Help -- gaining weight on 1200 calories a day!

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tweetyktg
tweetyktg Posts: 9 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi everyone! I am a 50 year old female, I work out 5-6 times a week and burn at least 400 calories a workout. I had surgery on Feb. 27th on my neck and at that time I was 117 pounds. Since then, I have gained SEVEN pounds on the same diet that helped me lose the weight in the first place. I am much more comfortable at 116-117, and I feel like my body has betrayed me. I eat healthy foods, lots of protein, but will be honest and do love to snack on popcorn (skinny pop) in the evenings. However, I have not gone above 12-1300 calories in the past few months (although when I was in pain after surgery I had a couple of 800-900 calorie days). I am so frustrated I could scream. Does anyone have any advice? I am an avid runner, and I work out hard!

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  • Bekahmardis
    Bekahmardis Posts: 602 Member
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    There are many reasons why this could be. After you had your surgery, did you continue to work out as your normally did? Probably not. Another reason may be eating too little if you really *are* working out that much. I'm 110 pounds (or thereabouts) at 5'3" and I'm on MAINTENANCE at 1500 calories per day. My BMR is 1205.

    I would actually increase your food intake by about 200 calories per day for a few weeks and see if that works.
  • mazdauk
    mazdauk Posts: 1,380 Member
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    Do you weigh your food? Do you log everything you eat/drink?

    7lb is not a lot of weight, so try setting your goals to 1/2lb a week, and make sure you eat back your exercise calories (because I'm a control freak I set myself as "sedentary", because I sit down all day so there's no "accidental" exercise, I have to work for it! :wink: - works for me!)

    If you work out hard you are probably not eating enough, OR you are over-estimating your burn OR you are under-estimating your intake OR all three!

    Use the tools for a month and see what happens.

    As you are so tiny anyway it might just be a case of anno domini.:ohwell:
  • MzManiak
    MzManiak Posts: 1,361 Member
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    Are you logging your food and exercise? I would open your diary so people could see the numbers, it helps to understand. Also, are you taking medications? You should be logging those, as well as finding out about their side effects. Some meds are actually quite calorie-dense themselves, while others simply have a side effect that makes you want to snack more, or they effect your thyroid or metabolism. Have you spoken with your doctor?
  • FP4HSharon
    FP4HSharon Posts: 664 Member
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    It would help to know what the surgery was for. For example, if it was thyroid related, then it could be your body is adjusting to new thyroid levels, which can definitely mess w/your weight. ANY kind of surgery can mess w/your metabolism, but it should have leveled out by now. Even if the surgery wasn't for thyroid, I'd have your levels checked to make sure the surgery didn't bring on hypothyroidism. Another possibility, IF you upped your weight training since the surgery, you could have put on muscle & weigh more because of that. For example, when I was at 15% body fat, I weighed 118.5, but when it dropped to 14%, my weight actually went up to 124. I would suggest dropping your calories down to 1200, only eat back your cardio, & don't cheat on the diet/exercise for 3 weeks & see what happens. Make sure you try to eat a balanced diet as recommended by MFP, not just the calories, but getting recommended protein & healthy fats (carbs usually take care of themselves). But I'd say some blood work definitely might be in order to check for thyroid or anemia problems.
  • tweetyktg
    tweetyktg Posts: 9 Member
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    I had neck surgery on Feb. 27th -- a had a nerve that was trapped (i have a herniated disc between my C5-C-6). I did not work out for a month after as I was not allowed, but most of my weight gain has happened since early April when i stated exercising again. I use a fitness watch to calculate calories, not the machines. The watch is tied into my heart rate and current weight so it is very accurate. I am very accurate about the calories I consure -- I've been using fitness pal for 3 years. It was working great until February when I had the surgery and then everything went crazy. I had to have a cortisone shot today in my elbow (extreme tendonitis) so I can't work out today and tomorrow, but will keep calories consistent. I too am wondering if i am not taking in enough calories with all the training I'm doing. Hope this answers some questions.
  • tweetyktg
    tweetyktg Posts: 9 Member
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    Same meds I've always been on -- prozac, klonopin and buspar -- been a constant for years. No effect on weight.
  • FP4HSharon
    FP4HSharon Posts: 664 Member
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    For me, I was eating back my cardio calories & losing about 1.5 lbs/week. When I tried to hurry things up & stop eating back any exercise calories, I ended up either not losing, or only losing 1/2 lb for 3 weeks. So I went back to eating back my cardio & loss went back up to 1.5 lbs/week. So not getting enough calories could be it.

    But I'd also consider having your thyroid checked. Sometimes even unrelated surgery, along w/the anesthesia involved, can mess up your metabolism or trigger other medical issues. So it wouldn't hurt to get checked for hypothyroidim and/or anemia. Other symptoms that could indicate problems in these areas...fatigue, tiredness, dry/brittle skin/hair, feeling cold, heavy cycles, Unexplained weight gain, Puffy face, Hoarseness, Muscle weakness, Elevated blood cholesterol level, Muscle aches,, tenderness and stiffness, Pain, stiffness or swelling in your joints, Depression, Impaired memory., painful swollen hands & sometimes feet in the mornings.

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