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

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!

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:

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.


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You are doing great...sometimes we just hit speed bumps on our way to weight loss success!

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.

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!

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!

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.

1200 might still be too low, especially if you started out eating a whole lot more. It's recommended to decrease your calories by about 500 so if you were eating 2500 before you should be eating 500 now. Also don't forget to eat back the calories you workout off through exercise. 1200 is kind of a base point people use but isn't exactly the most healthy amount.

As far as what to eat? Lean proteins, healthy fats, lots and lots of fruits and veggies. Fresh if you can, frozen if you must, only canned if you can't avoid it (unless it's beans which are generally okay if rinsed). If you eat salad don't rely on the lettuce alone to be your veg, a lot of lettuces are super low in calories so load up on other veggies as well, maybe some chicken or ham or hard boiled eggs to add in protein. Lettuces like Iceberg have basically zero nutritional value so I like to use a mix of Romaine and Spinach/Baby Spinach.

Most importantly listen to your body. If you find it hard to get in enough calories try adding in high calorie/good for you foods like avocado, and nuts. They pack a goo calorie punch but don't make you feel stuffed.

Strength Training will be your best friend so be sure you're not being a slave to cardio and build up your muscle. the more muscle you have, the more fat you will burn and the leaner you will look. Drink lots of water to combat the retention of it and you should be well on your way.

Best of luck!