Have i done too much damage??

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  • RellaBelle
    RellaBelle Posts: 70 Member
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    My suggestion is to keep eating at the higher level for 6wks. After 6wks re-evaluate. I upped my calories recently and it took my body 4-6wks to adjust. You can't tell from only a couple of weeks.

    Thank you for posting this.. I recently upped my cals as well and gained a lb back. Got a little discouraged but this statement made me feel a bit better about it
  • steph1278
    steph1278 Posts: 483 Member
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    It takes the body a little while to get used to an increase in calories. Gains in the first couple weeks are normal. Give it 4-6 weeks and see what happens before changing things up again. I am 5'11 and 217 pounds and eat around 2100 calories and lose anywhere from 1/2 pound to 2 pounds per week.
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
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    There is the possibility that you have cause some permanent downregulation in your metabolism with the VLCD. This is one of the risks of that approach. That being said, as another poster mentioned, you aren't eating way above maintenance so you are not gaining fat. Our bodies are fairly adaptive mechanisms and you probably are retaining some water weight in the short term. I would consider get an RMR (Resting Metabolic Rate) test. Some places are fairly inexpensive, like say $50 to $75. This will help you to determine a more accurate baseline that will help set your calorie goals.
  • norcal_yogi
    norcal_yogi Posts: 675 Member
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    bump... in similar position!
  • evansjaohseven
    evansjaohseven Posts: 5 Member
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    bump
  • nicholeuf
    nicholeuf Posts: 10 Member
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    Maybe you're gaining muscle?
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
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    Maybe you're gaining muscle?

    Likely not as a woman and not doing strength training.
  • nicholeuf
    nicholeuf Posts: 10 Member
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    Another thought...maybe your metabolism slowed down with the lower calorie consumption and now that you're eating more calories, your body is gaining some weight? If it were me, I would do what I could to increase metabolism (eating healthy foods at BMR level, exercising regularly, etc.) for a few weeks and see what happens. From what I have read, 1000-1200 calories for a long period of time can decrease metabolism. If you are concerned, however, I would see a doctor to make sure nothing is going on.
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
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    It will take your body several weeks to readjust. Once your body adjusts you should start dropping the weight again. It will be slower though because you are a lot closer to your goal weight. Be patient and don't worry. Trust that your body will adjust to the new calorie intake. (and this is a healthier number of calories which will help you adjust to a maintenance level once you get to goal weight.)
  • nicholeuf
    nicholeuf Posts: 10 Member
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    But she said she is running after years of weight loss with only dieting. I started running this year and have gained a lot of muscle in the process.
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
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    You can only "gain" muscle if you are eating a surplus. If she is strengthening current muscle, that muscle is more dense than fat, yes. But eating at a calorie deficit like she has been and even at the higher calories, she is still at a deficit, she is not gaining any muscles. Her muscles may be retaining water for the repair process.
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
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    But she said she is running after years of weight loss with only dieting. I started running this year and have gained a lot of muscle in the process.

    You don't gain muscle, as in hypertrophy, from running or any other aerobic workout. You condition your existing muscle tissue but you don't "grow" it. Also, it is hard for women, without the benefit of the anabolic hormone testosterone, to grow much muscle. It take resistance training and caloric surplus and time.

    The fact that she started running is likely why she is gaining. It is water and glycogen as a repair and resotrative adaptation from starting an exercise program. It will normalize over time.
  • smilesalot1969
    smilesalot1969 Posts: 392
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    Maybe you're gaining muscle?

    Likely not as a woman and not doing strength training.

    i do lift heavy 4 times a week does this count as strength training?
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
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    You have to be eating MORE than your TDEE and working really hard with specific training to be gaining muscle. It is very difficult for women body builders to do. You aren't doing that eating minimal calories.
  • NewMeAT33
    NewMeAT33 Posts: 33
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    I added strength training and the scale did not move for 3 weeks. It is 100% water related. I read so much about DOMS. Now that the training is a regular part of my schedule, I still 'gain weight' after a work out.

    Measure. Not weigh.
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
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    Maybe you're gaining muscle?

    Likely not as a woman and not doing strength training.

    i do lift heavy 4 times a week does this count as strength training?

    Yes! And that is great. If you are eating in a deficit you won't gain muscle but you will gain strength and maintian lean muscle mass and that is critical. To gain muscle you would have to eat in a calorie surplus. The lifting together with the cardio could very well be driving some water weight/ glycogen gain. Pretty normal.

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