Clean eating and working out weight gain?
jennifer8989
Posts: 59 Member
hello so I am a bit confused . I'm not sure why my scale is going up . I follow a 1,200 cal diet I do meal prep . I eat clean all week and on Sunday I would have 1 cheat meal .
I workout between 5 and 6 times a week .
Doing a lot of body weight exercises .
Monday's /legs .
Tues/abs
Wends/arms
Thur/cardio
Fri/cardio
Sat/Hiit cardio
Sun/rest
All my exercises are done doing a combination of body weight /free weights / or machines .
Most cardio sessions are body weight .
Now the cardio sessions are always different mostly through fitness blender . They can range from ab cardio.tabata. A.b.a.b format . So I'm not always doing the same thing.
First two weeks my weight went from 177.8 to 174.6
Now I'm back up to 176.2
I follow my routine to a T making sure to switch up the workouts . I eat clean . And have all my meals .
I drink almost 1 gallon of water everyday as well .
I burn an average of 300/400 cals per workout .
Can someone with more knowledge help please . Thanks so much .
I workout between 5 and 6 times a week .
Doing a lot of body weight exercises .
Monday's /legs .
Tues/abs
Wends/arms
Thur/cardio
Fri/cardio
Sat/Hiit cardio
Sun/rest
All my exercises are done doing a combination of body weight /free weights / or machines .
Most cardio sessions are body weight .
Now the cardio sessions are always different mostly through fitness blender . They can range from ab cardio.tabata. A.b.a.b format . So I'm not always doing the same thing.
First two weeks my weight went from 177.8 to 174.6
Now I'm back up to 176.2
I follow my routine to a T making sure to switch up the workouts . I eat clean . And have all my meals .
I drink almost 1 gallon of water everyday as well .
I burn an average of 300/400 cals per workout .
Can someone with more knowledge help please . Thanks so much .
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Replies
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Weight loss is not linear. Are you near TOM? That can cause several pounds of water retention.0
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My measurements have gone down but my weight has gone up .0
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Not for another two weeks or so ?0
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Hi Jennifer. I'm having a similar problem at the moment. I'm also on 1200 cal per day and have recently put on around 7lbs. I'm sure I read somewhere that when you're doing more exercise you need to increase your calorie intake, otherwise your body can go into starvation mode and hold on to fat.
It could also be because you are gaining muscle, which weighs more. Have you checked body measurements?
Hope that is of some help
Shaun0 -
Water retention from working out I think. Have you just started exercising or changed things recently?0
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Then it could be from ovulation as well, or replacement from the initial water weight you lose at the beginning. But there will always be weeks where you stay the same it go up due to a variety of factors. Be patient, it will come off.0
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Sounds like you're on the right track! Do yourself a favour and take a sledgehammer to your scale. Your tape measure is your new best friend!
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When you start working out, or increase training volume your body will retain water to aid in muscle repair. When I start heavy lifting, I will gain 3-4 lbs that stick around for a week or two sometimes. The "starvation mode"/holding on to fat thing is a myth. You need to eat more calories when you lift if you want to gain muscle mass, you need to net a healthy amount of calories because it is better for your organ functions, and you will get very tired and cranky pretty fast. So, if your calorie goal is 1200 and you burn 300 at the gym you should eat that 300 calories back and actually consume 1500 for the day. I would also recommend weighing every day and tracking a 7 day average. My weight might fluctuate anywhere from 2-3 lbs per day depending on a variety of factors, but by and large it averages out to weight loss.0
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Starvation mode is a myth. There have been studies done where patients (morbidly obese) where actually staved. No food just vitamins and minerals and water for months. The patients lost tons of weight and at the end only had BMR that were about 50cal a day below the average person of their height and weight. I don not suggest doing that in any way shape or form. Remember these people were in a hospital setting on a controlled vitamin regiment with regular blood tests. It is not safe to attempt at home. The study disproves all this hype about ruining your metabolism or starvation mode though. People like to talk about upping your calories for a few days because people like to take a break. You have to ignore all the little voices that tell you to get off the path, take a short cut, change the routine.
You have to track everything and be super honest, hit your calorie targets and stop counting your workout in your expectations. Working out will make you look better but it will not make you lose faster. Too many women expect that if they work out really hard they will lose really fast and that isn't the way most of our bodies work. Most of us eat more when we work out, and if you are not measuring everything I can guarantee you are underestimating the calories you eat after work out. Calorie deficit is the only way to lose weight.
Your cheat meal:
First: you are only cheating yourself. Food is not a reward, it is fuel and to make this a lifestyle change you have to change the way you look at it.
Second: Is your weigh in after your cheat meal? If so you could be holding on to a ton of salt. On Sunday I weighed 122, on Sunday night my hubby had his birthday and wanted pizza so I ate 1 slice, on Monday I weighed myself again and weighed 125. I did not eat an extra 10,000 calories in that one slice and I was actually still around my target calories for the day. Today I am 124, tomorrow I will be 123, and by the end of the week I will be back in the 122 range. I know this because I have weighed myself every day for 3yrs and I know exactly what one slice of pizza does to me so I don't panic.0 -
You lost inches, which is way better than pounds. WTG!0
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This article will help you understand the weight loss issues, problems with cheat meals, and the myth behind the starvation mode: http://www.aworkoutroutine.com/starvation-mode/0
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weight loss is not linear, keep going and look at the trend over time not each readout each day
also make sure you still track your cheat meal, it is very common for people to stall their weight loss by not overeating durring a cheat meal/day and not relaizing they destroyed most of or all of the deficit they worked so hard to create the rest of the week0 -
jessupbrady wrote: »This article will help you understand the weight loss issues, problems with cheat meals, and the myth behind the starvation mode: http://www.aworkoutroutine.com/starvation-mode/
OMG THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!! I have been looking for this info for years to post when people start talking about starvation mode as though it is a real thing.
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A pound and a half could be a large poop combined with water retention. Nothing to worry about. As long as your measurements are going down, you should celebrate!
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You're still early in the process; don't stress ! Most likely a combination of water retention and/or additional muscle mass. Or as someone else suggested, a digestive tract that's a tad slow. I'd say you're doing fine..... 0
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You're still early in the process; don't stress ! Most likely a combination of water retention and/or additional muscle mass. Or as someone else suggested, a digestive tract that's a tad slow. I'd say you're doing fine.....
Muscle Mass won't account for someone not losing weight: http://www.aworkoutroutine.com/weight-loss-plateau-myth-muscle-weighs-more-than-fat/0 -
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Starvation mode is a myth. There have been studies done where patients (morbidly obese) where actually staved. No food just vitamins and minerals and water for months. The patients lost tons of weight and at the end only had BMR that were about 50cal a day below the average person of their height and weight. I don not suggest doing that in any way shape or form. Remember these people were in a hospital setting on a controlled vitamin regiment with regular blood tests. It is not safe to attempt at home. The study disproves all this hype about ruining your metabolism or starvation mode though. People like to talk about upping your calories for a few days because people like to take a break. You have to ignore all the little voices that tell you to get off the path, take a short cut, change the routine.
You have to track everything and be super honest, hit your calorie targets and stop counting your workout in your expectations. Working out will make you look better but it will not make you lose faster. Too many women expect that if they work out really hard they will lose really fast and that isn't the way most of our bodies work. Most of us eat more when we work out, and if you are not measuring everything I can guarantee you are underestimating the calories you eat after work out. Calorie deficit is the only way to lose weight.
Your cheat meal:
First: you are only cheating yourself. Food is not a reward, it is fuel and to make this a lifestyle change you have to change the way you look at it.
Second: Is your weigh in after your cheat meal? If so you could be holding on to a ton of salt. On Sunday I weighed 122, on Sunday night my hubby had his birthday and wanted pizza so I ate 1 slice, on Monday I weighed myself again and weighed 125. I did not eat an extra 10,000 calories in that one slice and I was actually still around my target calories for the day. Today I am 124, tomorrow I will be 123, and by the end of the week I will be back in the 122 range. I know this because I have weighed myself every day for 3yrs and I know exactly what one slice of pizza does to me so I don't panic.
Wait so I'm not suppose to have a cheat meal. I'm confused. I thought this method was commonly used to shock your body and avoid a platoue .0 -
Patience is a virtue. Weight loss is not linear.
You have lost weight, you have lost inches.
Hang in there and keep doing what you're doing, but adjust your calorie goal for every ten pounds you lose. As we get smaller we need less calories.0 -
Im not trying to starve myself. I'm just trying to eat a good amount of calories and still loose weight . So 1,200 calories is to little .? Should I bump it up .?0
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Unfortunately, the only muscle we get while in a calorie deficit are newbie gains. Otherwise, you don't gain muscle while eating at a deficit.shaun_mossy wrote: »Hi Jennifer. I'm having a similar problem at the moment. I'm also on 1200 cal per day and have recently put on around 7lbs. I'm sure I read somewhere that when you're doing more exercise you need to increase your calorie intake, otherwise your body can go into starvation mode and hold on to fat.
It could also be because you are gaining muscle, which weighs more. Have you checked body measurements?
Hope that is of some help
Shaun
Starvation mode does not exist in the common dieter.
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jennifer8989 wrote: »Wait so I'm not suppose to have a cheat meal. I'm confused. I thought this method was commonly used to shock your body and avoid a platoue .
Mostly a myth.
If you want to eat a bit higher sometimes, that's fine. This is a lifestyle change, not a "diet", and inevitably there will be special occasions, holidays and times when you just want to enjoy life. Don't beat yourself up over them. Life happens.
But don't go crazy either. "Cheat" is a word that implies that it's okay to eat however much you want, and I don't think that's particularly useful for weight loss. I know a lot of people who eat at their goal all week and then undo an entire week's progress with one Saturday night out on the town. Don't let that be you.
Your system doesn't need to be "shocked" out of a plateau. That's just the brain doing its confirmation bias, i.e. someone thinks they've plateaued, they eat more for a meal, they lose weight, ergo they think A caused B. When in truth, if they'd just stuck with eating at a deficit and exercising, they probably would've lost more weight anyway. Weight loss is not linear.
What you should change up fairly regularly is your exercise. Why? Because it gets easier the more you do it, so naturally, you're going to be working less hard doing the same beginner routine after a while. Adding different and varied forms of exercise helps you avoid boredom and keeps your whole body challenged. Making your strength exercises progressively harder -- by adding weight, following a program, etc. -- will keep you on track.0 -
No cheat meals for me, and I exceeded my original goal and revised goal with no plateau. Just stick with the program, and log accurately. The key to that:
Use a food scale for almost everything! (Especially peanut butter
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blankiefinder wrote: »No cheat meals for me, and I exceeded my original goal and revised goal with no plateau. Just stick with the program, and log accurately. The key to that:
Use a food scale for almost everything! (Especially peanut butter )
THIS^^
once, I switched to using a scale I learned that I was over estimating by about 400-600 calories a day!
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Also, since you claim you're "clean" eating the rest of the week, maybe you need to break out of that mentality. You might feel compelled to cheat because you're just craving some snacks or sweets, which, realistically, you should be able to fit into your normal calorie goal without having to resort to cheating.
No need to eat 100% "clean" to lose weight. Just plan your snacks and treats and make them fit your macros. Everything in moderation.0 -
Think about it in terms of how many calories would have caused you to gain that weight. If you know you didn't eat 3500+ excess calories, then don't sweat it because there's no way it could be actual weight gain without eating the extra calories. There's a thousand reason why we can wake up one morning and be heavier than the previous day and it's not calorie related.
Also, there's no need to shock your body for any reason. If you want to have a cheat meal, do so because you want to eat that food and work it into your days/weeks appropriately. And yes, if you're eating 1200 calories, exercising daily, and not eating back any exercise calories, you're eating too little.0
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