Gained 5 pounds in a week! Help?!

blondiemcnugget
blondiemcnugget Posts: 12
in Introduce Yourself
So I have recently lost about 9 pounds two weeks ago. I was 15st 12. I got down to 15st 3, and this week I have gained 5 pounds! :(

I am eating roughly 1200 cals a day. A little over. I go to the gym 5 days a week, I usually do about 45 minutes on the treadmill, x trainer, and bikes. Then I do 15 minutes doing some weights.

I really dont understand why I am gaining weight, I know it can be a possibility of reasons, but I really want to know where I am going wrong.

I am so frustrated and upset :(

Any advice would be greatly appreciated
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Replies

  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
    Your logging is really patchy. I would start weighing your food and logging as accurately as possible. Also, water weight can make the scale fluctuate a lot - you need to look at longer term trends.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants
  • MelissaPhippsFeagins
    MelissaPhippsFeagins Posts: 8,063 Member
    Are you weighing all of your food? are you logging it all? That's the most likely culprit. #2 culprit would be your menstrual cycle. I could always count on a 4lb weight swing at my TOM.
  • KRisley211
    KRisley211 Posts: 1
    Mix it up. Lift first. Burns the Creatine then the glucose stores. After that it's on to the fat burning with the cardio.
  • michellekicks
    michellekicks Posts: 3,624 Member
    It's a water fluctuation. It's temporary.

    If you are logging accurately and eating in the area of 1200 calories daily you are not gaining 5 lbs of fat in a week under any circumstances.

    Here's a post I wrote about short term weight gain related to a single bad day/weekend/vacation of eating in case it applies:
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/mrsbigmack/view/short-term-weight-gain-panic-sets-in-463326

    But my weight will spike easily if I eat something like sushi with soy sauce, or buttery popcorn... it's just a water fluctuation. Keep doing whatever you did to lose the 9 lbs in the first place and it will come back off.
  • blondiemcnugget
    blondiemcnugget Posts: 12
    Thanks , I havent logged in a few days as I have been away. I am weighing correctly, I was told it could be water.

    I was also told I havent been eating enough calories, so iwas going to up my calories to 1500

    I am also trying to get my head around my bmr and tdee, so its all very confusing.

    I was also told that maybe because I am lifting weights that it could also be the culprit..

    I dont eat back the calories I burn at the gym either
  • blondiemcnugget
    blondiemcnugget Posts: 12
    I did have a take away after a night out on Saturday, however I extremely doubt that would pile on the pounds as my eating habits before I cut back to 1200 were atrocious, I was easily taking in around 2500-3000 without any exercise beffore.
  • alexandriax03
    alexandriax03 Posts: 289 Member
    1200 calories for the amount of exercise you are doing is VERY little.
  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 7,965 Member
    http://justinowings.com/understanding-bodyweight-and-glycogen-de/
  • michellekicks
    michellekicks Posts: 3,624 Member
    It's from not logging for a few days and from take-away on Saturday. Get back to logging and it will go away.
  • SlimSumday
    SlimSumday Posts: 379 Member
    Your period can easily add that amount of weight.
  • blondiemcnugget
    blondiemcnugget Posts: 12
    No I am not due a period and I never gain any weight during my period for some reason.

    I think maybe I should up my cals to 1500 . Do people think that 1500 for a weight of 15st 7 is sufficient enough?

    I just dont understand the point ine xercising to loose weight if your going to eat back the calories you burned at the gym anyway :/ Sorry its just got me so confused.
  • blondiemcnugget
    blondiemcnugget Posts: 12
    Thanks, panic is over.

    I was going to self sabatoge out of frustration for gaining such an amount. I just didnt understand why I would gain that when I was on Slimming World I would eat a take away every weekend as a treat and I would still loose 4-6 pounds a week.
  • lizwebb55
    lizwebb55 Posts: 7
    It sounds like you have gotten a lot of good solid advice from people who know what they are talking about. All I really want to do is encourage you to hang in there, don't self-sabotage, and keep doing what you know you need to do. Little plateaus aren't uncommon, although they are extremely frustrating! I know all too well how easy it is to self-sabotage when you think you have blown it anyway.. But don't let all that exercise be for nothing! Keep on plugging along and stay on the path.

    I don't know how often you weigh, but I was told to only weigh once a week. This last week I had a slip-up myself. I weighed in the middle of the week, and had gained a couple of pounds (and I only had surgery about 3 weeks ago!). I was devastated, convinced that I had broken open my sutures, and wouldn't ever be able to lose weight. I had one pretty bad day, but then tried to get right back on it even stronger. When I weighted today I was back down to where I started. I didn't lose any, but I got rid of what I had gained.

    If I can do it, anybody can! Good luck.
  • blondiemcnugget
    blondiemcnugget Posts: 12
    Thank you so much! :)

    Really encouraging!

    Well now that I know its not anything serious or anything to panick about Im getting back on the wagon tomorrow! :)

    I just find it all confusing as I have seen on many posts, stuff about your bmr and tdee etc, and it just confuses me, I have heard 1200 is too little, but MFP gave me that to begin with, I have tweaked it.

    I have been through so many diets and I have lost so much weight, but I have put it back on again, so I really want to stick with this and start seeing a change, so far I havent seen much, but I will keep on at it :)
  • michellekicks
    michellekicks Posts: 3,624 Member
    You know... I was just reading your profile and what you've written here...

    1200 calories is fairly low for most people. It's hard to stick with. If you have your MFP goal set to losing 2 lbs/week, why not switch it to 1 lb/week? Or if it's set to 1 lb/week, try 1/2 a pound. In the long term, success comes from living out a lifestyle you can enjoy and that works for you. If you can't see yourself eating 1200 calories/day for a year or more, it's too restrictive. Because even if you do lose 2 lbs/week for now... it won't stay that way. The weight loss will be harder and harder to come by and the only thing you can do to get it going faster is to eat less. It's not all that healthy.

    If you start with a higher amount, you have at least a buffer and somewhere to go when you stall out. And you may not stall at all if you go a little slower. I only lost 35 lbs, but it was by setting my target to lose 1/2 a pound weekly and it didn't really feel hard to do. After I added in exercise calories I was eating about 2100 calories a day on average to get there.

    Long-term compliance is more important for lasting weight loss than losing it quickly.
  • nutmegoreo
    nutmegoreo Posts: 15,532 Member
    No I am not due a period and I never gain any weight during my period for some reason.

    I think maybe I should up my cals to 1500 . Do people think that 1500 for a weight of 15st 7 is sufficient enough?

    I just dont understand the point ine xercising to loose weight if your going to eat back the calories you burned at the gym anyway :/ Sorry its just got me so confused.

    In my opinion, exercise is more for fitness and muscle maintenance as opposed to weight loss.
  • blondiemcnugget
    blondiemcnugget Posts: 12
    Yeah I have really began to accept that any time I lose weight quickly it will go bck on and there is no rush to lose the weight as long as I loose something I will be happy.

    I was thinking I should definately up my calories as apparently at 1200 my body will start to slow my metabolism down.

    I am finding it quite hard to up my calories though as the amount I am eatng, I am not hungry or anything :S
  • michellekicks
    michellekicks Posts: 3,624 Member
    Eat higher fat foods or just enjoy a little bit of stuff that you would eat if you're not on a diet. If you eat nothing but salad and fish you're going to get bored. Once you start eating a bit more and seeing the success you're looking for while doing so, I suspect you'll be far happier about the road ahead.

    I guess what I'm trying to say, is eat a cookie :bigsmile:
  • thegilly6
    thegilly6 Posts: 137 Member
    It's got to be water. Mine goes through the roof when I eat some good salty Thai food. It comes off.
  • lucan07
    lucan07 Posts: 509
    http://www.acaloriecounter.com/blog/why-am-i-not-losing-weight/
  • michellekicks
    michellekicks Posts: 3,624 Member
    http://www.acaloriecounter.com/blog/why-am-i-not-losing-weight/

    While this is often true for the average Joe, it's not always the case. Many who are here on MFP are quite meticulous at tracking and, thus, are either a) not estimating their appropriate activity level correctly, or b) not complying with their own plan, or c) experiencing water weight fluctuations and freaking out about them.

    In my experience (and I've been doing this a long time), the more restricted your calories i.e. the bigger your deficit, the larger the water weight swings when you have a shift in diet... even if only for 1 day.
  • Pantherfan44
    Pantherfan44 Posts: 25
    I gain and loose the same 5 all the time, its sooooo frustrating. Sometimes I know its due to water so I try to stay off the salty stuff.
  • blondiemcnugget
    blondiemcnugget Posts: 12
    Haha I have a packet in my press ::) Thanks so much for the advicee! :)
  • kellybellyjellyn
    kellybellyjellyn Posts: 83
    I ate a large pizza 3 nights ago.. The next day I weighed 5lbs more than the previous day. I am not freaking out.

    It will come off don't worry. Keep doing what you're doing. Weight Fluctuates.. A lot.

    Losing weight can be a long process especially if you have a good bit to lose so once you are doing everything right you need to be ready for these fluctuations and not let them make you give up and throw in the towel.

    x
  • _EndGame_
    _EndGame_ Posts: 770 Member
    Could be water retention. A 5lb fluctuation is a common thing, especially if you have eaten processed foods, things with a lot of salt/sodium in. You really shouldn't beat yourself up over it.

    Also, as someone else mentioned, make sure you know the actual weight/nutritional value of what you're eating, etc.

    Not sure how people can sustain on 1200 calories a day. I usually have between 1000-1200 calories for dinner!
  • melaniecheeks
    melaniecheeks Posts: 6,349 Member
    Weight loss is not linear. How often do you weigh?
  • trudijoy
    trudijoy Posts: 1,685 Member
    very fast explanation of BMR and TDEE (which you said you're not sure about).

    BMR is your basal metabolic rate. Your body burns this no matter what you do. If you're in a coma, you still burn this.

    TDEE is what you burn in a normal day with exercise averaged out across your week. It's total daily energy expenditure.

    To lose weight, you need to eat less than your TDEE and more than your BMR. This means you're getting enough fuel, burning off the extra, and creating a deficit to also burn off excess fat.
  • blondiemcnugget
    blondiemcnugget Posts: 12
    I weigh in every Monday, but sometimes I have gone to the scales mid week.
  • blondiemcnugget
    blondiemcnugget Posts: 12
    Thank god! I have been on slimming world before and also weight watchers and when i slipped up and had a take away before I still managed to loose, so it frightened me quite a bit as I am under mostly 1200, and I was really taking in roughly 3000 id say! :S

    I have been told to up my calorie intake, but then someone posted a link here and said the whole 1200 cal starvation thing was bullcrap, just that i am eating too many calories but i really dont see where, and my portions and etc are perfect, i mean i eat so much more less now and healthy compared to two weeks ago, i would have maybe 3/4 crisps a day, a large pizza every day for dinner, wedges, just extremely grasy food, i never cooked, so the difference in my eating habits now are just so different that its making me frustrated at the weight gain, oh well hopefully next week it will have gone down :)

    Also i see ya lost 100 lbs, well done!! can i ask how long it took? and do you have any advice? im looking to loose 80lbs

    Could be water retention. A 5lb fluctuation is a common thing, especially if you have eaten processed foods, things with a lot of salt/sodium in. You really shouldn't beat yourself up over it.

    Also, as someone else mentioned, make sure you know the actual weight/nutritional value of what you're eating, etc.

    Not sure how people can sustain on 1200 calories a day. I usually have between 1000-1200 calories for dinner!
  • _EndGame_
    _EndGame_ Posts: 770 Member
    Thank god! I have been on slimming world before and also weight watchers and when i slipped up and had a take away before I still managed to loose, so it frightened me quite a bit as I am under mostly 1200, and I was really taking in roughly 3000 id say! :S

    I have been told to up my calorie intake, but then someone posted a link here and said the whole 1200 cal starvation thing was bullcrap, just that i am eating too many calories but i really dont see where, and my portions and etc are perfect, i mean i eat so much more less now and healthy compared to two weeks ago, i would have maybe 3/4 crisps a day, a large pizza every day for dinner, wedges, just extremely grasy food, i never cooked, so the difference in my eating habits now are just so different that its making me frustrated at the weight gain, oh well hopefully next week it will have gone down :)

    Also i see ya lost 100 lbs, well done!! can i ask how long it took? and do you have any advice? im looking to loose 80lbs

    Could be water retention. A 5lb fluctuation is a common thing, especially if you have eaten processed foods, things with a lot of salt/sodium in. You really shouldn't beat yourself up over it.

    Also, as someone else mentioned, make sure you know the actual weight/nutritional value of what you're eating, etc.

    Not sure how people can sustain on 1200 calories a day. I usually have between 1000-1200 calories for dinner!

    Well my weight loss is down to tracking my calories and taking up swimming. I usually swim 5 times a week, Monday to Friday (if time is on my side) but I learnt early on about water weight and sodium. I used to get irritated when the scale magically notched up a few LBS overnight, so if I see an increase in weight on the scale that I know shouldn't be there, it's going to be water weight.

    As far as tips go, I say work out what your BMR and TDEE is (there is calculators to do this, I think MFP has a BMR calculator under "apps") and eat somewhere in between them. 1200 calories is an absolute bear minimum MFP recommends, it's only really a guideline, if you eat too little, you're more likely to binge later on. Take a steady approach to your diet/lifestyle change and don't deprive yourself of things you like!

    Starvation mode is something your body would do if you had less than 5% body fat, lol. It is real, but you don't enter "starvation mode" from missing a meal, or eating at "wrong" times, that part of it is a myth!

    Good luck!

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