eating less and gaining

You may have actually added muscle weight. I recommend getting a scale that will show you your pounds in muscle, fat percentage, and hydration level as well as pounds. My trainer uses a Tanita scale. I actually gained a pound this week but lost body fat. You can get Tanita's via amazon.com

I don't have an answer for you, but feel the exact same way as you.

I bike to/from work but the weight is just creeping on. I have just started really charting my food so we'll see what happens. I have just started a couple days ago.

You don't say how old you are. I just went to see my doc for my yearly exam and she gave me this news - 56 year old women - the body loves to pack on the weight *lovely*. She said that in reality my body probably only needs 500-700 calories per day!!!! THat isn't much.

All I can say is look at your carbs - are you going heavy there?

Let me know how you are doing....:flowerforyou:

What is your carb intake? If you lower your carbs you may see some results.
Just a suggestion...

You don't say how old you are. I just went to see my doc for my yearly exam and she gave me this news - 56 year old women - the body loves to pack on the weight *lovely*. She said that in reality my body probably only needs 500-700 calories per day!!!! THat isn't much.

Wow I think your doc needs to update her credentials -- that is ridiculous. Does she have stock in the anorexia division at the hospital or something? I hope you're ignoring her.

1. How aggressive is your weight loss plan? Do you have it set too high? If you have it set at more than 1 pound per week, try lowering it to that, since you only have 25 pounds to lose, anything more than that could be too aggressive.

2. Are you measuring your food? Estimating by eyeball is going to kill you every single time. If you're not measuring, you could be over doing it and not even realizing it, which will throw off your calorie count in a major way.

3. Are you measuring your body? Even if you have a gain in the scale, you could still be losing inches (though I do find it hard to believe one could gain 2 pounds of muscle in 2 weeks from walking... it could be water weight, though). Tracking your inches is a more effective means of knowing your progress than the scale.

4. What does your sodium intake look like? Try to stay to ~1500 mg per day and not exceed 2000 mg per day. Higher sodium intake can cause water retention.

5. What does your water intake look like? Despite what some people say, water is integral in weight loss. Water + oxygen = fat burn.

I've been having the same issue -- I've been working out HARD for a month, and with a couple of slips, have kept my daily calorie intake in check. For the record - my calorie intake is usually less than 1200 calories, but I only have 10 lbs to lose and I am petite (only 5'3"). So I need less calories that someone who is 5'7" and 180 lbs with the same activity level.
This morning I was freaking out because I've only lost 1.9 lbs in a month, while 3 yrs ago when I dieted I was losing almost that per week - the difference is that at that time I was only dieting, not working out.
I did some research and came up with this: 1) some weight gain may be muscle as other people have mentioned. I know in my case this is true because I've been strength training and kickboxing. 2) some may be due to water retention, especially if you are not drinking enough water - and I am definitely guilty of that one! I've resolved today to keep refilling my water bottle and sipping water throughout the day.

Good luck to you!

Ok, first of all, the 1200 is your NET calorie goal for the day.
When you first set up your account (as I just did), it tells you it's the total calories you are left with after food + exercise.
So for me, 1200 calories is the net goal.
Yesterday, I ate 1359 calories and burned 550. I entered both, then went back to my food page and hit the green button.
It told me I had 300+ calories I could have used.
1200 is too low, and MFP isn't telling you to eat that little, if you see what I mean. I hope you do. If we eat too little, our bodies hold onto the fat we have, thinking we are entering a famine and need those fat stores to survive. If you give your body a little more, it will be comfortable enough to let go of what it's got. Maybe try adding another 100-200 to your days for a week and see what happens.
Also, if you were at all sore from working out when you stepped on the scale, you can be retaining as much as 5lbs of water as a result of lactic acid buildup in the muscle.
You don't build muscle in lbs that quickly, maybe over the course of 3-4 months, but the water retention due to muscle soreness can definitely account for a gain like that.

Can anyone tell me why i'm gaining. i know it's early but it's VERY discouraging.

Well, depending on what you are eating, plus the fact you are working out.
1. if you don't eat enough nutrition and don't eat three times a day at curtain times a day, your body will enter a feast and famine mode which is where it tries to store as much fat as it can. Eating three times a day, small meals such as a sandwich plus having a snack in between meals, like fruits or something healthy can help to get your body to start loosing weight. Some may think that eating more will make you gain and eating less will make you loose when in truth sometimes eating less makes your body work against you and hold on to the weight.

2. If you haven't been working out before this than your body is gaining muscle which weights 2 times that of the fat. So at first you will gain weight but slowly over about a month or two you should start to loose again, now this won't remain constant, it's natural for your body to gain then loose then gain than loose, it's your bodies way of equalizing it self out on a healthy schedule. Just don't give up and over the long run you should start to see it in your clothing size.

3.If you are trying to loose to fast, your body will yet again go into a feast and famine mode, try to set your settings just a bit higher so that your body doesn't enter that and you should start to see results. Keep in mind you won't see them right away.

PS: Hope this helps. Just keep it up you can do it.

Welcome!

I suggest you start learning as much as you can... you can find a wealth of information here:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/23912-links-in-mfp-you-want-to-read-again-and-again

I particularly like the one titled your bodies thoughts on calories

Good luck on your journey and happy reading!

:drinker:

2 lbs isn't really a "gain" I can gain and lose 2 lbs several times in the same week, maybe even the same day. It's just normal body fluctuations. Just give it time and stick with it. If you are eating a calorie deficit and working out your bdoy has no choice but to use up some fat.