Why am I gaining weight but eating less?

Building Muscle Mass Fat and muscle weigh the same amount, but muscle is denser and takes up less space. So you may be eating healthy and taking in fewer calories -- and you probably see a difference in your body and the way your clothes fit -- but the number on the scale might be going up instead of down.

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While a general rule of thumb is that eating less causes you to lose weight, there are reasons why you might be packing on the pounds even though your diet is sparse. The types of foods you eat, your workout regimen and certain lifestyle factors could all be to blame if you're dieting but the scale is rising.

Eating the Wrong Foods

You might be eating smaller meals or snacking less often, but you might be eating foods that are particularly calorie-dense and, therefore, you're not losing but gaining weight. Mark Sisson of Mark's Daily Apple explains that many healthy foods are high in calories. Take nuts, for example. You may have heard that eating more nuts improves your heart health and may even lead to weight loss, but there can be too much of a good thing. With almost 200 calories per ounce, pecans contribute a lot of calories in a small amount of food, and can easily trick you into thinking you're eating less, when you're actually eating more, calorie-wise.

Not Eating Enough

Maybe your problem is that you're eating too little, which can also hinder your weight-loss results. When you don't eat enough, your body goes into starvation mode, in which it slows metabolism -- as well as all your other body functions -- in order to conserve energy. So, while you may be thinking that it makes perfect sense that the less you eat the more fat you'll lose, you're actually doing more harm than good. In addition to decreased fat loss, you also may be putting your lean muscle mass -- one of the major driving factors of your metabolism -- in jeopardy because the body will start to use it as fuel. Lastly, when you don't take in enough calories, you won't have the energy for regular workouts, which are key for fat loss.

Building Muscle Mass

If you're combining your diet with hard-hitting sessions at the gym, there may be a very simple explanation for your failure to lose weight -- you're gaining muscle. Fat and muscle weigh the same amount, but muscle is denser and takes up less space. So you may be eating healthy and taking in fewer calories -- and you probably see a difference in your body and the way your clothes fit -- but the number on the scale might be going up instead of down. Don't worry, this is a good thing. The more muscle mass you have, the higher your resting metabolic rate, which means you'll burn calories at a higher rate even when you're not working out. Just remember not to reduce your food intake too much when you're engaged in regular exercise because your body needs the calories and macronutrients to build and maintain muscle and physiological functions.

Stress and Body Fat

You might eat just the right amount of nutritious foods, but if you are under a lot of stress, your hormones could be what's holding you back. According to a study published in the journal "Obesity" in 2017, chronic stress increases the amount of cortisol -- known as the stress hormone -- in the body, which can affect metabolism and storage of fat. Over time, this can lead to weight gain, especially in the abdominal area. This means that someone who is chronically stressed out and someone who is usually calm and collected may eat the same diet, but the stressed-out individual will have a harder time getting rid of stubborn belly fat.

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