Advice needed

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Hi all. I've been healthy eating for 12 weeks. 4 weeks ago I started swimming 4/5 times a week and was losing between 3/4lb a week. I've lost 2srone 7lb in 12 weeks. Last week I joined the gym and have been doing a lot of cardio. Today was weigh in and I've gained. I'm unsure as to why. I've been told am not eating enough. I am pretty strict this week and had only around 1000 calories a day. Could this be the reason? I've also been strict with the carbs also. I'm 5ft 7 and current weight is 18st.

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  • bex220712
    bex220712 Posts: 17 Member
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    I didn't realise I was eating so little. Was eating a lot of chicken, salad and veg etc. Fruit for breakfast etc. But since I joined gym a week ago been 5 times doing an 45mins to an hour cardio and gained. Just trying to speed weight loss up. I seemed to lose more when swimming.
  • bex220712
    bex220712 Posts: 17 Member
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    Yes I weigh all my food. Even my milk lol. Ive been doing pretty much the same with the food for last 3 month's and lost every week. I just wanted to know how many calories I should be having a day to help me lose. I also log my exercise.
  • busyPK
    busyPK Posts: 3,788 Member
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    Enter your stats into MFP and it will tell you how many calories you should eat per day. Then you need to log exercise and eat back half your exercise calories (maybe more if you lose more than what is expected over the next 4 weeks). The majority of people aim for 1lb weight loss per week - more than that for a long period of time isn't good in the long run.
  • Megan_smartiepants1970
    Megan_smartiepants1970 Posts: 39,940 Member
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    Put your stats into MFP...eat the number of calories they give you...eat half or all your exercise calories
  • bex220712
    bex220712 Posts: 17 Member
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    Thank you done my stats. Will see how I get on with that other next few weeks. Thank you all
  • csplatt
    csplatt Posts: 1,029 Member
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    Was it a different scale or different time of day? How much did you gain - like a pound?
  • bex220712
    bex220712 Posts: 17 Member
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    No it was same scale and same time of day and yes 1lb. I know some people don't think it's a lot but I've worked my butt off this week in gym. The changes I've made to already lose over 2 stone have been massive. It just confused to as why lol x
  • apullum
    apullum Posts: 4,838 Member
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    bex220712 wrote: »
    No it was same scale and same time of day and yes 1lb. I know some people don't think it's a lot but I've worked my butt off this week in gym. The changes I've made to already lose over 2 stone have been massive. It just confused to as why lol x

    If you're doing more exercise than usual, or more intense exercise, you're experiencing normal water weight fluctuation. This is completely expected and a natural part of the muscle repair process.

    Start eating a reasonable amount of calories for your stats. 3 or 4 pounds lost per week is not safe after the first few weeks of a weight loss program, when people may lose a large amount of water weight, unless you are under very close medical supervision. At your current weight, you can safely set MFP for up to a 2 lb/week rate of loss. Eat the number of calories MFP gives you. Eat half your exercise calories, and if you continue losing too fast, eat more of them. Get a trend weight app like Libra or Happy Scale, and understand that the scale will not go down every single week. You are looking for a downward trend, not a lower number every time you step on the scale. What you are experiencing is normal, but you need to have a more patient and healthier approach to weight loss.