someone help please!

sandyvanderstelt
sandyvanderstelt Posts: 82
edited September 22 in Health and Weight Loss
i've been under my calorie goal everday for the past 5 days or so. i eat atleast my 1200 calories, and i work out about 2 hours a day, burning around 1000 calories. so why have i gained weight??? ive been working so hard and i've gained 6 lbs in the past 4 months. its really making me want to give up.

Replies

  • kmaclpn
    kmaclpn Posts: 59 Member
    Are you gaining fat or muscle?
  • bethvandenberg
    bethvandenberg Posts: 1,496 Member
    I went through that as well and found that I wasn't properly reporting my workout calories so then I was over eating b/c I thought I had worked more off than I had. Do you wear a HRM?

    Other than that????? Muscle weighs more than fat. Do your clothes fit better?
  • EmmieSu
    EmmieSu Posts: 136
    I'm not an expert, but I think you might not be eating enough calories. You need to eat a certain amount of calories, just to live, and then you"re burning 1000 with your exercise. It's not leaving your body enough to function, therefore it is starving. Not a popular term around here, but it can happen. Maybe, if you ate back some of your calories burned. Also, you could have a thryoid condition, You may need to se your doctor for a physical.
  • Yeah, I know it is something you don't what to hear, but I sure it is muscle. What are your work outs like? weight training? Cardio? Walking? Running? How is the sodium intake? Any swelling in the legs?
  • I agree with Kelsey, you need to check your body fat % because you could just be gaining muscle (which is fine).
  • bree1609
    bree1609 Posts: 136
    Don't give up! It sounds to me like you're doing great. Your weight gain could be because of a few different factors. My first assumption is that you've put on muscle (which weighs more than fat). And you want lean muscle because it continues to burn calories when you do NOTHING! So take out a tape measure and see if you've lost inches.

    My next guess would be that you're not eating enough. Burning 1,000 calories a day is great, but you have to give your body what it needs or it will go into starvation mode and turn everything you eat into fat stores so that it doesn't go hungry. ARe you eating regularly? (every four hours or so?) You want to assure your body that you're not starving it so it can get rid of the fat stores.
  • kmtetour
    kmtetour Posts: 300 Member
    If you're eating 1200 calories a day and excercising off 1000 of those, you are not eating anywhere near enough calories. This puts your body into starvation mode, which in turn causes you to gain weight.
  • wiset
    wiset Posts: 13 Member
    Give yourself some time. Try not to weigh yourself daily, but only once per week. I promise if you stay on track with your calories and this program you will begin to see results. You should only lose about 5 pounds per month. This is the healthy way. Otherwise, :smile: if you loose too much too soon you may gain it back. Hope this helps. Hang in there.:smile:
  • gnrshelton
    gnrshelton Posts: 358 Member
    If your only eating 1200 and your burning 1000 your not feeding your body enough. When you burn that many calories you need to eat more. 1200 calories should be your minimum after your workouts. Try eating more. At least try to eat half of those calories back if not more. You should see them drop back off.
  • batty5
    batty5 Posts: 193
    I had the exact same thing for 3 months & then I started eating my 1200 calories but divided between 3 meals & 2 snacks, so little & often really. I have now found if I shake things up it seems to shock my system into losing weight. In fact now I exercise LESS but try to stay more active with daily tasks & that way I don' t retain water after a workout. I change my workouts so they don't stay the same for more than 3 weeks at a time & same goes for eating habits although usually sticking to the 3 meals 2 snacks some days about 900 calories then another maybe 1300 & occasionally I do a 24 hour fast from 5pm til 5pm so means I do eat that day.This is finally working for me, it is slow but I average just over 1lb loss every week & , at 59 am more toned than ever before.DON'T GIVE UP, you deserve this & you can do it. Good luck.
  • How much weight do you expect to lose in five days? You've moved past the initial stage of losing weight, and to lose that final ten pounds will be harder than you think. If you've just started burning 1000 calories a day, your body may hang on to some extra water at first. In about two weeks, your body will adjust to burning that many calories, and you might start seeing some weight-loss. On the other hand, if you're eating only 1200 calories a day and burning 1000 calories a day through exercise, you're probably throwing your body into starvation mode. Your body will hold on to as much weight as possible when it's in starvation mode.
  • i dont expect to lose a lot in 5 days, i just didnt expect to gain. i have been working out 2 hours a day for months now. i should probably say also, that i have lost 70 lbs in the past year and a half and put 6 lbs. back on since july.
  • and i usually eat about 1400, i was just saying i always have atleast 1200, never under
  • You might look at your sodium or if its the dreaded TOM that could be your culprit. Drink a lil more water. If things still aren't progressing in the right direction see your dr. At the very least your dr can discuss your diet with you and possible help you make even better choices than you may have thought you were. Or your dr could find an issue thats causing it. Also--- Stress is a major factor that so many of us over look, go get a massage or mani/pedi... maybe you just need a lil you time to relax and things will balance out. Hope this helped, Good luck.
  • 2 things:

    You're probably not eating near enough. If you eat 1400 calories a day and burn 1000.... that's 400 calories to live off of. Not much. It can be a problem. I know it seems like flawed logic that you can not eat enough and it makes you gain - but I've seen it happen on my very own scale TO ME. So to all those that say its impossible to gain under your calories ... I've been there. Upped my calories and BAM it was gone. It may not work that way for everyone, but it worked that way for me. Try eating more. You don't have to eat all 1000, because your burn may not be completely accurate if you don't have an HRM, but i would endeavor to eat AT LEAST half.

    Another possible reason - if the workout regime is new and you've not always been working out so hard or long, you might be retaining some fluid in your muscles as they attempt to repair themselves.
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