Weight gain
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jo_marnes
Posts: 1,601 Member
Hi all,
I know this topic has been discussed before but can people just help me understand this in relation to ME?
I've lost 25kg (approx 50lbs) since I had my youngest 5 years ago. I have increased fitness from zero, to working out 6 days a week, half marathons etc. I became a little underweight and have started NROLFW to try and gain a little mass and maintain fitness while reducing cardio. My previous workouts were primarily cardio, with some bodyweight resistance training. I was eating probably a little under maintenance and not much protein.
So, I have just reached stage 2. I have adjusted my macros to 40:30:30 and stay close to this most of the time (diary open). I'm eating at what I consider maintenance. My workouts consist of the programme plus 2 cardio sessions per week. Yet I have gained 6lbs since the start of this programme! Now, I don't mind gaining a little. But, this is quite a gain for a small amount of time and to me, the numbers don't add up. What's going on here?
I know this topic has been discussed before but can people just help me understand this in relation to ME?
I've lost 25kg (approx 50lbs) since I had my youngest 5 years ago. I have increased fitness from zero, to working out 6 days a week, half marathons etc. I became a little underweight and have started NROLFW to try and gain a little mass and maintain fitness while reducing cardio. My previous workouts were primarily cardio, with some bodyweight resistance training. I was eating probably a little under maintenance and not much protein.
So, I have just reached stage 2. I have adjusted my macros to 40:30:30 and stay close to this most of the time (diary open). I'm eating at what I consider maintenance. My workouts consist of the programme plus 2 cardio sessions per week. Yet I have gained 6lbs since the start of this programme! Now, I don't mind gaining a little. But, this is quite a gain for a small amount of time and to me, the numbers don't add up. What's going on here?
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Replies
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The calculators in NROL4W didn't work for me....I GAINED weight on this program.
So, be careful. If you are gaining weight, dial your calories back.0 -
What are your measurements like? I don't think you can gain 6 lbs of muscle in that short period of time but if you're losing inches it could just be water retention and muscle swelling or whatever. I've been going up and down 4 or 5 pounds since I started. I just started stage 3 today. Scale is being crazy but I've been losing inches so I'm not worrying too much about it.0
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they say that you can gain muscle when you first start lifting, so that is possible. How long has it been? 6 weeks? a pound a week means that you are taking in 500 extra calories a day, which does not seem likely if you think you are at maintenance and have only increased your eating a bit.
how are your clothes fitting? I think its your body adjusting to lifting with some water retention.0 -
So will it go away? I haven't remeasured..... don't want to really because I'm sure it'll just be bigger.... remember I am small anyway - don't have anymore weight to lose. I want to gain, but I want lean muscle, not fat. I can't have gained that much muscle in such a short time, yet my cals don't seem to have allowed for extra fat gain either. I'm not using the NROLFW cals (which would be 200 - 300 more per day) and am sticking with the MFP (1920 per day) as I have been logging for years and find it easier to track my macros etc. Plus, I feel this is a good amount for me... not too much, not too little0
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I gained about 4 pounds during stage 1, and didn't start losing until about stage 3. I think it was mostly water retention, plus maybe a bit of newbie muscle gain, because I didn't change size at all. I decided to judge my progress based on my 'tight pants' rather than my scale, and that kept me from worrying too much. My diet is higher in sodium than it should be, and I think that contributes to water retention in my case.
I've been dropping in weight very (very!) slowly since stage 3, which is fine, since I'm trying to eat at maintenence, and I figure I'm pretty close.0 -
Hi all,
I know this topic has been discussed before but can people just help me understand this in relation to ME?
I've lost 25kg (approx 50lbs) since I had my youngest 5 years ago. I have increased fitness from zero, to working out 6 days a week, half marathons etc. I became a little underweight and have started NROLFW to try and gain a little mass and maintain fitness while reducing cardio. My previous workouts were primarily cardio, with some bodyweight resistance training. I was eating probably a little under maintenance and not much protein.
So, I have just reached stage 2. I have adjusted my macros to 40:30:30 and stay close to this most of the time (diary open). I'm eating at what I consider maintenance. My workouts consist of the programme plus 2 cardio sessions per week. Yet I have gained 6lbs since the start of this programme! Now, I don't mind gaining a little. But, this is quite a gain for a small amount of time and to me, the numbers don't add up. What's going on here?
Is 1,920 maintenance, or is that set to still lose? Do you measure your BF%? If so, what has that done? It's likely water weight, but do you think you're eating enough, especially if you're doing other things on non-lifting days? If your goal is to gain muscle and you don't have any fat to lose, then you really need to eat a surplus and go through a clean bulk cycle. Remember, it takes 2,000 calories to build a pound of muscle. What is your TDEE according to Scooby? Have you ever had some time off with no exercise and just eaten maintenance to see what happens? I'd have to look at your diary, but how much protein are you taking in? Are you getting enough good fats in your diet (fish, nuts, flax, etc.). Where have your measurements gone up? Just asking more questions so we can help out.
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1920 is MFP set to gain at 0.5lbs per week. However scooby sets my TDEE at 2400, which seems vast! So again, not really sure - I'm going for the 1920 as any more than that and I'd be overfull everyday. Plus, can't see that I'd be gaining on a deficit?
I'm eating 30% ish protein, so a fair bit. Can't remember exact numbers, but check my diary! I am a little lower on fats, but I'm trying to eat nuts and things. Certain fats give me terrible heartburn (I'm celiac so have absorption issues) so I struggle with that a bit.
My measurements went up on thighs and waist :-(0 -
The calculators in NROL4W didn't work for me....I GAINED weight on this program.
So, be careful. If you are gaining weight, dial your calories back.
Unfortunately I have to agree with Beeps (and this may be due to losing weight on low calorie diets and then sugar binge-ing most of it back on, OR due to PCOS) but I found I was gaining eating 1600 per day (that was with the 300 cut according to the book). It was great eating heaps, and I have made some good newbie strength gains, but I think for me right now, closer to 1200 is what I should be eating daily if I want to shed fat. I didn't like having to buy bigger pants
I am slowly dropping down now to what I was about before I started New Rules (still not there yet!).0
