Gaining at 1200??? WTH

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heathermcclellan
heathermcclellan Posts: 16
in Health and Weight Loss
Here's the backstory: I have been maintaining my weight at around 135 for about 2 years. All was peachy keen. No issues, eating healthy and working out. Over the holidays I got a little carried away and gained a few pounds - up to about 141. I started to cut back, started to log but continued to gain. I've been doing this since about January. I was staying at around 1100 calories, exercising and gaining and going into complete freak-out and stress mode when every couple days I would get on the scale and see another gain. Last week, I went to the nutritionist and she thoroughly looked over my logs and told me to increase my calories, increase fiber and lower my protein intake. I saw her on Thursday and when I weighed myself that morning I was 144. I weighed myself yesterday and I was up to a whopping 148 pounds!! HOLY FREAKING SMOKES!! How could I gain 4 pounds in 3 days?? When I weighed this morning, I was 147.

My question to you is I'm really afraid to increase my calories because I'm afraid my weight is just going to keep climbing and climbing. What else could be causing this dramatic weight gain? I do drink tons of water, and for the most part - cook all our meals. We do not eat much processed foods. I do exercise about 4-6 days a week with a combo of cardio and strength. I know I'm gaining because I have pants I can't wear any longer because they are too tight.

Will increasing my calories to 1300 cause a weight gain? And yes, I have looked at the Road map. When I do the calculations my BMR is 1227, TDEE is 1902 and I figured my goal calories to be at 1522. How is it logical that I would gain on 1200??
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Replies

  • cunfewzed1
    cunfewzed1 Posts: 80
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    You're eating more than 1,100 to 1,200 calories. Simple as that. Weight/measure everything you feed your face.
  • mari213
    mari213 Posts: 101 Member
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    It would help if we could view your diary..
  • zenyacleveland
    zenyacleveland Posts: 45 Member
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    You may want to count inches.
    Also factor in activity......you will be okay. Stay positive.
  • eep223
    eep223 Posts: 624 Member
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    Stick with the nutritionist and/or see a doctor. There is something screwy going on. Maybe you aren't estimating your portions correctly, maybe there's something wrong with your scale. If I was you, I would do what they told me and keep following up. Maybe you need a thyroid test or something like that. Oh, and keep your measurements in addition to the scale.
  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
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    I agree with the sticking with the nutritionist and maybe seeing a doctor. It could also be underestimating calories consumed or it could also come down to not eating enough.

    You might also want to read this:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/3047-700-calories-a-day-and-not-losing
  • briabner
    briabner Posts: 427 Member
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    You said you work out 4-6 days a week. How many calories are you buning whenever you workout? I was eating 1200 calories but was working out 6 days a week and buring anywhere form 500-700+ calories each time. I hit a 6 week plataeu doing this where I was gaining and loosing the same 3-7 pounds. I looked at my diary and I was only netting between 400-700 calories per day which is way to low. You should be at least netting 1200 calories. I officially broke my plateau by eating more. I have been consistently loosing between 1.5-2+ pounds per week for the past 4 weeks since eating more. I now eat anywhere from 1500-2300 calories per day depending on how hard and how many calories I burn while working out.
  • persistantone
    persistantone Posts: 59 Member
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    Don't be afraid to eat. Your BMR is the number of calories you would burn if you were in a coma. Since you're not in a coma, you can and should eat a bit more. Also check the quality of your foods. Are you getting in enough veggies? Enough protein?
  • heathermcclellan
    heathermcclellan Posts: 16
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    I think I unlocked my food diary so Mari, you should be able to see it.

    By using the exercise calculators I'm burning around 400 calories exercising.
  • Toddahlie
    Toddahlie Posts: 116 Member
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    If you don't eat the correct portions, maybe you gain weigth! the quatity is very important!! sometimes we underestimate what we eat!
  • jess6741
    jess6741 Posts: 107 Member
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    You are probably underestimating how many calories you are eating and over estimating your calorie burn. But don't let that stop you from eating enough. Consider buying a food scale and being as accurate as possible. You should probably be eating more than 1200. Don't eat below your BMR. The 1500 number sounds like it would be about right.
  • toutmonpossible
    toutmonpossible Posts: 1,580 Member
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    You're eating more than 1,100 to 1,200 calories. Simple as that. Weight/measure everything you feed your face.

    I think that's likely the problem. I have to be under 1,200 on average to lose. Any time I've religiously stuck to that, I've lost weight.

    I recently saw a video report by a reputable journalist with a medical degree that sometimes people underestimate how much they eat, or if they've exercised, they think they can eat much more than they can to create a deficit.
  • toutmonpossible
    toutmonpossible Posts: 1,580 Member
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    Don't eat below your BMR.

    Actually, you can eat below your BMR and safely lose weight. The issues are nutrition and sustainability.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,028 Member
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    I think you are under eating, but that wouldn't cause a large gain. You can fluctuate as much as 5 pounds on any given day due to the types of food you eat, hydration, hormones, sleep, stress.


    Eat what the nutritionist told you. You need more than 1200 cals. Weigh and measure everything you eat. See a doctor for blood work - you may have thyroid or other issues that need to be treated.

    Here: this will help:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/952996-level-obstacles-lose-weight-target-fat-easy
  • kapot
    kapot Posts: 53
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    How are you calculating your calories lost through exercise? MFP is completely off the mark with this, it's why I've invested in fitbit.
  • anasantos61
    anasantos61 Posts: 86 Member
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    It looks like you are not eating enough
  • pinksparklefairy
    pinksparklefairy Posts: 97 Member
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    I had a quick look at your diary and there are a few things which might be confusing your calorie intake.

    e.g. you have oats for breakfast quite often. Do you make them with water, or milk? Don't forget to add any milk you add to cereal, coffee etc as it soon adds up.

    also - weigh the oats! I have a tiny portion for breakfast sometimes and it's 200 cals.

    You put in a few "one serving" entries for meals, which is OK as long as you are aware of the calories for that particular meal and just want to enter something quickly. Have you taken the time to weigh the ingredients and work out how many calories there really are?

    Surely it's physically impossible to have a calories deficit for months on end and gradually put on weight? (please correct me if I am wrong!)
  • denezy
    denezy Posts: 573 Member
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    Do you use a food scale? When I see things like 1 oz of meat or 1 serving on food diaries, I can almost guarantee that you are likely not eating as little as you think you are.

    200 calories of steel cut oats is about 1/4 c.

    Also, tracking your sodium would help. Things like chili are usually quite high.,
  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
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    Surely it's physically impossible to have a calories deficit for months on end and gradually put on weight? (please correct me if I am wrong!)

    If you read the topic I posted above, there was a lady who ate 700 cals a day for years and never lost weight. She was also considered obese when it came to her weight.
  • Run4Me2Day
    Run4Me2Day Posts: 344 Member
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    When I was to low, I didn't gain, but I didn't go down either...I found that when I bumped my calories up to about 1700 I actually started to lose.....you have to feed your body with the right stuff, and yes I agree make sure you are logging everything.......Also when you workout, you body needs more.....
  • violinkeri
    violinkeri Posts: 212
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    measure your food, slowly increase your calories towards 1500 (50-100 cals a week increase), and stop weighing so often. your weight can fluctuate up to 6 lbs in WATER, in a 24 hour period. weigh once a week, the same day, the same time each week, if you must weigh that often.

    Give your body time to adjust to the changes. you may see an initial spike after a change but 3-4 weeks later come back down to lower than you started.

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