Does it ever NOT work...?!?!?!?!

esme1983

I'm wondering... I've given up so many times. I've never stuck at an exercise regime.

Surely, if you go to the gym 3/4 times a week, and eat below your TDEE then you HAVE to lose weight and tone up, right? I haven't been doing the gym thing long - two weeks actually. But I am gaining weight AND inches and it's making me think I shouldn't be doing it. But then, how can it not work?

I know I'm babbling but basically - if I just carry on blinding without worrying that I'm gaining weight and getting bigger - is it certain that at some point it *will* work??? Because if I stay on this path for 12 weeks which is the time I've been told you have to give, and I get fatter and fatter it will be too late!!

susiegq

You are probably gaining muscle and water. What are you doing at the gym exactly? Give it more time at least 3 months to see progress.

beachlover317

2 weeks is not a long time. It's a blip on the radar. The number one key to losing weight and getting healthy is - PATIENCE. You have to want this more than anything else. Health has to be your priority. You also have to do it in a way that you can continue for the rest of your life. Because that's what it takes. When you are ready to make that commitment, you will be successful. The forums are FULL of people who are doing it. Good luck!!

ETA - You are not gaining muscle on a calorie deficit in 2 weeks. Being realistic is as important as patience.

Iron_Lotus

You are not gaining muscle. It is more than likely water retention. Also you have to give this more than 2 weeks.

esme1983

You are probably gaining muscle and water. What are you doing at the gym exactly? Give it more time at least 3 months to see progress.

I'm doing classes and running (cardio/ strength combo) for 30 minutes. Am starting weights next week. I'm just so scared because the scales are creeping up daily and if this continues for 12 weeks I will be the size of a house and I'll never shift it. In fact I don't think I can take being over weight again. It was so hard to lose the weight I'm terrified of putting it on again - especiailly while trying to do the right thing.... if that makes sense.

I lost two stone and now I have started a fresh with the goal of getting strong rather than just losing weight. But it's making me gain the weight again. I've gained 6lbs steadily these past two weeks.

esme1983

I know it can't be muscle because I have a deficit of around 500 cals a day. I've gained 1.5 inches on my bum and an inch on each thigh... 2 inches on my stomach

goodtimezzzz

hey! are gonna be great hun! I was there believe me:) check your inbox
Kristian Rocco

esme1983

Thank you for the advice. Especially about patience. I can do patience if I know it will work eventually - I want this more than anything. I'm just scared and it's soul destroying after taking a year to lose 2 stone, to gain almost a quarter of that back in 2 weeks.

ndj1979

You are probably gaining muscle and water. What are you doing at the gym exactly? Give it more time at least 3 months to see progress.

gaining muscle while eating in a deficit...ummmm no .

a pound of fat weights the same as muscle..

so jettison this from your mind...

are you sure you are eating in deficit? Are you weighing/tracking everything???

JenniBaby85

Make sure you are staying hydrated. Yes, muscle is denser than fat, but it shouldn't cause you to gain inches. In fact a pound of muscle is SMALLER than a pound of fat in way of size. So you may be gaining or retaining water which can also make you "bloated" which would show an increase in inches. How much to you drink a day? If you're very active, you need more water.

jesssi1984

Anything that keeps you active cannot possibly make you fat. I absolutely hated tracking my weight right after I joined the gym. I had lost about 10lbs before I joined and it was disheartening to not see any progress at first. But once I stopped swelling so much, drank a LOT of water, swam a couple laps in the pool (helps with water retention for some), weight started coming off again. Don't worry so much about it for now if it bugs you - just keep track of what you take in and burn, and keep yourself at your net calories for the day. You will tone and lose. My legs are not anywhere near puffy from being swollen from running anymore, I have muscle definition in them and I'm starting to see it in my arms (I've only been running and biking so I know all over the cardio is working to burn fat. So it's encouraging once you get over that hump of just joining to becoming a regular!)

jennifer_417

Too late for what, exactly?

LoudmouthLee

Certain things in this thread just need to be said:

#1) 2 weeks isn't enough time to see significant muscle gain. That's a marathon, not a sprint.
#2) I didn't see anything about your food. Are you logging it? One of the hidden killers of weight loss (and YMMV) is Sodium. When people start to change their diet, they never tend to look at the sodium content of their foods, leading them to retain obscene amount of water.
#3) Again, YMMV, but how much cardio are you doing? I always find it helpful to get the heart-rate up BEFORE I lift. Helps me see some residual heart rate goals as well.

Good luck. Let us know how you do!

dannyXoxo

It's all water weight -_- you just started a workout regime so your using muscles and such that you haven't used in a while. They'll tear and then your body holds/uses water to repair them. Weight gain of about 2-5 pounds is norm for the first 2-3 weeks when a person starts working out. Drink lots of water and teas, and make sure you get enough sleep you'll start losing the weight sooner then you think, just make sure you also eat enough. And like everyone else said patience is key! It taks months/years of poor diet and lack of excersize to gain weight so it will take time to lose it.

jesssi1984

I've been known to gain up to 8lbs in a day/overnight in water, depending on what I eat - tortilla chips & salsa?!?! - and what I'm doing - recently drove 10 hours within a 24 hour period through mountains! With each little water gain, I've noticed it takes a couple days for the swelling to receed.

taunto

I'm wondering... I've given up so many times. I've never stuck at an exercise regime.

Surely, if you go to the gym 3/4 times a week, and eat below your TDEE then you HAVE to lose weight and tone up, right? I haven't been doing the gym thing long - two weeks actually. But I am gaining weight AND inches and it's making me think I shouldn't be doing it. But then, how can it not work?

I know I'm babbling but basically - if I just carry on blinding without worrying that I'm gaining weight and getting bigger - is it certain that at some point it *will* work??? Because if I stay on this path for 12 weeks which is the time I've been told you have to give, and I get fatter and fatter it will be too late!!

Did you recently increased your calories after finding out your TDEE? If you just increased your calories then you may want to stick to it for a month before noticing changes.

I have personally found that folks usually endup eating alot more than their TDEE. Either they calculated their TDEE wrong or they're tracking their food wrong. I was in the same category. Most of the foods I prep have very wrong calories or portion size so I have to decrease my calories even though I know I should be eating more (as far as numbers go).

If you don't see a difference in weight, I'd suggest lower your calories. There are too many things we can do wrong with logging and finding our TDEE.

Good luck

KeyoriNyte

WOW...this is great support. I am having the same issue... I am rooting for you girl. :flowerforyou: you can do it !!!!!!!!!

geebusuk

How are you measuring your deficit?

How are you working out TDEE daily and food consumed?

500 calories also isn't that hard to 'lose' with over estimated exercise and underestimated food.

hartland45

great summary of key points

SabrinaLC

Very well could be water weight.
Drink tons of water!

KarenJanine

I lost two stone and now I have started a fresh with the goal of getting strong rather than just losing weight. But it's making me gain the weight again. I've gained 6lbs steadily these past two weeks.

How quickly did you lose the 2 stone and how? If you were eating a very low cal diet then increasing your cals will often cause people to gain initially after changing to the TDEE -20% deficit. Most bodies adapt to the change in food intake after a few weeks or so and the gain should level off and hopefully you'll start losing.

It takes time and patience but if you are definite you are eating below your true TDEE and you are accurately logging then sooner or later the fat should fall.

esme1983

You are probably gaining muscle and water. What are you doing at the gym exactly? Give it more time at least 3 months to see progress.

gaining muscle while eating in a deficit...ummmm no .

a pound of fat weights the same as muscle..

so jettison this from your mind...

are you sure you are eating in deficit? Are you weighing/tracking everything???

Hiya, I am weighing and tracking everything. It's all foods that I ate when I was losing last year so I'm fairly confident that it's accurate.

ArroganceInStep

Most of the stuff here is accurate, so I hate to be a buzzkill about this, but one other point really needs to be mentioned.

People SUCK at estimating calorie intake, like really...we're bad. Even scientists have trouble with it, which is why there are so few studies with isocaloric intakes.

This isn't necessarily a bad thing, as you can work around these tendencies for error, but it's good information to have.

1) Remember that the formula's that calculate how much you need to lose weight (or maintain, or bulk) are just estimations, derived to be 'close' for as many people as possible. You still have to pay attention to what's going on and adjust as needed. Don't blindly eat X calories daily because the formula told you to. Pay attention to your results.

2) Body changes, particularly weight, are not linear. There's so much other stuff going on that it can be very difficult to gauge your progress. You really need to give it time, like a month or more, to get a reasonable baseline to start from. The sooner you do that the better off you'll be. Using one of the standard formulas is a good starting point; stick with it for 4 weeks and reasses. Adjust as needed and repeat. Be patient, it's a long process, but worth it.

3) The better your estimations, the better your results will be. Have an understanding of what the numbers you're plugging in mean, and always strive for the greatest level of accuracy possible. That chicken you just logged, did you just pick an entry that looked 'close enough' in the mfp database? Did you guess at the weight rather than use a scale? Did you include the oil you used to cook it? Are you putting in things like 3 hours of vigorous house cleaning which comes up as 15,000 calories when it was really more like 2 hours and you didn't even break a sweat? The little (and big) things matter, especially early on. As you get more comfortable in your routine you should become better able to sort of eyeball it, and know when you're on track or not. The adjustments you'll need to make in your routine will become smaller and smaller since you'll already be pretty much on point (the challenge then becomes consistency). You will still need to come back and reassess your estimations from time to time, but it does get easier, and 'work' eventually.

ETA based on previous post: even with weighing and tracking everything people are still prone to errors in estimated calorie intake. It happens, you still need to pay attention to results. While it might not be a problem if you've gained a couple after 2 weeks, after 6 or 8 though you need to change something.

esme1983

Make sure you are staying hydrated. Yes, muscle is denser than fat, but it shouldn't cause you to gain inches. In fact a pound of muscle is SMALLER than a pound of fat in way of size. So you may be gaining or retaining water which can also make you "bloated" which would show an increase in inches. How much to you drink a day? If you're very active, you need more water.

Thanks, - around 2.5 litres of water but also some camomile tea etc (and wine, but I know that doesn't count!)

esme1983

Too late for what, exactly?

lol. Too late to go back to the weight I started at two weeks ago without ANOTHER year of hard work

esme1983

How are you measuring your deficit?

How are you working out TDEE daily and food consumed?

500 calories also isn't that hard to 'lose' with over estimated exercise and underestimated food.

I'm basing it on MFP guide for height and weight and a lightly active activity setting. Then tracking exercise - same as I did last year when I was losing. Only difference is that now I'm exercising, I'm adding on between 200/280 ish cals for a half hour workout...

esme1983

I lost two stone and now I have started a fresh with the goal of getting strong rather than just losing weight. But it's making me gain the weight again. I've gained 6lbs steadily these past two weeks.

How quickly did you lose the 2 stone and how? If you were eating a very low cal diet then increasing your cals will often cause people to gain initially after changing to the TDEE -20% deficit. Most bodies adapt to the change in food intake after a few weeks or so and the gain should level off and hopefully you'll start losing.

It takes time and patience but if you are definite you are eating below your true TDEE and you are accurately logging then sooner or later the fat should fall.

I lost the first stone in about 7 months through 1200 cals and the odd cheat day. Then the remaining weight I shifted by upping my calories to 1500 and that happened over about 3/4 months