5 lbs in 10 days?

mollylaremeter

hello,
when i started Fitness Pal about a year and a half ago, I weighed 121 and was trying to weigh 117. Since then I gained 10 lbs. I know some of that was from a medication which i since stopped. I dont know what I'm doing wrong. According to what I log I should be losing. 10 days ago i weighed myself and was 123 and was super happy. Today I weighed myself and was 128! WTF?!?!?!?! I'm mad! Please help!

onyxgirl17

Probably water weight, you should be aware of water weight fluctuations do to your monthly cycle and such. Some women fluctuate up to 5 pounds in a single day. I know not to weigh myself at certain times of the month or I'd freak out lol

mollylaremeter

thanks...i thought of that but i feel like my stomach rolls are bigger too. if anyone reads this, please feel free to look at my diary and tell me what im doing wrong!

xmusicxlovex

You aren't eating enough with how much you are excercising you have to eat back your calories burned from excercise or atleast some. Your net should say the same as your calorie goal. Also you have to eat atleast 1200 calories are your body will go into starvation mode.

mollylaremeter

You aren't eating enough with how much you are excercising you have to eat back your calories burned from excercise or atleast some. Your net should say the same as your calorie goal. Also you have to eat atleast 1200 calories are your body will go into starvation mode.

so the calorie goal should stay the same regardless of how much I exercise....i need to eat extra if i exercise???

ubermensch13

You aren't eating enough with how much you are excercising you have to eat back your calories burned from excercise or atleast some. Your net should say the same as your calorie goal. Also you have to eat atleast 1200 calories are your body will go into starvation mode.

so the calorie goal should stay the same regardless of how much I exercise....i need to eat extra if i exercise???

Yes! aim at no less than 1200/cals a day. Eat back most if not all your exercise calories, and start lifting weights. Think of it this way, if you filled up your car with gas, and only drove 10 miles a day, but one day drove 30 miles, wouldn't you need to put more gas in your car sooner to keep it going? Think of food as your fuel for you body. When you exercise, you need to feed your body MORE because it is burning off past the minimum calories.

xmusicxlovex

Yes because the calorie goal is already a deficient. The net goal is how many calories you've consumed. Minus the calories you burned from excercise

xmusicxlovex

You aren't eating enough with how much you are excercising you have to eat back your calories burned from excercise or atleast some. Your net should say the same as your calorie goal. Also you have to eat atleast 1200 calories are your body will go into starvation mode.

so the calorie goal should stay the same regardless of how much I exercise....i need to eat extra if i exercise???

Yes! aim at no less than 1200/cals a day. Eat back most if not all your exercise calories, and start lifting weights. Think of it this way, if you filled up your car with gas, and only drove 10 miles a day, but one day drove 30 miles, wouldn't you need to put more gas in your car sooner to keep it going? Think of food as your fuel for you body. When you exercise, you need to feed your body MORE because it is burning off past the minimum calories.

mollylaremeter

You aren't eating enough with how much you are excercising you have to eat back your calories burned from excercise or atleast some. Your net should say the same as your calorie goal. Also you have to eat atleast 1200 calories are your body will go into starvation mode.

so the calorie goal should stay the same regardless of how much I exercise....i need to eat extra if i exercise???

Yes! aim at no less than 1200/cals a day. Eat back most if not all your exercise calories, and start lifting weights. Think of it this way, if you filled up your car with gas, and only drove 10 miles a day, but one day drove 30 miles, wouldn't you need to put more gas in your car sooner to keep it going? Think of food as your fuel for you body. When you exercise, you need to feed your body MORE because it is burning off past the minimum calories.

the yoga i do has a lot of isometric strength training. Think i need to lift too?

TArnold2012

Just looking at your dairy, there are a lot of high sodium processed foods. That would account for part of the increase. The other is you have lots of days where your calories go below 1200 when you subtract your exercise. It appears you are not eating enough. I also did not see water logged on the days I looked at I am assuming you are drinking some but have no idea how much. I would suggest make sure you are drinking lots.

Good luck

saraann4

I'd monitor your sodium intake.

jazzyali

Try eating more of you calories before 3:00 pm... dinner being your lowest calorie meal. Also, do you snack at night? Maybe try not to eat after 7 pm

mollylaremeter

i dont snack at night. my biggest meal is dinner though. i also went over my sodium allowance @25% of the time in the last month. thanks for your comments everyone.

Dianecg

I highly recommend increasing your protein and reducing your carbs so that both come in closer to each other. And the carbs that you're eating aren't the best. Also, I agree with the other posts about reducing the sodium. A few adjustments and you'll be pleasantly surprised in just a couple weeks!

mollylaremeter

I highly recommend increasing your protein and reducing your carbs so that both come in closer to each other. And the carbs that you're eating aren't the best. Also, I agree with the other posts about reducing the sodium. A few adjustments and you'll be pleasantly surprised in just a couple weeks!

thank you but what carbs arent the best?

TinGirl314

Most of your carbs SEEM (I glanced, didn't study) from crackers and cereal.
If you work in more fruits and veggies you'll probably see a big difference.

Honestly you'll probably see a huge difference once you up your calories all together. On some days your net was 200 when you added your workouts (Which must be killer to be 860 calories worth! )

Check the forums for the moderation, macros, and the road maps that explains your BMR and the dozens on eating back your workout calories and I'm sure you'll find something that works well for you.

berlynn_j

Just know that different things work for different folks. You got to find what works for you. Take what people tell you as advice, not as fact statements. Some people will tell you that you absolutely have to eat back your exercise calories. Completely not true. I don't unless I feel hungry, but that rarely happens. Today it did, but 90 percent of the time, I don't. And I've steadily lost weight. It's what works for me. Other may need to eat it back to feel comfortable.

Play around a little bit, take people's ADVICE and see what works for you our. Despite the message that it's simple calories in calories out, I am a firm believer that we are all different and our bodied respond in different ways. That's why some people can eat junk all the time and not gain an ounce and I can eat the exact some thing and wind up over 200 pounds. Anyway - I wish you luck! My advice is exercise 3 to 4 times a week, drink lots of water, cut the sodium where you can, and eat in your comfortable range. That is my advice - you do what works for you! Change it up!

mollylaremeter

Just know that different things work for different folks. You got to find what works for you. Take what people tell you as advice, not as fact statements. Some people will tell you that you absolutely have to eat back your exercise calories. Completely not true. I don't unless I feel hungry, but that rarely happens. Today it did, but 90 percent of the time, I don't. And I've steadily lost weight. It's what works for me. Other may need to eat it back to feel comfortable.

Play around a little bit, take people's ADVICE and see what works for you our. Despite the message that it's simple calories in calories out, I am a firm believer that we are all different and our bodied respond in different ways. That's why some people can eat junk all the time and not gain an ounce and I can eat the exact some thing and wind up over 200 pounds. Anyway - I wish you luck! My advice is exercise 3 to 4 times a week, drink lots of water, cut the sodium where you can, and eat in your comfortable range. That is my advice - you do what works for you! Change it up!

thanks. i drink a lot of water and exercise like at least 5 days a week. i feel like the weight gain started AFTER i started counting calories.....may be i do need to up the calorie intake. and i will start eating less sodium....

castlerobber

I dont know what I'm doing wrong. According to what I log I should be losing. 10 days ago i weighed myself and was 123 and was super happy. Today I weighed myself and was 128! WTF?!?!?!?! I'm mad! Please help!

I looked at the past 10 days in your diary. You aren't eating adequate amounts of fat or protein most days, but you're getting lots of starchy processed carbs and sugar. You're drinking Gatorade or orange juice, or both, every day; that much liquid sugar alone could be the problem. You're eating honey or jelly, or both, every day. Loads of refined grains--bread, pasta, cereal, waffles--and high-sugar desserts, every day. All this raises your blood sugar in a hurry, so your body pumps out a bunch of insulin to remove it from your bloodstream and store it as fat. If you're eating a high-carb meal or snack every couple of hours, like you're "supposed" to do, your insulin levels may never be going down enough to let your body burn that stored fat. So you're gaining weight, even though you're eating fewer calories than you think you're burning.

lovinlandl

increasing calories isn't always as easy as you think -- if you are not losing weight and have a history of weight problems it is very, very hard to get your mind around increasing your calories.

There is quite a bit of advise on here -- good luck with trying the options and finding something that works for you!!!

mollylaremeter

http://nutrition.about.com/od/askyournutritionist/f/processedfoods.htm

i noticed a few people cited "processed foods." I only buy whole grain bread and cereal, get brown rice when i can etc. I barely ever eat chips or anything like that, never american cheese or lunch meat...so I guess I'm not getting what is meant by "processed foods." i mean whole grain bread is still processed, but I dont think its realistic to eat a wheat chaff, so I dont know what the alternatives would be.

and having 12 oz of Gatorade after sweating 2 lbs worth of sweat and and half a glass of orange juice in the a.m., 1 spoonful of jelly on my whole grain english muffin and one squirt of homey in my tea too is much sugar?

i know im sounding defensive and i guess i am. compared to everyone else around me i'm the healthiest eater! thanks for your replies, its given me a few things to think about. i guess i dont need that squirt of honey in my tea after all.

maybe i do need to completely overhaul my diet. i admit, thinking back on it we have had a few parties lately and i've been eating a bit more desserts. maybe i need to make all my own bread or something.

castlerobber

I only buy whole grain bread and cereal, get brown rice when i can etc. I barely ever eat chips or anything like that, never american cheese or lunch meat...so I guess I'm not getting what is meant by "processed foods." i mean whole grain bread is still processed, but I dont think its realistic to eat a wheat chaff, so I dont know what the alternatives would be.

and having 12 oz of Gatorade after sweating 2 lbs worth of sweat and and half a glass of orange juice in the a.m., 1 spoonful of jelly on my whole grain english muffin and one squirt of homey in my tea too is much sugar?

You avoid American cheese, but pizza, cookies and ice cream are OK?

Whole wheat bread spikes your blood sugar just as much as white bread.

Yeah, when you eat all that at once, it's too much sugar at one time. There are electrolyte replacement drinks that don't contain sugar if you really think you need them.

i know im sounding defensive and i guess i am.

Um...just a bit.

You did ask, though. You did gain 5 lb. in 10 days. What you're doing apparently isn't working for you right now. But you do whatever you feel like.

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

If I'm reading right, you gained 10 lbs despite tracking in the past year and a half. Is that correct? Your 5 lbs in 10 days is probably water weight, but if you're gaining over the long term using MFP then something is off with your calorie count. I do NOT think it's the type of calories unless you have PCOS or another medical condition.

How did you figure your calorie count? Have you tried anything different over the last year? Increasing them/decreasing them?

katevarner

You should only eat about 1mg of sodium per calorie, so don't go anywhere near the limit set by MFP. Cut out the processed carbs (all breads/crackers/pasta/pizza) for a week and see how it goes. If it doesn't work, you can change it up some other way. Also, as small as you are to begin with, you aren't going to lose fast unless it's water weight at the beginning. Give yourself a few months to get the weight off.

TavistockToad

you dont eat anywhere near enough - eat back your exercise calories as you have very little to lose. you also dont get enough protein - aim for 100g per day - unless you are going for the skinnyfat look of course!

Becky388

I dont know what I'm doing wrong. According to what I log I should be losing. 10 days ago i weighed myself and was 123 and was super happy. Today I weighed myself and was 128! WTF?!?!?!?! I'm mad! Please help!

I looked at the past 10 days in your diary. You aren't eating adequate amounts of fat or protein most days, but you're getting lots of starchy processed carbs and sugar. You're drinking Gatorade or orange juice, or both, every day; that much liquid sugar alone could be the problem. You're eating honey or jelly, or both, every day. Loads of refined grains--bread, pasta, cereal, waffles--and high-sugar desserts, every day. All this raises your blood sugar in a hurry, so your body pumps out a bunch of insulin to remove it from your bloodstream and store it as fat. If you're eating a high-carb meal or snack every couple of hours, like you're "supposed" to do, your insulin levels may never be going down enough to let your body burn that stored fat. So you're gaining weight, even though you're eating fewer calories than you think you're burning.

Ditto!

Becky388

Even those "healthy" whole grains turn into sugar in your body and create a fat storing insulin spike and inflammatory reaction in the body. So some research, grains, whole or not, aren't your friend. And when trying to lose weight you don't need a bunch of carbs/sugar running around in your body, your body will burn that for fuel instead of fat, you need to retrain it to burn fat.

TheeGeeMarie

the yoga i do has a lot of isometric strength training. Think i need to lift too?

A lot of vinyasa is pretty similar to body weight strength training, so you are probably okay with regular yoga practice in terms of avoiding the dreaded "skinny fat" look. That said, I have found that heavy lifting and yoga compliment each other nicely. Increasing my strength helped me get more out of the postures than I have ever before and the flexibility you likely have from yoga will help you have beast form for many of the lifts.

Also, I agree with all the other posters who have said eat more fat, lower sodium, less carbs and definitely up your protein!

Good luck!!

mollylaremeter

If I'm reading right, you gained 10 lbs despite tracking in the past year and a half. Is that correct? Your 5 lbs in 10 days is probably water weight, but if you're gaining over the long term using MFP then something is off with your calorie count. I do NOT think it's the type of calories unless you have PCOS or another medical condition.

How did you figure your calorie count? Have you tried anything different over the last year? Increasing them/decreasing them?

The only thing i am doing different is eating less calories by tracking them. I know i eat ice cream and pizza but i eat moderate portions, as i have my whole life. and I'm definitely going to consciously eat more protein. Pasta actually has a decent amount of protein though. I might start eating quinoa for breakfast. Also I dont have a medical condition, my blood levels were recently checked. I'm going to look into meeting with a dietician I believe. I think its a good idea to cut out the cracker/bread etc stuff and see how i feel too. Thanks for the ideas everyone.