Problems with Weight/Fat Gain after joining a gym

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I was wondering if anyone has had a similiar experience.

I went off my regular diet at christmas and cheated by eating eat for the holiday. I didn't gain that much weight from it though; about the typical 10-20 pounds.

Normally when I stop eating wheat and milk it comes off rather quickly. This time, it didn't.

I cut about how much I ate by a half, or maybe down to about a third of what I used to. I was eating WAY too much rice before, and figured that might be the problem.

The weight increased, though.

So, I joined the gym. I'm doing about 30 minutes of Cardio a day, bare minimum, sometimes an hour, and a regular weight lifting plan 4-5 days a week.

Although I was expecting a bit of extra weight due to weightlifting, I wasn't expecting my waist size to increase. I've had to buy new pants - bigger ones - because my old 'fat' pants don't fit. From Christmas, I think I've gone up about 30 - about 50 since before.

I'm a little alarmed as I've gone up two pants sizes, and I was wondering if anyone has any advice on this? Really not sure what to do at this point.

I should also mention general fitness HAS increased. I can walk faster on the treadmill/high incline; I seem to be able to life more.

Okay, a few things.
Gaining 10-20 pounds over the christmas holidays is not what i'd call normal. I ate really badly and did no exercise for 3 weeks over christmas and my weight went up less then a pound.

With regards to not eating milk or wheat I can't really comment on how that may work for you. I personally eat both every day and have never cut anything out of my diet, merely cut down how often I eat certain things. Milk is good for protein, carbs, and fat (if you have semi-skimmed) and wheat is a good source of fibre so i wouldn't really cut those out unless you have an intollerance to them.
I know that certain fad diets will tell you to cut entire food groups out of your diet but this is not a rationale I ever agree with unless, as I said before, you have an intollerance to something. Bear in mind though that i'm not a qualified nutritionist, i'm merely someone who eats in moderation, exercises hard and regularly, and have never had any health problems in my entire life (physical that is, mental is a whole other kettle of fish!).

"Although I was expecting a bit of extra weight due to weightlifting, I wasn't expecting my waist size to increase. I've had to buy new pants - bigger ones - because my old 'fat' pants don't fit. From Christmas, I think I've gone up about 30 - about 50 since before." -- This doesn't really make any sense to me, you've gone up from what weight/measurement to what weight/measurement?

If you're lifting weight regularly and you take in enough calories and protein then some of your weight gain is going to be muscle. Muscle weighs more then fat (has a higher density) so don't just trust the scales. If you can get your body fat percentage measured then please do so, it's so much more usefull then that BMI rubbish.

You aren't specific in your write-up about calorie numbers so i'm guessing you don't normally count calories (I know I don't, but that's a story for another thread).
If you're trying to do specifically change your body then keeping track of the amount of fuel (calories) you take on board in relation to the amount and type of exercise you do is a wise investment of your time. Eating the right types of food is good, but eating too much of them (or indeed too much of anything) can be bad. eg Someone I talk to online ate a fantastic diet that was rich and varied, but they kept getting fatter and fatter. They only realised what the problem was when they found out the amount of pasta they should be eating for what their body needed to slim down (a small bowl full for a meal) and they were eating too much of it (4 large bowls full for a meal).

Anyway, My advice is to set specific achievable goals that start off small, keep track of what you eat and be honest about it (or you're only lying to yourself), track your exercise progress (which you've already noticed and congratulations from me for the progress), and keep persevering.

Lastly, relax! The human body is a wonderously adaptable organ with amazing powers for recovery. Give everything time, educate yourself on everything that concerns you that you wish to take control of, and enjoy the good things life offers.

Hope this is of some help

Hi mishcana,
Thats a bit of a bummer putting on that weight.
It"s easy to get obsessed about these things if you are have AS and in general, being slim is the thing.!
you didn't say how much you are over the average weight okay for your height so I don't know how serious your weight gain is.
Also dont know how old you are or how many calories you are taking in per day.
Stuff like that.
But the best advice is to go and check whether you may have diabetes or under-active thyroid.
if okay, you should try eating only complex carbs and as close to the natural state of food as you can. Theres alot more info you can get on the net but a good diet is clean, simple and healthy.

Mmm, height is 5'6", weight is currently around 218, pant size is 18ish, depending on cut. Some 16's fit, some don't. When they don't fit, they don't fit by a lot, which is confusing. Sizes seem to vary a lot. I'm guessing the difference is whether it's a plus size store cut or a normal store cut. The ones I had no trouble wearing even after christmas definately no longer fit.

Pre-christmas: 170, a largely cut 14-15 pant size. After christmas, 190, 16's were what I could wear.

Started to notice pants were getting snug, so I started to work out at the gym. Usually every other day due to weight lifting, Tried to do a little cardio everyday. When I first went to the weight scale, I thought it was inaccurate as it showed me at 230 - it'd only been about three weeks since I weighed myself at the christmas break. It did eventually go down to 218, but I had to buy a larger pant size even so. I still thought it was great exaggerated; but at home my weight showed the same at spring break (last week). It's kinda stablilized around the 218.

Discovered that a lot of the "healthier" food I was eating like brussel sprouts, miso, broccoli and a few others supposively suppress thyroid function which can lead to weight gain, but I don't know of the validity of that.

keep fruit around the house you can eat when you get hungry. It will usually stabilize your blood sugar a little. Also, you might try just eating little bits at a time. When you get hungry, eat a little bit, like a piece of fruit or some scrambled eggs. The protein will help you stave off the hungries a little longer. I always had good luck with yogurt with some kind of fiber cereal in it. Just start with a portionof food the size you can fit in the palm of your hand when you get hungry. I am talking when your stomach is growling and you can feel it hungry. Eat that slowly and go on. If your stomach is growling after a little while, have another handful. I am talking of course, like a handful of nuts, or a piece of fruit, or half a sandwich. You are not going to waste the rest of the sandwich, because you will get around to eating the other half when you get hungry. You are still eating a whole sandwich, just time-released. Its kind of a test to see how much your body needs to be satiated. Of course you need to eat the recommended allowance of calories, but just a little bit at a time. Drink your water, so your body will shed off any excess water it may have retained. Make sure you get lots of fiber... trust me, the fruit will probably take care of that. Cutting out gluten was probably a good idea, as it is harder on your belly and makes your guts bloat sometimes. Eat like a monkey... basically. hand to mouth. Fruits, nuts, vegetables, occasional meat...legumes,(yeah, i know... starch, but its not bleached and processed starch, its naturally occurring.) and fish if you can stand it.

my suggestion for you would be to calorie count for a week (including the weekends, ESPECIALLY if you drink). so record exactly what you eat and how much. this will tell you if you're overeating and by how much, also if you're getting the right amount of each food group.

another idea would be to get a diet plan. when i saw an academic adviser (all varsity athletes had to see one, we just talked about sports and stuff after a while) he suggested an online plan. this plan was meant for endurance athletes but anyone can use them because they're designed for a certain calorie range (endurance athletes tend to eat more calories than the average public). since i'm dropping weight to get down to lightweight for rowing, i decided to check this website out, bought one of the plans (they're only $20) and started it. a few things you'll notice with these plans is that they give you the correct quantities of fat, carbs, and protein (around 60% carbs, 20% fat, 20% protein) within a few percent, everything you eat is whole wheat or whole grain, there are lots of fruits and veggies, but the biggest thing you'll notice is that you eat 6 times a day... as well as flushing more weight than you're used to.

this plan gives you a checklist/grocery list every week, tells you exactly what to eat at each meal, how much you're eating every day, and how many calories are in each meal.

I don't usually advertise products but i really think this is one of the best diets out there because it's sustainable, extremely healthy, and easy to follow. just remember not to wait too long between meals (i usually ate every 2-3hrs with a longer break at the end of the day) or you might get hungry.

meal plans (go for the 1600-1900 Cal/day):
http://www.trainright.com/folders.asp?uid=1072

veggie meal plans:
http://www.trainright.com/folders.asp?uid=3332

by the way, i also really liked the food but there's a wide variety in the plan so you won't get bored but if you don't like certain foods you'll want to substitute with another meal on the plan that you like that has the same amount of calories. my favorite snack was yogurt, fruit, and whole wheat cereal (all bran flakes). you might surprise yourself with what you start to like when you get healthy.

one last thing (i know, this is getting really long), alcohol has a lot of calories so make sure you're aware of that when you go out. I can drink over 2000Cal in a heavy night (one of the reasons i stopped drinking the past two months) and they add up quickly (Guinness has about 200Cal/pint, and that's lower than most beers).