Not eating enough?

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Yodee
Yodee Posts: 84 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I have been using MFP for about two months now and I love it! Except for one week I have lost at least 2 pounds a week, sometimes more but last week was another weight gain :( The first time I understood what went wrong and I changed that but this time I find myself saying "really"? Here is some info: I am 53 and 5'8" and I am trying to lose 50 pounds. With that said I find that on days that I work I don't eat enough according to MFP. Sometimes I am under by up to 500 calories because using my Fitbit I can accurately count steps and on work days I walk about 5 miles which gives me back calories to eat. But if my schedule is from 2:00 pm to 10:00 pm I don't rush home to eat back those calories. And last week I had started doing squats according to the 28 day challenge I am trying and doing an ab workout. Weight gain from muscle? Not eating enough? I'm a little confused and a bit depressed over it but I know it's not always going to be about losing - I really thought I was doing good this week :)

Any thoughts or ideas?

Replies

  • nicolemtracy
    nicolemtracy Posts: 301 Member
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    In order to get it sorted out more it might help if you opened your diary.
    Another thought is it might just be water retention.
    On the weeks I don't lose I like to measure myself instead. I measured myself at the beginning and last week I didn't lose weight, but I've lost 2 inches off my waist so far. It's a good mood boost for the not-so-good days. :)
  • simplydelish2
    simplydelish2 Posts: 726 Member
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    To get some solid advice we need to see your food diary. Most likely water retention. Not enough time to show significant muscle increase. But from what you said you may be eating too little - you didn't say if the 500 calories under where part of your exercise calories or not.
  • Yodee
    Yodee Posts: 84 Member
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    I didn't even consider that - thank you. I did notice the night before that my ankles seemed to be puffier than normal and I contributed it to the fact that I had been sitting a good portion of the day trying to get homework done. So because I am basically into a new week I will see how I do and then take my measurements because I don't think I have done that since I started MFP - I may be pleasantly surprised.
  • Yodee
    Yodee Posts: 84 Member
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    simplydelish2 wrote: »
    To get some solid advice we need to see your food diary. Most likely water retention. Not enough time to show significant muscle increase. But from what you said you may be eating too little - you didn't say if the 500 calories under where part of your exercise calories or not.

    I am still a bit confused about exercise calories and deficit vs surplus - basically what I do is log my food every day and let my fitbit sync to MFP. I don't add any exercises such as treadmill or ab workout (I bought a small trampoline too the other day) but should I be adding those to MFP? This losing weight thing could get complicated lol but the more I learn and understand the better I will be at this right?
  • r5d5
    r5d5 Posts: 219 Member
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    A few things: first, what did you put into myfitnesspal? The app will tell you exactly how many calories to consume based upon your activity level. If you ALWAYS walk 5 miles to and from work, but other than that are most sedentary, I would say to put into myfitnesspal that you're sedentary.
    Second, be sure your fitbit is calculating the calories correctly. The calorie burn from walking is going to be low...so it may say you're burning more than you actually are.
    Third, do you have a food scale? Are you weighing everything properly? "cup" and "tablespoon" measurements are NOT accurate. You could be eating more than you think you are. It happens to the best of us! A food scale will really help you tighten things up!
    Fourthly, be patient! Weight loss is not linear! You may lose 2lbs one week, 1.5 the next, and nothing the third week. Just keep at it! Increased exercise may cause temporary water weight gains, you may have to go the bathroom, it could be your menstrual cycle, too much sodium and thus water retention...loads of things! As for muscle "weight," yes, muscle weighs more than fat, but it's rather difficult to gain the amount of muscle to cause a weight gain purely because you're gaining muscle mass. It's likely the other reasons I listed above.

    Stick with it!! You got this!
  • Yodee
    Yodee Posts: 84 Member
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    Except for logging my food I don't put anything else into MFP - I let my Fitbit sync and show exercise calories but I don't add anything like "walking on treadmill at 3.0 mph for 30 minutes" or anything like that. And I have it set to active because five days out of the week I walk that much and the other two (unless it's like today where I am trying to get a big paper done) I am still up on my feet a lot and can usually get about 3 miles in. And I don't have a scale but I think I need to get one - I am sure I am underestimating but even so most days MFP is saying "I don't eat enough". I am going to try a couple of different things this week like drinking more water and getting back on the treadmill and see where I stand next Friday for weigh in :)
  • Yodee
    Yodee Posts: 84 Member
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    And thank you to everyone for posting - I love asking questions here because I get so much more information which ultimately helps me.

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