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Why have I gained weight??

gotenks1982
gotenks1982 Posts: 3
edited January 18 in Health and Weight Loss
Ok so I'm a male 30yo 6'0 290#. I started a diet/exercise program 7days ago. I drink only water and unsweet tea. I eat between 1500 and 2000 calories a day max. Ham and eggs for breakfast for biggest meal and protein. Light lunch and an ok dinner with some fruits and veggies durning day and a special k snack. I also started the exercise part 7 days ago which is 5x a week for 90 minutes on the xbox kinect with the U Shape fitness 2012 evolve and the adventure kinect game which have me dripping sweat on the floor when I'm done. So I've done that 5 times now. Before all this I ate basically whatever and drank like 3 cans of Coke a day. I'm also only 28% body fat as I do have a bit of muscle from lifting way back in my teens. So can someone tell me is this muscle I've gained this week or fat? I mean I didn't expect results the first week but I also didn't expect to gain weight. I mean I should of at least been losing water weight or something right?

Replies

  • skydiveD30571
    skydiveD30571 Posts: 281 Member
    You've most likely gained water weight, not lost it. This is very common when beginning a workout routine. Stick with it and it'll come back off.

    Also, at 290lb I seriously doubt you are eating enough with 1500-2000 calories. Figure out your BMR and TDEE. Search for the roadmap here in the forums to get an idea of how much you should be eating.
  • gotenks1982
    gotenks1982 Posts: 3
    Well according to myfitnesspal when I just signed up today I should be having 1.890 calories a day (however I did check the sedentary box cause I work from home) however what am I classified as by doing the heavy exercise 5xweeek for 90 minutes? Moderate activity? I tried the whole bmr thing and I got way varied answers from different websites though the average was about 2590 calories. So is the 1,890 this website told me just because I said sedentary lifestyle? I did however also put I'd be working out 5x week for 90 minutes on the setup profile also and the calculation it gave me was for my height, weight, age, lifestyle, and what I would be doing exercise wise was the 1,890....
  • gotenks1982
    gotenks1982 Posts: 3
    my TDEE is 5422 that's seems crazy high there is no way I'm eating that 20% less than that (4320 calories) I just can't justify that..
  • bigboar
    bigboar Posts: 13 Member
    Well according to myfitnesspal when I just signed up today I should be having 1.890 calories a day (however I did check the sedentary box cause I work from home) however what am I classified as by doing the heavy exercise 5xweeek for 90 minutes? Moderate activity? I tried the whole bmr thing and I got way varied answers from different websites though the average was about 2590 calories. So is the 1,890 this website told me just because I said sedentary lifestyle? I did however also put I'd be working out 5x week for 90 minutes on the setup profile also and the calculation it gave me was for my height, weight, age, lifestyle, and what I would be doing exercise wise was the 1,890....

    get an hrm to track your calories while working out and then add the calories back in an eat back what you burnt. I am pretty sure that is how MFP is setup. I am set at 1700 and sedentary. I then add the calories I burn back each day while doing my workout(usually 4-500) and eat them back. example: 1700+400(workout)+ 2100 calories is what I would eat that day. I am 5'9" and currently 160lbs with 21% BF. I don't know if I am doing everything correctly for sure but it seems to be working for me...
  • skydiveD30571
    skydiveD30571 Posts: 281 Member
    Which calculator you use does make a difference. If you have an estimate of your body fat % I find that the calculator on fat2fitradio.com is my best option. If you do not have an estimate, I personally feel like the calculator on scoobysworkshop.com is the best bet. Scooby's says bmr of 2580 and tdee of about 4000 with moderate activity.

    What rate of weight loss did you tell MFP you wanted? It simply subracts 500cal/day per lb of weight you'd like to lose a week. So if you selected a loss of 2lb/week, it will take your maintenance calories and subtract 1000. That's where the 1890 comes from. But if you chose sedentary level, you also need to eat back the calories you burned from exercise as this is not factored into the MFP numbers.

    So basically you have two options:

    1. Leave it on sedentary level, log your exercise calories, and eat what MFP tells you to eat

    2. Change your activity level to moderate, do NOT log your exercise calories, and eat what MFP tells you to eat

    3. Eat at a 20% deficit of your 4000 calorie TDEE (about 3200 calories) and continue your exercises like you are

    All 3 are good plans and many many people have had success with each one. It's up to you. Either way, I think you'll benefit with eating more. I do not suggest jumping up from 1800 to 3000 all at once, instead add a couple hundred calories a week or so. I think you'll be suprised how you can eat more than you are currently, have more energy, and still lose the weight. Good luck!
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