Sticking to my net cals and GAINING weight

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smoterboat
smoterboat Posts: 8
in Health and Weight Loss
In the last year since I graduated from college I've put on about 10 lbs, going from 95 to 105, so I started watching my calories and bought Insanity to try to get back in shape. I thought it would be pretty easy to shed the 10 lbs because I've heard nothing but good things about insanity but since I started it (I'm 4 weeks in) I've put on ANOTHER 7 lbs and now weigh in at 113. I have no idea why I'm gaining weight. At first I thought it might be water weight or TOM issues (also not preggers) but this has been going on for about a month now and my clothes are actually getting tighter. I eat when I'm hungry and I eat pretty healthy (lots of lean protein, leafy veggies, fruit in moderation and some nuts/nut butter) but I do have dessert or a drink when I go out with friends, which is only a couple times a month. I eat when I'm hungry and my calorie intake fluctuates between 600-1500 calories a day, depending on my appetite and I do insanity and the 10-minute trainer yoga video 3x a week. Can anyone tell me why I'm gaining weight??

I realize 113 doesn't sound heavy, but I'm very petite (about 4'11) and putting on almost 20 lbs is pretty upsetting.

I'm sorry for how long and obnoxious this post is, but I wanted to include all of the details about my situation

Replies

  • BarackMeLikeAHurricane
    BarackMeLikeAHurricane Posts: 3,400 Member
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    Are you sure you're accurately measuring all liquids and weighing all solids?
  • goodtimezzzz
    goodtimezzzz Posts: 640 Member
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    yeah its muscle..good job
  • jzammetti
    jzammetti Posts: 1,956 Member
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    I have no idea what a healthy weight is for your size...that being said, are you weighing your food/liquids/fats/everything?
  • smoterboat
    smoterboat Posts: 8
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    I haven't been weighing my foods/liquids, just tracking it through the calorie counter. I'll try to up my water intake and see if that helps.

    thanks :))
  • Lauracharder
    Lauracharder Posts: 141 Member
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    It's probably muscle, which is a good thing! :)
  • RoseDarrett
    RoseDarrett Posts: 355 Member
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    Invest in a food scale. They're pretty cheap. You may be eating more than you think. I was surprised how much food actually weighed,the amount and all that. Being accurate with all this really helps.I did insanity too,only lost a few pounds with it,but totally made my body better. Good luck!!
  • craigmandu
    craigmandu Posts: 976 Member
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    Well, I see a couple of issues right off.

    Firstly you say you eat between 600-1500 calories a day....that is a massive range of calorie intake. You really need to settle on a healthy range for size/weight (600 ain't it) and be consistent in actually eating that much each day. Unless you are doing a 5/2 type fast setup, which I don't think you are.

    Secondly, you are counting calories, but how are you ensuring your portions are in check? Doesn't do alot of good to put down you had a serving of mashed potatoes if you eyeballed it and really had 2 servings, or worse 1/2 a serving. Some foods are easier to track, some aren't. I would suggest getting a food scale to ensure you are being accurate.

    Thirdly, you are doing a pretty hefty chunk of exercise...Insanity burns a high amount of calories...are you accurately tracking your exercise calories? If you consistently are exercising alot and you are only eating 600 or so calories on certain days, your body is going to hold onto every extra nutrient it can.

    Fourth, Are you sure you are tracking everything you eat..including things like ketchup, mayo, alcohol you drink, late night snacks, etc..etc..

    At your low weight, you should be aiming for a relatively low calorie deficit, think 0.5 to 1.0 lb a week loss (if you bf% is low enough even 1lb a week may too high of a deficit).

    Also realize that new exercise regimens will force the body to retain water/nutrients to support that exercise in the muscles...you could also be gaining a little muscle mass as a result of "newbie" gains from your workouts (if you just started doing them).

    All in all, it sounds to me like you just need to get a bit serious on your actions and do some micro managing of your diet/exercise so you can get a real picture of what you need to eat, and how much you are burning with exercise. Ensure you are drinking plenty of water throughout the day, and I would suggest you up your protein intake a bit if you eat primarily low protein...think something like 80-90g a day or more for your weight.

    Good luck in your journey!
  • theologynerd
    theologynerd Posts: 264 Member
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    If you have only been doing Insanity for a month, you have not put on 10+ lbs. of muscle. Good lord, people, that would be 120 lbs. of muscle in a year. Muscle isn't that easy to gain, even for men. Your food diary isn't open, so it's hard to help you out there. Make sure you're carbs aren't out of control, be sure that you're getting lots of protein (you say you're getting a "good" amount of it, but that can mean 50g to some women). Did you find out your TDEE and BMI? There are lots of great tools and old posts on here that are worth checking out on here to learn about that if you haven't.
  • organic0gf
    organic0gf Posts: 87 Member
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    Gaining 10 pounds in 4 weeks is NOT muscle. How many body builders can gain 10% of their body weight with muscle in a month, even when stuffing themselves and with extreme supplementation? Something else must be going on, either a change in diet (more salt) or other systemic change. I would diligently log your food, then when a sudden weight change happens, go back and look to see if there is a trend.
  • smoterboat
    smoterboat Posts: 8
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    I've been measuring my food by serving size on packages and with measuring cups pretty diligently, but I'll definitely invest in a food scale to make sure I'm being as accurate as I think I am.

    As far as the range of calories I'm eating, it varies so much because I only eat when I'm hungry and some days I have more of an appetite than other days. I eat when I'm hungry and I don't eat when I'm not and from what I've read that seems like it wouldn't be detrimental to my weight loss as long as I'm not going crazy with junk food on the days when I have a higher caloric intake.

    I've been using a heart rate monitor to figure out the average calories I burn doing insanity and it's usually between 400-450 depending on the workout.

    I'll up the water and the protein, monitor sodium and carbs, and get a food scale.

    Thanks for the suggestions everyone
  • sexymuffintop
    sexymuffintop Posts: 636
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    It's probably muscle, which is a good thing! :)

    So her clothes are tighter, shes only doing cardio, not eating an excess of calories and doing no weight training and shes managed to pack on the muscle. Yeah ok then....:noway:
  • KarenJanine
    KarenJanine Posts: 3,497 Member
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    It's probably muscle, which is a good thing! :)


    Hahaha, no one is building muscle eating 600 to 1500 cals per day. Even on 3500 cals per day whilst following a good hypertrophy program a woman can only hope to gain around 1lb muscle in a month.

    You're probably under estimating your food intake. Weigh, measure and log EVERYTHING.
  • tootchute
    tootchute Posts: 392 Member
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    http://www.halls.md/ideal-weight/met.htm

    What I read here it says you're fine for that height and weight.

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