Weight Gain But Hardly Any Calorie Intake?

JADE5924
JADE5924 Posts: 16 Member
edited November 16 in Motivation and Support
Back in 2015 I was at my top weight of 200 lbs (5'9") and I freaked out and decided to start exercising /cutting calories etc. I ended up losing 50 lbs in about 4.5 months but hurt my back.
I've really never had a problem overeating but gained the weight when my kids where born. My normal calorie intake was about 2,000-2,300 so I cut it down to 1,200 to lose weight last time.
Since I hurt my back I've gained back 30 lbs but I'm really not sure why. I know I stopped exercising constantly but I still only eat once a day, don't drink anything but H20 & Nos X2 a day (410 calories ) so I'm still under 2,000 calories a day. I guess what I'm asking is can anything else make you gain weight besides overeating? My doctor had me on vicodin then moriphne because of my back, Do those cause that much weight gain? In order to lose this 30 lbs it looks like I'll have to cut calories to 1,000 or under, and I know that can't be good!

Replies

  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    JADE5924 wrote: »
    Back in 2015 I was at my top weight of 200 lbs (5'9") and I freaked out and decided to start exercising /cutting calories etc. I ended up losing 50 lbs in about 4.5 months but hurt my back.
    I've really never had a problem overeating but gained the weight when my kids where born. My normal calorie intake was about 2,000-2,300 so I cut it down to 1,200 to lose weight last time.
    Since I hurt my back I've gained back 30 lbs but I'm really not sure why. I know I stopped exercising constantly but I still only eat once a day, don't drink anything but H20 & Nos X2 a day (410 calories ) so I'm still under 2,000 calories a day. I guess what I'm asking is can anything else make you gain weight besides overeating? My doctor had me on vicodin then moriphne because of my back, Do those cause that much weight gain? In order to lose this 30 lbs it looks like I'll have to cut calories to 1,000 or under, and I know that can't be good!

    Water retention can cause weight gain, though 30 pounds would be extreme.

    What likely happened is that you have continued to eat as if you are exercising when you are not. What was calorie deficit or maintenance level eating before your back injury became eating in excess level eating after the injury. Thus, you've been overeating.
  • JADE5924
    JADE5924 Posts: 16 Member
    Seriously? Less then 2,000 can still make you gain weight? I might be able to do less then 1,000 (2 nos & a salad for dinner ) but won't that put my body in starvation mode? I started exercising again but not as aggressively because honestly my back still kills me but I'm just trying to push through it. How do you get rid of water weight? Any tips? Thanx!
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    edited February 2017
    At 5'9" there is NO WAY you need to cut back to 1,000 calories to lose weight. 1200 is a default minimum (one-size-fits-all) for women. 1200 is a minimum for meeting nutritional goals......and 1200 is before exercise. 1200 is more appropriate for petite or elderly women.

    If your maintenance is 2,000 - which is a good estimate for 5'9" tall, 30 years old & sedentary.....then you would lose 1.6 pounds a week at 1200 calories. If you exercise, you eat more and maintain a 1.6 pound a week loss. A one pound a week goal would give you 1500 calories (before exercise).

    As you get smaller, your maintenance gets smaller. This also means as you get smaller.....weight loss becomes slower. You are not at a point now where 2 pounds a week is a healthy expectation.

    http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    JADE5924 wrote: »
    Seriously? Less then 2,000 can still make you gain weight? I might be able to do less then 1,000 (2 nos & a salad for dinner ) but won't that put my body in starvation mode? I started exercising again but not as aggressively because honestly my back still kills me but I'm just trying to push through it. How do you get rid of water weight? Any tips? Thanx!

    Starvation mode is not a thing.....largely myth. Anorexics can screw up their metabolisms.....but it takes a lot of work.

    1,000 is too low for me even.....I'm only 5'5" and I'm 56 years old. I want to be thin and strong, not skinny and frail. Fast weight loss helps you lose a larger % of lean muscle mass. Because you don't eat enough, your body catobolizes existing lean muscle mass for fuel. This isn't a good look either. Your body will fuel your heart (which is a muscle) before it will fuel a full head of hair. Google very low calorie diets & hair loss.

    That's why fast weight loss isn't healthy weight loss.
  • domparadis
    domparadis Posts: 4 Member
    First place you might want to look, is getting a proper eating plan. One meal a day and 2 x NOS (Nitric Oxide) drinks is unbalanced. That means you drink 410cal thus eat 1600cal in your one meal.
    1. Your body can't metabolize all those calories. It generally metabolizes 100cal per hour, but after 3 hours following your meal, what was not burnt will transform into fat. In will be stored for future use
    2. NOS, assuming I understand the proper product, is a Hemodilator (cool word in the world of training), it was created to augment mass building. It focusses on storing energy and keeping your body in a perpetual PUMP mode. This cold explain the gains.

    You are way better off eating 6 balanced meals every day and doing some workouts. Even with a back injury, certain activities such as pool running, yoga and spinning.

    Hey, those are my two cents. Cheers
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    JADE5924 wrote: »
    Seriously? Less then 2,000 can still make you gain weight? I might be able to do less then 1,000 (2 nos & a salad for dinner ) but won't that put my body in starvation mode? I started exercising again but not as aggressively because honestly my back still kills me but I'm just trying to push through it. How do you get rid of water weight? Any tips? Thanx!

    You are going to gain weight if you ingest more calories than you burn all day long. Eat 100 over maintenance for a year and you'll gain 10 pounds, 200 over gets you 20 pounds, 300 over gets you 30 pounds, etc.

    Your sedentary TDEE is likely between 1800 and 1900. You've been eating over that to gain the weight. Cut back on what you are eating by 20% and you'll lose weight fine.

    https://tdeecalculator.net/result.php?s=imperial&g=female&age=36&lbs=180&in=69&act=1.2&f=1

    If you are in pain, consult your doctor or PT before exercising.
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    domparadis wrote: »
    First place you might want to look, is getting a proper eating plan. One meal a day and 2 x NOS (Nitric Oxide) drinks is unbalanced. That means you drink 410cal thus eat 1600cal in your one meal.
    1. Your body can't metabolize all those calories. It generally metabolizes 100cal per hour, but after 3 hours following your meal, what was not burnt will transform into fat. In will be stored for future use
    2. NOS, assuming I understand the proper product, is a Hemodilator (cool word in the world of training), it was created to augment mass building. It focusses on storing energy and keeping your body in a perpetual PUMP mode. This cold explain the gains.

    You are way better off eating 6 balanced meals every day and doing some workouts. Even with a back injury, certain activities such as pool running, yoga and spinning.

    Hey, those are my two cents. Cheers

    No no no.

    Nos is an energy drink. Your body does not start storing food after three hours. Meal frequency is personal preference, many people are successful eating only one meal a day.

    OP, has your movement outside of exercise cut down? That could be another explanation for your weight gain.
  • JADE5924
    JADE5924 Posts: 16 Member
    Thank u! I know the Nos is bad for me, I've been drinking the crap for years and I have tried to stop drinking it but every time I try I get the worst migraine of my life! Maybe I can try substituting it with black coffee to stop the headaches.
    The 2,000 calories a day was an estimate but I really like the idea of small meals throughout the day so I'm gonna try that. Thank u
  • domparadis
    domparadis Posts: 4 Member
    edited February 2017
    [/quote]No no no.

    Nos is an energy drink. Your body does not start storing food after three hours. Meal frequency is personal preference, many people are successful eating only one meal a day.

    OP, has your movement outside of exercise cut down? That could be another explanation for your weight gain.[/quote]

    In theory yea, but the problem with one meal a day is the peak in sugar levels. The body gets fuel, sugar rises; energy rises. After a couple hours, energy goes back down and metabolism slows down since it's not working at doing anything other than living. I agree that people live fine on 1 meal a day, but if your goal is weight loss and being in better health, multiple meals will help. Some people also live fine drinking beer, eating chips and chocolate, but if this was our case, we wouldn't be working with calculators for calorie intake...
  • middlehaitch
    middlehaitch Posts: 8,486 Member
    After entering your stats into MFP to lose 1lbs a week sedentary how many calories does it give you to eat per day?

    Try eating that amount of calories for a few weeks (through one menstrual cycle) and then assess your loss. If you are losing an average of 1lbs a week (this will probably not be linear as water and waste can mask fat loss) keep at those calories. If you are losing more or less than predicted adjust accordingly.

    If you do exercise- enter the exercise (your base MFP calories do not include exercise) and eat back a consistent percentage of those calories. Calorie burns are just estimates so eating 50-75% and adjusting depending on personal results works well.

    Weight loss using MFP does not require exercise, so if you can't do any because of your back injury just eat the base calories MFP gives you- you will still lose.

    Cheers, h.
  • moondustdreams
    moondustdreams Posts: 5 Member
    JADE5924 wrote: »
    Back in 2015 I was at my top weight of 200 lbs (5'9") and I freaked out and decided to start exercising /cutting calories etc. I ended up losing 50 lbs in about 4.5 months but hurt my back.
    I've really never had a problem overeating but gained the weight when my kids where born. My normal calorie intake was about 2,000-2,300 so I cut it down to 1,200 to lose weight last time.
    Since I hurt my back I've gained back 30 lbs but I'm really not sure why. I know I stopped exercising constantly but I still only eat once a day, don't drink anything but H20 & Nos X2 a day (410 calories ) so I'm still under 2,000 calories a day. I guess what I'm asking is can anything else make you gain weight besides overeating? My doctor had me on vicodin then moriphne because of my back, Do those cause that much weight gain? In order to lose this 30 lbs it looks like I'll have to cut calories to 1,000 or under, and I know that can't be good!

    Has a doctor checked your insulin levels? I agree with everyone above. If you have insulin resistant, its hard to lose weight..Seems You didn't mention it and I assume with back problems you probably got that already checked..If not, I would check it out.

    Before MFP I ate one thing a day. A large meal. sometimes with snacks...Now I eat 4-5 small meals per day, cut out bad processed carbs/foods,no soda,and drinking more water. More veggies, more protein. Overall, I feel better. I think if you did something similar(though it varies since im not you) you will probably lose some weight...
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