ahhh why am i GAINING weight?

[dimepiece]

I've been working out REALLY hard for 3 weeks today. The first two weeks I probably ran 5-10 miles a day. Then I joined this site and was told to cut down on the cardio. So I've been doing upper body and lower body lifting twice a week each plus probably 4 hours of steady state cardio a week.

For food I'm following the 1200 calorie diet at cutdiet.com. I've put on 3 pounds in the past 3 days and am beginning to freak out. I'm looking to LOSE 15 pounds (and gain muscle) not GAIN weight. Could this just be water weight maybe because I'm taking in so much protein? All this protein is making me so bloated :/. I guess I'm just really frustrated because I've given up the pizza and bread and ice cream and have been going to the gym six days a week. I don't know what else to do. I know muscle weighs more than fat but this weight gain seems a little too rapid for my liking...

[kh88]

1200 cals seems really low. im about your weight and height and im cutting now with 1600-1700. sometimes not eating enough cals will make you gain weight. whats your diet look like now??

[dimepiece]

Thanks for replying

I'm doing this pretty much to the letter although I hate meat to I substitute nonfat cottage cheese for a lot of the meat. The only reason I'm doing the 1200 one is because they have three different programs depending on your body fat and body type and this is the one that I am supposedly supposed to follow according to that site.

Cut Diet 1200
DURING Workout Shake = 1.5 scoops Substance with 4-8 scoops Xtend (Bodyweight pending ? 0.17g BCAAs/lb bodyweight) in 20-24 oz cold water

Meal 1
6 egg whites
1 whole egg
1 oz grilled chicken
1 cup steamed spinach
6 almonds
8 oz PEELED ruby red grapefruit ? Splenda packets can be used to sweeten if desired

Meal 2
1.5 scoops SUBSTANCE Protein Powder + 5g GlutaForm
6 almonds or 1 oz avocado
? cup steamed Broccoli or asparagus or green beans

Meal 3
3 oz Chicken or halibut or Sirloin fillet or Tuna (albacore packed/canned in water) or LEAN turkey breast
? cup steamed Broccoli or asparagus or green beans
4 tsp peanut butter or 12 almonds or 2 oz avocado

Meal 4
3 oz Chicken or halibut or Sirloin fillet or Tuna (albacore packed/canned in water) or LEAN turkey breast
? cup steamed Broccoli or asparagus or green beans
4 tsp peanut butter or 12 almonds or 2 oz avocado

Meal 5
1 scoop SUBSTANCE Protein Powder + 5g GlutaForm
6 almonds
? cup steamed Broccoli or asparagus or green beans

Meal 6
3 oz Chicken or halibut or Sirloin fillet or Tuna (albacore packed/canned in water) or LEAN turkey breast
? cup steamed Broccoli or asparagus or green beans
1 oz avocado

Protein ? 153g = 712 Calories, Carbohydrates (not including Carbohydrate night) ? 50g = 200 Calories, Fat ? 45g = 405 Calories
Total Calories ? 1217 Calories NON-carbohydrate night
Total Calories ? 1543 ? Carbohydrate nights

Every 18th meal is the Carb meal. It is the last meal and it replaces Meal 6. The Carb Meal must be eaten in this order.

1. 1 cup steamed green beans or asparagus
2. ? cup oatmeal (measured dry then add water and microwave) 2 tbsp raisins 4-6 packets splenda for sweetening 12 almonds used in oatmeal
3. 5 oz yam or sweet potato 2 tsp peanut butter or almond butter 4-6 packets splenda for sweetening

[kh88]

wow that sounds really complicated.. lol
my diet is very boring but very easy to follow and it has been working really well for me.

breakfast
1 whole egg 2-3 egg whites
1 slice whole wheat/ multi grain toast
water with 1/3 crystal light pack

meal 2 (im still in college so i do a shake right now cause its during class)
1/2 scoop whey
1/2 scoop caesin
2 tbsp natty PB
in water

meal 3, 4, and 5
chicken with salad sometimes, or just with some FF salad dressing
and meal 5 is usually right before i lift so i have some carbs, either a sice of bread or a cup of high fiber organic cherios

post wrk out 1 scoop whey in water

dinner 4 oz lean ground beef with salad or plain
always with taco sauce from a packet or ff dressing

and right before bed 1 scoop casein in water

ANDD the best part and the only thing that keeps me sane are a few sugar free jellos thru out the day. thier only 10 cals each their awesome.


my bf made this up for me so im not sure about all the macros but i know its right around 1700 and ive been doing it a little over a week and have already lost almost 4 lbs... idk just sounds a lot easier than what you are doing.... that would be too confusing and time consuming for me.. haah

[freebirdmac]

You are gaining because 1200 calories is too low!!! That level throttles back your metabolism as your body is starving and wants to conserve fuel. You have got to get the calories back up to a reasonable level in order to fuel your metabolism.

http://www.hotnfit.com/fitness/damag...olism.html#top

Many of us here, including myself, went through this. You have to eat more to lose weight!

[twinnett]

I'm your height and weight and was using the Cut Diet 1750 and still losing..I would at least go up to the 1500 calorie plan

[Kymn]

I agree with the other replies. Calories way too low! Especially if you are doing 4+ hours of cardio a week. Your body is starving and hanging onto all of that wonderful peanut butter/almonds you are eating.

I'm wondering what others think about all the fat with each meal. It's good fat yes but me personally I only eat about a TBS of peanut butter a day and a handful of nuts.

Don't worry! You'll work it out! : )

Kymn~

[twinnett]

Actually, I agree w/ a little good fat at every meal..I do that...

[dimepiece]

thanks for the advice everybody !! ok I am going to try the 1750 plan and cross my fingers! I guess if I gain on this I will go down to the 1500 plan. yayyy for trial and error

[dbroncofan]

I agree calories too low...also if you are using the cottage cheese instead of meat you may be having much less protein because there is a lot less in the cottage cheese than in actual meat.
There is also a lot of sodium in cottage cheese which will make you retain water and gain water weight as well.

Do you like fish or tuna? Those would work well as in the place of chicken.

[dimepiece]

oooh i didn't even think about cottage cheese not being a good substitute. the problem is i haaaate tuna plain. anybody have any ideas how to make it go down?? maybe i could mix red spicy sauce in it or something...

[twinnett]

hot sauce, mustard, lemon/pepper seasoning....salsa..

[trainwithrae]

by the way you may want to use a different form of cardio besides/other than running. I don't find running unless doing interval sprints, is condusive to getting that lean, competitors body. Most runners if you look at their bodies (Ldistance) have skinny/fat bodies, not a lot of muscle.

[cfit82]

they have this new tuna in vaccum packs, bumble bee tuna and chicken of the sea make them. They are fillets, not just chunks and don't have that nasty dried up, can taste. I would't be able to eat tuna any other way. They also make Chicken breast this way so you can take a packet anywhere. They are pretty tasty, too! Don't eat too much tuna, becuase of the mercury.

oooh i didn't even think about cottage cheese not being a good substitute. the problem is i haaaate tuna plain. anybody have any ideas how to make it go down?? maybe i could mix red spicy sauce in it or something...

[rubes00]

I mix my tuna up with mustard and ketchup. I know it sounds gross, but it makes the fishy taste go away. Then I add a half a pickle or so. Try adding a little FF ranch or something.

[kariev34]

sorry to hijack the thread but this is for Rae inregards to her post on this thread. What is a better form of cardio option instead of running? Is walking fast on an incline good or doing the ellipitcal or bike better?

[Jane_DOH]

I've been working out REALLY hard for 3 weeks today. The first two weeks I probably ran 5-10 miles a day. Then I joined this site and was told to cut down on the cardio. So I've been doing upper body and lower body lifting twice a week each plus probably 4 hours of steady state cardio a week.

For food I'm following the 1200 calorie diet at cutdiet.com. I've put on 3 pounds in the past 3 days and am beginning to freak out. I'm looking to LOSE 15 pounds (and gain muscle) not GAIN weight. Could this just be water weight maybe because I'm taking in so much protein? All this protein is making me so bloated :/. I guess I'm just really frustrated because I've given up the pizza and bread and ice cream and have been going to the gym six days a week. I don't know what else to do. I know muscle weighs more than fat but this weight gain seems a little too rapid for my liking...

What was your diet like before you started? Low calorie? crash diets? fasts?
I think sometimes if you do try to lose weight by these strict means as soon as you start eating you gain weight. your metabolism has to increase but sometimes takes a few weeks and you end up gaining weight. I would continue to monitor your weight. And play with your calories. If you gain weight try to lower them a few hundred calories a day. If that doesnt work eat a few hundred extra than you are doing now. but at least give yourself a week to find out if you are gaining weight or losing. all the protein is probably holding water weight on you and therefore you gained 3 pounds in 3 days ..eat more fiber and drink LOTS of water. Me personally? I have to take a natural laxative ..the bloating from protein is to killer and discomforting. I drink smooth move tea. I would totally cut your cardio to just the bare minimum.. the more cardio you do the hungrier you are. I used to be a cardio queen ..but from all i have heard and read.. Not anymore.

Also try to keep the carbs low... but each meal you have? let's say you have oatmeal with whey protein and no fat? Your insulin levels are going to spike so you need some fat in that...so the best thing is to eat protein/carb/fat with each meal. Fat is a must to slow down the blood sugar levels. So you could have oatmeal/protein powder/flax oil PERFECT!

With like chicken and veggies? I think the chicken has enough fat or add some flax to your veggies etc etc. Try not to eat to much dairy products either when trying to lose weight.
Stick mostly with good fats lean protein and veggies.

[dimepiece]

I just wanted to give you all an update. Upping my calories worked, I've taken off 2 of the pounds I gained last week It really goes against all my instincts to eat this much but the results speak for themselves. It's just so much food (never thought I'd whine about having to eat).

Thanks again for the advice!

[rsxtaci]

thanks for the update. i think i'm having your problem.. i just tracked my meals on fitday and man i wasn't getting enough food at all. gonna up my intake a bit and see if it helps. a lot of great help in this thread.

[Messly1]

good your starting too see results...but muscle does not weight more than fat...5lbs of fat or 5lbs of muscle it doesn't matter at the end of the day its still 5lbs! muscle takes up less space than fat, just throwing that out there!

[precisou2004]

oooh i didn't even think about cottage cheese not being a good substitute. the problem is i haaaate tuna plain. anybody have any ideas how to make it go down?? maybe i could mix red spicy sauce in it or something...

Look at ur grocery store if they have the cottage cheeze in a packet instead of a container. I have some at my grocery store and its got maybe like not even 100mg of sodium in it for 55g of cottage cheeze. It doesnt have the same consistancy of the CC in a container and it pretty tasteless on its own but Ive started to add a packet of Sweet N Low to it instead of jam and its delicious !!!!

[boxerdima]

there are different ways that you can store excess weight, a few pounds is not a big deal cuz it can be water weight(due to increased water intake, salt intake or the time of the month) and of course muscle. from experience i found that women look too much on the scale and not enough on how they feel that they look. also there is usually a tiny platoe that most people go through whether they bulk or cut, and after about 4 weeks you should see a good decline in weight.
you might also be working out too much and not resting enough(if that then your body goes into metabolic shock and begins to store fat because it thinks that you will need it for future), if you are really tired and sleepy during the day try to get some more rest at night and skip a little on cardio and do more legs(i found that doing legs instead of cardio works really well, but everyone has different methods of how their body reacts to things). squats, lunges and extensions work wonders, dont count and keep going until you cant do anymore(with a good form)
if you dont see a change you might want to consider a different food choice and changing things up(for example oat meal works miracles for others but is bad for me).
i hope this helps, changing a diet is not an easy thing and it takes time and dedication keep up the good work!

[boxerdima]

also ease up on the avocado and nuts, even though they are good in fat, its still fat. try not to over do it. make sure you take plenty of vitamins, fish oil, and potassium.

[CharliC]

thanks for the advice everybody !! ok I am going to try the 1750 plan and cross my fingers! I guess if I gain on this I will go down to the 1500 plan. yayyy for trial and error

Great move deciding to up the calories but I suggest you graduate up from 1200 to 1750 over a week or so, so it's not too big a shock for your body. Jumping up by 550 cals straight away could result in quite a bit of bloat, which might put you off- we don't want that!

Good luck

[valpo2518]

oooh i didn't even think about cottage cheese not being a good substitute. the problem is i haaaate tuna plain. anybody have any ideas how to make it go down?? maybe i could mix red spicy sauce in it or something...

I mix my tuna w/1 tbl lf mayo, 1/2 apple, celery, a few walnuts and a little lemon juice. Reminds me of a Waldorf salad, mmmmmm

[precisou2004]

oooh i didn't even think about cottage cheese not being a good substitute. the problem is i haaaate tuna plain. anybody have any ideas how to make it go down?? maybe i could mix red spicy sauce in it or something...

Make yourself a tuna sandwich.... Here's what I have (yesterday's lunch actually LOL):

2 slices whole wheat toasted bread
1 can of tuna
1 scoop of PP or 1/4c of eggwhites
2 tbsp of pb

Mix it all up and voila !!!

2 slices of toasts : 130 cals, 2g fat, 25g. carbs, 6g. protein
Tuna 1 can - 120g : 120 cals, 1g fat, 0g carbs, 30g. protein
Eggwhites 62.5g (or about 1/4c.): 30 cals, 0 fat, 0 carbs, 7g. protein
Peanut butter 2 tbsp : 180 cals, 16g fat, 6g carbs, 6 g protein

total : 460 cals, 19g fat, 31g carbs, 49g. protein

if u dotn wanna do all that, add lemon juice to your tuna or some cinnanon sugar

[Verti-gal]

I just use canned salmon instead of tuna.

[trainwithrae]

sorry to hijack the thread but this is for Rae inregards to her post on this thread. What is a better form of cardio option instead of running? Is walking fast on an incline good or doing the ellipitcal or bike better?

I would do steady state high incline walking on the treadmill combined with HIIT sessions. I just think distance running is counterproductive unless you want a "runners body", enjoy it, or are training for a race