Gaining weight in a caloric deficit

valeriecorbett7717 · May 2019

I’ve been eating super healthy counting my macros, filling on proteins and fats, and a moderate number of carbs for a week and working out 5 days a week. I thought I would probably loose a lb or stay at my same weight but I’ve gained 3lbs. Am I missing something?

apullum · May 2019

It may be water weight, especially if you’ve recently started or intensified your exercise. However, none of the things you mentioned cause weight loss. In order to lose weight, you must be in a calorie deficit.

Phirrgus · May 2019

Are you measuring and weighing everything you eat? The macros are not super important up front, but estimated calories can be way over at times. Here's a great read to help you get going.
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10636388/free-customized-personal-weight-loss-eating-plan-not-spam-or-mlm/p1

At the top of each forum are a number of stickied posts. I highly recommend digging through those for gems like the one I posted.

Panini911 · May 2019

if you started new or increased exercise your muscles may be retainer water to repair themselves. or the change in diet could maybe possibly cause some water retention. 3lbs is within the ballpark of natural variation of water as well (did you weight in the same clothes at the same time?)

but as mentionned above, are you using a food scale and counting calories? really that is what matters for weight loss (the other stuff matters for overall health and satiety but not for weight loss ).

a week is also a very short period of time to analyse if something is working or not.

Teabythesea_ · May 2019

"Healthy" doesn't really matter from a weight loss perspective. You also seem to have a heightened focus on macro percentages and exercise when in the end your primary goal should be to eat in a calorie deficit. If you dont already have one, get a food scale to track your intake.

Also, weight loss isnt linear. Some days you'll lose and some you'll gain. For some it helps to weigh every day and use an app to track the trend.

Danp · May 2019

Weight loss comes from a calorie deficit.

If you're eating in a calorie surplus it doesn't matter how 'healthy' you've decided that food is or which percentage of those calories are split between fat, protein and carbs.

Noreenmarie1234 · May 2019

It has been a week... that is not long enough to judge a change in weight.

KetoZandra · May 2019

Measure, weigh and track everything!
Double check your macro.
Double check your calorie deficit.
Back off on working out to 2 times a week.
Measure your body.

JeromeBarry1 · May 2019

There's a 50% chance that the one week you've been watching has been one of the two weeks each month that you cyclically retain water. Don't engage in worry. Weigh and log your food honestly and accurately.

Seffell · May 2019

valeriecorbett7717 wrote: »

I’ve been eating super healthy counting my macros, filling on proteins and fats, and a moderate number of carbs for a week and working out 5 days a week. I thought I would probably loose a lb or stay at my same weight but I’ve gained 3lbs. Am I missing something?

Yes. Weight is not representative of your fat but of your overall weight including water in your tissues and food and waste in your system. Since you're mostly made of water, for your body to function normally, it will have as much water as needed any given day or hour.
As a result people's weight fluctuates constantly up and down.

If you are on a deficit, your average weight over several weeks will start to drop.

So what you didn't know before starting to eat less (and starting to weigh yourself frequently) is that your weight fluctuates daily.

Gaining weight in a caloric deficit

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