Only weight gain

shanniem1
shanniem1 Posts: 35
in Fitness and Exercise
I have been working out since November with a trainer. I started at 2-3 days a week. Currently I am going 6 days a week (2 days with trainer, 4 days solo) - I work HARD. I have a heart rate watch and track all my workouts. I do a mixture of cardio and strength training with weights. My fitness has improved greatly and I am gaining a lot of strength but the scale is going UP UP UP. I started at 212 lbs, went down to 208 lbs and now I'm back up to 215.6 lbs! WHEN is the fat going to start coming off? Yes I understand I am gaining muscle but really? I went from NO exercise and eating junk all day to exercise and eating balanced meals within my calorie allowance (yes I'm eating enough, I love food so that's my biggest struggle). My clothes aren't tighter but not much looser. Any help is appreciated!

Replies

  • ImpishVanity
    ImpishVanity Posts: 224 Member
    Are you weighing/measuring all of your food accurately?
  • HBMairi
    HBMairi Posts: 84 Member
    What are you eating on a typical day?
  • petkostas
    petkostas Posts: 4
    Get a fat measurement, or follow it in house with a caliper, that's the only way to know how much fat your are loosing and how much muscle you are gaining.
    Your cloths might be not that loose because your muscle is also growing (like legs, arms etc)
  • Galatea_Stone
    Galatea_Stone Posts: 2,037 Member
    You are eating more than you think. Get a food scale.

    You are not burning as many calories as you think. Figure out your TDEE on IIFYM or Scooby's workshop, and eat 20% less than that number. Or, readjust your calorie goals on MFP and eat back half your exercise calories.

    Then give it a month or so and see where you are.
  • ruffnstuff
    ruffnstuff Posts: 400 Member
    It is extremely, highly unlikely that you've gained 5-10 lbs of muscle in a three or four month period, especially as a female. It just isn't that easy. With a locked diary, no one here will be able to give you advice other than to say...weight loss is through eating. The training is GREAT (and should allow you to eat more cuz you burn more), but losing it is all about your calorie intake.
  • fedup30
    fedup30 Posts: 141 Member
    I see on a previous post you mention binge eating. Are you tracking those days as well? If not, maybe you should. It can help you see that any deficit you might be creating over the week, can easily be undone on a binge day. Maybe if you set aside one meal a week that you would consider a "cheat meal", you can limit this "binge" to a meal, and not a whole day. I know how you feel, once I start, it's hard to stop. I have the same problem. I am doing my best to keep any and all of my triggers out of my house. Also, make sure you are not overestimating your calorie burn, and not underestimating your intake. Measure your foods, that has really helped me so far!
  • TxHamJello
    TxHamJello Posts: 31
    Simplest answer, if you are gaining weight - you are not on a calorie deficit.
  • shanniem1
    shanniem1 Posts: 35
    Yes I have had "bad days" but I don't feel they are outweighing the good. When I went for my quarterly consult everything had improved (inches lost, blood pressure, strength, body fat was lower) but my weight was up. The nutritionist didn't seem discouraged about it and told me to stop eating 4-5 hours before bed. I have a hard time with this because I work 12 hours a day.
    Up at 5, eat breakfast at 6
    snack at 9/9:30
    lunch at 12/12:30
    snack at 3:30
    dinner at 5:30
    gym at 6:30, home by 8pm - 2 hours before bed time.
    I do track everything, I weigh everything with a food scale. I went from eating taco time, mcdonalds, boston pizza, drinking pop, alcohol, NOT drinking enough water, etc. to eating clean.
  • theJTfitness
    theJTfitness Posts: 142 Member
    Is there any way you could open your diary? That would be the best way to figure this thing out.
  • shanniem1
    shanniem1 Posts: 35
    I will try to do that right now
    I just started tracking on MyFitnessPal ( I was tracking on Weight Watchers and Spark People previously) I'm really liking my Fitness Pal so far.
    Can anyone tell me what I should be actually eating for calories, everything tells me something different?
    29 years old, 5'8-1/2", 215.6#'s (now)
    When I work out, should I be eating more to compensate? My workouts are anywhere from 400-800 calories in burn.
  • shanniem1
    shanniem1 Posts: 35
    I opened my diary, I entered all the food I'm planning (and will) eat today because I have a lunch meeting and I have my dinner with me. I am also going to workout tonight so that will take over my small amount of being over in calories. This is pretty much how I eat every day. I really appreciate any POSITIVE help :) thank you
  • theJTfitness
    theJTfitness Posts: 142 Member
    Your calorie allowance is pretty close. If anything I'd say maybe even bump it up 100-200. Everything looks like it's decent. If you're tracking everything accurately and not eating more than what I'm seeing in your diary, then there should be no way you're not losing. Keep on with your diet for a few weeks and you'll HAVE to see progress. If you're 215 and eating around 1700-1800 calories a day, I don't see how you won't lose weight.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    don't use your HRM for strength training, it will grossly over estimate the burn as your HR is elevated for different physiological reasons.

    Also if you are gaining then you are not in a deficit, weigh all solid foods you eat and measure liquids so you are actually eating the amount you think you are.
  • shanniem1
    shanniem1 Posts: 35
    Thank you very much for your help. I'm going to continue to keep tracking hard. I haven't been eating my "burn" from my fitness (maybe only 50-100 calories and only if I'm actually HUNGRY).
    I'll check in again on this in a couple weeks:)
  • wilsoje74
    wilsoje74 Posts: 1,720 Member
    If you are gaining, you are eating too much. Cut back 100-200 cals for a few weeks.
  • theJTfitness
    theJTfitness Posts: 142 Member
    Sounds like a plan shanniem1. Keep us updated!
  • ruffnstuff
    ruffnstuff Posts: 400 Member
    Yes I have had "bad days" but I don't feel they are outweighing the good....

    This right here...the "feel" is probably more than you realize. No one thinks you are lying, but perhaps you are fooling even yourself. We can only look at what you have on MFP so far, so take it a day at a time. The training you're doing is fabulous...keep it up. I know it's frustrating to not see that loss. I started last year, mid-April, going from nothing to suddenly working out a good 5x a week, consistently. By the end of July I had "lost" and "gained" the same few lbs back and forth, down only 4lbs, and was super pissed. Yes, I could see a shape change from the exercise, and I felt beter, but at 250 I knew I needed to lose a lot of weight and was unsure what to do. Enter MFP and tracking EVERYTHING (I started tracking the first week of August). Now I'm down 56 lbs. I really thought I was eating better, and I was making some good choices, but clearly I was still eating more than I thought.

    Once you consistently track, measure and weigh everything I bet you'll start to see it come off. Good luck!
  • shanniem1
    shanniem1 Posts: 35
    RuffnStuff! Thank you! It's good to hear someone who went through what I am going through. I definitely need to track better. Back in January I was tracking and being EXTREMELY hard on myself, so my trainer told me to stop tracking for a month and take it easy. We figured I was SO stressed about it that I was raising my cortisol levels. So now I am back to tracking using MyFitnessPal and really liking it. Also these forums seem very helpful.

    Does anyone recommend actually eating as little as 1200 calories / day? I don't know if I could do that without headaches and pure exhaustion.
  • SARgirl
    SARgirl Posts: 572 Member
    I looked at your diary and it appears that you have only logged for the past 4 days and out of those four, two of them you were over your calories. I think you calories for the day are a good number but the only way to track progress is to log consistently, especially if you are trying to lose weight. Log religiously (good and bad days) for the next 4-6 weeks and see if the scale starts to move. My guess is that it will once you are logging consistently and accurately and measuring out your portion sizes. It takes the guessing out of the equation and keeps you accountable:)
  • shanniem1
    shanniem1 Posts: 35
    Thanks SARgirl! I recently moved to MyFitnessPal from Sparkpeople, that is where I was tracking previously

    Now I am just mad at myself thinking I've wasted months and how much further ahead I should be :(
  • ruffnstuff
    ruffnstuff Posts: 400 Member
    Thanks SARgirl! I recently moved to MyFitnessPal from Sparkpeople, that is where I was tracking previously

    Now I am just mad at myself thinking I've wasted months and how much further ahead I should be :(

    No, no, no...don't think that way! The past has passed, you can't change it. Just listen to the advice here. And for god sake, don't just eat 1200/cals a day! That's just asking for hangry (combo hungry+angry) and a binge. Someone else said give it 4-6 weeks of accurate tracking, good and bad. When I had a brief stall, I used the data from my tracking to see what might be up. Sure enough I found that I'd let my avg cal intake go up, even though I was still in the "green" every day. Accurate tracking and data really can be your friend. Embrace the mathzzz!
  • LFernan85
    LFernan85 Posts: 19 Member
    Be sure to increase your water consumption too :-) Good luck!
  • ruffnstuff
    ruffnstuff Posts: 400 Member
    Oh, also, about the "nutritionist" telling you to stop eating 4-5 hours before bed. Unless there is a medical or perhaps psychological reason for this (triggers you to binge or something), this is bunk. There has been no true scientific evidence to show that the timing of what you eat plays any role in weight gain or lack of weight loss. It simply does not matter. Spend your calories wisely and plan for a snack at night if that's what you like.
  • shanniem1
    shanniem1 Posts: 35
    Thank you so much! I am going to be 100% dedicated to tracking and being honest about my tracking the next while and see how it goes! I usually drink 2-3 litres of water today, should drink more (bad with tracking that)!

    Thanks for the info about the 4-5 hours. I actually couldn't even believe it when she told me. Now when I get home from the gym I am STARVING! So last night I had a bowl of oatmeal with almond butter after and felt satisfied! I really hope things turn around :)

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