GAINING weight?

I am doing the very same thing! It is so frustrating! I started off losing 10 lbs. and so far I've gained 1 lb back. I only drink water and I've been doing C25K for my exercise every other day. I just don't understand why the scale isn't showing all of my hard work!

Maybe try tracking sodium in your tracker? You'd be surprised at how much is in things! I looked at your diary for the last few days and sodium may be partially to blame. Drinking more water and increasing potassium can help counteract the effects of sodium.

Try to eat a bit more. You normally only net about 1,000 so increasing may help a bit (kind of the opposite of what we've always been told about weight loss I know but I swear it works!).

Maybe try switching up the foods you eat. It looks like you eat the same few things frequently. If you switch up your food and exercise it may help. Eat your exercise calories back too. You may feel lethargic because your body isn't getting enough nutrition.

A bit of icecream shouldn't cause your weight to go up unless you ate a few thousand calories of it.

Thanks this may give me an answer as to why Ive gained 6 pounds this week......Half term home with the kids, no exercise etc etc and lots of carbs ;-(

Deffo back to tracking everything, back to the gym (went back today!! 910 calories gone) and cutting back on carbs...I need to get these last few pounds gone before my hols in 5 weeks!

Good luck to everyone else on their weight loss journey - we will get there!

You didn't "gain" 3 lbs of anything but water. Sodium could be the culprit. Also, it seems you are eating under your calorie goal almost every day. That could be a factor also. It's fine to eat under a day or 2 per week but you can stall out or cause yourself other issues by consistently eating under your goal that already had a healthy deficit built in.

You need to eat 1200 NET calories as your minimum. 1200 + Calories burned doing exercise. If you search the boards, there is a lot of information about this.

Track sodium, and use a food scale for the most accurate measurements.

Also, be careful that you're not overestimating your exercise cals.

If you weren't active before this, then you're probably starting to build muscle. Don't forget that muscle is dense, it weighs more than fat, but it works to your advantage because it burns up your calories faster. A little weight gain from muscle development is a good thing, it will help you with consistant weight loss in the weeks when you don't get as much cardio as you would like.

Agreeing with Cindieann on this one. Building muscle is the number 1 reason for weight "gain" once you get into an excercise routine. Check with your doctor at your next visit about getting a proper BMI scored and if your blood labs show decrease in "bad" cholesterol and triglycerides, then the weight NUMBER need not be the focus for now.

These forums are fine for support, but shouldn't be a substitute for real, professional information.

whats is your exercise like?

sodium is not the issue.

3lbs in a week is not muscle. That kind of growth is imposable.

could be some fat and some glycogen in you muscles(not a bad thing)

The goal calories on MFP, once properly set, is something you should try to get close to everyday. If your goal, like it is right now, is 1500, then 1200 is 300 too low, and is not any better than 300 above. You will lose weight at your chosen pace while meeting your goal

Other than that, well just remember that gaining weight is not any faster than losing it. If you take 3 pounds in 2 days, well it's not fat. Just like when you lose 3 pounds in 2 days

I agree with the sodium, however, there is one other pattern I am noticing. You are skipping breakfast. While this technically does avoid adding more calories, you are also more likely to have a lower metabolism. So that ~1500 calories it says you should eat for the day will actually be significantly lower. This was one of my 2 major problems when I first started my weight loss journey. The other thing that may be your issue (I can't tell from the diary), is how late are you eating? You should stop eating at least 2 hours before you go to bed. Also, your dinner should actually be the lowest calorie meal for the day as that is when your metabolism is lower as well (naturally).

So in summary, eat less process foods to assist in lower sodium intake, eat breakfast everyday, eat a smaller dinner, and stop eating at least 2 hours before bedtime. Assuming you do these things and accurately track all your food and exercise, you will start losing weight.

Just a small side note, make sure to only weigh yourself once a week, and do it in the morning under the same circumstances each time if possible.

Hope this helps.

No disrespect intended but this is not accurate info. Nutritional timing is of no consequence within a 24 hour period and there is no significant change in metabolic rate within a 24 hour period. Skipping breakfast does not slow the metabolism nor should you eat less in the evening because the metabolism is slower because it's not. The whole Leangains protocol of intermittent fasting has the scientific research that details that fasting for hours by doing something like skipping breakfast has no effect on metabolism. If one were to fast completely, the metabolism would actually increase after 18 to 24 hours and then begin to slow after 72 hours or so. There is no need to go through these nutritional timing gyrations.

3 pounds is within the margin of variance on the scale. Usually small gains up to 3-5 pounds does not necessarily mean you are actually gaining weight. It may just be a point where your body is adjusting to your new regimen. You were losing before this happened and have changed nothing. Here are some suggestions...

1. Increase your cardio -- Do something more than you usually do in order to burst through this bit of a bubble... Maybe run, maybe increase time, maybe do what you have been doing with more energy.

2. Initiate weights -- Muscle burns fat more efficiently than fat does ... At first you may see an uptick on the scale from this as water is retained to start repairing muscle tissue. This is usually temporary and at worst you will see a drop in size as muscle tissue is denser and hence heavier per cubic inch than fat is. An example of this is that at 272, I am wearing the same size pants that I used to wear at 199... But again muscle tissue is denser... I look like I weigh less than I actually do... Of course my body fat % is less than it used to be ...

3. As others have said reduce sodium... If you drink soft drinks (even diet ones) they contain a large amount of sodium usually.. By reducing sodium, you reduce water retention

4. Be patient. This is a process not instantaneous. You seem to be on the right track and as long as the uptick does not continue going in the wrong direction, you should be okay.