Working out and dieting, but STILL GAINING WEIGHT?! Help Please

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bryansolis18
bryansolis18 Posts: 8
in Health and Weight Loss
Hey guys. I have just been really frustrated for the past month or so. I have been tracking ny calories so that I am in a caloric deficit, but ever since, I started at around 164 and I just weighed myself 20 minutes ago and I am now 166.4! I have had some days where I went over my calories, but I never went over my maintenance and if I did, I subtracted theexcess calories from the ither days. I have been working out 4-5 times a week where I switch from walking 60 min on the treadmill at 4.5 mph (It says that I burn around 600 calories every time)and full body strength training. Just from this week alone, I know I atleast burned 1200 calories because I walked the 60 min twice. StStill, apparently I have gained 1.5 pounds since the last time I weighed my self, which was last Saturday. My goal is to reach 155 before the winter this year, and I have been doing what I need to d, but all that is happening is that I'm going the other direction. It's really frustrating me and I need your help.

Replies

  • SilverRose89
    SilverRose89 Posts: 447 Member
    edited February 2015
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    Are you weighing your food accurately and consistently? A lot of people fall down on this.

    How are you calculating your burn on the treadmill? Machines tend to over estimate and I'd say 600 calories from walking an hour sounds overestimated to me, although of course this depends on a few factors.



  • jennamae102
    jennamae102 Posts: 179 Member
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    Make sure that you are being extremely accurate when logging your food. Do you have a food scale? Also, if you make your diary public, people can check it out to give you more specific feedback. Try not to get frustrated!
  • KWELL400
    KWELL400 Posts: 1
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    For one....don't use the scale as a judge use a tape measure instead. One thing I have learned with my nutritional cleansing is that fat takes up more area than lean muscle. How do your clothes fit?
  • ScientificExplorerGirl
    ScientificExplorerGirl Posts: 535 Member
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    How tall are you?
  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
    edited February 2015
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    Weight loss is not linear. Some days you will be up and some days you will be down. You are looking for downward trends.

    You may be calculating your calorie burns wrong.
  • SwankyTomato
    SwankyTomato Posts: 442 Member
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    Honestly? I would not even include the treadmill calories burned into your weight loss equation. That is such a low impact exercise regime and the "calories burned" has a lot of room for error.

    Instead, focus more on the kitchen. Are you using a food scale? Do you weigh things in grams and then log?

    I found that weighing things in grams really made the difference for me.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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    Your food diary is private - that's the first place to look.

    Also think your walking calories are exaggerated - suggest you plug your numbers into one of the many online walking calorie estimators.
  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
    edited February 2015
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    Also since you are very close to your goal weight your calorie tracking has to be precise.
  • 365andstillalive
    365andstillalive Posts: 663 Member
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    Congrats on your decision to start working towards a healthier you!

    What you've run into isn't all that uncommon; you're over estimating the amount of calories you're burning during your workout. My guess, by a lot. I'm only a few lbs more than you, and I can tell you that I would struggle to burn 600 calories in twice the amount of time you're talking about walking.

    I haven't looked to see if you're diary is open, but I have no doubt that you need to sort out your eating a bit better. We all fluctuate a bit day by day in what we consume, but it sounds like your intake is all over the place. And unless you're using a food scale for everything, you're likely consuming more calories than you think you are (Disclaimer: I do not lose a scale and have lost a significant amount of weight, but I also understand when I'm not losing that its likely that my portions got marginally off and that I am consuming more than I think I am).

    Also, adding exercise of any kind initially encourages your body to hold onto water to help with healing your muscles etc. Weight gain up to six weeks after starting a new exercise or increasing it's intensity is actually incredibly common. Especially with the addition of strength training, you could be seeing some serious water gain if you're muscles aren't used to it. I also have no idea what you mean by "full body strength training" to say if what you're doing is an effective use of your time at all, or really isn't giving you any calorie burn or improvement in physical strength.

    Also, not sure how many calories you're looking to eat and how many lbs per week you're looking to lose. But you likely don't need a big deficit since it sounds like you're only looking to lose about 10lbs. I'm around 5'6/5'7, 168lbs, 22 and female - I eat around 1700 cals per day to lose about 3/4 of an lb per week.
  • bryansolis18
    bryansolis18 Posts: 8
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    I
    SilverRose89 wrote: »
    Are you weighing your food accurately and consistently? A lot of people fall down on this.

    How are you calculating your burn on the treadmill? Machines tend to over estimate and I'd say 600 calories from walking an hour sounds overestimated to me, although of course this depends on a few factors.



    I have been tracking my food, with the serving sizes, but I do not have a scale however. With the exercises, I have been using what it says on the treadmill. How do you think I should track the calories burned then?

  • bryansolis18
    bryansolis18 Posts: 8
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    ScientificExplorerGirl wrote: »
    How tall are you?
    I am 5'6
  • bryansolis18
    bryansolis18 Posts: 8
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    KWELL400 wrote: »
    For one....don't use the scale as a judge use a tape measure instead. One thing I have learned with my nutritional cleansing is that fat takes up more area than lean muscle. How do your clothes fit?
    My clothes do fit a little better than before, but I just feel like I am not making any progress.
  • riffraff2112
    riffraff2112 Posts: 1,757 Member
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    #1 Rule number one on MFP is that you need to be at a modest deficit and you need TIME. It is very common for weight stalls for weeks. Do not panic. It is very frustrating but do not quit!

    #2 Rule number two, and you will hear this echoed a few times in this thread....log accurately. You are probably not in deficit, (which you admitted to being over a few times). Logging accurately (food scale, include EVERYTHING)

    #3 A common mistake is overestimating calorie burns. I would doubt that you burned 600 cals on the treadmill..not to take anything away from your efforts but machines tend to shoot the moon on their readings. Might want to try not eating back the calories or 'banking' them and switching to other days where you went over (which you admitted to). I never eat them back, some people say eat back 1/2 you need to find what works for you but obviously something isn't working so...

    You sound like you are doing some good things, lifting weights is awesome. You are doing some cardio, when you are ready pick up the pace a little if you are ready.

    I would definitely look into your caloric allowance and make sure it is correct for you. If you have not lost in a month (in particular the first month) I would guess you are eating too much. Diary is locked so I cannot help you there.

    Good luck. This community will help you out, lots of knowledge out there and listen to people who have been there, done that.
  • bryansolis18
    bryansolis18 Posts: 8
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    365andstillalive wrote: »
    Congrats on your decision to start working towards a healthier you!

    What you've run into isn't all that uncommon; you're over estimating the amount of calories you're burning during your workout. My guess, by a lot. I'm only a few lbs more than you, and I can tell you that I would struggle to burn 600 calories in twice the amount of time you're talking about walking.

    I haven't looked to see if you're diary is open, but I have no doubt that you need to sort out your eating a bit better. We all fluctuate a bit day by day in what we consume, but it sounds like your intake is all over the place. And unless you're using a food scale for everything, you're likely consuming more calories than you think you are (Disclaimer: I do not lose a scale and have lost a significant amount of weight, but I also understand when I'm not losing that its likely that my portions got marginally off and that I am consuming more than I think I am).

    Also, adding exercise of any kind initially encourages your body to hold onto water to help with healing your muscles etc. Weight gain up to six weeks after starting a new exercise or increasing it's intensity is actually incredibly common. Especially with the addition of strength training, you could be seeing some serious water gain if you're muscles aren't used to it. I also have no idea what you mean by "full body strength training" to say if what you're doing is an effective use of your time at all, or really isn't giving you any calorie burn or improvement in physical strength.

    Also, not sure how many calories you're looking to eat and how many lbs per week you're looking to lose. But you likely don't need a big deficit since it sounds like you're only looking to lose about 10lbs. I'm around 5'6/5'7, 168lbs, 22 and female - I eat around 1700 cals per day to lose about 3/4 of an lb per week.

    Thanks for the reply! Very helpful. I am doinf the exact same as you, same height and around the same weight and eating just 100 calories less. I will try to look into a food scale.
  • bryansolis18
    bryansolis18 Posts: 8
    Options
    riffraff2112 wrote: »
    #1 Rule number one on MFP is that you need to be at a modest deficit and you need TIME. It is very common for weight stalls for weeks. Do not panic. It is very frustrating but do not quit!

    #2 Rule number two, and you will hear this echoed a few times in this thread....log accurately. You are probably not in deficit, (which you admitted to being over a few times). Logging accurately (food scale, include EVERYTHING)

    #3 A common mistake is overestimating calorie burns. I would doubt that you burned 600 cals on the treadmill..not to take anything away from your efforts but machines tend to shoot the moon on their readings. Might want to try not eating back the calories or 'banking' them and switching to other days where you went over (which you admitted to). I never eat them back, some people say eat back 1/2 you need to find what works for you but obviously something isn't working so...

    You sound like you are doing some good things, lifting weights is awesome. You are doing some cardio, when you are ready pick up the pace a little if you are ready.

    I would definitely look into your caloric allowance and make sure it is correct for you. If you have not lost in a month (in particular the first month) I would guess you are eating too much. Diary is locked so I cannot help you there.

    Good luck. This community will help you out, lots of knowledge out there and listen to people who have been there, done that.

    Thank you! I will definitely look into buying a food scale.
  • MKEgal
    MKEgal Posts: 3,250 Member
    edited February 2015
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    First, are you weighing yourself at the same time under the same conditions?
    First thing in the morning, naked, after toileting is the best, most accurate way.

    Second, your profile says you have 20 lb to lose. That's going to go slowly.

    Third, is that 20 lb healthy? (I don't need to know, but you do.) If you're already at a healthy weight, losing any more is going to go even more slowly.

    Fourth, if you want to lose 16 lb by, say, November, you've got lots of time. Don't panic.

    Fifth, are you ignoring exercise calories? Don't eat them back. Ignore "net", just eat at the goal MFP set for you. Most machines, including MFP, overestimate calories burned.

    Sixth, is your MFP goal set to lose 0.5 lb per week? With so little to lose, that would be a reasonable goal.

    Seventh, are you weighing & logging your food accurately? Most people are eating more than they think. See the newbie help post here, which has links to sexypants, accurate weighing & logging of food, realistic goal setting (weight, calories, macros), etc.
    Go read sexypants now.
    .
    51637601.png
  • MKEgal
    MKEgal Posts: 3,250 Member
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    Forgot this part:

    "Most weight loss occurs because of decreased caloric intake.
    However, evidence shows the only way to maintain weight loss is to be engaged in regular physical activity."
    http://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/physical_activity/index.html
  • MarziPanda95
    MarziPanda95 Posts: 1,326 Member
    Options
    MKEgal wrote: »
    Forgot this part:

    "Most weight loss occurs because of decreased caloric intake.
    However, evidence shows the only way to maintain weight loss is to be engaged in regular physical activity."
    http://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/physical_activity/index.html

    Sorry, but somehow I doubt this. There are a lot of people who maintain on little or no exercise. A fair amount of people who are unable to exercise due to a disability manage to maintain a healthy weight by just eating the same amount as they burn. Eating the same amount as you burn is how you maintain weight loss. I imagine the article is talking about the psychological component - those who still exercise after weight loss are more likely to be those who are committed to maintaining... but correlation does not equal causation. Furthermore the article doesn't actually cite any studies when it says that 'evidence shows the only way to maintain weight loss is to be engaged in regular physical activity.'

    To the OP, I agree with the others that say you are likely overestimating you calories burned. What is your calorie goal? If you eat back all those calories you think you've burnt, you're likely over.
  • bryansolis18
    bryansolis18 Posts: 8
    Options
    365andstillalive wrote: »
    Congrats on your decision to start working towards a healthier you!

    What you've run into isn't all that uncommon; you're over estimating the amount of calories you're burning during your workout. My guess, by a lot. I'm only a few lbs more than you, and I can tell you that I would struggle to burn 600 calories in twice the amount of time you're talking about walking.

    I haven't looked to see if you're diary is open, but I have no doubt that you need to sort out your eating a bit better. We all fluctuate a bit day by day in what we consume, but it sounds like your intake is all over the place. And unless you're using a food scale for everything, you're likely consuming more calories than you think you are (Disclaimer: I do not lose a scale and have lost a significant amount of weight, but I also understand when I'm not losing that its likely that my portions got marginally off and that I am consuming more than I think I am).

    Also, adding exercise of any kind initially encourages your body to hold onto water to help with healing your muscles etc. Weight gain up to six weeks after starting a new exercise or increasing it's intensity is actually incredibly common. Especially with the addition of strength training, you could be seeing some serious water gain if you're muscles aren't used to it. I also have no idea what you mean by "full body strength training" to say if what you're doing is an effective use of your time at all, or really isn't giving you any calorie burn or improvement in physical strength.

    Also, not sure how many calories you're looking to eat and how many lbs per week you're looking to lose. But you likely don't need a big deficit since it sounds like you're only looking to lose about 10lbs. I'm around 5'6/5'7, 168lbs, 22 and female - I eat around 1700 cals per day to lose about 3/4 of an lb per week.
    MKEgal wrote: »
    First, are you weighing yourself at the same time under the same conditions?
    First thing in the morning, naked, after toileting is the best, most accurate way.

    Second, your profile says you have 20 lb to lose. That's going to go slowly.

    Third, is that 20 lb healthy? (I don't need to know, but you do.) If you're already at a healthy weight, losing any more is going to go even more slowly.

    Fourth, if you want to lose 16 lb by, say, November, you've got lots of time. Don't panic.

    Fifth, are you ignoring exercise calories? Don't eat them back. Ignore "net", just eat at the goal MFP set for you. Most machines, including MFP, overestimate calories burned.

    Sixth, is your MFP goal set to lose 0.5 lb per week? With so little to lose, that would be a reasonable goal.

    Seventh, are you weighing & logging your food accurately? Most people are eating more than they think. See the newbie help post here, which has links to sexypants, accurate weighing & logging of food, realistic goal setting (weight, calories, macros), etc.
    Go read sexypants now.
    .
    51637601.png

    Yes, I am ignoring the Net calories and I dont eat my calories back. I will be buying a food scale today. Before, I was just using the serving sizes. Thank you for the help

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