Why do I keep gaining weight???

Graelwyn75 wrote: »

The only reasons I can think of are that

A - you are not weighing and measuring your food properly and/or are logging inaccurately.
B - you are overestimating your exercise calories.
C - you are being too aggressive in your deficit although this one seems unlikely as it is usually one of the former options and hard to gain weight on 1200 calories unless one has an underlying condition such as hypothyroidism.

This is your answer. This is always the answer. People who aren't losing or are gaining in the long run (weeks-months, not day to day) not in a calorie deficit. 1200 calories for your height and weight absolutely should create a deficit even if you are sedentary which it sounds like you aren't. Give this guide a read and report back with how confident you are that you are indeed eating 1200 calories every single day: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1296011/calorie-counting-101

How long have you been gaining/not losing? If it's only been a few days then ignore it and keep doing what you are doing. Weight fluctuates naturally for a million different reasons. Better yet, weigh your daily and log the result at trendweight.com or some other site that calculates a rolling average. That way you won't get caught up in the day to day fluctuations and you can look at the trend over time which is what really matters. To give an example, if you lose 2 lbs each week for 3 weeks then gain 2 lbs on the 4th week, you've still lost 6 lbs in a month and your trend is still going down. The 2 lbs gained could be water being retained, excess food in your stomach, stress, your natural menstrual cycle, or a million other things. The important thing is you are still trending downward in weight. Now on the other hand if your gain 1 lb a week for 6 weeks you are trending up. This happens for the reasons Graelwyn noted.

Ironandwine69 wrote: »

What's wrong with going above ten pounds?

Nothing. Except some female infomercial trainers tell women that they'll get suppah bulky if they use heavy weights... Ignoring the fact that a gallon of milk weighs more than 10 lbs.

Lift all the weight, @steelaxitute2127. It's fun.

I can guarantee you are not measuring your intake properly. Even with zero exercise, someone having 1200 calories a day would not be gaining. The answer is in your eating and your balance of macronutrients (fat, carbs, protein) in relation to your actual calorie intake.

Are you making the right swaps in food to facilitate your weight loss too? ie: swap yoghurts for plain fat free yoghurts, sugar for sweetener, fizzy drinks for water, having skimmed or almond milk. Also a lot of people think juicing helps, which yes it can if you are careful with what you put in, but having fruit as juice reduces its filling power and makes it too easy to have a huge amount of calories and sugar so be careful with things like that too. Also watch for things that say they're fat free such as flavoured yoghurts, which compensate in flavour for other things your body should try to avoid.

Make your food as clean as possible by fuelling your body with what you NEED. Meat and fish or suitable alternatives if you are a vegetarian. If you want to lose weight faster, prioritise foods that have a low energy density for their weight which give them extra slimming power. This includes most fruit and vegetables but NOT ALL; bananas, cherries, pineapple, potatoes and sweetcorn being the more commonly eaten examples. These things are still fine to eat but if it's more rapid weight loss you're after, prioritise salads, meat, fish and plain fat free yoghurt with fruit prepared at home.

Don't buy things from elsewhere, no matter how healthy they appear, I guarantee you, they're not. A salad from a shop will be full of crap that you can't even see. Prep food at home to take to work or when you're out for the day. One day a week won't affect you, but a habit of trying to be healthy whilst eating salads, yoghurts or sandwiches out is compromising your diet more than you realise.

Finally, seemingly little things will make a huge difference. Careful of what butter and oils you cook with, check how much that salad dressing actually has in it and what cereals are you eating? A lot of cereals are bad for you and even the good ones, you should try and measure to no more than 40g. A bit of cheese here and there is fine but if it's over 30g in a day and not in balance with everything else, you are making it harder for yourself. Are you doing this?

I've lost half a stone in less than a month by doing just this and no changes to my exercise regime.

TayaAzizi wrote: »

I can guarantee you are not measuring your intake properly. Even with zero exercise, someone having 1200 calories a day would not be gaining. The answer is in your eating and your balance of macronutrients (fat, carbs, protein) in relation to your actual calorie intake.

Are you making the right swaps in food to facilitate your weight loss too? ie: swap yoghurts for plain fat free yoghurts, sugar for sweetener, fizzy drinks for water, having skimmed or almond milk. Also a lot of people think juicing helps, which yes it can if you are careful with what you put in, but having fruit as juice reduces its filling power and makes it too easy to have a huge amount of calories and sugar so be careful with things like that too. Also watch for things that say they're fat free such as flavoured yoghurts, which compensate in flavour for other things your body should try to avoid.

Make your food as clean as possible by fuelling your body with what you NEED. Meat and fish or suitable alternatives if you are a vegetarian. If you want to lose weight faster, prioritise foods that have a low energy density for their weight which give them extra slimming power. This includes most fruit and vegetables but NOT ALL; bananas, cherries, pineapple, potatoes and sweetcorn being the more commonly eaten examples. These things are still fine to eat but if it's more rapid weight loss you're after, prioritise salads, meat, fish and plain fat free yoghurt with fruit prepared at home.

Don't buy things from elsewhere, no matter how healthy they appear, I guarantee you, they're not. A salad from a shop will be full of crap that you can't even see. Prep food at home to take to work or when you're out for the day. One day a week won't affect you, but a habit of trying to be healthy whilst eating salads, yoghurts or sandwiches out is compromising your diet more than you realise.

Finally, seemingly little things will make a huge difference. Careful of what butter and oils you cook with, check how much that salad dressing actually has in it and what cereals are you eating? A lot of cereals are bad for you and even the good ones, you should try and measure to no more than 40g. A bit of cheese here and there is fine but if it's over 30g in a day and not in balance with everything else, you are making it harder for yourself. Are you doing this?

I've lost half a stone in less than a month by doing just this and no changes to my exercise regime.

Not necessary. Too many rules.

All that is required for weight loss, for everybody, is a calorie deficit.

No need to cut out foods that you love.

TayaAzizi wrote: »

I can guarantee you are not measuring your intake properly. Even with zero exercise, someone having 1200 calories a day would not be gaining. The answer is in your eating and your balance of macronutrients (fat, carbs, protein) in relation to your actual calorie intake.

Are you making the right swaps in food to facilitate your weight loss too? ie: swap yoghurts for plain fat free yoghurts, sugar for sweetener, fizzy drinks for water, having skimmed or almond milk. Also a lot of people think juicing helps, which yes it can if you are careful with what you put in, but having fruit as juice reduces its filling power and makes it too easy to have a huge amount of calories and sugar so be careful with things like that too. Also watch for things that say they're fat free such as flavoured yoghurts, which compensate in flavour for other things your body should try to avoid.

Make your food as clean as possible by fuelling your body with what you NEED. Meat and fish or suitable alternatives if you are a vegetarian. If you want to lose weight faster, prioritise foods that have a low energy density for their weight which give them extra slimming power. This includes most fruit and vegetables but NOT ALL; bananas, cherries, pineapple, potatoes and sweetcorn being the more commonly eaten examples. These things are still fine to eat but if it's more rapid weight loss you're after, prioritise salads, meat, fish and plain fat free yoghurt with fruit prepared at home.

Don't buy things from elsewhere, no matter how healthy they appear, I guarantee you, they're not. A salad from a shop will be full of crap that you can't even see. Prep food at home to take to work or when you're out for the day. One day a week won't affect you, but a habit of trying to be healthy whilst eating salads, yoghurts or sandwiches out is compromising your diet more than you realise.

Finally, seemingly little things will make a huge difference. Careful of what butter and oils you cook with, check how much that salad dressing actually has in it and what cereals are you eating? A lot of cereals are bad for you and even the good ones, you should try and measure to no more than 40g. A bit of cheese here and there is fine but if it's over 30g in a day and not in balance with everything else, you are making it harder for yourself. Are you doing this?

I've lost half a stone in less than a month by doing just this and no changes to my exercise regime.

If you stopped posting after the very first sentence you'd be spot on. Everything after that ranges from not necessarily true, to completely wrong.

vismal wrote: »

TayaAzizi wrote: »

I can guarantee you are not measuring your intake properly. Even with zero exercise, someone having 1200 calories a day would not be gaining. The answer is in your eating and your balance of macronutrients (fat, carbs, protein) in relation to your actual calorie intake.

Are you making the right swaps in food to facilitate your weight loss too? ie: swap yoghurts for plain fat free yoghurts, sugar for sweetener, fizzy drinks for water, having skimmed or almond milk. Also a lot of people think juicing helps, which yes it can if you are careful with what you put in, but having fruit as juice reduces its filling power and makes it too easy to have a huge amount of calories and sugar so be careful with things like that too. Also watch for things that say they're fat free such as flavoured yoghurts, which compensate in flavour for other things your body should try to avoid.

Make your food as clean as possible by fuelling your body with what you NEED. Meat and fish or suitable alternatives if you are a vegetarian. If you want to lose weight faster, prioritise foods that have a low energy density for their weight which give them extra slimming power. This includes most fruit and vegetables but NOT ALL; bananas, cherries, pineapple, potatoes and sweetcorn being the more commonly eaten examples. These things are still fine to eat but if it's more rapid weight loss you're after, prioritise salads, meat, fish and plain fat free yoghurt with fruit prepared at home.

Don't buy things from elsewhere, no matter how healthy they appear, I guarantee you, they're not. A salad from a shop will be full of crap that you can't even see. Prep food at home to take to work or when you're out for the day. One day a week won't affect you, but a habit of trying to be healthy whilst eating salads, yoghurts or sandwiches out is compromising your diet more than you realise.

Finally, seemingly little things will make a huge difference. Careful of what butter and oils you cook with, check how much that salad dressing actually has in it and what cereals are you eating? A lot of cereals are bad for you and even the good ones, you should try and measure to no more than 40g. A bit of cheese here and there is fine but if it's over 30g in a day and not in balance with everything else, you are making it harder for yourself. Are you doing this?

I've lost half a stone in less than a month by doing just this and no changes to my exercise regime.

If you stopped posting after the very first sentence you'd be spot on. Everything after that ranges from not necessarily true, to completely wrong.

Completely true and proven with simple Science. We're not talking about body building. They're helpful tips to help people lose weight that can and do work and if people read up about it, they'd see how many people have lost weight successfully by making simple swaps and being careful about what goes into their food. It's not an opinion, it's fact. Simple calorie deficits are not enough if you're eating the wrong things. There's no need to cut out things you love, but it's all about balance.