Why am I gaining weight?

StaciieeG
StaciieeG Posts: 26
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi! I was wondering if any of you knew why I was gaining weight. I try to eat 1200 calories a day and I excersize for 30-60 minutes a day. I am 5'7 and 140 lbs and my goal is 5'7 and 130lbs. Feel free to look at my food diary! I eat in a cafeteria at school everyday and I am gluten intolerant if that helps. Thanks so much!! :)
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Replies

  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    How much are you gaining and over what period of time?

    Either you're eating more calories than you think (very easy to do when estimating portions) or you're retaining water (exercise, hormones, stress, sodium, etc. can all add water weight to the scale).
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    P.S. your food diary is not public.
  • Greenrun99
    Greenrun99 Posts: 2,065 Member
    Eating in a cafeteria = having no idea what your actually eating.
  • Alta2000
    Alta2000 Posts: 655 Member
    Based on your height/weight/age/ time exercise you should be eating ~2000 calories, not 1200. But open your diary to get an idea of your daily food intake.
  • ElliottTN
    ElliottTN Posts: 1,614 Member
    Not sure about your school but my university cafeteria was the equivalent of trying to order the healthiest food at a fast food resteraunt everyday. Honestly unless you prepare the food yourself you have no idea what you are putting in your mouth.
  • thinklivebefree
    thinklivebefree Posts: 328 Member
    Cause you been on since 2012 and only made 2 post lol
  • StaciieeG
    StaciieeG Posts: 26
    Sorry I didn't realize that! Now my food diary is public. Thanks!
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,428 MFP Moderator
    Eating in a cafeteria = having no idea what your actually eating.

    This.. how are your measuring what you are eating in the cafe?
  • Alta2000
    Alta2000 Posts: 655 Member
    Looked since August 21. Drop all the Luna bars and nuts, start eating healthy. Get a serving of protein and I do not mean the vanilla shakes but chicken, meat, fish, and a portion of vegetables or top the protein on green salad. Eat an apple or other vegetable with it and for snack, skip the popcorn. Increase your daily calories to at least 1450. Do you also drink soda or juice?
  • susannamarie
    susannamarie Posts: 2,148 Member
    I would speculate that your measures for food are a bit off.

    Looking at the last week, you have a LOT of 'one tablespoon peanut butter' 'one tablespoon cashew butter' '1/4 cup peanuts' '1 oz peanuts'. How are you measuring these? These are dense enough with calories that if you are eating 3T instead of 1T each time you eat them, it can make a large difference.

    You also have a fair amount of '1 cup cereal, 1/4 cup milk'. If you are not already doing so, I suggest taking a measuring cup to the cafeteria to see how much you're getting. Most people vastly underestimate how much cereal they are taking.

    Also, when you are eating things like scrambled eggs, hash browns, etc., you have absolutely no idea how much fat they have used. Again, the potato measures could be pretty far off if you're not measuring them.
  • StaciieeG
    StaciieeG Posts: 26
    I estimate with my hands. Ex. My palm is 4 oz of meat etc.
  • StaciieeG
    StaciieeG Posts: 26
    I have measuring cups
  • StaciieeG
    StaciieeG Posts: 26
    No I only drink water. Also I live in a dorm so it's difficult to have fresh food on hand.
  • Stage14
    Stage14 Posts: 1,046 Member
    I estimate with my hands. Ex. My palm is 4 oz of meat etc.

    Definitely get a scale. I can tell you that a palm size piece of red meat is pretty different weight-wise from a palm size piece of fish or even chicken.
  • susannamarie
    susannamarie Posts: 2,148 Member
    Do you take the cups to the cafeteria to measure your peanuts? Is the 1 oz an individual bag, or are you weighing it out? And the tablespoons of nut butter?
  • StaciieeG
    StaciieeG Posts: 26
    The nut butter and peanuts I have and eat in my dorm room so I can measure it out there.
  • StaciieeG
    StaciieeG Posts: 26
    Ok thanks! But isn't it weird to bring a scale into a cafeteria?
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    how do you function on so little food...holy crap.

    I am 5 ft 7 and if I ate what you do I would be a raving *kitten*..I eat about 1600 a day and even then sometimes that isn't enough.

    Seriously...if you exercise at all eat more food.

    I see days where you are under 1200 and very rarely over 1200...you are not feeding your body enough.
  • StaciieeG
    StaciieeG Posts: 26
    I've probably gained about 10 pounds over the past three months.
  • TArnold2012
    TArnold2012 Posts: 929 Member
    Your carbs and proteins are out of wack !!! Carbs 100 or less a day and protein should be 100 or more a day. That way you lose fat and not muscle.
  • StaciieeG
    StaciieeG Posts: 26
    If I eat more calories will I gain weight though? The last thing I want to do I gain more weight
  • TArnold2012
    TArnold2012 Posts: 929 Member
    I've probably gained about 10 pounds over the past three months. My friends say it's muscle but still I'm not happy with it.


    With your protein intake so low there is no way you are gaining muscle.
  • StaciieeG
    StaciieeG Posts: 26
    Wow I didn't even realize that! Thank you so much
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    I've probably gained about 10 pounds over the past three months. My friends say it's muscle but still I'm not happy with it.

    Yah no you can't gain muscle on a deficet ....

    If you are gaining you are underestimating your intake or not logging everything. Some of it could be water retention but not all of it.
  • alanlmarshall
    alanlmarshall Posts: 587 Member
    https://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/872212-you-re-probably-eating-more-than-you-think?hl=More+than+you+think

    Buy a scale, use it on a school break or holiday to learn real portions. Apply that when it is difficult to measure at school.

    You are probably just going to have to become a better estimator. Set a more realistic calorie goal, but then overestimate your intake some to get closer to an accurate estimate. Use scale weight trends to track your accuracy and adjust your "calories," which will always be a guess anyway, so the scale goes down steadily.

    Run far away from anyone who mentions starvation mode.
  • susannamarie
    susannamarie Posts: 2,148 Member
    I've probably gained about 10 pounds over the past three months. My friends say it's muscle but still I'm not happy with it.

    I would seriously doubt that you've gained 10 lbs of muscle in 3 months. That would be unrealistically high even for a guy.
    The nut butter and peanuts I have and eat in my dorm room so I can measure it out there.

    Are you measuring the peanut butter with a tablespoon, or zeroing it out on a scale to measure in grams? It's very hard to measure accurately with a spoon. Make sure your spoon isn't heaping.
    Ok thanks! But isn't it weird to bring a scale into a cafeteria?

    Maybe. Is not being weird more important to you than weightloss? :)
  • Pixi_Rex
    Pixi_Rex Posts: 1,676 Member
    Because you aren't doing something right.
  • StaciieeG
    StaciieeG Posts: 26
    Sorry. I thought they were wrong
  • StaciieeG
    StaciieeG Posts: 26
    I didn't think it was muscle anyways. Thanks :)
  • StaciieeG
    StaciieeG Posts: 26
    Haha I didn't think it was muscle anyways. I am afraid to bump up my intake because I don't want to gain

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