i'm eating more but still losing weight
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WWbuffydo
Posts: 340 Member
I've been trying to gain weight because I'm slightly under what I should be. I lost a bit of weight the past month or two through under eating due to stress and general business (I wasn't counting calories regularly, so I'm not sure exactly how much I was consuming). I upped my calories to 1,700 two and a half weeks ago, which is over maintenance for me according to all sources because I'm a short *kitten*, but I still kept exercising a little bit. I weighed myself Saturday and my weight had actually gone down by .2 of a kg, so I upped my calories again to around 2,000 a day and on top of that I also haven't been able to exercise at all since Monday. I then weighed myself this morning only to discover I had lost another entire kg! This now puts my bmi at 17.7..I don't like being this weight at all, I think I look way too boney and I really want to gain at least 5kg. I just don't understand what's going on though, because I've never been the kind of person who can eat whatever they want and not worry about gaining weight. What am I doing wrong? Why can't I seem to get this gaining weight thing down? I really don't now how much more I can up my calorie intake, because I already feel overfull most days with the amount I'm currently eating (and yes I am eating healthy food..well, mostly). Any advice is appreciated, even if it's just to tell me that I'm a complete idiot who's going about it all wrong.
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Replies
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There's fluctuations with weight gain, just the same as with weight loss - I'm down a lb today myself. See if it evens out and if not, up calories again.0
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Those calculators are just guesses. Since you are still losing, keep adding calories until that stops. I would aim to get about 2200-2300 a day at the moment.
Some high calorie, low satiety options:
full-fat dairy
nut butters
mass gainer shakes
ice cream
whole nuts0 -
im just wondering what kind of foods you are eating to meet your caloric requirements? reason i ask is that when i first started a bulking diet i was eating dirty all the time and never put so much as a pound on despite the fact that i was consuming 4/5000 cals per day, it was only when i started eating proper clean food which is much harder to meet calorie goals that i started to gain.
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Are you eating the right things? You should eat a balance of protein, carbs and fat. If you feel like you're getting over-full eating the amount of calories you are, you can try adding in some sneaky healthy fat. Oil is very good for this, a slug of olive oil over a salad will increase the calories and get some "good" fats into you, without leaving you bloated. Nuts are another calorie and nutrient dense source of food, which are useful for weight gain, also cheese, avocado, oily fish, etc.0
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tiny_clanger wrote: »Are you eating the right things?
there is no "right thing" for bulking.
there is only eat at a calorie surplus- or not.
OP- a little fluctuation is fine- but if the trend line continues downwards (meaning after several weeks) then you need to add more calories. Plain and simple.
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jimmyruffley wrote: »im just wondering what kind of foods you are eating to meet your caloric requirements? reason i ask is that when i first started a bulking diet i was eating dirty all the time and never put so much as a pound on despite the fact that i was consuming 4/5000 cals per day, it was only when i started eating proper clean food which is much harder to meet calorie goals that i started to gain.
Source/quality of food plays no role in weight gain/loss. Calories in vs out.0 -
If you are still losing, just keep increasing your cals until you start gaining keeping in mind there will be fluctuations along the way. Took me over a month of this until I eventually started bulking.0
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dieselbyte wrote: »jimmyruffley wrote: »im just wondering what kind of foods you are eating to meet your caloric requirements? reason i ask is that when i first started a bulking diet i was eating dirty all the time and never put so much as a pound on despite the fact that i was consuming 4/5000 cals per day, it was only when i started eating proper clean food which is much harder to meet calorie goals that i started to gain.
Source/quality of food plays no role in weight gain/loss. Calories in vs out.
merely stating my own experience, i can assure you that all the take aways and chocolate bars etc. had no effect on my weight whereas tuna, rice, brown bread etc, did so i have to disagree from my own experience
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Haha wish I didn't gain loads eating takeaway!
Quality of food has no bearing and eating 'healthy' can actually make it harder due to volume of food.0 -
jimmyruffley wrote: »im just wondering what kind of foods you are eating to meet your caloric requirements? reason i ask is that when i first started a bulking diet i was eating dirty all the time and never put so much as a pound on despite the fact that i was consuming 4/5000 cals per day, it was only when i started eating proper clean food which is much harder to meet calorie goals that i started to gain.
that makes no sense….eat less calorie dense foods to gain weight????? sayy whhhaaaattt????0 -
If you are still losing, just keep increasing your cals until you start gaining keeping in mind there will be fluctuations along the way. Took me over a month of this until I eventually started bulking.
agreed..
when I started bulking i was at 2750 and then 2850 and then 2900 and now about 3000 to 3100 and that puts me at about .5 pound per week gain …
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Where does it say eat less calorie dense food? I said i replaced junk food with proper clean food, of course i had to eat more of it.jimmyruffley wrote: »im just wondering what kind of foods you are eating to meet your caloric requirements? reason i ask is that when i first started a bulking diet i was eating dirty all the time and never put so much as a pound on despite the fact that i was consuming 4/5000 cals per day, it was only when i started eating proper clean food which is much harder to meet calorie goals that i started to gain.
that makes no sense….eat less calorie dense foods to gain weight????? sayy whhhaaaattt????
when i stopped eating junk and replaced it with rice, nuts, brown bread, tuna etc. Etc. Etc. I started gaining weight
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jimmyruffley wrote: »
Where does it say eat less calorie dense food? I said i replaced junk food with proper clean food, of course i had to eat more of it.jimmyruffley wrote: »im just wondering what kind of foods you are eating to meet your caloric requirements? reason i ask is that when i first started a bulking diet i was eating dirty all the time and never put so much as a pound on despite the fact that i was consuming 4/5000 cals per day, it was only when i started eating proper clean food which is much harder to meet calorie goals that i started to gain.
that makes no sense….eat less calorie dense foods to gain weight????? sayy whhhaaaattt????
when i started eating enough to be in a calorie surplus and replaced it with calorie dense foods etc. Etc. Etc. I started gaining weight
I fixed that for you.
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jimmyruffley wrote: »
Where does it say eat less calorie dense food? I said i replaced junk food with proper clean food, of course i had to eat more of it.jimmyruffley wrote: »im just wondering what kind of foods you are eating to meet your caloric requirements? reason i ask is that when i first started a bulking diet i was eating dirty all the time and never put so much as a pound on despite the fact that i was consuming 4/5000 cals per day, it was only when i started eating proper clean food which is much harder to meet calorie goals that i started to gain.
that makes no sense….eat less calorie dense foods to gain weight????? sayy whhhaaaattt????
when i stopped eating junk and replaced it with rice, nuts, brown bread, tuna etc. Etc. Etc. I started gaining weight
perhaps I phrased that wrong...
my point is that it makes no sense to say that you gain or lose on a certain type of food..
surplus = gain
deficit = loss..0 -
jimmyruffley wrote: »im just wondering what kind of foods you are eating to meet your caloric requirements? reason i ask is that when i first started a bulking diet i was eating dirty all the time and never put so much as a pound on despite the fact that i was consuming 4/5000 cals per day, it was only when i started eating proper clean food which is much harder to meet calorie goals that i started to gain.
that makes no sense….eat less calorie dense foods to gain weight????? sayy whhhaaaattt????
Fair point the others make. You must have also been exercising a lot to continue to lose weight. No exercise + 4/5000 calories = putting on weight. Fact!
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I'm 5'11, 37 yrs old and trying to bulk, I would like to get to 200lbs but right now I'm always stuck at 187. I agree you have to clean up your eating, junk food and stuff should be limited to once a week because their a bunch of empty calories and your burn through them fast with the empty carbs your consuming. Not to mention all the health issues associated with them. I also used to exercise 7 days a week which then hurt my gains, now I work out 3-4 day splits, keeping my workout around 20 min then a 15 min cardio. Our bodies as ectomorphs is our own worst enemy. We need lots of rest and downtime. Try also going heavy weights and low reps, between the 6-10 range. If it hurts your joints your going to heavy. One other thing, stop weighing yourself all the time, it will make you crazy, we have a lot of water in our body that makes our weight fluctuate all the time, I weigh myself every Monday, then I don't look at the scale. Hope this helps and good luck.0
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deviboy1592 wrote: »I'm 5'11, 37 yrs old and trying to bulk, I would like to get to 200lbs but right now I'm always stuck at 187. I agree you have to clean up your eating, junk food and stuff should be limited to once a week because their a bunch of empty calories and your burn through them fast with the empty carbs your consuming. Not to mention all the health issues associated with them. I also used to exercise 7 days a week which then hurt my gains, now I work out 3-4 day splits, keeping my workout around 20 min then a 15 min cardio. Our bodies as ectomorphs is our own worst enemy. We need lots of rest and downtime. Try also going heavy weights and low reps, between the 6-10 range. If it hurts your joints your going to heavy. One other thing, stop weighing yourself all the time, it will make you crazy, we have a lot of water in our body that makes our weight fluctuate all the time, I weigh myself every Monday, then I don't look at the scale. Hope this helps and good luck.
a dash of good mixed in with a heaping of broscience...sigh...
why would you want to eat "clean" when bulking? that makes zero sense, as when you bulk you want to get in the most calories for your buck.
and please define what this "junk" food is that you speak of...0 -
"Junk food" is all the fast food, mcpukes, taco chicken, Doritos, anything with empty calories, processed, high sugar and sodium. That's why I said have a cheat day, every Friday I load up on pizza, beer and donuts to shock my system and overload on calories, but those foods will spell murder on your organs, veins, that can lead to a whole slew of health problems. Why would you wanna get healthy and strong when your just gonna be riddled with cancer and disease. Eat clean is the way to go. Nothing wrong with bro science when helping, I'm looking at an all around health and longevity, not just the instant gratification of looking good.0
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