Why am I gaining weight?

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/872212-you-re-probably-eating-more-than-you-think

You're eating dangerously too few calories for a 19-year-old guy at your height and weight. Your BMR is around 2000 calories. That's the calories your body needs to complete its basic functions. In other words, if you slept all day or were in a coma, you'd still need 2000 calories for your body to do what it needs to for you to stay healthy. Eating under your BMR is going to catch up with you eventually. You're going to have no energy and feel lousy, and it could cause health problems.

This is the calorie calculator I used, and I entered the height and weight from your profile: http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

The goal isn't to eat as few calories as possible, but to make sure you're eating at a deficit from your TDEE but not below your BMR. Too much food is bad, but not eating enough is like trying to drive a car that's almost out of gas. You're not going to get very far.

Also, there are a lot of generic entries in your diary, which means they probably aren't accurate. The best way to ensure you're accurately logging what you're eating is to get a food scale and weigh everything you eat.

There could be a thousand reasons for half a kg weight fluctuations: water retention just being one of them, due to exercise or too much sodium. Did you use the toilet before you weighed yourself? I have that amount of weight fluctuation within ONE day. It is the trend that counts! Give it time.
Stef.

That's definitely not the case. I'm eating WAY less than my maintenance and measuring everything on a scale.

Your diary does not reflect weighs but servings. Do you use a digital scale? Do you measure in grams or ounces? Do you weigh all food you eat?

Where are you getting those exercise estimates from?

I think it's water retention.

Thanks stef!
Ok to recap (and clarify), I'm ok and not panicky at all. This was only to gain knowledge of the reasons for something like this.
I will be upping my calories for sure and I won't be weighing myself more than bimonthly to have a better view of my general weight loss trend.
I'm upping my cals to 1800 a day btw (I need a deficit as well you know. Can't eat my maintenance can I)

Your BMR is not your maintenance. Your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) is. You need to eat at least your BMR. I do TDEE - 20%, which puts me a bit above my BMR. Here's a good basic tutorial on calorie counting and nutrition. http://www.reddit.com/r/xxfitness/wiki/faq#wiki_12._what_are_the_basics_of_calorie_counting_and_nutrition.3F Even though it is from a women's site, it stays true for men.

A possible culpret for your weight gain that no one seems to have mentioned- muscle. Muscle weighs more than fat. If you're putting on muscle, the scale will reflect that. I lift, and I've been taping (using a measuring tape to measure waist, chest, legs) instead of using a scale and it shows my results far better as you can be losing fat but staying the same weight.

^^^this^^^ you mentioned weight training 5 days a week. As you get closer to your goal I would start evaluating your progress with body fat % not weight. I've been 152 lbs at 18% body fat and 153 lbs at 9% bf. I'd rather weigh more and at the 9% bf any day.

A possible culpret for your weight gain that no one seems to have mentioned- muscle. Muscle weighs more than fat. If you're putting on muscle, the scale will reflect that. I lift, and I've been taping (using a measuring tape to measure waist, chest, legs) instead of using a scale and it shows my results far better as you can be losing fat but staying the same weight.

No, if he's truly eating at a deficit he will not put on muscle, except for initial small gains from new weightlifting. That's just not how it works.

Hi guys. I've been losing loads of weight and am doing to 87.6 kg from 115Kg. I'm weight training 5 days a week with cardio everyday. I weighed in this week and I've gained around half a Kg (I was at 87Kg before). Why would this happen? Am I doing anything wrong? This is an honest question, not a panic attack :P

Ignore the people who are saying you are eating more than you think. When I started working out, my downward weight loss trend went out the window. Your muscles require glycogen to repair themselves which is mostly water. When your muscles are sore, they hold on to more water. It's as simple as that.

Now if you start gaining weight every week, then we can talk about your diet. But right now, it's just your muscles doing what they're supposed to be doing.

No, do NOT ignore people who bring up the possibility of calorie miscalculation, because it's the MOST COMMON (caps for emphasis only) cause of not losing or gaining weight. It's science.

However, as I and others previously said, it could be water retention.

If you have a process that's working, then keep following it until you see a sustained period of a lack of results. A one time, one pound (or .5 kg) fluctuation is absolutely irrelevant. A gain of 1 kg per week for 3 weeks is an occasion to rethink your process. Stepping on the scale once and seeing a blip? Ignore. As to why you'd see a blip, a million reasons. Did you pee just before your measurement before last and didn't for the last one? Maybe there was a high volume poo in there somewhere, or a lack of the same. It's all noise, pay more attention to your trends.

Hi guys. I've been losing loads of weight and am doing to 87.6 kg from 115Kg. I'm weight training 5 days a week with cardio everyday. I weighed in this week and I've gained around half a Kg (I was at 87Kg before). Why would this happen? Am I doing anything wrong? This is an honest question, not a panic attack :P

Ignore the people who are saying you are eating more than you think. When I started working out, my downward weight loss trend went out the window. Your muscles require glycogen to repair themselves which is mostly water. When your muscles are sore, they hold on to more water. It's as simple as that.

Now if you start gaining weight every week, then we can talk about your diet. But right now, it's just your muscles doing what they're supposed to be doing.

No, do NOT ignore people who bring up the possibility of calorie miscalculation, because it's the MOST COMMON (caps for emphasis only) cause of not losing or gaining weight. It's science.

However, as I and others previously said, it could be water retention.

What is also science is that muscles, when strained, retain water. Which will lead to a 1/2 kilo weight gain over the course of a week. Which is what I said.

You are missing the point. Yes, it could be water retention but it could be that he's miscalculating. You told him to ignore the advice regarding the most common cause of weight gain. That's bad advice.

If your doing weight and strength training regularly your weight gain is probably because your gaining muscle! Muscle weighs more than fat, so don't always trust the scale. Sometimes its helpful to go by how your body looks and how your clothes feel to judge weight loss. If you are working out a lot, make sure your getting enough calories (the good kind of calories!) to power your body and heal your muscles. Good luck!

Thanks stef!
Ok to recap (and clarify), I'm ok and not panicky at all. This was only to gain knowledge of the reasons for something like this.
I will be upping my calories for sure and I won't be weighing myself more than bimonthly to have a better view of my general weight loss trend.
I'm upping my cals to 1800 a day btw (I need a deficit as well you know. Can't eat my maintenance can I)

Your BMR is not your maintenance. Your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) is. You need to eat at least your BMR. I do TDEE - 20%, which puts me a bit above my BMR. Here's a good basic tutorial on calorie counting and nutrition. http://www.reddit.com/r/xxfitness/wiki/faq#wiki_12._what_are_the_basics_of_calorie_counting_and_nutrition.3F Even though it is from a women's site, it stays true for men.

A possible culpret for your weight gain that no one seems to have mentioned- muscle. Muscle weighs more than fat. If you're putting on muscle, the scale will reflect that. I lift, and I've been taping (using a measuring tape to measure waist, chest, legs) instead of using a scale and it shows my results far better as you can be losing fat but staying the same weight.

No he's not putting on muscle.
No muscle does not weigh more than fat.

OP, yes I could easily be water fluctuations but no don't ignore the people that tell you it could be miscalculations in your logging. That's always a possibility. Monitor you weight trends for the next couple of weeks to get a better idea of what's going on.

What planet are you from? Muscle absolutely weighs more than fat- a pound of muscle is far less, in terms of mass, than a pound of fat. This is a biological fact. Furthermore, as a 19 year old male lifting, he is most likely putting on muscle.

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Thanks stef!
Ok to recap (and clarify), I'm ok and not panicky at all. This was only to gain knowledge of the reasons for something like this.
I will be upping my calories for sure and I won't be weighing myself more than bimonthly to have a better view of my general weight loss trend.
I'm upping my cals to 1800 a day btw (I need a deficit as well you know. Can't eat my maintenance can I)

Your BMR is not your maintenance. Your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) is. You need to eat at least your BMR. I do TDEE - 20%, which puts me a bit above my BMR. Here's a good basic tutorial on calorie counting and nutrition. http://www.reddit.com/r/xxfitness/wiki/faq#wiki_12._what_are_the_basics_of_calorie_counting_and_nutrition.3F Even though it is from a women's site, it stays true for men.

A possible culpret for your weight gain that no one seems to have mentioned- muscle. Muscle weighs more than fat. If you're putting on muscle, the scale will reflect that. I lift, and I've been taping (using a measuring tape to measure waist, chest, legs) instead of using a scale and it shows my results far better as you can be losing fat but staying the same weight.

No he's not putting on muscle.
No muscle does not weigh more than fat.

OP, yes I could easily be water fluctuations but no don't ignore the people that tell you it could be miscalculations in your logging. That's always a possibility. Monitor you weight trends for the next couple of weeks to get a better idea of what's going on.

What planet are you from? Muscle absolutely weighs more than fat- a pound of muscle is far less, in terms of mass, than a pound of fat. This is a biological fact. Furthermore, as a 19 year old male lifting, he is most likely putting on muscle.

I know what you are trying to say, but a pound of anything is still just a pound. However, muscle is less dense than fat and therefore takes up less space. That is what you mean, correct>

As for a 19 year old putting on muscle, that's not correct, especially if he's truly eating at a deficit as he says he is.