So confused! Why am I gaining???!?

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razindawn
razindawn Posts: 24
in Health and Weight Loss
So I started this journey and have lost a total of 14 lbs in three weeks, I was very thrilled with this because I had been excersizing and working my butt off to keep my healthy eating up. I get on the scale yesterday morning and had gained a pound. I thought well maybe its water weight, though I had went to the bathroom and hadnt eaten yet. So today I get on and still a pound heavier! My husband says its possible im building muscle now. How true is this? has anyone had this happen???
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Replies

  • Cordle11
    Cordle11 Posts: 3
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    If you are not taking in enough calories sometime your body will start to store because it thinks it's not going to get fed.
  • razindawn
    razindawn Posts: 24
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    thanks. Well i was really under my calorie goal for awhile. Maxing out at 650 calories a day until i realized I was starting to stay sleepy and groggy. Ive upped to the 1200 range. Hopefully I will see a result in a week or two.
  • momof2winsplus
    momof2winsplus Posts: 137 Member
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    Although it could be muscle, 14 lbs in 3 weeks seems like an awful lot of weight loss. If you don't eat enough calories, your body goes into starvation mode and will desperately rebel, causing you to gain weight. Are you eating your MFP recommended amount of calories each day?
  • Cordle11
    Cordle11 Posts: 3
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    I think the 1200 is a good range to be at. Plus, you might be retaining water too. Sometimes eating food high in sodium can cause to to retain more water too!
  • razindawn
    razindawn Posts: 24
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    I try to. But being big all my life, im so scared to overdo it. I had some crazy theory that the less I ate the more id lose. I by no means starved myself but I was eating small portions and eating really low calorie stuff. Not allowing myself anything that would be bad for me. Ive loosened up a bit now. I think maybe i need to make sure I get at least 1200 calories a day. Maybe that will help me balance out and start on the losing track again.
  • jenlb99
    jenlb99 Posts: 213 Member
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    If you were under your calorie goal (especially by THAT much), then it wouldn't be possible for your weight gain to be muscle, you'd actually be LOSING it.

    My assumption is that your initial 14 loss was a lot of water and some fat (...and muscle, unfortunately), and now you're retaining more water - possibly because of how little you're eating. You want to net 1200 calories every day minimum, and if you want to build muscle, you need a lot of protein -- aim for over 100g per day.

    Do NOT let these "gains" derail you; keep the motivation strong, but do this properly. EAT more. 650 calories is starving yourself; I'm glad to see you're planning to eat more! :drinker:
  • purpleipod
    purpleipod Posts: 1,147 Member
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    You are not going to lose every single week. Gaining 1 pound after losing 14 is really not that big of a deal. Could have been water retention, or anything else for that matter. Also, eat the proper amount of calories or you'll just screw yourself over in the end.
  • dsuppa1997
    dsuppa1997 Posts: 86
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    try upping your calories for a week by 100-200 and see if that helps. Sometimes you need a kick start to make your body stop storing up calories since youve been depriving it.

    15459493.png
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  • razindawn
    razindawn Posts: 24
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    thanks guys I appreciate all the feedback. Im wanting to do this right but seeing as how this is my first time its good to have input on how to do this without hurting my body or causing more problems.
  • Cordle11
    Cordle11 Posts: 3
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    You are doing great...sometimes we just hit speed bumps on our way to weight loss success!
  • LazyDaise
    LazyDaise Posts: 48 Member
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    Might be coming up TOM?
  • danahake
    danahake Posts: 64 Member
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    great replies. I was wondering the same thing. been exercising so much and gained 5 lbs but i have been having a lot more salt.. gonna try the advice given here.
  • amandavictoria80
    amandavictoria80 Posts: 734 Member
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    Could be water retention. Going to the bathroom and not eating will have no impact on your water retention weight.
    Also, keep in mind that a major part of that 14lbs you lost would have been water alone.
  • r1ghtpath
    r1ghtpath Posts: 701 Member
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    hi! i spent the last 6 yrs trying to lose the weight i gained from my third pregnancy. no matter what, i couldn't do it and i tried EVERYTHING! this past summer i got involved in a bootcamp class and had a personal trainer that i worked out with three days a week. she made me sign up for some online calorie counter, like this place. where you log your food. only she would get my info daily and could follow my diet. i was suppose to eat 1200 cal/ day.

    well, i was like you, and i have been like that for 6 yrs!!!! almost NEVER going over 1000 cal in a day. she was on my case every single day. i would get emails and phone calls and long talks in person. my body wasn't gong to be efficient in my workouts if i wasn't eating right!!! but, for me, food was the enemy, and i figured if i ate less and still worked out i would eventually lose weight. not the case. i never did. i had two more pregnancies after my third, and with both of them i hardly gained anything, but i was also eating more calories!!

    in the past, i would start to lose weight when i would eat foods that aren't that good for you. so, i figured something was wrong with me!!! well, now, i am losing weight, and i'm doing my best to get to 1200 cal/ day. some days i only hit 1000, but i aim for 1200. i just make sure to keep the fat low and the protein high! it's working! i'm not gaining, i'm shrinking :-) but it's been a big struggle to get over the mentality that food is going to make me even fatter!!! it finally sunk in a couple weeks ago. i got it now though!

    good luck!
  • misspaula1969
    misspaula1969 Posts: 1
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    Well, you can definately gain weight by building muscle, but I'm in agreeance with the idea that you've just taken in too few calories and your body is now storing what you are taking in. Please do up your calorie intake, and don't completely deny yourself. You can do what you've set out to accomplish!!! But remember, you are beautiful no matter what :)
  • Scorpioangel
    Scorpioangel Posts: 951 Member
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    If you were under your calorie goal (especially by THAT much), then it wouldn't be possible for your weight gain to be muscle, you'd actually be LOSING it.

    My assumption is that your initial 14 loss was a lot of water and some fat (...and muscle, unfortunately), and now you're retaining more water - possibly because of how little you're eating. You want to net 1200 calories every day minimum, and if you want to build muscle, you need a lot of protein -- aim for over 100g per day.

    Do NOT let these "gains" derail you; keep the motivation strong, but do this properly. EAT more. 650 calories is starving yourself; I'm glad to see you're planning to eat more! :drinker:

    Good post I could not have wrote it better! I agree!
  • astrampe
    astrampe Posts: 2,169 Member
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    You are doing great...sometimes we just hit speed bumps on our way to weight loss success!

    Nobody can be "doing great" on 650 calories a day..... You are starving yourself and your body is fighting back by holding on to everything it can... Up your calories to 1200, and eat more than that if you work out hard...

    You cannot "build muscle" on 650 cal a day! You are losing muscle even thoug the scale shows a gain....
  • Apazman
    Apazman Posts: 494 Member
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    Had the same issue, I ended up taking a friend's (nutritionist) advice and exceeded my calorie intake 1500 calories for 2 days, Yes that was something like 3500 calories for 2 days and back to it .. and BAM ... continued losing weight.
  • MaximalLife
    MaximalLife Posts: 2,447 Member
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    So I started this journey and have lost a total of 14 lbs in three weeks, I was very thrilled with this because I had been excersizing and working my butt off to keep my healthy eating up. I get on the scale yesterday morning and had gained a pound. I thought well maybe its water weight, though I had went to the bathroom and hadnt eaten yet. So today I get on and still a pound heavier! My husband says its possible im building muscle now. How true is this? has anyone had this happen???
    Chill out and know that progress is fast sometimes on the front end, then levels out after a few weeks.

    Make sure your settings are for 1 lb per week weight loss. Eat to goal daily and if you exercise, eat back those calories.
    And just roll with those results until you reach your goals.

    You are doing fine; calm yourself.
  • razindawn
    razindawn Posts: 24
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    so is what im eating okay?

    I usually have lowfat cottage cheese and some kind of fruit for breakfast
    a weight loss shake for lunch
    lean cuisine or cooked chicken and veggies for dinner
    my snacks include all natural simply salted popcorn,cottage cheese and fruit,Chobani Greek nonfat yogurt
    is there something im missing? Or is that a decent setup? Just need some help guys! Criticism isnt going to help me! I know now im depriving myself and im going to eat 1200 calories a day no matter what.

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