why is my weight creeping up again?

[stevekoz]

HI all, posted in another area but got no response so think may have been the wrong area. I'm after some advice if possible.

So a quick background. I used to be a big fitness fanatic back in my teens. Then real life takes over and now mid thirties i really am trying hard to get back to how i was. Starting with losing a lot of my excess weight.

So at the end of November i started making diet/meal plans, cutting out alot of my excess daily calories, changing my diet, slowly and surely. Less carbs, less saturated fat, natural products, little or no sugar unless natural in fruit etc. I had a starting weight of 20stone 4lbs. Massive and dangerous. I know. Hence the change and i'm trying to do it properly.

Since DEC i have managed to slim down (even over xmas) to a low of 18stone 5lbs. Nearly 2 stone in total and been so positive and happy. Alas, the last 7days i have seen my weight increase slowly back up again by about 4lbs. Fluctuation around 18st 8lbs mark.

There has been no deviation to my eating plans and exercise plans and i just dont understand why i have started putting on weight with no significant weight training/exercise that would cause major muscle growth. I'm still at the stage of shredding unwanted weight so cannot understand why thats happening.

Anyone have any advice and similar experience. I read advice elsewhere that advises decreasing calorie count and other sites that have said to even increase what i eat, so i just don't know what is best. Any advice/guidance etc. Would be a great help.

Thanks in advance.
Steve

 

[MrNiceGuy1]

Hi Steve,

I wouldn’t worry too much about your weight gain, especially if you’re exercising, regardless of the stage that you currently find yourself.

Although you may have experienced a slight gain this week, considering it to be demoralising, it’s not the worst thing in the world, particularly since Rome wasn’t built in a day.

There will be the occasional ‘perceived’ setback upon your journey, but so long as you’re maintaining a calorie deficit and expending additional calories in the gym, while also becoming fitter and increasing your muscle mass in the process, you’ll remain upon the right track.

On that note, upon the assumption that you’d obtained your daily calorific intake through the use of a BMR calculator, have you re-assessed your BMR during the period you’ve enjoyed weight loss?

If you did use a BMR calculator, re-assess your daily calorific intake as each stone lost roughly equates to 100 fewer calories needed each day, provided activity levels remain the same. Given that you’ve lost over two stone since you began, you now need 200 fewer calories each day.

Equally, if a BMR calculator hadn’t been consulted before you began, although you may have made changes to your eating habits (all of which are correct), as your weight has decreased, you may now be consuming more calories than your body needs, hence your weight gain.

Don’t read too much into the above, though, since it’s merely a hypothetical suggestion.

Your activity in the gym, since November, will have also gone someway to increasing your muscle mass, particularly if you’ve progressively overloaded your muscles (increasing the weight).

Additionally, don’t obsess over your body weight, since it’s not a true reflection of your body composition.

Instead, pay more attention to how your clothes look and feel, since a shrinking stomach and improved body composition are far greater indications of the progress you’re making.