Eating less, exercising more, but GAINING weight! Why?

Are you keeping track of everything you are eating and drinking? Sometimes those light foods have lots of hidden calories that you wouldn't have thought were there. For example the chicken Cobb salad with crispy chicken at red robin has waaaay more calories than the hamburger and French fries....go figure. Deception can play a big part of this. Try logging everything you do and see if you can see a change. Drop a soda a day and you'll be dropping 200 calories

Sodium can be a horrible monster to deal with, I know I retain 3-4 pounds of water on a bad sodium day even if I drink a butt load of water to try and counteract I will still swell. Not to mention the processed "low calorie" foods are LOADED with sodium. That is how they sell you, low calorie but had to but something in there for the taste factor. Log EVERYTHING...It may be tedious, but from what you say you are eating, walking 3 blocks a day and up and down 4 flights of stairs is not going to counteract what you are putting in. You may not eat a lot of actual food, but the amount of sodas you are drinking in a day is almost your alotted calorie intake for the day. Leaving you with no room to wiggle on your food intake. Cutting out those things will make an amazing diffence I promise. Start small with that and then move to all natural raw fruits and vegetable with lean protein and the scale and inches will melt off. After you are comfortable with your diet, add exercise in and your journey is in full force. Good luck! Fell free to add me.

You sound like me...in the past. There are many reasons that you mentioned why you are gaining rather than losing. The small changes that you've made by taking the stairs and walking are good changes and it's more than nothing. But the biggest weight loss gains will come from keeping your heart rate up for 30-45 minutes to start. For someone just starting to work out that's not easy but can be achieved by giving it your best and gradually increasing to meet your goal. You'll be surprised at just how quickly that can happen. Secondly, your diet sounds like it's self destructing. A few bites here and there of what? A few bites of a Nutrigrain bar is going to have a different impact than say some Greek yogurt and a handful of almonds. I eat all day long...literally. If you look at my diary, you'll see just how much I eat. I eat BEFORE I get hungry. If I even think I'm going to be hungry, I grab something quick and healthy. That and water. I now drink 128oz of water a day. That's not for everyone and it all depends on you, your size etc. Google how much water you need, it's easy to find.

I used to drink maybe a glass of water if that a day. Mostly soda's, sweet tea etc. my exercise consisted of working in the yard or around the house and I ate like a small kid. A few pizza rolls here, a Nutrigrain bar when starving, or in a pinch I'd grab a fruit smoothie from the local coffee shop. I never lost weight unless I ate something jacked up and hit the toilet several times a day. And then , I would go cool, i just lost weight and eat something completely off the charts.

Today is my fourth day at this. I had to grab myself by the collar and shake myself good saying, "Be honest, you're not fooling anyone, not even yourself." With the help of my wife, this forum and myself, I am well on track. I am not an expert, just some guy that's been where you are but is now going in the right direction. My first weigh in will be Sunday, I sneaked a peek and I am 5lbs down so far and it's just Wednesday. I may not be perfect with my weight loss plan but it's working! I have more energy, I have goals and I have all of the friends from this sight cheering me on. Check out my diary and add me if you'd like. We can do this together!!

This is so true. Those frozen meals are convenient and low cal, but have lots of sodium. The also tend to be carb heavy with pasta and rice as main dish. You are probably retaining lots of water. Make sure to track everyday and check your report to see if you are withing the protein, carb, and fat ratio. Remember, high carbs turns into sugars which turns into fat and weight gain.

Sometimes I just get bloated, myself. Also, your period can make you gain a bit of weight temporarily. Once, I was dieting very strictly, weighing myself daily, and one morning I got on the scale and I weighed like 5 pounds heavier than the day before. I knew immediately it must be period weight because nothing else would make any sense.

Unless you've gained more than a couple of pounds, don't worry. Stick with your plan and you'll lose soon.

If you are crazy about the carbonation, have you thought about switching to seltzer? That might help you wean yourself off it, and it's a much more healthy option...