Ecercising and gaining weight and inches

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maiths18
maiths18 Posts: 17 Member
edited October 2015 in Health and Weight Loss
Hi Guys, I am looking for some input here. I have been exercising for about 3 months now. I have done pretty well staying consistent woth at least 4 times a exercise. I do HIIT on 4-5 days a week and lift weights 2 times a week in gym. I noticed right after I started my regimen my weight just shot up by and it has steadily climbed from 126 lb to now 131-132 lbs over 3 months period. I also gained inches on my stomach and thighs. I initially thought it was water weight but 3 months rules that out now. My nutrition is so so...I track most days but weekends are much much harder. I do not eat junk at all. No soda, no chips. Only indulgence is candy once in a while. I just want to know if this is what I should have expected. I see some muscle definition on my legs from lifting and all the jumping. But that is all. I would like to hear what is your opinion and also if anybody went through the same thing. Thank you.
Edit: I must mention that I am very short. Only 4 feet 10 inches
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Replies

  • jenncornelsen
    jenncornelsen Posts: 969 Member
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    Are u tracking your calories?
  • maiths18
    maiths18 Posts: 17 Member
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    Yes. I try to track most days. I end up tracking good on weekdays and slip on weekends. I am sure my nutrition needs more controlling. I am wondering about the part where I started exercising, tracking and gained pounds and inches.
  • 3bambi3
    3bambi3 Posts: 1,650 Member
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    If you have been gaining pounds and inches for three months, you are not eating in a deficit. You need to tighten up your logging.
  • maiths18
    maiths18 Posts: 17 Member
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    3bambi3 wrote: »
    If you have been gaining pounds and inches for three months, you are not eating in a deficit. You need to tighten up your logging.

    That is exactly what I did since little over a month. I started portion control / weighing my food. Which again I do on most of the weekdays. The weight is steady at 132lbs. I monitor my water intake and macros. and take fish oil and iron supplement. I realize that my weekends could be killing my weight loss journey. But I am so confused by the fact that I was holding steady at 126 lb for about half a year with occasional exercise and very loose logging and now when I am much stricter it started going in opposite direction!
  • jenncornelsen
    jenncornelsen Posts: 969 Member
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    Exercise alone cannot cancel out eating poorly. If u way over eat on weekends that is the inches u have put on
  • JayRuby84
    JayRuby84 Posts: 557 Member
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    Your workouts sound great, but food wise you need to track more. It's easy to eat more than you think when you don't log.
  • 3bambi3
    3bambi3 Posts: 1,650 Member
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    maiths18 wrote: »
    3bambi3 wrote: »
    If you have been gaining pounds and inches for three months, you are not eating in a deficit. You need to tighten up your logging.

    That is exactly what I did since little over a month. I started portion control / weighing my food. Which again I do on most of the weekdays. The weight is steady at 132lbs. I monitor my water intake and macros. and take fish oil and iron supplement. I realize that my weekends could be killing my weight loss journey. But I am so confused by the fact that I was holding steady at 126 lb for about half a year with occasional exercise and very loose logging and now when I am much stricter it started going in opposite direction!

    A weekend of not logging is killing your deficit for the previous 5 days. Log on the weekends. I know it's hard because weekends are busy, but maybe try to pre-log or make meals ahead of time that you can reheat during the weekend so you have better control over what you're eating.
  • maiths18
    maiths18 Posts: 17 Member
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    I am really really skeptical that I am eating more in overall week as compared to before. I ate donuts and pizza and high carb diets at least 2 times a week. I now even when not tracking consciously put only healthy food in my mouth. I am sure I am still going over my limit when not tracking. I guess I am stuck with tracking as accurately on weekends too. But how am I supposed to keep that as my lifestyle! Do you guys weigh every single thing for more than 5 years?
  • ataylorgardner
    ataylorgardner Posts: 203 Member
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    If you are noticing more definition is it possible you are burning fat but building muscle? I dont track everything all the time but I have learned to eyeball portions better from the tracking I have done. Maybe focus more on proper portion sizes and see if that helps
  • 3bambi3
    3bambi3 Posts: 1,650 Member
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    maiths18 wrote: »
    I am really really skeptical that I am eating more in overall week as compared to before. I ate donuts and pizza and high carb diets at least 2 times a week. I now even when not tracking consciously put only healthy food in my mouth. I am sure I am still going over my limit when not tracking. I guess I am stuck with tracking as accurately on weekends too. But how am I supposed to keep that as my lifestyle! Do you guys weigh every single thing for more than 5 years?

    I mean, if not through eating more than you're burning, how else do you think you are gaining weight? It's not really about "healthy" foods that you eat; it's about how much of them you eat. I could get obese on chicken and broccoli if I ate enough of it. It's all about calories for weight loss.

    And yes, I log on the weekends. It's not hard if you pre-plan. And if you go out to eat, just make smarter choices and watch the booze.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
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    The difference in maintenance calories between 132 pounds and 126 pounds is only about 50 calories per day. It would be plenty easy for inaccuracies in logging and weekend overages to lead you to eat an extra 350 calories per week.
  • 3bambi3
    3bambi3 Posts: 1,650 Member
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    ataylorgardner wrote: »
    If you are noticing more definition is it possible you are burning fat but building muscle? I dont track everything all the time but I have learned to eyeball portions better from the tracking I have done. Maybe focus more on proper portion sizes and see if that helps

    No. The two are mutually exclusive 99% of the time. Losing fat requires a calorie deficit, gaining muscle requires a calorie surplus.
  • lpadancer
    lpadancer Posts: 20 Member
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    Just a heads up--today is Monday and you have logged quite a few things in a way that suggest inaccurate logging. Your clementines? They should be weighed (without the peel, if you'd like to take on that next step). Same for your Healthy Choice lunch. Prepackaged food weights can be way off from what you find on the label. I see other entries with cups of rice, incomplete days, etc. These are all weekdays. Weighing is incredibly important if you are not seeing the results you expect.

    The answer is always that you are eating more than you think. Until you have a completely accurate log (weekdays, weekends), you are spinning your wheels to think otherwise.

    Once you do have a very accurate log and are losing as expected (although likely not linearly), you can start to think about not logging on certain days. If this causes your weight loss to slow or disappear, you'll know that you are not yet able to estimate. I enjoy the logging and, at this point, think I will continue in some capacity for life.
  • maiths18
    maiths18 Posts: 17 Member
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    3bambi3 wrote: »
    ataylorgardner wrote: »
    If you are noticing more definition is it possible you are burning fat but building muscle? I dont track everything all the time but I have learned to eyeball portions better from the tracking I have done. Maybe focus more on proper portion sizes and see if that helps

    No. The two are mutually exclusive 99% of the time. Losing fat requires a calorie deficit, gaining muscle requires a calorie surplus.

    The muscles should grow if you are exerting tension on them. They will not grow much faster if you are not eating at calorie surplus. So I think there is still overlap more than 1% of the time....as for where do I think I am gaining weight from, to be honest as contrary to logic it sounds I want say I don't know! haha.....I just find it really really hard to believe that I am eating more than before. But I wouldn't know until I log faithfully on weekend.....Very hard task :/
  • SueInAz
    SueInAz Posts: 6,592 Member
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    maiths18 wrote: »
    I am really really skeptical that I am eating more in overall week as compared to before. I ate donuts and pizza and high carb diets at least 2 times a week. I now even when not tracking consciously put only healthy food in my mouth. I am sure I am still going over my limit when not tracking. I guess I am stuck with tracking as accurately on weekends too. But how am I supposed to keep that as my lifestyle! Do you guys weigh every single thing for more than 5 years?

    You can be skeptical but the scale and measuring tape are telling the tale, not us. You're gaining weight and getting bigger, that means you are eating more calories than you're burning on a regular basis. As others have said, what you're eating is not nearly as important as how much you're eating. Healthy foods have calories just like anything else; eat too much of them and you will gain weight. The good news is, you've been weight lifting so some of that weight you added is from muscle. Keep lifting, tighten your logging especially on weekends, stay under your calorie target, and you'll start to lose fat and keep more muscle.
  • maiths18
    maiths18 Posts: 17 Member
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    jemhh wrote: »
    The difference in maintenance calories between 132 pounds and 126 pounds is only about 50 calories per day. It would be plenty easy for inaccuracies in logging and weekend overages to lead you to eat an extra 350 calories per week.

    Yes....but in addition to tracking I also added exercise. That gives me more deficit.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    You're eating too much.
  • lpadancer
    lpadancer Posts: 20 Member
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    I'll add that it is helpful to stop thinking of weighing your food as a chore, and start seeing an accurate log as a very valuable tool.
  • maiths18
    maiths18 Posts: 17 Member
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    lpadancer wrote: »
    Just a heads up--today is Monday and you have logged quite a few things in a way that suggest inaccurate logging. Your clementines? They should be weighed (without the peel, if you'd like to take on that next step). Same for your Healthy Choice lunch. Prepackaged food weights can be way off from what you find on the label. I see other entries with cups of rice, incomplete days, etc. These are all weekdays. Weighing is incredibly important if you are not seeing the results you expect.

    The answer is always that you are eating more than you think. Until you have a completely accurate log (weekdays, weekends), you are spinning your wheels to think otherwise.

    Once you do have a very accurate log and are losing as expected (although likely not linearly), you can start to think about not logging on certain days. If this causes your weight loss to slow or disappear, you'll know that you are not yet able to estimate. I enjoy the logging and, at this point, think I will continue in some capacity for life.

    The days where the entries are in cups...that is because I did portion control similar to 21 day fix for those days. I did not know that prepackaged food can be way off!!!! In any case I eat them very rarely. But I understand what you are saying. As hard as if may be initially there isn't way around tracking accurately and consistently. It is good to get a wake up call from all of you here.
  • lpadancer
    lpadancer Posts: 20 Member
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    maiths18 wrote: »

    The days where the entries are in cups...that is because I did portion control similar to 21 day fix for those days. I did not know that prepackaged food can be way off!!!! In any case I eat them very rarely. But I understand what you are saying. As hard as if may be initially there isn't way around tracking accurately and consistently. It is good to get a wake up call from all of you here.

    It is definitely an adjustment! My way of logging has totally evolved as I've learned to be more accurate. There are things I do now (just having the food scale, really!), that I would have thought were crazy when I started. The clementine/banana/whatever peels would have totally fallen into that category for me as well. But it is super empowering to gain knowledge about tracking intake and makes me feel more confident in my choices when I do decide to eat things that can't accurately be logged. You are on the right track!! Good luck :)

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