Didnt lose but gained....

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sugaraddict63
sugaraddict63 Posts: 26 Member
in Motivation and Support
Well I am so aggravated. I worked my butt off exercising and eating under my allowed calories and I gained weight. Very discouraging. I apparently am going to have to turn it up a notch!! :grumble:
Anyone else have this happen?

Replies

  • spacecase76
    spacecase76 Posts: 673 Member
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    How long have you been doing this?

    What did you do different this week / weekend?
  • edorice
    edorice Posts: 4,519 Member
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    Just from reading your screen name, do you drink soda? How much sodium do you take in? Do you track it along with your protein, carbs, and fats? Do you keep it under 2,400 mg?
  • kittie20020
    kittie20020 Posts: 4
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    While I'm no expert, so you know, take it as you will...you said you've been working out and doing that whole eating under your normal amount of calories, right?
    My guess is that you've lost whatever fat you're trying to get off and have gained muscle. Eating less and doing some exercises will decrease fat. However, it'll also INCREASE muscle. Muscle weighs more than fat. So my guess is you're still losing those unwanted pounds, you're just gaining some that might be useful.
    Like I said, though, I'm not an expert. I'm just going by what my trainer has said and what I've read online/experienced with friends.
  • NoAdditives
    NoAdditives Posts: 4,251 Member
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    Don't aim to be under your calorie goal, aim to meet it. Being under can slow your metabolism and cause you to store fat. Make sure you're eating healthy, fresh, unprocessed foods, watch your sodium intake and make sure you get at least 8 glasses of water every day.
  • maggieschuck
    maggieschuck Posts: 174
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    I've had it happen. Usually I can pin pt the cause. I ate more salty foods or fatty foods. Alcohol and soda can do it. How often are you weighing yourself? gaining a 1-2 lbs in nothing to get too upset about. It will happen just from being a woman. Keep moving towards your goal and you'll see a good out come. Keep up the good work.
  • bluiz13
    bluiz13 Posts: 3,550 Member
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    Well I am so aggravated. I worked my butt off exercising and eating under my allowed calories and I gained weight. Very discouraging. I apparently am going to have to turn it up a notch!! :grumble:
    Anyone else have this happen?


    stop eating under your allowed calories....eat what you are supposed to......why is it so hard for people to grasp this concept?????
    why bother putting in the information for MFP to set up a program for you if you are not going to follow it.....

    eat what your daily goal is including exercise calories if you earn them and see what happens.....that's the way the program has been designed....geezzzzzzz

    ps you would have had to eat 3500 extra calories to gain one pound so unless you did that than you are starving yourself and actually not getting enough to feed your body...
  • sugaraddict63
    sugaraddict63 Posts: 26 Member
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    I did absolutely nothing different. I never went over my 1200 calories in fact they said I needed to eat more calories so I expected to stay the same but not gain. I was shocked.
  • spacecase76
    spacecase76 Posts: 673 Member
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    stop eating under your allowed calories....eat what you are supposed to......why is it so hard for people to grasp this concept?????
    why bother putting in the information for MFP to set up a program for you if you are not going to follow it.....

    eat what your daily goal is including exercise calories if you earn them and see what happens.....that's the way the program has been designed....geezzzzzzz

    All this that I have left up there ^^ is mean. There is no reason to be rude to her. She is obviously new. Geeeeeeeeezzzzzzzz at how rude some people are.
  • sugaraddict63
    sugaraddict63 Posts: 26 Member
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    Actually I quit drinking soda. Occasionally a diet one but mostly water and sugar free no calorie lemonade. I have been doing this for 14 days.
  • natsplat_20
    natsplat_20 Posts: 12 Member
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    Going on your username you are female so it could quite easily be water retention...
  • knittnponder
    knittnponder Posts: 1,954 Member
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    Review what you've eaten and don't let yourself quit until you've 1. Given your body time to adjust to the changes you're making and 2. Given yourself enough time to tweak things if necessary. (Or how about you don't quit ever since you're now choosing healthy foods! :tongue: )

    I discovered that when I eat too many carbs (especially refined carbs like white flour and sugar) that I gain or don't lose. For example, DH and I drank some lovely, sweet Nutella cocoa with Bailey's in it one weekend. Next day I was up 4 pounds and it took several days to leave again. Not doing that again! I've learned that while I can still eat carbs and lose I need to watch how many I eat and what type they are. Complex carbs from whole food are my friend! Simple, refined carbs not so much.

    Also look for hidden sodium as someone else mentioned and make sure you're accurate in accounting for how much you ate. I thought I was doing great "eyeballing" things until I bought a kitchen scale and discovered I'd been underestimating the portions I was eating.

    Edited because I can't spell today!
  • Mrsthickner
    Mrsthickner Posts: 11 Member
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    I notice that I can gain up to 3 lbs around the time of my period, and it will drop as soon as it's over. This might be the same thing you are going through.
  • sugaraddict63
    sugaraddict63 Posts: 26 Member
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    Well I am so aggravated. I worked my butt off exercising and eating under my allowed calories and I gained weight. Very discouraging. I apparently am going to have to turn it up a notch!! :grumble:
    Anyone else have this happen?


    stop eating under your allowed calories....eat what you are supposed to......why is it so hard for people to grasp this concept?????
    why bother putting in the information for MFP to set up a program for you if you are not going to follow it.....

    eat what your daily goal is including exercise calories if you earn them and see what happens.....that's the way the program has been designed....geezzzzzzz

    ps you would have had to eat 3500 extra calories to gain one pound so unless you did that than you are starving yourself and actually not getting enough to feed your body...


    Well I never even came close to 3500 calories any of the 14 days I have been doing this. You dont have to be so snippy. geeeeezzzzzz!!:huh:
  • Ange_
    Ange_ Posts: 324 Member
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    It is an interesting point people raise about NOT being under your calorie goal. Myfitnesspal should stop celebrating being under the calorie goal by announcing it everyday it happens on the message board if it is such a bad thing.
  • spacecase76
    spacecase76 Posts: 673 Member
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    I did absolutely nothing different. I never went over my 1200 calories in fact they said I needed to eat more calories so I expected to stay the same but not gain. I was shocked.

    Consensus is that you should eat your 1200 / day plus at least half of your calories you earn from exercising. The 1200 is a fact, not opinion, although if you poke around the forums, there are different camps that disagree on how many of your exercise calories you should eat back. Make sure you are drinking lots of water, and just hang in there. Your body might be retaining water, or maybe it's PMS, or ..there are lots of reasons you could have gained. Don't give up, that will just make the gain permanent :smile:
  • sugaraddict63
    sugaraddict63 Posts: 26 Member
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    Thanks for all the advice. I may have estimated my food calories wrong. I dont think I am following the carbs and sodium I just watch calories. I guess this is a learning process.
  • sugaraddict63
    sugaraddict63 Posts: 26 Member
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    While I'm no expert, so you know, take it as you will...you said you've been working out and doing that whole eating under your normal amount of calories, right?
    My guess is that you've lost whatever fat you're trying to get off and have gained muscle. Eating less and doing some exercises will decrease fat. However, it'll also INCREASE muscle. Muscle weighs more than fat. So my guess is you're still losing those unwanted pounds, you're just gaining some that might be useful.
    Like I said, though, I'm not an expert. I'm just going by what my trainer has said and what I've read online/experienced with friends.

    I have actually heard that a couple times today so Im sure thats it. Thanks for your reply. I wont give up....although I must say the exercise part is way easier than the food part.
  • dwarfer22
    dwarfer22 Posts: 358 Member
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    Well I am so aggravated. I worked my butt off exercising and eating under my allowed calories and I gained weight. Very discouraging. I apparently am going to have to turn it up a notch!! :grumble:
    Anyone else have this happen?


    stop eating under your allowed calories....eat what you are supposed to......why is it so hard for people to grasp this concept?????
    why bother putting in the information for MFP to set up a program for you if you are not going to follow it.....

    eat what your daily goal is including exercise calories if you earn them and see what happens.....that's the way the program has been designed....geezzzzzzz

    ps you would have had to eat 3500 extra calories to gain one pound so unless you did that than you are starving yourself and actually not getting enough to feed your body...


    Well I never even came close to 3500 calories any of the 14 days I have been doing this. You dont have to be so snippy. geeeeezzzzzz!!:huh:
    What he means is, over time, if you consume an extra 3500 cals above your BMR you would gain 1lb. It doesn't mean that he thinks you've consumed 4,700 cals in one day. Yes the tone is a bit snarky but all of the info is correct. A woman who does not excercise and has a desk job needs to eat a minimum of 1200 cals to avoid starvation mode and not do damage to muscle tissue and vital organs. So, if your "goal" is to eat 1200 cals, then you must meet that goal. Consuming under 1200 is not a victory.
    What I did is made my goal 1250/day, that way I can be under my goal and feel a sense of accomplishment w/o putting my health at risk. Really I try to keep it between 1250-1300 to be safe.
    His Geeeeezzz remarks can only be from someone who has seen this same scenario/question on here over and over and his frustrations with the lack of info given at account setup that would avoid these problems. Is it fair to the newbies out there? No. So, as someone else who also gets tired by the same questions over and over I can only appologize. Patience is a virtue, and ya either got it, or ya don't. :wink:
  • kittie20020
    kittie20020 Posts: 4
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    I'm glad I could help. Hopefully some of the rude comments left and the fact that things aren't currently going the way you expected doesn't discourage you from continuing to keep up your good work.
    =^.^=

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