eating under calories and exercising yet gaining weight
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You also need to remember that muscle weighs more than fat. If you have recently incorporated exercise the your routine you may simply be increasing your muscle mass. I use a tool to track my body fat as well as my scale to track what my body is really doing. The scale is only one tool. Also I can tell you, as you diet, your body will go through "stuck" phases. Times where it just flat doesn't want to change. Some people think you need to shock your system to kick start it, but I believe just keep doing what your doing and it will come around.0
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This. I think some of you are jumping the gun a little by saying she needs to eat more or saying her body is in survival mode. A food diary and/or more information from the OP would be really useful here.
Agreed, first you need to know exactly what is going in before advising to eat more.0 -
When I get into a plateau I can't stand it! So, I do something drastic, to confuse my body all to hell, and get it back on track to losing weight again. For instance, this last plateau I was ready and knew what I needed to do. My exercise, for just one day, was to use a rototiller and break up the hard compacted dirt in our yard. I worked for 4 hours straight with only two breaks (to fill the gas and to remove a wire that had gotten stuck in the tines of the machine). Your body gets 'use' to food and exercise - get drastic for a day, MAX out to YOUR ABILITY. Get so physically tired you can barely take a shower , then take it easy for a day or two so your muscles have a chance to rebuild. Again, in my humble opinion, what you need to do is be drastic for only a day.0
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I recently found that I was in the same situation, running a daily deficit of 3-500 calories, (I log religiously, including all fats, oils and spices that I eat and also enter recipes that I make so I can properly log those). I eat very well with lots of veggies, very little white anything, protein, good fats, etc and engaging in lots of exercise - Turbofire 6 days a week, running 3-4 days a week, and then strength training 2 days a week. And I found I was gaining. SO I actually UPPED my calorie intake so that I wasn't running such an extreme deficit - I aim to be within 100 calories of my goal, and I'm losing again. If you're not fuelling your body properly for your exercise, you're body will retain what fuel it can as a reserve...
Exactly!
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This. I think some of you are jumping the gun a little by saying she needs to eat more or saying her body is in survival mode. A food diary and/or more information from the OP would be really useful here.
I don't think that's jumping the gun at all, she herself said she is eating "well" under her calories. I took that as she's trying to eat so few calories thinking that will make her lose weight, and it won't. Your body needs fuel to function properly, especially if you are trying to work out 5 days a week. Think of a fire, the more logs you put on it, the bigger and faster it will burn. Stop putting logs on the fire, it will eventually burn out. You are right about her diary though, the very first thing I said in my comment was that she needs to open up her diary so we can all help. Everyone is commenting blind here since its private and just trying to do the best with what information we were given.
Only on MFP does "I'm not losing weight" = "eat more food."
:huh:0 -
You also need to remember that muscle weighs more than fat. If you have recently incorporated exercise the your routine you may simply be increasing your muscle mass. I use a tool to track my body fat as well as my scale to track what my body is really doing. The scale is only one tool. Also I can tell you, as you diet, your body will go through "stuck" phases. Times where it just flat doesn't want to change. Some people think you need to shock your system to kick start it, but I believe just keep doing what your doing and it will come around.
Highly doubtful the OP is putting on muscle mass at all, let alone enough to gain weight if OP is staying "well below" her goal.0 -
I had the same problem. You have to eat more!!!! I know it sounds counter intuitive but it is true.0
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Only on MFP does "I'm not losing weight" = "eat more food."
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You also need to remember that muscle weighs more than fat.
No no no. One pound of fat is the same as one pound of muscle. Muscle is just compacted densely.0 -
You also need to remember that muscle weighs more than fat.
No no no. One pound of fat is the same as one pound of muscle. Muscle is just compacted densely.
Not to nitpick, but the original statement wasn't "One pound of muscle weighs more than one pound of fat," so your rebuttal isn't even appropriate.
Anyway, carry on.0 -
If you have over 150 lbs to lose, you can probably ignore people who say "your eating too little". Honestly, you are probably eating too much. You are either not logging accuratley out of mistakes or out of denial. Science is science. Eat less calories than your body needs and you will lose weight. There is no magic to it. Eating more is what got you where you are to begin with. People who are fit, active, low body fat and doing intense workouts may fall in the needing to eat more category. Someone with over 150 lbs to lose, does not. Im not saying to starve yourself but 1500-1600 calories a day, calculated correctly and full of nutrient dense foods will keep your body fueled.
Please dont take offense to my opinion, it is just that, an opinion. Im no one special, I have my ups and downs but only when I stopped blaming my body for my lack of weight loss and claiming to "watch what I eat" did I see the weight come off. I only WISH someone could have been so honest with me.
Best of luck to you and I hope that you are able to succeed and even surpase your goals!0 -
Can you open up your diary?
Do you eat back exercise calories? What are you using to estimate your burns (HRM or MFP)?
Exercise is for fitness, diet is for weight loss. You can't out-exercise a bad diet (not saying you do - because I don't know yet)0 -
You also need to remember that muscle weighs more than fat.
No no no. One pound of fat is the same as one pound of muscle. Muscle is just compacted densely.
Also to add, it's highly unlikely the weight gain is due to muscle building. People do not gain muscle at the same rate or faster than fat loss.0 -
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If you have over 150 lbs to lose, you can probably ignore people who say "your eating too little". Honestly, you are probably eating too much. You are either not logging accuratley out of mistakes or out of denial. Science is science. Eat less calories than your body needs and you will lose weight. There is no magic to it.
agreed on all accounts.0 -
maybe you need to readjust how much you eat to be lower so you still have a deficit
^^^Really?!? she just said that she eats UNDER her calories and you're telling her to eat less?
how much under your calories are you eating? if you are not eating enough food to fuel your body and are working out too much you will not lose weight. also, how long has this "gain" been going on? And is it consistent or did you just gain weight this week and post that you're gaining even though you're at a deficit?
chances are, if you just started out or just started a new workout program you are retaining water as your body adjusts to it. if you're eating less than youre burning and you're active you will lose weight. just give it time.0 -
If you have over 150 lbs to lose, you can probably ignore people who say "your eating too little". Honestly, you are probably eating too much. You are either not logging accuratley out of mistakes or out of denial. Science is science. Eat less calories than your body needs and you will lose weight. There is no magic to it. Eating more is what got you where you are to begin with. People who are fit, active, low body fat and doing intense workouts may fall in the needing to eat more category. Someone with over 150 lbs to lose, does not. Im not saying to starve yourself but 1500-1600 calories a day, calculated correctly and full of nutrient dense foods will keep your body fueled.
Please dont take offense to my opinion, it is just that, an opinion. Im no one special, I have my ups and downs but only when I stopped blaming my body for my lack of weight loss and claiming to "watch what I eat" did I see the weight come off. I only WISH someone could have been so honest with me.
Best of luck to you and I hope that you are able to succeed and even surpase your goals!
I
you. THIS ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 0 -
Eating too little to fuel your body will slow weight loss, but will never stop it nor cause weight gain. Somewhere along the line people lumped these two concepts together and it's incorrect.0
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" 11 reasons you are failling to lose fat" a great, great artciele : http://www.acaloriecounter.com/blog/why-am-i-not-losing-weight/
I don't agree fully with what's written there but its worth reading.
What I I agree with is that no matter what diet you follow ( low carb, low fat, moderate ) its all about your calories deficit. You have to create a deficit of 7000 kcal to burn 1 kg of fat(2.2 Ibs) .Then there are all those aspects like : eating small meals but often, drinking a lot of water, complex carbs instead of simple , eating a lot of vegetables but those can only make it happen a little faster. You won't burn fat drinking green tea or eating full grain pasta but by creating a deficit ( even if what you eat is only McDonalds and ice cream - that's not healthy, I know - just an example )0 -
maybe you need to readjust how much you eat to be lower so you still have a deficit
^^^Really?!? she just said that she eats UNDER her calories and you're telling her to eat less?
how much under your calories are you eating? if you are not eating enough food to fuel your body and are working out too much you will not lose weight. also, how long has this "gain" been going on? And is it consistent or did you just gain weight this week and post that you're gaining even though you're at a deficit?
chances are, if you just started out or just started a new workout program you are retaining water as your body adjusts to it. if you're eating less than youre burning and you're active you will lose weight. just give it time.
Yes. Really.
What she's saying and what's actually happening could be two very different things.0
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