Why am I gaining weight?
Replies
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Maybe, your gaining musle. I did that before don't give up ! Its awesome you can excerise!
:happy:
No muscle gaining on less than 1200 Net cals/day. You need a caloric surplus to build any measurable amount of muscle.
this0 -
I am doing a lot of weight training but I didn't think it was possible to put on a pound of muscle in only a week. I opened up my diary though I am a little embarrassed lol. Thank you everyone for your help! I try to be pretty accurate and am for the most part with meals but sometimes its hard when I am picking at things so a lot of times for snacks i do the 'Quick add' option
For exercise I have been doing Biggest Loser power sculpt and cardio max videos as well as working on the elliptical.
It's normal for weight training to cause a weight gain due to water retained by your muscles as part of the recovery process. Muscle isn't the only thing that weighs more (by volume) than fat, so my advice is to put the scale away for now and take out the tape measure.0 -
sounds like your in starvation mode... make sure that you eating enough to sustain. 1200 is bare minimum calories and if you workout like that you are living on nothing.0
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Measuring well help tell you if you are losing weight. Also taking pictures. front, side and back.0
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eat more, get plenty water, take a rest day 1-2 times a week. . . get plenty fresh fruits and vegetables0
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Maybe, your gaining musle. I did that before don't give up ! Its awesome you can excerise!:happy:
No muscle gaining on less than 1200 Net cals/day. You need a caloric surplus to build any measurable amount of muscle.
This...
Also, just remember at the end of the day it's all a numbers game, and accuracy > everything.
Calories in - Calories out...0 -
If you are not using a heart rate monitor I bet you are way overestimating calories burned. I was doing this by hundreds until I got my HRM and now I know exactly what I burn!0
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Not knowing what your exercise program is I will offer up this. When I began my program I used the calories that were shown on my treadmill as my daily exercise. Not knowing at the time that unless the treadmill allows you to enter your weight that the information would be wrong!! The treadmill was registering calories for a person who weighs about 150 lbs. If I were still using this I would be in deep trouble!! I am currently burning 915 calories per workout however, the treadmill says I burned 1400 calories….so you can see how I could over eat!!
I found this site that helps me identify my calories based on my activity and my weight.
http://42.195km.net/e/0 -
I am doing a lot of weight training but I didn't think it was possible to put on a pound of muscle in only a week. I opened up my diary though I am a little embarrassed lol. Thank you everyone for your help! I try to be pretty accurate and am for the most part with meals but sometimes its hard when I am picking at things so a lot of times for snacks i do the 'Quick add' option
For exercise I have been doing Biggest Loser power sculpt and cardio max videos as well as working on the elliptical.
It's normal for weight training to cause a weight gain due to water retained by your muscles as part of the recovery process. Muscle isn't the only thing that weighs more (by volume) than fat, so my advice is to put the scale away for now and take out the tape measure.
^ here's your answer.
Keep your net = to your MFP goal (or at the very least, at/above 1200)
drink enough water (8 cups for some folks, 20 cups for others, find your happy place!)
keep an eye on your sodium consumption
keep lifting weights!! :bigsmile:0 -
"I am doing a lot of weight training but I didn't think it was possible to put on a pound of muscle in only a week. "
You're not putting on muscle. Your muscles are retaining water in an effort to heal. This is especially true for those very new to weight training.
Yes, make sure you are eating enough!0 -
If you don't have one already, invest in a Heart Rate Monitor (Polar FT7 on Amazon.com for under $80 shipped). You might be overestimating how much you are really burning and if you are not weighing and measuring all your food you might not be most accurately logging your food.
Also, if you are exercising then sometimes your body need water to repair the muscles and that can look like a gain. And if you are building lean muscle it could contribute to the weight gain.
Have you taken measurements? When you start working out sometimes you lose inches without losing weight. In a month I barely lost 3 lbs when doing Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred but lost 5 inches off my tummy.
Also, it will be harder to lose weight if you are not netting close to 1200 calories. The eat more to lose more actually works....did for me when I plateaued!!!0 -
I am doing a lot of weight training but I didn't think it was possible to put on a pound of muscle in only a week. I opened up my diary though I am a little embarrassed lol. Thank you everyone for your help! I try to be pretty accurate and am for the most part with meals but sometimes its hard when I am picking at things so a lot of times for snacks i do the 'Quick add' option
For exercise I have been doing Biggest Loser power sculpt and cardio max videos as well as working on the elliptical.
In some instances, especially those who havent' workout in a long time, it's possible to gain a little muscle initially, but it's practically impossible to gain muscle under a caloric deficit. What is happening, or from what I can tell, is you are not feeding your body enough food, which it's conserving the food that you are putting in your system. What happens is your body holds onto the food and converts it to fat rather quickly to create energy later. So what your body might be doing is adding glycogen to your muscles for protection.
What is your caloric deficit set at?0 -
Keep sticking with it. I gained three pounds my first month - very frustrating. I had been working out weekly with a trainer and doing lots of weights and cardio. Imagine my disappointment when we weighed in a month later - UP three pounds! He told me not to stress about it. We then used a device to measure body fat and I was down 1%. (I didn't know much about body fat percentages and thought 1% was atrocious.) He said that it was terrific and I was going in the right direction.
Keep on plowing through and start taking measurements with a tape measure!
If it's a handle held device, you can't trust that you actually lost 1% body fat. Bioimpadence machines are one of the least accurate ways to measure body fat. Depending on your hydration level, it can vary 1-3%.0 -
I took a quick look at your diary and just wanted to ask if you've been skipping meals? I see a couple of dinner entries missing and a couple of breakfast....I caution you on skipping the meals especially if you're working out hard. You will put your body in starvation mode and won't have enough fuel to burn the fat....you'll be burning muscle.
Just something I've learned from my own mistakes....
And muscle is heavier than fat so if you're doing weight training, you may initially see a gain, but that will ebb as you continue under 1200 calories and cardio workouts.
Hang in there!!!0 -
I agree that you're not eating enough for the amount of working out you're doing. If you don't give your body enough fuel for the work you're doing, it freaks out and starts holding on to fat. A calorie deficit of more than 500 per day is way too much.
As others have said, eat back at least some of your exercise calories. Crash dieting may seem to work, but our bodies don't respond the way we think they should to that kind of thing. The better idea is to gently lose about a pound per week.
The only exceptions to this are if you are morbidly obese and are working under a doctor's care. In which case, I suggest you talk to your doctor.
Good luck!0 -
This is wrong! 1lb muscle=1lb fat. 1lb of feathers=1lb of steel. 1 lb of muscle occupies less space than 1lb of fat. This is why you should take measurements and compare them over time. If you are working out, over time you will lose fat and gain muscle. Lean people often weigh more than their fatter counterparts for this reason. Fat is fluffier. Muscle is dense. But 1lb = 1lb.Remember that muscle weighs more than fat. When my scale lies to me, I get out the measuring tape...it never lies!0 -
when you first strart working out you will gain a little weight but this weight is muscel. Muscel weighs more than fat. this new muscel that you are putting on will start reving up your metabolisum and if you keep doing what you are doing you will see a drop soon. Making sure that you eat every two - three hours is key to keeping your matabolisum up as well. Best way to do this is keep fruit on your desk.
Also if you want a more accurate way to know how many calories you are buring get a heart monitor.0 -
If you eat too little your body retains every single calorie you intake no matter how hard you exercise. Also, you could be gaining muscle mass instead of fat. To accurately gauge if you are losing weight, measure you waist, thighs and so forth. If you are dropping sizes, you are toning. Muscle weights more than fat. Drinks tons of water too!!!!! Even though it's annoying to pee every ten minutes:( Lol.0
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I have exercised every day for the past month for around an hour and a half each day. MFP tells me I should eat 1200 a day but I do eat some of my exercise calories. My net for the day is usually not that high at all. For the past 2 weeks I have gained a pound each week and don't understand why. I don't know what I should do differently and am losing motivation.
After 5 months of steady loosing, I had the same problem. I tried upping my calories and all that. Still it's slow going.0 -
I took a quick look at your diary, and here are some suggestions based on my experience!
1) cut out processed foods. Anything that comes in a box! contains who know's what and tons of sodium. (try tracking your sodium)
2)do you have a heart rate monitor? I wore mine one day, just on a typical day to see how many calories i burned in a day, and then deducted 1,000 calories from that to determine what i should be eating every day to lose 2 lbs a week
3) are you insulin resistant/diabetic?? if so you might want to lower your carbs, try eating under 150 and never going over that.
4) are you logging accurately? I know sometimes i forget to log things like olive oil and condiments and such. makes a big difference.
Ok, that's all I can think of. My diary is open if you ever want to get an idea of what i eat. (i just started back on the 1st though)0 -
I took a quick look at your diary and just wanted to ask if you've been skipping meals? I see a couple of dinner entries missing and a couple of breakfast....I caution you on skipping the meals especially if you're working out hard. You will put your body in starvation mode and won't have enough fuel to burn the fat....you'll be burning muscle.
Just something I've learned from my own mistakes....
And muscle is heavier than fat so if you're doing weight training, you may initially see a gain, but that will ebb as you continue under 1200 calories and cardio workouts.
Hang in there!!!
Occasionally a dinner was missing because I had a very late lunch and wasn't hungry later or just had a snack and several breakfasts are missing because I'm on break for school and its too easy for me to sleep until noon every day
Thank you !0 -
I totally understand...my suggestion is to have a protein bar on hand for when you're not really hungry ---that will keep your calories and proteins to the optimal level in order to fuel your body.
Good luck!0 -
Do not get oo discouraged.
Hopefully you're not plateauing - I'll take a closer look at your daily schedule too, tonight.
kate0 -
lose weight "fine" eating the above foods??? really? none of those foods are nourishing her body, not helping the metabolism and not fueling her muscles which raise our BMR. did you even read the post on that link? seems like you didn'tyou are eating
Bread - Italian, 1.5 oz
Hormel - Chili With Beans, 3 cup
and white chocolate chips and you are wondering why you are not losing any weight? :noway:
edit: read this-- http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/416542-i-hope-this-helps
You can lose weight just fine eating the above foods. You don't have to eat perfectly "clean" to lose weight.
It appears that the OP is eating too little and/or exercising too much. Our bodies do not respond well to this. It causes our bodies to release hormones that mask (through water retention), slow and even stop weight loss. Additionally large calorie deficits can lead to a lot of muscle loss. Moderate calorie deficits are key.
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/why-big-caloric-deficits-and-lots-of-activity-can-hurt-fat-loss.html
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/setting-the-deficit-small-moderate-or-large.html
Also, you won't be gaining pounds of muscle in a calorie deficit. So the argument "muscle weighs more than fat" is not valid here. (and it doesn't weigh more than fat it is more dense).
i never said muscle weighs more than fat! obviously, i know it has to do with density. and i know not eating enough slows the metabolism.. which is why i posted the link in the first place! :noway:0 -
youre not eating enough to fuel your workouts and your daily living expenditure. If you exercise and burn 800, but only eat 1300, you're leaving your body with 500 calories for all of your organs to function, breathe, think, talk, walk, write etc... Its not enough to sustain all that occurs in your body in a given day, so your body hangs onto every calorie and gram of fat it can get so that your organs don't fail and you have "energy stores" (fat) to tap into. Just eat more and you should start dropping the weight within a week or two0
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lose weight "fine" eating the above foods??? really? none of those foods are nourishing her body, not helping the metabolism and not fueling her muscles which raise our BMR. did you even read the post on that link? seems like you didn'tyou are eating
Bread - Italian, 1.5 oz
Hormel - Chili With Beans, 3 cup
and white chocolate chips and you are wondering why you are not losing any weight? :noway:
edit: read this-- http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/416542-i-hope-this-helps
You can lose weight just fine eating the above foods. You don't have to eat perfectly "clean" to lose weight.
It appears that the OP is eating too little and/or exercising too much. Our bodies do not respond well to this. It causes our bodies to release hormones that mask (through water retention), slow and even stop weight loss. Additionally large calorie deficits can lead to a lot of muscle loss. Moderate calorie deficits are key.
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/why-big-caloric-deficits-and-lots-of-activity-can-hurt-fat-loss.html
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/setting-the-deficit-small-moderate-or-large.html
Also, you won't be gaining pounds of muscle in a calorie deficit. So the argument "muscle weighs more than fat" is not valid here. (and it doesn't weigh more than fat it is more dense).
i never said muscle weighs more than fat! obviously, i know it has to do with density. and i know not eating enough slows the metabolism.. which is why i posted the link in the first place! :noway:
Someone else implied that the OP might be gaining muscle, not you. Sorry for the confusion.
I skimmed your link.
With the exception of eating too little and working out too much (like the OP is doing), losing weight is all about calories. You CAN lose weight eating white bread, chocolate chips and chili from a can. The chili probably even has a decent amount of protein, and fiber.
http://www.wannabebig.com/diet-and-nutrition/the-dirt-on-clean-eating/
http://www.thespartanwarrior.com/post/6114152789/iifym0 -
http://www.wannabebig.com/diet-and-nutrition/the-dirt-on-clean-eating/
^^^ yes yes yes yes. I drink hot cocoa, eat mac and cheese, and other "forbidden foods" and am loosing weight and leaner than ever.0 -
lose weight "fine" eating the above foods??? really? none of those foods are nourishing her body, not helping the metabolism and not fueling her muscles which raise our BMR. did you even read the post on that link? seems like you didn't
i never said muscle weighs more than fat! obviously, i know it has to do with density. and i know not eating enough slows the metabolism.. which is why i posted the link in the first place! :noway:
Chili is a rather good choice, actually. Legumes are great- protein and carbs. Presumably the chili has meat in it, so more protein, also a good choice, meaning the OP IS nourishing her body just fine.
As for the chocolate chips? I find it much easier to stick with a diet if I can eat some sweets now and then.
I don't understand why people feel the need to make dieting harder than it has to be. I'm all in favor of healthy choices- I try to make good choices myself- but processed food is not evil and a little bit of sugar isn't going to kill you.
OP, I'll add my vote for eating more. I think it will really help you. If you do increase your calories, expect a small gain as you build up glycogen stores, but you'll start losing again soon.
Which ever way you go, good luck.0 -
Did your trainer tell you that muscle weighs more than fat? Not to worry.
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That was such good advice, thank you.0
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