Dieting but started exercising and gaining weight - HELP!

ginafranklin2
ginafranklin2 Posts: 11 Member
in Food and Nutrition
My projected caloric intake to lose 2 lbs/week is 1250 calories. I've been dieting for almost 2 months but recently started exercising and instead of losing weight like before, I'm now gaining weight. The only exercise I'm doing is yoga (vinyasa, hatha, hot biram). I'm taking classes 4-5 times/week. I started a couple of weeks ago.

Am I supposed to eat ALL of my exercise calories?

Also, I calculated my military body fat % and got a BMR based on the Katch-McArdle Formula and it says that my caloric intake should be around 1800 calories for lightly active (one up from sedentary).

I'm so confused! There are all these different formulas and everyone has different reasons. I try to keep to the simple "calories in = calories out" strategy, but I'm gaining weight with the deficit.

Has anyone had this problem before? At one point, I saw a bariatric doctor and he advised me to do no exercise and only walk 30 min/ day for 2.5 lbs a week. But, I really don't want to stop yoga.

Replies

  • MaraDiaz
    MaraDiaz Posts: 4,604 Member
    A new exercise program can cause muscles to retain water weight in order to repair.

    Also, yes you are supposed to eat your exercise calories back, however even good heart rate monitors can be off quite a bit (especially for women) and estimates on websites are even more likely to be off. Also, do you measure your food to be sure you are eating exactly the portion size you think you are?
  • cjgunn59
    cjgunn59 Posts: 1
    Yes, this has happened to me. Start using your measurements as your losses instead of the scale.
  • Julicat6
    Julicat6 Posts: 231 Member
    What works for me is to only eat about 1/2 of my exercise calories back. My suggested intake for sedentary is 1230, I walk and/or do Zumba most days. I have a FitBit for tracking activity. The majority of days I only eat back around 1/2 of my exercise calories. I am having good results with that strategy right now. This results in around 1400-1600 calories eaten most days. I think the only people who need to eat back all of them are people who are weight training or doing high-intensity workout, also possibly people with only a few lbs to lose. I have lost right at 50 lbs(did WW before MFP) and still have about 50 lbs to go, so my body operates fine on a little less, also I think MFP may overestimate calories burned. Just what is working for me, if I eat less than that I tend to not lose, and if I eat them all back I also see minimal loss.
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
    It's water retention from the new exercise program. Be patient.
  • PaveGurl
    PaveGurl Posts: 244 Member
    I exercise most days, but I still have my volumes set as sedentary - a workout is a tiny portion of my office-bound life, so I don't count myself as "active."

    Also: I second the water retention for muscle repair. Exercise is not a weight loss tool so much as a health tool. There are myriad studies demonstrating this.
  • Athijade
    Athijade Posts: 3,300 Member
    Open your diary so people can make more educated guesses as to what might be happening...
  • withchaco
    withchaco Posts: 1,026 Member
    If you are eating your exercise calories, DO NOT take your exercise into account when choosing your activity level. Your exercise can only count once: whether you count it for your activity level, or you count it for your logging/ calories, choose only one.

    Also keep in mind that MFP tends to overestimate your exercise calories... Get a heart rate monitor (one with a chest strap) for a more reliable calorie burn estimation.

    But yeah, the little weight gain is probably water.

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