Gained 6 pounds in the past 2 weeks and am now discouraged.

superdrive0
superdrive0 Posts: 14
in Health and Weight Loss
Help! I need some advice, what am I doing wrong? I have been "using" MFP for the last year, which by that I mean I have been kind of on again off again with it. Lost 25 pounds last year, gained back 10 during the holidays when I was eating a lot and not tracking, and had just gotten back to my original pre-holiday weight a few weeks ago. That was pretty motivating so the past two weeks I stayed on track and tabbed my calories every day. Mine is set at 1,200 (the recommended for lose 2 pounds per week). I walk to class from an off-campus apartment every day, so that gives me 30 minutes of walking (15 there and 15 back) which gives me about 100 extra calories. When I do other exercises I almost always eat it back, but even with that it is rare for me to exceed 1600 (I think I had one day last week where I ate 2000, but had done some additional exercise). I could understand not losing weight, but I can not believe that I would gain six pounds. This is so discouraging, and I am not sure what to do. Should I not be eating back my workout calories? It is so hard to eat only 1,200 calories, and I know other people who have lost lots of weight using mfp and did eat back their workout calories.

A typical day of food for me is yogurt for breakfast. For lunch I will eat a spinach and strawberry salad with a granola bar, roll, or rice krispie treat if I am on campus, or if I'm home I'll make some boca/morningstar (I'm vegetarian btw) product or some pasta with veggies. Dinner is similar, usually pasta with veggies and some vegetarian meat substitute. Snacks vary, rice krispies or a banana dipped in peanut butter are my favorite/most common.

The amount I workout in a typical week really varies depending on how busy I am. This week I only did one Jillian Michaels 30 minute workout. Last week I did that workout twice, plus did other things like yoga and dance. My go to workout is jogging, but I didn't do it the last two weeks because I left my running shoes at my parents house when I went there over break.

So, any suggestions for what I should change/do, or any ideas why I might have gained weight? Thank you for any advice.

Replies

  • Unknown
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  • DeirdreMum8
    DeirdreMum8 Posts: 68
    Just keep going! Clearly you are doing well loosing 25 pounds so trust yourself and keep the basics strong. Lots of water, keep your workouts, eat more clean and fresh than not:) I gained back 5 pounds in the new year and am chipping away at it but I know if I did it before I can do it again. Trust yourself and take it a week at a time:)
  • flex500
    flex500 Posts: 63
    Help! I need some advice, what am I doing wrong? I have been "using" MFP for the last year, which by that I mean I have been kind of on again off again with it. Lost 25 pounds last year, gained back 10 during the holidays when I was eating a lot and not tracking, and had just gotten back to my original pre-holiday weight a few weeks ago. That was pretty motivating so the past two weeks I stayed on track and tabbed my calories every day. Mine is set at 1,200 (the recommended for lose 2 pounds per week). I walk to class from an off-campus apartment every day, so that gives me 30 minutes of walking (15 there and 15 back) which gives me about 100 extra calories. When I do other exercises I almost always eat it back, but even with that it is rare for me to exceed 1600 (I think I had one day last week where I ate 2000, but had done some additional exercise). I could understand not losing weight, but I can not believe that I would gain six pounds. This is so discouraging, and I am not sure what to do. Should I not be eating back my workout calories? It is so hard to eat only 1,200 calories, and I know other people who have lost lots of weight using mfp and did eat back their workout calories.

    A typical day of food for me is yogurt for breakfast. For lunch I will eat a spinach and strawberry salad with a granola bar, roll, or rice krispie treat if I am on campus, or if I'm home I'll make some boca/morningstar (I'm vegetarian btw) product or some pasta with veggies. Dinner is similar, usually pasta with veggies and some vegetarian meat substitute. Snacks vary, rice krispies or a banana dipped in peanut butter are my favorite/most common.

    The amount I workout in a typical week really varies depending on how busy I am. This week I only did one Jillian Michaels 30 minute workout. Last week I did that workout twice, plus did other things like yoga and dance. My go to workout is jogging, but I didn't do it the last two weeks because I left my running shoes at my parents house when I went there over break.

    So, any suggestions for what I should change/do, or any ideas why I might have gained weight? Thank you for any advice.


    honestly you should all over the place with your calories and workouts. If I were you I'd find "neutral" again. I would use the katch mccardle formula. It is quite accurate IF you put your bodyfat percent accurately and your activity level in accurately.

    If you type in katch maccardle calculator in google it will come up. If I were you I would find a calorie amount (let's say it comes to 1500) and eat that for a week. See how your weight is then. If it's the same you've found neutral. From there go down 10-20%. I never got this whole "eat to makeup for your exercise" philosophy on here. Use Katch Mccardle and it will take into account average exercise, weight, and bodyfat.

    MFP would have me eating 2,500 calories when I diet....I eat 3,500 and lose weight. There are too many people on here setting calories very low like 800-1200 and then saying "oh I worked out so made up for it and ate 1800 today". It's just never a good strategy because we overstemate how much we burn working out and underestimate how much we eat.



    Just my 2 cents. Also...TMI...but is it around that time of the month? Many women gain 1-4 pounds of water weight during that time. Even things like eating more sodium or more carbs can easily put on a couple pounds of water weight.


    last thing :) It's all good you are a vegetarian but I'd highly suggest getting some protein in that diet. Weight loss is calories in vs calories out but body composition is largely based on your macro-nutrient breakdown.
  • Blessings4U2
    Blessings4U2 Posts: 4
    I would like to encourage you to cut back on your "white" consumption ie. sugars, flour, potatoes, pasta.
  • jmparis65
    jmparis65 Posts: 58 Member
    My guess is that you're not eating enough.

    I just went through something similar. I started out at 1200 calories, lost 63 lbs then came to a cold hard stop even though I was doing the same things, except, I added exercise, walking on a threadmill.

    I actually put a few pounds back on....

    I recalculated my calories based on BMR and TDEE, a good discussion and description here

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/931670-bmr-and-tdee-explained-for-those-needing-a-guide

    I now eat nearly 2000 calories a day and have started losing weight again
  • therealangd
    therealangd Posts: 1,861 Member
    There are so many reasons why you could have gained 6 lbs. None of it would be fat related. You would have to eat over 20,000 extra calories over your TDEE in order to gain 6 lbs of fat. So breathe. :)

    Do some reading on water retention and it's effects on weight loss.
  • Greenrun99
    Greenrun99 Posts: 2,065 Member
    That was pretty motivating so the past two weeks I stayed on track and tabbed my calories every day.

    2 Weeks.. More time needed, could easily be a sodium filled meal.. or TOM or anything really..
  • imchicbad
    imchicbad Posts: 1,650 Member
    For Christ sake.... Eat more. That's your problem. And when you do... Make sure it's healthy and not a bunch of junk. I eat 1800 calories work out 6 times a week burning 500 plus calories on average and log every bit of food I eat. I'm only 5' tall my scale went up 6 pounds but I lost 4 sizes! You understand what I'm saying. I'm trading fat for muscle. DON'T OBSESS OVER THE SCALE. And stop starving yourself. You body needs fuel... Now go put gas in your tank..... You get what I'm mean I'm sure.
  • Riemersma4
    Riemersma4 Posts: 400 Member
    it's a journey....

    Things go up, things go down... kiinda like the stock market.

    Take 39 seconds and apprecciate/acknowledge your discouragement. it is a legit feeling.

    OK, now that we are done with that, let's get back to the work at hand.

    Pay attention to your macros, be honest with your TDEE, measurements, etc.

    Enjoy the ride!
  • magickme
    magickme Posts: 1 Member
    Firstly, don't get discouraged, it's all about finding balance and what works for you.


    For the original person who posted here is a positive message- Getting discouraged is what got us here in the first place, push through and believe that you will reach your goal. :-)
  • elyelyse
    elyelyse Posts: 1,454 Member

    Just my 2 cents. Also...TMI...but is it around that time of the month? Many women gain 1-4 pounds of water weight during that time. Even things like eating more sodium or more carbs can easily put on a couple pounds of water weight.

    I've read people who claim they gain up to 8! for me it's a definite 2-3. So if it is around your ToM... ignore the scale.
  • ChristiSykes
    ChristiSykes Posts: 186 Member
    I would like to encourage you to cut back on your "white" consumption ie. sugars, flour, potatoes, pasta.

    this! It looks like you have more sugar in your diet than should be. I would push protein (shake, greek yogurt, cottage cheese..) eat less sugar and get rid of white stuff. I have gone gluten free, eat lots of protein, drink lots of water, no junk...only real/clean foods and have lost 28 lbs in 2 months.Don't get discouraged. You can add me if you like :)
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    1) I would use the lose 1lb a week setting. It's easier on your body and easier to sustain
    2) Buy a heart monitor to see how many calories you're burning at every workout/walk and eat most of those back (I usually eat up to 75% back).
    3) You don't seem to be eating enough proteins.
    4) Your weight can fluctuate a lot due to your cycle.
  • bviv89
    bviv89 Posts: 36 Member


    Just my 2 cents. Also...TMI...but is it around that time of the month? Many women gain 1-4 pounds of water weight during that time. Even things like eating more sodium or more carbs can easily put on a couple pounds of water weight.


    My average water gain on my period is 7 pounds!!!
  • EAPTX
    EAPTX Posts: 42 Member
    There are so many reasons why you could have gained 6 lbs. None of it would be fat related. You would have to eat over 20,000 extra calories over your TDEE in order to gain 6 lbs of fat. So breathe. :)

    Do some reading on water retention and it's effects on weight loss.

    This.
    Do the math. You haven't gained 6 lbs of fat. I have to keep reminding myself of that. It will zig zag, but it will go down if you burn more than you consume. Water weighs a lot. Make it your goal to stick to the plan and the weight loss will be a byproduct. That is what is keeping me going!
  • arewethereyet
    arewethereyet Posts: 18,702 Member
    Dear MFP Members,

    I have gone through and deleted a conversation which had nothing to do with the OP quesion, and de-railed the thread completely. Although MFP encourages differences of opinion in the correct context, and NO ONE became rude or abusive, I felt the OP deserved the respect of getting answers to the questions she was seeking out.

    Thank You,

    Arewethereyet
    MFP Moderator

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