why am i losing fat but gaining weight ?

jenniferpiotrowski0
jenniferpiotrowski0 Posts: 215 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I have lost 10 pounds by using myfitnesspal,but then as time passed and I added exercise 3 times a week then I weighed myself and according to the scale..I gained 6-7 pounds..I assumed it was cuz I was building muscle from all the exercise I was doing. Also when I put on a pair of shorts recently that I could fit into last summer..they were tight on me around my thighs..I appear a lot thinner in my back..there are literally no more back rolls and my love handles are completely gone and the sides of my belly are slimming down. But my belly..especially my lower belly and legs mostly my thighs seem to look bigger. My legs seem thinner below my knees and just slightly above the knees but my thighs look big but they feel firm as if its muscle not bad fat unless its both fat and muscle. Anybody know what this is and what I can do about it? Hoping its just muscle from exercising

Replies

  • TR0berts
    TR0berts Posts: 7,739 Member
    In addition to jane's question - did you eat back your Calories? If so, how were those calculated, and how many were they? I ask because sometimes the Calorie estimations for exercise are overblown.
  • vespiquenn
    vespiquenn Posts: 1,455 Member
    edited June 2016
    First, it is not likely that you will gain significant muscle in that little of time in a deficit. Although there is such a thing as newbie muscle gains, that still typically requires a progressive lifting program. You don't mention what exercise you are doing, so it's hard to say. But most muscle is put on in a surplus or very close to maintenance calories.

    Secondly, what other ways have you been tracking progress? Measuring? Photos? You mention clothes are fitting better, so that's a step in the right direction. The weight gain can be something as simple as water retention, especially with new exercise routines or even where you are in your monthly cycle. Which if it is your lower soma have that seems to be swelling, it is very possible. My stomach and hands swell when I'm closing in on TOM. Keep tracking and see what happens in another week or two.
  • jenniferpiotrowski0
    jenniferpiotrowski0 Posts: 215 Member
    I gained 6-7 pounds about 2 months ago according to the scale I weighed myself on but I don't have my own scale so I borrow my relatives and friends scale when I visit them. I do eat back exercise calories..not every single last one all the time but most of them if I need them or what to eat something and it seems to encourage me to exercise. But i want the exercise calories to be accurate..how can I be sure they are more accurate? I do fitness blender workouts that include warm-ups and stretching..I do the 10 minute standing abs workouts,squats are in some of the workouts a lot of times and modified jumping jacks..bodyweight exercises that focus on lower body and legs are what I've been trying to do recently. I used to eat at maintenance when I have a bad day if I accidentally go over but I stopped doing that cuz I thought it could be affecting my progress
  • joram172
    joram172 Posts: 15 Member
    I have the same thing. I track everything that goes into my face. Everything. None of that secret eater nonsense. Yet I gained about the same amount of weight, I do lift and have been since very early May. If I eat any calories back from exercise, it is about 10%. Not much at all. Just a nibble of something and get on with my evening. Got loss of waistline, but gain of 6 pounds last week. Needed belt extender for my flight to Vegas, but didn't require one on the way home. Behaved big time and ended up posting my largest numbers for walking. Most I could figure for mine was water retention. Or maybe it is some kind of crazy beginner gains. It's frustrating to say the least, but my thing is my waistline is reducing, so I am choosing to focus on that and not the plateau of 310 I seem to keep bouncing on.
  • vespiquenn
    vespiquenn Posts: 1,455 Member
    Well first, do not switch scales. Pick a scale and use it. By switching, that can be inaccurate in itself.

    As far as exercise, it is very very unlikely then that you are adding muscle. You are maintaining what you have as best as possible given the workout, but the notion that you're adding muscle should be removed completely based on that.

    In regards to exercise calories, start by eating 75%. If there is no change, bring it down to 50%, etc. Theres no 100% accurate way to measure calorie burn, so you have to try through trial and error until you find a good spot.

    How are you measuring intake? Although if clothes are getting looser, I'm still suspecting water retention but can't rule out fat gain. Are you measuring using a food scale? Noting that measuring cups are inaccurate in measuring intake.
  • jenniferpiotrowski0
    jenniferpiotrowski0 Posts: 215 Member
    I'm eating 1560 per day and measuring using measuring cups cuz its all I have..I currently don't have a job yet since I was fired from my last job so I don't have any money at all to buy a food scale or my own weighing scale so all I'm going by is how loose my clothes are and weighing myself on other people's scales until I can get a job to pay for these things myself
  • vespiquenn
    vespiquenn Posts: 1,455 Member
    jenniferpiotrowski0 wrote: »
    I'm eating 1560 per day and measuring using measuring cups cuz its all I have..I currently don't have a job yet since I was fired from my last job so I don't have any money at all to buy a food scale or my own weighing scale so all I'm going by is how loose my clothes are and weighing myself on other people's scales until I can get a job to pay for these things myself

    When financially possible, grab yourself a food scale. They run 10-15 dollars at Walmart or Amazon.

    Until then, pick one scale and use it. If you see your friend more, use their scale. For example, yesterday I went the doctor. My home scale read 154, their's read 156. I was fasting for a blood draw and had the same clothes on, so that in itself can be drastically different.

    But at this point, all you can do is keep on keeping on. But what I said previously on exercise and such still stands, with or without a food scale. It just means you need to be even more careful because most people consume more than they know using measuring cups.
  • jenniferpiotrowski0
    jenniferpiotrowski0 Posts: 215 Member
    Ok I definitely will..but as far as eating back exercise calories goes..how do I know specifically how much to eat back according to the percentages you gave me? How much is that calorie wise? Or do I just test it out on my own?
  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
    jenniferpiotrowski0 wrote: »
    Ok I definitely will..but as far as eating back exercise calories goes..how do I know specifically how much to eat back according to the percentages you gave me? How much is that calorie wise? Or do I just test it out on my own?

    Yep, it all about testing the numbers. Tweak the calories burned, up or down, all the calorie in and calorie out numbers are just estimates.
  • MissusMoon
    MissusMoon Posts: 1,900 Member
    jenniferpiotrowski0 wrote: »
    I gained 6-7 pounds about 2 months ago according to the scale I weighed myself on but I don't have my own scale so I borrow my relatives and friends scale when I visit them. I do eat back exercise calories..not every single last one all the time but most of them if I need them or what to eat something and it seems to encourage me to exercise. But i want the exercise calories to be accurate..how can I be sure they are more accurate? I do fitness blender workouts that include warm-ups and stretching..I do the 10 minute standing abs workouts,squats are in some of the workouts a lot of times and modified jumping jacks..bodyweight exercises that focus on lower body and legs are what I've been trying to do recently. I used to eat at maintenance when I have a bad day if I accidentally go over but I stopped doing that cuz I thought it could be affecting my progress

    So you are weighing at different times per day, with different clothes on et cetera?

    This could be nothing but normal fluctuations.
  • vespiquenn
    vespiquenn Posts: 1,455 Member
    jenniferpiotrowski0 wrote: »
    Ok I definitely will..but as far as eating back exercise calories goes..how do I know specifically how much to eat back according to the percentages you gave me? How much is that calorie wise? Or do I just test it out on my own?

    As stated, it's all trial and error. Any number I give you could be inaccurate for your needs. I typically eat back 80%, but I'm training for a half-marathon so I'm not as concerned about weight loss at the moment. So obviously vastly different, individual needs. But calorie wise, just calculate it out. If you eat 50% of 400 calories, that obviously is 200. 75% would be 300, so on and so forth.
  • jenniferpiotrowski0
    jenniferpiotrowski0 Posts: 215 Member
    Ok I'll definitely try that out and see what happens
  • jenniferpiotrowski0
    jenniferpiotrowski0 Posts: 215 Member


    So you are weighing at different times per day, with different clothes on et cetera?

    This could be nothing but normal fluctuations.[/quote]

    I'm not weighing in on a daily basis and often I weigh myself several months apart or just around holidays so I'm not sure if its normal weight fluctuations or not. At those times that I weigh myself its before or after after I eat on a somewhat empty stomach

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