Weight gain despite being good

I seem to have got heavier this week, despite exercising more and eating like a saintly mouse. I'm always telling people on hear not to worry about this, so today i need it back Pleeease. I'm 5'10 for goodness sakes and i feel like if i cut down any more it will make me feel ill, but progress is so slow! tell me if i do the shred every day i WILL be a lean mean fitness machine! ......Rant Over.....for today.......

Hmm... seems like this was exactly what I just read in another thread...

Yes, if you are sore this is DOMS and it can last up to 10 days. It's part of the process.

You are right, once you get close to maintenance it's time to ditch the scale. I've been maintaining over a year now and I finally ditched the scale this year in January and I've never been happier. It's quite an inferior tool. I do not take measurements anymore either. All that matters is how I look in the mirror, pictures, and how my clothes fit. This is how life was meant to be and I am going to enjoy it. The scale and metrics tends to steal the joy.

If you are still in the weight loss phase:

Your body loses weight in chunks, not linear. I have found that you can do everything right and your weight loss seems to plateau but if you are patient and keep exercising and eating at a deficit (however slight) you will lose it, it will suddenly "whoosh". There are so many variables for the scale; water retention, digestion, hormones, allergies, sodium, carbs, water intake, DOMS, inflammation, the list goes on. People mistakenly think they lose or gain weight when they eat more or less because of these fluctuations.

Losing weight requires tremendous patience. You will not lose it when you want it or where you want it. The body does its thing. Some apparent plateaus can last a month or so. You cannot make it happen faster. You must focus on two things; calories and exercise. Nothing else matters. Scales and metrics don't matter. The day in and day out grind of exercise and calories are all that matters. It is not very exciting until things fall into place. You get your victories and you ride one victory to the next.

The scale is a trend tool. The scale is good but put it away and only check once a week and only use it as a trend tool. It will fluctuate, it does not matter. Take front side and back progress pictures at least once a month. You will see differences that the metrics won't tell you and it's that little bit of NSV that will keep you going until the next victory.

Progress is S-L-O-W-E-R when you get leaner:

Once I got leaner I had to taper UP my calories. The leaner you get the less of a calorie deficit your body can handle. It needs to be a long slow shallow deficit. For me still under a doctor’s care, this is around 1000-1200 calories because I am so short, petite, and am under 12% body fat where I truly can go into starvation mode if I ate under 1000 calories. I have supporting documentation below.

You are taller so you you can eat much more.

The leaner you get the less your body has to draw from and then you have to taper up your calories. There is no such thing as starvation mode for woman over 12% body fat or men over 6% body fat. I pretty much proved that for myself by staying strong and building muscle and doing what I did. I'm the leanest, most muscular, and most fit that I have ever been in my life at almost 52 years old. My doctor looked at my blood work throughout my journey and it remained fine even with “taking breaks from eating” for periods of time and eating less. Even now at less than 12% body fat everything is A-OKAY. I am healthy, active, and vibrant, muscular not skinny. I have never had eating disorders nor do I now.

What is the exact number of calories for you?

We’ve been trying to figure out an exact NUMBER of calories that everyone should be eating, without recognizing that everyone is slightly different. In truth, the calories aren’t the end game. Your body is. So the EXACT amount of Calories that are right for you is the EXACT amount that will allow you to maintain your ideal bodyweight no matter what some calculator or chart says.

In other words, an online calculator might tell you that you need to eat 2,500 calories
per day to maintain your ideal bodyweight. But the only way to know for sure if this is
the right amount for you is to test it out. If you gain weight or can’t lose weight eating
that much, then you know you need to eat less to lose weight no matter how many
calculators and text books say otherwise.

This doesn’t mean your metabolism is broken, it just means the estimate of your needs
was just a bit off.

-John Barban (The Body Centric Calorie Guide from the Venus Index and Adonis Index Manuals)

The Theory of Fat Availability:
•There is a set amount of fat that can be released from a fat cell.
•The more fat you have, the more fat can be used as a fuel when dieting.
•The less fat you have, the less fat can be used as a fuel when dieting.
•Towards the end of a transformation, when body fat is extremely low you
may not have enough fat to handle a large caloric deficit anymore.

At the extreme low end, when your body fat cannot ‘keep up’ with the energy deficit
you've imposed on your body, the energy MUST come from SOMEWHERE. This is
when you are at risk of losing lean body mass during dieting (commonly referred to
as ‘starvation mode’). This happens at extremely low levels of body fat, under 6% in
men and 12% in women [Friedl K.E. J Appl Phsiol, 1994].

-Brad Pilon and John Barban (from The Reverse Taper Diet in The Adonis Index and Venus Index manuals)

If you don't buy into the "starvation mode" think about it like this: if you don't give your body the nourishment it needs you will not get the most out of your workouts. Your body needs the extra energy when upping your exercise.

I'll do everything right - log 1350 calories a day, run 12 miles a week, walk 10 miles...6 days after my weigh in, it will show me being the same, then BAM on day 7, it finally drops.

This has happened the last two weeks. It can be mentally draining!

What's your standard calorie intake and macros, and what's your exercise regime?

Calorie goal is 1200 and i'm usually under, so i agree with previous posters, that as i'm not overeating i can't really be gaining fat/weight. Have just started doing the shred and i walk quite a bit, run occasionally and netball every other week. Don't know what macro's are :huh:

I've found personally for myself that 1200 is too low, I'm only 5'3 and I'm eating 1350 a day and this is temporary to hopefully shed some body fat, then I'll probably up to around 1500-1600 a day. If you're going to be eating 1200 you should make sure you eat back all your exercise calories. I don't really do the whole "starvation mode" thing, but I really think you aren't eating enough, especially if you're going to be working out pretty regularly. I find that even some days 1350 is too low for me. Try upping your calories by 150-200 a day for a week or two and see what happens. Also take pictures and measurments, my weight hasn't really changed in 2 months, but in pictures you can tell I've definitely toned up and gotten more defined.

No public diary to verify statement? Girl bai.

What???? Did i ask to be called a liar because i thought that might be fun today?
My friends can see my diary. Just ask......

Who called you a liar?

Well what did you mean then? If you're just stirring, i hope you have a nice day.

Girl, I can only imagine you're so angry because of how hungry you are. You come in complaining about weight but no one can see your diary to advise: that goes for too many calories OR too few. Methinks the lady doth protest too much.

I don't believe the OP asked for advice, she asked for encouragement. And you jumping in and saying you want to verify? That's just rude.

Yeah, i don't buy into the starvation mode thing either, but i didn't think weight gain from exercise would be so rapid, and disheartening...

You know what, neither did I. That is until one day about a moth ago when my weight loss stopped altogether even though I should have been loosing 2 pounds a week. I did follow the advice of eating my calories back for three days and the weight started shedding like crazy. I am a strong believer of eating your exercise calories back now. Please try it regardless of what you call it (starvation or otherwise). Best of luck.

This also happened to me - but I also reset goal to maintenance for the 1st week and then only half a pound after that - started loosing weight again.

You have nothing to loose in trying this - except weight of course.

Good luck!

Have you possibly gained muscle? Because muscle weighs more than fat! How do your clothes fit?

Stress. That's my problem. I need to get some stress out of my life, and then my cortisol will start regulating, and then my body will realize that it needs to stop sucking so much right now despite my best efforts.