How is this possible??

I know I don't really post here and I hate when people come to message boards with questions and then leave again but I really need some help.

I count calories and exercise and have lost over 70 pounds since February. When I added the gym in September my weight loss really slowed down. Everyone says it is muscle. I go to the gym M-F for about an hour but I walk outside daily for about 45 minutes, sometimes longer, rarely less. I have been averaging about 7 hours a week in total exercise for the last 4 weeks because I have had to take a few days off due to time issues.

I only weigh weekly and somehow I gained 3 pounds this week. Last week I weighed on an off day and was up but lost it all by my Monday weigh in LAST Monday and this Monday it is back. I eat 1400 calories a day and upped it to 1500 and GAINED 3 POUNDS! I am just so frustrated. I really feel like exercising at the gym is causing me not to lose. It goes against everything I believe in but that is what I am starting to think.

I watch the Biggest Loser and I see how people can have an off week but at this point I am the same as I was on October 17th and down only 10 pounds since about September 3. I still want to lose over 35 pounds and it is really upsetting to try so hard without results. I have increased the intensity of my workouts by adding resistance and speed to my eliptical and the few times I have used the treadmill I put it at an incline and never went below 4mph.

Any advice? I'm going to weigh daily until this weight comes off now. I can no longer afford to go a week without weighing and see a 3 pound gain.

Take a deep breath and step away from the scale.

It could be water gain.  I see a 3 pound swing in my weight between morning and evening on those days that I have weighed at both of those times.

Yeah you can gain muscle, don't freak out over 3 pounds. 
Almost everyone sees a slow down with exercise and then you will slow down again when you get closer to your final goal weight.
You can't see consistant pound a day weight loss forever.  Eventually you just won't see it.

My coach warned me not to freak out when he started increasing my workouts.  He said if my clothes are still fitting fine and I am not in a state of denial about what I am are eating, then any weight gain I may see is probably muscle.

Good luck, you will get there with your continued efforts.

Scott

I only weigh once a week so seeing a 3 pound gain really is hard because I reflect on such a perfect eating and exercise week and have a gain! I am going to start gaining daily so I can see what might trigger a gain.

Thanks for the help. I am so afraid that this is going to stop working like WLS did for me. When I had my surgery in 2003 thier motto was "never a revision" Now they are the kings of revision...That is why I decided to forget I had surgery and diet and exercise and I love it!

This is also happened to me when I really started working out hard with a trainer. I had to up my calories though. My nut wanted me at a minimum of a net 1200 calories. So if I took a spinning class and burned 600 calories and burned another 300 on the eliptical, that means I needed to eat an extra 900 calories that day. That's probably not practical, but it's just an example. Good luck, try not to stress, that definately affects your weight loss as well.

I tried upping my calories this week but only by 100 a day and gained 3 pounds LOL. At my weight the eliptal says I am burning about 800 calories in a 45 minute workout, my walking is about 400 and I eat 1400 a day. Maybe I should look into a nutritionist and trainer. Thanks for responding. Sorry I am so whiny

Don't worry about being whiney or posting on an unfarmiliar forum.  Wa are here to help.  Here is my two cents after two pretty good answers.  I have always let myself get down too easily and give up when thing don't seem to work quickly enough.  My diet will be great for a time and the weight will come off.  All of a sudden the loss will stop for a bit and I will say screw it and give up on all the positives.

Try to keep your head in the game because you are defenitely on the right track.

Thanks for the encouragement. There is no giving up for me this time. I am 40 with 4 kids and 2 of them are under 5. I need to be healthy for them and so I don't look like such an old mom! I weighed this morning and was down .9 from yesterday so some of it is water retention. Eventually this weight will come off, I might have to star****ching some of the calories I do eat though and work on less sodium and better carbs.

The above answers are great, but have you tried changing up your workout? Do you lift weights before your cardio?