Running/Diet question

tanialynn3

Hey all, I am feeling a little lost.

3 weeks ago I started a diet and exercise program. Before that, the only exercise I did was whatever normal daily activities I was doing (cleaning the house, grocery shopping, the occasional weekend hike), and beyond that, I would say I was sedentary. I work from home, and sit a computer 8-10 hours a day.

So, anyhow... 3 weeks ago I weighed 144 lbs (I am 5'4") and I started a 3 day/week walk/run routine (I am using the Zombie 5k trainer). On my run days, I go 3 miles. On the off days, I walk at least 2 miles. I am nowhere near running for the entire 3 miles, but I would guess that I am running at least 1 mile out of the 3. My calories have also been at a 500+ calorie deficit.

So, I went from doing pretty much nothing and eating more than my maintenance calories in a day to daily exercise with a calorie deficit. Now, I feel better - stronger, more in shape... but I have actually GAINED 2 pounds. It is extremely frustrating, and I am getting a little depressed and am starting to lose motivation. I know that I am not THAT overweight, but I feel disgusting. I hate the way I look. I just feel like there is cellulite and fat all over me.

I KNOW that I have to be on the right track, but everything I read says that with what I am doing I should be losing 1-2 lbs a week. I should be down 3-6 lbs, but instead I have gained... Also, this might be my imagination, but my pants actually feel TIGHTER. And, last night, while I was laying in bed trying to sleep, I noticed that my calves actually felt larger.

Has this happened to anyone else? And if so, did you start to actually lose weight at some point? Does anyone have any words of wisdom or some way to help me keep motivated? I don't want to get bigger... I have NEVER been over 150, and at this rate, it looks like I will be soon.

Thanks in advance.

DemoraFairy

Are you weighing everything you eat? Can you open your dairy?

ManiacalLaugh

A question: what tool do you use to get the number of calories you've burned in a run? If you use MFP, you need to 1/2 that. Most tools, actually, overestimate what you're burning in exercise, so you might want to decrease the amount you're eating back. MFP is just notorious for it and exceptionally bad at it.

Also, if you're aiming to lose weight, you don't really want to eat above maintenance. You need a deficit of a few hundred (net, not gross) to see results. So, if your maintenance is 1700, and you burn 200 through exercise, it would still be good to eat at 1700 or less. You will not lose weight netting a total above your maintenance calories.

E.G. - my maintenance is 1900. If I'm on a sedentary day, I'll eat down to 1200-1300. If I work out, I eat up to 1400-1500, but I'm always at a deficit.

One additional point - since you've gone from sedentary to exercise, please be aware that water retention (seems to be my favorite phrase lately) can happen. Exercise is a trauma on the body, and your body retains water as part of the healing process. So you can actually see a quick increase on the scale after a particularly good run. After an intense hike in the summer heat, I gained 5 lbs instantly. You might still be retaining water from those first few days on the track.

Water weight can take up to 2 weeks or so to finally shed.

DeguelloTex

ManiacalLaugh wrote: »

Also, if you're aiming to lose weight, you don't really want to eat above maintenance. You need a deficit of a few hundred (net, not gross) to see results. So, if your maintenance is 1700, and you burn 200 through exercise, it would still be good to eat at 1700 or less. You will not lose weight netting a total above your maintenance calories.

She said she was eating at least a 500 calorie a day deficit... which may or may not be accurate.

ManiacalLaugh

DeguelloTex wrote: »

ManiacalLaugh wrote: »

Also, if you're aiming to lose weight, you don't really want to eat above maintenance. You need a deficit of a few hundred (net, not gross) to see results. So, if your maintenance is 1700, and you burn 200 through exercise, it would still be good to eat at 1700 or less. You will not lose weight netting a total above your maintenance calories.

She said she was eating at least a 500 calorie a day deficit... which may or may not be accurate.

Ah - reading comprehension issues this morning. Need. Moar. Coffee.

bewarethedog

The exercise calories mfp gives for running are usually way high for me. I don't like to eat into them much at all.

Running will be great at helping you lose weight, but it won't make you lose weight. Your diet has to do that. If things aren't moving in the direction you want, then you've got to look into what you are eating rather than what your workout is. Make sure you are weighing and measuring your food, and that you are using accurate entries in the log. And make sure you are being 100% honest with your tracking. Your body knows what you ate, fudging the diary doesn't do anything.

rsclause

Don't sweat it, if you are truly at deficit you will start to lose but not overnight. Keep at the running and build slowly. Running is what really put my weight loss in high gear. I went from walking to short runs. Over time I was up to about thirty miles a week.

jaims224

rsclause wrote: »

Don't sweat it, if you are truly at deficit you will start to lose but not overnight. Keep at the running and build slowly. Running is what really put my weight loss in high gear. I went from walking to short runs. Over time I was up to about thirty miles a week.

I concur with this. I have almost the same running schedule and at first I gained weight too. I was not counting calories though and I know I was putting on muscle. Now that I have been running for a couple of months, solidly, and I am at a calorie deficit it is cutting weight quite well. Just hang in there.

tanialynn3

I am using the garmin vivosmart for exercise tracking. For my 3 mile days it says between 170-200 calories burned. As far as the calories consumed, I am going by the packaging. For example, if I eat a can of progresso soup, which is 70 calories per serving, then I log 140 calories for the can, even though I don't drink the broth. If I eat out (rarely) I look it up with the provided tool and then add 10% just in case. If we make something at home, I look at all the packaging, add it up and then find how much my serving size was. On most days I dont even reach 1200 calories. I get 1000-1100.

tanialynn3

Also, i was drinking at least 4 cans of soda a day, and eating chips or cookies every night as a snack. I have completely cut out the snacks and soda. that alone has to do something. As far as what I eat, it is all "healthy" food. For example, I eat a salad, raw vegetables, or a can of light soup for lunch, then I eat a small portioned dinner. Last night I had a turkey wrap. The night before it was king crab and green beans. I am watching sugar and calories in everything. The only thing that is even questionable is the 12 oz of orange juice I drink every morning.

DeguelloTex

tanialynn3 wrote: »

Also, i was drinking at least 4 cans of soda a day, and eating chips or cookies every night as a snack. I have completely cut out the snacks and soda. that alone has to do something. As far as what I eat, it is all "healthy" food. For example, I eat a salad, raw vegetables, or a can of light soup for lunch, then I eat a small portioned dinner. Last night I had a turkey wrap. The night before it was king crab and green beans. I am watching sugar and calories in everything. The only thing that is even questionable is the 12 oz of orange juice I drink every morning.

Cutting out the snacks and soda will do something if those calories aren't replaced with other ones. "Healthy" food isn't the issue with losing weight. Eating less than you burn is.

Toria718

I started running (again) with a c25k app 3 weeks ago, gained 5 lbs seemingly overnight and it has taken 3 weeks to come off. You will be fine. Trust the process, and as frustrating slow as it is sometimes, it will happen...these are all things I have to remember myself lol. Especially with a running training app you are continually pushing your body harder than you were before and the muscles need to repair. Unfortunatly this requires water and we see it usually as a "gain" in weight. As long as your calories are logged accurately and you have a deficit your weight will head south

Toria718

I started running (again) with a c25k app 3 weeks ago, gained 5 lbs seemingly overnight and it has taken 3 weeks to come off. You will be fine. Trust the process, and as frustrating slow as it is sometimes, it will happen...these are all things I have to remember myself lol. Especially with a running training app you are continually pushing your body harder than you were before and the muscles need to repair. Unfortunatly this requires water and we see it usually as a "gain" in weight. As long as your calories are logged accurately and you have a deficit your weight will head south

tanialynn3

Thanks everyone. If anything, my calories logged are over what I actually ate, and I am not eating back any of my exercise calories. I guess I have to assume it is just water weight and keep at it.

TimothyFish

Beginning to exercise, especially when you haven't been doing anything, can result in water retention. You can weigh your food if you like, but I doubt you are as far off as some people think you might be.

FabianRodriguez94

tanialynn3 wrote: »

I am using the garmin vivosmart for exercise tracking. For my 3 mile days it says between 170-200 calories burned. As far as the calories consumed, I am going by the packaging. For example, if I eat a can of progresso soup, which is 70 calories per serving, then I log 140 calories for the can, even though I don't drink the broth. If I eat out (rarely) I look it up with the provided tool and then add 10% just in case. If we make something at home, I look at all the packaging, add it up and then find how much my serving size was. On most days I dont even reach 1200 calories. I get 1000-1100.

You are eating less than 1200 calories a day? If this is the case, then that right there MAY be a reason you aren't losing. Men should never eat less than 1800 and women 1200 for an extended period of time. This is not healthy for weight loss and can halt progress.

Another issue may be water retention. When you begin exercising after a long period of not exercising, you will definitely experience water retention and this can last a couple of days, or even up to a month in rare cases.

Good luck!

astrampe

TimothyFish wrote: »

Beginning to exercise, especially when you haven't been doing anything, can result in water retention. You can weigh your food if you like, but I doubt you are as far off as some people think you might be.

Fact, and the most possible explanation for the gain... Relax and keep on doing what you are doing, it is temporary and will go away....

peachyfuzzle

FabianRodriguez94 wrote: »

tanialynn3 wrote: »

I am using the garmin vivosmart for exercise tracking. For my 3 mile days it says between 170-200 calories burned. As far as the calories consumed, I am going by the packaging. For example, if I eat a can of progresso soup, which is 70 calories per serving, then I log 140 calories for the can, even though I don't drink the broth. If I eat out (rarely) I look it up with the provided tool and then add 10% just in case. If we make something at home, I look at all the packaging, add it up and then find how much my serving size was. On most days I dont even reach 1200 calories. I get 1000-1100.

You are eating less than 1200 calories a day? If this is the case, then that right there MAY be a reason you aren't losing. Men should never eat less than 1800 and women 1200 for an extended period of time. This is not healthy for weight loss and can halt progress.

Another issue may be water retention. When you begin exercising after a long period of not exercising, you will definitely experience water retention and this can last a couple of days, or even up to a month in rare cases.

Good luck!

Don't listen to this. Starvation mode is a myth, and it takes a LONG time of serious deficit in order to go into any sort of metabolic adaptation.

There are probably two things combined here, not weighing your food, and a new workout routine. You say you d do not eat back your exercise calories, so that is out of the equation.

It is extraordinarily eye opening how wrong food labels are when you start weighing everything. You could be off by whole servings, OR MORE if you're going by just the food label. I was utterly flabbergasted at the amount of calories I was either over, or underestimated when I started using my scale. Sure, one serving in one meal probably won't affect you too negatively when you're exercising a lot, but if you're doing overestimating 3+ times per day (once per meal, and snacks), then it's going to catch up.

The other part is likely water retention since your body is still getting used to the new workload you're putting on it. This effect will go away in the coming weeks, but can be quite prevalent for a couple of months.

Buy a food scale, weigh everything in grams/non-fluid ounces, drink a good amount of water per day to counteract water retention, and give it 4-6 more weeks. Also, weigh yourself without clothes on in the morning directly after going to the bathroom when getting out of bed. This will be your lightest weight of the day, and best estimate. If you're weighing any time after that, you're naturally going to weigh more because you have fluids/food in your body.

Three weeks is simply not enough on a 500cal deficit to see a huge change. Weight can fluctuate far more than 1lb during the course of a day, so you could actually be down, and not know it. Personally, on a workout day, my weight can swing 6-10lbs by the end of the day if I weigh directly after getting back from the gym in the morning before breakfast.

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