Gaining weight on a deficit

aliciamariej1
aliciamariej1 Posts: 12 Member
edited November 15 in Health and Weight Loss
Hello. I just completed my first week using MFP. I've been trying to loose weight for months now and I feel this is the first time my heart is truly in it. I didn't eat the cleanest foods in the world but I didn't think my choices were terrible either. I stayed within my calories. I worked out 5 times this week iincluding a weight lifting class twice. I drink at least two liters of water. I was a little disapointed this moring when the scale showed a .8 pound gain. I do have a sweet tooth and like to eat something sweet before bed. Is this what is hurting me? Could it be muscle gain from the lifting? Thanks

Replies

  • suruda
    suruda Posts: 1,233 Member
    it could be many things, your food logging might not be as accurate as you think (and you are not in a deficit), if you didn't make the best food choices, you could be getting excess sodium causing you to retain fluids. It also could be from lifting (not my area of expertise). You are doing the right things...If you want the scale to move, keep doing what you are doing but clean up your diet a little more (focus on lean proteins, fruits and vegetables) and drink enough water. AND enjoy your something sweet before bed as long as you are logging it and it fits within your daily calorie goals!
  • snickerscharlie
    snickerscharlie Posts: 8,578 Member
    OP, here is a chart that might help you:

    48bpmzsz7vwz.jpg
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    If you are in a deficit, you lose weight. Period. That's what calorie deficit means. But the loss won't necessarily show up on the scale every week. You may be reatining water from exercise. You may have hit a low last week and a high this week. You may be constipated. All these variables play a part in your normal fluctuations. You may even be logging incorrectly.

    I would suggest being patient and accurate in your logging, and not worrying about "clean food", amounts of water, food choices.
  • K3rB3ar89
    K3rB3ar89 Posts: 263 Member
    How do you muscles feel? I went up 6 pounds of water weight training. Once your muscles stop hurting pay attention to how much time your in the bathroom. Thats how i knew i was losibg it:p stick with it it will work out give it a few days!
  • trigden1991
    trigden1991 Posts: 4,658 Member
    You cannot gain fat in a deficit. It is likely to be water weight.
  • aliciamariej1
    aliciamariej1 Posts: 12 Member
    edited January 2017
    I just re-weighed myself and it says i'm down 2.8 pounds. :) Perhaps I need a new scale
  • lemonychild
    lemonychild Posts: 654 Member
    Perhaps u need to be patient. You just started.
  • ryry_
    ryry_ Posts: 4,966 Member
    aliciamariej1 wrote: »
    I just re-weighed myself and it says i'm down 2.8 pounds. :) Perhaps I need a new scale

    Your weight will fluctuate from day to day. For instance, I ate Chinese food on Sunday. My weight shot up like 5 pounds probably from Sodium. Next day, I was down three, then down two, then up two. But a few weeks from now those fluctuations will keep happening but they spikes will a pound or two lower and valleys will be as well.

    Its one of the reasons I prefer to log my weight everyday in the Happy Scale app and just track my moving average
  • try2again
    try2again Posts: 3,562 Member
    edited January 2017
    aliciamariej1 wrote: »
    I just re-weighed myself and it says i'm down 2.8 pounds. :) Perhaps I need a new scale

    And if you go get a drink of water or use the bathroom, it will be different again. Pick 1 time a day to weigh.
  • snickerscharlie
    snickerscharlie Posts: 8,578 Member
    try2again wrote: »
    aliciamariej1 wrote: »
    I just re-weighed myself and it says i'm down 2.8 pounds. :) Perhaps I need a new scale

    And if you go get a drink of water or use the bathroom, it will be different again. Pick 1 time a day to weigh.

    This. Weigh yourself at the same time every day, under conditions as similar as you can make them.

    For example: First thing in the morning, nekkid, after using the bathroom but before breakfast or coffee. That gives the best (but never perfect) chance for consistency. :)
  • LeileiNadine
    LeileiNadine Posts: 13 Member
    Medication can be a factor too, back when I was taking Sertraline I couldn't lose for toffee! It took a few months off it before the weight started to move.
  • crzycatlady1
    crzycatlady1 Posts: 1,930 Member
    Are you using a food scale to measure out portion sizes?

    Also, your weight will fluctuate daily due to all sorts of things not related to actual fat gains. Tom/hormones, water retention due to sodium intake, digestion periods, constipation, water retention from exercise (especially if you're just added it or started a new routine), weighing yourself at different times of day, weighing yourself with different clothes on, weighing yourself after a shower, batteries on scale getting old, moving your scale to a different location, and the list goes on.

    If you're accurately logging all your calories and are hitting the calorie deficit you need for your weight loss goals, then you will lose weight. Look at monthly trends over daily/weekly ones to get a better picture of where you're at :)
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    aliciamariej1 wrote: »
    Hello. I just completed my first week using MFP. I've been trying to loose weight for months now and I feel this is the first time my heart is truly in it. I didn't eat the cleanest foods in the world but I didn't think my choices were terrible either. I stayed within my calories. I worked out 5 times this week iincluding a weight lifting class twice. I drink at least two liters of water. I was a little disapointed this moring when the scale showed a .8 pound gain. I do have a sweet tooth and like to eat something sweet before bed. Is this what is hurting me? Could it be muscle gain from the lifting? Thanks

    It's only been a week. Try to stay patient, weight loss is a journey.

    You have not gained any muscle. Muscle gain is intentional work.

    Whether or not you eat clean has nothing to do with weight loss. Besides, clean is in the perception.

    The .8 is natural fluctuation. This happens throughout one's life, but we just seem to notice it more when we are trying to lose weight. :)

    What you eat is irrelevant as to the mechanics of weight loss, it's about how much you eat. What you eat is all about nutrition, which is important as well. Personally, if your nightly sweet fits into your calorie goals for weight loss, then it's perfect.

    Oh, and it take 3,500 calories over one's total daily energy expenditure to gain a pound of fat.

    Keep moving forward. You can do this!

  • CattOfTheGarage
    CattOfTheGarage Posts: 2,745 Member
    You really shouldn't worry about this. With all that new exercise, I'd expect you to be retaining water. It's normal. You'll see the fat loss when the water goes away - give it time.
  • aliciamariej1
    aliciamariej1 Posts: 12 Member
    LeileiNadine wrote: »
    Medication can be a factor too, back when I was taking Sertraline I couldn't lose for toffee! It took a few months off it before the weight started to move.

    Good to know. I am also on sertaline. Thanks

  • snickerscharlie
    snickerscharlie Posts: 8,578 Member
    edited January 2017
    aliciamariej1 wrote: »
    LeileiNadine wrote: »
    Medication can be a factor too, back when I was taking Sertraline I couldn't lose for toffee! It took a few months off it before the weight started to move.

    Good to know. I am also on sertaline. Thanks

    Sertraline has not been proven to directly cause unexplained weight gain. In some people it may, however, increase appetite in a small percentage of users, which might lead those particular users to gain weight if they overeat as a result.

    But know that this drug (along with the vast majority of those that list weight gain as a possible side effect) is not directly to blame for any weight gain, and that you are still completely in control over how much you eat, just as you were before taking it. :)
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    aliciamariej1 wrote: »
    LeileiNadine wrote: »
    Medication can be a factor too, back when I was taking Sertraline I couldn't lose for toffee! It took a few months off it before the weight started to move.

    Good to know. I am also on sertaline. Thanks

    taking a break from your medication is not a good idea.

    I looked at the side effects and it does "improve appetite"...if that is the case you need to be aware of that and be able to tell the difference between appetite and hunger...

    I want to eat vs I need to eat.

    No medication will keep fat on your if you are in a deficit.
  • VintageFeline
    VintageFeline Posts: 6,771 Member
    I didn't lose for 5 weeks when I started working out.

    I was and now am again, on psychoactive medication. I log so know my calorie intake and therefore I lose, maintain and gain exactly as I should.
  • courtneyfabulous
    courtneyfabulous Posts: 1,863 Member
    You're fine, that's nothing just water retention. Keep going and weigh again after a month or 2 of doing exactly what you're doing- you will have lost weight by then. Also start taking body measurements and tracking those along with weight.

    Great job!!
  • savithny
    savithny Posts: 1,200 Member
    Gains or losses of less than 1 or 2 pounds, measured on a bathroom scale, are essentially meaningless out of context. You can gain or lose a pound from being dehydrated vs. retaining water, from having your last meal take longer or faster to digest. You can't tell how things are going until you've got enough measurements over several weeks to see a trend.
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