Dieting & exercising, gaining weight!

maryspaceann
maryspaceann Posts: 7
in Health and Weight Loss
Im on 1200 calories a day plan, (normally only eat about 800-1000) doing 30mins of cardio every day and i have gained 5lbs in last 2 weeks! Why?
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Replies

  • Jkn921
    Jkn921 Posts: 309 Member
    Calories are way too low, you're eating 800-1000 you say - you may be eating less than that but even that intake is very very low. Up your calorie intake.
  • Escape_Artist
    Escape_Artist Posts: 1,155 Member
    Calories are way too low

    This. Why would you only eat 800-1000 canls PLUS cardio??
  • Greenrun99
    Greenrun99 Posts: 2,065 Member
    obviously eating nothing isn't helping, why don't you try eating to fuel your workouts and your body.. read about TDEE and BMR.. there is a search function here, use that lots of information..
  • eldamiano
    eldamiano Posts: 2,667 Member
    Im on 1200 calories a day plan, (normally only eat about 800-1000) doing 30mins of cardio every day and i have gained 5lbs in last 2 weeks! Why?

    Either, you are not being honest with yourself and are overeating, or you are being too obsessive as your figures say. 800 a day plus cardio exercise? Please... no.
  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
    If you're not losing weight, then you're not eating at a deficit. Log everything you eat accurately & honestly. Find reliable database entries. (There's a lot of incorrect data in there.) Weigh your food.

    Read this: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants
  • maryspaceann
    maryspaceann Posts: 7
    That's all I have ever really eaten, ive always had small appetite , and have always been slim, i gained a stone over the last few months, pigging out on well over 2000 a day but have always been able to drop weight quick, by just eating well and avoiding junk. but this time round with the exercise i have been gaining weight
  • maryspaceann
    maryspaceann Posts: 7
    Weigh everything that i eat, am brutally honest
  • septembergrrl
    septembergrrl Posts: 168 Member
    I agree that 800-1000 a day is probably not enough for the long haul if you're accurate. That said -- any chance this is water weight? Plenty of women vary by up to five pounds over the course of a month thanks to bloating and the like.
  • CathyUr
    CathyUr Posts: 2
    I agree with the others about eating enough, but for me, I have to keep sodium low, too. Carbs seem to be a big problem for me as well. I can hit my calorie goal and do all the exercise I can stand, and if those two things are high I still gain, or at least don't lose.
  • maryspaceann
    maryspaceann Posts: 7
    Nah not bloated at all
  • maryspaceann
    maryspaceann Posts: 7
    Don;t use any salt in my diet, and keep carbs very low
  • Marina369
    Marina369 Posts: 1
    If this continues, I'd suggest getting your thyroid tested.
  • princessofmilk
    princessofmilk Posts: 15
    Maybe you should try taking measurements, you could be gaining muscle weight from the exercise you're doing. Also remember to weigh yourself at the same time e.g. every monday at 10am, because weight fluctuates throughout the day.

    Try to stick to clean food (natural and unprocessed) so you still fill up while eating a small amount of calories. Bulk up meals with veggies and chickpeas, snack on fruit, eat porridge for breakfast etc. Avoid refined sugar and refined crabs, they can make you retain water weight. The same goes for salty foods.

    You sound like you should be losing weight so I'm confused.
  • DeltaZero
    DeltaZero Posts: 1,197 Member
    If you're not losing weight, then you're not eating at a deficit. Log everything you eat accurately & honestly. Find reliable database entries. (There's a lot of incorrect data in there.) Weigh your food.

    Read this: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

    THIS.


    And..


    THIS AGAIN.
  • TheRealJigsaw
    TheRealJigsaw Posts: 295 Member
    Open your diary
  • maryspaceann
    maryspaceann Posts: 7
    Im so confused too, I don't eat any junk, it's all natural and fresh food i eat, ive cut out alcohol , exercise , weight myself at same time every sat when i get up, i think it might be tyroid problem because i used to be able to drop lbs before without any effort .
    Thanks all for the advice!
  • LokiOfAsgard
    LokiOfAsgard Posts: 378 Member
    Nah not bloated at all

    Bloat doesn't just come from salt. Your cardio is using muscles and you muscles need water. They're going to hold onto a bit, especially when you first start. But it's not fat, so don't stress over that

    Having a small appetite doesn't mean you're eating enough. 800-1000 calories is not enough even for a person in a coma. You've added not only a daily routine to that, but also cardio, which DEFINITELY means you're not eating enough (Or you're logging very inaccurately and are actually eating too much)

    If you really are eating just 1000 or less calories, you need to up them (unless there is a medical condition that you cannot). Eat more calorie dense food. A big salad for around a hundred calories is going to fill you up more than a handful of nuts for a bit more calories.
    I really really encourage you to eat more. There are a lot of side effects to eating too little, such as fatigue, losing hair, Even weight GAIN
  • DeltaZero
    DeltaZero Posts: 1,197 Member
    Im so confused too, I don't eat any junk, it's all natural and fresh food i eat, ive cut out alcohol , exercise , weight myself at same time every sat when i get up, i think it might be tyroid problem because i used to be able to drop lbs before without any effort .
    Thanks all for the advice!


    It doesn't matter what you eat. If you eat too much, you gain weight.
  • brcossette
    brcossette Posts: 89 Member
    Ask a doctor or weight loss professional
  • gerritvb
    gerritvb Posts: 2
    Also if you didn't normally exercise before, your body may be adding some muscle, even if you're only doing cardio. This assumes you are going from literally zero training to 30 mins a day, though.
  • nomeejerome
    nomeejerome Posts: 2,616 Member
    Are you pregnant?
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    If you are gaining weight, you are clearly eating more than you think you are. If you were truly eating 800 calories a day plus doing cardio you would be losing weight.

    Small appetite has nothing to do with it. If you ARE eating 800 calories a day, then you need to get to a professional to deal with eating disorder issues.

    You diary is not open, therefore it is impossible to provide you with concrete advice.
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    Maybe you should try taking measurements, you could be gaining muscle weight from the exercise you're doing.
    Also if you didn't normally exercise before, your body may be adding some muscle, even if you're only doing cardio. This assumes you are going from literally zero training to 30 mins a day, though.
    Nope, not on a deficit, especially if it were only 800 calories.
  • Muddy_Yogi
    Muddy_Yogi Posts: 1,459 Member
    If you're not losing weight, then you're not eating at a deficit. Log everything you eat accurately & honestly. Find reliable database entries. (There's a lot of incorrect data in there.) Weigh your food.

    Read this: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants


    ^^^This....It may be time to buy a food scale, some measuring cups and start being accurate. There is no way that you are actually eating that low(unhealthy) and still not losing. You need to calculate your BMR and TDEE and get between those.
  • Muddy_Yogi
    Muddy_Yogi Posts: 1,459 Member
    Maybe you should try taking measurements, you could be gaining muscle weight from the exercise you're doing.
    Also if you didn't normally exercise before, your body may be adding some muscle, even if you're only doing cardio. This assumes you are going from literally zero training to 30 mins a day, though.
    Nope, not on a deficit, especially if it were only 800 calories.

    Thank you! My response to that response would not have been as polite.
  • SashleyA
    SashleyA Posts: 122 Member
    Not to be too personal, but where are you in your cycle? It's not uncommon for women to go up 5lbs in the week or so before and during. Don't rule that out as a possibility.

    I wouldn't jump to thyroid issues unless you're experiencing other symptoms of them besides not losing weight as quickly as you once did. If you're closer to your goal or natural weight range, weight loss is slower. As you age, weight is often be slower, and sometimes really noticeable from your teens to twenties. All of that being said, I would listen to the other posters about if you are actually eating 800 calories a day. It is NOT enough, regardless of your appetite. If you're not hungry enough to eat more than 800 calories, eat more calorie dense food.
  • ellenpants1
    ellenpants1 Posts: 2 Member
    Hi :)

    You're undereating by quite a lot, and you probably need to give your nutrition a look- I had this problem and I'm now losing (profile isn't a good indicator- I'm mainly using MFP to track nutrition atm)!

    I eat enough cals to lose only 1lb pw, don't do any cardio except walking and interval training (max 10 mins of alternating sprints/walks) and I eat mainly healthy fats and proteins, with a lot of fresh veg. I keep sugar very, very low (but I use Stevia, as it doesn't spike blood sugar) and I do resitance and weight training circuits for 40 mins, 4 days a week. This was advice given to me by my PT, who said cardio is excellent for 'earning' calories, in theory, but it gobbles up lean muscle if you do it at one continuous pace. There's a whole bunch of info online to back this idea up too. The weight training means that I am genuinely losing fat and not just weight, as it supports my muscle mass, so I actually lose more than 1lb pw. Keeping good fats and protein high protects my lean muscle, but if I eat too much sugar or refined carbs, I stall immediately.

    I realise this won't work for everyone, but if you don't have a lot to lose it might be worth a go. Agree with a previous poster about a thyroid check as well, but I'd knock your sugar intake down and see if that kick-starts you :)

    Keep up the good work, I'm sure it'll be fine :)
  • lauranarro
    lauranarro Posts: 7
    Okay, you could be underestimating your daily calories or it could be that your body just needs to catch up and even out. This happens to me, I gain and lose weight almost every year and here's the scenario:
    I'm not counting my calories or eating clean and steadily gaining weight. I hit my top weight where I've had enough and can't fit into my clothes anymore so I wake up and decide it's time to get it together and lose the weight. I now go from a high calorie diet to a dramatically lower calorie diet and more exercise. But the weight I have gained hasn't even fully registered on the scale yet-- it's like the stagger effect of weight gain. So I'm not going to see progress for 3 or 4 weeks until my weight evens out and my body adjust to the calorie deficit.
    Now, when I start dieting after being on a high calorie diet, I don't weigh myself for 2 weeks. Then after 2 weeks I weigh myself and THAT'S my start weight. This works every time, believe me. And it stops me from getting frustrated and discouraged because I, too gain before I lose every time! Give it another 2 weeks and you will see major progress
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 49,029 Member
    More than likely it's water/glycogen retention from the exercise start up. Totally normal. But you are eating too little.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • nivi28
    nivi28 Posts: 1
    I usually never meet my daily caloric intake because I'm vegetarian and I snack and eat three meals a day but I still can't seem to be getting enough calories. Not sure if I should start eating meat or are there other things I can eat? Some days I meet my protein intake and other days I don't so it's really hard! I worked out for 6 weeks with a trainer and my BF% actually went up and he told me it was because I wasn't getting enough protein or calories a day.

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