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

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

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

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.

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.

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!!

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

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.

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.

skinny fat, skinny fat, what are they feeding you, skinny fat, skinny fat, it's all your fault.

eat more. derp.

I love Phoebe.....

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.

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

This is why when people starve to death, they leave extremely obese corpses.


In all seriousness, there's a problem in the equation somewhere. It's usually a problem with underestimating calories and overestimating exercise.

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

This is why when people starve to death, they leave extremely obese corpses.


In all seriousness, there's a problem in the equation somewhere. It's usually a problem with underestimating calories and overestimating exercise.

I understand calories which is how ive managed to lose 16lbs. what I meant was go up to about 1400 cals but you don't have to eat that many. I eat about 1300 on days when ive not exercised and 1500 on days when I have (though more when ive been horse riding)

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.

Agreed!

This happened to me too. Turned out I was losing fat, but gaining muscle, ehich of course weighs more than fat

Your body is no doubt in starvation mode. You have got to eat more than 1000 cals a day! Plus, if you're working out, YOU ARE gaining muscle weight! But please, eat more than that and you'll the pounds come off. DO YOUR TDEE and eat at that level. I swear, I promise you that you will lose weight! You've got to put in to get out! Starving your body like you are is making your body think "Oh hey, I need this fat, she's quit feeding me what I need. I will need this fat later." So it hold on to that fat and stores it away. That is starvation mode. You will be fine at eating more cals and will LOSE more WEIGHT and GAIN more muscle as long as you are exercising. Muscle is leaner, so take your measurements to keep track of how much you lose. Don't go by the scale so much!