Not fat but gaining rather than losing :(

ninamic
ninamic Posts: 5
edited November 2023 in Getting Started
I've been tracking on MFP for 3 weeks and am just disappointed and frustrated. I only want to lose about 12 pounds and I thought 1 pound a week was fine. The first week I lost 3 pounds because I didn't eat back my calories burned by running -- seemed too many. Now I do so after reading posts here about why that's important.
The problem is, now I am 1 pound heavier than when I started! My calorie goal per MFP is 1267. I track as best I can and have very few days over limit. I have even decreased my alcohol intake to about 2 drinks a week max (over the past 2 yrs), whereas when I was thinner, I drank about one glass of wine each night. Another reason for tracking is that, as a pescetarian (fish and dairy; no meat), I wondered how my protein intake is. Seems plenty high without consciously searching for proteins, and carbs also normal to low (I cut down because of new craze high protein, low carb). Seems like indications I should return to my old habits! Minus the alcohol.
It just doesn't seem mathematically possible to gain rather than lose, and I am depressed and irritated by it.

Replies

  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
    Are you overestimating your burned calories and eating too much?
  • Jaided35
    Jaided35 Posts: 24
    You don't need to eat meat to get your protein. There are other alternatives and protein shakes. If not eating back your calories worked for you then just don't do it. I don't eat back mine and I have lost 10 pounds before joining MFP. Lost another 1 just in a week. I had a trainer up until recent and she told me that I shouldn't be eating my exercise calories because it defeats the purpose of working out in the first place. She said to only eat back half if my exercise calories exceed 400. It could also be water weight (a large part of gaining a bit).

    My advice is up your calories just a bit and don't eat them back (as you were doing before). See how you are in a few weeks. Weigh and measure yourself today and don't do it again for 3 weeks. You'd be surprised by the results. A lot of people get down when they aren't losing because too many are weighing daily or every other day. It takes time. Good luck. Find a good thing that works for you not someone else. There are too many opinions on here and everyone gets confused.
  • grimendale
    grimendale Posts: 2,153 Member
    Most likely, you are either overestimating how much you are burning or you are underestimating how much you are eating. Are you weighing everything on a food scale? Are you logging everything, including condiments, sauces, nibbles, etc.? If not, then that is probably the culprit. How are you determining how much you are burning? Do you use a heart rate monitor, or do you use the MFP calculators? If the latter, the calculators are notorious for overestimating burns. Either get a HRM (preferred option) or try eating back only a fraction of what you supposedly burn (50%-80%). Not eating them back at all can cause too large of a deficit, which can lead to problems if the deficit is too large for too long, so I wouldn't recommend that.

    As to the protein question, there are plenty of non-meat protein options. I get 150 to 200g of protein daily as a vegetarian by picking the right foods (Boca, Morningstar, Gardein and Quorn all have some tasty high protein options).
  • ninamic
    ninamic Posts: 5
    Like I said, I am tracking. If that doesn't include everything, then what's the point!
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
    Like I said, I am tracking. If that doesn't include everything, then what's the point!
    How are you calculating your exercise calories burned?

    If you don't want to answer questions and give us more information, then don't post asking for advice. We can't help you based solely on your first post.
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    Weight loss is not linear. You're going to have up weeks and down weeks, up days and down days. It's all part of the wonders of the human body and water weight.

    When you increased your calories your body naturally started to restore its glycogen stores, which means that you're holding onto some extra water, masking any fat loss that's happening. Give your body some time to adjust and it should even out.

    This might be a beneficial read: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/993576-why-you-gain-weight-if-you-eat-more-than-your-cut
  • firstsip
    firstsip Posts: 8,399 Member
    How much weight total, then? In 3 weeks? Probably water retention.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    Are you using a kitchen scale to weigh solid foods pre-cooked and measuring cups for liquids? If not you may be eating a lot more than you think you are.
  • amysj303
    amysj303 Posts: 5,086 Member
    Not sure how much you weigh, but I saw this and thought it might be interesting/relevant:
    From Mark Young of Lean Bodies Consulting: "A 110 pound woman has an estimated maintenance of 1650 calories. If she were to set a 20% deficit her dieting calorie intake would be 1320 calories. This means her absolute deficit would be 330 calories per day or 2310 for the week. A 220 pound man has an estimated maintenance of 3300 calories. If he were to set a 20% deficit his dieting calorie intake would be 2640 calories. This means his absolute deficit would be 660 calories per day or 4620 for the week. Ultimately this illustrates that a lighter person will always have a smaller absolute deficit even with the same relative deficit (20%). This means that it is much easier for a lighter person to completely erase the deficit created simply by cheating/deviating on a their plan. It is unfair, but true. If you're a lighter person and struggling to lose fat, be attentive to your nutritional compliance as the small deviations can quickly add up to stalled fat loss."

    What others are saying is true, likely you lost glycogen stores at first and now it's very easy to go over because you can't be truly precise with calories burned or consumed.
  • jenniferheumiller
    jenniferheumiller Posts: 1 Member
    You've only just begun! When I first really start getting after it and running/working out a lot, I gain weight. I used to get frustrated by this, but then I started measuring inches, and I wasn't gaining those. Seemed for me that I would gain a little weight, lose inches, and then start to lean out and lose the weight too. Everyone is so different, it is hard to say what is really going on, but I suggest you keep at it, and you should see results! Water weight could be the culprit as well! 3 weeks is not a very long time, so don't get discouraged!
  • ninamic
    ninamic Posts: 5
    I figure with tracking that if it doesn't include everything, then what's the point! And yes, I have an excellent kitchen scale and weigh and measure everything to learn what is what. Still, even if say my margin of error were 5% (1330 cal), or even 10% (1393 cal), I would still be taking in less calories than maintenance weight and not gaining, right?
    Nonetheless, I am determined to stick with tracking and using MFP guidelines. Perhaps I am gaining muscle mass by jogging more and doing stomach crunches or something. I still do not want to lose too fast and then yoyo back to double as much extra weight than previously. My goal is slow and steady. Otherwise I needn't be here.
    Thanks for your support!!! P.S. I'm 5'7" and fairly healthy, just want to lose the muffin top and tone up. ;)
  • polluxy
    polluxy Posts: 31
    You most likely haven't gained a pound of fat. Glycogen, the storage form of glucose that we get from eating carbohydrates, is stored in your liver and in your muscles. Approximately 200 g of glycogen can be stored by your liver, and another 300 g - 600 g can be stored by your muscles. Whereas the glycogen in your liver can be shuttled back into your bloodstream by the hormone insulin, and thus be readily available for energy, the glycogen in your muscles can only be used by your muscles for anaerobic activities that require spurts of energy. These include things like lifting weights, sprinting, or anything that brings your heart rate above about 75% of its maximum. That depends on your oxygen uptake (VO2 max) during exercise.

    ANYWAYS, after a little basic biochemistry lesson I arrive at my point. :) A gram of glycogen in both your liver and your muscles is bound to 4 g of water. When you begin exercising or increase your exercise volume, your muscles get greedy and your body tries to fill up those glycogen stores. 4 g of water binding to each gram of glycogen might not seem like a lot, but considering that a pound is 454 g, it only requires about 100 g of glycogen stored in your muscles to put on a pound in water. Also, as you exercise, your muscles get microtears that must repair themselves, and further excess water is pulled into these interstitial spaces.

    The phrase "it's only water weight" really does apply here.
  • ninamic
    ninamic Posts: 5
    Thank you. I find this useful!
This discussion has been closed.

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