I gained a pound!

24

Replies

  • roseganira
    roseganira Posts: 37
    I haven't really had money to buy healthy food so I've basically been drinking 2 slim fast meals per day and eating a small dinner. But i have grocery money now so tomorrow I'm going to go shopping and get a lot of fruits and vegetables and some of those Smart One's WW meals. I love those things. So i will start eating more when i have fruits and veggies. And all I drink is water so that's a good thing.
  • roseganira
    roseganira Posts: 37
    And by slim fast meals, i mean the shakes. I love those things. The French Vanilla is awesome
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,990 Member
    I don't get it. I started a diet and exercise program 7 days ago. I've eaten less than 1200 calories per day and have worked out everyday for anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour and a half! And I mix it up by doing a different cardio workout every other day and I do strength training every other day after my cardio. I can usually lose weight easily when I diet and exercise like this. I just don't get it!
    It's just water retention from starting exercising. Normal. But you should lift before cardio to be more effective.


    A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer
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  • 4HealthyMe
    4HealthyMe Posts: 34 Member
    Muscle does not weigh more than fat.

    You did not gain muscle in such a short amount of time, and on such a huge deficit.

    Eating less than 1200 calories per day consistently is a terrible idea for most people.

    Regardless of what your net goal is, you need to eat back the calories you burn during exercise.

    If you want to lose weight in a healthy way and preserve whatever muscle you already have, you need to eat more and set your goal to lose only 1 lb per week. Obviously, starving yourself did not work in the past since you said you gained weight back. It doesn't work for most people.

    ETA: Don't freak out about a 1 lb "gain".

    ^^ I agree with this.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,990 Member
    You might have gained some muscle mass since you've been working out everyday. Muscle weighs more than fat.
    That's not the likely reason. Muscle isn't easy to put on even if you're in calorie surplus. It's water retention.


    A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer
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  • RdOvt
    RdOvt Posts: 5 Member
    Are you drinking enough water?? Water helps to flush out your body. Water and green foods!
  • Rolynthunder
    Rolynthunder Posts: 30 Member
    You might have gained some muscle mass since you've been working out everyday. Muscle weighs more than fat.

    A pound of muscle weighs the same as a pound of fat. However, you would not gain a pound of muscle in a week, but you can gain a pound of fat. You should never eat less than 1200 calories. Your body is probably going into starvation mode and storing everything you eat instead of burning (evolutionary adaptation to stress). Another reason that you could be gaining weight is water retention. When you stress your muscles a lot, they will hold on to water which might look like you have gained muscle, but in fact it is just water. It takes a while to get toned and to see definition, so after a week of exercising what you are seeing is just water (sorry!).
    Try eating more (Minimum 1200, but you should eat more cals on days you work out than on days you don't work out), drink plenty of fluids and keep exercising. The weight will come off, just give it time and make sure you are properly feeding your body.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,990 Member
    You have to remmeber that if you are just starting to do weight work, your body will gain mussle mass before you will see any difference on the scale. I am a slave to the scale and had to learn not to be. I worked out for a month, 4-5 times a week and only lost one pound. I started to measure myself though and I was getting smaller, just not weighing less. Mussle weighs more thatn fat. So just give it time and don't get discouraged by the scale. SHE can be ruthless at times. Keep it up your doing great!
    Not the likely reason. It's water retention from working out that's the culprit here.


    A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • karenwill2
    karenwill2 Posts: 604 Member
    you are most likely retaining some water to help break down the lactic acid build up in your muscles. It is what happens. On Thanksgiving I started working out..gained five lbs and now am down three of those 5. However, I am so much leaner and about to head to the gym now. I try to have at least 300 cals left over every day just because it makes me feel good to have extra.
  • gettingfitismyrevenge
    gettingfitismyrevenge Posts: 9
    I agree with the others, try to eat more and just my 2 cents a pound is a pound, so a pound of fat is a pound of muscle.

    So muscles don't weight more than fat. It is like 2 lbs of feathers weight as much as 2 lbs of concrete :)


    Ya, but 2 lbs of feathers looks like a hell of a lot more than 2 lbs of concrete. LOL
    I think we all know what people really mean when they say muscle weighs more than fat - but it might be helpful if people would say, "The amount of space that 2 lbs of muscle takes up is less than the amount of space that 2 lbs of fat takes up."

    Putting that aside, I really doubt you'll gain a pound of muscle in a week, it's more than likely water retention from working muscles harder than they are used to being worked.
  • meli_medina
    meli_medina Posts: 594 Member
    tumblr_lksitnKPVu1qcwijgo1_500.png

    Even if you're eating 1100-1200 calories, if you are exercising 200-300, that is around 800 or less calories NET per day. Your body needs WAY more than that. I eat 1900 calories per day and still lose .5-1 pound per week (though I realize YMMV with metabolism and activity level). You did not gain this weight overnight and you will not lose it overnight, no matter how much you starve yourself. Besides that, if you have had an eating disorder in the past, you have to try to do this while finding a healthy relationship with food. Starving yourself does not help you develop a healthy eating routine and it will eventually lead to a rebound gain.

    Up your calories by another 200-300 per day, at the very least. :) Good luck!
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,990 Member
    I am not a medical professional and I realise that it totally depends on how much you have to lose, but I am not a huge fan of eating back all of my exercise calories. I try to have an average net of around 700 calories a day. And I eat...a lot. I think that as I get closer to the overweight BMI and out of the obese I might have to revise my thinking but I do not think there is a blanket answer. Some people succeed by eating back every single exercise calorie, others succeed by eating less.

    I think if you are in this for the long haul you have to accept that there are going to be times when you gain a pound or two. I have been up 2 for the past 3 weeks. It is frustrating, and I am changing things up a bit, but I am focusing more on how I feel, and the fact is that eating sweets and giving up on the exercise is not an option for me. I can't do it, I have come too far. Even in the beginning though, just the decision to change my life was something I was not willing to sabotage. But it is hard. Please dont get discouraged.
    While not a blanket answer, it's not wise to only have a 700 calorie net daily.


    A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • cardigirl
    cardigirl Posts: 492 Member
    Eat real food, too. I know the shakes and the frozen dinners are convenient but you are much better off measuring your food and eating "whole" foods rather than processed ones. Eat oatmeal, oat bran, whole wheat, chicken, fish, lean beef, spinach, kale, broccoli, cauliflower, sweet potatoes, beans, nuts, eggs, etc. The closer the food is to its original state, the more nutritional it is for you.

    Losing weight in a healthy manner takes some time. Keep working out, and fueling your body with good nutrition and you will see results!
  • Sweetrayray80
    Sweetrayray80 Posts: 27
    Are you drinking enough water? Also, not to be to personal but my weight jumps back & forth around that time of the month. I avoid weighing in a few days before until a few days after, because during that time a female retains more water. Even though this happens every month I usually have a larger drop the week after. Woman are just curse with a different body structure.
  • ilookthetype
    ilookthetype Posts: 3,021 Member
    tumblr_lksitnKPVu1qcwijgo1_500.png

    I had this on my wall for the longest time.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,990 Member
    And by slim fast meals, i mean the shakes. I love those things. The French Vanilla is awesome
    Liquid diets are not an effective way to lose weight. It's going to be temporary. The reason for this site is to teach people how to EAT food and learn calorie control.


    A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • cardigirl
    cardigirl Posts: 492 Member
    I agree with the others, try to eat more and just my 2 cents a pound is a pound, so a pound of fat is a pound of muscle.

    So muscles don't weight more than fat. It is like 2 lbs of feathers weight as much as 2 lbs of concrete :)


    Ya, but 2 lbs of feathers looks like a hell of a lot more than 2 lbs of concrete. LOL
    I think we all know what people really mean when they say muscle weighs more than fat - but it might be helpful if people would say, "The amount of space that 2 lbs of muscle takes up is less than the amount of space that 2 lbs of fat takes up."

    Putting that aside, I really doubt you'll gain a pound of muscle in a week, it's more than likely water retention from working muscles harder than they are used to being worked.

    Thanks for this! I hate it when people say muscle weighs more than fat. Muscle takes up less space than fat so a muscular 140 lb person wears smaller clothes than another person who's body fat ratio is higher but weighs the same 140.
  • roseganira
    roseganira Posts: 37
    I disagree with the person who said you cannot see tone and definition in 7 days. I already have a lot of muscle tone I just haven't worked out frequently for a few years but i have never quit working out. And my clothes do fit better and look better than they did 1 week ago. I do drink at least 9 bottles of water a day so i'm probably retaining water. It seems like most of the people who have posted think i need to eat more, so i'm guessing fruits and vegetables count so I'm going to eat a lot more of those. Along with yogurt, cottage cheese, things like that.
  • MrsCon40
    MrsCon40 Posts: 2,351 Member
    You might have gained some muscle mass since you've been working out everyday. Muscle weighs more than fat.

    No. You cannot gain muscle on a caloric deficit.

    You need to eat *at least* 1200 calories plus a good portion of your exercise calories. The weight you gained is likely water weight and glycogen from your new exercise.

    Eat more. Drink plenty of water. Take a rest day at least once a week.

    And give yourself at least 3 weeks before you freak out and decide something isn't working.
  • servilia
    servilia Posts: 3,452 Member
    Take a rest day or two. Up your water. You mentioned you haven't had a BM in a while? How long again? This could easily be the reason in addition to water retention. Unless you ate 3500 cals over maintenance you did not gain 1lb of fat.
  • roseganira
    roseganira Posts: 37
    Ok, so i will try not to freak out if I weigh myself next Saturday and weigh the same or have gained a little. I'm just not a very patient person. I will want to be able to fit back into my size 13 jeans by the end of Feb. So no matter what the scale says next week I'm sticking to dieting and exercising this time.
  • roseganira
    roseganira Posts: 37
    I drink at least 9 16.0 bottles of water per day. Sometimes up to 15. I'm on meds that make my mouth extremely dry so I have to drink a lot of water. And it's been 7 days since i've had a bm.
  • roseganira
    roseganira Posts: 37
    oopps i meant 16.9 ounce bottles of water
  • SarabellPlus3
    SarabellPlus3 Posts: 496 Member
    On the plus side, my jeans fit better from all the ab work i've been doing
    :) Focus on this. Think big picture.

    Do you want to look and feel better, or do you want to look at the machine (scale) and see a specific number? I bet you'd rather look better and feel better. My opinion, sometimes unpopular, is damn the scale. :)

    Muscle weighs more than fat, and that probably doesn't play into this discussion for you today, but water has weight, and ONE POUND usually has to do with that. Don't sweat it. (or, actually, DO sweat. LOL Just don't sweat one pound.)
  • LaLaMicha
    LaLaMicha Posts: 37 Member
    I don't get it. I started a diet and exercise program 7 days ago. I've eaten less than 1200 calories per day and have worked out everyday for anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour and a half! And I mix it up by doing a different cardio workout every other day and I do strength training every other day after my cardio. I can usually lose weight easily when I diet and exercise like this. I just don't get it!

    Welcome to my world.
  • roseganira
    roseganira Posts: 37
    lol..I will still go by the scale, but you are right, i do want to look and feel better. Which is the main reason I'm not giving up, because I do look and feel better. I have problems with severe depression and all these endorphins are really helping with that
  • bigprettygirl69
    bigprettygirl69 Posts: 19 Member
    just keep going......nothing beats failure like a good try
  • MB_Positif
    MB_Positif Posts: 8,897 Member
    Definitely give it a bit more time! You will see pounds come off. I sometimes go for almost a month with no loss!
  • karinaes
    karinaes Posts: 570 Member
    You might have gained some muscle mass since you've been working out everyday. Muscle weighs more than fat.

    This did NOT happen.
    you LOST muscle mass.. you need calories to build muscle.. you need to eat more, your metabolism has slowed down trememdously since you are not feeding it sufficiently
  • ketchuplover
    ketchuplover Posts: 28
    hang in there OP :)
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