1200 cals a day making me GAIN weight!?

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rcurien
rcurien Posts: 9
in Introduce Yourself
Hi guys,

Hoping someone can shed some light as to why I am GAINING (yes gaining) weight whilst on this 1200 cals a day diet.

I eat extremely well (6 little meals a day) and do at least 20 mins cardio + strength training and resistance 6 times a week.

When I started, I weighed 150pds, a few days in I was 151 and now 1 week on, I weigh 153pds!

Is this just my body reacting to the change to eventually loose the weight?

Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Raph

Replies

  • MissAnjy
    MissAnjy Posts: 2,480 Member
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    are you eating your exercise calories? are you NETTING 1200 calories a day?
  • eamartin
    eamartin Posts: 216 Member
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    The only thing I could think of is if you are only eating 1200 calories a day plus working out, you are burning off more than you are taking in which means your body is storing it. Maybe up the calories?
  • autumntia
    autumntia Posts: 72 Member
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    Hi guys,

    Hoping someone can shed some light as to why I am GAINING (yes gaining) weight whilst on this 1200 cals a day diet.

    I eat extremely well (6 little meals a day) and do at least 20 mins cardio + strength training and resistance 6 times a week.

    When I started, I weighed 150pds, a few days in I was 151 and now 1 week on, I weigh 153pds!

    Is this just my body reacting to the change to eventually loose the weight?




    Could be lean muscle mass....do you have a scale that calculates BMI, water weight, and fat%?
    Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

    Thanks!

    Raph
  • nabrown382
    nabrown382 Posts: 30
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    It could be a few things. are you eating enough of your exercise calories? are you drinking enough water? if you're just starting to exercise, your muscles may be retaining a little bit of water, which would temporarily add to your weight.
  • cyoung8151
    cyoung8151 Posts: 19 Member
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    How about your water intake? If you aren't drinking enough you might be retaining water.
  • marktwain1042
    marktwain1042 Posts: 1
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    Up you protein and fiber levels and up your calorie level a bit. Don't do more then a hour for cardo because after that you don't burn fat.. Your body is in the starvation mode and stores fat. I went through the same thing and I was told to do this.
  • sexylonglegs
    sexylonglegs Posts: 278
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    You need to eat your exercise calories too.
  • wiggleroom
    wiggleroom Posts: 322 Member
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    Whenever I go below 1300 or so, I gain. Like the others said, check your NET calories.
  • JamesCourtney
    JamesCourtney Posts: 1
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    I have found that happens with me as well. I have gained weight while my waist is getting smaller. If you were sedentary before starting, it could be your muscles storing water and adding muscle. Keep going and track your measurements to see if your body is actually changing shape. It may be that it is rebuilding muscle you haven't been using much.
  • leti333
    leti333 Posts: 27 Member
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    I ALWAYS do the same thing and it is so disheartening. I still don't know why, but I kept doing what I know was right and it turned around. Just keep persevering- your body will adjust. As for the whole eating your workout calories- that's total crap.........it just adds to the roof that you shouldn't go over to meet your weekly goal......nowhere is it suggested you eat them besides the speculation of a few.
  • poutchi75
    poutchi75 Posts: 7
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    Hi I simpathise. I have been eating 1200 (healthy) calories also for the past 4 weeks and not loosing. It is very frustrating. I must say I was not exercising. But still I should have been loosing according to MFP. I increased my calories and there the scale went! I think my body was in starvation mode and held on to everything it got. I'm exercising again and the pounds are sliding off. Keep it up!
  • Rowell29s
    Rowell29s Posts: 32
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    The key point is that you are weight training!!! If you are gaining muscle it will take a little while for you to see any real weight loss. The best thing to do to keep up your motivation is to take you measurements and I bet that you will find that you are losing inches. This is my third week of dieting and working out and I am just now seeing weight loss. I am also doing 1200 cals a day and interval training. I switched it up this week so I eat 1000 cals one day and then 1400 cals the next and always make sure that I eat my excercise cals that I burned for the day. It has seemed to work a little better. I am also drinking nothing but water. Increase your fiber and lower your salt intake to around 1500 to 1800 mg per day. Hope this helps. Feel free to add me as a friend.
  • ropedancer
    ropedancer Posts: 115
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    I'm no expert on this, and I'm not sure if this applies to you, but I can tell you what has happened in my experience.

    I often find that what I eat is just as important as the calorie number at the end of the day. This is the most true when it comes to sodium. If I'm eating a lot of food high in sodium (canned soups, frozen dinners, etc.), I won't see positive results at all. It's been explained to me that it's because if you eat a diet high in sodium, you retain water weight.

    Another thing to keep an eye on is portion size. I found that I was often misreading portion sizes. I'd have a chicken breast, and enter down the calories of that, not realizing that what I had eaten was twice the size of the 3 oz serving on the calorie counter. So I wasn't really keeping track of my calories very well. Now I keep a close eye on what it says on the packages.

    Good luck! It sounds like you're doing a lot right :)
  • ladyhawk00
    ladyhawk00 Posts: 2,457 Member
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    You don't have your diary public and we don't have any info on you (height, weight, age, etc), so there isn't a whole lot we can tell you. There are a lot of things that could be influencing it.

    Here are some threads to read that explain how MFP works, and some of the things that can go wrong. They are MUST READS!

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/61706-guide-to-calorie-deficits

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10589-for-those-confused-or-questioning-eating-your-exercise-calo

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/3047-700-calories-a-day-and-not-losing

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/153704-myth-or-fact-simple-math-3500-calories-one-pound-eat

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/160943-why-the-scale-lies

    Good luck to you!
  • rcurien
    rcurien Posts: 9
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    Thanks everyone for all the good info! Its starting to make sense. I think its the fact that I am eating too little. I will make my diary public so feel free to check it out.
    In terms of excercise, I have always been extremely active and continue to do so, so I dont think its water retain.
    Anyway check out my diary and let me know if that gives you a little more insight into why I may be putting on weight.
    Again, thanks for your messages of support!
    Raph
  • rcurien
    rcurien Posts: 9
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    Another quick question - how do i make my diary public?
  • xXAlana21Xx
    xXAlana21Xx Posts: 183 Member
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    Hi guys,

    Hoping someone can shed some light as to why I am GAINING (yes gaining) weight whilst on this 1200 cals a day diet.

    I eat extremely well (6 little meals a day) and do at least 20 mins cardio + strength training and resistance 6 times a week.

    When I started, I weighed 150pds, a few days in I was 151 and now 1 week on, I weigh 153pds!

    Is this just my body reacting to the change to eventually loose the weight?

    Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

    Thanks!

    Raph


    could be muscle
  • ladyhawk00
    ladyhawk00 Posts: 2,457 Member
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    Another quick question - how do i make my diary public?

    Go to settings, diary settings and choose public. :wink:

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