Creeping weight gain
rvmyerscmi
Posts: 12 Member
So after going from 280 to 150 in 2013/14 I've been able to maintain my weight for years. This year, I've upped my activity and added some cardio to my daily workouts. Suddenly, I'm gaining weight while eating the same thing I have for years! I don't understand this. I was hoping to be able to add some back in or be less stringent, but now it seems like I have to take more out. I generally eat around 2000cal/day. My AppleWatch Move metric is around 600-700 every day. I walk a 5K every morning for exercise and, coupled with my other activity, my Exercise minutes run between 60-90 minutes a day. My steps are usually 18K-20K per day. I think that's fairly active so why would adding additional exercise cause my weight to begin creeping up? It's very disheartening after all these years.
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Replies
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Portion creep?6
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Are you weighing, measuring, and tracking everything that you eat?1
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How much weight have you gained, and over what period of time?2
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How long ago was the activity increase and how large of a departure to previous? Were there any work or life related changes at the same time? For example more walks but not working a job standing behing a counter for 8 hours or something similar?0
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One of a couple of things,
You're eating too much or possible water retention.
Check your TDEE here www.tdeecalculator.net (choose the maintenance tab or cutting if you want to get the weight back off).
Also unless you are already doing 3-4 litres of water a day, I would up your water intake.
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Thanks for the replies. Let’s see if I can answer a few. Portion creep: I measure and weigh most things or use a standardized amount for an item. Ie, a grilled chicken breast is 170. They all come out of the same case at the store so while they may vary a bit, over time it should average out. I don’t really track veggies and greens but just use preassigned amounts as a “standard”. Been doing this for years so I don’t see any change here. I shoot for 1700 cal/day and allow 300 for errors, omissions and unknowns. TDEE: Don’t know what that is. Gain: 5-ish pounds since January. Was hovering at 149-ish. Now at 155-ish.1
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If you were truly eating 1700+300 cals a day with all that activity you would not be gaining.
Go back to the drawing board, track and log everything/use food scales etc - in other words tighten your logging again.
TDEE is Total Daily Energy Expenditure.
For a guy with your activity level you should be talking a TDEE of 2500+ cals - that's without knowing your height/age.
You are eating more than you think you are
(I'm petite 5ft 2/125lbs and maintain on 1900-2000 - and I'm not as active as you)5 -
Any chance you've gained some muscle mass?5
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A couple of things.. you stated you upped activity and added in cardio in addition to your daily workouts, part of this can be water retention due to volume/intensity increase in exercise.
Adding in a couple of point that may or may not be relative to your situation... when increasing exercise we can become more tired in the day resulting in burning less NEAT offsetting some of your exercise calorie burns. Secondly small increases in calories per day over TDEE will eventually show weight creep over time. Weigh and log all your food cause using standardized measurements are guesstimates.
What is puzzling is with 20k steps a day, this puts you very active and your calorie intake seems too low, low but not knowing your stats and add in the fact you are not weighing all food then I suspect your intake is higher.9 -
rvmyerscmi wrote: »Thanks for the replies. Let’s see if I can answer a few. Portion creep: I measure and weigh most things or use a standardized amount for an item. Ie, a grilled chicken breast is 170. They all come out of the same case at the store so while they may vary a bit, over time it should average out. I don’t really track veggies and greens but just use preassigned amounts as a “standard”. Been doing this for years so I don’t see any change here. I shoot for 1700 cal/day and allow 300 for errors, omissions and unknowns. TDEE: Don’t know what that is. Gain: 5-ish pounds since January. Was hovering at 149-ish. Now at 155-ish.
How are you determining that that chicken breast, for example, is 170 calories? Are you weighing it? Considering all of the oils, etc. that you might use?
I'd say tighten up your logging first. Then see what happens. Because with your stats, you should be losing on that amount of calories, not gaining. But since you're not weighing everything, you really don't know what you're eating.2 -
A couple of things.. you stated you upped activity and added in cardio in addition to your daily workouts, part of this can be water retention due to volume/intensity increase in exercise.
Adding in a couple of point that may or may not be relative to your situation... when increasing exercise we can become more tired in the day resulting in burning less NEAT offsetting some of your exercise calorie burns. Secondly small increases in calories per day over TDEE will eventually show weight creep over time. Weigh and log all your food cause using standardized measurements are guesstimates.
What is puzzling is with 20k steps a day, this puts you very active and your calorie intake seems too low, low but not knowing your stats and add in the fact you are not weighing all food then I suspect your intake is higher.
All this. Probably some water weight in there - 5 lbs is within normal weight fluctuations.
I think many people find that over the months and years, our perception of portion size can creep upwards. Personally I think it's a good exercise for anyone to once or twice a year, pull out the food scale and weigh all of your portions for a week or two, just to "reset" our ability to see the right amount of food. That's what I'd suggest OP, just to be sure the answer isn't as simple as your portions have become just a smidge too big. Good luck!6 -
So I found a TDEE calculator online. It says i should be at 2,621. (I was going to post a screen shot but it doesn't appear you can add photos into posts) Now this really makes no sense. I rotate between the same freakin' 10 meals throughout the week. Week, after week, after week. They're programmed into MFP. Whichever ones I eat that day, I add it in. If you look at my log, it's pretty much the same every day. I eat in restaurants 95% of the time so unless they have drastically changed things and kept it a secret, then it should be consistent. My plan had been as I added in more exercise, if my weight dropped, I could add in extra food. Hadn't figured on weight going up with no food changes and more exercise. I already get dizzy and loose focus during the day, which sucks BTW. I've tried cutting down more, but then I start getting hand tremors and I just have to have something. When I was at my all-time low in the 130's I could barely function and I'm starting to feel that way again. I was hoping exercise would make me feel better. I get tired of feeling worn out all the time. Now, I'm even more tired and the weight's going up.1
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Something is not adding up. Would you mind making your diary public?4
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rvmyerscmi wrote: »So I found a TDEE calculator online. It says i should be at 2,621. (I was going to post a screen shot but it doesn't appear you can add photos into posts) Now this really makes no sense. I rotate between the same freakin' 10 meals throughout the week. Week, after week, after week. They're programmed into MFP. Whichever ones I eat that day, I add it in. If you look at my log, it's pretty much the same every day. I eat in restaurants 95% of the time so unless they have drastically changed things and kept it a secret, then it should be consistent. My plan had been as I added in more exercise, if my weight dropped, I could add in extra food. Hadn't figured on weight going up with no food changes and more exercise. I already get dizzy and loose focus during the day, which sucks BTW. I've tried cutting down more, but then I start getting hand tremors and I just have to have something. When I was at my all-time low in the 130's I could barely function and I'm starting to feel that way again. I was hoping exercise would make me feel better. I get tired of feeling worn out all the time. Now, I'm even more tired and the weight's going up.
Mystery solved. The menu may be the same, and the nutritional value listed on the website may be the same, but the food preparation is not the same. I've watched them prepare food .... oil and butter are not measured. Meat may be relatively consistent in portion as it's an expensive item, but nothing else is.8 -
I agree that after maintaining for so many years it seems odd, but just wanted to say WAY TO GO on catching it at 5 pounds and working to see what is going on. I would also suggest getting some blood work done to rule out some sort of physical change.
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rvmyerscmi wrote: »So I found a TDEE calculator online. It says i should be at 2,621. (I was going to post a screen shot but it doesn't appear you can add photos into posts) Now this really makes no sense. I rotate between the same freakin' 10 meals throughout the week. Week, after week, after week. They're programmed into MFP. Whichever ones I eat that day, I add it in. If you look at my log, it's pretty much the same every day. I eat in restaurants 95% of the time so unless they have drastically changed things and kept it a secret, then it should be consistent. My plan had been as I added in more exercise, if my weight dropped, I could add in extra food. Hadn't figured on weight going up with no food changes and more exercise. I already get dizzy and loose focus during the day, which sucks BTW. I've tried cutting down more, but then I start getting hand tremors and I just have to have something. When I was at my all-time low in the 130's I could barely function and I'm starting to feel that way again. I was hoping exercise would make me feel better. I get tired of feeling worn out all the time. Now, I'm even more tired and the weight's going up.
Mystery solved. The menu may be the same, and the nutritional value listed on the website may be the same, but the food preparation is not the same. I've watched them prepare food .... oil and butter are not measured. Meat may be relatively consistent in portion as it's an expensive item, but nothing else is.
Bingo! Restaurants change food providers, chefs, cooking techniques and calorie counts. Case in point, a long time shop I go to recently changed vendors and the new veggie burgers have cheese. I don’t eat cheese, but if I did, that could add maybe 50 calories to the dish. Add to that maybe the new burger is drier and requires oil to cook. My point, little things add up.3 -
Not to mention that restaurants have a way of taking a 500 cal meal (prepared at home) and turning it into a 1500 cal meal. It's almost magical how they do that.
Without looking at your diary, (sorry, didn't do that) if you're breaking your meals down by the contents, and not by "approved" restaurant entries, you may as well tack on 1k cals to be safe.
Restaurant eating on a consistent basis can be so bad for you, is there any way you can prepare your own foods?6 -
So, this was happening to me, weight creep and feeling exhausted. Turns out I had very low vitamin levels, especially vitamin D. Once I got that back in balance I could again maintain my weight without feeling exhausted or as if I "needed" more food. Maybe not a fix for you, but it certainly helped me.5
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LivingtheLeanDream wrote: »If you were truly eating 1700+300 cals a day with all that activity you would not be gaining.
Go back to the drawing board, track and log everything/use food scales etc - in other words tighten your logging again.
TDEE is Total Daily Energy Expenditure.
For a guy with your activity level you should be talking a TDEE of 2500+ cals - that's without knowing your height/age.
You are eating more than you think you are
(I'm petite 5ft 2/125lbs and maintain on 1900-2000 - and I'm not as active as you)
The only thing about tdee calculators are, they do not take into account dieting history, metabolic slow down, muscle adaptation. It sucks, but its true.
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Changed the diary setting. I track components for most places, not menu items. The ones I do are simple enough that I can feel confident that I'm logging them accurately. Nothing I order is standard. I customize everything or supplement with my own items. I go to the same places all the time to the point that at many, I don't even have to order. They know me and I just say, "the usual" and they know what to bring out.0
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psychod787 wrote: »LivingtheLeanDream wrote: »If you were truly eating 1700+300 cals a day with all that activity you would not be gaining.
Go back to the drawing board, track and log everything/use food scales etc - in other words tighten your logging again.
TDEE is Total Daily Energy Expenditure.
For a guy with your activity level you should be talking a TDEE of 2500+ cals - that's without knowing your height/age.
You are eating more than you think you are
(I'm petite 5ft 2/125lbs and maintain on 1900-2000 - and I'm not as active as you)
The only thing about tdee calculators are, they do not take into account dieting history, metabolic slow down, muscle adaptation. It sucks, but its true.
But ya gotta start somewhere. Find the number, track it for a month or so, and adjust based on results.7 -
rvmyerscmi wrote: »I already get dizzy and loose focus during the day, which sucks BTW. I've tried cutting down more, but then I start getting hand tremors and I just have to have something. When I was at my all-time low in the 130's I could barely function and I'm starting to feel that way again.
This would concern me. If you're getting dizzy at maintenance calories something's not right. How tall are you that you got down to 130? And why are you eating so little you're losing focus during the day?
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quiksylver296 wrote: »psychod787 wrote: »LivingtheLeanDream wrote: »If you were truly eating 1700+300 cals a day with all that activity you would not be gaining.
Go back to the drawing board, track and log everything/use food scales etc - in other words tighten your logging again.
TDEE is Total Daily Energy Expenditure.
For a guy with your activity level you should be talking a TDEE of 2500+ cals - that's without knowing your height/age.
You are eating more than you think you are
(I'm petite 5ft 2/125lbs and maintain on 1900-2000 - and I'm not as active as you)
The only thing about tdee calculators are, they do not take into account dieting history, metabolic slow down, muscle adaptation. It sucks, but its true.
But ya gotta start somewhere. Find the number, track it for a month or so, and adjust based on results.
true... soo true.... I guess we could go get a double water test done! lol BTW that picture, damn! You are my hero! You are buff!1 -
You mentioned a couple of times that you've increased exercise recently. You haven't answered my question about it which was trying to guage increase of activity vs potential reduction in NEAT.
In any case.
if you've increased exercise recently it absolutely is possible that you are showing water retention because of it.
If you're showing 5lbs up... is that a trend from an app or a once a month weigh in?
How often do you weigh?
5lbs is within normal variation especially with exercise increase in the mix.
The part where you're feeling the shakes/low energy etc. These are signs, to me, especially combined with you being a long term dieter, of adaptive thermogenesis, and yes, you probably ought to be looking at the re-feeds and diet breaks thread.
Your activity level comes in at above very active based on your description. We're talking an activity multiplier of 1.9+ x BMR. So well over 2500 Cal a day would be your expected expenditure.
The chances of you under-estimating your intake are very high. This does not mean that the warning signs of having the shakes or mental effects from under-eating get to be discounted because your intake is miscalculated. Your calories out are also under-estimated too, and no-where near as low as 2000.4 -
The only metric I have for activity, and if I’m being a slacker, is my Apple Watch. I have my Move goal at 500 and it used to be 4-5 in the afternoon before I would hit it. Now, I’m hitting it before noon. Today was at 7:30am. A few months ago my daily Move total ended up between 550 and 650. Now, it’s usually over 700 at the end of the day,
When I look at that, I suspect I’ve overestimated just how much additional exercise I’m really doing. Adding 100 or so Move points really isn’t that much. Maybe it’s just “winter weight” since it continues to be cold and miserable here (Illinois, USA). Once it gets warmer and I can walk more outside we’ll see if thing improve. “Continue to monitor” is probably the only thing to do for now.0 -
I highly doubt that you are eating 1,700 calories and gaining weight when your TDEE is 2,600 calories.
Eating out 95% of the time and trying to track calorie intake accurately is not a viable combo.5 -
rvmyerscmi wrote: »Changed the diary setting. I track components for most places, not menu items. The ones I do are simple enough that I can feel confident that I'm logging them accurately. Nothing I order is standard. I customize everything or supplement with my own items. I go to the same places all the time to the point that at many, I don't even have to order. They know me and I just say, "the usual" and they know what to bring out.
Is there a reason that tightening up your logging is the thing you don't want to address? Much easier to fix an eating issue than an exercise issue.
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There's a few reasons I don't want to change my logging system. First is because it's been successful for years. I have standardized my meals and curated things to be workable for me. I've been doing this for nearly 5 years, every day, no breaks. I've developed this system over a long time. It would take two pages to outline my entire system. Believe me, my friends mock me for it. However, most of them have stopped using MFP a long time ago. I guess I don't use MFP in a "traditional" fashion. I call my system "mindful eating". It's my way of keeping portions sensible and watching that things don't "creep up". It's also a way to look up new things to see how they might fit in. I just did one of these today. My veggie bowls lack crunchiness. I got to thinking, "maybe adding water chestnuts to them would be a nice addition". MFP allowed me to look up water chestnuts, get a sense for what they do calorically and nutritionally, and determine how much I might want to add. This was very helpful and an example of how I use the app.
Secondly, if you're approaching things from a scientific perspective, you don't change two variables at the same time. Food has been consistent for years, weight has been consistent for years. The only change is increased intensity in my workouts. That's why the creeping weight gain was surprising.
More on that later . . .
Finally, It's philosophical as well. There's more to all this than just "logging". We're getting off-topic but MFP is kinda lousy for maintenance. The crazy "You gained one pound this week" reminders and to some extent even the daily numbers at the top of the log really aren't helpful to one's mindset. It would be nice if there was a way to set it up for weekly totals, not daily totals. The daily counts lead to worrying about eating a cookie because "well, that wrecked my day". It also leads to this goofy concept of a "Cheat day" . WTH is that?!?!? "Cheating", by definition, would be altering things outside of the rules to your benefit. In this case, the only way to cheat would be to go in to the app and adjust the numbers so things counted for less than they were. I see a lot of people quit because the daily pressure is psychologically damaging to achieving their long term goals. Consistency over time is the important thing, not what you ate on any given day. Be on a lifestyle change mission, not a "diet" mission, people! Friends who knew me back when I was pushing 300 pounds ask me all the time, "Hey, I want to lose 20 pounds, how do I do it? The first thing I as them is, "Why?" Does losing 19 make you a failure? What happens when you hit 20? Are you "done"? I preach lifestyle, not "diet". Ye gads, I hate that word!
Ok, rant off.
On to some better news regarding weight gain. This morning's weigh-in I was down over 3 pounds. Still at the high end of my normal range but within it so it's good to see the drop. It also matches a weight from last October so, over an extended time, I may still be consistent. The winter doldrums may indeed be playing a part. Since I have upped my workouts I would hope that I do gain some muscle and that might eventually influence my weight as well. I could believe I gained a pound or so of muscle since upping my workouts, I wasn't believing 4-5 pounds. Time will tell. I'm a lot more content with my "continue to monitor" plan today after the weigh-in.
Plus, even us long-termer's can freak out once in a while. Thanks for everyone's input!
Remember, it's a journey, not a destination!!8 -
I am in the same boat as you (although I only had to lose 40 pounds). For me, it's exercise. If I don't walk an hour a day I gain weight. It does not matter what I eat. It happens every winter when there's too much ice to walk to work. Started walking again and the weight came off. Good luck.4
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Could it be age related? We slow down as we age.6
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