3lb gain???? Seriously

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KELM0710
KELM0710 Posts: 147 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
This is why i DISLIKE exercising..Everytime I start doing anything to lose weight, i gain 3-5lbs in the first week or 2 so I get mad and quit. I dont understand how people can say oh i lost 7(guestimated number)lbs the first week or 2 when all I do is gain. I am following the calorie intake and staying as close as possible. I do eat the exercise calories because most days i burn at least 200 calories. What am I doing wrong? Why should I keep going? Im having a really hard time with this today. I havent even noticed a change in my clothes, that would at least be motivation for me to keep going. Its not like I will be so muscular from the 30 day shred that I will always be 200+lbs..I think that is crap. I played golf in high school for 2 years and walked at least 9 holes 2-3 times a week and was 155lbs..how can I only be gaining weight now...
Please explain this to me..anyone..Im having a really crappy day today because of this.
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Replies

  • dawnkitchen
    dawnkitchen Posts: 161
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    It could be water retention. I remember learning that your muscles will swell a bit after working out and your body will sometimes retain water. But this was when I was still in school a few years ago... so I don't know if it still holds up.
  • morganadk2_deleted
    morganadk2_deleted Posts: 1,696 Member
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    Are you eating your exersise calories ? Are you drinking enough water? getting enough sleep?

    You might also find the links below helpful...

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

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


    This is just a part of it! please read the link above


    Generally someone with a BMI over 32 can do a 1000 calorie a day (2 lbs a week) deficit
    With a BMI of 30 to 32 a deficit of 750 calories is generally correct (about 1.5 lbs a week)
    With a BMI of 28 to 30 a deficit of 500 calories is about right (about 1 lb a week)
    With a BMI of 26 to 28 a deficit of about 300 calories is perfect (about 1/2 lb a week)
    and below 26... well this is where we get fuzzy. See now you're no longer talking about being overweight, so while it's still ok to have a small deficit, you really should shift your focus more towards muscle tone, and reducing fat. This means is EXTRA important to eat your exercise calories as your body needs to KNOW it's ok to burn fat stores, and the only way it will know is if you keep giving it the calories it needs to not enter the famine response (starvation mode)



    Good luck on your journey
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    It could be water retention. I remember learning that your muscles will swell a bit after working out and your body will sometimes retain water. But this was when I was still in school a few years ago... so I don't know if it still holds up.

    You are right. When starting a new program or changing routines your muscles get shocked and store water to protect them. Once your body gets use to the exercises you are doing you will shed the water weight. Best thing to do now is stay off the scale for 2-3 weeks.
  • wiggleroom
    wiggleroom Posts: 322 Member
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    Drink tons of water! And you might want to buy a heart rate monitor, since I'm never 100% sure I believe the calories-burned estimates on the site.

    Watch more than just calories. Make sure you're getting lots of fiber and lean protein, and really watch the sodium. I don't know if you're eating diet foods (like frozen meals, etc.), but those are super high in sodium.

    Whatever you do, don't give up -- that's when the fat wins! Fight back and beat it. You really and truly can!
  • carolyne2
    carolyne2 Posts: 109
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    A study by Cornell University 2011 (as printed in Healthy food guide April 2011) found that just planning a workout can make you eat up to 50% more The study found that the mere thought of excersise makes us feel so virtuous we scoff more indulgent food - before we have so much as set foot in the gym!:huh:
  • nikkionamission
    nikkionamission Posts: 79
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    I only weigh myself once a week normally but this week when I weighed myself I had gained 4lbs! I was convinced this couldn't be right so weighed myself the next day and was back to my weight of the previous week.

    Water retention, sodium intake and other such things can make big differences in a short period of time! Also the time of day...you should try to weigh yourself first thing in the morning before eating anything.

    Stick with it, I know how bad it feels but weight loss is a long term thing so don't worry too much about what the scales say in just a week, many people find it comes in fits and starts

    :flowerforyou:
  • RachVR6
    RachVR6 Posts: 3,688 Member
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    Stick. It. Out.

    Get off the scale and get out the measuring tape once a month.
  • petithamu
    petithamu Posts: 582 Member
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    That happened to me when I started a new program. I was really discouraged, too but everyone's right. You do gain weight when you start because your body is trying to protect you. You have to push through and you will lose. I lost 5lbs the first week I started on MFP and I gradually lost about 1.5lbs each week but there were weeks where I just gained and was so close to quit but I come here and vent instead of quitting.

    I don't eat all of my exercise calories just in case the numbers on MFP is not accurate. Do you have a heart rate monitor that's calculation your burned calories correctly? If you don't and you're just using gym equipments or MFP's database to log calories, be very careful on eating your calories back because you might not even realize you're eating more than you should.

    All I can say we all go through these phases but you have to push through because it will change.
  • smilebhappy
    smilebhappy Posts: 811 Member
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    Hi there,
    I took a quick look at your food dairy......
    My suggestions would be to cut down on the amount of pop you are drinking
    drink more water & watch your sodium intake
    exercising is great but maybe take an honest look at what types of foods you are putting into your body
    Don't give up.....You Can do this!!!!
    Good Luck :smile:
  • NatalieMelanson
    NatalieMelanson Posts: 6 Member
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    I took a peek at your food diary. I think maybe you should try drinking more water, less-or no soda, and incorporate more fruits and vegetables in your diet. Fruits & veggies (not the starchy kinds) can actually help you burn more calories by boosting your metabolism.
  • ascollette
    ascollette Posts: 15
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    I'm with everyone about the water retention thing. You always gain the first few weeks when you just start excersising after not doing it for awhile. Just DON'T weigh yourself for a couple weeks! It'll start coming off after that, I promise!
  • justleeanne
    justleeanne Posts: 251 Member
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    I'm new to this myself but if this is really what you want then you are in it for the long haul, losing weight is not a short term thing and this is something I am coming to realise myself. It takes a long long time, months, even years for some people to get where they want to be. Don't give up. Learn and keep asking for advice and put it all into practice. You can do it and you will get results.
  • NatalieMelanson
    NatalieMelanson Posts: 6 Member
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    smilebhappy, you read my mind.
  • JenniferAutumn
    JenniferAutumn Posts: 228 Member
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    I just took a look at your food diary, (First thing I do when some one asks a question regarding weight gain)

    Nutrition = Losing weight.

    There were days you did not log. When you did, you were eating fried chicken, Subway- chicken, bacon ranch sandwiches etc.

    You can exercise all you want- but if you do not properly fuel your body with good nutrition, you will not see a great loss on the scale.

    Oh- And stay away from soda.
  • tltincher
    tltincher Posts: 107 Member
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    Don't get down on yourself! You will see a difference I promise! Unfortunately our bodies are all different and respond differently. I am in my 11th week of my journey and I just had a 1.1 lb gain. So, I looked back over weeks that I had a decent loss and to my surprise during those weeks I was consuming 300 more calories daily than what my MFP allowance gave me. Use this formula to find your BMR:

    Women: BMR = 655 + ( 4.35 x weight in pounds ) + ( 4.7 x height in inches ) - ( 4.7 x age in years )
    Men: BMR = 66 + ( 6.23 x weight in pounds ) + ( 12.7 x height in inches ) - ( 6.8 x age in year )

    and then find your daily calorie allowance by figuring in activity:

    Activity Multiplier
    Sedentary = BMR X 1.2 (little or no exercise, desk job)
    Lightly active = BMR X 1.375 (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/wk)
    Mod. active = BMR X 1.55 (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/wk)
    Very active = BMR X 1.725 (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days/wk)
    Extr. Active = BMR X 1.9 (hard daily exercise/sports & physical job or 2X day training, i.e marathon, contest etc.)

    Then subtract 500 to find your calories needed to lose 1 lb a week, or 1000 to lose 2 lb a week.


    This is right on target for the calories I had been consuming during the weeks that I lost. After this I upped my activity level on MFP to reflect the calorie allowance I got from this formula. So, I really think it's true that if you consume too few calories you will gain. I hope this helps:)
  • Atlantique
    Atlantique Posts: 2,484 Member
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    Some of it is, as others have said, water and glycogen going into the muscles you are suddenly using. I agree with tthe person who said stay off the scale for a week or two so you won't upset yourself.

    You really have to decide what your goal is here. Is it to see a certain number on the scale? Unless you're going to walk around with that number pasted to your forehead, I don't see why the number would be the goal. :wink:

    Or is your goal to be fit, healthy and confident? To be around for your two young kids? To set a good example for them and teach them how to build a healthy lifestyle?

    I looked at your diary for a few days and I'm not sure what to make of it. (Perhaps at this point you are just logging, getting a sense of what you do actually eat, rather than trying to change eating habits.) I see a lot of takeout, drive-thru and processed stuff and almost no real food. And several days with no logging at all. It's not surprising that you'd feel less than great if the days I saw are representative of how you normally eat. You're going to alternate between feeling sluggish and starving with those food choices. Hopefully, over time, you'll be able to ditch a lot of the drive-thru, take-out and processed stuff and incorporate more real foods. That will help with your weight loss goals, your energy for workouts and your overall fitness and health.
  • justleeanne
    justleeanne Posts: 251 Member
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    I just had a quick look too and agree with other posters about drinking pop, if you choose to drink this, then you could try and substitute for a diet version with less calories and sugar.

    Also I would try and have better breakfasts to start the day ie; instead of having coffee with syrup and a donut, have something more nutritious, there was one day when you had a drink of pop for breakfast. Start the day off better and hopefully it will get you on the right track for the rest of the day!
  • mara232
    mara232 Posts: 93 Member
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    I would suggest you get Tosca Reno's Clean Diet book and try to follow that. I've had excellent success using this program before. The focus is on good and nutritious food.

    You may be eating within your calories but looking through your food diary, you are eating a lot of junk including fast food. Also weigh everything out and measure. You'd be surprised how much you think a cup food is compared to how much it really is. Drink more water too. Good luck - you can do this!


    eta: I looked through a weeks menu and you did not eat one pc of fruit, one vegetable nor a piece of lean protein. Take a hard look at what you are eating. Turn it around if you are serious about weightloss. Donuts and pop are not giving your body the nutrition it needs.
  • Paulette56
    Paulette56 Posts: 66 Member
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    I also took a peak at your diary. You need to get your carbs from fresh fruits and vegies--not processed foods. Ditch the soda altogether and opt for unsweetened tea w/lemon or lime, or water. And NO processed sugar! (if at all possible)

    Even though you are staying under your allowance of carbs most days, that is way too much carbs in a day for weight loss. The more carbs you eat--the hungrier it makes you. Get the carbs you do eat mostly from fruits, vegies, and limited amount of whole grain bread. I guarantee you'll start to see the difference in a matter of days.
  • hpsnickers1
    hpsnickers1 Posts: 2,783 Member
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    I just took a look at your food diary, (First thing I do when some one asks a question regarding weight gain)

    Nutrition = Losing weight.

    There were days you did not log. When you did, you were eating fried chicken, Subway- chicken, bacon ranch sandwiches etc.

    You can exercise all you want- but if you do not properly fuel your body with good nutrition, you will not see a great loss on the scale.

    Oh- And stay away from soda.

    Weight loss is 80% diet. You don't even need to exercise to lose weight. Cardio helps burn calories and fat and strength training helps you get stronger and helps the lean muscle mass loss that goes along with dieting. You have to change what you put in your body. Why drink your calories? There's no satisfaction from it. Water will flush your system and help flush the fluid out of your muscles. And all of that sodium in fast food will just make you retain more water. Bad food and exercise don't mix very well.

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