Gained 5lbs after Running a 5K. What Happened?

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  • dixiewhiskey
    dixiewhiskey Posts: 3,333 Member
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    Yes

    Doctors aren't exactly nutritionists or dieticians. They are taught that 1200 is the minimum for women (1500 for men) and a lot of other nonsense when it comes to food intake that doesn't help anyone.

    There is a difference between someone who is inactive, not eating when they don't feel hungry and someone who runs 5K or does any cardio/lifting activity! You need to refuel. I personally do not know how you run 5Ks on such a low intake. I couldn't work out doing anything at all if I ate that little on a regular basis.
  • RGv2
    RGv2 Posts: 5,789 Member
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    Yes

    Doctors aren't exactly nutritionists or dieticians. They are taught that 1200 is the minimum for women (1500 for men) and a lot of other nonsense when it comes to food intake that doesn't help anyone.

    There is a difference between someone who is inactive, not eating when they don't feel hungry and someone who runs 5K or does any cardio/lifting activity! You need to refuel. I personally do not know how you run 5Ks on such a low intake. I couldn't work out doing anything at all if I ate that little on a regular basis.

    This^^^^

    What is your ht, wt, and how many times a week do you run and for how long?
  • Stripeness
    Stripeness Posts: 511 Member
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    Yes

    Doctors aren't exactly nutritionists or dieticians. They are taught that 1200 is the minimum for women (1500 for men) and a lot of other nonsense when it comes to food intake that doesn't help anyone.

    There is a difference between someone who is inactive, not eating when they don't feel hungry and someone who runs 5K or does any cardio/lifting activity! You need to refuel. I personally do not know how you run 5Ks on such a low intake. I couldn't work out doing anything at all if I ate that little on a regular basis.

    This^^^^

    What is your ht, wt, and how many times a week do you run and for how long?

    +2

    And if you want peer-reviewed backup, the biological mechanisms described in this article are not restricted to anorexics. Sometimes it's better to eat "by the book" and trust that over time your body's signals will become more reliable.

    www.cell.com/trends/neurosciences//retrieve/pii/S0166223613000064?cc=y#MainText
  • starrsearching711
    starrsearching711 Posts: 15
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    I'm 5'4 and 170lbs.
    For the past 4 weeks I've been jogging for about an hour. Originally, I could barely do a mile. But now I'm jogging just over 3 miles 6 days a week, and my pace is about 11:30/mile. Then, I do sprints/high intensity cardio with a friend going to school to be a personal trainer 3 nights a week for 30 minutes. And then 6 nights a week I do core/leg/butt workouts for 30 minutes.
  • qaysara123
    qaysara123 Posts: 1 Member
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    :huh: I'm sure you will see a significant weight lost next week. Keep up the good work.
  • katylil
    katylil Posts: 223 Member
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    You're definitely not eating enough.

    I just put in your details in the IIFYM calculator (http://iifym.com/iifym-calculator/) and it's calculating that with your age, height, weight and working out 6x a week (even with a "reckless" fat loss percentage goal of 25%!) you should be on 1726 calories a day.

    And the actual recommended number is coming up as 1841.

    If you want some help, try reading this. It's one of the most informative posts I've come across on MFP :) good luck!

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants
  • starrsearching711
    starrsearching711 Posts: 15
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    Hey everyone!
    Thank you all so much for your help. I talked with my PCP about this, and he said that if I'm burning more calories than I'm eating (which, I totally am, since apparently I'm under eating anyways) I should be dropping weight. Not only have I gained weight, but I've been doing this diet/exercise routine now for 4 weeks, and have barely lost 5 lbs. I'm very interested in understanding how this is possible, especially since my PCP seems to be clueless.

    I want to be healthier, not just more skinny (although a lower BMI is associated with health). So, could someone please just explain all of this so I can understand?

    Thank you!
  • RGv2
    RGv2 Posts: 5,789 Member
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    I'm 5'4 and 170lbs.
    For the past 4 weeks I've been jogging for about an hour. Originally, I could barely do a mile. But now I'm jogging just over 3 miles 6 days a week, and my pace is about 11:30/mile. Then, I do sprints/high intensity cardio with a friend going to school to be a personal trainer 3 nights a week for 30 minutes. And then 6 nights a week I do core/leg/butt workouts for 30 minutes.

    At your Ht, Wt, Age and your activity level of 3-5 hrs a week (It may be more by this post, but I'm sticking with it).

    Your TDEE is = 2470 (maintains your weight)

    BMR = 1593 (keeps you going in a coma)

    TDEE -20% = 1976 (Your goal in order to safely lose and sustain weight loss).

    If you're really only taking in 1100 calories and not hungry, there's something else going on. You're either not calculating correctly, or there's something else going on.

    I believe if you keep up this level of exercise at such a low calorie intake....you'll burn yourself out. My .02
  • tserine
    tserine Posts: 12 Member
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    I run about 5 miles plus followed by weights or pillates on my regular gym days, and i have not seemed to loose weight. It fluctuates a lot and yes I have been consuming the suggested 1200 calories as well. From my experience, when I was less active but was following strict diet i was loosing weight with no problem, but being very active with little calories resulted in either weight gain or no weight loss. I have yet to figure out what my body is trying to tell me. But it is frustrating seeing the numbers go up in the scale.
    good luck
  • RGv2
    RGv2 Posts: 5,789 Member
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    Hey everyone!
    Thank you all so much for your help. I talked with my PCP about this, and he said that if I'm burning more calories than I'm eating (which, I totally am, since apparently I'm under eating anyways) I should be dropping weight. Not only have I gained weight, but I've been doing this diet/exercise routine now for 4 weeks, and have barely lost 5 lbs. I'm very interested in understanding how this is possible, especially since my PCP seems to be clueless.

    I want to be healthier, not just more skinny (although a lower BMI is associated with health). So, could someone please just explain all of this so I can understand?

    Thank you!

    Um..... you've been at this 4 weeks and lost 5 lbs. That's over a pound a week.

    Either way, now would be a good time to open your diary to receive more help.
  • Greytfish
    Greytfish Posts: 810
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    Your muscles are retaining water for repair.

    Though I would suggest 1200 is too low for that much activity.

    eta: you most certainly did not gain 5lbs of muscle in one day. As women, it would be hard for us to gain 5lbs of muscle in 6 months without a serious hypertrophy routine.

    This.

    Even a young male with normal levels of testosterone can build only about 1-1.5 lbs. of muscle per month.
  • WakkoW
    WakkoW Posts: 567 Member
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    Hey everyone!
    Thank you all so much for your help. I talked with my PCP about this, and he said that if I'm burning more calories than I'm eating (which, I totally am, since apparently I'm under eating anyways) I should be dropping weight. Not only have I gained weight, but I've been doing this diet/exercise routine now for 4 weeks, and have barely lost 5 lbs. I'm very interested in understanding how this is possible, especially since my PCP seems to be clueless.

    I want to be healthier, not just more skinny (although a lower BMI is associated with health). So, could someone please just explain all of this so I can understand?

    Thank you!

    1 pound per week is great. Do you weigh your food? I have a suspicion (based on your current weight and activity level) that you are consuming more than 1,200 calories per day (not that there is anything wrong with that, 1,200 is too low).
  • Roadie2000
    Roadie2000 Posts: 1,801 Member
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    I lost 3 lbs since yesterday. What happened?

    Answer: It doesn't matter. I'm pretty sure I didn't burn 10,000 calories in my workout yesterday, I don't feel dehydrated and I've been drinking water all day, it could have been the bowel movement I had earlier, my pants don't fit any different though.

    I know this is easier said then done, but you need to not obsess about what the scale says. A few lbs here and there is almost always just water weight for whatever reason. If you need to weigh yourself every day you want to look at the overall trend, not the day to day weight. If you get discouraged too easily it might be better to just weigh yourself once a week or less.
  • starrsearching711
    starrsearching711 Posts: 15
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    Since my schedule doesn't really vary, here's what I eat on a normal day:
    Breakfast: Special K cereal with skim milk (I like the taste of skim milks best)
    Snacks: freeze dried apples, carrots
    Lunch: grilled chicken ceaser salad with low fat dressing
    Snack: caramal rice cake with PB2 peanut butter (it's powdered and has 2.5 grams of fat, but is the yummiest peanut butter I've ever had), banana
    Dinner: usually a weight watcher meal (I work at night and need something I can put in the microwave)
    Snacks: fruit

    My diet does not vary from this often.
  • brianpperkins
    brianpperkins Posts: 6,124 Member
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    Since my schedule doesn't really vary, here's what I eat on a normal day:
    Breakfast: Special K cereal with skim milk (I like the taste of skim milks best)
    Snacks: freeze dried apples, carrots
    Lunch: grilled chicken ceaser salad with low fat dressing
    Snack: caramal rice cake with PB2 peanut butter (it's powdered and has 2.5 grams of fat, but is the yummiest peanut butter I've ever had), banana
    Dinner: usually a weight watcher meal (I work at night and need something I can put in the microwave)
    Snacks: fruit

    My diet does not vary from this often.

    Not seeing a lot of protein in that. Few calories, a lot of stress on your muscles from the amount of exercise, nothing to repair them ... then wonder why they retain water
  • Tony_Von_Stryfe
    Tony_Von_Stryfe Posts: 153 Member
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    water retention to rebuild the damaged muscle tissue

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