I gained 4 pounds this week....

24

Replies

  • sarahharmintx
    sarahharmintx Posts: 868 Member
    I had a pretty good week a while back. Weighed in on Friday, went out of town (not great on calorie goals but extra active), got drunk, came home, up 4 lbs on Monday. Uggh.
  • willot0722
    willot0722 Posts: 51 Member
    Read the stickies at the top and start eating.

    What??
  • gc_tweety
    gc_tweety Posts: 205 Member
    I gained three o.O , as long as its not a trend I would say continue with what you are doing as long as its healthy.
  • mandylooo
    mandylooo Posts: 456 Member
    If you have been exercising it could be muscle increase and not fat.

    No, it couldn't. For several reasons.

    Assuming her diary is being correctly filled out, she's undereating by hundreds and sometimes thousands of calories a day. It is literally impossible to gain weight from either fat or muscle if you are on a calorie deficit. You can lose fat and you can gain muscle, but you cannot have a net gain between the two.

    To the original poster. There are many days where you burn more calories from exercise alone than you eat. Do you really think this is a good idea? (Hint: No. It is a terrible idea and you are causing severe damage to your body). Read the stickies at the top and start eating.

    I agree, but would add that some of those calorie burns look massive - OP how are you calculating those?
  • annahiven
    annahiven Posts: 177 Member
    Measure, measure, measure!

    I've not lost weight in about a month but I am losing inches. Promise you that you will see differences if you measure.
  • willot0722
    willot0722 Posts: 51 Member
    I eat so few calories because I find it very hard to eat close to 1900 calories without going over on carbs. My doctor told me as long as I eat when I am hungry my body will not go into starvation mode. Could you guys elaborate on how I am doing severe damage to my body?
  • AbbsyBabbsy
    AbbsyBabbsy Posts: 184 Member
    I looked at your diary. Not only are you eating under your calorie goal, but many days you burned more through exercise than you ate. Independent of the trouble you're having with the scale, this is a bad idea. In fact, along with water retention, it might be causing the trouble on the scale. Eat more. And I say this as a low-calorie dieter and believer. You are too active for how much you are eating. If you're uneasy about eating back exercise calories, at least start by meeting your daily goal of 1900. Give it a week and see how it goes.

    ETA: I don't think you are doing severe damage to yourself. But it's common sense that you don't exercise off every calorie you eat.
  • willot0722
    willot0722 Posts: 51 Member
    If you have been exercising it could be muscle increase and not fat.

    No, it couldn't. For several reasons.

    Assuming her diary is being correctly filled out, she's undereating by hundreds and sometimes thousands of calories a day. It is literally impossible to gain weight from either fat or muscle if you are on a calorie deficit. You can lose fat and you can gain muscle, but you cannot have a net gain between the two.

    To the original poster. There are many days where you burn more calories from exercise alone than you eat. Do you really think this is a good idea? (Hint: No. It is a terrible idea and you are causing severe damage to your body). Read the stickies at the top and start eating.

    I agree, but would add that some of those calorie burns look massive - OP how are you calculating those?


    Some of them are calculated on cardio machines- I enter my weight and age and it adds them up for me. Then I do crossfit workouts which I log as circuit training- and I always log 20 minutes less than what I actually do because I think MFP overestimates calories burned during circuit training. My workouts have been very intense lately- my gym owner picks them out. They last almost 2 hours and with my weight, I do think the calories burned are near accurate.
  • cyn4him
    cyn4him Posts: 83 Member
    I would not worry too much about it. I can fluctuate 4 pounds in one day. LOL. This is the main reason I weight daily (each morning when I wake and not again). This way I can see a trend and not get as discouraged as if maybe I weighed on a "high" day. My trend is still losing... Even if I weighed in at 1.7 pounds more this morning that yesterday morning. And I know I didn't eat 7000 calories yesterday. LOL.
  • Racaronga
    Racaronga Posts: 32
    I'm interested in the response to this. I've been reading up about eating more and would like to hear others views/experiences....
  • Leslie85
    Leslie85 Posts: 265 Member
    If you have been exercising it could be muscle increase and not fat.

    No, it couldn't. For several reasons.

    Assuming her diary is being correctly filled out, she's undereating by hundreds and sometimes thousands of calories a day. It is literally impossible to gain weight from either fat or muscle if you are on a calorie deficit. You can lose fat and you can gain muscle, but you cannot have a net gain between the two.

    To the original poster. There are many days where you burn more calories from exercise alone than you eat. Do you really think this is a good idea? (Hint: No. It is a terrible idea and you are causing severe damage to your body). Read the stickies at the top and start eating.

    I agree, but would add that some of those calorie burns look massive - OP how are you calculating those?

    I second this. Those ARE massive calorie burns. If you're REALLY burning that many calories you definitely need to get more than 1200-1400 calories a day. That means you're only netting, what? a couple hundred calories on some days? Not good.
  • Kara_xxx
    Kara_xxx Posts: 635 Member
    Read the stickies at the top and start eating.

    What??

    +1

    Has anyone actually looked at the OPs diary before responding?

    You're training 1000+ calories a day. ASSUMING that's accurate and HRM supported, then you're undereating massively.

    You usually only come in around 1100 cals meaning you're netting a measly 100 cals or so for your body to live on.

  • *I do want to say that I am allowed 1,950 calories per day but I usually keep it down at 1,200-1,400.

    Not enough cals my friend... especially since you said you burned 3000 cals over the course of the week. Your body is holding on to whatever it can because it's getting the message that food is in short supply.

    You're asking for reasons why you're gaining. This is the reason (IMO)

    Unless your logging is off, or you are miscalculating cals burnt or cals consumed.

    Hope you can get on the right track! xo
  • Leslie85
    Leslie85 Posts: 265 Member
    Read the stickies at the top and start eating.

    What??

    +1

    Has anyone actually looked at the OPs diary before responding?

    You're training 1000+ calories a day. ASSUMING that's accurate and HRM supported, then you're undereating massively.

    You usually only come in around 1100 cals meaning you're netting a measly 100 cals or so for your body to live on.

    ^^ This- exactly what I said. One day you ate just over 1300 calories and evidently burned over 1600 calories. Your doctor may say to just eat when you're hungry- but does he know how much you're burning during exercise??

    Of course, this is all assuming your food and exercise are correct.
  • lklascala
    lklascala Posts: 33 Member
    Part of what I see going on is that you're only allowing yourself 1200 - 1400 calories, when your body needs more. Your body may be storing fat because it thinks it is going into starvation mode. Secondly, if you're exercising that much your body could be building muscle. Keep your head up and keep plugging away. It will start to melt off.

  • Some of them are calculated on cardio machines- I enter my weight and age and it adds them up for me. Then I do crossfit workouts which I log as circuit training- and I always log 20 minutes less than what I actually do because I think MFP overestimates calories burned during circuit training. My workouts have been very intense lately- my gym owner picks them out. They last almost 2 hours and with my weight, I do think the calories burned are near accurate.

    Cardio machines are innacurate (as I have compared them to my HRM results, and they can be off by over 100 calories in one workout). There are inexpensive HRM available online (ebay), so if you can afford it, it`s the best investment. It`s the most accurate way to calculate calories burned. :)
  • _stephanie0
    _stephanie0 Posts: 708 Member
    i think you should try eating more. I know it sounds crazy but 1200-1400 and burning that many exercise calories is not working. I think your body is telling you to eat more.

    ^ THIS!!

    Your body is STARVING!!
    my suggestions- go to http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/ to figure out your calories to eat
    eat HEALTHY CLEAN foods
    aim for 40%carb 40% protein 20% fat. your carbs dominate currently.
  • robin52077
    robin52077 Posts: 4,383 Member
    If you have been exercising it could be muscle increase and not fat.

    No, it couldn't. For several reasons.

    Assuming her diary is being correctly filled out, she's undereating by hundreds and sometimes thousands of calories a day. It is literally impossible to gain weight from either fat or muscle if you are on a calorie deficit. You can lose fat and you can gain muscle, but you cannot have a net gain between the two.

    To the original poster. There are many days where you burn more calories from exercise alone than you eat. Do you really think this is a good idea? (Hint: No. It is a terrible idea and you are causing severe damage to your body). Read the stickies at the top and start eating.

    this

    yeah, this.

    There is ABSOLUTELY NO WAY she has gained ANY muscle. In fact, what muscle mass there is, is being eaten away at.

    OP, you need to reassess your goals ASAP.
    RUN, don't walk, over to the TOOLS section and calculate your BMR.

    NEVER EVER EVER eat less than that in a day.

    MFP has set you up with a goal to MEET, based on a deficit YOU have chosen (1 lb, 2 lb, whatever you chose). That GOAL is to ACHIEVE that loss.
    But leaving another thousand (or more) calories on the table each day, you are forcing your body to survive on less than it takes to sustain your body EVEN IF YOU WERE IN A COMA.
    That's right, your BMR is the amount of calories they would put in your IV/feeding tube/whatever should you be in a coma. Do you really think you can survive on less than that while up and about AND working out?

    If your body is forced to survive on so little, it decreases your muscle mass to compensate and forces your BMR LOWER, so you can survive on less, and not DIE.

    Once your BMR is screwed up and too low, if you go back to eating what should be "normal", you will GAIN weight. That is "starvation mode", or "adaptive thermogenesis", when your body lowers your BMR or "metabolism" if you will, to compensate for underfeeding.

    MFP adds calories to your BMR based on your lifestyle (active, sedentary, etc) and gets your TDEE. This is your MAINTENANCE amount. The amount to eat to stay the same.
    Then they SUBTRACT from the TDEE the deficit you chose, and there you have your GOAL. You EAT THAT GOAL to achieve the loss you chose.
    Eating way less is killing you.
  • mfoutch86
    mfoutch86 Posts: 87
    I looked at your diary (briefly, so I'm making some assumptions) and the two things I saw right off the bat was almost no water intake, and the calories burned on th AMT machine seem incredibly high. 1100 cals for 60 mins? That just can't be accurate! My weight can flux just like yours, and I know how frustrating that can be. I can gain 5 lbs overnight if I eat something salty, and it takes a week to come back off! Stick with it, and up your water!
  • WhatAgirl_
    WhatAgirl_ Posts: 151 Member
    I never went over any of my calories, carbs, or sodium this week. I burned 3,000 calories in workouts this week. Yet this morning on my weekly weigh-in, the scale went up FOUR pounds!

    I am really feeling discouraged about it because I have no idea what is going on. Can anyone offer any insight?

    Thanks

    *I do want to say that I am allowed 1,950 calories per day but I usually keep it down at 1,200-1,400.

    If you exercise daily you are supposed to eat it back and make sure your net is AT LEAST 1500 ( since u said you are allowed to eat 1950 per day) however, if you do not do that you will not lose weight and like what happened you, u might even gain weight. this actually happened to me before. I didnt gain weight but I stayed the same despite my crazy workouts. so here is the deal
    1) you can exercise every day but make sure your net is 1500 cals , meaning eat back your calories!
    2) if you do not want to eat back your calories dont exerice! just eat 1450 - 1500cals a day ... try this for a week and see the result....
    * Remeber to eat REAL FOODS.... Whole grains, veggies, fruit, nuts, protein, eggs etc
  • momma3sweetgirls
    momma3sweetgirls Posts: 743 Member
    You're running on empty. You often burn more calories than you eat. Eat a cheeseburger or something, please!!! I'm serious, by the way.
  • FitForLife81
    FitForLife81 Posts: 372 Member
    I am thinking your calories burned calculation must be off. Dont rely on machines they are not accurate. Get a heart rate monitor it is the most accurate way to calculate.
  • Tourney3p0
    Tourney3p0 Posts: 290 Member
    Read the stickies at the top and start eating.

    What??

    There are threads at the top with a thumb tack next to them. One of them is "Newbies Please READ ME (2nd edition)". Read that and all the threads linked in it. It details exactly what your problem is and why it's bad.

    You know how at the end of the day, you click "Complete this entry"? Then it comes up and says "Hey, you're not eating enough. This is bad and your diet isn't going to work!" The links in that thread explain why it says this.
  • jmm27
    jmm27 Posts: 34
    I had the same problem this week. Bump till I can go back to read all the responses.
  • stephvaile
    stephvaile Posts: 298
    are you sure you filled in your mfp correctly the activity part as you seem to be allowed alot of cals before exercise what is your daily activity level
  • TheRUBENone
    TheRUBENone Posts: 20 Member
    At times if your not eating enough your body goes into starvation mode & holds on to everything you eat because it believes your starving it. diet is tricky. want to stay in the negative calric intake range but not at the cost of your body going into starvation mode or you will be stuck & can even gain. its weird but the more you work out & burn the more you have to eat. also may want to increase your protein intake. carbs makes you stop loosing weight. your body waist/burns more energy/calories off when you eat protien then it does when you eat carbs & even less when you eat fats. high protein, low carb is the name of the game to keep that metabolism firing all day long. i went from 467 pounds down to 198 in a year & 1/2 following this way of eating & still lossing. body fat dropped from over 50% to 15.5. still have lots to go but just so you can see. cardio is king when cutting weight as well as a good balanced diet. good luck to you.
  • carray250
    carray250 Posts: 43
    I've put on a few pounds but my clothes fit better. So it is probably inches you are losing. Try to add more cardio to the mix maybe.
  • WhatAgirl_
    WhatAgirl_ Posts: 151 Member
    I am thinking your calories burned calculation must be off. Dont rely on machines they are not accurate. Get a heart rate monitor it is the most accurate way to calculate.

    THIS IS TRUE TOO... make sure you use MFP calculations. let MFP do everything for you. the Machines at the gym are absoultely INCORRECT.
  • Kara_xxx
    Kara_xxx Posts: 635 Member
    RUN, don't walk, over to the TOOLS section and calculate your BMR.

    NEVER EVER EVER eat less than that in a day.

    +100
  • theesfield
    theesfield Posts: 31 Member
    This would be easier if this was an exact science, but it's not. And everyone's body responds differently. I can tell you that I have lost more weight by eating more rathern than eating less. So, try more smaller meals throughout the day to keep your metabolisim burning and don't put your body into starvation mode by under eating calories. Most of all, hang in there. Be patient. Stay postitive. And drink your water! :)