Protien shakes and gaining weight????WTH!!!!

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Replies

  • sunnybeaches105
    sunnybeaches105 Posts: 2,831 Member
    ninabaz wrote: »
    My typical day before I started the shakes was eggs in the am with a veggies. Usually asparagus or spinach. A salad for lunch and veggies and either chicken or fish for dinner. Snacks were plain organic Greek yogurt or low fat cottage cheese. I don't know what else to eliminate unless I do a meal replacement shake. So eating foods that are natural is something that just isn't working. So thought id try this. And working out a hour a day.

    Lots of good advice up there.

    Are you weighing ALL of your food intake? How many calories are you giving yourself for training?

    If you are counting calories then you are either underestimating your calories intake or you are overestimating the calories you burn by training.

    Then, of course, there is water retention, etc. If you're weighing yourself everyday then get accustomed to daily fluctuations even if you are weighing yourself at the same time of day and under the same conditions. I weigh myself in the mornings after relieving myself and before drinking or eating anything, and I still see up to 2 pound fluctuations, sometimes more. Follow the TREND over time.
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    Nina your diary is empty. How do you know how many calories you're eating every day?
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  • sunnybeaches105
    sunnybeaches105 Posts: 2,831 Member
    Christine_72 wrote: »
    Nina your diary is empty. How do you know how many calories you're eating every day?

    Nice! I think we have the "ah ha" moment here.

    OP - you might want to double down and start counting. Trust all of these people on MFP that have used it successfully and follow the advice in this thread. It works.
  • drwilseyjr
    drwilseyjr Posts: 225 Member
    Christine_72 wrote: »
    Nina your diary is empty. How do you know how many calories you're eating every day?

    Exactly. Which is why I asked OP if she was logging honestly and correctly. She's not...and then wondering why she's not losing weight and looking for some sort of overnight solution.
  • ReaderGirl3
    ReaderGirl3 Posts: 868 Member
    edited April 2016
    Weight loss is pretty straightforward -start accurately tracking your food intake, make sure you're following portion sizes (a food scale is a huge help with this ), and stay within your calorie parameters. That's it. You don't need to make drastic changes to your diet, cut out foods you enjoy or start intense exercise programs. And you don't need to do meal replacement shakes, unless you actually like drinking them.

    As for the 3lbs, it's probably constipation, due to something in the shake. My weight can fluctuate 2-4lbs in one day, due to digestion timing, sodium intake, hormones etc. If you're experiencing irregularly issues right now that can definitely cause a fluctuation on the scale. That's not actual fat gain though. Look at your first weigh in of each month and then compare it with your last weigh in of each month, to get a more accurate idea of your loss trends.
  • melissa6771
    melissa6771 Posts: 894 Member
    ninabaz wrote: »
    My typical day before I started the shakes was eggs in the am with a veggies. Usually asparagus or spinach. A salad for lunch and veggies and either chicken or fish for dinner. Snacks were plain organic Greek yogurt or low fat cottage cheese. I don't know what else to eliminate unless I do a meal replacement shake. So eating foods that are natural is something that just isn't working. So thought id try this. And working out a hour a day.


    I agree with what everyone above has said. Put your information in, see what it gives you for calories, add your hour of exercise, eat back half of those. Two shakes and a meal are hardly any calories. What you were eating before that, protein and veggies couldn't have been many calories, maybe what? 800 a day? Plus working out for an hour.

    Are you drinking enough water? Eating any fat? Lean 15 powder has 5 grams of fiber for every two scoops, assuming you are using the 2 scoops and not more or less per shake.

    I think you need to reassess your goals and way of thinking. It seems the attitude you have towards this right now is self defeating. You can do this. We all can. Some positive thinking and hard work is what it takes. Out of curiosity, how tall are you and how much do you weigh now?
  • jlbaier
    jlbaier Posts: 1 Member
    Definitely make sure there's a calorie deficit as everyone said, but also you have to make sure you are getting enough calories. Go too low and you may be decreasing your metabolic rate.
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  • blues4miles
    blues4miles Posts: 1,481 Member
    I have done meal replacement shakes and still do sometimes. I always log them in my diary. Like any other "food" they are just a tool. Key is to be consuming fewer calories than my body uses during the day over a long period of time in order to lose weight. This means "clean" food gets logged, fast food gets logged, protein and meal replacement shakes get logged.
  • jessef593
    jessef593 Posts: 2,272 Member
    Guys I don't think she understands that weight loss is 100% based on calories. She's one of those people that falls for the fad diets and believes they work. OP are you logging your calories? I was over 200lbs when I started, I cut down to 150 and have built myself back up from there. All due to recording my calories and making sure to be in a deficit.

    Please do not pull the woe is me card if you haven't tried any of the advice everyone is offering. We've all been there, many of us have been doing it for years. Because it takes years, there is no quick fix. Find out what your TDEE is and eat at a deficit of around 250-500 calories a day in conjunction with exercise. You'll lose anywhere from 2-4lbs a month. That's the most you want to aim for. Give it a try, go with it for 3 months and put in the effort. We promise if you do It properly then you will see results.
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    I hope OP is reading all of this great advice...
  • jandis80
    jandis80 Posts: 4 Member
    If I can put my 2 cents in.. Everyone has a fluctuation of 3-5 lbs. Water food still digesting etc. If your having a hard time going poop then it's most likely your food because your digestive system is blocked up. Protein is difficult for the body to digest. I would recommend yogurt added to the protein shake to help digest it and also a grapefruit blended with water for fiber by itself for a thing the morning. Your digestive system is directly associated with your weight loss and health.
  • huyccao
    huyccao Posts: 1 Member
    Hi guys, I'm a long time MFP user but this is my first post. I see this problem all the time so I wanted to comment.

    Of course if you ask this question on MFP, everyone here will tell you to track your calories. Unfortunately, I have encountered a lot of people who just plain refuse to do track for whatever reason. I have a friend who is an engineer who tracks statistics and figures at work all day but when I tell him he should come on here and record his intake if he wants to lose weight, he just blows it off. He would rather do paleo or juice fast or whatever the fad of the week is. My father would rather spend a lot of money on one of those meal plans where they send you the food. People at my gym ask how I got so lean. When I tell them I track everything I eat and I tell them about MFP, I can see their eyes glaze over.

    I think for the uninitiated, tracking food is psychologically daunting. Let's face it, sometimes it's a pain in butt. People want a solution they don't have to think about too much. Unfortunately, in our society and it's plentiful, calorie-dense foods and low physical effort lifestyles, it is difficult to eat the right amount of food intuitively. So tracking food becomes a necessity.

    Nina, lots of people above have already given great info. I know all the information (TDEE, CICO, blah, blah) is daunting but fortunately, MFP makes it as painless as possibly. Plug in your goals and info and start tracking those calories. Pretty soon it becomes second nature. Good luck!
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    You can't freak out every single time you gain some water weight. It WILL happen, and unless you ate 11000 extra calories, you didn't gain 3 pounds of fat.

    Just log your food as accurately as possible, eat at a deficit, and you will lose. It's just not linear.
  • GreenIceFloes
    GreenIceFloes Posts: 1,491 Member
    I hope OP didn't give up already before reading all this advice. :confused:
  • PaulaWallaDingDong
    PaulaWallaDingDong Posts: 4,645 Member
    jessef593 wrote: »
    Guys I don't think she understands that weight loss is 100% based on calories. She's one of those people that falls for the fad diets and believes they work. OP are you logging your calories? I was over 200lbs when I started, I cut down to 150 and have built myself back up from there. All due to recording my calories and making sure to be in a deficit.

    Please do not pull the woe is me card if you haven't tried any of the advice everyone is offering. We've all been there, many of us have been doing it for years. Because it takes years, there is no quick fix. Find out what your TDEE is and eat at a deficit of around 250-500 calories a day in conjunction with exercise. You'll lose anywhere from 2-4lbs a month. That's the most you want to aim for. Give it a try, go with it for 3 months and put in the effort. We promise if you do It properly then you will see results.

    I was one. :( Tracking calories on MFP saved my *kitten* in so many ways.

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  • Sawjer
    Sawjer Posts: 229 Member
    ninabaz wrote: »
    So by the sounds of it I'm screwed and fat and nasty for life.

    I haven't read everyone's replies as I stopped at you posting this. You are beautiful, don't put yourself down!

    Here's the deal..

    Count everything that goes into your mouth, everything.. weigh all your foods, be 100% truthful, even log a stick of gum, everything that literally goes in your mouth.

    Set your calories.. example, start at 2000kcal. Weigh yourself. 1 week later at this regime, weigh yourself.

    Put on weight? - Lower calories by 50-100 (be comfortable)

    Stayed the same - You found how many calories you need to maintain weight at your activity level! :smile:

    Lost weight - Depending on how many lbs you want to loose a week, keep the same/add/loose calories, up to you.

    Drink plenty of water, always drink water. Try to drink at least 1 cup of green tea a day (4 I recommend)

    Also, try your best to eat healthy, but as long as you stick to your calories you should be ok, also obviously avoid refined sugars / processed anything.
  • Serah87
    Serah87 Posts: 5,481 Member
    OP, a good start would be to log your food and get a digital food scale and weigh all your foods.

    Good luck. :)
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