Wasn't it just a matter of staying under the calorie limit?

davypr86

It's only my third week and I gained weight. I thought it was just a matter of staying under the calorie limit?

What did I do wrong? Went from 245.4 to 246.

seekingstrengthX2

Your sodium on Saturday was over 4600. That alone would cause a gain. Weigh again in a few days after you have flushed all that out.

Other than that, its possible you are overestimating your calories burned. I saw 1280....unless that was a 90 minute run, seems high.

Seajolly

There are many factors in weight loss. Have you added in more exercise? Because with increased exercise, your body can actually put on weight from gaining muscle. This is a good thing, don't worry! The more muscle mass you have, the more calories you burn.

How many calories are you eating each day, roughly? Eating way below your targeted amount of calories per day can actually lead to weight gain, not loss. Believe me, this happened to me! It's because your body will hold onto all the calories it can because it doesn't think it's being fed enough to function. So it'll burn less. Our bodies are very resilient.

Please describe exactly what you're doing calorie and exercise-wise.

majope

Most people fluctuate by several pounds over the course of a day--depends on how much food and liquid is in your system at any time. Some of that is just digestion, but your muscles will also hold onto water if you've been exercising--they need it for repair.

If you've been weighing and measuring your food carefully and are reasonably sure of your calorie burn when you exercise, as long as you're in a deficit you will lose weight. It just doesn't always show on the scale right away. Have you tried taking measurements and seeing if there is any change there?

davypr86

Your sodium on Saturday was over 4600. That alone would cause a gain. Weigh again in a few days after you have flushed all that out.

Other than that, its possible you are overestimating your calories burned. I saw 1280....unless that was a 90 minute run, seems high.

It was a 90 minute run. I had a birthday later so, I used the elliptical trainer for 90 minutes.

Getting the sodium under control is so difficult. I'm going to try to lower it this week.

beckslite

It's hard to answer that for someone else, but there may be a few things that could make a difference. For example I know that I loose more weight if I eat less carbs. Certain foods just don't let me loose weight. Also it could depend on how and when you eat. Little and often does work, but I must admit I prefer my 3 meals a day, but add snacks in between sometimes. The other thing could be exercise. How active are you? Etc. whatever it is don't give up. You may just need some time to work out what's best for you.

Good luck
Becks :happy:

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

Your weight is going to fluctuate. It's just one of those things you have to make peace with. Sodium, alcohol, and new exercise will all cause you to retain water. You just have to realize that it isn't fat. Weigh and log all your food and then trust that if you're eating a deficit you will lose weight long-term. If you find that you're gaining slowly over a period of weeks, then that's an indication that you're eating too much. But give it time and you'll likely see it go back down.

davypr86

There are many factors in weight loss. Have you added in more exercise? Because with increased exercise, your body can actually put on weight from gaining muscle. This is a good thing, don't worry! The more muscle mass you have, the more calories you burn.

How many calories are you eating each day, roughly? Eating way below your targeted amount of calories per day can actually lead to weight gain, not loss. Believe me, this happened to me! It's because your body will hold onto all the calories it can because it doesn't think it's being fed enough to function. So it'll burn less. Our bodies are very resilient.

Please describe exactly what you're doing calorie and exercise-wise.

I usually burn over 800 calories in exercise. With how much I eat, it depends. One day, the only day I went over, I ate over 2,500. Other days I eat as low as 1500.

Is that wrong.

michaelocampo

This may not apply, but from my personal friends who are struggling (vs the ones who are seeing movement in the numbers)... the most common factors are overestimating type of exercise and underestimating portion size. It happens. Not many know EXACT calculations to begin with, but two ways to reduce errors at home are through the use of a heart rate monitor and a food weighing scale.

lizag2012

Carbs. Your diet has way too many carbs, and you work out too hard. I know it sounds counterintuitive, but crazy workouts make you super hungry, eating carbs makes your insulin fire up and store fat, which in turn makes you more hungry. You don't eat nearly enough protein. You could completely stop counting calories and eat tons of protein and stop eating rice and pasta salad and tortillas and cereal and you would lose weight. Rice, pasta, etc are not part of a nutritious eating plan. Eat a huge steak for dinner with a huge side of veggies - 2 cups of greens at least. Eggs and bacon for breakfast instead of cereal.

Alatariel75

There are many factors in weight loss. Have you added in more exercise? Because with increased exercise, your body can actually put on weight from gaining muscle. This is a good thing, don't worry! The more muscle mass you have, the more calories you burn.

How many calories are you eating each day, roughly? Eating way below your targeted amount of calories per day can actually lead to weight gain, not loss. Believe me, this happened to me! It's because your body will hold onto all the calories it can because it doesn't think it's being fed enough to function. So it'll burn less. Our bodies are very resilient.

Please describe exactly what you're doing calorie and exercise-wise.

I usually burn over 800 calories in exercise. With how much I eat, it depends. One day, the only day I went over, I ate over 2,500. Other days I eat as low as 1500.

Is that wrong.

Not to burst anyone's bubbles, but if you are eating at a deficit, you aren't gaining muscle, and you don't gain visible scale muscle in 3 weeks. That's a myth people bandy about when they have a gain they don't think they can explain.

You've got some other good feedback though. Bodies are weird.

mazdauk

The best way to get your sodium down is to cook from scratch as much as you can - I mean with raw ingredients which you then cook, not putting several packets together Reduce processed meats such as ham, bacon and sausages (which have salt added) and watch out for bread and breakfast cereals - they often have surprisingly high salt levels. Same with pre-made sauces (and of course ready meals). The more you prepare yourself, the more you can control the salt levels.

davypr86

Carbs. Your diet has way too many carbs, and you work out too hard. I know it sounds counterintuitive, but crazy workouts make you super hungry, eating carbs makes your insulin fire up and store fat, which in turn makes you more hungry. You don't eat nearly enough protein. You could completely stop counting calories and eat tons of protein and stop eating rice and pasta salad and tortillas and cereal and you would lose weight. Rice, pasta, etc are not part of a nutritious eating plan. Eat a huge steak for dinner with a huge side of veggies - 2 cups of greens at least. Eggs and bacon for breakfast instead of cereal.

You mean, like in Adkins and South Beach?

pinksparklefairy

For a couple of days after a big workouts your muscles will contain more water, which can make you temporarily gain weight. This might be what happened to you.

As others have suggested, decrease carbs a bit and increase protein. If you have red numbers that's a sign your diet is out of balance.

Admiral_Derp

Check this out: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/952996-level-obstacles-lose-weight-target-fat-easy

3dogsrunning

This

Your weight is going to fluctuate. It's just one of those things you have to make peace with. Sodium, alcohol, and new exercise will all cause you to retain water. You just have to realize that it isn't fat. Weigh and log all your food and then trust that if you're eating a deficit you will lose weight long-term. If you find that you're gaining slowly over a period of weeks, then that's an indication that you're eating too much. But give it time and you'll likely see it go back down.

And this

Check this out: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/952996-level-obstacles-lose-weight-target-fat-easy

LeahT84

Carbs. Your diet has way too many carbs, and you work out too hard. I know it sounds counterintuitive, but crazy workouts make you super hungry, eating carbs makes your insulin fire up and store fat, which in turn makes you more hungry. You don't eat nearly enough protein. You could completely stop counting calories and eat tons of protein and stop eating rice and pasta salad and tortillas and cereal and you would lose weight. Rice, pasta, etc are not part of a nutritious eating plan. Eat a huge steak for dinner with a huge side of veggies - 2 cups of greens at least. Eggs and bacon for breakfast instead of cereal.

I agree with a very small amount of this, and disagree with the rest. You do not want to go crazy on your carbs, but you certainly do not want to cut them out completely. Do whole wheat bread and pasta and brown rice. You should eat more protein, but LEAN meats is the way to go, not steak and certainly not bacon. They have healthy cereals if you measure your portions... Or maybe an egg white omelet, never bacon.

LeahT84

Carbs. Your diet has way too many carbs, and you work out too hard. I know it sounds counterintuitive, but crazy workouts make you super hungry, eating carbs makes your insulin fire up and store fat, which in turn makes you more hungry. You don't eat nearly enough protein. You could completely stop counting calories and eat tons of protein and stop eating rice and pasta salad and tortillas and cereal and you would lose weight. Rice, pasta, etc are not part of a nutritious eating plan. Eat a huge steak for dinner with a huge side of veggies - 2 cups of greens at least. Eggs and bacon for breakfast instead of cereal.

You mean, like in Adkins and South Beach?

I sure hope not, because those diets are fad diets and they will work, until you discontinue and start eating carbs, then BOOM, gain it all back. You need to just watch your sodium intake and make sure you're eating more complex carbs.I haven't looked at your diary yet, but after I do, I will email you any suggestions I can come up with.

twelfty

Carbs. Your diet has way too many carbs, and you work out too hard. I know it sounds counterintuitive, but crazy workouts make you super hungry, eating carbs makes your insulin fire up and store fat, which in turn makes you more hungry. You don't eat nearly enough protein. You could completely stop counting calories and eat tons of protein and stop eating rice and pasta salad and tortillas and cereal and you would lose weight. Rice, pasta, etc are not part of a nutritious eating plan. Eat a huge steak for dinner with a huge side of veggies - 2 cups of greens at least. Eggs and bacon for breakfast instead of cereal.

that's the atkins diet... which is a fad.... long played out

protein is worked out as 1g per lb of lean body mass

the way to save time on this is 0.7 or 0.8g x total body mass (this is allowing for roughly 20 - 30% body fat)

your carbs and fat are worked out as a remainder of what's left in percentages usually about 40% carbs, 20% fat

anything that's in the confines of this is acceptable

also get your sodium down, it's not difficult at all, don't add salt to anything, eat healthier foods and there will be less salt naturally

to calculate your daily calorie requirements see here:

scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

good luck! stick with it

257_Lag

Did you gain in the beginning and then come back down? A lot of us did. I went up 2 pounds for a week and then down 2 pounds the next week so in 3 weeks I was only "down" 1.5 pounds from when I started. After that it has been a nice slow progression from 257 - 241.

Everybody is different. Sodium doesn't affect some people. It does affect me in a huge way. If I had a 4600 sodium day I would see about 4 pounds the next day on a scale. In order, I look at calories and then sodium before I decide if it's worth putting in my mouth. Those first couple weeks were an eye opener for sodium content!

If you can handle it mentally weigh every day, first thing in the morning and learn from the fluctuations but don't let them get you down. I started the 30 day shred 5 days ago and went up 2 pounds from the new routine. Wasn't worried a bit because I know it is water weight to repair the muscles.

Good Luck!

lizag2012

Not necessarily that crazy - those diets are too restrictive. Any time you tell yourself you can't have something it becomes the main object of desire, right? :-) I will find another post I did earlier that explains it better and copy it here in a sec.

davypr86

Carbs. Your diet has way too many carbs, and you work out too hard. I know it sounds counterintuitive, but crazy workouts make you super hungry, eating carbs makes your insulin fire up and store fat, which in turn makes you more hungry. You don't eat nearly enough protein. You could completely stop counting calories and eat tons of protein and stop eating rice and pasta salad and tortillas and cereal and you would lose weight. Rice, pasta, etc are not part of a nutritious eating plan. Eat a huge steak for dinner with a huge side of veggies - 2 cups of greens at least. Eggs and bacon for breakfast instead of cereal.

You mean, like in Adkins and South Beach?

I sure hope not, because those diets are fad diets and they will work, until you discontinue and start eating carbs, then BOOM, gain it all back. You need to just watch your sodium intake and make sure you're eating more complex carbs.I haven't looked at your diary yet, but after I do, I will email you any suggestions I can come up with.

Thank you. And thank you everyone for your suggestions. I start hitting the sodium hard this week. After a few days of eating good sodium, I'll weight myself again.

Seajolly

Not to burst anyone's bubbles, but if you are eating at a deficit, you aren't gaining muscle, and you don't gain visible scale muscle in 3 weeks. That's a myth people bandy about when they have a gain they don't think they can explain.

You've got some other good feedback though. Bodies are weird.

Just because the OP says he's eating at a deficit doesn't make that true, because his goals/info might be set wrong. I know you can't gain muscle if you're eating at a deficit, but I was trying to figure out if he actually was. :flowerforyou:

lizag2012

I would suggest reading a book called, "Why Do We Get Fat" to you and pretty much everyone else (I'm sure it's available at the library). The calories in/calories out idea is much more complex than we are willing to admit. There are no studies out there that prove that simply increasing exercise and decreasing calories is a long-term successful way to lose weight and keep it off. If you want a short, VERY simplified answer without having to read and learn on your own: carbs/sugars increase the insulin response in our bodies, thereby increasing fat storage and hunger signals. Exercise greatly increases hunger. For someone who is already overweight, the excess fat signals cravings that are nearly uncontrollable. The more fat you have stored, the more out of whack your insulin response is. Starvation mode diets (consistently eating under the calories you need - 400-1700 for example) work for a while, but as soon as the person stops keeping their calories below that threshold, they gain the weight back. If you want sustainable weight loss, you need to increase the protein in your diet, and add in lots of veggies. Several cups of greens and a lot of protein, then stop eating when you feel full. It isn't necessary to count calories. Keep in mind that fruit has a lot of sugar, so it is best to stay away from it until your body's insulin responses have normalized. Limit exercise until you have gotten the cravings somewhat under control, and then keep it light for a while (maybe walk 30 minutes 5 days). If you are hungry, have more protein. Learn what is a sugar craving and what is true hunger. Eventually, the crazy addictive pull of sugars and starches will die down. The more fat you lose and the less sugar you consume on a regular basis, the more easy it will become to keep weight off.

And YES, you can eat bacon and steak. There are NO studies proving that a low-fat diet is good for your heart or your waistline. In fact, a little bit of fat with a carb makes the insulin response level out because fat and protein take longer to digest.

All of you stating what you should and should not eat need to check the real research. We have been fed so much misinformation that we think low-fat, low-calorie, tons of exercise is the way to health. If it was, the obesity problem would be solved. Unfortunately doctors who treat their patients with the USDA recommeneded guidelines don't see much success. Scientists can't find a link between the simple calories in/out rule and weight loss, but the media and government buy into it because it is the only explanation that seems to make "sense" so they keep trying to prove it. Read the book or look into the research on your own.

davypr86

I wont lie. I'm pretty frustrated. I actually upped my calorie intake last week because I was low the week before.

I've been thinking that maybe I'm relying too much on the exercise to eat more. Maybe I ought to cut on the exercising and force myself to eat less.

eric_sg61

Carbs. Your diet has way too many carbs, and you work out too hard. I know it sounds counterintuitive, but crazy workouts make you super hungry, eating carbs makes your insulin fire up and store fat, which in turn makes you more hungry. You don't eat nearly enough protein. You could completely stop counting calories and eat tons of protein and stop eating rice and pasta salad and tortillas and cereal and you would lose weight. Rice, pasta, etc are not part of a nutritious eating plan. Eat a huge steak for dinner with a huge side of veggies - 2 cups of greens at least. Eggs and bacon for breakfast instead of cereal.

^^So much BS misinformation in this post I don't know whether to laugh or punch my screen.

Lauramh31

It's probably water weight. It happened to me just last week - I was up 2 pounds the day after a hard workout. I then took a rest day and noticed I had to wake up a lot to go to the bathroom, so I was suspicious it was water weight and my body was now getting rid of it. Sure enough, the next morning I weighed again and was down 2 pounds (so net loss/gain of 0). That's when I knew everyone was right that you really do retain water after a hard workout! Sounds like that may be it for you, but the others had really great suggestions too - definitely up the protein and watch the sodium. Good luck!

3dogsrunning

I wont lie. I'm pretty frustrated. I actually upped my calorie intake last week because I was low the week before.

I've been thinking that maybe I'm relying too much on the exercise to eat more. Maybe I ought to cut on the exercising and force myself to eat less.

What are you doing for exercise?
I wouldn't do excessive exercise just to eat food. Unless you are training for something specific more than an hour isn't really necessary. I am, however, a big believer in exercise. Don't cut it out for no reason. Cut down, possibly, eliminate, no.

Did you read the thread that was linked? It includes your exercise so you aren't "eating back" calories which may help your solve your habit of exercising to eat more.

mike_littlerock

we are all a little different, so what worked for me was to closely monitor intake and burn, and then experiment with components (calorie level, water intake, sodium levles, carbs, etc.).

I am careful to not go too low on calorie level, but I do see a definite impact on the other variables. For example, I can see a fluctuation of 5 lbs if I eat high sodium.. if i control it it will drop off in a day or two, but thats just the result of the water retention.

be consistent.. keep after it. you did not gain over night and it will be a lifestyle change and new habits to get it off and keep it off.

good luck!!

dtimedwards

There are no studies out there that prove that simply increasing exercise and decreasing calories is a long-term successful way to lose weight

Lisa, in this house we obey the laws of Thermodynamics.

lizag2012

^^So much BS misinformation in this post I don't know whether to laugh or punch my screen.

Where is your research? Studies conclusively show that eating carbohydrates leads to insulin spikes and that insulin spikes lead to fat storage.

I am going to exaggerate here a little for effect, but I am sure you drink protein shakes after workouts, and if you are working out like crazy and then eating the supreme banana split hot fudge sundae after the workout, well then, you are just working out to get the sundae, and the workout and protein shake are helping to reduce the insulin crash. Which is fine, if you have the time to work out that hard and still want to eat the sundae, it will work, it's just not realistic for most people to spend hours at the gym each day in order to eat the sundae. I would personally rather stick to a sensible eating plan that doesn't deprive me, indulge a little now and then (maybe a scoop of frozen yogurt with a little topping instead of the monster sundae), and get a little light excercise 5 days a week or more. I have found some articles showing low-glycemic eating habits to be the healthiest approach, far more healthy than no-carb and low-fat, but I will wait until I can actually quote the research studies (not magazine health articles) that cannot find any link between low calorie/low fat diets and long-term loss. I never said he couldn't eat carbs, just that he is eating way too many. If you look at his diet, you might (or might not) agree, but he eats a lot of rice, crackers, cereal, pasta salad, rolls, tortillas, chips, etc. Cutting that back and increasing his protein intake will help. Also, I'm hoping you aren't really that frustrated by my post and that you were kidding, otherwise I'm wondering if the ripped body might have less to do with diet and exercise and more to do with "supplements". Temper temper!