Gaining weight after weight loss?

gracehalsted
gracehalsted Posts: 15 Member
edited July 2017 in Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
Hello, I have been successful to lose almost 70 pounds in 8 months. Recently I have been gaining weight. I have been lifting heavy about 6 days a week for 90-100 min. and my clothes are getting looser. I follow a ketogenic diet and eat around 1200-1300 calories a day. I am 5'9 and at my lowest which was a week ago I was 148. Today I weighed in at 159. I'm very frustrated and I really don't know how to go about this. I did eat a pretty big sized dinner last night and drank about a liter of water throughout the night. I'm not sure what is happening and it scares me I am beginning to regain all my weight back.

Replies

  • DancingMoosie
    DancingMoosie Posts: 8,613 Member
    Make sure you are logging accurately. You would not gain any "real" weight (aside from water) from eating 1200-1300 a day, you would still be losing.
  • Hunterjackrogers
    Hunterjackrogers Posts: 3 Member
    Nice that good
  • ZeetaFit
    ZeetaFit Posts: 24 Member
    I would focus on the look and feel, not the scale. If your clothes are getting looser, it would seem that you are becoming more healthy and losing excess fat - no matter what the scale says.
    Also, lifting heavy for 90-100 minutes a day burns at least 500 calories. If you are only eating 1200-1300 you might have but your body into starvation mode. Is there an expert that you can ask about that? (I am in no way qualified to give advice)
  • CharlieBeansmomTracey
    CharlieBeansmomTracey Posts: 7,682 Member
    ZeetaFit wrote: »
    I would focus on the look and feel, not the scale. If your clothes are getting looser, it would seem that you are becoming more healthy and losing excess fat - no matter what the scale says.
    Also, lifting heavy for 90-100 minutes a day burns at least 500 calories. If you are only eating 1200-1300 you might have but your body into starvation mode. Is there an expert that you can ask about that? (I am in no way qualified to give advice)

    shes not in starvation mode.starvation is a thing starvation mode where you "retain fat and weight" is not.
  • CharlieBeansmomTracey
    CharlieBeansmomTracey Posts: 7,682 Member
    gracehalsted wrote: »
    Hello, I have been successful to lose almost 70 pounds in 8 months. Recently I have been gaining weight. I have been lifting heavy about 6 days a week for 90-100 min. and my clothes are getting looser. I follow a ketogenic diet and eat around 1200-1300 calories a day. I am 5'9 and at my lowest which was a week ago I was 148. Today I weighed in at 159. I'm very frustrated and I really don't know how to go about this. I did eat a pretty big sized dinner last night and drank about a liter of water throughout the night. I'm not sure what is happening and it scares me I am beginning to regain all my weight back.

    if you just started lifting then it sounds like its water retention.if you clothes are getting looser then you arent gaining weight.the water retention is probably masking your weight loss.
  • mathjulz
    mathjulz Posts: 5,514 Member
    Is it just the one weigh in that is up? My guess is that there is either something wonky with the scale, or it's water retention. There is no way that you overate by enough to gain 10+ pounds in a week, either of fat or of muscle. That would be 35,000 calories above your maintenance - I can't imagine your logging being off by that much after successfully losing 70 pounds!
  • CharlieBeansmomTracey
    CharlieBeansmomTracey Posts: 7,682 Member
    mathjulz wrote: »
    Is it just the one weigh in that is up? My guess is that there is either something wonky with the scale, or it's water retention. There is no way that you overate by enough to gain 10+ pounds in a week, either of fat or of muscle. That would be 35,000 calories above your maintenance - I can't imagine your logging being off by that much after successfully losing 70 pounds!

    definitely isnt going to be muscle with so little calories thats for sure. so yeah it would have to be water/glycogen stores,etc
  • Frequently_Fabulous
    Frequently_Fabulous Posts: 132 Member
    edited July 2017
    I'd reckon it's your scale, hidden salt in food, or binge-eating.

    My scale bounces around 5 lbs or so in both directions every 12-18 months when it needs new batteries. Pretty disappointing to think I lost five lbs and then it was a total lie, haha.

    Another time, I was eating healthy choice soup twice a day and I gained several lbs (despite being under maintenance) from all the salt.

    Lastly, a 10 lb weight gain is not uncommon for those of us who binge-eat. And especially for people who typically follow a restricted calorie, "clean", low sodium diet and then eat a bunch of salty, high-carb, high-fat junk food. When I relapse and binge 2-4 thousand calories over my daily limit, Im guaranteed to gain 4-5 lbs overnight. With multiple smaller binges over the course of the week, 10 lbs is not out of the question (though my max was only 8 lbs lol). It always ends up being about half water retention that will go away in a few days and half actually fat gain that you have to slowly diet away. If you do have a problem with binge eating, welcome to the club and do some research on the psychological causes and how to avoid further binges. :)
  • northwoodsducky
    northwoodsducky Posts: 5 Member
    When I lost a lot of weight, I plateaud for a little while as my BMI went down and I gained muscle. As I gained muscle, the scale said I was heavier but I was more toned and my pants sized dropped. I agree with the above that you should focus on the measurements and clothes rather than the scale. If you keep gaining and aren't dropping in size or getting muscle definition, then it's probably diet modifications are necessary. The body can have a homeostasis weight point that is possible to hurdle, but that's a more challenging time in weight loss and toning. Patience and consistency always works for me!
  • CharlieBeansmomTracey
    CharlieBeansmomTracey Posts: 7,682 Member
    northwoodsducky wrote: »
    When I lost a lot of weight, I plateaud for a little while as my BMI went down and I gained muscle. As I gained muscle, the scale said I was heavier but I was more toned and my pants sized dropped. I agree with the above that you should focus on the measurements and clothes rather than the scale. If you keep gaining and aren't dropping in size or getting muscle definition, then it's probably diet modifications are necessary. The body can have a homeostasis weight point that is possible to hurdle, but that's a more challenging time in weight loss and toning. Patience and consistency always works for me!

    she isnt gaining muscle on 1200-1300 calories.its very hard for a female to build muscle even in a surplus of calories. if she sees definition its usually because you are losing fat over any existing muscle she already has. she isnt going to gain enough muscle either to where the scale stays the same.and it would probably be a lot harder on keto with only moderate amounts of protein as well.
  • Rusty740
    Rusty740 Posts: 749 Member
    Don't worry about it. Your body is so starved for energy and water it took that big meal and all that water and sucked it up into replacing the muscle glycogen, which in turn sucked up all that water at a 3:1 ratio.

    It's what your body wants, but no need to worry if you continue on the same path you're going. Except that you're probably training a bit too hard if you're 'lifting heavy' 6 days a week and eating at a deficit. That's not going to keep any muscle, that'll probably lose it. Tone down your lifting to 3-4 days per week.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,386 MFP Moderator
    OP, you are tall, young and active, why would you only eat 1200-1300 calories? Also, have you been eating a lot of carbs recently?
  • joeybrid
    joeybrid Posts: 65 Member
    You'll naturally gain weight when lifting heavy. Also weight isn't a very accurate, glycogen and water retention will make it fluctuate.
  • CharlieBeansmomTracey
    CharlieBeansmomTracey Posts: 7,682 Member
    edited July 2017
    joeybrid wrote: »
    You'll naturally gain weight when lifting heavy. Also weight isn't a very accurate, glycogen and water retention will make it fluctuate.

    the only thing you should gain while lifting heavy is water, if you arent eating in a surplus. you shouldnt gain fat or actual weight
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,876 Member
    edited July 2017
    Check the batteries in your scale...

    Also, do the math...gaining 10 Lbs of fat in a week is a near mathematical impossibility...
  • Luna3386
    Luna3386 Posts: 888 Member
    I agree with the above. You can't weigh once and go off of that number. It could be your scale, water, sodium, that time of the month, etc.

    Are you in maintenance? You should slowly move up your calories to maintenance plus exercise. If you go slow you should be able to minimize gain. You lost a lot of weight in a short amount of time so give your body some time to adjust as well.
  • anubis609
    anubis609 Posts: 3,966 Member
    As a female, weight can fluctuate wildly week to week depending on your cycle. It's better to track monthly averages or track similar weeks in the month if you're regular. A 10lb jump is not unheard of due to water retention, and if it aligns with hormone signaling, all of the appropriate signs for water retention could be in place.
  • jeffchic
    jeffchic Posts: 1 Member
    muscle is heavier than fat
  • CharlieBeansmomTracey
    CharlieBeansmomTracey Posts: 7,682 Member
    jeffchic wrote: »
    muscle is heavier than fat

    its not muscle definitely not 10-11 lbs worth
  • gracehalsted
    gracehalsted Posts: 15 Member
    Luna3386 wrote: »
    I agree with the above. You can't weigh once and go off of that number. It could be your scale, water, sodium, that time of the month, etc.

    Are you in maintenance? You should slowly move up your calories to maintenance plus exercise. If you go slow you should be able to minimize gain. You lost a lot of weight in a short amount of time so give your body some time to adjust as well.
    Luna3386 wrote: »
    I agree with the above. You can't weigh once and go off of that number. It could be your scale, water, sodium, that time of the month, etc.

    Are you in maintenance? You should slowly move up your calories to maintenance plus exercise. If you go slow you should be able to minimize gain. You lost a lot of weight in a short amount of time so give your body some time to adjust as well.
    Luna3386 wrote: »
    I agree with the above. You can't weigh once and go off of that number. It could be your scale, water, sodium, that time of the month, etc.

    Are you in maintenance? You should slowly move up your calories to maintenance plus exercise. If you go slow you should be able to minimize gain. You lost a lot of weight in a short amount of time so give your body some time to adjust as well.

    I am not in maintenance. My maintenance calories are around 1,750. I am not eating that right now...but I'm not really for sure why. Restricting my calories to 1200 a day leads me to binge sometimes. I still have fat on my body I need to lose.

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