Need help! Trying eating more/maintenance and it's frustrati

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wordpainter09
wordpainter09 Posts: 472 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hello,

I could really use some feedback from those who have tried the "eat more to lose" way or have tried bulk/cut cycles before.

I am 5'5, 135. I got on MFP about a month ago because I was eating 1300-1700 cals a day, running around an hour per day, six days a week and not losing anything.

I determined that I had slowed my metabolism (or burned lean muscle, or whatever you want to call it) through 6 years of eating this way. I am now trying to eat *at maintenance* for two months to reset my metabolism and get used to eating normally again.

Starting March 1, I upped my calories to 1600, 1800, 2000 and about 3 weeks ago today I began eating around 2200-2500 per day.

I have a Body Media Fit monitor that tells me how much I burn.

I never eat above my burn! (well, maybe two or three days by a few hundred calories) But most days, I leave enough room for a small deficit.

Yet, I have gained 5.8 pounds since March 1.

I know this is expected for someone who has undereaten as long as I have.

What I want to know is, can anyone give feedback or help on how long I can expect this to go up? My maintenance level seems right based on the Fat2Fit calculators, my TDEE and my Body Media Fit.
I'm not eating more than I burn, and I'm not trying to lose right now, just maintain.
But I'm gaining.
SO FRUSTRATED.
Again, I expected it, but any insight from someone who has been through this process would be extremely helpful.

Replies

  • love4fitnesslove4food_wechange
    love4fitnesslove4food_wechange Posts: 6,897 Member
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    no one can tell you how long the gaining will continue BUT it's temporary. i can promise you that it WILL STOP EVENTUALLY. You'll plateau at a calorie level that is more appropriate for maintenance and when you do reduce your calories, say to 1800, you'll lose weight effortlessly.

    Right now the best thing to do is to keep going, not look back, and avoid the scale. the scale will only make this journey more diffcult.

    The biggest question you have to ask yourself is whether or not you could continue living the way you were FOREVER. and if that answer is, "no", which i suspect it will be, you just push beyond the discomfort. Keep at it--do what you KNOW IS RIGHT regardless of the scale and just wait.

    I am here to support you and I know it sucks. I'm gaining too--my weight is up 4-5 pounds every day but i'm not going to let the scale win. No ma'am. You shouldn't either.
  • wordpainter09
    wordpainter09 Posts: 472 Member
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    I only weigh myself about once a week. I have to check in sometime for some kind of benchmark, but I try not to get obsessive about it.

    You're right, there isn't a set guideline for gaining... I just want to hear if anyone else has a similar experience to me and can share stories.

    Thanks for the encouragement, much appreciated!
  • jac264
    jac264 Posts: 86 Member
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    I went through the same thing. I wasn't eating enough and eventually the weight loss stopped (definitely was losing muscle) - I was cold and tired and miserable all the time, but terrified that if I upped my calories I would gain. I started training for a half marathon, running 5 times a week, and started eating normally - I probably increased my calories too quickly and was over-eating sometimes too (but probably not by much - it was a lot of sugar though) and I gained 8 pounds in 2 months and it just wasn't stopping.

    Then, after my half marathon was over, I started eating less again and got back down to my original weight - but again, it was just too low (~1,000 cals a day) and my metabolism slowed again. The second time around, instead of running all the time, I started to slowly increase my calories and added in a significant amount of strength training - not heavy lifting, but I had never used any type of weights in the past. It's been 4 weeks and I'm eating 1600-2000 calories a day (some days even more!) and just started running again in addition to the strength training. I haven't gained anything - I'm the same exact weight I was 4 weeks ago :) The first few week of increasing my calories, I woke up in horrible night sweats - I think that was my body telling me that my metabolism was going up but I'm not sure. I'm not cold anymore either - and I feel great! So try doing some strength stuff - even just 20 - 30 minutes 3-4 times a week - pilates and core training (vinyasa yoga) seems to work well too!
  • wordpainter09
    wordpainter09 Posts: 472 Member
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    That sounds exactly like what's going on with me! I don't think I'm overeating... it's all good according to the BMF, but it could be off by 10 percent.
    I did increase my calories pretty quickly -I went from low to high in about 3 weeks.

    The weight training is a good idea. I actually have started doing weights 2x per week..heavy lifting doing barbells, squats etc. That could be adding a few lbs but it's all around the WAIST (blegh) so I know it's not muscle gain from my killer new biceps :)

    Also increasing them slower might have been a good idea, I just have some friends who did that and it didn't really work for them so I decided to jump in and go for it. But it sounds like different outcomes can happen for different people.

    Thanks for sharing... I'm not really sure what to do now.

    I don't want to go back to eating really low cal and I'm not ready to do a cut because then I'll waste all this time I've put into fixing my metabolism! But it sounds like the same thing is happening to me that happened to you! By the time 2 months is up I bet I'll be up 8 lbs too.. at least :(
  • jac264
    jac264 Posts: 86 Member
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    You say you are eating at maintenance now - I actually have my goals set to a 250 cal deficit to account for any underestimation of calories or occasionally going out to eat and not being sure about calories - perhaps you should set it to that rather than trying to eat your maintenance level - a 250 cal deficit should still get your body out of its slow metabolism funk. Generally, if I don't do much that day (which is rare), I aim for 1,400. If I am walking to work and running errands, I aim for 1,600 and if I work out a lot, I aim for 2,000. I have a fitbit because I do walk a lot (2 miles each way to work) and rarely go over what their website says. I haven't gained anything, but I also haven't lost anything even with my goals set to lose 1/2 a pound a week. I have a feeling in a few more weeks I'll start losing again though!

    If you are eating slightly more than you should and adding weights your weight gain will probably be muscle instead of fat so you shouldn't "look" any bigger even if the scale goes up - which is more important!
  • LeCitron
    LeCitron Posts: 71
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    Hm, it seems like you guys are doing/have done what I need to do. I'm 5'6" and 156lbs and haven't been able to move from that in months. I exercise for 90 minutes a day doing a mix of cardio and weights and have my calories set at 1460. What got to me was the cold thing. Even during summer, I try not to drink really cold beverages or be in cold places because I just get chilled! I'd kill to get rid of the last fifteen/twenty pounds of cottage cheese and look like you fabulous people. :) Anyway, good luck with your endeavors and thank you for helping me with mine.
  • wordpainter09
    wordpainter09 Posts: 472 Member
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    If you guys haven't already seen this, there's a group for this!

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/4455-metabolism-repair-mode

    Thanks for the responses..

    I've wondered if I'm eating too much. I know people smaller/shorter than I am who eat just as much/more than I do and don't gain from it, and even seem to LOSE eating 2200 calories+!! It doesn't make sense that I can't also be one of those people.

    Maybe I need to get to that place more slowly?? I'm not sure. I know since I got my food scale I've realized I've underestimated some calories.
  • love4fitnesslove4food_wechange
    love4fitnesslove4food_wechange Posts: 6,897 Member
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    check this thread out--i've been researching for you all afternoon...hoping to find something useful...


    http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/does-work/255109-leigh-peeles-metabolic-repair-manual.html

    one post that i liked...
    But here's the thing. Youve f-ed up your metabolism. Its adapted.
    Because youve been in a 'deficit" for so long, you are no longer in a deficit. Your "1500" calories is now your maintenence weight. Thats sux.

    You cant be helped if you arent willing to trust in Leigh, and that she can help you. This is her specialty--> underfed, overtrained chronic dieting women who are terrified of gaining even a pound.
    Education is needed at this point

    Your hormones are so outta whack (if you need REPAIR).

    NO one wants to gain weight, but you have to decide if you are ready to stop spinning your wheels and begin to learn about your body, whats going on, what it needs and how to repair it. Leigh has a no BS style, so if youre looking for cudlly warm hugs, youre not going to get it from her.

    YES-> you will gain weight doing REPAIR. you HAVE TO GAIN WEIGHT. There is NO WAY AROUND IT. You are going to eat more, you are gong to eat carbs, you are going to take a break from training of ANY KIND (which actually, will prob lead to a litle weight loss in the beginning) and at the end you are going to do a massive re-feed.

    Leigh designed the program KNOWING how difficult it would be for women like "us" to mentally/emotionally allow the gain. She designed it to MINIMIZE the huge weight fluctuations. But honestly, you can/will get the same results if you just take a diet/training break and eat at a caloric surplus for 1-2 weeks (2500-3000Kcals) Same result, quicker, not pretty though, not nearly as gentle.
    I gained a little over 12 pounds, i think, during my refeed week. Guess what>? it was almost all WATER WEIGHT. And ~ 2 weeks later, it was almost all gone

    You know the most important thing i learned was? That i WONT get fat by taking a week off training, or missing a day or two of working out. I wont get fat by eating sometimes. Ya, i will see a jump on the scale, but its purely water weight, and it goes away.


    If you cant commit to it whole heartedly, then it wont work. Your body needs a surplus of calories and of carbs to re-set your leptin and ghrenlin levels. YOu neeed to backoff of training to allow your body to stop releasing stress hormones. Leigh dives into all the science behind it in her writings/blogs... most of which you can find/get for free at her website....
    LIke i said though, i highly suggest joining her site for less than 10 bux a month. She is not out to scam you
  • hubkal
    hubkal Posts: 125 Member
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    wow! amazing amount of information! Thanks to all of you who have shared!

    I clicked on this link because I have the same issues. "fear of food" as I have been maintaining about 1200 cals for the last 60 days and lost about 14 lbs, now that I have added significant running and weight lifting to my routines I am RAVENOUS! I had read somewhere not to let yourself get hungry, so I eat several snacks a day that have protein, but there are times that if I don't eat "right now" then I feel like I am going to be sick, I sometimes eat up to 1400 cals a day, but still have 20lbs to lose. I am so fearful of gaining.

    This string answered so many questions for me! Thanks for the links!!
  • canroadrunner
    canroadrunner Posts: 203 Member
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    You might find this interesting.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/521728-upping-cals-what-to-expect-why-you-need-patience
  • morningrunner
    morningrunner Posts: 112 Member
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    bumping - I'm really interested to see what responses you get to this. I know this is what I need to do, but I'm terrified to try it with summer around the corner. My shorts from last year don't fit as it is, if I gain more I'm going to need a whole new summer wardrobe :(
  • wordpainter09
    wordpainter09 Posts: 472 Member
    Options
    check this thread out--i've been researching for you all afternoon...hoping to find something useful...


    http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/does-work/255109-leigh-peeles-metabolic-repair-manual.html

    one post that i liked...
    But here's the thing. Youve f-ed up your metabolism. Its adapted.
    Because youve been in a 'deficit" for so long, you are no longer in a deficit. Your "1500" calories is now your maintenence weight. Thats sux.

    You cant be helped if you arent willing to trust in Leigh, and that she can help you. This is her specialty--> underfed, overtrained chronic dieting women who are terrified of gaining even a pound.
    Education is needed at this point

    Your hormones are so outta whack (if you need REPAIR).

    NO one wants to gain weight, but you have to decide if you are ready to stop spinning your wheels and begin to learn about your body, whats going on, what it needs and how to repair it. Leigh has a no BS style, so if youre looking for cudlly warm hugs, youre not going to get it from her.

    YES-> you will gain weight doing REPAIR. you HAVE TO GAIN WEIGHT. There is NO WAY AROUND IT. You are going to eat more, you are gong to eat carbs, you are going to take a break from training of ANY KIND (which actually, will prob lead to a litle weight loss in the beginning) and at the end you are going to do a massive re-feed.

    Leigh designed the program KNOWING how difficult it would be for women like "us" to mentally/emotionally allow the gain. She designed it to MINIMIZE the huge weight fluctuations. But honestly, you can/will get the same results if you just take a diet/training break and eat at a caloric surplus for 1-2 weeks (2500-3000Kcals) Same result, quicker, not pretty though, not nearly as gentle.
    I gained a little over 12 pounds, i think, during my refeed week. Guess what>? it was almost all WATER WEIGHT. And ~ 2 weeks later, it was almost all gone

    You know the most important thing i learned was? That i WONT get fat by taking a week off training, or missing a day or two of working out. I wont get fat by eating sometimes. Ya, i will see a jump on the scale, but its purely water weight, and it goes away.


    If you cant commit to it whole heartedly, then it wont work. Your body needs a surplus of calories and of carbs to re-set your leptin and ghrenlin levels. YOu neeed to backoff of training to allow your body to stop releasing stress hormones. Leigh dives into all the science behind it in her writings/blogs... most of which you can find/get for free at her website....
    LIke i said though, i highly suggest joining her site for less than 10 bux a month. She is not out to scam you

    Thank you!! What a great link! I've heard of the Leigh Peele book before and I'm so mad it's not out right now. I'd really like to read it... it would help me learn how to do this better.

    What I gather from reading this and other threads about Leigh's book is that you're supposed to up calories more slowly over the 8 weeks to minimize the weight gain. I guess I went for the "less pretty" version.

    I haven't taken any time off from training yet.

    Since I just "went" for it, I have no idea what my "real' maintenance is. I don't know when I "started" to gain since I was staying away from the scale for my own sanity.

    I could do that. I have a race coming up though... hmm.
  • love4fitnesslove4food_wechange
    love4fitnesslove4food_wechange Posts: 6,897 Member
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    WP--I don't think you'd have been looking for a "Starting to gain" because you'd likely have gained regardless of what you increased it to. The girl in the post gained 12 pound in a week--you did not. I don't think you did the "not pretty' version because you didn't overshoot maintenance and take time away--I don't know what going backward would do for you at this point aside from confuse your body--the amount you've gained is not unheard of by any means.
  • wordpainter09
    wordpainter09 Posts: 472 Member
    Options
    You might find this interesting.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/521728-upping-cals-what-to-expect-why-you-need-patience

    Thanks! I've seen this but I haven't taken the time to read through it. This time I will.

    @Love: do you think it would be beneficial to take a week or 2 off? The people in MFP who have done metabolism resets all take time off cardio (and they take 8 weeks off!) mostly to have the cardio to use again when they want to lose.

    I love running...I would really miss it. I could take a couple weeks off but not 8 I think.
  • love4fitnesslove4food_wechange
    love4fitnesslove4food_wechange Posts: 6,897 Member
    Options
    WP--I think it would be seriously beneficial to take some time off--also to start doing refeeds with primarily carbs to restore your leptin levels.

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