In calorie defect,but gaining

Open your diary

Starting a new workout can cause the scale to show a gain because the muscles retain water to heal themselves. Not a big deal.

It is totally normal for weight to fluctuate on a regular basis. Fuel your body, make sure since you are going to the gym now that you eat more to compensate for the calories burned there. Your daily NET calories should be at, or close to your daily goal.

Also, take your measurements as well as weighing yourself - often the tape measure will show progress while the scale is busy messing with your head.

A new exercise regimen will easily cause about 3-5 Lbs of water retention for muscle repair. If you are indeed in a deficit of calories, you cannot gain fat...it is mathematically impossible.

Might be "mathematically impossible"...but real life scientists and doctors see it happen. Might have something to do with it being biology, and not math. It is not fast gains, but it happens.

Hey there,

I had a little look at your diary. Last week you left a LOT of calories on the table (700+) Monday to Friday. Then you didn't log anything at all on Sat. and Sun. Not a bite.

Which is fine and your choice, of course, but it DOES mean that you can't know for sure if you're in an overall deficit. It might be an idea to aim for around your calorie goal (200 either way) to hold off food cravings and also log each and every day for accuracy. Also... weighing is more accurate than tbsps. & cups.

I have to agree. For the past couple of weeks, your calorie intake is much closer to 1,000 a day (and sometimes less) than it is to 1600. It also appears that you don't log on the weekends. Again, that is totally your choice. But there's no way to know if you're really eating in a deficit if you have no idea what you're consuming on the weekends. If you want to have a cheat day every week, that's also fine, and a lot of people do it. But you may want to continue logging anyway just so you don't have to play any sort of guessing game with yourself.

The scale can show a gain for any number of reasons, but personally, I like to minimize the variables. That means eating as close to my actual calorie goal as possible, logging everything I eat every day, and being consistent.

personally, I like to minimize the variables

And THAT'S why I never do exercise. *maths face*

There could be a couple of things happening

1) not logging things accurately, pretending cheat days don't exist,
2) Not eating enough, the days where there in not much logged, is that all you ate or did you just stop logging? Your body might be going into starvation mode.
3) water weight
4) many people think that if they exercise that they can eat worse, like they have earned the ice cream after every work out. (I believe in treating yourself occasionally but many go way overboard when they start the gym)


Best of luck