Gaining weight !

nickyanne2 · April 2018

I am , or think I am , recording my food on MFP correctly and keeping below 1100 calories per day. According to MFP I should be losing weight , but last two weeks I have gained . Confused !!!

MichelleSilverleaf · April 2018

If you're gaining, you're not in a deficit. Although water retention, new exercise and TOM can all cause temporary weight gains. That being said you shouldn't be eating below 1100cal, you shouldn't be eating below 1200cal. If you're not using a food scale, get one and begin using it to weigh everything. Double check entries with USDA database or the nutritional label to make sure you're using an accurate entry (the database is user-created and there are a lot of incorrect entries). And eat at least 1200cal.

tinkerbellang83 · April 2018

Can you open your diary? (Settings> Sharing & Privacy>Diary Sharing> Public) It's highly unlikely you're gaining any weight eating 1100 calories, unless you're very short, have very little to lose and/or are older.

nickyanne2 · April 2018

Mmm tinkerbell83 all of those !

tinkerbellang83 · April 2018

Ok so looking back across Sunday - Wednesday alone, I have a couple of questions:

Sunday "Homemade - Roast Pork & Apple Dinner" is this your own recipe or one you've picked out of the database, if it's the latter it's very likely nowhere near the calories of the meal you had.
Sunday & Monday - Avocado - Avocado is pretty calorie heavy because of it's fat content, ideally you want to be going by weight rather than generic size.
Monday - Roast Chicken Breast - what size chicken breast, again assuming this is a generic entry you've picked? 1 new potato, is that meant to be a normal potato or one baby potato, a normal medium sized potato is around 140 calories
Monday - Snacks - just 1 walnut?, bananas can differ in calories dependant on size, so again it's best to weigh.
Tuesday - just one item logged - bran flakes with nothing else. Would hope this was not the total of your eating for the day.

Going further back there are similar entries, "Homemade" items with very odd looking nutrition (Chicken Dinner with no protein listed) and days with missing meals.

Suggestions

Get/use a food scale, if you are short and close to goal, accuracy is incredibly important
Create your own recipes if you're making something from scratch in the recipe builder, this will give you more accurate calorie/nutrition breakdown.
Check the nutritional data of items you're scanning/logging, the database is user entered and there are a lot of incorrect entries.
When you're logging fresh produce that doesn't have a barcode or you're not sure of the nutritional information, look for a USDA entry - for example search for USDA Banana.
Finally, be patient, with only a little to lose, it's going to be a slow process and losses will often likely be masked by water retention.

nickyanne2 · April 2018

Thank you for your very detailed advice , it is difficult to work out the value of home cooked meals , I can see that a lot is guess work . I will certainly take more care. I am so impressed that you have taken such time and care in analysing my input. I would be interested to hear your story and look at an example of your daily diary , not sure how to access it. Thank you again .

LivingtheLeanDream · April 2018

Tinkerbell has given you the answers (she knows what shes talking about too

) but I just wanted to say, its been a few weeks which is really early days. When you don't have much to lose its really slow going and your logging has to be impeccable. Stick with it, use a food scale and you will lose. I only had 20lbs to lose and it took me the best part of a year - I don't think weight loss gets much slower than that LOL.

All the best.

nickyanne2 · April 2018

Thank you , years ago I could give up bread & potatoes and the weight just fell off , I rarely eat them now so have to cut back somewhere else ! But as you say not much to lose , but well done you for your weight loss.

try2again · April 2018

nickyanne2 wrote: »

Thank you for your very detailed advice , it is difficult to work out the value of home cooked meals , I can see that a lot is guess work . I will certainly take more care. I am so impressed that you have taken such time and care in analysing my input. I would be interested to hear your story and look at an example of your daily diary , not sure how to access it. Thank you again .

Here's a post that contains more logging info and how to calculate the values of your meals

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10640205/the-basics-of-accurate-logging#latest

Linda_Lou_62 · April 2018

I hit week five and had a weight gain. I have no idea why. I log in every day and am always under. a few times too far under but I dont deprive myself. has anyone else had this type of shift. my hope is it will only be this one week.

kpeterson539 · April 2018

nickyanne2 wrote: »

Thank you for your very detailed advice , it is difficult to work out the value of home cooked meals , I can see that a lot is guess work . I will certainly take more care. I am so impressed that you have taken such time and care in analysing my input. I would be interested to hear your story and look at an example of your daily diary , not sure how to access it. Thank you again .

I am not sure if you're aware but there is a recipe builder on the website. It's pretty easy to use and to adjust.

NEOHgirl · April 2018

I second using the recipe builder function for foods made from scratch. You need to be doubly careful here of the ingredient listings it pulls in though. I find that it is even less reliable than normal, and I have to replace it with more accurate options. Once you have it right though, it can be a great assistance.

JMcGee2018 · April 2018

Linda_Lou_62 wrote: »

I hit week five and had a weight gain. I have no idea why. I log in every day and am always under. a few times too far under but I dont deprive myself. has anyone else had this type of shift. my hope is it will only be this one week.

Weight fluctuates naturally due to water retention and food accumulation in your digestive system. A salty or carb-heavy meal one day can cause your weight to increase as you retain more water over the next few days, and a delayed bowel movement can keep your weight up until you pass it out of your body, but both of those are temporary weight gains that have nothing to do with fat loss. Adding new exercise can also lead to water retention, as can that TOM and bodily-randomness that it would probably take an MD to adequately explain.

Beachrunner54 · April 2018

I finally bought a digital food scale yesterday at target for $20...game changer!! I’ve been waaayyy over serving myself.

Ninkasi · April 2018

NEOHgirl wrote: »

I second using the recipe builder function for foods made from scratch. You need to be doubly careful here of the ingredient listings it pulls in though. I find that it is even less reliable than normal, and I have to replace it with more accurate options. Once you have it right though, it can be a great assistance.

I live and die by the recipe builder because I cook often and take leftovers to work for lunch. The recipe builder does have some major glitches in it (once I put in 2 T of mint leaves and it found "2 T crushed Mint Oreos," WTH) but once you get the hang of it, the corrections are quick and easy. I've gotten unpleasant surprises with some recipes I've plugged in (*those* recipes go in the 'holidays only' file from now on) but others that I thought would be calorie bombs have been worth it (like maybe a bit high in calories but very filling so I don't need to worry about being hungry later).

Seriously, if you cook on an even semiroutine basis, use the recipe builder. It takes the guesswork out.

Gaining weight !

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