For the last year and a half or so, my weight has been creeping up very slowly.

Right now I'm weighing in on average between 125 and 127 lbs. That's not bad, but the scale has been on an unstoppable upward trend and my body fat percentage has shot up. Even when the scale doesn't move, I can FEEL myself getting fatter and flabbier.

I work out with a trainer once a week and I hit the gym or do exercise videos 5x a week. I exercise for about an hour. I have incorporated HIIT and resistance training. I have been trying, unsuccessfully, to sleep more. I am committed to improving my sleep patterns.

What I have NOT done is upped my calorie intake. According to every BMR calculator I've seen, for my activity level I should be taking in between 1900 and 2300 calories a day.

I average about 1350.

Everything I'm reading says to increase my caloric intake. But I'll admit that I'm scared to do this. Do I jump right to maintenance (1900-2300 a day), or do I gradually increase it by 100 calories per day per week? What do I DO?

I don't want to lose weight necessarily, I just want to stop this upward trend and LEAN DOWN. I'm sick of this flab creeping on. I want MUSCLE.

112 views and no tips?

Awww! I'm sure it's because you seem to be doing everything right!!

Have you asked your trainer for advice?

Have started eating anything new that could be throwing you off?

I hope you get the results you want soon!
(And congrats on your weightloss--looking at your ticker, wow!)

Could do without the sarcasm!

Yup. Over the last 3 months his advice has been to 'lift heavier weights'. That's not working.

Nope.

Never will if I don't get some help. And my progress is being undone by this issue.

To build muscle and lift heavier weights you have to eat at or above maintenance calories and get lots of protein in. It is scary but you can always recreate a deficit if you see no results after like, two months.

Do you have a history of eating disorders? Have you been checked for a thyroid imbalance?

No history of ED, no thyroid imbalance. I had all that work done last fall and my thyroid numbers were a little low but still within a normal range. The doctor refused to refer me or to address the issue further.

People keep saying 'eat at maintenance' but I honestly am terrified to go from my current intake up to maintenance. Should I just take that huge leap, or work up to it gradually by increasing my intake week by week? That's really what I want to know.

Yep - I can relate. I lost 145lbs without exercise. Added it in, became a gym bunny and ended up gaining and feeling flabbier than at 300lbs. I eat around 1500 cals a day, but burn an average of 3000 cals a week or 400+ cals a day, yet I am fatter, look bigger and feel different. Hummmmm

DING DING DING DING!

I'm the same way. It's so frustrating lifting insanely heavy weights and pounding my heart out on cardio and watching my legs and arms turn to jiggly flab. It SUCKS.

I agree with this.

You can lift all the heavy weights you want, but if you aren't supporting it with what, and how much, you're eating it isn't going to do you a lot of good.

What you're describing sounds like a loss of muscle mass. Continuing to eat in a steep deficit and doing cardio is working against what your goal actually sounds to be.

You can work up your calories gradually if that is more comfortable for you! Nothing says you have to do it all at once!

txgeekgirl - something seems a bit off in your post - and I don't think veggiedawg was being sarcastic at all...I think she was being supportive. (Could be wrong.) Your footer "Why should I care..." indicates you're maybe not in a positive frame of mind right now. I wonder how much of this flabbiness is reality and how much is perception? I definitely could be wrong on that one. How much flab could you really have at 118? Loose skin maybe, but flab....? I don't know how tall you are...but flab seems unlikely. As for the body fat percentage...how are you measuring this? Some of the methods are notoriously unreliable over the short term.

I would try increasing your calories for a few weeks and see how it goes. You may not be eating enough to build muscle. During this time, I would try to focus on the positive. You've made amazing changes! Be proud! (I do know how hard this is, I've struggled with depression my whole life, so I'm not being flip.)

It's definitely flab. My body fat percentage has shot up and I've gone up 2 sizes. I dealt with the loose skin for 2 years at maintenance so I know the difference. Sorry, I don't mean to sound rude but people so often suggest things that I've already considered and eliminated.

My footer is definitely a true reflection of my feelings but I have always felt that way...always. Nobody DOES care. I think if I slipped in the shower and broke my neck nobody would notice until the newspapers started to pile up on the lawn. Since I get the paper only 2 days a week, that'd take a while.

From what I understand, the calculators are rarely accurate and every person has different requirements. My situation may be different, but I maintain at about 1400 - 1500 calories - even with a minimum of one hour exercise per day. Also, someone who is formerly obese usually maintains at about 20 to 25% fewer calories than someone of the same age, height, and weight who has never been obese. I'd personally be hesitant to jump in at 1900 calories right off the bat. I think you had the right idea when you considered gradually increasing it by 100 calories at a time, and see how your body does, and up it each week as needed. Focusing on protein will help build your muscles.

Good luck!

It was suggested to me once, to calculate my bmr at a sedentary rate, and then eat back my burn, instead of figuring my exercise into my base calorie number. This upped my calorie intake, I had more energy, lost steadily and kept my muscle mass. Your mileage may vary and the math might come out differently for you, but maybe coming at it from a "fueling your workout" approach instead of a steady daily upping of your calories may be a little less scary.

I don't get it. My BMR is 1337; I already eat that per day.

I don't understand what you mean by this, can you explain it a bit further?

Thanks!