Frustrated! >:-|

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  • rrios6291
    rrios6291 Posts: 2
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    Try increasing you calorie count by a few hundred, don't under eat. As for cardio, try keeping yor heart rate at around 130-140 bpm. Wish you the best, just keep working at it, change things around until you find what works for you.
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,442 Member
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    I always gain 4 pounds right before my period, and lose it again right after. Just in case that's the issue.
  • rubimarie707
    rubimarie707 Posts: 2 Member
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    this was me 2 weeks ago...I actually ended up changing my settings to eat more calories and I finally started losing
    - just keep swimming Nemo!!!!
  • lyndabraczynski
    lyndabraczynski Posts: 53
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    same thing happened to me I gained 3 pounds the first 2 weeks than all of a sudden I lost 8 net loss of 5 but, I think it takes a body a a few weeks to realize that you mean business. Just keep going...I did not change my caloric intake at all just kept to the 1200 or less a day and continued to work out and it is starting to pay off. I am staying away from the scale for a while as that is disheartening some times. Just keep focused on the end goal....a healthier you...
  • graciepecie
    graciepecie Posts: 135 Member
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    Just over two weeks ago I made a commitment to myself to get healthy (I'm 36). Yay me! I made HUGE changes to my diet, cutting my daily calorie intake nearly in HALF! I've been mostly satisfied because the amount of food I've been eating is about the same, just a lot healther (more veggies, less processed foods, LOTS of greens).

    For the past 15 days I have been averaging 1300 calories a day. I've recorded everything from the exact ounces of homemade granola I ate to the glasses of wine I had last weekend. On top of that I have upped my exercise routine to 30 minutes of cardio 2-3 x week, plus strength training.

    Guess what...I've GAINED three pounds! How could that be? I understand that muscle weighs more that fat, but my body doesn't look or feel any more compact (in other words my pants fit the same). Usually weight loss is most evident at the inception of such lifestylel changes, but that isn't the case for me.

    Any thoughts? Thanks for listening (um, reading)!

    ~J

    You need to eat more, you're eating too few calories.

    Please take your time and read this blog. It wil help you so much. When I started MFP I had te same problem you have right now.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12
  • YogaNikki
    YogaNikki Posts: 284 Member
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    You cannot gain muscle on a deficit (there are certain caveats to this but I don't think the apply to you OP) You can lose fat and reveal the underlying muscle making it look like you have gained muscle. For a woman to gain muscle she needs a dedicated strength training programme, high protein diet and an excess of calories. Even the your looking at about a 0.5 gain a month. You cannot magic up new muscle growth out of nothing. Sorry, but I find people telling the OP it's muscle gain so very misleading. If it's anything it will be water retention or one of the many other factors that affect weight. Bear in mind OP to gain 3 lbs of fat you would have to eat an extra 7500 for each pound gained. Have you done that? Nope, I doubt it, so it's not fat either. Don't sweat it. Just keep on keeping on with what you are doing and if your numbers are right then you will lose. Good luck.

    I :heart: you.
  • twelfty
    twelfty Posts: 576 Member
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    probably been said but 2 weeks is too soon, weigh in at a month, and check measurements, keep up the good work, it's your body testing you to make sure you're commited lol
  • MonicaT1972
    MonicaT1972 Posts: 512
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    Do some research on alcohol and what the body does with it...that might be something you want to consider cutting as well.

    Also, if you open up your diary those of us that have had great success will be better able to advise you.

    It's all about finding a balance of what your body responds to. You don't gain 3 lbs of muscle that fast...the average woman training hard and eating well can only gain an average of 5lbs of muscle a year.
  • 257_Lag
    257_Lag Posts: 1,249 Member
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    I gained 2 lbs the first week also. Be patient. Down 11 lbs in the next 6 weeks. Keep at it!
  • likitisplit
    likitisplit Posts: 9,420 Member
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    One point that I don't see anybody making is that gaining a single pound of fat REQUIRES you to eat 3500 more calories than you have burned. If you haven't eaten 10500 more calories over what you have burned in the last 15 days then you haven't gained any more fat. You might be wearing heavier shoes, retaining water, developing muscle, your scale might be broken, or any number of other things. But you haven't added any fat. Period.
  • KANGOOJUMPS
    KANGOOJUMPS Posts: 6,473 Member
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    BOOZE CURES ALL
    YOUR FRUSTRATIONS WILL DISAPPEAR.
  • twelfty
    twelfty Posts: 576 Member
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    One point that I don't see anybody making is that gaining a single pound of fat REQUIRES you to eat 3500 more calories than you have burned. If you haven't eaten 10500 more calories over what you have burned in the last 15 days then you haven't gained any more fat. You might be wearing heavier shoes, retaining water, developing muscle, your scale might be broken, or any number of other things. But you haven't added any fat. Period.

    someone did say that lol

    edit also you wouldn't have to eat 10500 calories over 15 days you could eat 240 a day more than you've burnt over 15 days and gain 1lb of fat
  • woodwardtm
    woodwardtm Posts: 361 Member
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    I am having the same issue. I am 164 lbs and 5'6", I work in an office all day, so I cut my calories way back and with the addition of an hour workout at least 4 times a week. I have GAINED a pound or two. I would think that when I record EVERYTHING, and I see that my caloric intake is ATLEAST 4000 calories a week, it would be going down, not up. Its a let down to see my weight stay the same or even go up. I will continue to "try", but another month of this I might just give up.

    4000 calories a week?! That only averages out to 571.43 calories per day! You'd be starving yourself. I realize you are not the OP but that calorie count struck me as odd.
  • bwcrouch
    bwcrouch Posts: 105 Member
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    Are you eating back your exercise calories? And how much water are you gettting in each day? Diet Sodas? Closed diaries make it hard to help. At what intensity are you exercising?
  • CharlesLadd
    CharlesLadd Posts: 39
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    Everyone has an opinion. Here's mine. Ignore the scale for a month, then start weighing -- but only once a week, In the meantime, eat healthy foods in moderate amounts and exercise periodically, including strength exercises. If you focus on the scale you will more likely see this as a "project" (i.e. a "diet") and not as a life-style change. If or when you reach your "goal" (a specific weight usually) you will feel justified in stopping. So, I suggest you think of this process as 1) long term, 2) permanent, 3) aimed at a healthier life, for the rest of your life. Expect results, yes, but in a longer time span. I set out to lose 50 pounds in 7 months. At 4 months 2 weeks I have lost 37 pounds. That's my opinion, and I'm sticking to it.
  • 04ward
    04ward Posts: 196 Member
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    I did the same thing. Gained 3 pounds in my first 3 weeks but just kept doing the same thing and now starting to lose this week finally. Found I need to drink LOTS of water!
  • sjcook23
    sjcook23 Posts: 87 Member
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    1 lb of muscles weighs exactly the same as 1 lb of fat :)

    If you cut your calorie intake in half, you may have put your body into starvation mode. Your brain doesn't know you are trying to lose weight, all it knows is that the intake was drastically cut. The brain's reaction is to hord water and food for survival.

    Obviously, you can overcome this by not giving the brain a chance to hord, but it would take more exercise than what you are doing. Probably 5-6 days of a 60 minute workout a week.

    If I were you, I would up my workouts to 4-5 days of 60 min workouts. Interval workouts burn the most, i.e., a few minutes of fast paced workout, then a few minutes of slower paced workout OR cardio a couple minutes, then muscle workout a couple minutes for 30 minutes.

    It's going to take your body a while to adjust to the new intake level and stop panicking. Sometimes that takes 2-4 weeks. Just keep eating below your goal. Eat high protein and fiber, low fat (40 grams or less). You can also, work your way down to the 1300 daily goal, that would not send your body into survival mode.

    Good Luck
  • sjcook23
    sjcook23 Posts: 87 Member
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    Are you eating back your exercise calories? And how much water are you gettting in each day? Diet Sodas? Closed diaries make it hard to help. At what intensity are you exercising?

    I agree, you can't eat your exercise calories. I always aim to be under goal by 200-300 calories on days I exercise.
  • concordancia
    concordancia Posts: 5,320 Member
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    A lot of healthy habits can make the scale go up temporarily:

    More fiber
    More water
    More exercise

    For example, this week I have been on a staycation and doing twice as much exercise while still eating 1500 (Eating my exercise calories from my normal workout, but not my additional one) calories. With all that work, I maintained my weight. My muscles are sore, which means they are inflamed as they try to repair themselves. Although I ate the same calories, some of it was frozen dinners, which left me bloated from the salt and a bit constipated...
  • tomomatic
    tomomatic Posts: 1,794 Member
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    Try cutting some of the sodium out of your diet. Sodium makes you retain water.
    And drink more water to get rid of the sodium.

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