I keep gaining weight...what am I doing wrong?

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Replies

  • pcastagner
    pcastagner Posts: 1,606 Member
    I don't know what to do anymore. I've been working my butt off in the gym running 5 miles every day, and eating between 1200-1400 calories (I don't eat back my exercise calories). I'm fairly new to this, but after losing two pounds, the scale just keeps going back up. I stepped on it today and was up another pound. What am I doing wrong? Eating too much, not working out enough? I just feel like crying, because it seems like the harder I try, the more the scale goes up.


    (5'8 and 138lbs)

    If you run 5 miles every day I have the impression you calorie intake is way too low. Many people think with eating less they will lose weight, but that's a myth. Why don't you check your TDEE? I bet your BMR is already higher then that and sporting daily means quite active. This one has a daily sporting option:

    http://www.fitnessfrog.com/calculators/tdee-calculator.html

    Thanks! I did the 'heavy exercise' option since my job is not physical. It came to 2470. I have to confess that I'm fairly uneducated about TDEE and how it relates to eating.

    If your job is not physical, why did you chose heavy exercise? 2470 is high!!!

    According to the limits, heavy exercise is if you workout 6-7 days a week. Daily exercise is if you workout 7 days a week and have a physical job as well:

    Heavy exercise (ex: exercising 6-7 days/week)
    Daily exercise (ex: exercising 7 days/week and working a physical job)

    I can guarantee you don't need that many cals. let's just start at the beginning, by knowing how much you eat for the next three weeks. wwe will weigh you every day until then. after, by comparing your net change to your accounting, we will know if you had a negative, positive, or neutral energy balance over the three week span.

    then we will have your actual TDEE instead of this ridiculous conjecture, and you'll have clear parameters for achieving your goals.
  • WriteRunWrite
    WriteRunWrite Posts: 24
    I don't know what to do anymore. I've been working my butt off in the gym running 5 miles every day, and eating between 1200-1400 calories (I don't eat back my exercise calories). I'm fairly new to this, but after losing two pounds, the scale just keeps going back up. I stepped on it today and was up another pound. What am I doing wrong? Eating too much, not working out enough? I just feel like crying, because it seems like the harder I try, the more the scale goes up.


    (5'8 and 138lbs)

    If you run 5 miles every day I have the impression you calorie intake is way too low. Many people think with eating less they will lose weight, but that's a myth. Why don't you check your TDEE? I bet your BMR is already higher then that and sporting daily means quite active. This one has a daily sporting option:

    http://www.fitnessfrog.com/calculators/tdee-calculator.html

    Thanks! I did the 'heavy exercise' option since my job is not physical. It came to 2470. I have to confess that I'm fairly uneducated about TDEE and how it relates to eating.

    If your job is not physical, why did you chose heavy exercise? 2470 is high!!!

    According to the limits, heavy exercise is if you workout 6-7 days a week. Daily exercise is if you workout 7 days a week and have a physical job as well:

    Heavy exercise (ex: exercising 6-7 days/week)
    Daily exercise (ex: exercising 7 days/week and working a physical job)

    I can guarantee you don't need that many cals. let's just start at the beginning, by knowing how much you eat for the next three weeks. wwe will weigh you every day until then. after, by comparing your net change to your accounting, we will know if you had a negative, positive, or neutral energy balance over the three week span.

    then we will have your actual TDEE instead of this ridiculous conjecture, and you'll have clear parameters for achieving your goals.

    Sounds good! While I'm at work today, I'll have to figure out how to make my diary public (it's set at private right now, I think). And add pics...maybe. :embarassed:

    I appreciate everyone replying...much better to hear I'm probably not doing it right and need try to figure out how to fix it than sitting here crying into my coffee...ha :smile:
  • wilsoje74
    wilsoje74 Posts: 1,720 Member
    I understand you run daily, but running 5 miles is not really what if consider heavy exercise. You are female right? You won't need over 2000 cals. I'd gain for sure eating that much. You shouldn't be hungry eating that amount.
  • annalicous
    annalicous Posts: 55 Member
    Aside from some of the comments that have already been mentioned I recommend that you 'Try a different scale'. Some scales are not that accurate and it would help just to have a second one just incase one is delivering faulty readings.
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  • Love4fitnesslove4food2
    Love4fitnesslove4food2 Posts: 711 Member
    I understand you run daily, but running 5 miles is not really what if consider heavy exercise. You are female right? You won't need over 2000 cals. I'd gain for sure eating that much. You shouldn't be hungry eating that amount.

    Wrong. While I can't say with any degree of certainty that she does need more than 2000...most women running 5 miles a day would NOT gain on that amount (2000 calories). I'm substantially smaller and eat 2000 daily without weight gain and I don't run 5 miles a day.
  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,332 Member
    So to be clear, in the last week or so you started running a whole lot more? If that is the case, and you are measuring your food and drink consumption very carefully, you likely have something like this going on, http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/200544-why-do-you-sometimes-gain-weight-when-starting-a-new-exercis
  • cafeaulait7
    cafeaulait7 Posts: 2,459 Member
    Yeah, 'weight' gain can definitely be water, and that won't be figured in any calories in vs out sort of math. The tape measure is better than the scale for me with water issues (from heavy exercise or TOM), but even then bloating can mess up the measuring.

    Basically, patience is the biggest thing you need to do if that's the problem :) The weight loss trend will outnumber the water weight lbs given enough time. The water pounds can go away, too, but for me they typically come up again, lol. The entire trend line goes down, though, but it took weeks for me to see mine do that. 3 weeks would definitely not ever be long enough for me because of hormonal water weight fluctuations in that short a period. People who lose at a fast rate, generally those with more to lose, could do with 3 weeks and still see their downward trend, probably.
  • SammyyRae
    SammyyRae Posts: 2
    Water weight. just have patience and keep working hard. You could be losing inches so that's a good thing too! ive been working out and lost maybe 2 lbs but ive lost 5 inches off of my waist. im slimming before losing pounds I guess! Everybody is different! don't give up!!

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