4 months in, gained 11lbs despite calorie control!?

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  • elyelyse
    elyelyse Posts: 1,454 Member
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    No, I estimate and pick the closest one on mfp.
    As others have said, weigh everything, but also...if you are "picking the closest one on MFP" for prepared foods, you aren't going to get accurate numbers. For example, one entry you have is "tortillas - tortillas 2" for 360 calories. Well, I buy 70 calorie tortillas, but I've seen tortillas in the store, depending on ingredients and size, that can be as high as 200 calories per tortilla, and I just looked and google thinks a tortilla is close to 500 calories! You list a "costa - roast chicken salad sandwich" for 359 calories. Is that really from Costa? If it's another brand, uses different ingredients, different bread, different size sandwich than what has been entered into the database, well, a chicken salad sandwich with mayonnaise on a large bready soft roll can easily be 500 calories or more. One entry is "baked beans" but...what are they made with? Different brands use different amounts of sugar and will vary is calorie count. You get the point.

    Back to the weighing thing for one comment...I see you listing apples at around 50 calories. The first time I put an apple on the scale I almost fainted. 50 calories worth of apple would be about the size of a golf ball. Most apples that I consider "small" when I put them on the scale are actually 80+ calories. An "average" size apple is typically closer to 100 cals.
  • maggieparks1
    maggieparks1 Posts: 8
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    have you tried the 5.2 lifestyle? I have struggled for many years basically you work out your Tdee -(my fitnessfrog) eat that number of calories on 5 days and the other 2 days eat only 500 cals it is doable and it works I have lost 7lb in 6 weeks! go on to the facebook 5.2 lifestyle page and there is loads of help/tips
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,268 Member
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    Well the first bit could be water retention from new exercise...

    Stress can lead to water retention as well from cortisol levels on the rise...

    But I did look at your diary and it appears you weigh most of your food but that being said you eat on average 1800-1900 calories a day...sometimes going over goal by 300-400 and as much as 1k...and you don't log everyday

    Even weighing food if you don't log everyday and if you don't stay in a deficet you wont lose even gain.

    My suggestion is to lower your goal to about 1700 a day, stay within goal, don't eat exercise calories back...this is based on scooby indicating that your TDEE is around 2100...which means you goal is currently at TDEE-5%...which you often go over hence why you are gaining...

    She said she doesn't weigh anything,

    Don't change anything but actually weighting your food. Until you know how much you are actually eating everything else is moot.

    I'm 5'2 and can lose on 1800 a day - op is significantly taller than me. Telling someone to drop their calorie goal when they don't even know what they are eating is just bad advice.

    Yes I saw that after I hit post...my post was started long before that was indicated as it does take me a while to look at diaries...

    and since her entries were in grams etc I said "it looks like you weigh"....because I am sick of being jumped on for saying they don't when they have cup entries...
  • Iron_Feline
    Iron_Feline Posts: 10,750 Member
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    have you tried the 5.2 lifestyle? I have struggled for many years basically you work out your Tdee -(my fitnessfrog) eat that number of calories on 5 days and the other 2 days eat only 500 cals it is doable and it works I have lost 7lb in 6 weeks! go on to the facebook 5.2 lifestyle page and there is loads of help/tips

    Sigh.

    Until she weighs her food this is pointless.

    (congrats on the weightloss though)
  • christa279
    christa279 Posts: 222 Member
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    I agree with those that are saying you are probably eating more than you realize, especially if you aren't weighing/measuring food. I measure everything (until I get a grasp for what a portion of that item looks like) and weigh the things that are difficult to get an actual measurement of.

    Drinking more water is a GOOD thing, not bad. It will help you to not retain as much and to help flush out extra sodium. Days where I slack on my water and eat to much sodium, I notice up to 4 lbs in water weight gain.

    I am about 155 lbs. and eat around 1500-1700 calories on days where I do no/light exercise. On days where I am really active or do moderate/heavy exercise I can eat 1700-1900 calories. My FitBit has been a big help in determining my activity levels, and I wear it all the time.

    All you need is a deficit to lose weight. Protein will help you to feel fuller longer, but otherwise it doesn't really matter water you eat to lose weight. However, I do notice I feel better when I stay away from fast foods and overly processed stuff. Probably because I am less bloated and retain less water.

    Good luck! You can do this!
  • DeadliftAddict
    DeadliftAddict Posts: 746 Member
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    No, I estimate and pick the closest one on mfp.

    That's where you are going wrong.

    You are eating more than you think. Buy a food scale. Weight everything stick to it for 6 weeks.

    If you are still having issue post again. :flowerforyou:

    Nothing more than this.
  • QuietBloom
    QuietBloom Posts: 5,413 Member
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    If you are taking antidepressants that is probably the reason why you have gained weight. They will pack on the lbs.
    not sure about that, I've been on antidepressants for a year now and only started gaining weight when I started exercising this year?
    I did also have a 3 Week course of zopliclone for insomnia about a month or so ago. Not sure if that effects weight. I'm on Venlafaxine now and have been since oct.
    Venlafaxine definitely causes weight gain, I believe it's a listed side effect. However I think you would have seen the effects by now so maybe not for you. Zopiclone shouldn't cause a weight gain, but everyone is different.

    Weight CHANGES are listed as a side effect, not weight gain. I have been on it for 6 months now, and have not noticed any changes in my appetite or weight.
  • Iron_Feline
    Iron_Feline Posts: 10,750 Member
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    Well the first bit could be water retention from new exercise...

    Stress can lead to water retention as well from cortisol levels on the rise...

    But I did look at your diary and it appears you weigh most of your food but that being said you eat on average 1800-1900 calories a day...sometimes going over goal by 300-400 and as much as 1k...and you don't log everyday

    Even weighing food if you don't log everyday and if you don't stay in a deficet you wont lose even gain.

    My suggestion is to lower your goal to about 1700 a day, stay within goal, don't eat exercise calories back...this is based on scooby indicating that your TDEE is around 2100...which means you goal is currently at TDEE-5%...which you often go over hence why you are gaining...

    She said she doesn't weigh anything,

    Don't change anything but actually weighting your food. Until you know how much you are actually eating everything else is moot.

    I'm 5'2 and can lose on 1800 a day - op is significantly taller than me. Telling someone to drop their calorie goal when they don't even know what they are eating is just bad advice.

    Yes I saw that after I hit post...my post was started long before that was indicated as it does take me a while to look at diaries...

    and since her entries were in grams etc I said "it looks like you weigh"....because I am sick of being jumped on for saying they don't when they have cup entries...

    You had the opportunity to edit your post - you didn't.

    Therefore I corrected your assumptions.

    Telling anyone to drop calories without first checking that they are weighing their food is bad advice regardless of your checking their diary/TDEE. I stand by my post. I don't think anyone should drop calories without actually knowing what they are eating now.

    Knowing what you are eating comes before making random changes.

    Oh and I checked the diary before asking as just because people put in weights - doesn't mean they are weighing. Honestly the first question in threads like these should always be

    Are you weighing your food?

    Because without knowing that, it is impossible to give good advice.
  • jofjltncb6
    jofjltncb6 Posts: 34,415 Member
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    No, I estimate and pick the closest one on mfp.

    That's where you are going wrong.

    You are eating more than you think. Buy a food scale. Weight everything stick to it for 6 weeks.

    If you are still having issue post again. :flowerforyou:

    ^this...accurately weigh and measure everything...

    ...and not any other wackadoodle responses that will inevitably follow later in this thread.
  • martinel2099
    martinel2099 Posts: 899 Member
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    use a food scale, you'd be surprised how much calories you are really underestimating, buy a nice cheap electronic Kitchen food scale.
  • weird_me2
    weird_me2 Posts: 716 Member
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    Just want to jump in and add to make sure you choose the correct entry in the database. If you don't find one that matches your food label, add it in. Accurately weighing your food will only take you so far if you don't use the accurate listings. Check out chicken breast in the database...it ranges anywhere from 50-250 calories per 4 oz cooked.
  • geebusuk
    geebusuk Posts: 3,348 Member
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    Telling anyone to drop calories without first checking that they are weighing their food is bad advice regardless of your checking their diary/TDEE. I stand by my post. I don't think anyone should drop calories without actually knowing what they are eating now.

    ...
    Because without knowing that, it is impossible to give good advice.
    Knowing they are logging accurately (and the same for calories out) will point towards whether or not they are far enough that they may have other issues.

    I'd suggest the important scales are the bathroom ones.
    If weight is averaged is consistently going up over time, then they are in a surplus. Down means a deficit.
    It doesn't matter too much WHY that is the case, though is useful to know - in the end they need to increase calories out or reduce calories in.

    In the end, if they're consistently logging 50% lower than reality, it's not the end of the world if they reduce their consumption relatively.

    However, knowing that they're well out does point to the possibility of a medical issue that needs to be considered, which is certainly important information to have.
  • PikaKnight
    PikaKnight Posts: 34,971 Member
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    Another thing I noticed (having gone back a bit)...

    There are days when not much is logged or nothing is logged at all. So unless you really weren't eating..then I think aside from accuracy, there is a consistency issue.

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