gaining weight and working hard!?
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daniellembaize
Posts: 1
i started exercising 5 to 6 x per week about 2 months ago. I have always been active- but being in school full time and working part time left no time for the gym. i have dedicated my summer to getting into shape and losing weight. the only issue is i havent been losing weight- but gaining it! I know in the beginning of exercising frequently most individuals gain weight because muscle weighs 8xmore than fat! I have been eating under 1,350 calories daily, as well as exercising 5-6 times per week with a net caloric intake of like 600 calories. I am pretty knowlegable about how your body works- i was a human phys major but this just doesn't make sense to me. i have gained 4 lbs since the start of summer and sure my legs feel tighter- but i feel fatter! Any suggestions? Im getting frustrated! Im drinking lots of water watching my sugars and eating proteins so i stay fuller longer.
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Replies
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edit: i was rude, noted0
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A. Muscle does not weigh more than fat.. muscle is just more dense than fat.
B. Neting 600 calories a day is not healthy at all. You should be eating the full 1350 calories, plus any exercise that you do. Your body is busy hanging on to everything that you eat because you are eating so little.. so its no surprise that your gaining weight.
I'd personally try eating more and see what happens.. I think you'll be surprised.0 -
I've got the same issue. Scale is going the other way. Frustrating. :-( I don't get it. I also tried upping the calories but that make the scale go up also!
The previous poster was rude.0 -
maybe you need to be consuming more calories ....600 seems low to me? even if you are working out, i have read that you should still be getting way more calories than that a day.0
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If you are 110% devoted to losing the weight then what you need to do first is find out how many calories you burn in a 24 hour period. This is your BMR (Base Metabolic Rate) + your Activity Level to get your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expedenture).
There are several formulas online for finding your BMR. These methods are good to start with but not 100% accurate.
To be honest the best way to find out your maintenance is to:
1. Buy a Bodybugg or a Bodymedia FIT and wear it everyday for atleast 2-3 weeks.
2. Eat normally for 2-4 weeks and track everything you eat. If your weight remains the same each week then you have found your maintenance (TDEE),
Then, you adjust your daily calorie intake and eat at a deficit of 20-40% under your maintenance (TDEE). Make sure that you are also "hitting" your macros every day. These are your proteins, fats, and carbs to minimize plateau'ing and also making sure your body gets enough proteins and fats each day. Carbs aren't neccessary but without them you'll be a dead stick while exercising, working, or doing daily activities.
Your micronutrients are needed to maintain general health. These are your vitamins and minerals.
By eating a 20-40% deficit under your maintenance this will cause you to lose 1-2lbs per week which is optimal. You don't want to go over that or it will be too fast and you risk plateau'ing and/or worse..gaining the weight back eventually.
Make sure you drink plenty of water every day.
Make sure you take a good multivitamin.
Make sure you take fish oil.
You don't have to OCD about eating 5-6 small meals a day nor eating every 2-3 hours. Just get your daily intake every day based on your goals to lose weight along with your macros. Meal timing is irrelevant.
You also should never shy away from fats, they are good for you.
Aim to consume 1g of protein per lb of lean body mass. If you need help figuring this out, you must first find out what your bodyfat% is.
Aim to consume .35-.75g of dietary fat per lb of bodyweight.
If you need more advice, let me know.0 -
I personally do not think you are eating enough. I went through the same thing and began loosing when I increased my calorie intake. It is quite possible that your body is storing everything you are putting into it because it is "afraid" it will not get more calories to replace the ones it needs (or you want) it to burn.0
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i'd ask for a refund on my undergrad
Not helpful.
Are you watching your sodium? Are you eating pretty clean, or is there still a lot of processed foods in your diet?? Are you getting enough sleep? Is it TOM right now? (I know that doesn't explain the whole summer, but it could be contributing to how you're feeling RIGHT NOW)... Do you get enough protein? Enough fat? Are your carbs the right KIND of carbs??
There are plenty of factors - try looking at the bigger picture...0 -
I've got the same issue. Scale is going the other way. Frustrating. :-( I don't get it. I also tried upping the calories but that make the scale go up also!
The previous poster was rude.
How long did you try upping your calories for? If it was only for a few days, it may have very well been water weight or just daily fluctuations that happen.
It takes a few weeks of upping the calories before anything happens scale wise. Plus, you may have been losing inches even tho the scale was going up.. which is why the scale is not always the greatest indicator of success.0 -
If you are 110% devoted to losing the weight then what you need to do first is find out how many calories you burn in a 24 hour period. This is your BMR (Base Metabolic Rate) + your Activity Level to get your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expedenture).
There are several formulas online for finding your BMR. These methods are good to start with but not 100% accurate.
To be honest the best way to find out your maintenance is to:
1. Buy a Bodybugg or a Bodymedia FIT and wear it everyday for atleast 2-3 weeks.
2. Eat normally for 2-4 weeks and track everything you eat. If your weight remains the same each week then you have found your maintenance (TDEE),
Then, you adjust your daily calorie intake and eat at a deficit of 20-40% under your maintenance (TDEE). Make sure that you are also "hitting" your macros every day. These are your proteins, fats, and carbs to minimize plateau'ing and also making sure your body gets enough proteins and fats each day. Carbs aren't neccessary but without them you'll be a dead stick while exercising, working, or doing daily activities.
Your micronutrients are needed to maintain general health. These are your vitamins and minerals.
By eating a 20-40% deficit under your maintenance this will cause you to lose 1-2lbs per week which is optimal. You don't want to go over that or it will be too fast and you risk plateau'ing and/or worse..gaining the weight back eventually.
Make sure you drink plenty of water every day.
Make sure you take a good multivitamin.
Make sure you take fish oil.
You don't have to OCD about eating 5-6 small meals a day nor eating every 2-3 hours. Just get your daily intake every day based on your goals to lose weight along with your macros. Meal timing is irrelevant.
You also should never shy away from fats, they are good for you.
Aim to consume 1g of protein per lb of lean body mass. If you need help figuring this out, you must first find out what your bodyfat% is.
Aim to consume .35-.75g of dietary fat per lb of bodyweight.
If you need more advice, let me know.
THIS!!0 -
People need to stop nit-picking on the "muscle weighs more than fat" thing. We all know what they mean. And besides, if you want to be technical about it, if you take two samples of the same VOLUME of muscle and fat, and compare their weights, the muscle would weigh more than the fat. On the flip side, if you take a pound of muscle and a pound of fat, they both weigh the same, but the muscle would take up less volume. Either way - we ALL get what people mean when they say "muscle weighs more than fat", so why do we continue to nit-pick whenever someone says this?
sorry for the mini-rant.0 -
I agree that you should be netting your 1350, if not more. There are a million posts out there explaining why. But basically your body will not release any fat when you are working that hard and eating that little.0
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Did you take your measurements prior to starting the workout? If so, have you retaken them. Do your clothes feel smaller? It sounds like you have been working very hard. What does your entire food diary look like (i.e. protein, sodium, etc.). Are you drinking enough water to make up for what you are losing during exercise? Good luck and please don't get discouraged - you have worked too hard:flowerforyou: One last thought - have you talked to a personal trainer at the gym? Maybe they would have some insights.0
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If you are 110% devoted to losing the weight then what you need to do first is find out how many calories you burn in a 24 hour period. This is your BMR (Base Metabolic Rate) + your Activity Level to get your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expedenture).
There are several formulas online for finding your BMR. These methods are good to start with but not 100% accurate.
To be honest the best way to find out your maintenance is to:
1. Buy a Bodybugg or a Bodymedia FIT and wear it everyday for atleast 2-3 weeks.
2. Eat normally for 2-4 weeks and track everything you eat. If your weight remains the same each week then you have found your maintenance (TDEE),
Then, you adjust your daily calorie intake and eat at a deficit of 20-40% under your maintenance (TDEE). Make sure that you are also "hitting" your macros every day. These are your proteins, fats, and carbs to minimize plateau'ing and also making sure your body gets enough proteins and fats each day. Carbs aren't neccessary but without them you'll be a dead stick while exercising, working, or doing daily activities.
Your micronutrients are needed to maintain general health. These are your vitamins and minerals.
By eating a 20-40% deficit under your maintenance this will cause you to lose 1-2lbs per week which is optimal. You don't want to go over that or it will be too fast and you risk plateau'ing and/or worse..gaining the weight back eventually.
Make sure you drink plenty of water every day.
Make sure you take a good multivitamin.
Make sure you take fish oil.
You don't have to OCD about eating 5-6 small meals a day nor eating every 2-3 hours. Just get your daily intake every day based on your goals to lose weight along with your macros. Meal timing is irrelevant.
You also should never shy away from fats, they are good for you.
Aim to consume 1g of protein per lb of lean body mass. If you need help figuring this out, you must first find out what your bodyfat% is.
Aim to consume .35-.75g of dietary fat per lb of bodyweight.
If you need more advice, let me know.
Love this advice...0 -
That's really the short version.
I could go on all day about macros which alot of people underestimate the importance of. Also there are people that say macros are important in only bodybuilders/athletes which is false.
Ever wonder why people plateau hard? They usually eat way under their maintenance beyond the 2lb per week limit.
They lose some weight.....
Then they plateau.....
Then they are frustrated, come on the forums and people advise them to eat more....
They start losing weight again...
It's not always the fact that they are eating MORE persay, it's because they are changing their macros when they do eat more.
Macros are VERY important folks.0 -
I agree 150% with everyone saying to eat more. I know you said "I tried upping my calories", but I don't think it was for long enough. Sometimes when our body has been starving for a long time, it assumes any "normal" calorie days (meaning 1500 NET calories or so - about 1650 more than you are eating now) will soon be followed by more starvation, so it depsarately hangs onto every nutrient it can get and your weight goes up. It's only by consistently eating enough that it realizes you are no longer starving it and is ok losing weight.
I was in the exact same position as you. I was working out 2-6 hours a day (part of my job is working out, too, which is why it was so high), and eating about 800-1200 calories, meaning I sometimes had a negative net calorie balance. AND I WAS GAINING WEIGHT!!! I was so upset and frustrated - I was literally in tears over this.
I joined MFP in May and have been "eating my exercise calories" since shortly after that. I am always within 200 calories of my NET recomended amount, except for the occasional "cheat" day. It was scary to eat more - I thought I would gain like crazy! But I have been consistently LOSING weight, about a pound a week (minus when I went on vacation and set myself back by 1.5 pounds...), since early June.
Bottom line: consistently eat more, measure your food intake and caloric expenditure accurately, and if you get within 200 of your net every day for a month, I am 99% sure you will lose weight AND gain fitness!
(edited for spelling)0 -
People need to stop nit-picking on the "muscle weighs more than fat" thing. We all know what they mean. And besides, if you want to be technical about it, if you take two samples of the same VOLUME of muscle and fat, and compare their weights, the muscle would weigh more than the fat. On the flip side, if you take a pound of muscle and a pound of fat, they both weigh the same, but the muscle would take up less volume. Either way - we ALL get what people mean when they say "muscle weighs more than fat", so why do we continue to nit-pick whenever someone says this?
sorry for the mini-rant.
Hahaha agreed.0 -
As you can see from the responses....one size does not fit all in figuring out what to do! I agree with many others that you are not consuming enough calories. I have been on a 7 week plateau....I upped my exercise and like you I gained weight.....so I upped my calories and nothing. happened. As of today, I THINK (HOPE) I finally figured out how to get the scale moving for ME again. I am doing 3 things: zig-zagging my calories; REALLY started watching my sodium (shooting for less than 2000 per day); and I stopped eating red meats (for now). The scale is finally starting to go back down again this week....after 7 very long and frustrating weeks! Good luck!0
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If you are 110% devoted to losing the weight then what you need to do first is find out how many calories you burn in a 24 hour period. This is your BMR (Base Metabolic Rate) + your Activity Level to get your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expedenture).
There are several formulas online for finding your BMR. These methods are good to start with but not 100% accurate.
To be honest the best way to find out your maintenance is to:
1. Buy a Bodybugg or a Bodymedia FIT and wear it everyday for atleast 2-3 weeks.
2. Eat normally for 2-4 weeks and track everything you eat. If your weight remains the same each week then you have found your maintenance (TDEE),
Then, you adjust your daily calorie intake and eat at a deficit of 20-40% under your maintenance (TDEE). Make sure that you are also "hitting" your macros every day. These are your proteins, fats, and carbs to minimize plateau'ing and also making sure your body gets enough proteins and fats each day. Carbs aren't neccessary but without them you'll be a dead stick while exercising, working, or doing daily activities.
Your micronutrients are needed to maintain general health. These are your vitamins and minerals.
By eating a 20-40% deficit under your maintenance this will cause you to lose 1-2lbs per week which is optimal. You don't want to go over that or it will be too fast and you risk plateau'ing and/or worse..gaining the weight back eventually.
Make sure you drink plenty of water every day.
Make sure you take a good multivitamin.
Make sure you take fish oil.
You don't have to OCD about eating 5-6 small meals a day nor eating every 2-3 hours. Just get your daily intake every day based on your goals to lose weight along with your macros. Meal timing is irrelevant.
You also should never shy away from fats, they are good for you.
Aim to consume 1g of protein per lb of lean body mass. If you need help figuring this out, you must first find out what your bodyfat% is.
Aim to consume .35-.75g of dietary fat per lb of bodyweight.
If you need more advice, let me know.
I just c&p'd this into a word doc on my laptop. AWESOME
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bump0
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A. Muscle does not weigh more than fat.. muscle is just more dense than fat.
You cannot say that muscle is both denser than fat and weighs the same, because an increased density results in an increased weight.
Weight = (Density x Volume) x Gravity. Gravity is constant because we are all on Earth, so if we hold volume constant, and we all agree that muscle is denser than fat, then the outcome is an increased weight.0
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