Why am I gaining weight on 1200 calories?
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I agree with the perfect storm anology. I would still up my intake to 1,500 and see what it looks like over time. Weigh yourself everyday right after you get up and go the bathroom with no clothes on. You will eventually drop weight. So much of weight loss is based on what we ingest.
Why would she up her calories to 1500 if she's not losing weight on 1200?
The weight gain is most likely from added exercise. And op is already at a decent weight if I read correctly, so 1200 seems low. I would think an increase might be in order after op checks her logging.1 -
Sounds like you are gaining muscle weight- which is a good thing. If lifting is a key part of your routine I would focus on body composition rather than the weigjt on the scale. Are your clothes looser? That is a good sign you are losing fat weight but gaining muscle which will help you torch more calories moving forwards.
She isn't gaining muscle on 1200 calories. And even if she were, it would be nowhere near five pounds worth.
OP, as others have said it's water weight to repair your muscles. It should start to drop off soon.13 -
Because I feel her intake is too low for a person her age. It can temporarily slow down her metabolism . Patience is huge when losing weight. Temporary factors such as water intake, periods and even going to the bathroom can make a difference on the face of the scale. That's why it is importsnt to weigh in at the same time first thing in the morning with no clothes on. Have you weighed yourself again?1
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Sounds like you are gaining muscle weight- which is a good thing. If lifting is a key part of your routine I would focus on body composition rather than the weigjt on the scale. Are your clothes looser? That is a good sign you are losing fat weight but gaining muscle which will help you torch more calories moving forwards.
LOL...you think she gained over 5lbs of muscle in SEVEN total workouts??? if so, she needs to tell us all her secret!!12 -
Sounds like you are gaining muscle weight- which is a good thing. If lifting is a key part of your routine I would focus on body composition rather than the weigjt on the scale. Are your clothes looser? That is a good sign you are losing fat weight but gaining muscle which will help you torch more calories moving forwards.
She isn't gaining muscle on 1200 calories. And even if she were, it would be nowhere near five pounds worth.
OP, as others have said it's water weight to repair your muscles. It should start to drop off soon.
^^^This.
I can gain upwards of 6lbs in water weight overnight after a heavy lifting session. You body may retain water for muscle repair for a couple weeks after you start a new / raised intensity of a workout before all of the water weight flushes out.5 -
Clothes are fitting fine, I start my inactive birth control pills tmrw, not constipated at all.
My goal weight is 124lbs.
I did heavy lifting with lower body today and ran 3 miles (300 burned calories). I drank 100 ounces of water today.
That's a lot of water retention if that's the reason for my weight 'gain'!!
1 pound is 3,500 calories. So if you eat 3,500 calories over your MAINTENANCE, you will gain 1 pound. 5 pounds is 17,500 calories.
Your maintenance is around 2,200 calories (I put moderate exercise). If you gained fat......you did some massive over eating. http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/5 -
Clothes are fitting fine, I start my inactive birth control pills tmrw, not constipated at all.
My goal weight is 124lbs.
I did heavy lifting with lower body today and ran 3 miles (300 burned calories). I drank 100 ounces of water today.
That's a lot of water retention if that's the reason for my weight 'gain'!!
I'm betting on a combination of pre-menstrual and muscle repair water weight gain.
Also--this should go without saying--weigh yourself in the exact same conditions each time you weigh: same time of day, same level of clothing (or naked), same scale. Keep scale on level, solid surface. Check scale batteries if it's a digital scale.3 -
Its water, happened to my husband and I both to varying degrees when I first introduced hubby to MFP 5 years ago. We both measured and weighed our food and kept very detailed food diaries. We also joined our local gym at the same time and started off with an hour of cardio and at least 30 minutes of weights 6 days a week.
The first day or two was promising with my weight going down 2 Lbs and his 1, but it was short-lived seeing progress on the scale for the next 3 weeks as both our bodies began holding onto water for all the extra expenditure with the new workout routine. My body let go of the water around week 3 and it took a full 4 weeks for hubby (I'm guessing the more muscle mass had a lot to do with it). Granted my husband was extremely frustrated by the number on the scale but I just kept reassuring him that it's impossible to have a calorie deficit and gain FAT. By the end of week one he had gained 2 Lbs, 2 more lbs by week 2, lost 1 lb by the end of week 3 for a net gain of 3 lbs. During the course of the fourth week he began losing about 2 Lbs PER DAY totalling 14 lbs by the end of week 4 for a net loss of 11 lbs since we had started working out or an average of almost 3 lbs per week! Great start, but it wasn't immediately obvious.
I gained 3 lbs the first week, 1 more lb the second week, and was down a total of 10 lbs by the end of week 3 for a net loss of 6 lbs in 3 weeks. Exactly 2 Lbs per week average.
Knowing it's physically impossible to gain or lose 10 lbs of fat in a week the only explanation possible is water weight. Try not to pay too much attention to the number on the scale in the first month of a new workout routine or diet as its likely it will only discourage you and that's the last thing anyone trying to make positive changes in their life needs.7 -
Water weight is the most likely explanation, but I'd also add:
1) counting all your food has to include all caloric beverages, cooking oils, and condiments. For at least a few days, look up everything in the database and make sure you're not surprised by what you find.
(Example: I wasn't counting the Werther's hard candies in the work candy dish, but man, those have way more calories than I expected). My daily coffees with their one tub of half-and-half also contributed way more calories than I thought they would have.
2) Prepackaged food is required to have *at least* as much food in the package as the label says, and they're penalized for having *less* food in a package but not *more*. Obviously, for profit purposes they don't want to give away lots of food, but in practice this can mean that pre-portioned foods can be off in their calories by a statistically significant amount.
3) Are you using entries in the database that actually make sense? I keep finding things that make me laugh because they must have been entered by someone with a serious interest in lying to themselves (or someone with really poor math skills).2 -
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With so little to lose, you should only be aiming for; ½ pound a week loss!2
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It's not my opinion; it's suggested in countless articles by experts.0
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Sounds like you are gaining muscle weight- which is a good thing. If lifting is a key part of your routine I would focus on body composition rather than the weigjt on the scale. Are your clothes looser? That is a good sign you are losing fat weight but gaining muscle which will help you torch more calories moving forwards.
Sorry, you can't gain muscle that fast and on 1200 calories.2 -
Everything can sound plausible "in theory" and in a society that LOVES FOOD and wants a convenient excuse for weight gain, it's no wonder why so many cling to the "starvation mode" myth. When I'm not losing weight while eating over 2000 calories a day I would love to blame it on my body too.
In practice, this myth was put to the test and in reality it was dispelled by overwhelming scientific evidence based on real life experimentation
Read:
http://www.apa.org/monitor/2013/10/hunger.aspx3 -
As a rough estimate, a calorie level of 1200 should move you towards 120 lbs. At your current weight, that will happen slowly. If you underestimate your calories by 100, you may not lose any weight. 1200 is the standard minimum, but your doctor may ok a different calorie level. I have a 4 foot tall friend who only needs about 900 calories per day.1
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At 5'5" I was fortunate to reach 120 pounds over a period of four to five months. It is a slow but steady process and it takes perseverance and patience but it is worth it.0
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It's not my opinion; it's suggested in countless articles by experts.
Do you have any of these countless expert articles saying that you can gain weight in a deficit? Because think about it: if you could gain or maintain weight eating at a deficit, there wouldn't be people starving to death.
Also, it helps when you quote who you are responding to. You can hit the 'Quote' link in the post you want to respond to and then start typing at the bottom of the quoted text
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Well you either have a serious medical condition that can not be diagnosed on a message board or you are not actually eating 1200 consistently.
NVM, it's only been 2 weeks. Maybe you need to pee? idk.3
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