Restarting MFP and gaining weight

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piratepiet
piratepiet Posts: 45 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi there guys!

I joined mfp last year, and really lost quite a bit of weight. I started walking and running, ate what was good for me and everything went well.

Then, last February I had to go to the hospital because of a myocarditis (I was still running even though I had a cold, and after 1,5 months I had it in my heart - so: stay at home if you are sick, it's not worth it!) and was not allowed to do sports for at least 3 months. It happened what must happen - I gained some of my weight back. I'm still 15 lbs under my first starting weight, but I had lost 30lbs already last february.

That really sucked, but I knew, if i start mfp again and the walking/running it was no big deal. 2 weeks ago I started recording every little bit of food, started to do sports again (50-60min a day walking/running with 75% of my max heartrate with my HRM + Hiking(compbined with Geocaching about 10 hours/week) and I tried to spare some calories every day and don't eat back everything I earned with sports.

The Result after the first 2 weeks: I gained 3,5 lbs! That really sucks. I just wanted to know, if someone here had similar things happen to them or if someone could tell me something I haven't thought of.

Thanks in advance, I'm here to stay!
Ricky

PS: I'm sorry if I messed up some of the text but I'm from germany, so be nice ;-)

Replies

  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
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    So how many calories a day are you eating ?
  • Stefxtastic
    Stefxtastic Posts: 17 Member
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    Sounds like you could have started putting on muscle instead of just taking off weight. Muscle weighs more than fat so if you are replacing your fat with muscle you might not be able to notice inches coming off just yet, and you would have likely put on a few pounds. Also you said you are not eating back what you work off, sometimes if you are down to many calories it slows down your matabloism so you body can use more of the nutrients from every little bit of food you eat, so eating to few calories can mean that you gain weight instead of loosing it. Keep your chin up it will happen :)
    On another note, your written English was nearly perfect! :)
  • piratepiet
    piratepiet Posts: 45 Member
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    somewhere between 1800 and 2400 ( My Goal is 1800 plus 900 - 1500 from sports, depends on the day)
  • piratepiet
    piratepiet Posts: 45 Member
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    Sounds like you could have started putting on muscle instead of just taking off weight. Muscle weighs more than fat so if you are replacing your fat with muscle you might not be able to notice inches coming off just yet, and you would have likely put on a few pounds. Also you said you are not eating back what you work off, sometimes if you are down to many calories it slows down your matabloism so you body can use more of the nutrients from every little bit of food you eat, so eating to few calories can mean that you gain weight instead of loosing it. Keep your chin up it will happen :)
    On another note, your written English was nearly perfect! :)

    I do eat back a lot of the sports-calories, but maybe it's really the muscles - they have had a great time off the last months ;-)
    Maybe next week it all looks better.
  • pegrama
    pegrama Posts: 6 Member
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    You probably know this, but sometimes, if you do not eat enough, the weight will not drop - the body is in starvation mode. You need to make sure that you are eating at least the recommended daily calories. Also eat more protein and reduce the carbs. Cut down on fizzy drinks - even the low calorie ones can have salt in. Drink enough water (too much is as bad as too little) the eight glasses is about right. Remember that if you are building muscle, this is more dense, and so weighs more than fat. So take measurements as well as using the scales. One last thing - get a good set of digital scales (the spinny ones are not accurate).
    Hope this helps. :smile:
  • A_New_Horizon
    A_New_Horizon Posts: 1,555 Member
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    I honestly think your body is just adjusting back to a normal routine including exercising. For example, when I started doing 30-day shred, I put on 5 lbs for about 3 weeks then it all fell off plus some. It happens....your body is adjusting. Plus, if your muscles are sore - you are retaining water in your muscles to repair them. Keep doing what you are doing and give it a little longer - your body is just adjusting. I know what it feels like to gain and have to re-lose (doing it myself as well).

    Give you a quick background of myself: I went from almost 200 lbs to 132 (on a 5'3" frame)...I felt amazing, but back in Nov, I had severe depression issues due to my soon to be ex-husband (he started to blackmail me). So, I was put on Celexa - well as a result I have put over 20 lbs back on = not happy at all. About 1.5 months ago, I went back to my drs and said you need to switch me because this weight gain is making me depressed as well. Now, I am on Wellbutrin - I took 2 weeks off due to my brother getting married then VBS. I started back at it for real on Monday and having a hard time adjusting. I dropped my calories to lose 0.5 lbs/week and I do eat back my exercise calories otherwise I am starving. Make sure to get your water in - alot of mine has been water retention due to horrible eating, no exercising, and no water intake - my body is flushing out slowly.

    The point of all this is give it time - your body is just adjusting to the new routine again.
  • piratepiet
    piratepiet Posts: 45 Member
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    I honestly think your body is just adjusting back to a normal routine including exercising. For example, when I started doing 30-day shred, I put on 5 lbs for about 3 weeks then it all fell off plus some. It happens....your body is adjusting. Plus, if your muscles are sore - you are retaining water in your muscles to repair them. Keep doing what you are doing and give it a little longer - your body is just adjusting. I know what it feels like to gain and have to re-lose (doing it myself as well).

    Give you a quick background of myself: I went from almost 200 lbs to 132 (on a 5'3" frame)...I felt amazing, but back in Nov, I had severe depression issues due to my soon to be ex-husband (he started to blackmail me). So, I was put on Celexa - well as a result I have put over 20 lbs back on = not happy at all. About 1.5 months ago, I went back to my drs and said you need to switch me because this weight gain is making me depressed as well. Now, I am on Wellbutrin - I took 2 weeks off due to my brother getting married then VBS. I started back at it for real on Monday and having a hard time adjusting. I dropped my calories to lose 0.5 lbs/week and I do eat back my exercise calories otherwise I am starving. Make sure to get your water in - alot of mine has been water retention due to horrible eating, no exercising, and no water intake - my body is flushing out slowly.

    The point of all this is give it time - your body is just adjusting to the new routine again.

    that sounds good. congratulations on your weight loss! it is amazing. i'll just give it more time.

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