I have GAINED weight!!
labourne
Posts: 6
Hi everyone, I just started a profile because I've been trying to lose weight for a month and I have just bobbed around between a couple pounds. I've tried multiple different methods, eating 1800 or 1200 or in between, working out for a half an hour to now an hour and a half plus and I'm still not losing! I'm at a loss, I have no idea what I'm doing wrong and the frustration is reducing me to tears. I lost a stone 18 months ago eating 1600 and exercising 2 hours a day but then Christmas came and I put it all back on. Im at the weight now that last time I had a plateau but I'm on the verge of a bad obsession again. I haven't worn a bikini in 3 years and I just turned 19! I promised my sister I would go swimming with her so I need not break that promise. All I want is to feel good and confident in my skin and I never have. If any of you have experienced similar I would be so grateful for any words of wisdom, I am quite desperate now! Thanks for reading
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Replies
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Can I ask, what sort of exercising have you been doing? Different exercise has hugely different effects on my weight; for example, last year I rowed obsessively at least 4-5 times a week and alongside this cycled usually 30km each time. Ate well, my normal healthy low-cal, pre-fight diet. Barely lost anything (which was actually good because I wasn't trying to lose any weight). But then I switched the rowing and cycling for running 10-15km 4-5 times per week and I couldn't keep any weight on at all. It just dropped off, it was mad - I had to eat spoonfuls of peanut butter every day to stop me dropping any more weight.
So, it could be that maybe you need to try a different kind of exercise? Especially if you have been doing the same thing for a long time, as your body may have become very efficient at it.
How much weight do you want to lose?
Keep your chin up!
) everyone hits plateaus - you'll get there!
Stef0 -
you stay you've tried different calorie goals, but nothing works
in general the advice is that you would need to try something for 6-8 weeks before you can *kitten* properly who it's worked
weight loss is not linear - weight varies throughout the day and monthly cycle
I would suggest that you read up on a couple of posts like:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1175494-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants
and
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1234699-logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide
that you set a good target loss (based on your ticker of 15lb to go) probably 0.5lb/week to 1lb/week
and log accurately and eat your calorie and macro target for 6-8 weeks - then re-evaluate and adjust
as a rule of thumb calorie targets would be re-calculated ever 5lb or so lost0 -
Oh and also, it's probably worth remembering that body weight does fluctuate monthly for us girls
the week before I'm due for my time of the month, I usually put on around 6lbs overnight in water retention (it's actually visible, it's fully freaky). So it's worth factoring in your monthly cycle as well.
And make sure you weigh yourself at the same time each time - not morning some days, evening others, because that makes a huge difference!
Keep smiling 0 -
I agree, I think 2hrs of exercise to try and loose weight is a bit unnecessary.. It is also totally not doable long term. Weight loss isn't a quick fix, it is change of lifestyle. It has to be a change which you can reasonably do long term. Also 1600 seems a bit high for weight loss. Perhaps try 1200 cals a day, watch the content off food and do 30 mins of exercise 3-4 times week.0
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general ignorance:
weight loss <> calorie deficit
excercise calori burns can contribute to that deficit
but you can't out excercise a *bad* diet
>> over 6-8 weeks if you gaining then your're eating more than you burn, if you're static then you're eating at maintenance and if your're losing then you're eating at a deficit
^^ this doesn't work over shorter periods of if you keep changing what your doing0 -
I'll be that guy...
You probably aren't weighing/measuring your food properly.0 -
Hi everyone, I just started a profile because I've been trying to lose weight for a month and I have just bobbed around between a couple pounds. I've tried multiple different methods, eating 1800 or 1200 or in between, working out for a half an hour to now an hour and a half plus and I'm still not losing! I'm at a loss, I have no idea what I'm doing wrong and the frustration is reducing me to tears. I lost a stone 18 months ago eating 1600 and exercising 2 hours a day but then Christmas came and I put it all back on. Im at the weight now that last time I had a plateau but I'm on the verge of a bad obsession again. I haven't worn a bikini in 3 years and I just turned 19! I promised my sister I would go swimming with her so I need not break that promise. All I want is to feel good and confident in my skin and I never have. If any of you have experienced similar I would be so grateful for any words of wisdom, I am quite desperate now! Thanks for reading
a month isnt long enough to see if any calorie goal is working, let alone 1800 cals, 1200 cals and everything in between!
set MFP to lose 1lb per week, eat that amount of calories and if you're not losing weight after 4 weeks, come back!0 -
general ignorance:
weight loss <> calorie deficit
excercise calori burns can contribute to that deficit
but you can't out excercise a *bad* diet
This more than anything else is the biggest lesson to be learnt
We have all seen many people at the gym that seem to be always there doing different classes and never looking any slimmer
It's quite possible to spend an hour exercising at he gym, then have a Cappuccino afterwards and negate all the calorie burning benefits of the workout (Im aware that there are of course other benefits besides burning the calories)0 -
I've been doing about an hour daily of interval training + which as you've pointed out is probably the wrong type of exercise. So I should lower my calories to 1200 and do cardio for 30 or 40 minutes you say?0
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I've been doing about an hour daily of interval training + which as you've pointed out is probably the wrong type of exercise. So I should lower my calories to 1200 and do cardio for 30 or 40 minutes you say?
why do you think interval training is the wrong type of exercise?0 -
I think you should start out at a really healthy calorie goal first. Start by figuring out your daily needs as an individual. Those cookie cutter 1200 cal a day diets can be really harmful in the long run and are not easily maintainable. http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/ this has been very helpful for me and a lot of other people. Also what I did was submerged myself with reputable sources of exercise and nutrition information. 2 hours a day is overkill. Any promises of a fast fix or slim in seconds is a huge red flag. Bouncing around in weight and cals can be damaging to your metabolism and I think once you get on the right track you will be amazed what your body will and can do given proper nutrition and training.
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/ashley-conrads-21-day-clutch-cut.html
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/jim-stoppani-six-week-shortcut-to-shred.html
Those two programs are amazing and go into detail as to how/why/when
Hope that helps!0 -
in the short term - leave your excercise
and focus on "accurately" logging using weighing scales everything that you consume
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1234699-logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide
until you do any 'calorie' adjustments are just another guess0 -
It's much mote focused on strength rather than the usual repeatedly getting the heart rate up. My muscles burned for WEEKS after I started so I can probably hold that accountable. I was thinking I would probably benefit a lot more doing straight cardio 5 days and once a week do some of the interval strength training. Am I misled again? I really don't know what I'm doing haha!0
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I think you should start out at a really healthy calorie goal first. Start by figuring out your daily needs as an individual. Those cookie cutter 1200 cal a day diets can be really harmful in the long run and are not easily maintainable. http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/ this has been very helpful for me and a lot of other people. Also what I did was submerged myself with reputable sources of exercise and nutrition information. 2 hours a day is overkill. Any promises of a fast fix or slim in seconds is a huge red flag. Bouncing around in weight and cals can be damaging to your metabolism and I think once you get on the right track you will be amazed what your body will and can do given proper nutrition and training.
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/ashley-conrads-21-day-clutch-cut.html
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/jim-stoppani-six-week-shortcut-to-shred.html
Those two programs are amazing and go into detail as to how/why/when
Hope that helps!
Thank you! This really does help, I've been hoping to find some information like this to help me get my head around it all! (:0 -
You are welcome! It is really important to remember you need to be mentally healthy to be physically healthy!0
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If you are doing strength training, than ditch the scale and use a tape measure instead. You are probably losing some inches, just not pounds. I track both.It's much mote focused on strength rather than the usual repeatedly getting the heart rate up. My muscles burned for WEEKS after I started so I can probably hold that accountable. I was thinking I would probably benefit a lot more doing straight cardio 5 days and once a week do some of the interval strength training. Am I misled again? I really don't know what I'm doing haha!0 -
It's much mote focused on strength rather than the usual repeatedly getting the heart rate up. My muscles burned for WEEKS after I started so I can probably hold that accountable. I was thinking I would probably benefit a lot more doing straight cardio 5 days and once a week do some of the interval strength training. Am I misled again? I really don't know what I'm doing haha!
No you wouldn't benefit from doing straight cardio. Getting your diet under control with a mix of weight training and cardio is the best approach. BTW, what are your stats (height, weight, age), do you have any medical conditions, and how active is your lift outside of exercise (jobs/etc...)? And do you use a food scale?0 -
No you wouldn't benefit from doing straight cardio. Getting your diet under control with a mix of weight training and cardio is the best approach. BTW, what are your stats (height, weight, age), do you have any medical conditions, and how active is your lift outside of exercise (jobs/etc...)? And do you use a food scale?
I'm 5'5, 140, 19. I'm at a desk all day so not at all active at work. I'm really anal with calories so if I was incorrect it would be a maximum of +/- 50 cal. I'm completely free of medical conditions, so there's nothing that could hinder my efforts besides lack of education on the matter at hand.0 -
I'm 5'5, 140, 19. I'm at a desk all day so not at all active at work. I'm really anal with calories so if I was incorrect it would be a maximum of +/- 50 cal. I'm completely free of medical conditions, so there's nothing that could hinder my efforts besides lack of education on the matter at hand.
a study of people whose sole target was calorie tracking accuracy found that dietitians (who are well trained and informed) underestimated by an average of 223cal/day while the normalising sample of similar adults also targetting accuracy underestimated by 429 kcal/day (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12396160)
as a non-professional, who weighs everything I can and is quite well infomred I assume that I am not as good as a dietitian and probably underestimate by ~300 cal/day - as my deficit target is 275 cal/day it would be very easy for me to wipe out my deficit
you are likely over-estimating your burn and/or underestimating your consumption and somewhere in the middle your deficit is being wiped out0 -
a study of people whose sole target was calorie tracking accuracy found that dietitians (who are well trained and informed) underestimated by an average of 223cal/day while the normalising sample of similar adults also targetting accuracy underestimated by 429 kcal/day (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12396160)
as a non-professional, who weighs everything I can and is quite well infomred I assume that I am not as good as a dietitian and probably underestimate by ~300 cal/day - as my deficit target is 275 cal/day it would be very easy for me to wipe out my deficit
you are likely over-estimating your burn and/or underestimating your consumption and somewhere in the middle your deficit is being wiped out
Oh wow okay, that's interesting I'll bare that in mind, thanks0 -
a study of people whose sole target was calorie tracking accuracy found that dietitians (who are well trained and informed) underestimated by an average of 223cal/day while the normalising sample of similar adults also targetting accuracy underestimated by 429 kcal/day (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12396160)
as a non-professional, who weighs everything I can and is quite well infomred I assume that I am not as good as a dietitian and probably underestimate by ~300 cal/day - as my deficit target is 275 cal/day it would be very easy for me to wipe out my deficit
you are likely over-estimating your burn and/or underestimating your consumption and somewhere in the middle your deficit is being wiped out
Oh wow okay, that's interesting I'll bare that in mind, thanks
you won't know by how much until you try it:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1234699-logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide
why not take the measuring cup challenge like in the youtube video (
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVjWPclrWVY) and weigh the contents of your cups for a while 0 -
You've been trying this for a month and tried many different approaches? Seems you're more impatient rather than letting a program run it's course.
Stick to calorie deficit (1% loss of your body weight a week) for a month. Then reassess.
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 nutrition0 -
Agreed with others. Pick one calorie goal and stick to it for a month. If you have to estimate a meal when dining out, estimate a little high. If you're cooking at home, weigh all solids and measure all liquids. I prefer to use TDEE - 20%, as it means I eat the same cals per day more or less, and I don't have to think about how many exercise cals I should or should not be eating back.
If you are truly maintaining a calorie deficit and not losing, then you should talk to your doctor.0 -
Just because your weight isn't changing doesn't mean your body isn't changing!
Pull out the dress-maker's measuring tape and take your measurements! You just may be replacing the fat with muscle. If you've just started, it's too soon to tell. As other's have said, give it time.0 -
According to the websites that calculate your daily caloric needs, I have to have no less than 1510 calories a day just to perform my daily duties including my fairly physical job. I couldn't do it on 1200 calories. I've tried and it just made me binge eat. My advice is for you to:
1) find out your stats before you go further. Eating under caloric needs will damage your body
2) set a reasonable goal. Weight loss can take years depending on how much you have to lose. I still have 48 lbs to go and it'll take me a year to do it.
3) buy a heart rate monitor so you know exactly how many calories you burned during exercise
4) measuring cup for all foods! You'd be surprised how much you'd overdo foods that you love. Example: I recently found out that I was eating 2 cups of potatoes whenever cooked. Keep anything like that to a cup or you'll have to burn more calories to make up for it.
Most importantly, I think you need to talk to someone about your body image issues. I'm at 168 currently. I would wear a bathing suit even at my heaviest (187). You have to love your body or you'll continue having issues.0 -
OK, the exercise discussion is a bit irrelevant in my opinion. Exercise is really good for you, so don't give it up. However, what you need to sort out is getting the correct weight and calorie goals, tracking food accurately, and sticking with it for a few weeks.
At 19, 5 ft 5 and 140 lbs your BMI is 23.2, which means you are in the healthy weight range. For this reason I suggest you aim for a weight loss rate of 0.5 lbs to 1 lbs per week, rather than the usual 1-2 lbs recommended for us chubbies
Online calculators suggest that your TDEE is about 1700 plus whatever you get from exercise. With a 0.5 lb per week that should put you at a NET goal of about 1450 - 1500. Pop your numbers into MFP and set your activity level to sedentary and see what it says.
Then on days you veg out and do no exercise, eat 1500 ish calories (or whatever it recommends, tracking accurately). On days when you exercise, use an exercise tracker to work out how much you burn (MFP tends to over-estimate. Endomondo is supposed to be fairly accurate so that's what I use, fitbits are also popular). Then eat back a portion of your calories.
Stick to your calorie goal for 3-4 weeks and see if you lose weight. If you do, well done! Stick with the plan. If you don't consider reducing your goal. Don't go too extreme as you'll find it harder to stick to.
Just to be clear exercise is good for your health but you don't need to exercise to lose weight It's easy to out-eat a good exercise plan. It's hard to out-lazy a good diet.
P.S. A healthy BMI is between 18.5 and 25. Personally I would like to have a bit of wiggle-room, so I would suggest aiming for a BMI no lower than 20, which equates to about 120 lbs for you. Don't go too skinny!
Here are a few links you may find helpful:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants
http://www.nhs.uk/LiveWell/weight-loss-guide/Pages/weight-loss-guide.aspx
http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/weight-loss-guide/Pages/calorie-counting.aspx
http://evidencemag.com/simple-weight-loss
http://www.gdalabel.org.uk/gda/gda_values.aspx
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/872212-you-re-probably-eating-more-than-you-think
And if you feel like doing some running and aren't used to it:
http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/c25k/Pages/couch-to-5k-plan.aspx0 -
Just because your weight isn't changing doesn't mean your body isn't changing!
Pull out the dress-maker's measuring tape and take your measurements! You just may be replacing the fat with muscle. If you've just started, it's too soon to tell. As other's have said, give it time.
You can't replace muscle with fat. That isn't how the body works. And it's virtually impossible to gain muscle while in a deficit, especially since the OP is lean and not doing compound progressive load lifting. I suspect it's because she isn't using a food scale and is eating more than she thinks and some water retention.
The best thing the OP can do is get a food scale, set a moderate deficit (no more than 1 lb per week) and concentrate on weight training. But based on the stats, her TDEE if exercising 5 days a week is around 2300 calories. This means she would lose around 1800 and putting macros around 40% carbs, 30% proteins and fats. But the biggest thing is trying a method for 4-6 weeks before changing plans.0 -
Just because your weight isn't changing doesn't mean your body isn't changing!
Pull out the dress-maker's measuring tape and take your measurements! You just may be replacing the fat with muscle. If you've just started, it's too soon to tell. As other's have said, give it time.
You can't replace muscle with fat. That isn't how the body works. And it's virtually impossible to gain muscle while in a deficit, especially since the OP is lean and not doing compound progressive load lifting. I suspect it's because she isn't using a food scale and is eating more than she thinks and some water retention.
The best thing the OP can do is get a food scale, set a moderate deficit (no more than 1 lb per week) and concentrate on weight training. But based on the stats, her TDEE if exercising 5 days a week is around 2300 calories. This means she would lose around 1800 and putting macros around 40% carbs, 30% proteins and fats. But the biggest thing is trying a method for 4-6 weeks before changing plans.
Thank you for clarifying my statement regarding the replacement of fat & muscle, BUT one still needs to get out the dressmaker's tape and use other tools at your disposal for NSV's. Weight is not everything for the human body. It's just one measurement.0
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