Gaining weight whenever I try to up to maintenance

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lenahemmer
lenahemmer Posts: 4 Member
in Goal: Maintaining Weight
So I'm having a little issue with eating calories to maintain my current weight. I struggled with an eating disorder a couple years back when I started losing weight the unhealthy way of starving myself. I have sense worked really hard to get myself back to having a healthy relationship with food and exercise. I am now 18 and finally just as happy with my weight as my doctor is. However, I am still facing a calorie issue. I ran cross country and track all throughout high school and it wasn't until I suffered 3 stress fractures (2-4rth metatarsals) that I had to stop my 60 mile a week training. Throughout that time I know that I was not eating enough food (only 1650 calories despite all the running). The fractures were probably a partial result of this in conjunction with over training. I am now pretty much fully recovered in the foot department and my weight is healthy. However, I still exercise 6-7 days a week and am maintaining at only 1500-1570 a day. Just to give you an idea of what I do exercise wise, I run 3-4 days a week (3-9 miles because I'm still getting back into it after my injury) and do abs or upper body strength videos on Fitness Blender after. On the days I don't run I usually do strength training on Fitness Blender or HIIT. At least two of those days I also tack on a 45 min bike ride or hike. I'm never really ravenously hungry or anything and my weight fluctuates at a healthy range as it should at maintaining, but I recently looked into it more and I'm not eating anywhere close to enough calories. My fitness pal tells me that if I was sedentary I should eat around 1620, and I feel pretty confident that I'm not sedentary. According to my info, I should be losing weight everyday. I tried eating back the calories I exercised off for a little bit by tracking them with my polar m400, but my weight would go up so much that I would freak out and drop the 1500 I have programmed into MFP to lower and lower numbers so that even when I ate back my calories it would still end up at around 1500. I have sense just gone back to leaving it at 1500 and working out. I'm just concerned that I'm not eating enough. I mean hey, if I can eat more then I am now and maintain this weight that would be great however that doesn't seem to be the case. When I do I feel really full and I gain weight rapidly in a matter of like 2 weeks and I freak out and go back to 1500 or even less until I'm back at this current happy weight. My doctor is happy with my weight and I'm finally confident with my body but I am still worried. I don't know what I'm doing wrong. Maybe I am just not working out as hard as I think I am. Anyway, does anyone have any suggestions or similar issues? Sorry for how lengthy this is but I just wanted to give you enough solid background information to understand what I'm dealing with.

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  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,868 Member
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    it's normal to gain scale weight when you increase your calories...think about it...you're eating more, ergo you are going to have more inherent waste in your system...that waste has mass and thus weight and shows up on the scale. You are also retaining more water and replenishing your glycogen stores which have been chronically depleted while you were dieting...that stuff has mass and thus weight.

    not all weight is fat...you need to get out of that mindset or you're going to be in for a real roller coaster ride...body weight isn't static...maintenance is a range, not a static number...if you don't get your head around that, you're in for some trouble.
  • jamieben1824
    jamieben1824 Posts: 46 Member
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    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    it's normal to gain scale weight when you increase your calories...think about it...you're eating more, ergo you are going to have more inherent waste in your system...that waste has mass and thus weight and shows up on the scale. You are also retaining more water and replenishing your glycogen stores which have been chronically depleted while you were dieting...that stuff has mass and thus weight.

    not all weight is fat...you need to get out of that mindset or you're going to be in for a real roller coaster ride...body weight isn't static...maintenance is a range, not a static number...if you don't get your head around that, you're in for some trouble.

    This is so true. Don't pay attention to the scale, please. My story is very similar to yours in that I too had an eating and exercise disorder (and some think I still do) The scale can be your worst enemy, dont let it dictate you! Not to mention you aren't giving your muscles time to recover! You need at least one day off, if not two. This could also be a reason for the water weight. Believe it or not, shocking your system by laying off the strenuous exercise may give you a better result. Its hard to understand, I know....sometimes it also takes our bodies time to adjust after going so hard for so long. A friend of mine told me that the moment she STOPPED over obsessing about food is when she started to see results and become content. I could never wrap my head around it, but there might be some truth to it! Good luck! :)
  • Ninkyou
    Ninkyou Posts: 6,666 Member
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    Read this: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1071202/why-you-gain-weight-if-you-eat-more-than-your-cut/p1

    Explains it pretty well.
  • faithyang
    faithyang Posts: 297 Member
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    jamieben1824 wrote: »
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    it's normal to gain scale weight when you increase your calories...think about it...you're eating more, ergo you are going to have more inherent waste in your system...that waste has mass and thus weight and shows up on the scale. You are also retaining more water and replenishing your glycogen stores which have been chronically depleted while you were dieting...that stuff has mass and thus weight.

    not all weight is fat...you need to get out of that mindset or you're going to be in for a real roller coaster ride...body weight isn't static...maintenance is a range, not a static number...if you don't get your head around that, you're in for some trouble.

    This is so true. Don't pay attention to the scale, please. My story is very similar to yours in that I too had an eating and exercise disorder (and some think I still do) The scale can be your worst enemy, dont let it dictate you! Not to mention you aren't giving your muscles time to recover! You need at least one day off, if not two. This could also be a reason for the water weight. Believe it or not, shocking your system by laying off the strenuous exercise may give you a better result. Its hard to understand, I know....sometimes it also takes our bodies time to adjust after going so hard for so long. A friend of mine told me that the moment she STOPPED over obsessing about food is when she started to see results and become content. I could never wrap my head around it, but there might be some truth to it! Good luck! :)

    This is true! I was stuck in this cycle for a while. Then I realised it was doing me more harm than good because I was missing the big picture, which is the goal of health and fitness. Watching the number on the scale should ONLY serve to make you feel better and give you a basic indication as to your progress, but it can be deceptive. The best indication is the mirror and your clothes fit. You can literally 'gain' pounds on the scale but drop clothes sizes from gaining muscle, which weighs more than fat.

    I would step on the scale, see weight go off, then eat normally, then step on the scale again and freak out seeing weight gains of a kg or so. Even 0.5 kg would spur me into a starvation type knee jerk where I'll cut my meals down frantically to lose that 0.5kg. It was torture because I was screwing up my body big time with the inconsistent meals, the torture, the random bursts of intense exercise to 'make up' for the 'weight gain'.

    It's just water weight.

    Once I realised that, I was able to set a proper structure in place with food and exercise being stable (not increasing and decreasing it randomly based on the number of the scale), I only weighed myself AT THE END OF THE WEEK, IN THE MORNING AFTER THE FINAL DAY OF MY WORKOUT.

    That was the best time to ensure that it was only then at that time I weighed myself which I would get a more consistent and "accurate" (using that term loosely here) reading of my progress.

    Keep it simple, keep it consistent and you will be more likely to see positive results, which I did in my case once I got my head off the hysteria.
  • lenahemmer
    lenahemmer Posts: 4 Member
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    Thank you so much for all the informative and supportive responses thus far. It is reassuring to know I'm not the only one struggling with this sort of issue. I realize that I need to shift my focus to overall health and quit relying so much on the scale. Do you suggest that I attempt then to up my calories slowly? If I do ill try it for at least a month and do my best to only step on to the scale once a week. It will be hard for me but I know it's what I should do if I want this to work.
  • middlehaitch
    middlehaitch Posts: 8,485 Member
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    Try going to iifym.com to work out what your intake should be at maintenance, including your exercise in the activity level.
    Then gradually, 100 cals a week, start upping your calories to your maintenance level.
    As others have said you will get a small gain from water and waste, but you should ignore that.

    Of course, if you have a medical team clear it with them first.

    Cheers, h.
  • MelissaPhippsFeagins
    MelissaPhippsFeagins Posts: 8,063 Member
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    I have been where you are and in my case, it took a couple of years in recovery for my BMR to return to normal. (Tested by a physiologist it was 800 calories per day.) You may find that you don't need as much to maintain and then 3 months from now, you'll start losing and need to up your intake again. This happened to me about 3 times over two years. Hope this helps.
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 13,894 Member
    edited July 2015
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    Has anyone mentioned so far that we don't have a single point weight but that all of us weigh within a weight-range that trends up, or down, or is relatively stable?

    Especially when dealing with water weight variations due to things like glycogen replenishment, carb re-feeding, salt, exercise, or TOM, you will be well served by looking at your weight TREND by using a site such as www.weightgrapher.com (or www.trendweight.com if you have a supported scale, or use a free fitbit account to enter your weight in) or apps such as Happy Scale for the iPhone.

    By reacting to fluctuating daily scale numbers you will find yourself perpetually "behind the ball" engaged in knee jerk reactions that do your body a dis-service. By looking at a 10 day trend, or in the case of women even a full 28 day cycle, you will be able to make more meaningful decisions.

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