Lifting on maintenance & gaining weight?

crazihel
crazihel Posts: 72 Member
in Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
Hello!

I just have a couple of questions regarding my nutrition/lifting programme & my progress. I'm about to include a fair bit of information so I apologise in advance, but I just want some opinions on what to do from anyone who's been in a similar boat!

Ok soo.... first up, im 5ft 9.

A few years ago I was 16st so by eating on a huge deficit of 1200 cals I got down to just under 12st, 164 pounds to be precise.

Bored of my totally cardio programme, and eating barely anything, I decided 2 months ago to start lifting some weights and pushed my calorie goal up to 1800 a day. I've since pushed it up again to 2000 a day. My macro goal is around 45/35/20, aiming to eat 175g protein a fay & 44-50g fat, which I generally get close to. Soon I want to increase again in an attempt to build some more muscle mass, but I felt like going from 1200cals to 3000 was a bit much all at once!

According to a ton of tdee calculators online, which I know are really only an estimate, if I were to sit down all day I need 1898 cals to maintain my weight. I work in catering so I am on my feet for 7 hours a day at least 2-3 days a week plus I lift 4 times a week, and do one spin class and one circuits class. On this basis I tend to put myself in my light exercise bracket which comes up with 2100 cals a day.

So can anyone shed some light into why am I gaining weight? I've actually gained 4 pounds in the last 2 months despite eating on a small deficit. My dairy is open so have a look - last week if a typical week for me. I am guilty of occasionally not logging foods but this is because I have a second job in the evenings so sometimes forget! However I tend to eat similar things all the time and I weigh & measure everything, even if I don't log it.

If you want some info on my lifts, I do a variety of isolation & compound exercises plus machines for 3 sets of 8-12 reps. Examples - deadlift 132lb, squats 121lb, shoulder press 44lb, bench 70lb. I feel like I put my all into my sessions, and I increase my weights as soon as I can complete 12-13 reps.

Also...a secondary question....I'm a typical pear shape. Measurements are 34,28,39. My leanest area is my back and my shoulders, I've seen some fab progress in these areas - definitely losing fat there! Still not much progress downstairs. I take photos every 2 weeks to compare and I'm a bit disappointed! Will this eventually come or will I forever be troubled by my legs?!

Thank you! :)

Replies

  • accelerashawn
    accelerashawn Posts: 470 Member
    If you are literally on maintenance calories you shouldnt be gaining weight. Online calculators are good baselines but you definitely need to adjust the baselines to account for your individuality. If you have gained 4lbs in 2 months, thats roughly a half of a pound per week. So mathematically speaking (based on 1lb of mass = 3500 calories), that is an excess of 1750 calories per week or 250/day. If you want to maintain, try dropping your daily total by 250 and see how that feels.

    I would also fluctuate calories based on how much activity you do each day. If you are catering one day and working hard all day, you might need a couple hundred extra calories to keep from falling out. On a day off, you might eat a few hundred less.

    Maybe try totaling your calories for each week you gained weight and see if there is some information there to use.
  • slimbettie
    slimbettie Posts: 686 Member
    I don't know much about maintenance, but the short of it is: you are not eating maintenance calories if you are gaining. I might be wrong though :grumble:
  • AliceDark
    AliceDark Posts: 3,886 Member
    So, you went up to 2000 calories from 1200 and started lifting, and gained 4 pounds? Are you continuing to gain slowly, or was it a situation where you jumped up 4 pounds quickly and have stayed there?

    If you're slowly continuing to gain, you're eating more than maintenance. TDEE calculators are just estimates, and the only way to know for sure if you hit your actual maintenance range is trial and observation.

    If you jumped up 4 pounds and leveled off, it's probably just glycogen replenishment and some water retention. No big deal -- it's not "fat weight." If you dropped back to 1200 you'd probably lose it quickly, and then if you went up to 2000 again it would come back just as quickly. In this case, your measurements probably didn't change much, if at all. (If it's the first case and you're overshooting maintenance, you may see your measurements start to increase slowly).
  • butterbear1980
    butterbear1980 Posts: 234 Member
    Its water/glycogen. And 2000 seems low for someone 5'9 who's lifting. I'm maintaing at 2300-2600/day 5'3". You are definitely not eating too much keep doing what you are doing for another month and see how the numbers are.
  • meags007
    meags007 Posts: 9
    I'd agree with the water/glyogen ... I dropped my body fat from 26% to 19% and only dropped 1kg on the scale - most of the weight was water retention.

    As for your pear shape - I am the same - see great fat loss results on my top and middle half and nothing on my legs! More recently though my legs have really started to trim down . This happened when I got below 22% fat and I attribute a lot of it to seeing a trainer who trashes my legs. She incorporates big weights (deadlifts, squats, leg raises, leg press etc) with high rep body weight stuff (lunges, squat jumps, box jumps). I'm not sure if it's using those big muscle groups ... I've been eating "maintenance"calories and doing about the same cardio as what you are.
  • ScottDowell
    ScottDowell Posts: 95 Member
    I totally agree with accelerashawn. If you loss all calories or energy each day that you gain per day, then you won't get weight. Eat more calories and loose less.
  • RyanG2106
    RyanG2106 Posts: 29
    Did you go straight from 1200 to 200 cals in one jump? This would probably account for some of it.

    You should increase your calories slowly (around 100-200 per week) otherwise you risk putting your body into store mode.

    Same applies when you drop the cals as well BTW
  • RyanG2106
    RyanG2106 Posts: 29
    Did you go straight from 1200 to 200 cals in one jump? This would probably account for some of it.

    You should increase your calories slowly (around 100-200 per week) otherwise you risk putting your body into store mode.

    Same applies when you drop the cals as well BTW

    It also will allow you to find your true maintenance point, rather than having to rely on a calculator.
  • crazihel
    crazihel Posts: 72 Member
    Thanks for your replies!

    I went from 1200 to 1800 and then to 2000.

    Alice - I've stopped weighing myself all the time like I used to. I noticed pretty much a jump to 166 almost immediately and then from there I seem to have hovered about 168 since. Will weigh tomorrow morning and check!

    Perhaps I am eating over maintenance but I don't eat back any calories burnt from cardio (around 1000 a week) or from lifting. I guess I am just surprised that my maintenance seems to be a lower than the average, when I am a lot taller & heavier than the average female. Who ARE these teeny 2000 a day women???!

    If I am eating over maintenance and gaining weight in terms of lean muscle mass, I'm not too bothered as that is my ultimate goal. I was just curious as to what was going on! I guess it is really as simple as calories in v calories out. Hopefully as I'm careful with my diet and exercise this is what is happening, rather than fat increase!

    Meags - that is sooooo encouraging....I think I am currently about 23% body fat. No proper measurement really but using my eyes, and asking other people! Hopefully I'll start seeing some progress down there soon!
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
    You should increase your calories slowly (around 100-200 per week) otherwise you risk putting your body into store mode.

    LOL WUT.

    Is that a settings option I can select- like- menu- settings- calories >>select "store mode"

    smh
  • RyanG2106
    RyanG2106 Posts: 29
    up your calories by 500.............

    see how much weight you gain.................
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
    up your calories by 500.............

    see how much weight you gain.................

    I did.

    I was fine- put on 15 pounds in 5 month time period, like- you know- I planned.
  • DeadliftAddict
    DeadliftAddict Posts: 746 Member
    I don't know much about maintenance, but the short of it is: you are not eating maintenance calories if you are gaining. I might be wrong though :grumble:

    ^This. Gaining weight would mean you are in a caloric surplus. Maintenance would be your weight staying within the same 2-5 pound range depending on the water weight you gain and lose from foods you are eating. If you are gaining, you are in a surplus.
  • JTick
    JTick Posts: 2,131 Member
    OP: 1200 to 1800 is a big jump. Nothing necessarily wrong with it, but yes you have added water weight as your glycogen stores are no longer depleted. It's also normal to put on some water weight when you first start lifting as it is believed the muscle will store water to help it repair. I'd give it more time, and start tracking measurements and body fat as that will give you a better idea of progress at this point.
  • meags007
    meags007 Posts: 9
    To add to that - I found these pics (drawings more than photos) helpful:

    http://www.builtlean.com/2012/09/24/body-fat-percentage-men-women/

    It kind of reinforced that slim women (around 20% fat) have some meat on their thighs!

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