I gained weight!

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sandytoshiko
sandytoshiko Posts: 67 Member
in Motivation and Support
Ugh! I've GAINED 5 lbs! I have stayed at or below 1200 calories (some workout eat back). Worked out, yesterday really had workout. Today I gained! Help! What gives? My diary is open..

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  • prgirl39
    prgirl39 Posts: 108
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    What type of workout are you doing? I was stuck when I lost my first 10 pounds and I noticed I was not eating enough protein. Remember you have to eat to be able to burn when exercising. Also, I was just walking as exercise, so I stepped it up and did 2 weeks of Extreme Cardio and strength and that helped me lose 6 more pounds. This worked for me.
  • grimm1974
    grimm1974 Posts: 337 Member
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    5 lbs over what period of time? A week? If so, then its not going to be a true weight gain unless you happened to eat up an extra 17k calories. I wouldn't sweat it. You are probably just retaining water or something of that nature. Every one gets those anomaly days where the scale has a big change in one direction or the other. You may want to track your measurements to give yourself a little peace of mind.
  • sandytoshiko
    sandytoshiko Posts: 67 Member
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    What type of workout are you doing? I was stuck when I lost my first 10 pounds and I noticed I was not eating enough protein. Remember you have to eat to be able to burn when exercising. Also, I was just walking as exercise, so I stepped it up and did 2 weeks of Extreme Cardio and strength and that helped me lose 6 more pounds. This worked for me.

    I did 55 min on the elliptical and 30 min weights. I feel sore and chubby today :(
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    Either water weight or:
    You ate more than you think you did (do you weigh solids and measure liquids consumed?)
    You burned less than you thought you did. (MFP and most machines tend to over estimate calories burned)
  • Atishi87
    Atishi87 Posts: 51 Member
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    It's probably just water weight. Wait a couple of days and weight yourself again. Don't sweat it! :)
  • Atishi87
    Atishi87 Posts: 51 Member
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    Also, you could probably eat more with the amount of exercise your doing. Maybe up your intake to 1400-1500 and see how that works for you.
  • Bumdrahp
    Bumdrahp Posts: 1,314 Member
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    Usually after a workout, even 3 days after, your body can swell up. It feels uncomfortable but its your muscles reaction to the weights and workouts. I hate the feeling, but once you just keep doing it, it gets better. Just keep at it! And don't hump the scale every day.. trust me it plays mind tricks.. I know first hand lol.
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
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    You're sore from your workout. That's your answer right there.

    Soreness is inflammation. Inflammation is fluid retention. Fluid retention is water weight.
  • cseckinger1
    cseckinger1 Posts: 64
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    Drink a lot of lemon water & cut out your salt. You probably ate too much salt. Don't beat yourself up over the # on the scale. Just keep on keeping on & you will do this!
  • kathrinelukes
    kathrinelukes Posts: 12
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    The scale isn't always an accurate indication for weight loss, body measurements are usually the better bet. When you diet and exercise at the same time you will not notice as much of a difference on the scale, but your clothes will fit differently. This is because muscle weights more, but takes up less space than fat.

    And as others have said, it could also be water weight. We all have those days where the scale tells us something we don't want to see, but use it as motivation to keep on track for your goals and you will see a gradual trend of weight loss on the scale over a period of time. Also, I agree with Atishi, 1200 is hardly enough to sustain you in bed all day let alone exercising and general non-exercise daily activity so don't feel bad about letting yourself have the extra calories. If you consume too few calories your body will go into starvation mode and hoard those calories as fat for later, which is the exact opposite of what you want to do.
  • hot2def
    hot2def Posts: 80 Member
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    You're sore from your workout. That's your answer right there.

    Soreness is inflammation. Inflammation is fluid retention. Fluid retention is water weight.

    This EXACTLY!!
  • RGv2
    RGv2 Posts: 5,789 Member
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    The scale isn't always an accurate indication for weight loss, body measurements are usually the better bet. When you diet and exercise at the same time you will not notice as much of a difference on the scale, but your clothes will fit differently. This is because muscle weights more, but takes up less space than fat.

    It's not muscle mass.

    Muscle mass is extremely hard to gain, especially enough to move the scale.....let alone 5lbs, plus you need to be at a caloric surplus, not a deficit (especially a 1200 calorie diet deficit at that).

    Most likely water retention.
  • peggymas
    peggymas Posts: 17
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    remember that muscle weights more than fat. I have been working out 5 days a week and am losing very little weight. I can tell in my clothes though that I'm losing inches I have gone down from 16 to 12 jeans, but only lost a few pounds. Hang in there:smile:
  • DrMAvDPhD
    DrMAvDPhD Posts: 2,097 Member
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    When your muscles are sore they will store extra water to help them recover. You are just experiencing a little bloat from the weight lifting, which is a good thing because it means it's working :-) Drink plenty of water and you'll be back down before you know it.
  • RGv2
    RGv2 Posts: 5,789 Member
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    remember that muscle weights more than fat. I have been working out 5 days a week and am losing very little weight. I can tell in my clothes though that I'm losing inches I have gone down from 16 to 12 jeans, but only lost a few pounds. Hang in there:smile:

    Highly doubtful it's muscle mass. Muscle mass is EXTREMELY hard to gain. Especially enough to affect the scale.

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