Help with recomp and weight gain

Raegold
Raegold Posts: 191 Member
in Goal: Maintaining Weight
I'm hoping for some help and feedback with my recomp/maintenance. I'm 5'3, lost 40 lbs on WW after my 2nd baby, which took 14 months to lose. My last weigh in on WW was 132.6, which I stopped in early june. I'm still nursing my 18 month old 4x a day.

I've increased my strength training a lot, increased the weight... went from doing kettlebell classes deadlifts of 10-15 lbs to doing a RDL and sumo DL with 55 lbs, stuff like that. I've been doing 135g protein, shooting for between 2000-2100 calories depending on my workout, and around 240g carbs.

I just weighed myself this morning, and I'm 138.6. I'm pissed. I understand that 132.6 was my deficit weight, and that muscle retains water when you lift. But I was not expecting 6 lbs honestly. My goal long term is to get down to 125 lbs, with my increased strength. I'm planning on dieting again at some point in the next couple months, but I wanted to take a break and maintain.

Am I doing something wrong? Could this just be a fluctuation? Should I reevaluate my calories? Any insight would be really helpful.

I'm now in a bad mood for the day :neutral:

Replies

  • bliss3589
    bliss3589 Posts: 10 Member
    Hi Raegold! Did you take any body measurements at the start of your fitness journey? I ask only because you mention weight. You sound like maybe you've added muscle. If you're physically smaller but weigh more than you anticipated, I (personally) don't feel this is a bad thing. If you feel it's not muscle gain, you might need to adjust your calories. I assume your macros were set with breastfeeding calculated in... is the 18 month old having shorter feedings? Are you producing less milk? If so, your body is torching less calories to produce breast milk. Just things to consider before you get too frustrated.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    Since you changed up your routine your muscles could be retaining extra water to protect them and aid in recovery. This is normal when changing a routine (exercises, weight, reps, or intensity) After your body gets used to the new routine your muscles will shed most of the excess water.

    The only other thing to consider is caloric requirements and measurement of your intake. If you are gaining "real" weight, then you are eating too many calories.
    Do you weigh your solid foods and measure liquids? If not you are most likely eating more than you think you are.
  • rybo
    rybo Posts: 5,424 Member
    The only thing "wrong" are your expectations. How are your clothes fitting? Have you taken measurements? How long has it been that you've stepped up your strength training? Give it a few weeks, see how the scale trends vs how you look and adjust.
    Also it would be much better for your long term happiness to not let the number on a scale affect you so much
  • Raegold
    Raegold Posts: 191 Member
    So I'm not eating paleo or completely 'clean', but I'd say that I eat very healthy, a variety of foods and micronutrients. I weigh EVERYTHING I eat, so I know that I'm accurate on my calories. I didn't take any measurements, but my clothes are fitting exactly the same, if not a little tighter than they did a month ago.

    I'm assuming this all points to lowering my calories a little? It's hard to estimate how much extra to add in when breastfeeding a toddler.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    edited July 2017
    Sunna_W wrote: »
    What are your macros / percentages? Fat, Protein, Carbs? What are your measurements?

    have you thought about paleo?

    Here is an interesting article relating to breast-feeding and carbs, though.

    https://cavegirlplusone.com/blog/2015/1/22/how-many-carbs-to-eat-when-youre-breastfeeding-and-following-a-paleo-diet

    Paleo is not required for recomp... it is just a way of eating, as is vegan, vegetarian, Atkins, etc. Why push a way of eating when it wasn't even asked for?
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    Raegold wrote: »
    So I'm not eating paleo or completely 'clean', but I'd say that I eat very healthy, a variety of foods and micronutrients. I weigh EVERYTHING I eat, so I know that I'm accurate on my calories. I didn't take any measurements, but my clothes are fitting exactly the same, if not a little tighter than they did a month ago.

    I'm assuming this all points to lowering my calories a little? It's hard to estimate how much extra to add in when breastfeeding a toddler.

    How long ago was it that you changed your workouts? I am betting it is water weight from this.

    That said at your intake it probably wouldn't hurt to drop it by 100 or so.
  • cs2thecox
    cs2thecox Posts: 533 Member
    As someone who's spent the last year recomping down to about 16% body fat, have you had the chat with yourself about what your goals REALLY are? Is it actually some magical weight number, or is it really about looking a certain way, maybe being a certain size?
    As you get lean(er), you may find you need to let go of the weight goal in order to achieve the aesthetic one.
    For example, I'm about the same size in clothes that I was when I weighed 55kg, but I currently weigh about 62kg! I'm just much lower body fat and so much more muscle than I used to be.
    Letting go of the weight goal can be HARD, but it's super liberating when you discover that isn't actually what you were aiming for at all!

    I'm 5'5.5" and 1,900 (rest day) - 2,000 (training day) are my maintenance calories.
    (Not breastfeeding though!)

    I'd recommend some measurements and some photos, and review again in a month.
    If you're gaining size in a way you don't like, then maybe the calories need to come down by maybe 100 or so - I'd take it out the carbs, not the protein.
  • Sunna_W
    Sunna_W Posts: 744 Member
    erickirb wrote: »
    Sunna_W wrote: »
    What are your macros / percentages? Fat, Protein, Carbs? What are your measurements?

    Have you thought about paleo?

    Here is an interesting article relating to breast-feeding and carbs, though.

    https://cavegirlplusone.com/blog/2015/1/22/how-many-carbs-to-eat-when-youre-breastfeeding-and-following-a-paleo-diet

    Paleo is not required for recomp... it is just a way of eating, as is vegan, vegetarian, Atkins, etc. Why push a way of eating when it wasn't even asked for?

    @erickirb - since you have never been pregnant / breastfed your insight (into "cutting") not withstanding doesn't address the issue, e.g. how to address weight gain while breastfeeding.

    That is why I asked the question / provided the link to the article, with the caveat - "Here is an interesting article relating to breast-feeding and carbs, though." - because carbs are required to produce breast milk and the writer goes on to give some pretty great advice, which I thought was helpful...

  • sardelsa
    sardelsa Posts: 9,812 Member
    Sunna_W wrote: »
    erickirb wrote: »
    Sunna_W wrote: »
    What are your macros / percentages? Fat, Protein, Carbs? What are your measurements?

    Have you thought about paleo?

    Here is an interesting article relating to breast-feeding and carbs, though.

    https://cavegirlplusone.com/blog/2015/1/22/how-many-carbs-to-eat-when-youre-breastfeeding-and-following-a-paleo-diet

    Paleo is not required for recomp... it is just a way of eating, as is vegan, vegetarian, Atkins, etc. Why push a way of eating when it wasn't even asked for?

    @erickirb - since you have never been pregnant / breastfed your insight (into "cutting") not withstanding doesn't address the issue, e.g. how to address weight gain while breastfeeding.

    That is why I asked the question / provided the link to the article, with the caveat - "Here is an interesting article relating to breast-feeding and carbs, though." - because carbs are required to produce breast milk and the writer goes on to give some pretty great advice, which I thought was helpful...

    I agree with Eric. OP didn't mention anything about carbs though? Why should she even consider paleo? You seem to push certain macros on people without them even having a concern about it. I've seen this in other threads too.

    OP some things to consider...

    your weight gain could definitely could be a combination of water from increasing your strength training and water/food weight from increase in calories (esp increase in carbs), also, breastfeeding calorie needs fluctuate a lot. It is possible from the time you started recomp to now your toddler is nursing less (maybe not times per day but actual breastmilk ingested). That can obviously affect your weight if you are still eating the same number of calories.

    If you are being accurate with your food intake, I would take it slow and decrease the cals a little... believe me I am in the same boat as I am also nursing an 18 month old (and trying to lose).. it is trial and error and a lot of patience :)


  • Raegold
    Raegold Posts: 191 Member
    Thanks everyone for your insight! I'm definitely keeping my carbs on the high-ish side because of the breastfeeding.

    I do need to let go of a magical weight number. Right now, it's more of a body fat thing that bothers me... I can see it in my upper arms especially. I'm probably around 30% and I'd like to be around 25% eventually.

    I think I'm going to reevaluate after another month, and then consider lowering the calories. The good news is that I'm feeling a LOT of improvement in my strength. I've been increasing reps and going up on my weights, and it's been great. I know I couldn't do that on a major deficit, so what I'm doing is working from that perspective.

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