Scale weight increasing despite deficit and exercise

[Leafyleaferson]

From 1st September I have been on 1500 calories daily and mostly getting 130ish grams of protein.
Ive been back in the gym 4 times a week strength training and hitting 10k steps daily on average.
usually this is what I do when I’ve gained some weight and it falls off.
why oh why am I 2lbs UP from the beginning of September? I have never been the weight I am now. I’m really confused.
in the gym I’m getting noticeably stronger and I feel ‘tighter’ and not as conscious of my belly. I’m in the same size clothes I was in 8lb ago.
I have tracked via myfitness pal and logged weight daily and weekly averages are going up not down! What can I do now? I really don’t want to reduce my calories even lower as I cannot function on 1400 and find my overall energy and gym performance suffers.

I’m not under any illusion that I’ve gained 2lbs muscle since the start of September.
I know there are other metrics to go by when it comes to fat loss but the scale has never showed this kind of pattern before. As far as I know 1500 is my deficit, when I’ve taken it lower in the past my gym performance has suffered.
I have a history of disordered eating and despite knowing I’m at a healthy weight and my clothes are still fitting me and measurements decreasing etc I tend to obsess over the number on the scale. I know it’s only part of the story.
I Will keep my calories the same, steps and gym and introduce some extra cardio after my workouts because it’s good my health anyway. I’ll see how the weekly averages go through October.
It’s just baffling that when I’ve done this before I’ve always noticed a steady loss but my moving average is 2lb up on my starting weight.
Thank you everyone

Is 1500 definitely a deficit? I'm relatively active and older than you at 46, and I weigh more, and my TDEE is average 1900. It might be that your TDEE is lower than you think, and if you have the odd day over your calories you could easily wipe any deficit out.

The human body can vary in weight day to day by 2KG due to water, stool, menstrual cycle, bloating and other contributory factors.

130g of protein is double the protein requirement for someone my size. Why have you aimed at that figure?

If this is the case I would suggest you stop weighing yourself at all.

Base it off clothes and if you must, measurements.

It's on the high side at just over 2lb of protein per kg of body weight but for a woman wanting to build muscle 1.5-2lb per kg is recommended. I'm not sure how that works in reality with being in a calorie deficit and it might be that OP could reduce the protein a bit to create a slightly bigger deficit with no impact on her training.

It’s water and sleep. It’s pretty much always water and sleep. Your body uses water to break down fat, it also uses it to heal muscles that are sore from exercise. Your body will hang onto any water it gets to facilitate the processes it needs to happen to keep you healthy.

whenever I have a period of no loss or a gain these are the things I work through:

• TDEE calculator - am I eating the right amount of calories
• macros - am I getting enough protein, fibre and fat, carbs are fine in moderation but too many can cause water retention
• accuracy % have I stopped accurately calculating my food intake, moved to more of a guesswork/by eye method in which case I could be underestimating
• water/clear fluids - around 2 lts a day
• sleep - I am particularly bad at this but you do need it to regulate hormones, heal muscles and regulate insulin levels
• point in cycle - week before I’m due on I gain weight according to the scales. I don’t really but water retention looks like weight gain. It comes off as soon as my period starts.

Another thought. Do your scales just need recalibrating?

Have you had advice about strength training? On those calories you should be changing your body shape, when combined with lifting and you say that your stomach is less noticeable? It can take months to really notice the difference. I'd be wary of dropping calories without checking that you don't need to revise the strength training. Weighing daily is too much. You should be taking weekly measurements. People have different goals, define your goals first. Then decide if you have the time snd commitment to achieve them, if extra training/throwing in a Martial Art etc is what it'll take.

Agree , obviously 1 kg of fat & 1kg of muscle weighs , guess what ? 1kg each !
It's the density that is different .

I wont be popular, but at 52 and deep in menopause literally the only way for me to lose weight is 600-700 cals a day. Which I can only do by jabs. I was a healthy weight though, but wanted to be mid/low BMI and I was the higher end of it. And Im tall (5'10). I do get dizzy sometimes and feel weak, and I cant exercise as much but it is the only way I lose weight. 1000 cals just doesnt do anything, frustratingly. You are younger of course, but at my age it seems you have to go to extremes to see any real difference.

I did have one weird week though where I ate like a sparrow but I gained 2kg somehow - but my waist had dropped 2 inches and I dropped a dress size! Its all a bit bonkers isn't it.

People think that women start going to the gym and drop fat and gain muscle at the same rate or even at a higher rate which is why the scales stay the same or increase. Which is impossible.

It's bonkers all round. My TDEE is estimated at 2500 calories (but I think this is on the high side as it never asks what activity you actually DO - I run 20 miles a week, do 1.5 hours spin class 4 days a week, do Pilates, ride horses etc) and I very carefully eat 1500 calories, frequently feel dizzy and hungry and yet my weight is absolutely rock steady at 9 stone. If I have a holiday and my weight goes up a couple of pounds it bounces right back down very quickly but always settles right back at 9 stone. I'm 5'6, 66 years old and I'd love to drop about half a stone but it just won't go anywhere.

Bonkers, I tell you.

Where did you get the number 2500 from? At your age and weight that's basically impossible. 1500 is far more likely as your TDEE which is why you aren't losing weight at that intake!

Sorry, no you're right, my TDEE is 1950. I misremembered. But eating 1500 calories a day should not mean my weight stays static, it puts me nearly 500 calories a day under my requirement. And yes, I am sure that's what I'm eating, in fact quite often it's nearer 1200.

That's still pretty high, even with your activity level that is very active - my TDEE is 1900 and I'm 20 years younger and 2 stone heavier than you

I also do dog walking and dancing - my activity level is around four hours per day, seven days a week.

2lbs gain isnt a lot so it is likely water retention - I always gain a couple of lbs when I start exercising. If you have started creatine that can also cause water retention. You might be experiencing body recomposition so maybe try and give it another month before you start cutting calories again.

But what you could do is start looking at what you are eating and try to use your calories on whole foods that are harder for your body to break down if you are still eating any upf options like white bread etc.

This post makes me so sad. You frequently feel hungry and dizzy. You are a healthy weight and lead an active lifestyle. You are 66 and not eating enough to feel well or satisfied and you still want to lose half a stone. And all that another poster has honed in on from your post is that she thinks you're eating too much - even though you are hungry and dizzy! - because for so many posters on here the only answer is always, always to be hungrier and weaker and eat less and less and less. I wonder how much life and energy and time and focus women lose across a lifetime weighing and tracking and analysing every single mouthful, never ever feeling good enough and perpetually being hungry. It is such a waste.

Thank you for thinking of me. And you are right, I am a perfectly healthy weight. Unfortunately, my build is very stocky, so despite weighing 9 stone I actually LOOK as though I weigh nearer 11. People are surprised constantly when they see my weight, I've got short legs and big boobs and I really do look like I weigh quite a lot. That's the only reason I'd like to lose a bit more, so that I actually look the weight I am, if that makes sense.

Are you referring to me saying she's eating too much? Because if so that's not what I said. Her TDEE is likely a lot lower than she thinks, so she needs to be realistic about the likelihood of losing half a stone and should just eat what she needs to fuel her body.

Sorry @SethAndReubenTooSendGaloshes but when a post includes the phrase 'I frequently feel hungry and dizzy' and the reply makes no acknowledgement of that but simply states that person is not in a sufficient deficit for weight loss then it fuels the overwhelmingly disordered mindset that exists on here already. You might not have been advising her to reduce further, but you were telling a 66 year old very active woman who is already eating so little that she feels faint but wants to lose half a stone that she would need to eat even less in order to lose it. The immediate response should be concern that someone is hungry and dizzy, but on this forum that is rarely what occurs - instead posters continue to focus on calorie intake to a frightening and highly disordered degree.

Does it matter what weight people imagine you are - if they're imagining it at all - compared to your health and wellbeing?

Yes. I have to do quite a few appearances in public and having my photo taken and so on. Constantly seeing photos of yourself where you look much heavier and being critiqued for your clothes will make you very conscious of not looking slim.

I'm really sorry that you have that pressure. I am recovered from disordered eating and also in a position where I have my photo taken regularly and I have to work very hard not to find that triggering of my old demons. But I would just say that your body is capable of running, dancing, spin, horse riding, pilates - it's doing so much for you, and it helps me to remember to be grateful to mine for that and try to be generous in nourishing it and appreciating it even though it doesn't look the way I wish it did all the time. If my mum told me that she was dizzy with hunger on a regular basis I would be so worried about her. It's no way to live!

Thank you. I'm going to try to chill a bit, you are perfectly right that the odd pound here and there shouldn't matter so much.

But I do have to keep an eye on my eating, because I can so easily fall into the 'eat everything I can see' bracket!