Working out, Eating right but gaining weight???

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samc1994
samc1994 Posts: 4
in Fitness and Exercise
So, i've been working out, eating healthy and doing weight training consistently for the last 6 months or something but recently i've noticed that im getting a bit more fat on my stomach and behind (butt) :P . I play tennis, 3 times a week for 45-90 minutes or so i mainly try to work on my chest and arms in my weight training which i do twice a week, about 30 mins intense sessions and im getting good results. I have a good protein shake straight afterwoulds and for the next few days while they're repairing. I've got good abs, they are well built, but i've notices that the small layer of fat covering them is getting a bit thicker. My legs have toned up and are nice which reveals my obliques, but my lower stomach fat has increased a bit?? my body fat percentage is around 7% or so by the way.

As for my eating plan, i consume around 1500-2100 calories per day and it consists of natural foods such as fruits, nuts, veges, chicken and lean meats etc. Im cutting out on my sugar if i can, i used to have lots of sugar, but now its to a minimum.

As for my cardio, im training for a 10km marathon event thing which means ive increased my normal HIIT 2 x per week to 6 km runs 2 times a week and 1 HIIT cardio session.

I know that i've gained some weight due to muslce mass because i can see my chest is more developed, but this layer of fat on my stomach i can't get rid of. I weight about 60kg atm and am 18 y/o male.

Replies

  • JamesGGAnderson
    JamesGGAnderson Posts: 13 Member
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    To start with, if you're gaining muscle it's impossible to be losing fat, it goes against the laws of thermodynamics.

    This may sound harsh but you need to eat less, protein shakes probably aren't necessary for multiple days after a 30min weight session, sure have one after the session but pretty much every day wouldn't be necessary.

    How tall are you?

    7% BF is pretty low, endurance athletes wouldn't go much below 6%

    And pet peeve of mine, by definition a marathon is 42.2km so there is no such thing as a 10km marathon.
  • samc1994
    samc1994 Posts: 4
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    Thanks for the reply. Right, so you suggest i eat less? I mean, i thought i was gaining weight because of deficit or calories which causes the body to hold onto fat.

    Im about 5'10" or around 178cm or so.

    Do you have any tips for burning that last layer of fat on my lower stomach?

    ps - sorry, i know a 10km run isn't a marathon, but its an event as apart of the Melbourne marathon. :P But yeah, it feels much better saying 10km run at the melbourne marathon, much more liberating.
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
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    Thanks for the reply. Right, so you suggest i eat less? I mean, i thought i was gaining weight because of deficit or calories which causes the body to hold onto fat.

    Im about 5'10" or around 178cm or so.

    Do you have any tips for burning that last layer of fat on my lower stomach?

    ps - sorry, i know a 10km run isn't a marathon, but its an event as apart of the Melbourne marathon. :P But yeah, it feels much better saying 10km run at the melbourne marathon, much more liberating.

    Sorry, that's one of the silliest myths in the world of weight loss. Eat at a caloric deficit and you'll lose weight (a combination of fat & lean muscle mass) strength training will help you maintain your muscle mass but when eating at a caloric deficit it's almost impossible to gain muscle. Bottom line is that if you're putting on weight you're eating at a surplus.
  • JamesGGAnderson
    JamesGGAnderson Posts: 13 Member
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    Do you track every single calorie in and out? What's your current deficit?, You'd be surprised how little energy you burn, for example, at your weight you would burn about 360 cal for a 6km run (1cal per kg per km is a pretty good rough estimate), no idea about weight training but I'm sure it would be less than running due to all the recovery time.
  • JamesGGAnderson
    JamesGGAnderson Posts: 13 Member
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    Oh and 178cm and 60kg, you're the same height as me and 16KG LIGHTER THAN ME, or 13kg lighter than the picture of me. Admittedly I want to get down to about 68kg but still, you should become a runner or cyclist, your power to weight ratio would be ridiculous.
  • samc1994
    samc1994 Posts: 4
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    I mentally track every single calorie in and out as much as i can. But can i ask one question? would i be gaining weight because of starvation or excess of calories??

    I love running, it's one of my hobbies, so it's good to know i have a good ratio of weight to height. :D i did pass with flying colours in my PE class. :D
  • Bobby_Clerici
    Bobby_Clerici Posts: 1,828 Member
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    I track body fat as well as weight to track progress.
    Losing fat is simple but hard. You can check body fat here for free:
    http://www.scientificpsychic.com/fitness/diet.html
  • MelanieAG05
    MelanieAG05 Posts: 359 Member
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    So, i've been working out, eating healthy and doing weight training consistently for the last 6 months or something but recently i've noticed that im getting a bit more fat on my stomach and behind (butt) :P . I play tennis, 3 times a week for 45-90 minutes or so i mainly try to work on my chest and arms in my weight training which i do twice a week, about 30 mins intense sessions and im getting good results. I have a good protein shake straight afterwoulds and for the next few days while they're repairing. I've got good abs, they are well built, but i've notices that the small layer of fat covering them is getting a bit thicker. My legs have toned up and are nice which reveals my obliques, but my lower stomach fat has increased a bit?? my body fat percentage is around 7% or so by the way.

    As for my eating plan, i consume around 1500-2100 calories per day and it consists of natural foods such as fruits, nuts, veges, chicken and lean meats etc. Im cutting out on my sugar if i can, i used to have lots of sugar, but now its to a minimum.

    As for my cardio, im training for a 10km marathon event thing which means ive increased my normal HIIT 2 x per week to 6 km runs 2 times a week and 1 HIIT cardio session.

    I know that i've gained some weight due to muslce mass because i can see my chest is more developed, but this layer of fat on my stomach i can't get rid of. I weight about 60kg atm and am 18 y/o male.

    Hi,

    I am female so not really able to help much but this website is good for getting your calorie intake numbers for weight loss/gain/maintenance

    http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/
  • EmilyTwist1
    EmilyTwist1 Posts: 206 Member
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    You're not going to gain weight if you're starving. Your metabolism could slow down, which would slow down weight loss, but not stop it. If you were eating at too great a deficit for a long period of time, and you then increase your calories you likely will gain weight because your metabolism is slower and and your body is storing up fat for the next "famine."
  • JamesGGAnderson
    JamesGGAnderson Posts: 13 Member
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    I mentally track every single calorie in and out as much as i can. But can i ask one question? would i be gaining weight because of starvation or excess of calories??

    I love running, it's one of my hobbies, so it's good to know i have a good ratio of weight to height. :D i did pass with flying colours in my PE class. :D

    You won't be gaining weight because of a calorie deficit, there's a chance that having a large calorie deficit for an extended period of time could reduce your metabolism which you may have to adjust for or not have such a large deficit. At your BF% you probably don't want to have a deficit greater than about 300 calories, your body won't want to lose weight.
  • Di3012
    Di3012 Posts: 2,250 Member
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    I mentally track every single calorie in and out as much as i can. But can i ask one question? would i be gaining weight because of starvation or excess of calories??

    I love running, it's one of my hobbies, so it's good to know i have a good ratio of weight to height. :D i did pass with flying colours in my PE class. :D

    You are not in any starvation mode thing and to gain weight you would be eating at a surplus of calories.

    Running's brilliant, I love running too :love:
  • billsica
    billsica Posts: 4,741 Member
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    Ok. I'm just going to put the obvious out there.

    Are you sure its really more fat over your body, or does it just seem like it? If I was you, I'd bust out a tape measure and track, or get some opinions from someone else. You seem like your doing it right, so it might all just be in your head.

    Also, your doing all this great workouts and stuff, do you even care anymore about the scale?
  • emisu2
    emisu2 Posts: 53 Member
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    Read Why We Get Fat by Gary Taubes.
  • Keefypoos
    Keefypoos Posts: 231 Member
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    7% body fat are you aiming for 0%?
  • myofibril
    myofibril Posts: 4,500 Member
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    Read:

    http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/the-stubborn-fat-solution

    Apply.

    Job done.
  • ellie0213
    ellie0213 Posts: 562 Member
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    IS THIS KID KIDDING? Is this even a real question or just someone looking for attention? Could he be anymore vague about what he is actually dong? ---working out for 6 months or something????mentally tracking every calorie????good leg workout so he has good obliques????7% body fat but has a layer of fat over his well defined abs???? First of all his profile is not filled out at all, he claims to be 20 but his name says 1994 which would make him 17 or 18?
  • samc1994
    samc1994 Posts: 4
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    I know that i've gained some weight due to muslce mass because i can see my chest is more developed, but this layer of fat on my stomach i can't get rid of. I weight about 60kg atm and am 18 y/o male.


    Really 'Elle'?? I don't claim to be 20, i claim to be 18, which i pretty much am in about 3 or so months. Where did you get the impression that i was 20? the only thing i can think of is when i created the account, in which i could give a toss whether i put 18 or 20 or 20 years old, i really just wanted to sign up QUICKLY, i couldn't care less of my virtual age.

    I'm not looking for attention, if i was looking for attention, i would have posted a picture of my self and boasted about it, which i didn't, and which i never will do, because i have a sense of moral and in-vanity.

    By 'mentally' tracking ever calorie, i don't literally mean every calorie i hope you're aware of that, i mean that if i have something for lunch i estimate the amount of calories based on an EDUCATED GUESS and then tally it into my current calories already consumed into today. Im doing Maths Methods and am top of my class, so adding some numbers together shouldn't be overly difficult, capiche?

    I didn't say i do LEG WORKOUTS, i was just stating that because of all the running i've been doing, it's been exercising my legs muscles more which leads fat loss which comes from the extremeties first, then works it way to an all-over fat loss.

    Yes, 7% body fat, is that too hard to grasp that concept? don't get me wrong, i was suprised too when i quadruple checked it with different calculators, but yes i am human, and i store some fat around my mid section.

    And yes, aren't i allowed to have abs, is that a sin? All i was doing was simply telling you what state they were in. YOU have abs, but certainly i don't think they'd be well defined. Just so confusion didn't occur, i stated that they were 'well defined' which meant i had been working them out and they developed and were visilble and DEFINED.

    And look, i didn't fill out my profile because i rarely use myfitnesspal because i have better things to do that post topics all day and chat online and criticise other people. I asked this same question on yahoo answers but since it's a rather esoteric question i though that a forum devoted to fitness would be more suitable. By the way, if you're a bit confused by the 'big' grown-up word 'esoteric'. Esoteric means 'understood by or meant for only the select few who have special knowledge or interest; recondite: poetry full of esoteric allusions.'

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