Arrrgggh frustrating weight gain!

VBnotbitter

Both me and my husband are having the same issues so I’m assuming its diet associated, but I just cant see where we are going wrong to put on weight.

Eight years ago we both lost about 20 kg that we had put on in our early marriage and having a baby etc. We did this using Lite and Easy which is an Australian company that delivers all your food to you. I was on 1200 calories and he was on 1800. We’ve pretty much managed to keep it off since give or take the odd 5kg or so. When we have gained we paid closer attention to what we were eating and dropped back.

Until last year when both of us struggled to keep on top of the weight gain. So we did Lite and Easy again last November and both lost about 5kg. All good except we have both already put it back on despite watching what we eat. We started tracking with MFP in early march but the weight keeps creeping back on. We are both eating at a deficit and exercising 4-5 times a week, so even if we were at a plateau surely we shouldn’t be gaining? Tracking our intake has shown that we never go over our BMR or TDEE even when we are having a blow out. We bought some weight watchers electronic scales earlier in the year which measure body fat, water composition and bone density as well as weight. Now I appreciate that these aren’t going to be the most accurate but they are reporting a rise in body fat as well as weight, with water staying the same. My clothes are tighter. I’ve been measuring and that’s not improving. I’m not aiming to be skinny or ripped, just within a healthy BMI so its not as though I have huge expectations.

I’ve been searching through the message boards for answers with no luck but I can provide answers to the predictable solutions ;-

1) Not eating enough – this might cause a plateau but not weight gain. In any case most days we are eating up to our MFP calories which is also pretty much what the TDEE less 20% works out as.
2) Not eating back exercise calories – try to but when it gets calculated at 450 calories lost for 15 minutes running I suspect that this is a bit inaccurate
3) Weight gain through muscle development – we are mainly doing cardio, with a bit of 30 day shred mixed in. No way have we developed 5kg of muscle in 4 months
4) Water retention – not through muscle storage as not new exercise programme, plus we drink lots of water. Hormonal changes might account a bit for me but not for him
5) Type of food – all home cooked, hardly ever eat out or have take away so no hidden calories. Don’t drink soft drinks, fruit juices etc that we don’t record. Might not be 100% clean and certainly not enough veggies but fairly healthy balance
6) Not enough or wrong kind of exercise – remember I’m talking weight gain not plateau. Yes lifting weights builds lean muscle, yes 1-2 hours exercise most days would make a difference but we don’t have access to a gym and 30-40 minutes is all we can fit in at the moment.
7) Thyroid function – both of us?

Apologies for such a long ramble but it’s frustrating and I am starting to obsess a bit. My diary should be open so if anyone has any idea where we are going wrong please help.

BarackMeLikeAHurricane

1. Protein intake seems low

2. Fat intake seems low

3. Lots of "homemade ___" entries. Are these recipes you added or just generic entries? One person might make their mashed potatoes with 1tsp of butter and a splash of unsweetened almond milk while someone else uses 1lb of butter and a gallon of whole milk. There can be pretty extreme variances in the calories of homemade recipes.

heyyoudontgiveup

You eat a lot of carbs and not enough protein. When you were doing 1200 calories before were you working out? Because eating back your exercise calories might not be helping you. I do not eat back my exercise calories because MFP doesn't always calculate them correctly.

mockchoc

Go to your food log and click though each day. See all those green numbers down the bottom? They should be closer to zero. You aren't eating enough I believe.

thelovelyLIZ

I glanced over your diary real quickly- I think more protein will help you out. I'm not a low carb person, but it looks like you're barely making your MFP suggested protein intake, which is on the low side anyway.

Also, try some weight training. You don't need to wait until you loose weight to start strength training. It will help you build muscle and burn more calories at rest.

lmelangley

First thought: how accurately are you measuring your portions?

Second thought: although you're often within carb boundaries, you do seem to eat a lot of starchy type foods. Try more vegetables and protein and less bread. I know that when I eat a lot of carbs, I don't do as well, even when my calories are good. I'm not a "no carbs" type person, but I'll almost never eat 2 slices of bread at a meal, for example.

Good luck!

VBnotbitter

Thanks for all the advice everyone. First of all the homemade stuff is things Ive added into the recipes so they are fairly accurate as far as the tools go. Secondly I've gone right back through my diary after reading the suggestions and some days I eat more carbs and some days I eat more protein. Evening meals tend to be starchy heavy sadly to keep my boys happy. I've thought about portion size and do try not to pile the plate. I'm reluctant to start weighing every meal as its seems a bit too obsessive but I might have to.

In general though even if not eating at the right macros might hinder weight loss, shouldnt eating at a deficit whatever the food types not lead to a weight gain?

BarackMeLikeAHurricane

Thanks for all the advice everyone. First of all the homemade stuff is things Ive added into the recipes so they are fairly accurate as far as the tools go. Secondly I've gone right back through my diary after reading the suggestions and some days I eat more carbs and some days I eat more protein. Evening meals tend to be starchy heavy sadly to keep my boys happy. I've thought about portion size and do try not to pile the plate. I'm reluctant to start weighing every meal as its seems a bit too obsessive but I might have to.

In general though even if not eating at the right macros might hinder weight loss, shouldnt eating at a deficit whatever the food types not lead to a weight gain?

Getting the right amount of each macro plays a role in your health which can lead to a decrease in BMR. That's why things like low fat diets are bad.

heyyoudontgiveup

The amount of protein that MFP says you need is VERY low. You should be eating 2x or more what they say. Also if you're not weighing your food, you do not know how many calories you're eating. So that's really why you're gaining weight.