Upped Cals & feeling terrible

So this is how the passed 12 weeks have looked for me, eating around 1200 I was bobbing up and down between the same 2 poxy pounds, so I got fed up of eating salad with no dressing and still staying the same weight, so I decided I had to up my cals or it will be like this forever. I started this 2 weeks ago, annoyingly around the same time as I started taking Yasmin birth control: I have gained 2kgs in 2 weeks on about 1500 cals a day, I am 165cm tall and 26 years old, I am absolutely gutted about this and am feeling really low. Please, any advice or support would be amazing, I feel like I am going nuts. Thanks in advance.

Week beginning: Average Cals per day: Weight

March 25th: 1234 Calories per day: 141 pounds
April 1st: 1305 calories per day: 141.9 pounds
April 8th: 1023 calories per day: 140.4 pounds
April 15th: 1216 calories per day: 140.2 pounds
April 22nd: 1383 calories per day: 139.7 pounds
April 29th: 1111 calories per day: 138 pounds
May 6th: 1221 calories per day: 138.8 pounds
May 13th: 991 calories per day: 138 pounds
May 20th: 1221 calories per day: 138 pounds
May 27th: 1300 calories per day: 138.4 pounds
June 3rd: 1460 calories per day: 141 pounds
June 10th: 1500 cals per day so far 142.6 pounds as of June 12th
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Replies

  • onyxgirl17
    onyxgirl17 Posts: 1,722 Member
    Weight increased because of increased glycogen stores. Probably the birth control is messing with your hormones as well.

    Btw I'm 26 yo and 135 pounds currently
  • PopsGils
    PopsGils Posts: 68 Member
    But you are probably loosing weight at 1500? Not gaining a kg a week on 1500!
  • LeanneGoingThin
    LeanneGoingThin Posts: 215 Member
    Don't worry about it, it's definitely not fat you're gaining. It doesn't happen that quickly.
  • broscientist
    broscientist Posts: 102 Member
    Week beginning: Average Cals per day: Weight

    March 25th: 1234 Calories per day: 141 pounds
    April 1st: 1305 calories per day: 141.9 pounds
    April 8th: 1023 calories per day: 140.4 pounds
    April 15th: 1216 calories per day: 140.2 pounds
    April 22nd: 1383 calories per day: 139.7 pounds
    April 29th: 1111 calories per day: 138 pounds
    Up to this point everything looks good.
    May 6th: 1221 calories per day: 138.8 pounds
    May 13th: 991 calories per day: 138 pounds
    May 20th: 1221 calories per day: 138 pounds
    May 27th: 1300 calories per day: 138.4 pounds

    4 week stall. It's a little bit long but, I've had stalls lasting for 3 weeks even though I was in a calorie deficit.
    It gets discouraging I know. Might wanna read up on the Whoosh effect:
    http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/of-whooshes-and-squishy-fat.htmlI

    Also, would I be correct to assume that it the TOM toward the end May that might contribute to the water weigh gain.?
    June 3rd: 1460 calories per day: 141 pounds
    June 10th: 1500 cals per day so far 142.6 pounds as of June 12th
    I'm going to have to blame this one on the BCP and not your increase in calories. No ways in hell are you gaining 4lbs of fat on 1500 calories a week. I am 99% sure this is ALL water weight due to the BCP.

    Looks like you are doing everything right. Sometime the the scale doesn't show it but, you got to trust the calorie in vs calories out system. I'm pretty sure the scale will reflect it soon.
  • PopsGils
    PopsGils Posts: 68 Member
    TOM was 19th May yep, but basically over 12 weeks I have been eating less than 1500 with a grand total loss of nothing cos of my recent gain. IS this weight - if its from the BCP going to stay with me or go away! I literally feel like eating everything in sight I am so upset about all the effort and getting nothing back. Even back in March/April losing 0.5 pounds a week, some weeks only, on 1200 is crazy. So hard to lose and so easy to gain. To be fair I havent eaten as much as 1500 cals in years so I wouldn;t be too suprised if it was fat I have gained. My jeans are super tight and my boobs are supersized :(
  • neandermagnon
    neandermagnon Posts: 7,436 Member
    Weight increased because of increased glycogen stores. Probably the birth control is messing with your hormones as well.

    ^^^ this

    you will always see weight gain after raising your calories because of glycogen. More glycogen = water weight gain, and this is a good thing as you're supposed to have plenty of glycogen in your system. You see this weight gain even if you're still eating at a deficit. It's only when your glycogen stores are totally full that you will start to see weight loss again (if you're eating at a deficit) or your weight will stabilise (if you're eating at TDEE)

    the human body simply does not store fat that quickly.

    if your birth control is causing you to feel hungry all the time, or is otherwise interfering with your weight loss, see your doctor and see if there's a different one you could be on that might not have that side effect

    Also, I'd recommend not focusing so much on the scale. Exercise, stick with a healthy amount of calories, i.e. a small deficit that's easy to stick to long term, and focus on the tape measure, how your clothes fit and what you look like in the mirror. You've listed a whole bunch of decimal points up there, really the amount of water weight fluctuations you get in the human body means any fraction of a lb is irrelevent. Plus the scales are not that accurate. My barbell lost 0.2lb overnight once. Well, obviously it didn't, but the scale just does not measure point anything of a lb accurately. Your data could be explained entirely by changes in water weight.

    You lose fat slowly, and eating the calorie numbers you are, I don't think any of the gains were fat gains. some of the losses were probably fat loss, but also some would be loss of water weight due to normal fluctuations (or more specifically, a combination of fat loss and water loss). And I'd say all the gains were water weight gains, as I don't think you've eaten enough to gain any fat.
  • broscientist
    broscientist Posts: 102 Member
    . To be fair I havent eaten as much as 1500 cals in years

    Whoa, you might want to look into "reverse dieting" or take a "diet break". That's a loooong time of calorie restriction without a break.
    Sadly, you might gain even more weight (temporary) doing this. but in the long run this may really help.
  • PopsGils
    PopsGils Posts: 68 Member
    Thanks all of you for trying to help me out, I know we do fluctuate often and the scales are the devil, but i also measure and my waist has also gone up over an inch in the past few weeks and I feel heavier, look heavier and my clothes say we are too small for you.
    My metabolism is clearly not having a good time as I cant lose weight on 1200 cals. Maybe 0.5 a week and then it will just go up again anyway next week.
    SO from here on out, do I stick at 1500 for a while? And how many kilos do I allow myself to gain until i REALLY freak out and come up with another plan?
    I know its a long time of restriction, back in 2010 I ate under 1000 cals every single day and maintained at around 50kgs for a long time, then ate a little more and found my way up to 64 but my metabolism seems to still be punishing me. I know this is all quite hard to believe, I also find myself thinking am i eating donuts in my sleep, or underestimating my 150gram pot of yoghurt but sadly there is no silly mistake I am over-seeing. The gaynae told me to give my BCP 2 months to settle in. Brilliant.
    Thanks all of you kind people, my boyfriend just doesnt understand and tells me to relax and go for a run if i care so much.
  • pkw58
    pkw58 Posts: 2,038 Member
    BCP ca be the devil. You are doing the right things, but it may be the combination of the types of food you eat and BCP may be giving you a temporary weight gain

    I am at maintenance. When the scale fluctuates up a pound (and it will) I add more yoga and more steps to my day. I continue to tweak my diet to make it more "maintenance friendly". For example, I eat one to two ounces of nuts each day. I switched to the no sugar or salt added variety. I get plenty of salt in other foods and don't need the added sugar. I drink less ice tea, add pure water instead. I eat out a lot for my job, and restaurant food can have a lot of salt.

    I also believe whatever makes my core muscles stronger, helps my internal organs function better. Maybe not scientific or backed by some study, but I am a lot less bloated with the added twists and core strengthening exercises I do. I am talking 10-30 minutes a day of yoga or Barre3, and as much walking as I can fit in a day. Standing helps as well.

    Good luck, it is an on going challenge for me to eat healthy, sleep enough and stay active, I am makingit as fun as I can.
  • Hbazzell
    Hbazzell Posts: 899 Member
    I had the same exact problem! Everyone was saying it wasnt fat but it totally was. My BF% stayed the same (went up at one point by .6%) but my LBS were going up. I started at 175, then got to 161, then slowly by increasing just like you did I weighted today at 168. Ef that! I have been doing this for 6 months. I gave hgiehr calories a good shot of atleast 3 months, maybe 4. It did not work for me. What sucks though is 1500 should at least be maintinance but it isnt! I gain at 1600. It is so fricken discouraging.
  • PopsGils
    PopsGils Posts: 68 Member
    Oh dear, so Hbazzell - you may well be confirming that if i stay at 1500 I will only keep gaining, How tall are you and what age?
  • Abells
    Abells Posts: 756 Member
    Your changing your calories every single week and expecting to see the change. You need to go longer than a week for you to create an accurate account of what your body will be doing on a certain number of calories. You havent changed much in weight from when you started to now so clearly you can eat more calories. Try to do it for longer than a week and don't freak out and drop your calories as soon as you see a bit of a bump on the scale.
  • neandermagnon
    neandermagnon Posts: 7,436 Member
    Your changing your calories every single week and expecting to see the change. You need to go longer than a week for you to create an accurate account of what your body will be doing on a certain number of calories. You havent changed much in weight from when you started to now so clearly you can eat more calories. Try to do it for longer than a week and don't freak out and drop your calories as soon as you see a bit of a bump on the scale.

    ^^^ this
  • 257_Lag
    257_Lag Posts: 1,249 Member
    Be patient at the 1500-1600 level. I know so many people that upped their calories and had great success but only after about 3-4 weeks of the higher calories.

    My sister is one of them. Stuck for 5 months @ 1200. I talked her into trying 1600. 3 1/2 weeks and no change then BAM she started losing again and has been since.
  • juleszephyr
    juleszephyr Posts: 442 Member
    Ok, I hope I'm not repeating myself here but at 165cm and 141lbs you are within your BMI already... You should only be aiming to lose about half a pound a week at this stage and as far as I can see you lost 3lbs in 5 weeks???? So this was perfect.

    The birth control pill is going to affect your body massively and really you need to let things settle down for a while before assuming anything,

    I would say stay at 1500 cals a day, do some exercise and keep hydrated to counteract the pill effects, weigh once a week and be patient. Give it another month and see where you are...
  • yo_andi
    yo_andi Posts: 2,178 Member
    Your changing your calories every single week and expecting to see the change. You need to go longer than a week for you to create an accurate account of what your body will be doing on a certain number of calories. You havent changed much in weight from when you started to now so clearly you can eat more calories. Try to do it for longer than a week and don't freak out and drop your calories as soon as you see a bit of a bump on the scale.

    Yes!

    Quit overthinking it. You're going to give yourself an ulcer fretting about it. Change takes a looooooooooong time. I've been steadily recompositioning over two years with a net loss of only about 15 lbs over that time. It's frustrating, sure, but nothing happens overnight and what happens is rarely linear.
  • kr1stadee
    kr1stadee Posts: 1,774 Member
    Not related to your question but I'd get rid of Yasmin.

    I don't know where you are in the world, but it's being linked to deaths in Canada. A friend of mine suffered a near fatal blood clot last year and she was taking Yasmin too..

    http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2013/06/11/birth-control-pills-yaz-yasmin.html
  • bostonwolf
    bostonwolf Posts: 3,038 Member
    Do you exercise?
  • angelahammon
    angelahammon Posts: 114 Member
    I was eating 1300 calls a day, and loosing a pound a week i have recently started to up my calls to 1500/ 1600 and my weight has gone up slightly , but i am going to keep at 1600 and hope eventually my body gets used to eating at this as when im at maintenance which is around 1800 that is what il be eating, its horrible to jump on the scale and see it stay the same or go up but keep at it and im sure we will start to loose again, as eating at 1200 and 1300 cals for the rest of my life is to little
  • Capt_Apollo
    Capt_Apollo Posts: 9,026 Member
    it seems that every four weeks your weight goes up, but then comes back down.

    truly, a mystery that will remain unsolved!!