Gaining Weight :(

TheOwlhouseDesigns wrote: »

Ariel1774 wrote: »

Thank you to all of you who are trying to help me figure this out. I know you keep saying it must be I'm eating more but that is my frustration. I'm doing the same thing with MFP now as I was when I started and as I was when I was losing weight consistently. I haven't changed how I eat. If anything I work out more now than I did last year! Guess my next step is a good food scale and heart rate monitor to make sure that I'm accurate with everything. But again my frustration because I haven't changed how I eat!

at one point you dont lose weight anymore with the same calorie amount because your deficit is gone
When you weigh less your deficit is getting smaller and smaller

Now you lost weight with MEASURING! your foods and going by serving sizes before. But because you dont have a deficit anymore you eat probably in a small Surplus so gain weight

Gaining weight is always when you eat to much.

Now for the measuring part and serving sizes
You dont eat at 1200 calories! you eat more than you think when you dont use a food scale for ALL your food.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVjWPclrWVY

Really try weighing your food

I was tricked a couple times with serving sizes like a taco for 81 calories per serving of 56 gram which was really 98 calories when i weighed it.
Cheese cake 1 serving 46 gram ( 1 piece) when i did weigh it, it was not 46 gram and instead of the 210 calories per serving i ended up with 253 calories.

And it is not much the differences but do that over the day with a couple of foods and you can end up very easily with a couple hundred more than you know.

On the other hand i had some serving sizes weighing less too

Weigh your food!

Nice Vid
I ordered me a food scale about 3 days ago .. i've been using measure cups and spoons all this time
Now i see they can be very inaccurate at times.

I put on weight but continued to lose waist. If you exercising lots then are you gaining muscle mass? Try skin calipers to help you measure %body fat. They aren't perfect but better than impedance based fat measurement and a lot cheaper

glenelliott5872 wrote: »

I put on weight but continued to lose waist. If you exercising lots then are you gaining muscle mass? Try skin calipers to help you measure %body fat. They aren't perfect but better than impedance based fat measurement and a lot cheaper

You cannot build up significant muscle (if any) while in a calorie deficit.

iofred wrote: »

Do you notice the weight gain with your clothing as well?? As mentioned, muscle mass weighs up as well

Yes, but also as mentioned, it is pretty much impossible to build up a significant amount of muscle mass whilst eating at a deficit so it is highly doubtful that it is this.

I'm also a recovered anorexic OP, so I totally understand what you mean about slipping into bad habits again; it was along time before I let those slide, and even now I have my 'bad days' where it feels like starving is the only way to lose weight. But it really, really isn't, as I am glad to see you are trying to live by

Firstly, I imagine you have worked out your TDEE and so know how many calories you burn a day, and how many you should eat to stay below that?

Secondly, do you weigh and log all of your food accurately? I would recommend getting a little digital scale, a few quid (or dollars) off of ebay. It is a life changer, you really realize how misleading cups/spoons/packet guidelines can be once you start measuring. And log EVERYTHING, even low-calorie drinks, as you will be surprised at how quickly it all adds up!

Thirdly, how do you log your exercise; do you go by what the machines tell you, or what MFP tells you you have burned? Machines can quite often be a bit off, and MFP can greatly overestimate the calories burned. In fact, most people take what MFP has told them they have burned through exercise and half it, just to be on the safe side. The best advice I can give though is to get some sort of 'monitor'; I have a fitbit zip, pretty cheap and is fairly accurate. Again, a bit of a surprise when you use it and realize just how off the machines can be with how many calories you have burned.

Fourthly, be patient! Weight loss is not supposed to be a quick process, not matter what ideas you have in your head from previous bad habits. I have found (as have a lot of people) that i'll lose 2lbs one week, nothing for two or three weeks, then lose another 2/3lbs the next week. So don't get discouraged, stick with it.

This all sounds like really simple advice, but you have to be doing it accurately and honestly. It really is amazing how just not recording all the soda you drinks, dressings on your salad, or by estimating wrong how many calories you have burned can really ruin all your hard work. Stick with it, I promise it is worth it

mccindy72 wrote: »

The food scale is definitely a must. Measuring foods is inaccurate. You can be off by hundreds of calories a day by measuring. One good example: If you measure just a 1/2 cup of oatmeal, and then weigh it, it will be approximately 50 calories more than the recommended weight serving. That's just one item. Multiply that by all your foods throughout the day, and you can definitely be way off.
As far as exercising, machines are notorious for overcalculating calorie burns. A good HRM is the way to go. (with a chest strap).

I tend to overestimate calories eaten and underestimate calories burned through exercise. I've stalled several times, but overall I continue to lose. I do weigh my food occasionally, but am not freakish about it. I love to exercise but don't do it nearly enough, which is why I'm stalling now. Own up to what you're doing, and it will all work out.