Help me catch the bad guy!

[VanceMac]

After five months of consistent weight loss, I have gained a bit of fat back for the first time. I have never once gained even a pound back over this period, but have gained two pounds and a half inch back to my belly. And this is on what should be a deficit diet. While I am concentrating on weight training, I still want to lose some body fat, not gain more back! I have changed up a number of things since weight training over the last month, so I am not sure what is the cause. Here are the changes, maybe you can help spot the bad guy:

1. I have added 200-300 calories back in to my diet, up to 2200-2300 average intake (on the "eat more to lose more" principle), which should still be a deficit diet. The theory is that this will stoke the metabolism, allow for muscle growth and cause greater fat loss according to advice here and the Men's Health forum. Could I actually be over maintenance at this calorie count?

2. I have switched from steady-state cardio, which would burn about 400 calories a 30 minute session, to HIIT for 15 to 20 minutes, which burns less calories during the session, but is supposed to create some "afterburn" and other positive fat loss impact.

3. I have added some creatine to protein shakes.

4. I have upped my protein and fat intake and lowered my carbs (within the calorie range above, just a different mix of them).

Now, I don't think that it is just muscle weight gain because there is also the increase in belly size (about a quarter to a half inch after consistent shrinking there).

Any thoughts?

[I. Kay]

Well first of all, nobody can tell you what would be a calorie deficit if we don't know how much you weigh or what your workouts are or what you do throughout each day.

Also, what foods make up these 2300 cals?

How long have you been taking creatine? Some people report feeling/looking bloated from the stuff, though I've never felt it.

[VanceMac]

Good points. I am 40 years old, 6'1" and 210. I am down from 265 in late June. I eat pretty clean, sufficiently clean to lose 55 pounds in the last five months, so what is more important is what I have changed from that successful formula (thus the list). I have added more lean protein (mostly chicken and protein shakes), and more good fats (mostly eggs, almonds and olive oil). I lost the weight on a 55-25-20 (C-P-F) and am now at about 40-35-25. I have been taking the creatine for about a week now.

During my major weight loss, I was at about a NET calorie goal of 1800, that means calories in less exercise calories, and I have been adding to that, so that my calorie intake is about 2300 and my NET is about 2000. It was all steady state aerobics four days a week and basketball two days a week. Now, it is lifting three days a week, with short HIIT afterward, and still the basketball twice a week.

[Jen Heath]

3. I have added some creatine to protein shakes

Note that this will cause some water retention that could slightly impact your waist size. What are the skinfolds showing?

Additionally, (and to qualify this is more or less digging deep into minutia), but creatine ingestion will slightly inhibit AMPK, which could slightly impact metabolism....AMPK activation is largely why higher intensity exercise is superior to low intensity exercise for fat burning......(eg. creatine is great for gaining size but may have a very slight negative effect on fat loss)

[VanceMac]

That is very interesting. I think I will lay off the creatine for a couple of weeks and see if that helps. It is the easiest of those things to change.