Help.... I gained 2 pounds

itswennndy

I am kicking my butt excercising 5 days a week, running 3 days and kick boxing 2 days, and staying with in my 1200 calories...... but i am not using all of my excercise calories earned....... Could this be the problem??? I'm so frustrated because I thought I was doing good!!!! :sad:

rieann84

are you strength training? it could be all muscle (good!). are you taking measurements? focus on that, too, and not just the scale.

iWaffle

Your weight can fluctuate a couple pounds from day to day depending on what you ate, how regular you are, how sore/swollen your muscles are. Just look at the trend and don't sweat it if you're up a few days. Keep doing the right things and your high days will be lower and lower.

schmenge55

How often are you weighing? Weight, primarily water weight, fluctuates so 2 pounds may or may not be "real"

itswennndy

I am weighing in once a week.... this is only my 3rd week. I was so excited to have lost two pounds last week only to see the scale go up again this week!!! I just don't know what i am doing wrong and I suppose I should take my measurements to see if they change too. Do you use the extra calories you earn in exercising?????

schmenge55

You don't necessarily need to use te exercise calories, you just need to ensure you are taking in enough calories that your body slips into conservation mode. Your diet the day or two before weighing makes a difference too. CarboHYDRATES are called his ad the help retain water. So if you eat a lot of carbs you'll have more water weight. That's why people on low carb diets see fast "progress" but that progress is not fat but water

Gramps251

Could be water weight from muscle repair or too much sodium or other reasons. Make sure you're being honest in your diary, measure yourself when you weigh in and give it time.

MinnieInMaine

Yeah, I would definitely recommend eating back at least some of your exercise calories. With that amount of activity, you are ultimately undereating and your body will start to protest sooner or later. While starvation mode is technically a myth, the body will store fat if it's not getting enough nutrients so eventually your weight loss will stall or you'll gain. Aim to NET somewhere betwee 1200 and your BMR.

As far as why you gained - there could be several reasons. Did you just recently become this active or add in one of those activities? If so, your muscles are probably retaining water and glycogen. Pretty much any time you're sore you're bound to see the effect because it's part of the natural healing process. FYI, you can't gain muscle that quickly - that is a myth!

Have you had any high sodium days lately or is it that time of the month (TOM)? Either of these will also result in water weight.

wahmx3

You will have various opinions on this... personally, I don't think you are eating enough, up your calories and that should help. How much water are you drinking? What is your food like? Sodium? Is it your TOM? It may be a personal question... but many women gain 1-3 pounds around this time.

purpleipod

If you are exercising 5 days a week there is no reason you should not be eating those exercise calories back.

onyxgirl17

Just to give you an idea, and I started the same way you did in May my first three weigh ins were

May 15th: 174
May 22nd: 172 (omg yay!)
May 29th: 174 (omg wtf)
June 5th: 171 (and down from there)

I've now lost 22 pounds since then (4 and a half months in)

ssalmfp

I've been hearing that women can gain a few lbs during their periods (or plateau a bit), so it could be that. I was losing a lot of weight and then abruptly stopped when my period hit. I haven't weighed myself since then (I was weighing everyday, and I was starting to get crazy), but I'm hoping it's true.