1300 Calories a Day Still Gaining Weight!!!

Hello! I'm new to the community and am having a bit of difficulty losing weight this week. I recently threw my back out so I've been laying down at home a lot and mostly sedentary. I started to count calories to make sure I was still losing weight in my condition. When I started, the weight just flew off I went from 239 to 228 in a little over a week. Now I'm starting to see the scale creep up. I'm at 231 as of this morning. Yesterday was 230.4. I'm diligent about weighing my food (down to the teaspoon) and I enter EVERYTHING into mfp (even a bite!) For the most part I hit 1300 everyday if not less, but never over. Somedays will be salads with chicken breast others will have a few carbs like a low carb tortilla taco or a lean cuisine. Since I've begun I've had anywhere between 1-2 6oz glasses of red or rosé wine. No matter what I eat I am very diligent about staying in my 1300 calories. Has anyone else experienced this? Are there any suggestions? Can eating less than 1300 cause me to gain weight? I'm unable to exercise, but I'm 5'4" and 231 lbs as of today so my resting calorie burn should be around 1700-1800 a day even if I'm sedentary. Any insight will be appreciated. Thank you. ❤

Replies

  • Jthanmyfitnesspal
    Jthanmyfitnesspal Posts: 3,522 Member
    Sorry to hear that an injury has you sidelined. I find it difficult to count calories when I have other problems!

    Anyway, 1300kcals/day is well below your estimated "sedentary TDEE" (the number of calories you burn). In fact, if you maintain that level of eating, you should lose more than a pound a week. I'm no genius, I used the page below to type in your numbers and get an approximate plan (very similar to MFP's formula, but ignore all the other silly advice on the page). It's just a formula and your actual TDEE could be a little different:

    https://www.calculator.net/calorie-calculator.html

    Anyway, your weight can fluctuate by a few pounds a day while you're trying to lose only a pound a week. If you are consistent with your plan, you WILL lose weight. To track it, weigh in the morning, after toilet, in underwear, record and watch the trend over many days. Hold on, it's a bumpy ride!

    Best of luck!
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    https://physiqonomics.com/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-weight-and-fluctuations/

    You might look into a weight trending app to smooth out daily weigh-ins.
  • dawnbgethealthy
    dawnbgethealthy Posts: 7,883 Member
    Don’t take this as any form of judgement for the daily glass(es) of wine but something may not be quite right here.

    Even a small (and who pours a truly small 125ml glass at home?) glass of wine is going to set you back at least 110 calories. You’re pouring a 6oz glass (150ml) - so that’s around 150 calories per glass. Are you counting those glasses in your sub 1300 daily calories?

    If you are then your actual food intake is at an unhealthily low level and definitely not sufficient to aid healing of your back problem.

    If you’re not counting it, then there’s your deficit wiped out, pretty much.

    Either way, it’s maybe something to think about to help you move forward.

    Yes, I was also interested in the wine part. Alcohol may keep the liver too busy to burn fat.
    Perhaps cut wine out for a bit and see if that makes a difference?
  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,626 Member
    Without being able to see your diary, the only thing we can really say is that it may be normal fluctuations OR you may be eating - or drinking- more than you THINK you are (which happens a LOT)

    Also if you are injured, your body will retain water while healing and the scale will creep up. it is not real weight.

    so, there are many factors at play here.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    TeaBea wrote: »
    https://physiqonomics.com/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-weight-and-fluctuations/

    You might look into a weight trending app to smooth out daily weigh-ins.

    ^^this

    The "pounds per week" you select is an average, not a guarantee that you will lose every week like clockwork. The body is a living thing, not a machine. Some people, like me, see a loss all at once on the scale in a "whoosh" about once a month even!

    Right, the first 6 months of this year it was very unusual for me to hit exactly the weekly rate of loss I selected in any given week, but over the 6 months it averaged out to be right on target.
  • Weight fluctuations are totally normal. Check this short article out https://physiqonomics.com/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-weight-and-fluctuations/

    I think you just need more time.

    Hang in there.