Why I am I gaining weight!!

Hello all and thanks in advance for any help and support!

I started a diet and regular exercise again in June 5th.  My starting weight was 142(my heaviest in about 5 years).  I am 5'5" in Oct 08, I was about 125, but I started a new job working about 15-17 hours a day in a Restaurant, so I had no time to work out and I ate constantly.  Then I got fired in april and ate even more.  Sorry for the sob story!!

Finally in June I started dieting and working out again.

I am doing 10 min trainner from Tony Horton, 2 or 3(total 20-30 min) videos a day, plus power walking and running for about an hour or biking for 30-40 minutes. I also do an  interval whole body weight training and jumping rope that is 30 min. long 2 times a week. I am working out about 6 days a week over an hour.  I am eating healthy about 1200 to 1500 calories a day.  I  feel hungry every day, but I am drinking about a gallon of water a day to keep me from eating more.

The first 10 days I lost about 7 pounds i went to 135 but since then I keep gaining weight and I am in between 136 to 138 depending on the day and the hour I have weighted myself.

 

Why after a month of strict dieting, cardio and strength trainning am I gaining weight instead of loosing!! What am I doing wrong!! Do I have to eat less!!

Thanks Bea

if anything i would say you would need to eat more.. especially if you are always hungry and working out and burning more cals.

Original Post by beadelc:

I am 5'5"

I am working out about 6 days a week over an hour.  I am eating healthy about 1200 to 1500 calories a day.

Hey there. I am around your height and weight too.

 

A lot of people think it's counter-intuitive when other people say "you aren't eating enough!" because.. well you aren't supposed to eat enough if you want to lose weight. But the truth is you still should. Or how else would your body function?? By eating too little, your body is trying to hold on to what ever little is left on your body. With similar stat, I'm eating about 1500 at least without exercise. So I suggest upping your calorie intake a little.

Thanks Jenny and Fruit tart!  I forgot to mention I am 42 years old. I dont know if  this matter,

 

Bea

I think your body has gone into starvation mode. 

Have you ever considered carb counting as well as calorie counting. 

In January I found out I am diabetic.  I was completely lost on how my world had changed and did not understand carbohydrates at all.  I had been eating only one meal a day for many years and had steadily gained weight.  I have a list of medical problems and I am in a wheelchair.  I also have a history of anorexia and I hate to eat real meals.  I even kept myself from snacking.  To make matters worse I have Crohn's disease and sometimes eating is painful when the food hits my stomach. 

Since finding out about my diabetes and changing my diet I have lost over 60 pounds.  The biggest difference is that I eat 2 meals and 3 snacks a day.  I have cut my carbohydrate intake to between 60 and 80 carbs a day.  I have no idea what the numbers are on my calories.

Probably the strangest thing I have discovered is that if I really want a certain food I allow myself to have it but take a such smaller amount than a normal serving.  Lets say for example I am craving cake.  All I really want is the taste so I get a very small piece of cake (like 2 or 3 small bites) and I savor it.  I slowly eat these little bitty bites and when I am done I feel satisfied.  If I do not allow myself the small amount I have found that I will eat a large amount.  In the past I have actually eaten 1/4 of the cake.   

I also did not count the carbs I was taking in when I was fixing food for other people or cooking.  Cleaning the spoon and "testing" the spice in food you are cooking adds up and no one counts those carbs or calories. 

Hope this will help you

Tricia

 

 

Original Post by beadelc:

The first 10 days I lost about 7 pounds i went to 135 but since then I keep gaining weight and I am in between 136 to 138 depending on the day and the hour I have weighted myself.

It's basically impossible to lose 7 pounds of fat in 10 days.  What happened was that you managed to really dehydrate yourself one day.  (Reducing sodium in your diet also helps you stop retaining water.)  So, you probably lost 1-2 pounds of fat and 8-9 pounds of water.  All you're seeing now is a bit of that water coming back.  This is nothing to worry about.  If you plan to weigh daily, you'll need to accept that your weight will fluctuate up and down on a daily basis - sometimes by as much as 5 pounds!  What you want to focus on is the general trend.  Instead of being disappointed that you went from 135 to 138, be happy that you went from 142 to 138!

I agree with the above posters that you're undereating for your activity level, but I don't think that's the reason for your "gain".  It's just natural fluctuation compounded by one very dehydrated day.

i also have had the same problem, for the last 4 days i started exercising burning around 550-600 calories on the cross trainer. my calorie food intake for the last 4 days has been 700 calories, and i've been consuming alot of negative calories, apples, carrots, celeries.

4 days ago i weight 81 kilos now after weighing myself this mornings its gone up to  83.2...... is this normal? im trying to lose weight, so i dont want to suddenly gain muscles, and be very butch.

 

Original Post by melisskah:

i also have had the same problem, for the last 4 days i started exercising burning around 550-600 calories on the cross trainer. my calorie food intake for the last 4 days has been 700 calories, and i've been consuming alot of negative calories, apples, carrots, celeries.

4 days ago i weight 81 kilos now after weighing myself this mornings its gone up to  83.2...... is this normal? im trying to lose weight, so i dont want to suddenly gain muscles, and be very butch.

 

Don't worry. 

You won't gain any muscle on 700 calories a day.  Ever.  You can't gain muscle on a deficit, and especially not on a starvation diet.

What you may gain, however, are some new illnesses.  Up your intake; at the very minimum you should be eating 1200/day (though I would suggest the base is 1500), your body thinks it's starving so now it's going to hold onto all of your calories. 

Thanks to all for your advice!

I am not going to stress about the weight, I did try a pair of jeans that will not go up my thighs and now I was able to put them on with effort and laying on the bed and sucking it all in(got the mental picture). I should had written down measurements but it was so depressing that I did not want to put it on paper!

 

I have upped my calories to 1500-1600 I am trying to eat every 2-4 hours betw. 200-250 meals. I eliminated regular sugar, diet sodas, white flour.  I use Splenda for everything is this ok?

I am having a big problem with the late night monchies(worked at night for many years and still have the habit of eating at night).  I am eating light popcorn individual baggies, but I can help myself and always eat 2 to 3 bags(max calories 330) but I feel this is not a good thing. Can I subsititue with something else, for salty cravings.

 

Bea

yes your right your gaining weight but im more than sure its muscle and not body fat. the more muscles you have the faster you are able to burn calories.

I am still so so hungry and my weight dont budge, not that I am weighing my self 2 times a day!!

Measurements

Breast:35.5"

Waist: 27.5

Arms: 12

Hips 39

Thighs: 23.5

 

Weight; 136

total calories today(at least until 11:20 pm)1,376

Total Calories Burned 647

 

So am I doing OK!

 

You're not really doing ok, and you're not listening to what people are telling you.

1. The bare minimum that a sedentary woman should be eating is 1200 calories.  You're not sedentary.  So you should be eating 1200 calories + the amount you burn off in exercise.  In your case, 1200 + 650 = 1850.  You had less than 1400.
2. If 330 of your days calories come from popcorn, that's almost 1/4 of them.  That's not healthy; there's very little food value in popcorn.  You're not getting enough nutritional food, then.  That would be especially important when you're not eating enough calories (see #1).
3. Try entering your food for the day into the CC system, and doing the analysis on it.  Post back with the results after a couple of days, so you can get some feedback on the breakdown of your diet.  Watch your sodium intake, and see how that affects your weight the next day. 
4. Weigh yourself at most once per day, at the same time every day.

Clint (who's not an expert, doctor, or nutritionist)

Original Post by beadelc:

Thanks Jenny and Fruit tart!  I forgot to mention I am 42 years old. I dont know if  this matter,

 

Bea

You are not in starvation mode.  "42" means a lot - age slows metabolism.  Yes, you are not eating enough - but you should be losing weight at your calorie intake and activity level.

I am tired of people on this site mixing apples and oranges about eating and weight loss.  Not eating enough is bad because you will be low in energy, and you won't stick to your plans because it's not fun, and in very rare cases you can affect your BMR (or if you are at a very low BF percentage).  Not eating at least 1200 a day is dumb because it promotes eating disorders.  

But eating 1400 a day with a healthy BF percentage will almost certainly NOT put you into "starvation mode".  The people who tell you this are wrong.

A FAR more likely scenario is this:  Your metabolism has slowed with age and you are not eating the right foods to nourish it and promote fat loss.  Your activity level is good but you are not doing the right exercises to promote fat loss. 

 

This is a good article

Again thanks for all the advise!  I know I am not eating completely wrong, for me I am doing an outstanding job.  I am used to eating  all the time and being puertorrican, a lot of fried food rice and beans.  When I a exercise regularly it seems I dont gain too much weight no matter what I eat. But at those times I am exercising like a maniac(I call it my dyslexic mode, because I do p90x 2 a day, some tmes I exercise over 2 hours). 

For six month I did not do anythign and I gained weight.  I know my stats say I am ok, but for me(by the way I have always felt fat) I look bad and feel bad.  The worst part I was so close to being in some sort of real shape last Oct.  I have an hour glass figure, with very jiggly thighs and but(I absolutely hate them) but I was able to firm them up, till no visible muscles, but a bit firmer( I sometimes think if I get a bit bigger my thighs loose some of the sagging since the skin gets taught, go figure :)

So now I have been a month of diet and exercise and no results(visible or scale)!!

Its a bit frustrating!!

I am unemployed so I dont have a budget to get fresh fruits and vegetables as everybody here sure knows are the best.  So I keep frozen fruits and vegetables, Chicken(thighs, I dont like breast), canned tuna and salmon, whole wheat local wraps, peanut butter, yogurt, cottage chz, pasta, and tomato sauce.  I have only been tracking my calories for  4 days and this is what I have.  Any advice to change inexpensively.

Sorry here is what I ate:

 

Grade Grams Cals Chicken, Thigh, Meat Only - Cooked, Roasted B- 140 293 Tomato, Basil & Garlic Pasta Sauce - Traditional pasta sauce A- 100 100 Mission 6" Low Carb Whole Wheat Tortillas, 10ct.
28 80 StarKist Premium Solid White Albacore Tuna
112 140 Mayo Light Mayonnaise Salad Dressing A- 15 50 Tomato, med. Raw - Fruits A 33 10 Spinach - Raw A 30 7 Spears Kosher Dill Spears - Crunchy Pickles
28 5 Vegetables, Mixed - Frozen, Cooked, Boiled, Drained, Without Salt A 182 118 Crackers Baked Whole Grain Wheat Reduced Fat B 57 235 Strawberries - Frozen, Unsweetened A 221 77 Full Circle Rice Milk Organic Vanilla Lactose Free - Soy Milk, Flavored Soy Milk B 120 60 Fit and Active Vanilla Nonfat Yogurt A- 113 70 Sugar Free Light Whipped Cream
5 10 Butter Light - Microwave Popcorn B- 93 330 Total Calories Consumed 1,585 Sat, Jul 04 2009 Grade Grams Cals Buckwheat Pancake and Waffle Mix A 54 204 Vanilla Soy Milk B+ 180 83 Orange Marmalade Sugar Free Marmalade - Smucker's
68 40 Maple Flavored Syrup Sugar Free
200 46 Skippy Creamy C 32 190 Orange Marmalade Sugar Free Marmalade - Smucker's
34 20 Crackers Saltine Crackers Multigrain
14 60 Frozen 4-Way Mixed Vegetables A 64 38 Tomato, Basil & Garlic Pasta Sauce - Traditional pasta sauce A- 100 100 Mayo Light Mayonnaise Salad Dressing A- 15 50 Tomato, med. Raw - Fruits A 33 10 Egg, Whole - Raw, Fresh B+ 44 63 Strawberries - Frozen, Unsweetened A 221 77 Fit and Active Vanilla Nonfat Yogurt A- 170 105 Sprite Zero - Soft Drinks
119 1 pink salmon

180 Whipped Topping Fat Free
18 30 Butter Light - Microwave Popcorn B- 62 220 Total Calories Consumed 1,516 Sun, Jul 05 2009 Grade Grams Cals Organic Whole Wheat Farina B+ 36 128 Vanilla Soy Milk - Soy A 240 110 Vanilla Extract, Imitation, No Alcohol C- 4 2 Cinnamon, Ground A- 2 5 Espresso Coffee B+ 60 1 Diet Green Tea - Green Tea
240 0 Zesta Whole Grain Wheat Saltine Crackers B- 18 72 Natural Granola Oats & Honey & Raisins C 102 420 Vanilla Soy Milk - Soy A 240 110 Strawberries - Frozen, Unsweetened A 332 116 Butter Light - Microwave Popcorn B- 31 110 Bread, Whole-wheat, Commercially Prepared A 56 138 Beef, Ground, 95% Lean Meat / 5% Fat, Patty - Cooked, Broiled B 85 145 2% Milk American Singles - Sandwich Cheese C 21 50 RTC Boneless, Skinless IF Chicken Thighs - Chicken Specialties - Boneless
227 324 Vegetables, Mixed - Frozen, Cooked, Boiled, Drained, With Salt A 275 165 Total Calories Consumed 1,897 Mon, Jul 06 2009 Grade Grams Cals Fiber One Chewy Bars Oats & Chocolate B 40 140 Cottage Cheese Fat Free - Small Curd B 57 40 Golean Waffles Blueberry - Snack & Bars B+ 84 170 Cozy Cottage Sugar Free Syrup - Sugar Free Syrup
0 0 Protein Meal Bar Double Chocolate A 45 180 Mayo Light Mayonnaise Salad Dressing A- 8 25 BUMBLE BEE Skinless and Boneless Pink Salmon
112 100 Special K2O Protein Water Mix Pink Lemonade A 15 30 Frozen 5-Way Mixed Vegetables A 227 160 Peanut Butter, Smooth Style - With Salt B- 16 94 8" MULTI GRAIN - Low in Carbs Tortillas (8'' and 10'') A- 20 51 Orange Marmalade Sugar Free Marmalade - Smucker's
9 5 Strawberries - Frozen, Unsweetened A 221 77 Vanilla Soy Milk B+ 240 110 SPLENDA No Calorie
6 0 Fresh & Easy Boneless Skinless Thighs - Northwest Grown Fresh Chicken Thighs C 227 273 Total Calories Consumed 1,457