Absolutely Cannot Make Sense of This

tishka11

Basically...since ive been on MFP i have never gone over my calorie limit (which is 1200 cal) ...not once...and work out pretty much most days (usually more than once a day) doing things like circuit training, eliptical trainer, and cycling to name a few

So why then MFP members have i gained weight?!?!?! I honestly cannot understand it and dont know what to do
How does the body do this when im eating healthily and exercising

All comments and suggestions welcome

WinnerVictorious

- water gain? (this is usually a temporary short term effect)
- your logging is not accurate?
- your BMR/TDEE calculations are not accurate?
- medical condition?

MisConway

I'm sorry, I know exactly how frustrating that it is. Here are a couple things that have worked for me to really get the scale moving:

Eat protein, LOTS of protein. It takes more energy (calories) for your body to break it down and repairs your muscles after a workout. I have been dropping pretty well lately and my protein column is always in the red.

Go over 1200. This was a really hard concept for me to wrap my head around. For example, last night I was at 1229, but hungry after my 4 mile run. I ate 3 oz. of boneless skinless chicken breast out of the crockpot and 1/2. c of baby carrots. I had a very small salad w/o dressing as well. it was 8:15 pm, and I was over 1200 calories so I felt like I was doing a lot of "dont's", but this morning the scale showed me I was down from yesterday, sweet!

Drink lots and lots of water. Yesterday, i drank 18 cups (144oz).

It sounds like you are working out hard, and if you are not eating enought your body is using your muscle for energy and storing your fat. Again, I know it is frustrating, you are not alone! I am on a challenge this week to be in the red in protein daily and go over 1200 calories. I'll let you know next monday how it went!

sannsk

It sounds like you are working out hard, and if you are not eating enought your body is using your muscle for energy and storing your fat.

Exactly my guess. The body needs fuel to function properly...

Edit: a look at your diary might make it possible for us to give you more solid advice. If you feel like it, open it up :-)

KidP

How did you come up with 1200 calories? Is that what MFP told you to use based on all of your data?

keltee15

I gained too and boy was i angry...

Cassi_Eats_Apples

My suggestion to you is to calculate your bmr. You can do that here:
http://www.webmd.com/diet/calc-bmi-plus

I always thought oh the lower calories I eat the more weight I'll loose, but having calories set a little too low can actually make loosing weight hard because you body will be reluctant to let go of the fat. I've lost more following my bmr recomendation and making a custom plan on MFP.

vnovit

1200 is MUCH too low! How tall are you?? go to scoobyworkshop.com and calculate your calories there.. its much more accurate. MFP is great for tracking purposes.

BurtHuttz

This is the most common issue on MFP! You are probably undereating. Here are two different perspectives on the matter:

http://nbsfit.com/nutrition/weight-loss-isnt-always-about-eating-less-and-exercising-more/

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

Please take the time to read these and I think you'll find the substantiation for the prescription and a recipe for success.

beccyleigh

be brutal with yourself.

how accurately are you measuring what you eat. Do you guess portion sizes or weigh your food out?

Do you eat back calories from exercise, if yes, are you over eatimating the calories burned?

Do you nibble, pick off kids plates or pop a something in your mouth without logging, thinking it wouldn't makea difference?

These are the usual habits people don't even know they do.

Hope the scale gets moving for you soon

nexangelus

Um, just gonna spout what a well-known fat loss guy has said many times before (Lyle McDonald)....either eat more (eat those exercise calories back) or do less cardio. Then come back and tell us if something shifted or changed...1200 is below most people's BMR (basal metabolic rate)... : )

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/why-big-caloric-deficits-and-lots-of-activity-can-hurt-fat-loss.html

blanhe2

Are you eating your exercise calories? If your limit is only 1200 you should eat them, or at least half of them. The 1200 is already a deficit, and the absolute minimum your body needs to function, without exercise! So eat more!

starlumber

Try taking a pregnancy test. Hope you are a woman!

GeorgieLove708

You have very little to lose, so I'm guessing your 1200 calorie goal is because you set it to 2lbs a week. With that little to lose you should be aiming for no more than 1lb a week, really 1/2lb would be better. Switch up your goals, start eating more... Give it a few weeks because you will probably gain at first while your body goes through an adjustment period, but after a few weeks you will begin to lose again.

Poods71

I'm only 5' 2", I don't do any real regular exercise, I eat 1400 cals and I am losing. So short answer is you need to eat more.

Coltsman4ever

The 1200 calories are net calories. Meaning if you eat 1200 calories and burn 300 calories in exercise, you're only netting 900 calories. 1200 - 300 = 900.
Try eating at least some of your exercise calories back. Never a good idea to net under 1200 calories per day.
Weight training is the best way to lose fat. Not because you're burning a lot of calories while you're working out but because you're building muscle and the more muscle you have the more calories your body burns throughout the day. Cardio is essential too but it's more of a workout for your heart and lungs where weight training gets the rest of your muscles.
Your muscles will retain some water when you first start working out. Stick with it. It will work out.
Take it slow and easy and make it a lifestyle change instead of a "diet". Diets don't work long term. Change the way you think and if you lose 4 lbs in a month, you're doing great.

LottieLou13

This is the most common issue on MFP! You are probably undereating. Here are two different perspectives on the matter:

http://nbsfit.com/nutrition/weight-loss-isnt-always-about-eating-less-and-exercising-more/

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

Please take the time to read these and I think you'll find the substantiation for the prescription and a recipe for success.

^This

tmzana

Thanks for posting this website. It is very helpful!!

fithannafit

Eat more (protein and veggies!) and strength train!

acogg

Actually, you have lost 10 pounds since September. With so little to lose, that is quite an accomplishment. What is your height, what is your weight, how long since you haven't lost weight? You are only 20 so you are still developing and growing.

BlackTimber

I'm not a big fan of the Eat More To Lose mantra, because for most everyone, that's why we are here in the first place. We ate too much. But in the case of women doing the MFP 1200 calorie diet, it seems like eating more is the right call. I must have read it 1000 times - weight loss plateaus and not feeling great. Our bodies are incredibly complex due to adaptions over millions of years and apparently one of those adaptations is that at a certain calorie intake over a certain length of time signals you body to start conserving as much energy as it can. Seems like the 1500 calorie a day amount should be the minimum and just add on from there if you are active.

BurtHuttz

This is an active thread this morning: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/860592-success-with-tdee-20

"Who has had success with TDEE-20%"

I see lots and lots of threads about success on TDEE minus 10 to 20%. I have never seen threads about success eating 1200 calories a day. I've never seen threads about great results from diet pills or juicing or raspberry ketones.

Concur with blacktimber to the extent that 'eat more to weigh less' only works if you're eating too little. It is useful only as a counterbalance to the extremities of the 'move more eat less' approach, which becomes counterproductive when one takes it into the 'exercise 6 days a week and eat 1200 cals' territory.

mfpcopine

You're probably eating more than you think, or not working out as intensely as necessary.

berthabunny

I have the same problem. I am not always brutally honest about my caloric intake, but I am way below my net intake goals, and have lost next-to-nothing. Funny thing, over Christmas, that time of year everyone supposedly gains weight, I ate more and exercised less, and lost three pounds, which I have kept off going back to my normal diet, but I haven't lost more.
I would appreciate advice too.
I eat 1300-1400 calories a day and exercise about 15 hours (8-10 fairly intense swimming) a week.
How many of my exercise calories should I be eating back? I often end up with a net caloric intake of 200-500. I cannot cut back on exercising, because I ma on a team and it just doesn't work to show up to only half the practices, so should I increase to about 1500 a day and see how that works?
I would love advice and hope that you figure out what isn't working for you! Good luck.

Question, how much is it OK to increase by at a time for this to work?

tishka11

I am brutally honest with myself to the point where i think i overestimate how much i eat

I measure out what i eat on my electronic scales and never eat back any of my exercise calories

I eat a lot of protein, i am vegan but i still get heaps of protein from shakes and tofu/bean curd, to the extent of about 70-80g a day

I drink a lot of water

It is possible that its a medical condition since ive been affected by health problems since a young age Which im terrified may have flared up again

I am seriously beginning to think that it is due to inaccurately labelled foods i buy from international food stores
Thus starting today i am not going to consume any of those foods, try high intensity workouts with high intensity weight training too, and see how that goes

Fingers crossed! Because this is so incredibly frustrating! I feel like i put in so much effort and try so hard and yet dont see the results i think i deserve to see

MysticRealm

I measure out what i eat on my electronic scales and never eat back any of my exercise calories

Eat them back

misskerouac

I am brutally honest with myself to the point where i think i overestimate how much i eat

I measure out what i eat on my electronic scales and never eat back any of my exercise calories

I eat a lot of protein, i am vegan but i still get heaps of protein from shakes and tofu/bean curd, to the extent of about 70-80g a day

I drink a lot of water

It is possible that its a medical condition since ive been affected by health problems since a young age Which im terrified may have flared up again

I am seriously beginning to think that it is due to inaccurately labelled foods i buy from international food stores
Thus starting today i am not going to consume any of those foods, try high intensity workouts with high intensity weight training too, and see how that goes

Fingers crossed! Because this is so incredibly frustrating! I feel like i put in so much effort and try so hard and yet dont see the results i think i deserve to see

It is most likely none of those things.
You need to eat more.
1200 cals is not enough ESPECIALLY if you are exercising and not eating your exercise calories

alanlmarshall

Eat healthily, enough calories to maintain your weight or a little less
Gradually increase the intensity of your exercise
Forget about how much you weigh.

berthabunny

So, I posted yesterday about feeling the same way. And upped my caloric intake to 1500, but I ended up being sooo hungry! It was kinda nice to actually feel hungry again. I ended up eating more like 1700, and lost 1.2 pounds! I know I drank a lot yesterday, but still think some of it must have been water weight.
Just wanted to let you know, trying it for a couple of days might work. I have been eating very little and exercising a lot for months now, and I don't know how much that effects what happens when I add back calories, but I can tell you, seeing 140 anything on the scale was amazing!!
For all of you that might post that dropping weight like that isn't going to last, I know, but, hey, one can still enjoy it while it lasts and going with slower afterwards, right? I will also ask the EM2WL group about it.