gaining

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alicia_m_b
alicia_m_b Posts: 10 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I started p90x 3 weeks ago. first 2 weeks I lost 3 lbs each week. this morning i get on the scale ( i weigh same time, once a week) and I gained almost 2 lbs! I don't understand how. I have never gone over 1200 calories since I started, I exercise every day just to gain? I also drink a ton of water, in fact that's all I ever drink. When this happens it just makes me wanna give up. I mean, why even try if when I do I'm gonna gain and not lose! I may as well stop exercising and eat what I want! :cry:

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  • PinkEarthMama
    PinkEarthMama Posts: 987 Member
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    You are probably retaining water from working out hard.

    Also, if you aren't going over 1200, chances are you aren't eating enough, or enough of the right food.

    ........................................... A few other points to ponder :

    Are you due for your period? You'll put on a few pounds there, ALL water weight.

    If your muscles are sore, they hold onto water to help repair themselves.

    Are you regular? That can cause excess gain too, and it's temporary.
  • alicia_m_b
    alicia_m_b Posts: 10 Member
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    I never heard that one before, about muscles holding water? They are extra sore than usual right now. Maybe it's just temporary then. I guess I'll keep trying and see what the scale says next week. thanks.
  • hottottie11
    hottottie11 Posts: 907 Member
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    If you are doing an exercise program as intense as P90x, you need to be eating more. I was eating 1800+ while on insanity.

    All that activity and minimal intake will backfire in the end.

    http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/why-big-caloric-deficits-and-lots-of-activity-can-hurt-fat-loss.html
  • amandakay3000
    amandakay3000 Posts: 22
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    thats normal. don't worry, your building muscle most likely. pay attention to your measurements, not the number on the scale.
  • lewandt
    lewandt Posts: 566
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    3 lbs each week is really, really good. I weigh myself every day and my weight fluctuates a bit. i will lose a few and gain one, etc. I don't worry too much about it if i am overall going in the right direction. Could be you are gaining muscle too.

    Overall you know you are doing the right thing. Even if you don't think you are losing you will be toning and reshaping. Don't quit unless you are happy with where you will be if you do.
  • robin52077
    robin52077 Posts: 4,383 Member
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    yes, if you are sore, your muscles are retaining water...

    But the biggest issue here is the fact that you ONLY EAT 1200 a day while doing P90X.
    This is a recipe for disaster.
    Your body needs much more fuel than that for such hard exercise.
    You need to either change your "activity level" to very active and your loss to 1 pound per week....OR you can leave the base at 1200 but calculate your burn from exercise with a reliable method like an HRM and EAT ALL THOSE CALORIES every day when you add in your exercise.

    You are likely operating on under 800 calories every day since you burn off a lot of what you eat and that is a set-up for failure.

    You WILL plateau and stop losing and maybe even gain as your body realizes it is starving. The best way to LOSE the weight is to convince your body that there is adequate nutrition coming IN to counteract the energy you are expending, therefore making it SAFE for your body to release some of that fat. Right now it thinks it "might need that fat someday" since we are "in a famine" because that is the signal you are sending your brain by undereating...

    Many people will attest that you do need to eat to lose and eating too little can be just as bad as eating too much.

    I hope you take a closer look at your intake and adjust!:flowerforyou:
  • NaomiLyn15
    NaomiLyn15 Posts: 388 Member
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    There are a few reasons that you are probably holding onto weight.
    1. Water in your muscles. Since you are doing an intense program your muscles are working harder. They need water to repair themselves, and while they are reparing you will retain water. It will go away
    2. You aren't eating enough. If you are only eating 1200 calories a day and doing p90x, then you definitely aren't eating enough. You have to fuel your body to lose weight. You lost a bunch at the beginning because you shocked your body with the start of a new program and new eating style. But, now it is worried that you are starving it, so it is going to hold on to everything you give it. It seems counter productive, but you definitely need to eat most if not all of your exercise calories. MFP already has you at a deficit at the 1200 calories, so if you burn more after that 1200, then you are asking your body to run on basically nothing, and you want it to work out. You need to eat more. Your weight will drop, just feed your body.
  • hottottie11
    hottottie11 Posts: 907 Member
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    She is NOT gaining muscle on 1200 calories a day...I wish people would stop saying that!
  • robin52077
    robin52077 Posts: 4,383 Member
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    She is NOT gaining muscle on 1200 calories a day...I wish people would stop saying that!

    ^^^this

    Her muscles may be SORE and retaining water from usage they are not accustomed to but you cannot build new muscle while only eating 1200 a day, that is just ridiculous. You need a calorie SURPLUS to build new muscle.
    When bulking I eat about 2500-3000 a day.
  • alicia_m_b
    alicia_m_b Posts: 10 Member
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    Ok so I'm not eating enough. But I'm not very hungry either. I think I drink so much water daily it fills me up to where I feel so full. Plus maybe I'm eating the wrong food. I not eating junk food though, just special k cereals in mornings, soups for lunch and sometimes a bigger supper w/ the family. I'm just not really hungry.
  • hottottie11
    hottottie11 Posts: 907 Member
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    Eat more calorie dense foods....peanut butter, whole eggs, avocados, whole milk...Check out my diary.

    You need protein as well. You are gonna lose a lot of muscle with inadequate protein intake, a low calorie intake and high activity levels.

    Eat your exercise calories (or increase your calories to at LEAST 1600 static) and get 1 gram of protein per lb of lean body mass. Lift heavy weights as well.

    Doesn't P90x have a nutritional guide...I think it calls for way more calories than 1200.

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