Gained almost 20 lbs, does anyone else have this issue?

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holly55555
holly55555 Posts: 306 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi everyone,

Mid-July, I weighed 123 lbs (I count by the lowest # the scale shows).

I am 5'8 but I am very small-framed, so 120-125 lbs is my goal.

However, I stopped counting around then because I was just very busy and over it. I workout 3-5 days a week though and continued this throughout. This month I weigh myself to reveal 138 lbs - yikes!

I've been back on the wagon for 26 days now according to my food diary, but I still am at 135.

I gained it so quickly, I am bummed! Anytime I stop counting my weight goes back up to the 140 range. Does anyone else have this issue? Do I just have to count until I die?!

Replies

  • caracrawford1
    caracrawford1 Posts: 657 Member
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    Apparently you need to count because you dont have a handle on how much you're really eating, otherwise you wiuld not have put on 20 pounds. Also, you may want to consider building muscle, and doing a bidy recomp, not losing weight. 140 is not a "yikes" outrageous weight for soneone your height.
  • Malteaster
    Malteaster Posts: 75 Member
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    I make the gain 15lb, not 20lb.
  • rsclause
    rsclause Posts: 3,103 Member
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    I make sure I weigh daily on a wi-fi connected scale that logs for me. I to have a range that I try to stay in but start paying closer attention when I hit the top of that range. Usually it only takes a little more running and a few less beers to get back in the groove.

    Who am I kidding, I drink the same amount of beer & wine and just run more. Works for me!
  • holly55555
    holly55555 Posts: 306 Member
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    I am weight training and building muscle as well as doing cardio. I am CLEARLY not gaining this much in muscle, it is just fat.

    I guess what I'm asking is, am I going to have to count forever? I don't maintain well on my own obviously :\
  • Tilran
    Tilran Posts: 626 Member
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    holly55555 wrote: »

    I guess what I'm asking is, am I going to have to count forever? I don't maintain well on my own obviously :\

    Aren't you answering your own question? Not sure if you are just looking for someone else to say it but OK. "Yes, if you cannot maintain a handle on your eating habits without counting, you are going to have to count forever. Assuming of course you continue to care about your weight and looks."
  • caracrawford1
    caracrawford1 Posts: 657 Member
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    caracrawford1 wrote: »
    Apparently you need to count because you dont have a handle on how much you're really eating, otherwise you wiuld not have put on 20 pounds. Also, you may want to consider building muscle, and doing a bidy recomp, not losing weight. 140 is not a "yikes" outrageous weight for soneone your height.
    Tilran wrote: »
    holly55555 wrote: »

    I guess what I'm asking is, am I going to have to count forever? I don't maintain well on my own obviously :\

    Aren't you answering your own question? Not sure if you are just looking for someone else to say it but OK. "Yes, if you cannot maintain a handle on your eating habits without counting, you are going to have to count forever. Assuming of course you continue to care about your weight and looks."
    Thats the same answer i gave her but i guess she doesnt like that, lol.
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,150 Member
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    Realistically, you're talking about 12 pounds, not 20 and you have answered your own question. You ate too much.
  • holly55555
    holly55555 Posts: 306 Member
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    Uhh you guys don't need to be rude. I posted this asking if other people have the same issue with fluctuation if they are not actively counting and how they handle it. I want to know my options as I don't want to count forever.

    This is clearly a concern for me and I don't like fluctuating so much when I stop. I'm just trying to figure out if this is the right plan for me. I have been using MFP for a few years and it's always the same. I get to my goal weight and then get sick of counting and it just goes back and forth.
  • tindeyy
    tindeyy Posts: 25 Member
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    I didn't have any issues with maintaining. HOWEVER, I started at 5'7" 162 lbs, and lost until I got to 148 over 3-4 months. It was nice and slow, with lots of strength training and eat back exercise calories.

    I have maintained that loss for an entire year and now I'm back to lose 10-15 more lbs. Even when I stopped working out and counting, I had gotten my body use to fewer calories so I got full and just stopped eating. Maybe your not giving yourself time to adjust to your lower calorie needs.
  • KylaDenay
    KylaDenay Posts: 1,585 Member
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    holly55555 wrote: »
    Uhh you guys don't need to be rude. I posted this asking if other people have the same issue with fluctuation if they are not actively counting and how they handle it. I want to know my options as I don't want to count forever.

    This is clearly a concern for me and I don't like fluctuating so much when I stop. I'm just trying to figure out if this is the right plan for me. I have been using MFP for a few years and it's always the same. I get to my goal weight and then get sick of counting and it just goes back and forth.

    Unless you can get control of your eating and make better estimates, than you will have to count calories forever.

    MFP doesn't make you gain or lose weight. You do. So MFP being the right plan is not the question or the issue. The issue is your commitment and consistency.

  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,868 Member
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    holly55555 wrote: »
    Uhh you guys don't need to be rude. I posted this asking if other people have the same issue with fluctuation if they are not actively counting and how they handle it. I want to know my options as I don't want to count forever.

    This is clearly a concern for me and I don't like fluctuating so much when I stop. I'm just trying to figure out if this is the right plan for me. I have been using MFP for a few years and it's always the same. I get to my goal weight and then get sick of counting and it just goes back and forth.

    You are obviously not being mindful of your intake when you aren't actively counting. I maintain just fine without logging...but I spent a lot of time learning what serving sizes of things were, what constituted proper nutrition, etc...and I'm mindful of what I eat. You obviously aren't, and nobody can answer the question as to whether you will ever be able to eat intuitively or not...

    For most people, not logging = not caring = not paying attention = eating too much and often re-introducing a lot of junk foods and what not. This really isn't that difficult to understand.
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,067 Member
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    holly55555 wrote: »
    Uhh you guys don't need to be rude.

    Umm I cant see who was being rude (unless posts have been deleted)

    I have to agree with everyone else though - seems you do need to keep counting calories unless you are happy for your weight to creep back up again.

    I realise not everyone has to do this- as cwolfman said, he, and others, can manage without doing it.

    But it doesnt seem you can.

  • daynerz
    daynerz Posts: 227 Member
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    I am 5'8 and 139 pounds in my pic you can see, add muscle, spruce up your body composition
  • kgeyser
    kgeyser Posts: 22,505 Member
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    holly55555 wrote: »
    Uhh you guys don't need to be rude. I posted this asking if other people have the same issue with fluctuation if they are not actively counting and how they handle it. I want to know my options as I don't want to count forever.

    This is clearly a concern for me and I don't like fluctuating so much when I stop. I'm just trying to figure out if this is the right plan for me. I have been using MFP for a few years and it's always the same. I get to my goal weight and then get sick of counting and it just goes back and forth.

    Maybe your goal weight is unrealistic and you would be better served following the advice above about a body recomp. Or, you could try examining how you eat when you are "not counting" to see how much you are actually eating during those periods, whether that type of eating is realistic for your lifestyle, and create an eating plan that meshes with your lifestyle. Not try to change your lifestyle to mesh with a certain calorie count and number on a scale.
  • Oishii
    Oishii Posts: 2,675 Member
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    I am useless at maintaining without logging. I could lose or gain without logging, but that's because there are a wide range of calories which are too much and too little, but only a small range that's just right.

    Also,there is nothing natural about maintaining a new, lower weight. Evolution has primed us to gain fat to survive so to actively avoid it is to fight millions of years of human history. Also research suggests it takes around 6 years for our bodies to accept a new lower weight as the 'right' one. In this climate it makes sense that we need to use artificial means to remain slim.

    [Fell asleep in middle of posting, so sorry if this is no longer relevant!]
  • Malteaster
    Malteaster Posts: 75 Member
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    If find I can manage a free weeks without counting, but slowly I start to introduce an extra treat here and there, plus portion sizes slowly creep up.

    If you don't want to count forever, how about counting one week in four to remind yourself of what you are eating.
  • 999tigger
    999tigger Posts: 5,235 Member
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    What they all said. You can stop counting if you are good at hitting maintenance without counting. You dont appear to be, so unless you find a replacement, then if you wnat to maintain you will need to count or you could use the tape measure pr weigh every few weeks.
  • dramaqueen45
    dramaqueen45 Posts: 1,009 Member
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    120-125 is really really low for someone who is 5'8", small frame or not. 125 is my goal and I'm a small frame and I'm 4 inches shorter than you. Maybe your body just wants more food and is happier at a bit higher weight. We all have a set point in which our bodies want to stay when we are not trying to gain or lose weight and we will revert back to it- unless you are successful at lowering your set point. I think some earlier posts say you will get used to less calories and then eat until you are full and then maintain.
  • Juliarosemary66
    Juliarosemary66 Posts: 64 Member
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    I have been on and off logging for a long time. I gained about 14lbs over the summer due to not exercising due to broken toe and eating too much. I'm back to logging and the weight has come off again. I find logging keeps me focussed and mindful and reading the posts is interesting and keeps me on the right track. I am very mindful of my calorie burn in the gym and have hit cardio to gets things moving. When I don't log i find my portion sizes increase and more unhealthy choices creep in. To me logging is a small price to pay to stay on track and committed.
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,150 Member
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    Juliarosemary66 wrote: »
    I have been on and off logging for a long time. I gained about 14lbs over the summer due to not exercising due to broken toe and eating too much. I'm back to logging and the weight has come off again. I find logging keeps me focussed and mindful and reading the posts is interesting and keeps me on the right track. I am very mindful of my calorie burn in the gym and have hit cardio to gets things moving. When I don't log i find my portion sizes increase and more unhealthy choices creep in. To me logging is a small price to pay to stay on track and committed.

    NO, you gained due to not logging, as exercise has nothing to do with gaining weight.

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