Help-I'm gaining and not losing

jonalicia2503
jonalicia2503 Posts: 23 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I need help!! I've lost 42 pounds since February which is great. But for the last week or two, I've gained weight although I still work out and watch my calorie intake. Only a few pounds but more than I'd care for. I don't eat fried foods, no soda, etc. What am I doing wrong? A friend said I'm building muscle weight. Can I do something to keep the weight off?
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Replies

  • iluvlife445
    iluvlife445 Posts: 7 Member
    You could be taking in too many calories. Try calorie counting.
  • jonalicia2503
    jonalicia2503 Posts: 23 Member
    Iluvlife445: I count all my calories and hardly ever go over. I also look at the fat content, etc and still don't go over.
  • jonalicia2503
    jonalicia2503 Posts: 23 Member
    My daily calorie intake as per MyFitnessPal is 1310 a day
  • nutmegoreo
    nutmegoreo Posts: 15,532 Member
    You don't mention calories. How many are you eating? Is this more or less than your daily burn level (total including everything from sleeping to intentional exercise). If you are in a deficit, building muscle is unlikely except under very specific circumstances. If it is close to TOM, then water retention. Do you weight daily or weekly?
  • jonalicia2503
    jonalicia2503 Posts: 23 Member
    Hi nutmegoreo. My daily calorie intake on the app is 1310 a day. Even if I burn calories, I don't eat into that. So say I burned 200 calories, I still eat less than the 1310 that the app tells me to eat. Right now I'm only at around 800 calories and I've already eaten dinner. I weigh daily as my doctor recommended
  • AliceDark
    AliceDark Posts: 3,886 Member
    Fluctuations are very normal, but they are frustrating. What has changed in the last 3 weeks? Any increase in exercise? Sodium? How have your sleep and stress level been? Did you change anything in your diet (less fat, more/less fiber, veggies, even a different protein powder)?
  • dfnewcombe
    dfnewcombe Posts: 94 Member
    Not knowing what your workouts are like, I couldn't say whether you are building muscle. Possibly your muscles are retaining water from your workouts. Double check your caloric intake calculations and make sure your entries are accurate. Be very vigilant about weighing everything- once we start to believe we can eyeball estimates, additional calories will creep in. Make sure you are not overestimating your caloric burns.

    When the weight comes down, the weight loss slows- sometimes the hunger increases too- it truly is a curse... our water balance can skew things for a few weeks. Make sure you are drinking enough water everyday. Things should work themselves out in a couple of weeks. If MFP figured out your caloric goals- maybe it is time to check that again?


  • nutmegoreo
    nutmegoreo Posts: 15,532 Member
    jonalicia514 wrote: »
    Hi nutmegoreo. My daily calorie intake on the app is 1310 a day. Even if I burn calories, I don't eat into that. So say I burned 200 calories, I still eat less than the 1310 that the app tells me to eat. Right now I'm only at around 800 calories and I've already eaten dinner. I weigh daily as my doctor recommended

    I like daily, that way you can see the fluctuations. Have you been using a trending app? They can be very handy to sort through those fluctuations.

    New workout routine? Increased intensity? likely water retention

    TOM? water retention

    Increased sodium intake? water retention

    Forgetting or not logging "zero" calorie foods? Not using a food scale? inaccurate logging, could be actual fat gain
  • tiffaninghs
    tiffaninghs Posts: 200 Member
    water weight.. so pesky.. so frustrating!! stay the course!! u got this!!
  • jonalicia2503
    jonalicia2503 Posts: 23 Member
    AliceDark wrote: »
    Fluctuations are very normal, but they are frustrating. What has changed in the last 3 weeks? Any increase in exercise? Sodium? How have your sleep and stress level been? Did you change anything in your diet (less fat, more/less fiber, veggies, even a different protein powder)?

    Haven't really changed anything. Not really an increase in exercising except I've been biking more. I think I can definitely use more fiber tho in my diet. I go over my protein count sometimes tho
  • jonalicia2503
    jonalicia2503 Posts: 23 Member
    dfnewcombe wrote: »
    Not knowing what your workouts are like, I couldn't say whether you are building muscle. Possibly your muscles are retaining water from your workouts. Double check your caloric intake calculations and make sure your entries are accurate. Be very vigilant about weighing everything- once we start to believe we can eyeball estimates, additional calories will creep in. Make sure you are not overestimating your caloric burns.

    When the weight comes down, the weight loss slows- sometimes the hunger increases too- it truly is a curse... our water balance can skew things for a few weeks. Make sure you are drinking enough water everyday. Things should work themselves out in a couple of weeks. If MFP figured out your caloric goals- maybe it is time to check that again?

    Thank you. It was thinking I might be at a stand still with my weight loss right now. I typically go to the gym and use the treadmill or I'll use my bike, stationary bike or walk outside. I definitely drink a lot of water in fact my dr says I drink too much. Haha. I'll check the goals again tho. Thank you :)
  • jonalicia2503
    jonalicia2503 Posts: 23 Member
    nutmegoreo wrote: »
    jonalicia514 wrote: »
    Hi nutmegoreo. My daily calorie intake on the app is 1310 a day. Even if I burn calories, I don't eat into that. So say I burned 200 calories, I still eat less than the 1310 that the app tells me to eat. Right now I'm only at around 800 calories and I've already eaten dinner. I weigh daily as my doctor recommended

    I like daily, that way you can see the fluctuations. Have you been using a trending app? They can be very handy to sort through those fluctuations.

    New workout routine? Increased intensity? likely water retention

    TOM? water retention

    Increased sodium intake? water retention

    Forgetting or not logging "zero" calorie foods? Not using a food scale? inaccurate logging, could be actual fat gain

    Thank you again :) the only app I use is MFP for the caloric intake and then runtastic to log my exercises. Do you have any other suggestions?

    I use a good scale but don't typically log zero calorie food. I guess I should be?
  • jonalicia2503
    jonalicia2503 Posts: 23 Member
    tiffaninghs wrote: »
    water weight.. so pesky.. so frustrating!! stay the course!! u got this!!

    Thank you!! Definitely not giving up. I appreciate it

  • jonalicia2503
    jonalicia2503 Posts: 23 Member
    bbell1985 wrote: »
    jonalicia514 wrote: »
    nutmegoreo wrote: »
    jonalicia514 wrote: »
    Hi nutmegoreo. My daily calorie intake on the app is 1310 a day. Even if I burn calories, I don't eat into that. So say I burned 200 calories, I still eat less than the 1310 that the app tells me to eat. Right now I'm only at around 800 calories and I've already eaten dinner. I weigh daily as my doctor recommended

    I like daily, that way you can see the fluctuations. Have you been using a trending app? They can be very handy to sort through those fluctuations.

    New workout routine? Increased intensity? likely water retention

    TOM? water retention

    Increased sodium intake? water retention

    Forgetting or not logging "zero" calorie foods? Not using a food scale? inaccurate logging, could be actual fat gain

    Thank you again :) the only app I use is MFP for the caloric intake and then runtastic to log my exercises. Do you have any other suggestions?

    I use a good scale but don't typically log zero calorie food. I guess I should be?

    What "zero" calorie foods are you referring to?

    I would say more like coffee or say brewed iced tea.

  • bbell1985
    bbell1985 Posts: 4,571 Member
    jonalicia514 wrote: »
    bbell1985 wrote: »
    jonalicia514 wrote: »
    nutmegoreo wrote: »
    jonalicia514 wrote: »
    Hi nutmegoreo. My daily calorie intake on the app is 1310 a day. Even if I burn calories, I don't eat into that. So say I burned 200 calories, I still eat less than the 1310 that the app tells me to eat. Right now I'm only at around 800 calories and I've already eaten dinner. I weigh daily as my doctor recommended

    I like daily, that way you can see the fluctuations. Have you been using a trending app? They can be very handy to sort through those fluctuations.

    New workout routine? Increased intensity? likely water retention

    TOM? water retention

    Increased sodium intake? water retention

    Forgetting or not logging "zero" calorie foods? Not using a food scale? inaccurate logging, could be actual fat gain

    Thank you again :) the only app I use is MFP for the caloric intake and then runtastic to log my exercises. Do you have any other suggestions?

    I use a good scale but don't typically log zero calorie food. I guess I should be?

    What "zero" calorie foods are you referring to?

    I would say more like coffee or say brewed iced tea.

    Ah. You could add your coffee. Might as well.

  • tiffaninghs
    tiffaninghs Posts: 200 Member
    also i weigh the most after i leave the gym and after i get home from work. i weigh the least after a full nights rest and after a long weekend of sleeping..
  • cerise_noir
    cerise_noir Posts: 5,468 Member
    How are you determining the calories in your food? Are you using cups/spoons, food scale, guesstimating portions? Are you logging everything that you eat drink and cook/season with?
  • DharmainHeels
    DharmainHeels Posts: 94 Member
    jonalicia514 wrote: »
    nutmegoreo wrote: »
    jonalicia514 wrote: »
    Hi nutmegoreo. My daily calorie intake on the app is 1310 a day. Even if I burn calories, I don't eat into that. So say I burned 200 calories, I still eat less than the 1310 that the app tells me to eat. Right now I'm only at around 800 calories and I've already eaten dinner. I weigh daily as my doctor recommended

    I like daily, that way you can see the fluctuations. Have you been using a trending app? They can be very handy to sort through those fluctuations.

    New workout routine? Increased intensity? likely water retention

    TOM? water retention

    Increased sodium intake? water retention

    Forgetting or not logging "zero" calorie foods? Not using a food scale? inaccurate logging, could be actual fat gain

    Thank you again :) the only app I use is MFP for the caloric intake and then runtastic to log my exercises. Do you have any other suggestions?

    I use a good scale but don't typically log zero calorie food. I guess I should be?

    For trending apps I love Happy Scale!
  • nutmegoreo
    nutmegoreo Posts: 15,532 Member
    jonalicia514 wrote: »
    nutmegoreo wrote: »
    jonalicia514 wrote: »
    Hi nutmegoreo. My daily calorie intake on the app is 1310 a day. Even if I burn calories, I don't eat into that. So say I burned 200 calories, I still eat less than the 1310 that the app tells me to eat. Right now I'm only at around 800 calories and I've already eaten dinner. I weigh daily as my doctor recommended

    I like daily, that way you can see the fluctuations. Have you been using a trending app? They can be very handy to sort through those fluctuations.

    New workout routine? Increased intensity? likely water retention

    TOM? water retention

    Increased sodium intake? water retention

    Forgetting or not logging "zero" calorie foods? Not using a food scale? inaccurate logging, could be actual fat gain

    Thank you again :) the only app I use is MFP for the caloric intake and then runtastic to log my exercises. Do you have any other suggestions?

    I use a good scale but don't typically log zero calorie food. I guess I should be?

    Sorry, got distracted, and then someone thought I should work for my pay :laugh:

    I see below that you are referring to coffee, etc for zero cal stuff. I was more concerned that you were using things like the "0" calorie sprays. Those things can add up fast, depending on how much you are using. There are some micronutrients in several zero calorie items. For example my tea contains several minerals and small amounts of vitamins, I suspect coffee will as well, but you may not be interested in that fine of detail (particularly if you are just starting out).

    There are a couple of options for tracking weight trends. I use Trendweight, but it syncs with FitBit. There is also happyscale and libra. You enter your weight daily, and it will calculate your trend. It takes a couple weeks of regular logging to develop that trend, but it can help you get out of your head when you experience fluctuations.

  • jonalicia2503
    jonalicia2503 Posts: 23 Member
    DharmainHeels wrote: »
    Also - I know this is controvertial on here - but I NEVER eat the calories I "earn" from exercise. NEVER.

    Hi. I don't either. I feel like I would be eating too much
  • jonalicia2503
    jonalicia2503 Posts: 23 Member
    cerise_noir wrote: »
    How are you determining the calories in your food? Are you using cups/spoons, food scale, guesstimating portions? Are you logging everything that you eat drink and cook/season with?


    Hi, I use a food scale as well as measuring my the cup, etc. And no I wouldn't say I'm logging the seasoning I use to cook with or when I drink coffee :(
  • capaul42
    capaul42 Posts: 1,390 Member
    jonalicia514 wrote: »
    cerise_noir wrote: »
    How are you determining the calories in your food? Are you using cups/spoons, food scale, guesstimating portions? Are you logging everything that you eat drink and cook/season with?


    Hi, I use a food scale as well as measuring my the cup, etc. And no I wouldn't say I'm logging the seasoning I use to cook with or when I drink coffee :(

    Lots of seasonings have calories, though small, and they can add up over the course of a day. Especially if you're not logging butter or oils you cook with. They can be quite high. Heck, I just used 4 tbsp of oil in my fried chicken. That's 480 calories for 3 people.
  • everher
    everher Posts: 909 Member
    Are you eating anything different in the last couple of weeks regularly that could account for the weight gain? Perhaps something that is incorrect in the database?
  • CharlieBeansmomTracey
    CharlieBeansmomTracey Posts: 7,682 Member
    DharmainHeels wrote: »
    Try lowering your carb and sugar intake. The carbs I am "allowed" on MFP are way to high for me to lose on. I eat around 20-30 grams per day to lose weight, and less than 12 grams of sugar per day.

    lowering carb or sugar intake wont make a difference unless she makes a bigger deficit by lowering them. all thats needed to lose is a deficit. heck I ate a lot of carbs and sugar in the last week or so and I lost 0.4 lbs this week.carbs and sugar should be lowered if you have a health issue otherwise its personal preference
  • DamieBird
    DamieBird Posts: 651 Member
    How much more do you have to lose? You've lost 42 pounds in a relatively short period of time - you might be getting to that point where fat loss just naturally slows down and then hormone fluctuations are causing the scale weight issues. It doesn't necessarily mean that you aren't still losing, just that your loss may be slowing down.

    Double check to make sure that your log entries are accurate from the database. As you get lighter, it will be more important to tighten up your logging with correct information. Roughly, over five months, you've been averaging 2 pounds/week. If you are nearer to your goal, that won't be sustainable. The deficit that you were getting eating 1310 calories 42 pounds ago is much higher than the deficit that you're getting from that intake now, so your weight loss will be slower if you're still consuming the same cals.

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