Consistently gaining weight, no plateau at all.

bfitgirl

Hi all, I was wondering if any members could help me here

Start of February
SW 72 kg BF% 18.4
Height 179
Age 40
Female
Weight training x 3 days about 1 hr session
1200 cal diet with 1 g protein per lBM and low carb but had carb binges every weekend as 'treat day'

Looking up the calculator etc I upped my calories to 1900 (-15%TDEE) but have eaten over this during the last 3 weekends due mainly to big family celebrations. So I know I've been a bit inconsistent but only for 2 out of 5 days a week.

Ive the macros 40/35/25 c/p/f

My current stats are now
CW 77 kg BF% about 20% using Haybales spreadsheet ( great by the way)

I have consistently but on weight since starting (8 weeks) and I'm beginning to freak out! I've only been this weight immediately after the birth of my children! I fear I have messed this up totally, like 5 kg is alarming to me especially as I'm not plateauing just keep going up n up.. I really feel like just slashing Cals again to get back down.

I gather that due to my low(ish) carb diet I'd gain water weight and due to my binging episodes I'm likely to gain fat quickly, I've accepted this but whoa this is scary I see here that mostly people have a few pounds to lose when they begin but I was happy with my weight generally, i just wanted to stop starving myself. I have to admit though I didn't go up to full TDEE as I thought carb total was scary.

Sorry for rambling on but I feel I'm at a crossroads here, one way stick it out or opposite start lowing Cals again and be back to my start weight in 8 weeks! Help!

norcal_yogi

was your 1200 calls with our without including exercise cals?

heybales

Just for word of encouragement, even if you jumped from only eating 1200 in total (though as Yogi asks, that may not be the case) to TDEE deficit of 1900, that 700 cal increase could be the following.

So about 8 weeks in, lets say at 1200 you had plateau'd (not sure, you may have just seen wisdom in this method) with no weight loss or inches lost, that means your TDEE had likely lowered to that 1200.

So anything eaten in excess of 1200, like 700 calories, is surplus.

No better activity could you do while eating in surplus than weight lifting. If your metabolism really stayed that low the whole time and is still there, your lifting is making great progress.

Now, what probably has happened is it's come up gradually if not faster, but you still make great use of extra calories.
You actually had a chance of adding muscle during that time. Fat too though.

Now, the extra eating on the weekends - well, not so useful if it wasn't extra food for recovery from lifting. May have been just fat.

Lot of questions here you can answer to get some ideas.

To your activity, really sedentary desk job besides 3 hrs weekly lifting?

Have any measurements been changing at all?
Has weight in lifting gone up, getting stronger?

Is the weight still slowly increasing, or it initially jumped, and has mainly been fluctuating a bit?
Only weigh on valid days - morning after rest day eating normal sodium levels, not still sore from previous lifting session?
If slowly increasing, how much over what period of time (leave the first week water weight out of figures)?

Depending on answers above, I might suggest you go back to your BMR, about 1700, and eat there for a couple weeks, let things ease out and less stress. The calorie burn from your lifting is probably only avg out to about 85 calories daily, so that's not bad to be eating at BMR instead of making full jump up to deficit or TDEE.
In theory with decent metabolism, you could eat there and lose weight, but you should at least maintain.

bfitgirl

Thank you guys for replying and especially heybales.

Yogi - Yes unfortunately the 1200 cal included my training no eat back. I had generally maintained my weight but its me being strict and starving!

Heybales. Thanks your answers/questions. Stress factor has lowered significantly.
The following are my findings, not for any further correspondence but may help others.

3 hrs lifting is probably correct, altho I'm at home I'm a very lazy home keeper, so maybe just standing on my feet and a bit of grocery shopping, collecting kids in car, one easy walk a week, so I guess that would be incorporated into the sedentary desk job.

My measurements have definitely changed: 1 inch gained on waist, hips, thigh (others remain the same) hence the jump up in BF% I guess

I have gotten a bit stronger, but I am nearing the end of a 4 week training program and I usually have upped the weights at the end.

Now onto the weight analysis, looking at my records when I was around 1800 for 2 weeks I spiked up following a weekend but then return to the weight by thursday, I still went up another 100 to 1900, then but it looks like from there on (including the weekend celebrations) thats when I gained steadily.

So I'll drop back to 1700/1800 for a while and see how I go, at least I'm no longer thinking about lowering to 1200!

Again thanks so much.

31prvrbs

I would find the *actual* cal level that you plateau/maintain at, and then move forward from there. Inching up after every plateau. It can take a very long time for the body to normalize, depending on how long you were at the lower calorie level.

Once you find a level that you maintain at, I would not suggest getting too comfortable there, but try to continue to move up to the correct calorie level, because metabolism is higher at a higher calorie intake. Increasing slowly (50-100 cals/wk) can not only help to manage the crazy scale fluctuations, but help you to still get those cals to where they should be. But you don't want to undercut yourself and eat too little, just because you can *currently* maintain on that amount. There will be enough uncontrollable circumstances to make you have to lower cals anyway (age, weight loss, etc), so having them too low to start will only compound the issue.

Just remember that the longer you ate low cal, the longer it will take your body to adjust. Don't allow it to discourage you, though, it's worth the time in the end.

~Kiki

bfitgirl

I would find the *actual* cal level that you plateau/maintain at, and then move forward from there. Inching up after every plateau. It can take a very long time for the body to normalize, depending on how long you were at the lower calorie level.

Once you find a level that you maintain at, I would not suggest getting too comfortable there, but try to continue to move up to the correct calorie level, because metabolism is higher at a higher calorie intake. Increasing slowly (50-100 cals/wk) can not only help to manage the crazy scale fluctuations, but help you to still get those cals to where they should be. But you don't want to undercut yourself and eat too little, just because you can *currently* maintain on that amount. There will be enough uncontrollable circumstances to make you have to lower cals anyway (age, weight loss, etc), so having them too low to start will only compound the issue.

Just remember that the longer you ate low cal, the longer it will take your body to adjust. Don't allow it to discourage you, though, it's worth the time in the end.

~Kiki

Thank you Kiki for your response. I think I understand now! My info the TDEE calculator gives me really will have to be a goal that I work towards. I'm obviously the 'type' that will have to take it much more slowly with upping the calories. My poor metabolism is obviously in a bad way!

As Heybales suggested too, I'm going to pare back to the calorie amount where I seemed to plateau and stay there for a while. I am prepared for the long haul, thank god for the cold 'button-up' weather & elasticated leggings thats all I can say!!

31prvrbs

I would find the *actual* cal level that you plateau/maintain at, and then move forward from there. Inching up after every plateau. It can take a very long time for the body to normalize, depending on how long you were at the lower calorie level.

Once you find a level that you maintain at, I would not suggest getting too comfortable there, but try to continue to move up to the correct calorie level, because metabolism is higher at a higher calorie intake. Increasing slowly (50-100 cals/wk) can not only help to manage the crazy scale fluctuations, but help you to still get those cals to where they should be. But you don't want to undercut yourself and eat too little, just because you can *currently* maintain on that amount. There will be enough uncontrollable circumstances to make you have to lower cals anyway (age, weight loss, etc), so having them too low to start will only compound the issue.

Just remember that the longer you ate low cal, the longer it will take your body to adjust. Don't allow it to discourage you, though, it's worth the time in the end.

~Kiki

Thank you Kiki for your response. I think I understand now! My info the TDEE calculator gives me really will have to be a goal that I work towards. I'm obviously the 'type' that will have to take it much more slowly with upping the calories. My poor metabolism is obviously in a bad way!

As Heybales suggested too, I'm going to pare back to the calorie amount where I seemed to plateau and stay there for a while. I am prepared for the long haul, thank god for the cold 'button-up' weather & elasticated leggings thats all I can say!!

Don't worry, girl. I was the "type" too. I took things nice and slow. I knew I was in it for the long haul, so it just didn't seem like it mattered how long it would take as long as I was on the right path. (plus I was terrified of the gain :laugh: )

And you know that you are on the right path now, too :drinker:

That's all that matters Best of luck :flowerforyou:

~Kiki

bfitgirl

Hi all,
Just thought I give you an update to my progress since my last post on 25th March.

Well the weight has stablised at around 1700-1800, I still have a bit of a binge night on a weekend.

So my weight has plateaued, not gaining or losing, however mentally I'm struggling as summer fast approaches! I NEED to do something so trying to avoid the thoughts of slashing the calories back I thought maybe I'd go and get my Metabolism tested
(http://www.myhealthmatters.ie/metabolic-testing/) at a local place (Dublin, Ireland) and maybe go see a Dietitian, I think I really need medical back-up to cement in my convictions on this.

heybales

Hi all,
Just thought I give you an update to my progress since my last post on 25th March.

Well the weight has stablised at around 1700-1800, I still have a bit of a binge night on a weekend.

So my weight has plateaued, not gaining or losing, however mentally I'm struggling as summer fast approaches! I NEED to do something so trying to avoid the thoughts of slashing the calories back I thought maybe I'd go and get my Metabolism tested
(http://www.myhealthmatters.ie/metabolic-testing/) at a local place (Dublin, Ireland) and maybe go see a Dietitian, I think I really need medical back-up to cement in my convictions on this.

If you have 2 weeks available, eat 250 more daily.
That should be 1 lb of weight gained, that's all.

With lifting, mainly not fat, if you really gain.

Then take your 15% deficit from that lower number.