2 lb gain w TDEE-20%

kelleybean1
kelleybean1 Posts: 312 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Okay, someone talk me off the ledge here. I've been doing the TDEE-20% for 10 days now, and have gained 2 lbs. Is this normal? I'm working out with a trainer 3 lifting weights (HIIT) 3x wk and am running 2 mi 3x wk. My clothes are definitely tighter so I think this is a real gain. I don't have much to lose, only 10-15 lbs. Is it normal to gain at first? How long should I stick with this? My diary is open if anyone would like to peek. Stats:
53 yrs old
5'4.5"
148lbs
BMR 1342
TDEE 2080
TDEE-20% 1664

Replies

  • zcarpenter91
    zcarpenter91 Posts: 51 Member
    Well it could be water weight do you weigh yourself right when you wake up with no clothes on? Weighing yourself at the same time everyday helps keep everything consistent. And any chance that it could just be muscle mass? Muscle does weigh more than fat :)
  • Escape_Artist
    Escape_Artist Posts: 1,155 Member
    10 days is a bit too soon still. Besides, 2lbs could be anything (Water weight most of the time)

    Are you taking measures and pictures?
  • Escape_Artist
    Escape_Artist Posts: 1,155 Member
    Well it could be water weight do you weigh yourself right when you wake up with no clothes on? Weighing yourself at the same time everyday helps keep everything consistent. And any chance that it could just be muscle mass? Muscle does weigh more than fat :)

    No. Muscle takes a long long time to build. No way that would happen in 10 days, besides OP is at deficit, not surplus.

    Also weighting yourself everyday is a very good recipe for failure.

    Weight yourseld once every 1 or 2 weeks, or even better don't weight at all. Numbers on the scale means nothing
  • kelleybean1
    kelleybean1 Posts: 312 Member
    I weigh first thing in the am naked. I haven't checked my measurements yet, but my clothes are tighter. (My fave yellow capris are too snug now!)
  • james6998
    james6998 Posts: 743 Member
    If your sore your body will retain more water. Remember the only way you would have actually gained 2lbs of fat is if you would have consumed 7000 more calories somewhere. Logically, do you really think you snuck in 7000 hidden calories? :P I know for a fact that muscle damage during weightlifting can cause water retention.
  • kelleybean1
    kelleybean1 Posts: 312 Member
    Oh, and I do weigh/measure everything (at least for the past 10 days!) Every inch of my body is sore right now, so it could be that. Or maybe my hubby is stuffing hersheys down my throat as I sleep ;-) You're right, 7000 extra calories is highly unlikely.
  • AmyRhubarb
    AmyRhubarb Posts: 6,890 Member
    Totally normal. Give it 4-6 weeks.
  • BAMarsh
    BAMarsh Posts: 72 Member
    I hope you're being sarcastic here...
    Muscle does weigh more than fat :)


    And for the OP - yes, I started lifting earlier this summer and I gained at first. In fact, I haven't lost any weight yet, but I did take measurements and have lost inches. At the same time, I've gained inches in other places - my pants fit more loosely round my waist but tighter around my butt and thighs. Hang in there - it'll work itself out!
  • Fitfully_me
    Fitfully_me Posts: 647 Member
    I wouldn't be overly concerned about it. You have several things to factor into this equation. +/- 2 lbs is normal fluctuation. (For me anyway.) Eating 1664 calories not sure it's even possible to truly gain 2 lbs in 10 days.

    Keep doing what you're doing and remember the basics. Calories in vs calories out. Let what you know you're doing remind you of where you're headed. You're exercising and eating within your guidelines, now give it some time. (10 days is not enough time)
  • MyaPapaya75
    MyaPapaya75 Posts: 3,143 Member
    devils advocate here.....start tracking your sodium
  • RunHardBeStrong
    RunHardBeStrong Posts: 33,069 Member
    Listen to all the advice given except for the one that stated it could be muscle gain. Completely normal, ride it out at least 4-6 weeks before making any changes but I bet by then the scale and more importantly inches will be going down again.
  • walleymama
    walleymama Posts: 174 Member
    I am around the same height and weight as you (5' 5.5", 148 lbs). The same thing happened to me.

    After my first week on MFP when I lost a lot of weight, I worried I was losing too fast (I had a net of 1200). So I "switched" to the TDEE-20% method, which suggested a total caloric goal of around 1700. But when I did that I started gaining weight again.

    Honestly, I think the problem is that the TDEE method gives you no wiggle room and it is pretty much impossible to track food and exercise calories with great accuracy. So it's not that I doubt the method, I just doubt that it is easy to stick to. MFP allows you to eat back exercise calories but you don't have to eat them all. It is also better if you don't exercise the same amount each time (i.e. my workouts range from a light run or walk where I burn maybe 200 calories to a long bike ride where I'll burn 350 and then some days I do other stuff as well).

    And while I don't disagree that this may work itself out over time, that my rapid early loss was water and that my gain was possibly also water, and that 10 days is "not much time" in the grand scheme of things, I know for me I needed that regular motivation of seeing the scale moving downward, and my fear is waiting and waiting and gaining and gaining (or stalling and stalling) so for me I needed to see that weight creeping down again so I cut back my calories. Now I use the MFP method (which has me eating a net of around 1400) but try to cap it at 1500 - 1600 total calories even if I exercise a lot on those days. So far I'm very happy with the results.
  • determinedbutlazy
    determinedbutlazy Posts: 1,941 Member
    I gained 6lbs in the first month and lost it all almost immediately in the second month. Trust the process, 2lbs is nothing.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    Did you calculate your TDEE correctly? There is no magic to TDEE - 20%...really, it's 6 of 1 to MFP if you do it right. When I did MFP to lose 1 Lb per week and ate back my exercise calories, I was grossing roughly the same as TDEE - 20% to lose roughly 1 Lb per week. My MFP net goal was 1,850...with exercise I was eating between 2100 - 2200. My TDEE is 2700; TDEE - 20% = 2160 calories...see, 6 of 1.

    It's all still an estimate...there's no magic...nobody's TDEE is exactly 2100 calories or whatever. Give it a few weeks and make adjustments as necessary. Also, were you doing a VLCD before? If you were, it can take 4 weeks or so for your metabolism to catch on to what you're doing...if you introduce a bunch of calories, even if it's technically a deficit from what your maintenance should be...but it's quite a bit more than you were doing before, it's going to shock your system and you'll have a little gain. A lot of it (most of it, if not all of it) is water due to glycogen stores being replenished and generally just retaining more water in general with a higher calorie intake.
  • Tropical_Turtle
    Tropical_Turtle Posts: 2,236 Member
    10 days? that is it??? um miracles do not happen over night. You didnt get fat over night. Time and patience is a virtue!
  • _HeartsOnFire_
    _HeartsOnFire_ Posts: 5,304 Member
    Your body can fluctuate 3-5 lbs daily...Losing weight takes time. You have to have patience.

    Also, let's put the myth to bed that muscle weighs more than fat, it doesn't. I wish it did.
  • bobbystrongarm
    bobbystrongarm Posts: 72
    If your sore your body will retain more water. Remember the only way you would have actually gained 2lbs of fat is if you would have consumed 7000 more calories somewhere. Logically, do you really think you snuck in 7000 hidden calories? :P I know for a fact that muscle damage during weightlifting can cause water retention.


    This. Water retention is very common when people start weight training. I imagine if you weren't doing HIIT and weight training prior to this, it is a lot of shock to drop on your body all at once. You will retain water, it is a mechanism to accelerate healing. Pretty much your body saying WTFmate?!

    If you are weight training and getting into exercise at your body weight I would strongly urge you to track bodyfat %, or take measurements around your hips, thighs, upper arm, neck, calves, etc and NOT scale weight. Your muscles will be sucking in water, you'll be making strength changes, your body will be going through a re-composition. Tracking weight doesn't account for any of these changes. It's just going to drive you crazy thinking you aren't progressing. A body tape measure or body fat caliper can be had for under $10. your sanity is worth more than $10.
  • lindustum
    lindustum Posts: 212 Member
    Honestly, I think the problem is that the TDEE method gives you no wiggle room and it is pretty much impossible to track food and exercise calories with great accuracy. So it's not that I doubt the method, I just doubt that it is easy to stick to. MFP allows you to eat back exercise calories but you don't have to eat them all. It is also better if you don't exercise the same amount each time (i.e. my workouts range from a light run or walk where I burn maybe 200 calories to a long bike ride where I'll burn 350 and then some days I do other stuff as well).

    I don't follow your logic here. You say TDEE doesn't leave wiggle room because calorie and burn estimates are by nature inaccurate, yet MFP requires you to eat back a number which is down to exactly these (incorrect) estimates. TDEE on the other hand accounts for possible overestimation, since you don't eat back calories anyway.

    So basically you choose not to eat back all MFP exercise calories in order to avoid measurement inaccuracies, but you would eat whatever number TDEE-20% spits out? Why don't you shave off some kcal from TDEE-20% to do the same?
  • kelleybean1
    kelleybean1 Posts: 312 Member
    I'm getting a Bod Pod measure this weekend. So far, I've used my scale to measure BF and it is at 37%. I'd like to be at 29%. I guess I should hide the scale for a while. I know that losing BF is much slower and probably won't show up weekly. Patience never was one of my virtues! I lost 4 lbs earlier this summer and hate to see the scales creeping up again, but I realize that the TDEE-20 method is much saner and sustainable than eating 1200/day. And hey, a smaller marshmallow is still a marshmallow.
  • _HeartsOnFire_
    _HeartsOnFire_ Posts: 5,304 Member
    Honestly, I think the problem is that the TDEE method gives you no wiggle room and it is pretty much impossible to track food and exercise calories with great accuracy. So it's not that I doubt the method, I just doubt that it is easy to stick to. MFP allows you to eat back exercise calories but you don't have to eat them all. It is also better if you don't exercise the same amount each time (i.e. my workouts range from a light run or walk where I burn maybe 200 calories to a long bike ride where I'll burn 350 and then some days I do other stuff as well).

    I don't follow your logic here. You say TDEE doesn't leave wiggle room because calorie and burn estimates are by nature inaccurate, yet MFP requires you to eat back a number which is down to exactly these (incorrect) estimates. TDEE on the other hand accounts for possible overestimation, since you don't eat back calories anyway.

    So basically you choose not to eat back all MFP exercise calories in order to avoid measurement inaccuracies, but you would eat whatever number TDEE-20% spits out? Why don't you shave off some kcal from TDEE-20% to do the same?

    Agreed!!!
  • TKRV
    TKRV Posts: 165 Member
    Did you go from eating very little to eating a lot? I am working towards TDEE... meaning I am adding 100 calories every month until I hit TDEE - 10% This way, my body has a chance to adjust.
  • james6998
    james6998 Posts: 743 Member
    Your body can fluctuate 3-5 lbs daily...Losing weight takes time. You have to have patience.

    Also, let's put the myth to bed that muscle weighs more than fat, it doesn't. I wish it did.

    muscle is more dense than fat. If you have a block of muscle and an equal size block of fat the muscle will weigh more. The great thing, it is much tighter and looks a heck of a lot better than have the same weight in fat.

    I guess that easiest way to picture all of this weight issue is that if you take a 6 in. X 6 in. X 6 in. cube of fat and take a same size cube of muscle the muscle will weigh more due to its density and compactness

    More accurate picture.
  • walleymama
    walleymama Posts: 174 Member

    So basically you choose not to eat back all MFP exercise calories in order to avoid measurement inaccuracies, but you would eat whatever number TDEE-20% spits out? Why don't you shave off some kcal from TDEE-20% to do the same

    I realize that, mathematically, it's the same thing. It's just personal preference.

    I just find it easier, with the way MFP is setup, to look at my homepage and see net calories + exercise listed as separate numbers. My exercise can vary from 200 to 600 or more calories on some days, so I find it easier to "Do the Math" with MFP.

    Also, using TDEE-20% assumes a certain level of exercise per day. Say you put in that you will exercise 3x per week and one week you end up exercising 6x. How do you quickly figure out how much more you can eat that day/week? You have to recall how many calories, on average, you inputted to calculate TDEE (and since most of the calculators use an "activity index" that number is not one you entered in the first place) then you have to add or subtract if you go over or under on occasion (I don't mean one time things, I mean an exercise routine that varies significantly from week to week or over the course of a few days), then subtract or add that to your total TDEE....

    If you used a spreadsheet or something you could make it easy, but since we are on MFP and its homepage displays calories as net + exercise, it is easier for me to quickly assess where I'm at.
  • Hexahedra
    Hexahedra Posts: 894 Member
    To actually gain 2 lbs of fat you need a surplus of 7000 calories in 10 days, which is 700 extra calories a day. There's no way your body actually runs a surplus of 700 when you only eat around 1600 a day. My weight fluctuates by 2-5 lbs between morning and evening, so your 2 lbs is not a big deal. It's very likely to be water retained by your muscles due to soreness from new exercises.
  • 4daluvof_candice
    4daluvof_candice Posts: 483 Member
    Did you go from eating very little to eating a lot? I am working towards TDEE... meaning I am adding 100 calories every month until I hit TDEE - 10% This way, my body has a chance to adjust.

    I was just thinking the same thing, I use TDEE method and do -20% becasue hey Im heavy, lol but since you only have about or want to do lose 10-15 more lbs I would suggest not being so aggressive with it try -10% and see how that works..:flowerforyou: It'll be okay I had a 5lb gain one day of the week and the NEXT day that +1 was gone. That scale is a BEAST:devil:

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