Why am I putting ON weight?

I'm 5 ft 3, 10 stone 5 and eat around 1700 calories a day. However, I do 45 minutes to an hour of rigorous exercise 5 days a week, plus 30 mins of light cycling to the gym/pool and back. I think the answer might be more exercise.

I'd forget calories reduce carbs and sugar and up your protein.

Bran flakjes full of sugar. Swap for porridge.

Drop the mayo.

Potatoes pasta all turn to sugar in body. Depending on how your body deals with sugar can be a factor in u not losing.

Swap potatoes for green veg.

Agree with this. I worried I'd become obsessed with the scales if I weighed daily but I'm not. The scales fluctuate by a few pounds a week but the graph shows a steady decrease overall. And I no longer have a dread for the scales like I used to when I'd hop on once a week...if I'd not lost enough or what I thought I should, I'd be so disheartened and give up.

The addition lbs can easily be down to having more glycogen as a result of working out, or having a heavy carb day, or not clearing your bowel sufficiently for instance.

Do not ditch breakfast- it’s not a good idea to exercise fasted.

How many reps can you do? If it’s more than 7 then they’re too light.

Don’t stop the weights. Your body shape will thank you. Ditch breakfast. Ditch milk in your coffee.

half the size of all your meals. Don’t snack. Drink more water/ squash. Don’t drink fizzy drinks or alcohol.

Please, please, please watch a Youtube video by Dr Jason Fung as mentioned by the first commenter - there is so much information out there now that will help you for the rest of your life. You could also watch Glucose Goddess or Cynthia Thurlow and Dr Stacy Sims is also brilliant - she was on Mel Robbins podcast recently and was amazing.

I exercise for health and fitness rather than weight loss but it does make me feel very hungry!

Also - your scales may not be that accurate. Take measurements!

Try to be patient. If you've made changes it takes a while for your body to respond. Regardless, increasing your exercise and eating healthy food will improve your health.

Just checking - are you drinking calories? And are you getting enough sleep?

Don't feel defensive - it's not a criticism. It's just that building muscle for women is HARD and requires heavy lifting and just won't happen with light home weights. That's not a bad thing or a criticism, but it also means muscle increase isn't responsible for the scales going up.

You don't have a TDEE for weight loss. You can have a calorie allowance for weight loss which is a figure below TDEE.

Could be loads of reasons for this but its pretty easy to take control of it.

1700 is currently adding 3lbs per week so it is obviously too much. Ignore your exercise, but please dont stop it. Exercise isnt a weight loss tool, its a health benefit regardless of your weight. Enjoy it.

I would go to 1400-1500 which i suspect is closer to your maintenance calories. Carry on with this for 2-3 weeks and see how your body reacts. Try to keep an eye on how much carbs you are eating (You mention a few in your post) because they tend to encourage water retention. If you are exercising its likely you are drinking more too which weighs more. If your weight stays the same then you now know your maintenance calories and can work from there. Dont treat it as a race. Being able to do something long term is much better than someone who fasts for a few months and then puts it all back on.

Once you have got to the bottom of maintenance you can then make a real decision on how to alter your calories to suit.

Treat exercise as something fun. It will not be able to overcome a calorie surplus.

You need to be obsessive with calorie counting (and not many people are). Log everything. If you have 4 cups of tea a day that can easily log an extra 100-150 calories depending on milk and sugar types and many people don’t even count cups of tea. Dressings, sauces and cooking oils can easily add 100 calories depending to meals
and you wouldn’t even think to
count them. ANYTHING that passes you lips would need to be counted. Also being really specific with food types - you might add a banana to your calorie count for example but the difference between a large and a medium banana can be 50cal. They’re all small amounts but combined theyll be pushing your calories up. And the only reason you’ll gain wait is calories in vs calories out.

Also remember that gym bodies are built in the kitchen… not the gym.

I find Zoe ok - I do listen to some of their podcasts but they are quite generic as is Chris Van Tullekan. The message about eating less UPF and more plants etc is sound. However women are not small men. What we need to do is very different due to hormones. Especially so in peri menopause hence why the Next Level book is very good and specific.

I just weighed myself. I don't own a weighing scales as I don't want to feel defeated every day looking at it.

So I go in and weigh myself at a pharmacy once a month.

I've lost 6 pounds in the month! Im delighted.

That was eating about 1200 calories per day.

You won't have gained muscle lifting such light weights. You're eating too many calories.

@GreyCarpet , I second Jason Fung but would also suggest the Zoe podcasts are also excellent along with The Glucose Goddess and Chris Van Tulleken.

Yes, congratulations, you’re a scientific marvel 😉