Gained so much.
Welcome2theHellmouth
Posts: 206 Member
I did a reset almost an entire year ago and put on some weight which was fine. About two months ago I decided to give up the scale so I will quit stressing out about it I've been eating at a 10 %deficit I know fit bit numbers are not always accurate as well a calorie counting but I'm still been under. I have been eating ave 2400-2500. Ave Fitbit burn is 2700-2900 sometimes higher burn on weekend. I have been lifting weights four days a week but not insanely heavy stuff. 120 lb deadlift, a 45 pound clean and press etc. got on the scale today and I am up 7 pounds. Have not lost any weight at all and an entire year which I'm fine with but I cannot stand to be gaining more weight. I'm up to 220 now!! I still have a lot of fat to lose. I gave in and let myself start a eating a tiny bit of processed food like clif builders protein bars to help me eat my protein goals but now I am fearful that process food is what is doing it. I still eat a lot of chicken and other whole protein sources. Or my fit bit is completely in accurate and I don't burn as much as I think I do. I have been a calorie counter for years so I know how to count pretty accurately. I felt such relief knowing it would be OK to eat a little bit of processed food but I'm scared again. I clothes have felt really tight the last two weeks. I thought maybe it was because of my period But that's over now. So depressed. Need some serious encouragement.
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Replies
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Don't panic! 7 pounds over a year could be for a number of reasons. We all know the massive fluctuations that scales can give so what if you weighed yourself on your heaviest day? If your clothes have just been feeling tighter the last few weeks, it could be water retention from lifting or from hormones from around your period.
I would not worry about the processed food. It's fine for you to include some in your lifestyle. But, if that is something you have been doing more of recently, processed foods tend to be higher in sodium, so that could be another reason for a weight gain if that is something your body is not used to.
If anything, the fitbit will be underestimating your burn level as it is not accurate for strength training as that gives you an afterburner that the fitbit can't pick up. And heavy is relative, as long as you are progressing and are lifting more than you were a month ago, you are lifting heavy!
Have you been taking progress pics? I would have given up if I didn't have pics to show the body recomp. I cannot stress enough how important this is. When other things like the scale or measurements discourage us, you can see the differences the extra calories and strength training do to transform our body. Are you consistently hitting your protein macro?
Just know that we have been where you are and it is only when we are consistent with all the seemingly little things that the compound effect builds up and the magic starts to happen.
I would focus on getting plenty water to get rid of any water retention, keep hitting the protein, keep lifting weights.
Here are a few fantastic blog posts for motivation and support ( Kiki says it so much better than I can)
http://eatmore2weighless.com/trust-process/
http://eatmore2weighless.com/diet-lies-part-2/
Ichel
EM2WL Ambassador and Moderator3 -
The 7 pound gain is just since June I gained 10 pounds during my reset last yr. I do hit my protein macros 90% of the time. My water is good too. I have been taking progress pic and noticed a bit of a difference but not this month. I'm going to weigh myself again in a few days because maybe I was up a little from it being close to my period and lifting. I told myself I would be OK with a little bit of a gain since I was really put in a good effort into lifting and I have been progressing in my lifts a little. I just saw 7 pound gain in two months and completely freaked out. I don't want to avoid the scale altogether if I'm going to gain weight I need to adjust something somewhere. But I haven't been in a weigh once a day person for over two years. I spent the last two years though been obsessed with thinking I had insulin sensitivity and if I eat too many carbs in one meal and processed foods that I would get fat to the point that I think I developed orthorexia. Has been so nice giving up those obsessions and eating some things I really enjoy again without the binge behavior. I'm not giving up. I'm sticking to it. You ladies here are a God send. Thank you for the constant encouragement to keep going!1
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I spent the last two years though been obsessed with thinking I had insulin sensitivity and if I eat too many carbs in one meal and processed foods that I would get fat to the point that I think I developed orthorexia. Has been so nice giving up those obsessions and eating some things I really enjoy again without the binge behavior. I
I think this is more important that what some stupid scale says, don't you?
During your reset last year, what did you reset at? It is possible you didnt actually hit your TDEE and your body still doesnt know what maintenance is. Mine was. I reset at what I thought was tdee... and when I tried a cut, it all went haywire.
If you gained 7 pounds, are you still fitting into your other clothing? You said there was changes noticeable in your pics.. why isnt that a BIG deal for you? Progress doesnt happen in a month. Have you compared a pic from now to last year when you began? Try that and see what it shows. Remember progress is SLOW... big changes will compound over time as the little changes add up. Dont sell yourself short on those small changes, they WILL become something much bigger.
Focus on the positives you have encountered... You are eating more, you are lifting more, you are NOT following down the Orthorexia mentality and you arent giving up.. YOU GOT THIS!
Kelly
EM2WL Ambassador and Moderator4 -
Welcome2theHellmouth wrote: »Has been so nice giving up those obsessions and eating some things I really enjoy again without the binge behavior. I'm not giving up. I'm sticking to it. You ladies here are a God send. Thank you for the constant encouragement to keep going!
Now this is a HUGE NSV! The scale is up, but it will go down in the due time. If not, your measurements will go down and your achievements will increase! You are doing an amazing job sticking to it. Being able to eat and not fall into binge-restricting cycles is one of the best things that ever happened to me, not having to say that I have trigger foods that I'm not even allowed to look at, even though I love them, is liberating.
As Kelly said above, focus on the positive. You have much more to gain if you trust the process.
Tereza
Team EM2WL3 -
Reading this is totally me right now too, but I'm trying to push through it and trust the process. Its not easy, but having the freedom of food choices is much better than restricting them. I try to watch my sodium intake also and my sugar too, not always easy. We are here for ya!3
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My reset last year was adding back calories slowly. I used my fitbit though as a gauge for my TDEE. It changes daily. Once I stopped gaining and was steady a few months I decided to lift more consistently and frequently and started a tiny cut. I am trusting this process. I know it will be slow. Some days are so great. It’s just those few days that sneak in there that I feel huge and bloated and that little voice says you are eating too much. Go back to the old ways lol. I will not!! The good days are still out weighing that bad ones! That makes it totally worth it. And yes I will be thankful for those NSV’s !! Thank you so much for understanding!5 -
Which Fitbit model?
Ever confirmed the step counts seem generally accurate? Daily non-exercise moving calorie burn is based on this.
Ever confirmed that the distance for your average walking pace is correct? The other part to your daily calorie burn.
Wouldn't be the first time I saw a stride length decently off, with lots of steps in daily life - causing bad inaccuracy.
Like some set the stride length for their exercise walking pace - maybe 4mph say.
But that's for only maybe 60 min max a few days a week.
But then rest of the day's many steps are being given inflated distance - which means inflated calorie burn.
They can be good estimates for a decent range of activity - they can also be way off if your patterns are way out of expected.1 -
@Welcome2theHellmouth You ARE on the right path. Even people who reached their ultimate goals have days like that. Days when they wake up feeling lean and days that they wake up feeling huge. And there are the scale fluctuations for the ones who dare step on it (not me, lol!).
Keep it simple. No need to overthink details and spin around. Eyes on the prize, no need to go after information tha can be true, but is completely useless.
I am sure you will not spend your life stuck to a Fitbit it any other device (unless they come up with an app that acts as a very accurate Fitbit - count me in!). Keep eating and lifting. No Fitbit will track accurately your lifting and afterburn it provides.
Tereza
Team EM2WL
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Which Fitbit model?
Ever confirmed the step counts seem generally accurate? Daily non-exercise moving calorie burn is based on this.
Ever confirmed that the distance for your average walking pace is correct? The other part to your daily calorie burn.
Wouldn't be the first time I saw a stride length decently off, with lots of steps in daily life - causing bad inaccuracy.
Like some set the stride length for their exercise walking pace - maybe 4mph say.
But that's for only maybe 60 min max a few days a week.
But then rest of the day's many steps are being given inflated distance - which means inflated calorie burn.
They can be good estimates for a decent range of activity - they can also be way off if your patterns are way out of expected.
The step count seems to be pretty accurate. I have a Fitbit HR. The heart rate is not always accurate sometimes it's not on and sometimes it's too high. But it also does not take into account my weightlifting four days a week. I was hoping it all somehow evened out. I can't find where to change my stride on my fit bit app.
I have a really nice elliptical desk Pedeler. I get going sometimes and my heart rate gets up. I hope that's not overestimating my calorie burn I use it quite a lot throughout the day but I can feel the burn in my legs.
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When you lift, your body can continue to burn 100+ calories and a fitbit wont pick that up. I mainly wear mine to make sure I keep moving around even when I'm not at the gym. I aim to get at least 8000 steps a day, i know it sounds low, but i have a very sedentary job.1
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beastmode_kitty wrote: »When you lift, your body can continue to burn 100+ calories and a fitbit wont pick that up. I mainly wear mine to make sure I keep moving around even when I'm not at the gym. I aim to get at least 8000 steps a day, i know it sounds low, but i have a very sedentary job.
I have a desk job too. I got one of these pedal things for underneath my desk but not one of those cheap ones that move around everywhere. I have to move my arm a little bit for it to register my steps but it definitely gets my heart rate up when I turned the resistance up. I can get an extra 2 to 4000 steps a day if I make an effort to do it. I still walk my entire lunch hour though I can usually leave work with 10 to 12,000 steps.
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Ya, that is likely low level enough it would be like walking a calm pace for that entire time, not high enough to go by HR-based calorie burn.
Except it's not seeing steps either - so no calorie burn there.
So Fitbit's not useful. I guess as mentioned above it's a waste of resource.0 -
Wow, you guys are go getters! I read sitting is bad so I traded in my old comfy chair for my bed. Lying down can't be that bad.
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Well I got on the scale again to see if last weeks gain was a fluke and I'm up another pound. At a 15% deficit. May try lowering my sugar a little bit this week. It's hard to eat 22 to 2400 cal of super healthy food so I have been eating cliff protein builder bar twice a day. Helps me get my protein in as well. I have been hitting my water and protein goals. The builder bars have also been my form of dessert. I wonder if I need to get those up. Maybe it's too much carbs I eat one after my dinner.0
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How do you get in the rest of your protein?0
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Lots of Chicken and ground sirloin, egg whites, 1 protein shake a day. Once a week I'll have a steak. I home cook 5-6 nights a week so usually some dish with chicken, pork tonight loin or sirloin steak. some nights we have omelettes for dinner. 30% protein for me is like 140- 160 g a day. Depending on if it's a work out day. I can't do too much dairy because it upsets my stomach. I do use one cup of organic milk for my protein shake a day.1
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Nowhere does it say you need to eat your cals in "Super Healthy Foods":) All you need to do is eat what you like and keep your macros in the right alignment:) If you like the cliff bars and they help you get the protein in right now, then do it.. My protein level is 240g. I cant hit that without supplementing with shakes and powders. Its a slow process to get the protein levels up, so just work at it by adding a little bit more in each day. Because you arent taking in much dairy it can be a bit harder to get in different proteins. Sometimes too, its a matter of just adding in another ounce of meat at each meal.
Kelly
EM2WL Ambassador and Moderator1 -
If you are enjoying the cliff bars and they help you hit your protein, why take them out?
Try to focus on the basic things consistently. Sounds like you've nailed your protein and water.
It's just about being consistent week in week out. Try and look at things over a month.
Sometimes this process can be frustratingly slow.
http://eatmore2weighless.com/trust-process/
Ichel
EM2WL ambassador and moderator1
