Trying to shed fat, but gaining weight instead

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valdee23
valdee23 Posts: 2 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I am a runner, and about a month ago joined the crossfit program at my gym. I've also tweaked my diet to lower my carbs a little and increase my protein intake. I have hypoglycemia and since adjusting my macros, my blood sugar has not taken as many nosedives, which is great. I understand that when lifting weights, a certain amount of weight gain can be expected. However, I'm not losing inches anywhere. Instead, pants that used to fit just so or have a more relaxed fit are tighter on me, especially in the waist and hips. Not to mention my weight gas been creeping up since starting the program. I attend crossfit 2-3 times a week and run the other 2-3 days. This can change depending on how beat up I feel. I take 1-2 days off per week. I just feel like I'm getting bigger - not smaller and tighter. I usually take in about 1300-1600 calories a day, not counting exercise. I've used a few sites to calculate my BMR and results vary but it's about 1300 calories. I've read around how maybe 13-1600 calories might be too low but if I increase my calories, weight still goes up. Not sure what's going on here? I'm looking to gain lean muscle mass and not gain all kinds of weight because that can slow me down as a runner. That's happened in the past and I've learned from experience. Any advice or suggestions appreciated!
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Replies

  • clobercow
    clobercow Posts: 337 Member
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    I like your effort. It takes a lot to do that much work to lose weight.

    However. Losing the fat is all diet. Start there.

    I personally don't subscribe to counting calories. I use other methods to lose weight. So I would suggest you analyze what you're doing. If you're not losing the fat, then something should be tweaked. It LOOKS like you're in a deficit, but you may just be guessing to much and not as accurate as you need to be.

    Weight and measure. Don't eat exercise calories.

    It's worth nothing that you can over exercise and it can help to stall weight loss. I'm not sure that you are, but it's worth mentioning.
  • ecw3780
    ecw3780 Posts: 608 Member
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    When you start lifting, you will gain at first. This happens to me for sure. One thing that helped was eating half my body weight in protein and drinking at least a gallon of water per day. Also, watch your salt and fat intake. For a BMR of 1300, I would recommend you eat that + calories your burn while exercising.
  • DebbieLyn63
    DebbieLyn63 Posts: 2,650 Member
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    If you are gaining on the scale and in inches, then you are probably eating above your TDEE. I can't see how raising your calories would result in anything but further gains, unless you increase your exercise burns even more. If you are eating back your exercise calories, you might be overestimating your burns. Especially if you are not using a HRM, but are going by the numbers MFP gives you.
  • ecw3780
    ecw3780 Posts: 608 Member
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    I like your effort. It takes a lot to do that much work to lose weight.

    However. Losing the fat is all diet. Start there.

    I personally don't subscribe to counting calories. I use other methods to lose weight. So I would suggest you analyze what you're doing. If you're not losing the fat, then something should be tweaked. It LOOKS like you're in a deficit, but you may just be guessing to much and not as accurate as you need to be.

    Weight and measure. Don't eat exercise calories.

    It's worth nothing that you can over exercise and it can help to stall weight loss. I'm not sure that you are, but it's worth mentioning.

    Don't eat exercise calories? Maybe if you are eating well about 1300 calories. For someone who only consumes 1300 calories, you need to eat back the exercise calories.
  • ecw3780
    ecw3780 Posts: 608 Member
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    If you are gaining on the scale and in inches, then you are probably eating above your TDEE. I can't see how raising your calories would result in anything but further gains, unless you increase your exercise burns even more. If you are eating back your exercise calories, you might be overestimating your burns. Especially if you are not using a HRM, but are going by the numbers MFP gives you.

    Oh yeah, never go by the MFP exercise numbers. They are way to high. I agree, get a heart rate monitor.
  • now_or_never12
    now_or_never12 Posts: 849 Member
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    When you change your exercise routine you can expect small gains. Your muscles will retain water among other things for repair.

    When you change your diet and try something like adding more calories you need to give it a while to work. Don't eat more for a few days and see a gain and than get scared and drop calories down.

    You need to be patient. The weight will change soon.
  • cmcollins001
    cmcollins001 Posts: 3,472 Member
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    I like your effort. It takes a lot to do that much work to lose weight.

    However. Losing the fat is all diet. Start there.

    I personally don't subscribe to counting calories. I use other methods to lose weight. So I would suggest you analyze what you're doing. If you're not losing the fat, then something should be tweaked. It LOOKS like you're in a deficit, but you may just be guessing to much and not as accurate as you need to be.

    Weight and measure. Don't eat exercise calories.

    It's worth nothing that you can over exercise and it can help to stall weight loss. I'm not sure that you are, but it's worth mentioning.

    If you don't count calories, then how would know if you're eating exercise calories?
  • clobercow
    clobercow Posts: 337 Member
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    In this thread:

    Huge amounts of Eat More To Lose Weight fans

    and

    Starvation Mode subscribers.


    Sigh. Not worth the hassle.
  • clobercow
    clobercow Posts: 337 Member
    Options
    I like your effort. It takes a lot to do that much work to lose weight.

    However. Losing the fat is all diet. Start there.

    I personally don't subscribe to counting calories. I use other methods to lose weight. So I would suggest you analyze what you're doing. If you're not losing the fat, then something should be tweaked. It LOOKS like you're in a deficit, but you may just be guessing to much and not as accurate as you need to be.

    Weight and measure. Don't eat exercise calories.

    It's worth nothing that you can over exercise and it can help to stall weight loss. I'm not sure that you are, but it's worth mentioning.

    If you don't count calories, then how would know if you're eating exercise calories?

    Fat loss isn't all about calories, it's about the body reaction to food also. I'm not a fan the methods used here because I think they are flawed.
  • cedarghost
    cedarghost Posts: 621 Member
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    I don't see how anyone here can offer to tell you what to do when no one has asked, "How long have you been seeing gains?": Some people tend to freak out if they don't show a loss for a week or two weeks. Typically, it takes a MINIMUM of a month to 6 weeks to see the effects of a change in diet or exercise. People tend to start freaking out at the slightest gain, and then changing things and then end up confused and lost.
    Give it enough time to know if you are actually gaining permanent weight or if this is simply your body adjusting to changes.
  • debdelilah
    debdelilah Posts: 82
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    I see from your profile that you only have 2.5 lbs to lose - so you are mostly likely not overweight, but at a low weight trying to go lower.
    And you are clearly fit and clearly very active.
    Active 5 days/wk...you don't say for how long, but perhaps you are burning 500 calories a day? I can do that on an elliptical trainer in one 40 minute work out, at 114 lbs.
    You may not be eating enough, so your body starts to burn muscle, your strength training exercises feel less productive, and perhaps you have less energy when you run? Do you feel hungry a lot, or get headaches that go away when you eat?

    I went through something like this trying to go from 121-114 beginning in September. Ate little, felt bloated and weak.
    My answer to you is to eat more in the 1800-2100 calorie range every day(including exercise cals, not plus exercise) and wait it out. If you are active, as you say you are, you can lose weight slowly at that intake or maintain weight and gain strength. You can also focus on nutrition for awhile and chart your strength gains, and forget about the scale till a month goes by - you will see the loss over time. Time of month equals a large water gain - ignore temporary gains and bloating.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,401 MFP Moderator
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    I'm looking to gain lean muscle mass and not gain all kinds of weight because that can slow me down as a runner.

    It is 100% impossible to GAIN lean body mass and not GAIN weight. It's what happens when you gain. If you want add muscle, you will gain weight. It's rather simple. In fact, if you want to gain muscle, you will also gain fat but here is the kicker, you can't do it without the nutrition and you can NOT gain muscle or fat if you aren't eating enough. You especially can not do this while eating less than 1300 calories. But we do need more information. How long have you been doing this and what does your diary look like. Also, what is your height, weight, age and full workout routine (what kinds of weight lifting and how much are you doing)? Also, how long have you been eating 1300 or less calories? More than likely, you have suppressed your metabolism and it could take several months to reset your RMR to where it should be.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,401 MFP Moderator
    Options
    I like your effort. It takes a lot to do that much work to lose weight.

    However. Losing the fat is all diet. Start there.

    I personally don't subscribe to counting calories. I use other methods to lose weight. So I would suggest you analyze what you're doing. If you're not losing the fat, then something should be tweaked. It LOOKS like you're in a deficit, but you may just be guessing to much and not as accurate as you need to be.

    Weight and measure. Don't eat exercise calories.

    It's worth nothing that you can over exercise and it can help to stall weight loss. I'm not sure that you are, but it's worth mentioning.

    If you don't count calories, then how would know if you're eating exercise calories?

    Fat loss isn't all about calories, it's about the body reaction to food also. I'm not a fan the methods used here because I think they are flawed.

    Please post any kind of science that suggest otherwise.
  • reneelee
    reneelee Posts: 877 Member
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    When you start lifting, you will gain at first. This happens to me for sure. One thing that helped was eating half my body weight in protein and drinking at least a gallon of water per day. Also, watch your salt and fat intake. For a BMR of 1300, I would recommend you eat that + calories your burn while exercising.

    ^^^^ This and when gaining that fluid weight, everything is a little swollen. Keep at the weights it will pay off.
  • cedarghost
    cedarghost Posts: 621 Member
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    Fat loss isn't all about calories, it's about the body reaction to food also. I'm not a fan the methods used here because I think they are flawed.
    Please point me to some resources where I can read about this..........this is a new concept for me.
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,344 Member
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    Please point me to some resources where I can read about this..........this is a new concept for me.
    The laws of thermodynamics apply to everybody but those on low-carb/paleo diets. :bigsmile:
  • nancycaregiver
    nancycaregiver Posts: 812 Member
    Options
    Fat loss isn't all about calories, it's about the body reaction to food also. I'm not a fan the methods used here because I think they are flawed.
    [/quote]


    Then why are you here? To trash MFP?
  • cedarghost
    cedarghost Posts: 621 Member
    Options
    Please point me to some resources where I can read about this..........this is a new concept for me.
    The laws of thermodynamics apply to everybody but those on low-carb/paleo diets. :bigsmile:
    Ahhhh. I must have missed that. o.0
  • ManEnMotion
    ManEnMotion Posts: 73 Member
    Options
    I am a runner, and about a month ago joined the crossfit program at my gym. I've also tweaked my diet to lower my carbs a little and increase my protein intake. I have hypoglycemia and since adjusting my macros, my blood sugar has not taken as many nosedives, which is great. I understand that when lifting weights, a certain amount of weight gain can be expected. However, I'm not losing inches anywhere. Instead, pants that used to fit just so or have a more relaxed fit are tighter on me, especially in the waist and hips. Not to mention my weight gas been creeping up since starting the program. I attend crossfit 2-3 times a week and run the other 2-3 days. This can change depending on how beat up I feel. I take 1-2 days off per week. I just feel like I'm getting bigger - not smaller and tighter. I usually take in about 1300-1600 calories a day, not counting exercise. I've used a few sites to calculate my BMR and results vary but it's about 1300 calories. I've read around how maybe 13-1600 calories might be too low but if I increase my calories, weight still goes up. Not sure what's going on here? I'm looking to gain lean muscle mass and not gain all kinds of weight because that can slow me down as a runner. That's happened in the past and I've learned from experience. Any advice or suggestions appreciated!

    I had a quick look at your diet and in my opinion It's because your calories are good but your low on protein. Almost everyday you were low. I would try to up the protein and bit and even drop the carbs a little..... That's how I did it

    That's my two cents.
  • jesz124
    jesz124 Posts: 1,004 Member
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    Fat loss isn't all about calories, it's about the body reaction to food also. I'm not a fan the methods used here because I think they are flawed.


    Then why are you here? To trash MFP?
    [/quote]

    LOL exactly what I was thinking...maybe he's here to show us all a better way to do it....we're waiting.....

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