week ago I was 228 with 33% fat
    today I am 231.4 with 32.5% fat.
    If you do the math there's about a 4 pound re-composition from fat to muscle/fiber.
    So If you are training intensively chances are you are getting leaner.
    Plus think about how you feel, how your clothes fit, you probably feel great and you clothes should feel loose as 4 pound ago.
    There's also something to be said about undereating, working too hard and overstimating calories, just pay more attention to those variables.
    Overall stay consistent, eat right and exercise you will see results, sooner or later (later is not ideal but I'm sure you'll take it).
    :)

    Sorry, but it is more likely that whatever you are using to measure BF% is inconsistent (is it a scale?) My boyfriends scale has told me I was between 24 and 28% over the last 3 days. They are VERY sensitive to hydration levels. You cannot turn fat to muscle and I really don't believe that even as a novice you can put on 4 pounds of muscle as a woman in a calorie deficit in 2 weeks.
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
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    Ok I'm on the same boat but my understanding is this:
    2 weeks ago I was 231.4 with 34% fat
    1 week ago I was 228 with 33% fat
    today I am 231.4 with 32.5% fat.
    If you do the math there's about a 4 pound re-composition from fat to muscle/fiber.
    So If you are training intensively chances are you are getting leaner.
    Plus think about how you feel, how your clothes fit, you probably feel great and you clothes should feel loose as 4 pound ago.
    There's also something to be said about undereating, working too hard and overstimating calories, just pay more attention to those variables.
    Overall stay consistent, eat right and exercise you will see results, sooner or later (later is not ideal but I'm sure you'll take it).
    :)

    Unless your getting a DEXA scan every time, there's no way those body fat numbers are accurate. Calipers have a 4% error margin, and Bodyfat scales and handhelds have about an 8% error margin.

    No way you dropped 1.5% body fat in 2 weeks, with no change in weight, because the math doesn't work. That would require a 2 week deficit of 21000 calories, or a 1500 calorie deficit per day. And with an extreme deficit like that, it would be physically impossible to add any muscle mass at all, you just wouldn't have the calories available to do it. Thermodynamics and math don't lie.
  • ademiter
    ademiter Posts: 176 Member
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    likely overestimating the exercise cals... and possibly underestimating the amount of food you are taking in on a daily basis. i would cut the exercise cals in half if i were you. have you taken any measurements?

    I think this is the likely culprit too. My measurements are the same, so nothing has changed there since I last checked a few weeks ago.

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