Is it true that you can gain weight/fat by eating too little??

[Lildeb08]

I am 57 years old and very active, I do at least 5 strength training classes a week and stay under 1200 calories a day.  I have been gaining weight in my thighs and belly area and don't know why. A trainer at the gym suggested it is because I don't eat enough although I eat healthy and include lots of protein.

Any suggestions?

[JohnnyRow]

I'm no expert, but I have never heard of gaining weight by not eating enough, and it doesn't sound right to me.  The one way I could imagine that is if you are temporarily retaining extra fluids.  If that is the case, once your body rebalances, the fluid weight should drop.

However, I question if your really mean you are gaining weight or size.  If you are gaining weight, that shows on scales.  If you are gaining size, that might be visible, which sounds like your case since you say where the extra "weight" is.

[WendyB]

You said you stay under 1200 Calories. No one should go under 1200

How much under?

Here is an article  for you

Not eating enough

[Julia_G]

Hi, @Lildeb08, I second what @JohnnyRow says - you say that you are “gaining weight in your thigh and belly area”... Gaining weight is, as he says, measured on the scales, so you can’t say that yu are gaining weight in any particular spot.

If you have been going to the gym, and building muscle, it could be that you are adding centimetres to your measurements in those areas?  That could mean that you are building muscle, which is usually a good thing.

At under 1200 calories per day it is unlikely that even a very small person would gain weight, especially a person who is doing 5 workouts a week.  If the scales are actually going up (consistently over time, not just a blip) I am guessing that probably you are eating more calories than you think.

Sometimes keeping a food diary can help, if you are a paper and pen sort of person.  Alternatively, there are some good options for tracking your calories on the Fitbit app.  Please post again if you want any help with this.

There is certainly a theory that “dieting makes you fat”, and maybe that is what your gym trainer is referring to.  Basically, if you starve yourself (and 1200 calories per day is a fairly extreme low calorie diet) your body will automatically try to “hang on” to whatever calories it gets - i.e use them as efficiently as possible.  

If you are really eating at 1200 calories or below (please do try a food diary) then maybe spend two weeks on a slightly more relaxed programme of 1500-1800 calories (again, keep a food diary) and also keep up your training programme.  Log absolutely everything on your Fitibit account - all foods and all exercise - and see how it is going in two weeks.  Please do also weigh yourself at the start and the end, and maybe even take a few measurements.

It would be really interesting for folks to see how you get on and if there are any changes!

For your two week exoeriment I am sure yu can get a lot of help here.  Alternatively there are lots of specific threads on each individual exercise or eating programs.

Good luck, and keep us posted!

[Lildeb08]

Hi Johnny, thanks for your response. According to my SECA Results, My total body water is 27.77% which I believe is high, so I am cutting back on salt (i love salt).  I did gain a few pounds during the summer while on one week of summer vacation but since then I have been watching my food intake and exercising at the gym.  I completed the Commit to be Fit program (8 weeks) which was very strenuous and now in another strength challenge.  My fat mass is 45.70%, Skeletal muscle mass is 36.21% and I am 5 ft tall.  I average 1200 calories a day.  I am very active, work full time and is frustrating when I don't sit on the sofa all day and eat pizza and burgers. Maybe I need to shock my body or change up on food and/or workouts.  Any suggestions????

[Lildeb08]

I am 5 ft tall and my resting energy expenditure is 1229, so I have been keeping my caloric intake within that ballpark.