Why am I gaining?

elekelk
elekelk Posts: 107
in Health and Weight Loss
The first time I brushed it off as bloat, the second time I got worried and this week I'm really scared. I have gained two kilos and I don't know why. I exercise 4-5 times a week (this week I burned 2808 calories) I used the "Scooby calculator" and I'm eating at a 25% cut and thats 1658 calories. I eat little carbs (only wholewheat high-fibre stuff) , eat a lot of protein and drink lakes of water.

I don't eat my exercise calories (your not supposed to when you calculate with scooby because exercise is included in the calories) but I look at what I net so its not to low. With that said I am netting a bit low some days (around 900 calories) but thats the days when I have killer workouts and eat and eat and eat but still cant reach my goal.

I think I'm doing everything right but every time I get on the scales it has gone up, very discouraging :( What am I doing wrong? Please don't say I'm just gaining muscle because I should lose some weight too with my calorie deficit.

Can anyone help?

Replies

  • DPernet
    DPernet Posts: 481 Member
    A) Sodium
    B) Not recording calories consumed correctly
    C) Not recording calories burned correctly
    D) Not eating enough
  • SilverOnTheTree
    SilverOnTheTree Posts: 102 Member
    ^^ What he said.

    A little water weight could be due to starting heavy exercise. But if you're consistently gaining weight over a long period, you're eating too much. Sorry! The calculators don't work for every and Your Mileage May Vary.
  • amnsetie
    amnsetie Posts: 666 Member
    Do you have much to lose? Maybe you are at your correct weight already..
    The food looks very healthy
    Otherwise DPernet has listed the other options.
  • VelociMama
    VelociMama Posts: 3,119 Member
    A) Sodium
    B) Not recording calories consumed correctly
    C) Not recording calories burned correctly
    D) Not eating enough

    Agree with this.

    Take a look at your sodium intake in the last few weeks. 2 kilo gain can very well be caused by fluid retention. Balancing a high sodium intake with a high potassium intake will help keep that fluid gain and fluctuation under control. Try incorporating more potatoes, starchy veggies, bananas, and dark greens to get more potassium in your diet and consider trimming back sodium intake if needed.

    Make sure you're weighing and measuring your food whenever possible to avoid underestimating your intake.

    I would also caution you to be wary of total calories burned unless you have a good heart rate monitor to track it. MFP's estimates for calorie burns can be off by quite a bit.
  • elekelk
    elekelk Posts: 107
    I have a food scale that I use as much as I can and because I don't eat my exercise calories I have a herd time believing I eat my TDEE + the calories I need to gain. I am on the heavier side of a healthy weight but I'm no longer overweight and I only have 10 more pounds to lose.

    I'm going to try eating less sodium and look at a cheap HR-monitor. I really appreciate that you guys give your opinion, thank you :)
  • elekelk
    elekelk Posts: 107
    Should I eat less? My BMR is 1429
  • dhakiyya
    dhakiyya Posts: 481 Member
    miscalculating your calories is probably the main reason. a lot of people use too high an activity factor, you have to do quite a lot of activity daily to really be "moderately active" - I tend to calculate my TDEE as lightly active, even though I work out, because I spend a lot of time sitting down. I find that my real world results indicate that my TDEE is around what the calculators put me as for lightly active, even though some people would say I'm moderately active. i.e. my moderately active TDEE according to calculators is 2100 cals/day, while lightly active it's about 1800 cals/day. My real life results suggest that my TDEE is actually around 1800 cals/day. I'd gain weight on 2100 cals/day unless I significantly increased my daily activity levels.

    Calculators give you estimates only, and it's very hard to estimate activity levels because they depend a lot on how much you move around in your daily activities, not just what kind of exercise you do in your workouts or how many workouts you do a week (though of course that counts too, just it's not the only factor). So if your real world results show something different to the calculators, then go with your results. If you're consistently gaining weight then you are probably eating more than your TDEE. But you do need to make sure it's not other factors, e.g. water weight gains due to sodium, exercise, glycogen etc, before you jump to the conclusion that you're gaining actual fat.
  • elekelk
    elekelk Posts: 107
    So, I have gained for three weeks and if I gain on my next weigh in I should probably decrease calories?

    I used to eat the same amount and work out a lot less and then I lost 10 pounds over the summer but when I lose weight I of course need less calories to maintain and I get a smaller deficit if I keep eating the same amount. So maybe your right, it changed when I lost weight and now its too many calories for me. Sounds logical to me.
  • Tenster
    Tenster Posts: 278 Member
    Do you record your foods in your diary on here? If so give me an add and ill look through it for you and see if i can help
  • C00lCountry
    C00lCountry Posts: 282
    Have you taken any measurements?
    I would be curious to this.
    How about bathroom going?
    Not meaning you are full of poo.
  • elekelk
    elekelk Posts: 107
    I thought about that so I started with measurements today actually :) Bathroom is normal although I drink just as much and my pee is darker for some reason.
  • Helloitsdan
    Helloitsdan Posts: 5,564 Member
    OP how tall are you?
    Weight?
    Body fat?
    Routine?
  • elekelk
    elekelk Posts: 107
    OP how tall are you?
    Weight?
    Body fat?
    Routine?

    5'5
    145lbs
    27.1 %
    Exercise 5 days a week, gym/ bodypump/ bodycombat/ swimming
    BMR (Katch- mcardle): 1393
  • Helloitsdan
    Helloitsdan Posts: 5,564 Member
    OP how tall are you?
    Weight?
    Body fat?
    Routine?

    5'5
    145lbs
    27.1 %
    Exercise 5 days a week, gym/ bodypump/ bodycombat/ swimming
    BMR (Katch- mcardle): 1393

    Eat 1800-2k daily.
    On gym days use your starches post workout and other times just focus on the green leafy carbs.
    Dont forget a healthy dose of fats!
    Lastly its all about protein!
    Get at least .70g per lean body pound.


    Test my guess by doing the steps here http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12
    See how close I am.

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