Gaining weight despite trying so hard

moniqueholtman237
moniqueholtman237 Posts: 25 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I am feeling so fed up and disheartened after today's weigh-in.

I have been working so unbelievably hard to reach my goal weight and I'm putting on weight. I work out pretty much every day. As of last week I upped my runs to 10km. I do that 4/5 times a week. Do a 20km bike ride once a week and go to the gym 3/4 times a week where I do a combination of high intensity interval training and weights.

My diet is very good as well. Fitness Pal has set my target at 1,400 net cals. There's the odd day I'll be quite a bit under that but generally I reach that target. I have cut out carbs from bread, pasta, rice etc and only eat carbs in veg and fruit. I am a vegetarian as well. I do get more than enough protein though!

I just don't understand how I can be working so hard and be putting on weight. This isn't the first time this has happened either.

I'm 30 years old, no children. I'm 5 foot 4 and now weigh 9 stone 5. I know I'm not classed as overweight but my normal weight is 9 stone and that is what I have so desperately been trying to get back to.

Am I missing something I'm doing wrong? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Replies

  • kimbyfly
    kimbyfly Posts: 45 Member
    Not eating enough considering all the working out- and maybe gaining muscle. Have you taken your measurements, because you may be shrinking but gaining weight because of muscle gain.
  • FlowerFairy493
    FlowerFairy493 Posts: 182
    You are either underestimating what you are eating (do you weigh food with a food scale and NOT with meassuring cups?)

    Or you are overestimating how much you are burning. If you log exercise calories in MFP, I suggest only eating half of them back. Track EVERYTHING. Every lick and bite.
  • FlowerFairy493
    FlowerFairy493 Posts: 182
    Not eating enough considering all the working out- and maybe gaining muscle. Have you taken your measurements, because you may be shrinking but gaining weight because of muscle gain.

    Also this ^^. Remember if you start doing strength training your muscles can retain water as they try to fix themselves.
  • errorist
    errorist Posts: 142 Member
    You run 40-50 km a week, you cycle 20 km, and you do high intensity interval training three or four times a week, and yet you are putting on weight? Could you open your diary please?
  • moniqueholtman237
    moniqueholtman237 Posts: 25 Member
    Thanks everyone for the responses! I do my measurements about once a week and the last couple weeks they have stayed the same. I track every single thing I eat and drink in Fitness Pal and use a digital scale to measure EVERYTHING. I did think could Fitness Pal be overestimating the calories I'm burning so thanks, I will keep that in mind and maybe go a bit below my calorie allowance from now on.

    Errorist, how do I open my diary? Sorry, not great with all this technology stuff!
  • errorist
    errorist Posts: 142 Member
    Go to Settings at the top of the page, Diary Settings, then change diary sharing to public.
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,151 Member
    Hey, I've had the exact same thing for 3 weeks, (except at 1300 calories, had NEVER gone over) and I KNOW I am measuring accurately, as I am super anal. I was told, due to the amount of strength training I have added in addition to continuing cardio, that I was not eating enough. This is my 5th day upping it to 1600 calories, and I haven't gained, so this could be the right direction.
    Another thing is sodium, when I have too much I tend to retain water, thus the scale doesn't budge!
  • moniqueholtman237
    moniqueholtman237 Posts: 25 Member
    I'm anal about it too which is why I don't understand it! I have noticed my sodium is high which is weird because I don't add salt to anything. Will go through and have a look at what's causing this and cut it out. Thanks!
  • leggup
    leggup Posts: 2,942 Member
    Are you weighing all of your food? Someone else asked and you didn't answer, so I'll ask again. It is possible you are eating too much.

    Another thing: you're only trying to lose 5 lbs. That means that you can only aim for/expect to see about .5 lb loss per week. How long has the scale been moving in the wrong direction? How often do you weigh yourself? I have fluctuated up to 5 lbs from the beginning of the day to the end of the day. Since you have so little left to lose, you won't see a loss every week since your aim is actually in the "might be water weight" range.
  • W31RD0
    W31RD0 Posts: 173 Member
    I am feeling so fed up and disheartened after today's weigh-in.

    I have been working so unbelievably hard to reach my goal weight and I'm putting on weight. I work out pretty much every day. As of last week I upped my runs to 10km. I do that 4/5 times a week. Do a 20km bike ride once a week and go to the gym 3/4 times a week where I do a combination of high intensity interval training and weights.

    My diet is very good as well. Fitness Pal has set my target at 1,400 net cals. There's the odd day I'll be quite a bit under that but generally I reach that target. I have cut out carbs from bread, pasta, rice etc and only eat carbs in veg and fruit. I am a vegetarian as well. I do get more than enough protein though!

    I just don't understand how I can be working so hard and be putting on weight. This isn't the first time this has happened either.

    I'm 30 years old, no children. I'm 5 foot 4 and now weigh 9 stone 5. I know I'm not classed as overweight but my normal weight is 9 stone and that is what I have so desperately been trying to get back to.

    Am I missing something I'm doing wrong? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

    Open up your diary. It's the only way we can see what the problem may be.

    It's very possible you put on muscle. Muscle growth can happen quicker than usual when you are pick up exercise.

    I don't understand why you are trying to do a low carb diet. You are already restricting calories. Carbs arn't magical fat makers.
  • icrushit
    icrushit Posts: 773 Member
    I did think could Fitness Pal be overestimating the calories I'm burning

    This may be your culprit, as MFP tends to be pretty generous with its estimate of calories burned. I would find a good online calculator, and for the exercises you do, set them up in MFP as 'My Exercises' so you can select them easily again.

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