Dieting & exercising, gaining weight!

Options
2»

Replies

  • nomeejerome
    nomeejerome Posts: 2,616 Member
    Options
    Are you pregnant?
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    Options
    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
    Options
    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
    Options
    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
    Options
    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
    Options
    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
    Options
    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
    Options
    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: 48,708 Member
    Options
    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
    Options
    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.
  • MakePeasNotWar
    MakePeasNotWar Posts: 1,329 Member
    Options
    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.

    I am vegetarian also and I have no problem eating 1800 cal a day or more. If you need to increase your calories but are feeling full you need to eat more high calorie density foods like nuts, avocado, grains, juices, etc. high fibre is great for you, and great for dieting, but add lower fibre choices as well so you won't feel so full.

    I have no problems getting 75 to 85g of protein a day, but I generally find myself adding whey protein isolate to my diet to increase it above that level without going over my calorie limit.

Categories