Gaining at 1200??? WTH

heathermcclellan · April 2013

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??

cunfewzed1 · April 2013

You're eating more than 1,100 to 1,200 calories. Simple as that. Weight/measure everything you feed your face.

mari213 · April 2013

It would help if we could view your diary..

zenyacleveland · April 2013

You may want to count inches.
Also factor in activity......you will be okay. Stay positive.

eep223 · April 2013

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 · April 2013

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 · April 2013

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 · April 2013

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 · April 2013

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 · April 2013

If you don't eat the correct portions, maybe you gain weigth! the quatity is very important!! sometimes we underestimate what we eat!

jess6741 · April 2013

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 · April 2013

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 · April 2013

Don't eat below your BMR.

Actually, you can eat below your BMR and safely lose weight. The issues are nutrition and sustainability.

cmriverside · April 2013

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 · April 2013

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 · April 2013

It looks like you are not eating enough

pinksparklefairy · April 2013

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 · April 2013

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 · April 2013

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 · April 2013

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 · April 2013

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.

sarahkalt88 · April 2013

Sometimes cutting your calories too low can cause your metabolism to slow down, and you hold on to food longer hence you gain weight. Try eating a few hundred calories more, but in smaller quantities 6 times a day maybe?

Ed98043 · April 2013

Are you weighing and measuring everything you eat, or just estimating? There are a lot of days where you eat very small portions of particular foods - 1.5 oz of meat, 1/4 cup of ice cream, 0.4 of an english muffin (?) etc. - and I'm wondering if you're just eyeballing.

escapepod · April 2013

Has the macro composition of what you're eating shifted? Our bodies retain water differently when we're consuming more carbs. I'm not saying you need to eat lower carb, I'm just saying that if you're eating higher carb that was the case before, even at the same calorie count, you'll see a shift in weight due to the increase in water your body stores to process those carbs.

heathermcclellan · April 2013

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!)

I made the oats and did not cook with milk. I measured everything as I made a big pot and froze the rest in measured portions. I did the same with the chili. I made my own, measured everything I put in the pot, estimated the number of servings and that is how I got my calorie count for one serving. Other things, like 1 ounce meat, yes I did measure those. I do own and scale and do use it. I try to be as precise with my counts as possible.

kgoodman0108 · April 2013

If you are measuring food and calculating your calories properly, something else must be wrong. It sounds like you need to see a doctor and have blood work done. You could have something going on, such as thyroid trouble or insulin resistance.

birdgal · April 2013

Stay the course. It can take 7-10 days for the scale to show the results of diet and exercise. 3 days is not enough time.

I'm sure that you are drinking a lot of water.

Intense exercise can cause one to retain water as the muscles repair themselves . I do think higher protein, at least 80 mg would be better than 65. IMHO.

The weight is going to come off much slower than it did when you had more to lose.

Track your sodium intake.

IMHO

Griffin220x · April 2013

sigh....another 1200 thread. Why do people post 1,000 of these a day?

Some_Watery_Tart · April 2013

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??

I was gaining on 1200/day prior to switching to TDEE/road map. At 1800/day I started losing again. I know it doesn't seem logical, but it worked for me.

Some_Watery_Tart · April 2013

sigh....another 1200 thread. Why do people post 1,000 of these a day?

Not helpful or necessary.

Griffin220x · April 2013

sigh....another 1200 thread. Why do people post 1,000 of these a day?

Not helpful or necessary.

Gaining at 1200??? WTH

Replies

Categories