Normal to gain weight while at 15% cut?

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Hello! This is my 2nd time around with this and want to make sure I am doing this as well as I can! I did post this as well on the 2013 group too...

BMR - 1399
15% cut - 1844
TDEE - 2169

I am increasing my cals to net my -15%! Still at times hard to get used to the feeling that if I am still hungry, I can still eat :).

Is it somewhat normal for people to gain weight while eating at a cut? I think that is what was happening to me when I tried this approach last spring/summer and then thought I better stop because what will happen when I am eating at full TDEE? Would I still keep adding cals till I get to TDEE? I know I will gain weight but thought that it would happen more with eating at full TDEE, not at a deficit.

I will have to weigh myself tomorrow but somewhat afraid with TOM coming in about a week and always feel a bit bloated.

I realize everyone's body reacts a bit differently but curious about this. I do read the stickies about what to expect with EM2WL.

Guess I will have to be patient and see what happens! I am in it for the long haul!

Replies

  • GoGoGadgetMum
    GoGoGadgetMum Posts: 292 Member
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    My advise would be don't weigh around Tom, it is just a bad time for a lot of woman. Bad for your head, bad for your belief in the process. For me mine is this week and I actually have to go up bra sizes at this time so definitely no weighing for me.

    I would think that if you are at -15% and gaining then maybe you body is adjusting and doing a reset of sorts???? At true tdee you "should" maintain. It will take a bit of tweaking to find your sweet spot.

    When you say net you will net tdee -15% remember when you are working off that system you can net your bmr when exercising but no lower. Someone will chime in if I'm wrong. But do eat if you are hungry , your body is telling you too. Once your metabolism really kicks in you won't be able to ignore the "monster"... Norm nom nom.

    All the best, wonderful you are giving this another go!
  • FitBlackChick
    FitBlackChick Posts: 215 Member
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    Were you under eating a lot before this? If so, I think it's normal that your body would react this way now that you are eating more
  • twinmomtwice4
    twinmomtwice4 Posts: 1,069 Member
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    Yes, this is completely normal, esp if you were eating very low calorie before. It's like your body wants to store everything before it feels starved again. You know, kind of like storing up for a famine...LOL!

    Once you continue this way of eating, your body will begin to trust that you will feed it when necessary and you'll lose the weight.

    Trust me, the process does work! You just gotta have patience and consistency!! And we're all here to support you!
  • fresh_start59
    fresh_start59 Posts: 590 Member
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    I am certainly no expert at this way of eating, but from what I gather, you might need to continue increasing your calories all the way up to TDEE for 8-12 weeks until your weight stabilizes.

    For most people who have eaten at a deficit, this means some weight gain, especially in the first few weeks. Then, once your body is used to the higher number of calories, you make your cut. My recent background did not include low net calories, so when I did my reset, I did not gain.

    Since I have a really hard time losing (thyroid surgery, menopause, medications, low activity, high ratio of body fat), I did my reset, made a cut for four week and today, I'm eating at TDEE for a week before I cut calories again. I hope that eating this way will convince my body that it will be fed (especially during TDEE week) so that it won't so stubbornly hang onto those pounds during my cut weeks.

    The main thing to remember is that this weight loss thing takes patience, perseverance and a little tweaking for our individual bodies.
  • Jolie1971
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    Thanks so much for your advice! I will keep all of this in mind.
  • berthabunny
    berthabunny Posts: 251 Member
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    You said netting TDEE -15%, did you mean totalling? If you are using TDEE, your exercise should already e calculated into that number.
    I agree with others though, you should look at the full reset first.
  • taylorwaylor
    taylorwaylor Posts: 417 Member
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    The eating more doesnt usually make you weigh a lot less... its more of inches lost and clothes fitting better! :) I think if you are used to eating way less then 1,800 then you will most likely gain weight. I gained aallllll mine back:/ but now i have lost some and steady losing inches! Once your body figures out that you are feeding it properly youll lose the weight! :)
  • natesangel
    natesangel Posts: 210 Member
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    while up'ing to my cut i gained about 1 lbs, but i did it over a few months (like 2-4 months!) i am just now starting to see the numbers go down.
    as for weigh in, i wait till the day or two after i'm done af, i fluctuate too much daily (same time of day) between ovulation and menstruation. if it helps for motivation, i cheated and weighed in this morning, after coffee, water and breakfast and 3 hours later than normal and lost 1.3 lbs this month! can't wait for my official timed weigh in, i've been waiting a long time to see movement. be patient, be strong, remember that the scale is only helpful for calibrating your hrm!! you got this!
  • elleryjones
    elleryjones Posts: 88 Member
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    I'm right there with you. ;) Not enjoying the beginnings of this but trying to believe in the process. I'll hang in there if you do!
  • KarenJanine
    KarenJanine Posts: 3,497 Member
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    You said netting TDEE -15%, did you mean totalling? If you are using TDEE, your exercise should already e calculated into that number.
    I agree with others though, you should look at the full reset first.

    This is my first thought to - you say you are "netting -15%". However if you've included excersise in your TDEE calculation you do not need to eat back any exercise calories so you should be eating a TOTAL of your 15% cut, not net.

    Othwise, as others have said it may be worth considering a full reset.