Have put on weight when desperately trying to lose it!

[EllaMozarella]

Hi folks
Am feeling so disappointed 😕
I have spent January trying so hard to lose weight!
I have:
-Given up alcohol (last 4 weeks)
-Started running again (up to 5k twice a week)
-Been going to the gym (Cardio and weight classes) twice a week
-Eating fewer carbs
-Sleeping 7-8 hrs per night

Ive put on 3kg! What else can I do?
I am peri-menopausal
Am a bit stressed as about to be made redundant (if these are relevant factors)

The alcohol should have helped, exercise not so much.
Are you eating less?
What carbs have you cut down on?
I wouldn't eat any white carbs.
What is a typical day's food?

What are you eating?

I'd go back to basics, cook from scratch, stick to grilled meat/fish and veg. Switch to wholemeal pasta & couscous, brown rice.

Regular exercise such as walking/running/swimming which will help digestion as well as use calories.

Do you actually need to lose weight? could your body be telling you it's running on empty?

Thanks for replying @Meadowfinch@Theyreeatingthedogs
Am eating bananas, fruit, chicken & tinned fish, rice cakes, limiting bread/other carbs - eat a lot of cheese (!!) and I probs do eat too much in the evenings (but mostly veggies/quorn/chicken/nuts)

Genuinely thought the lack of alcohol would make a massive difference.

Cheese is so high in calories for the little bit

count calories. Check potion size

Definitely use an app like fitness pal to count calories. You would be surprised how many calories are in nuts and cheese! Also make sure you count the oil you cook things in too.

Rice cakes are a bit risky in that while a single one without any topping is low in calories, they are more-ish and not very filling so it's easy to eat too many of them. I stopped buying them for that reason.

This happens to me every time I start a diet. No idea why. It takes weeks for me to start losing.

This has exactly happened to me. I have tried so hard and I am bigger and weigh more than just after Christmas. It’s not water weight or inflammation from exercising. I am so absolutely at my wits end of what to do…if you work it out op, please tell me!!

As others have said - count calories with an app, there are plenty. Are you having milk and sugar in teas, using oil for cooking? They should be tracked too. Unfortunately for most people, it’s not just a case of cutting out alcohol or restricting ‘bad’ food. You need to actually weigh and portion food correctly for a week or so and see how many calories you’re actually consuming.

When I first started running, I was absolutely ravenous and I had a real job making sure that I didn’t overeat. That’s a lot of exercising you’re doing a week (great though!), and I wonder if you’re eating more as a result.

Whenever I've cut out alcohol I've overeaten - alcohol (especially wine, not sure what you drink,) contains so much sugar that cutting it out, my cravings go off the scale. Is it possible anything like that has happened?
On the plus side if I give it up for longer I've found it made a real difference from around 6-8 weeks (along with sleep being better and overall diet more consistent - fewer late nights, less evening snacking etc)

Could that just be increased muscle mass from the weight training?
Also, did you weigh yourself at the same time of day? I had to convert 3kg into pounds, it's only around 6. This could easily be explained by weighing first thing in the morning vs end of the day, water weight from being on your period etc. I would concentrate on the positive changes you've made.

You’ve put on muscle (which is heavier) from
the increase in exercise. How does your body look and feel? Does it feel better than it did?

It's only been a month op and 3kg isn't a lot at all, you won't lose fast if you're not in a calorie deficit, no matter how much you exercise. And I doubt it's muscle as that takes months of consistent diet choices and weight training. Just keep up with the movement, limited alcohol and track your calories so you know how much you're actually consuming (don't forget to track liquids too!) Things won't change overnight, just stick with it and eventually you will see and feel changes!

When I exercise I put on water weight. I don’t eat more so it’s not that. It’s water to help your sore muscles repair and blood volume also gets heavier.

Muscles weigh more than fat. I managed to get a flat tummy/ waist back at 45 due following Zoe way (no carbs/ red meat/ cheese) but my weight is only 2kg less then when I was a dress and a half size bigger. I now work out 210 mins a week- 1 hour Pilates/ 1 hour yoga/ 2 x 45 mins Bootcamp (HIIT). I do drink about 3 glasses of wine a week 😅😅 It can be done but drop high fat food and all white carbs keep those slow release ones (brown bulgur). Front load meals: kings breakfast, prince’s lunch and pauper’s supper. No food 3-4 hours before bed as your body needs to rest and not metabolise . Worked 💯 for me. 1 year stable weight

Don't be discouraged!

Have a read at this: https://www.reddit.com/r/loseit/comments/ah4fau/psa_a_recent_increase_in_exercise_often_causes_a/

I would cut the cheese and nuts though - on toast have some boiled eggs instead, and try home made stove top popped popcorn rather than nuts.

I'm on the same boat by the way, I've cut sugar, fats and alcohol and increased exercise, but scales not budging yet. Feel a bit leaner though, and I'm sure the weight will start coming down eventually :)

I’ve put on weight too. I’ve been cycling 100km per week on exercise bike, I walk 10km per day with my dog, I’ve dropped alcohol to one day per week and I’ve gained weight. So demoralising. Apart from starving myself, I don’t know what else to do. Im in my fifties and stopped hrt for medical reasons.

You cant out run a bad diet - simple

And believe me I know, the calories I lost on a marathon - ate within one meal!!

What I did, what worked for me being peri , was I concentrated on the diet and weightloss first When. I shifted the first stone, it was then I started to add the exercise because by then I had got a pretty good grip on what calories/ what foods I need to eat so I could adjust to take care of needing extra energy dense foods, and still lose.

I did my first full marathon when I got to target - two stone under my starting weight. since then Ive added cycling and skipping. I will get around to weights but .......... I just cba as yet :)

Its calories in vs calories out. You could eat 1800 calories of all carbs and lose weight, and eat 2500 calories of zero carbs and put on weight.

Get a calorie tracker and be very honest with it. I started calories counting 1st week of Jan and have lost 4kg, still eating chocolate, bread, rice etc just with portion control to keep within my daily calories deficit.

I bet you'll find you're eating more calories than you think.

Also weight isnt the be all and end all, muscle weighs more than fat. Go off actual measurements and how clothes feel.

Muscle can not weigh more that fat

A pound is a pound is a pound

Exercise can increase fluid retention which will show on the scales daily which its why its better to weigh just weekly, at the same time, in the same clothes or naked, after the same routine

I can weigh a 2lb difference within a day - up or down - depending on what I did exercise wise/ate the day before - false readings really

So I weigh Saturdays at 8am only , just after waking and going to the loo

Same @suki1964 once a week. Same time. After a wee

qn I said before - it’s calories

find your tdee for height and weight. Take off 500/600 calories a day and you will lose weight @EllaMozarella

but record everything . I use my fitness pal

and a yes a lb of fa weights the same as a lb of muscle but it holds differently in the body

I think it’s probably water weight and inflammation from the new activity you’re doing. Certainly when I start a new activity I gain ‘weight’ but your body does adjust.

All that aside if you don’t know your TDEE and are not counting calories you will never know. You don’t have to count forever but just a couple of weeks so you have an idea about portion size etc. If you don’t know what your TDEE is and how many cals your consuming you’ve no way of knowing if you're in a deficit or not.

Are your scales accurate and did you take measurements as well? How much alcohol did you drink previously?

It’s highly unlikely that you have gained any muscle in a month. This sounds like water retention and too many carbs. Be careful about the nuts. You can eat only about 10 cashews per 50 calories. Drink lots more water and up your protein intake.