Excercising loads, eating healthy but gaining weight! Help!

[seyjon]

Hi all, I'm new to this forum. I've been working out for years now, general weight training, running, interval training etc. For about the past month I've been working out more than ever, I've joined a boxing / MMA club and have been doing about 3-4 very intense boxing sessions a week in the evenings, 3 weight training sessions in the morning plus I've been playing tennis about 2-3 times a week. I generally eat about 1500 calories a day made up of about 50-80g Fat, 60-70 g carbs and 120-150g of protein but I'm gaining weight!! I dont feel fatter but jeans feel tighter and I've gained about 7lbs in 3 weeks. I'm 5'6" and currently weigh 154lbs. For about the past 8 years I've always gone between 140 and 147 lbs and now it seems to be 147 and 154lbs - I'm 30. If anyone could give any advice I would really appreciate it as it is driving me absolutely crazy. A normal day of food woud be:

Scrambled Egg / I wholewheat Toast

Grilled Chicken Salad or Grilled Chicken Wrap

Salmon Fillet + steamed or stir-fry veg

Shake (Protein, Almond Butter, Water)

I sometimes have the odd fruit scone here and there but rarely !! I'd also have some blueberries or strawberries during the day.

[cassiegose]

Hi all, I'm new to this forum. I've been working out for years now, general weight training, running, interval training etc. For about the past month I've been working out more than ever, I've joined a boxing / MMA club and have been doing about 3-4 very intense boxing sessions a week in the evenings, 3 weight training sessions in the morning plus I've been playing tennis about 2-3 times a week. I generally eat about 1500 calories a day made up of about 50-80g Fat, 60-70 g carbs and 120-150g of protein but I'm gaining weight!! I dont feel fatter but jeans feel tighter and I've gained about 7lbs in 3 weeks. I'm 5'6" and currently weigh 154lbs. For about the past 8 years I've always gone between 140 and 147 lbs and now it seems to be 147 and 154lbs - I'm 30. If anyone could give any advice I would really appreciate it as it is driving me absolutely crazy. A normal day of food woud be:

Scrambled Egg / I wholewheat Toast

Grilled Chicken Salad or Grilled Chicken Wrap

Salmon Fillet + steamed or stir-fry veg

Shake (Protein, Almond Butter, Water)

I sometimes have the odd fruit scone here and there but rarely !! I'd also have some blueberries or strawberries during the day.

Hmmm... So you've increased your workouts in the past month and you've also noticed that you've gained weight in the past month. Are you sure you're putting on all fat? Did you just recently start the weight training? Seems like the sudden weight gain this past 3 weeks might have something to do with increased exercise. I would try decreasing exercise a bit and see what happens. Have you changed anything else in the past 3 weeks that you can think of?

Your calories do seem a bit low for all that exercise. You could try something like this:
1- scambled egg plus 4 eggwhites, 2 pieces whole grain toast
2- grilled chicken salad or wrap
3-salmon, veggies, 1/2-3/4 c legumes
4-shake (is this post workout? If so I would leave out the almond butter and maybe add something like oats)
5: I would have another meal here. If before bed lf cottage cheese or greek yogurt with almond butter is great. Eggwhites/eggs and veggies also works. Some form of lean meat with veggies is also fine.

I wouldn't add all these calories at once but instead slowly increase over the next month by adding about 50 calories per day each week to get you closer to 1800 or so.

Just thoughts.

Good luck.

[Boss Man]

Scrambled Egg / I wholewheat Toast

(You could add more Egg White in here or something like Turkey, Ham or Chicken. The toast woudl be better as 2 slices not 1.)

Grilled Chicken Salad or Grilled Chicken Wrap

(That's fine.)

Salmon Fillet + steamed or stir-fry veg

(That's fine.)

Shake (Protein, Almond Butter, Water)

(That's fine, unless it's got no Carbs in it, then try adding something like Crushed Oats, or maybe powdered flax or crushed Cashews.)

(You could also have a small meal later on like a small Ham Sandwhich, a slice of Toasted Whole-grain Bread with Baked Beans, a portion of Peanuts etc etc.

In the case of Peanuts, if you're concerned about things like Aflatoxins and mould, try western as opposed to eastern grown)

[seyjon]

Hmmm... So you've increased your workouts in the past month and you've also noticed that you've gained weight in the past month. Are you sure you're putting on all fat? Did you just recently start the weight training? Seems like the sudden weight gain this past 3 weeks might have something to do with increased exercise. I would try decreasing exercise a bit and see what happens. Have you changed anything else in the past 3 weeks that you can think of?

I've been weight training for years now, it's only recently I started boxing and have been doing it about 4 times a week. The classes are pretty intense. I can't think of anything else thast I've changed. I'll try adding a few hundred more calories on on the day's that I train and see how it goes. The tennis is a recent thing as well but it's not that intense really. I'm thinking about cutting out protein shakes as well.

thanks bossman and cassiegose for all the advice

[jenny-1988]

Have you been to a medical profession about this? I had the same problem a year ago. I was training soo hard and eating the right healthy things but wasnt loosing anything instead id gain a pound or so. After so many fustrations and getting down about it i went to see doctor she found out i had imbalance hormones. and it was the cause of why i couldnt loose any weight, try seeing a doctor about this if its got nothing to do with the hormones than either way doctors can still advise you what can be the problem.

[mybodyback]

First I am new to this site, but I do know that muscle ways more then fat. You maybe gaing muscle mass. maybe have to cut back on the weight training. I have what they called plateaued in weight. So I am having to change it up a bit. Only been doing it for a week so we will have to see. Good luck on finding out whats going on. I just remebmer doing that kinda stuff and muscles got bigger all over.

[Boss Man]

Not criticising the poster above, but that muscle weighs more than Fat thing, gets up hooter basically.

Example. 1kg of Gold, 1kg of Feathers, same weight. 2 tonnes of Sand, 2 tonnes of Granite, same weight.

Fat may weigh more if the proportions, circumference, diameter, radius etc etc, were identical to a piece of muscle that compares likewise, but a lb of muscle is the same as a lb of Fat.

Density, molecular structure, etc etc not withstanding, you cannot have two things of exactly the same weight and say one is more or less than the other. It's like paying two people the same monthly salary and claiming one person earns 20% more than the other. It's not logical.

Again, not criticising anyone, just saying.

[PandorasVise]

May seem counter intuitive, but do you ever rest?? Sometimes a body needs to reset itself. Give your body a rest for a week, maybe two, from weights and the fights. Make sure you are still watching your diet and when you get back to it, your body should respond.