Frustrated !!! Working out, eating right, gaining weight

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marticio1
marticio1 Posts: 8
in Motivation and Support
I am frustrated right now !!!
I have been doing circuit weight training for 6 weeks now and have been getting results with definition....
BUT my metabolism has not kicked in, I have only lost 3 inches overall and my clothes are still tight.

- I have added 20-40 minute cardio workouts in addition to my weight training routine in the mornings.
- I also do hiking, mtn biking and road biking in my spare time and on my "resting" days from weight training.
- I chart all my food and activity with myfitnesspal which I have set at 1200 calories / day and often meet that intake.
- I have gained 10 lbs since starting 6 weeks ago.........and I keep on gaining !!!!

I am soo frustrated right now !!

When is my metabolism going to kick in ??

If anyone knows my frustration and can tell me what is going on.....I would love the support as this is really getting me down. :-(

Thanks for anyone who responds
Rebel Red
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Replies

  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    What do you mean by your metabolism kicking in???
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    Do you weigh everything you eat? Also, if you're following MFP numbers you should eat back exercise cals? But if you were ONLY eating 1200 cals you would be losing weight.
  • DavidSTC
    DavidSTC Posts: 173 Member
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    - I chart all my food and activity with myfitnesspal which I have set at 1200 calories / day and often meet that intake.

    What do you do to chart your food and activity? Do you carefully measure your food and beverage intake? How do you measure your calories burned? People are notoriously bad about eyeballing their food portion amounts. And, MFP estimates for calories burned for activities are notoriously high.
  • jackielou867
    jackielou867 Posts: 422 Member
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    Can't see your diary. What do you mean. ..often meet that intake?
    1200 seems low for the amount of activity you list. Are you adding back calories for that.
    You lost 3 inches in 6 weeks, that sounds like progress to me.
    Gained 10lb, on 1200 calories. I don't think so. Likely this is water and glycogen stored, if you only started lifting 6 weeks ago. First couple of weeks you gain a few llbs same as first 2 weeks of a diet you seem to lose loads but it's just that water
    But just in case, since I can't see your diary, make sure you check you are logging correctly. Are your portion sizes accurate, do you have scales. Are you getting plenty of protein?
  • CABasile
    CABasile Posts: 55 Member
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    What type of food are you eating? Is it mostly fresh veggies, some fruit, poultry, limited red meat? Avoiding processed foods? Sometimes processed foods really do crazy things to our bodies and fight against us losing weight.
  • mvfoster
    mvfoster Posts: 4 Member
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    Could be that you are not eating enough calories. If you are doing as much exercise as you say, you may need to increase you calories. If you don't eat enough calories you body can go into so called starvation mode; it stores up any calories you eat. Try increasing your calories for a few days to a week.
    Also, muscle weighs more than fat, so the loss in inches probably means what fat you have is turning to muscle.
    :smile:
  • __Di__
    __Di__ Posts: 1,630 Member
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    OP I do not understand what you mean by "when will my metabolism kick in?" - your metabolism is always working, if it didn't you would die.

    It is guaranteed, even if you do not think so, that you are eating more calories than you are using up.
  • helentiller83
    helentiller83 Posts: 9 Member
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    Also, muscle weighs more than fat, so the loss in inches probably means what fat you have is turning to muscle.
    :smile:

    It doesn't, a pound is a pound, but muscle takes up less space
  • marticio1
    marticio1 Posts: 8
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    Okay...I figured out how to make myfitnesspal public so people can look at what I have been tracking.

    I hope that helps to see what I am doing......

    Thanks for all the input so far.....keep it coming please :-)
  • iLoveMyPitbull1225
    iLoveMyPitbull1225 Posts: 1,691 Member
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    Still cant view your diary. Id say if you're that active then you are likely not tracking properly, either over estimating your excersise calories burned and eating too much or over eating period due to lack of proper measuring. OR if you're not eating all those calories burned back that could be hurting you.
  • ryanwood935
    ryanwood935 Posts: 245 Member
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    Still can't see your diary. Though if you have lost 3 inches overall, you haven't really gained ten pounds. You MAY have gained a pound of muscle, but most of that was probably water weight. Did you see a big jump in weight in the first two weeks, and it's tailed off lately? That initial gain from exercise is from muscles retaining water. If you saw lost inches around the waist, but say arms/legs stayed the same, you probably lost some fat and gained a small amount of muscle.
  • terran1
    terran1 Posts: 1
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    I feel your pain. I feel like I am working myself to death and have only lost one pound!!! I quit smoking the first of March and have been packing on the pounds since then. I was already really into exercise. I did crossfit and ran. I injured myself doing crossfit. Now I am doing zumba and low impact machines, and some lighter weight training. I plan on finding the right formula. I'm not saying everything I eat is great, but I stay under calories.
  • marticio1
    marticio1 Posts: 8
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    I used to be almost 300 lbs 7 years ago......I got down to my lowest BMI of 140.....started gaining back and wanted to change up my exercise routine......now I am wondering if I should go back to my other way of just doing cardio and be flabby !!
    I am with you terran1 :-( uuggghhh !
  • marticio1
    marticio1 Posts: 8
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    Okay...found the other security feature to display my diary......who knew you would have to look in two different places...LOL

    Thanks for your input and now that you can see my diary.....I hope there are others that have been stumped like I am now.

    I am faithfully using myfitnesspal and calculating everything I do.....I use to be with WeightWatchers for 5 years, was 298lbs 7 years ago and lost 90 lbs on my own, and the other 70lbs with WeightWatchers. I kept if off for 2 years...and now I am going back up in weight........so I do know how to watch what I eat and account for everything.
  • DaveDeLange
    DaveDeLange Posts: 48
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    You have lost three inches - from your waist presumably? If so, that's great.

    Given the amount of exercise you do, 1200 calories seems quite low. Ideally you should be eating as you mean to continue, and 1200 is pretty meagre. Perhaps think about increasing it to 1800, eating small meals throughout the day. This helps metabolism.

    Who cares what your weight is? You are losing inches.
  • marticio1
    marticio1 Posts: 8
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    The 3 inches have been from my arms, thighs and waist........

    When I plug in my figures each day...the only thing myfitnesspal says is if I am under 1200 calories for the day it warns me to eat more.

    It doesn't say anything about having to eat more because I had exercised my butt off.

    Thing of it is.....I have been trained to listen to my hunger signals....and when I am really active I am not that hungry so I only eat when I am hungry.....
  • Lift_Run_Eat
    Lift_Run_Eat Posts: 986 Member
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    You may need to up your calories.
    Have you looked at your TDEE? Check out http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/ or http://iifym.com/iifym-calculator/
    (I am sure there are others also). These can give you an idea of what you should be eating everyday.


    Also, have you thought about eating more "clean" foods and less processed? Make your calories count!
  • I_Will_End_You
    I_Will_End_You Posts: 4,397 Member
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    If you were eating 1200 calories a day, you'd be losing weight. You're not logging correctly. (portion sizes are off, guestimating calories, etc...) Plus you have days with calorie burns over 2000 calories. How do you determine these burns?
  • kensteven
    kensteven Posts: 9
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    Personally speaking I am not loosing weight but not gaining either. One would think "hey man that's great." Yea right. I seem to have reached a plateau. I weigh everything I eat as well as log. Though I am not loosing weight because of my decrease in calories, I notice that my clothes fit much better. So that is rewarding for me. I will not give up my new life style because I have never felt this good about myself in all my born days. I am 64.
  • marticio1
    marticio1 Posts: 8
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    I_Will_End_Yo
    I am using myfitnesspal for all my entries.....whatever minutes I spend doing an activity I log it.
    Are the details of the activity not visible ?? I am tracking things as best as I can for what I do.....
    When I do hiking or mtn biking those are the biggest burns for calories... and I have been doing some of these in addition to my regular workouts of circuit weight training + cardio.

    kensteven
    My clothes are still not showing an improvement in being loose.......I am gaining weight still.....but I am feeling strong and fit.

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