Lots of Exercising, Healthy Eating, Gaining Weight?!?!

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travelingsurgeon
travelingsurgeon Posts: 4
in Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
Hi! I'm Kristina. I'm 18, 5'6'' and currently 117 lbs. (When I started MFP I was 135.5, and my lowest weight was 111, and I was like that from July to November.) I've gained 6 pounds since November, and I don't know why. I've been eating just about the same (healthily, about 600-1000 calories per day), and because I've gained weight I've scared myself into exercising more, so I exercise about 1.5 hours- 2 hours per day. My mother is a doctor and she said that it was because I'm retaining water and building muscle, but I sincerely doubt that one can gain 6 pounds of muscle in a month and a half. Help/suggestions/explanations?
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  • DeeGreen1978
    DeeGreen1978 Posts: 57 Member
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    your calorie allowance is way too low which could be why you are gaining. your body may be in starvation mode as you are not feeding it enough so it will cling onto whatever it can. up your calorie allowance and try to eat a couple of hundred cals below it. you should lose then
  • kristinL16
    kristinL16 Posts: 401 Member
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    Why only 600-1000 calories?
  • DeeGreen1978
    DeeGreen1978 Posts: 57 Member
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    my calorie allowance is 1400, I exercise about 400 cals off a day and eat about 1400-1500 and I have lost 16lbs in 2 months so far. hope this helps
  • MartialPanda
    MartialPanda Posts: 919 Member
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    You're starving yourself and your body hates you. there is no way you feel full daily on 600-1000 and working out 2 hours a day. Hell you basically burn that off in 2 hours if you're doing it right.

    eat around 1500 and see if it helps. Also what you eat matters.
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
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    Hi! I'm Kristina. I'm 18, 5'6'' and currently 117 lbs. (When I started MFP I was 135.5, and my lowest weight was 111, and I was like that from July to November.) I've gained 6 pounds since November, and I don't know why. I've been eating just about the same (healthily, about 600-1000 calories per day), and because I've gained weight I've scared myself into exercising more, so I exercise about 1.5 hours- 2 hours per day. My mother is a doctor and she said that it was because I'm retaining water and building muscle, but I sincerely doubt that one can gain 6 pounds of muscle in a month and a half. Help/suggestions/explanations?

    1. You are already on the low side of healthy weight for your height. If you continue to lose more you should set your goals for no more than .5 pounds per week.

    2. 1200 calories is the minimum recommendation for a short, sedentary woman for a reason. It's difficult to get enough nutrition in on less than that. You are neither short nor sedentary and you are eating less than my 4-year-old niece. You really need to consider increasing your calories.

    3. When you increase your exercise routine your muscles hoard water to help cushion and repair them. You're right in that you aren't building any new muscle (especially not on less than 1000 calories a day) but it may cause a pumped look to your muscles and a gain on the scale. It should be temporary.

    4. A lot of other things can cause a small gain like that on the scale. How quickly did it go up? Could be extra sodium, TOM, stress (like the stress you're putting on your body by undereating).

    5. How closely are you measuring your portions? It's possible you're not eating as little as you think.
  • traveler2618
    traveler2618 Posts: 1 Member
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    Unless you have a medical reason to be eating so few calories, bump them up. At a minimum you should be consuming 1200/day. Your body can go into starvation mode if you're not eating enough and exercising too much and hold onto any nurtrients and fat you consume to continue life sustaining body functions. Muscle also weighs more than fat. In the end though, if your clothes are still fitting the way they should before you gained the weight back, then don't worry about it.
  • Makoce
    Makoce Posts: 938 Member
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    You're not eating enough.
    I know it sounds like a weird concept, but a few months ago I was eating 1,000 - 1,200 calories.
    I was stuck at 112 and it would occasionally go up.
    I upped my calorie intake to 1,300 - 1,400 calories, and now Im down at 110 and still dropping.
    Your mother is wrong though, as you cannot build muscle at a deficiet let alone on that low.

    Also do you have a food scale? You should be weighing/measuring everything you put in your mouth.
  • DeeGreen1978
    DeeGreen1978 Posts: 57 Member
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    You're not eating enough.
    I know it sounds like a weird concept, but a few months ago I was eating 1,000 - 1,200 calories.
    I was stuck at 112 and it would occasionally go up.
    I upped my calorie intake to 1,300 - 1,400 calories, and now Im down at 110 and still dropping.
    Your mother is wrong though, as you cannot build muscle at a deficiet let alone on that low.

    Also do you have a food scale? You should be weighing/measuring everything you put in your mouth.



    totally agree. I also weigh out all my food and measure all liquids. I also eat more or less cals than my allowance depending on how much I have exercised. when I have horse ridden I up my intake by a couple of hundred more so that my body doesn't go into starvation mode
  • soehlerking
    soehlerking Posts: 589 Member
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    Ditto what everyone else said--your body needs food. I'm 5'4" 134lbs, and I maintain on 1640 (without exercise), lose on 1500. Take care of your body!!
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
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    Hi! I'm Kristina. I'm 18, 5'6'' and currently 117 lbs. (When I started MFP I was 135.5, and my lowest weight was 111, and I was like that from July to November.) I've gained 6 pounds since November, and I don't know why. I've been eating just about the same (healthily, about 600-1000 calories per day), and because I've gained weight I've scared myself into exercising more, so I exercise about 1.5 hours- 2 hours per day. My mother is a doctor and she said that it was because I'm retaining water and building muscle, but I sincerely doubt that one can gain 6 pounds of muscle in a month and a half. Help/suggestions/explanations?
    Your mother the doctor is okay with you being 5'6" and 111 (UNDERWEIGHT!), and eating less than HALF what you should be? Perhaps your body is telling you that. (I'm also 5'6". I weighed about that in high school, and then my body matured and I gained a few pounds). EAT FOOD. Calculate your TDEE and look at how many calories TDEE- 15% is. Compare that with what you're eating.
    You're going to hurt yourself, if you haven't already.
  • stonel94
    stonel94 Posts: 550 Member
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    you're not building any muscle on that calorie limit, it's WAY too low, so your body is going into starvation mode and it's trying to keep everything you have and turn it into fat and store it, so up your calories to at least 1200 but try to find your BMR and up it to that (mine is 1500 something) and you may gain a couple more pounds at first but then those and the 6 you just gained will all come off
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
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    you're not building any muscle on that calorie limit, it's WAY too low, so your body is going into starvation mode and it's trying to keep everything you have and turn it into fat and store it, so up your calories to at least 1200 but try to find your BMR and up it to that (mine is 1500 something) and you may gain a couple more pounds at first but then those and the 6 you just gained will all come off
    Agreed there. You're definitely NOT gaining muscle by starving yourself.
  • sweetpea03b
    sweetpea03b Posts: 1,124 Member
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    No. You are not gaining muscle on 1000 calories a day... you can take that one to the bank. If anything... you're losing it by working out like a crazy person and not giving your body any fuel. Stop doing so much cardio. I would estimate your body probably burns atleast 1200 calories AT REST.... so you need to atleast give it that much. Factor in your every day activities, you could eat 1200 calories/day and be at a deficit WITH NO WORKOUT. If you want to work out... you have to eat what you burn to stay at a moderate deficit. If you want to retain your muscle and continue to do cardio you HAVE to do weight training.. and you HAVE to get lots of protein to repair the muscles after a workout.

    Trust me... I've been there, done that. Until you understand the SCIENCE of weight loss you will not lose. Check out New Rules of Lifting for Women.... it explains everything in a very easy to understand why and you'll see why everything you're doing right now is wrong. Good luck.
  • MaryJane_8810002
    MaryJane_8810002 Posts: 2,082 Member
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    You are already underweight, it is your body's way of trying to catch up.
  • HonuNui
    HonuNui Posts: 1,464 Member
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    My mother is a doctor and she said that it was because I'm retaining water and building muscle

    ....your mother needs some CME
    ....and maybe a good malpractice lawyer.
  • radargab
    radargab Posts: 6 Member
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    Look into intermittent fasting to repair that metabolism.

    Also consider how accurate this measurement is. Is this the mean/average measurement of daily weigh-ins over a month or is this just a one-time weight? If it's one time it could just be the perfect storm of constipation and day-before-period gain.

    Good luck.
  • __freckles__
    __freckles__ Posts: 1,238 Member
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    skinny fat, skinny fat, what are they feeding you, skinny fat, skinny fat, it's all your fault.

    eat more. derp.

    I love Phoebe.....
  • radargab
    radargab Posts: 6 Member
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    Also, if you're running for a good portion of those exercise hours I know I gain two pounds immediately from such a long run (it does a number). That would add to the measurement inflation.
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
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    skinny fat, skinny fat, what are they feeding you, skinny fat, skinny fat, it's all your fault.

    eat more. derp.
    Wow. That's quite the obscure song reference. Hope the 18 year old op gets it.
  • sweetpea03b
    sweetpea03b Posts: 1,124 Member
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    My mother is a doctor and she said that it was because I'm retaining water and building muscle

    ....your mother needs some CME
    ....and maybe a good malpractice lawyer.

    LOL! Love it. Totally agree.

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