Nutritionist suggests I don't exercise?!

looney9708
looney9708 Posts: 174 Member
edited November 2024 in Motivation and Support
I've been doing a specified program with a nutritionist and lost the first 19 lbs. but I've been stalled the last few weeks-about 5 at this point. I've always done crossfit and hiit and love my workouts. It had been working to do my exercise while doing a low carb calorie restricted diet and still losing fat. But since I've been stalled she suggests hanging low on the high Intestity workouts and see if we can't get my body to respond. Im terrified the opposite will happen. Does laying low on workouts make sense to anyone else? Help me mentally get through this so I can get the last 10 lbs off!
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Replies

  • tulips_and_tea
    tulips_and_tea Posts: 5,754 Member
    I'd ask her for those details. Or did you and what did she say? Did she adjust your diet at all? How much of a calorie restriction are you talking?
  • concordancia
    concordancia Posts: 5,320 Member
    There have been studies of folks training for marathons who have trouble losing weight, but in this case, I suspect it is the nutrition advice or its implementation.

    Five weeks isn't that bad as far as plateaus go: really just time to start playing with the factors. Usually the first place to start is to verify that you aren't doing something unusual with your calorie intake. Did you decide you know how much is 4oz of meat and stop weighing? Did you start drinking something you thought was free of calories, but it might not be?

    Are you overfocused on a weight goal, rather than seeing the results from you wonderful workout? Does that "last ten pounds" put you into a healthy weight range or are you already there and trying to get lower in the range?

    Finally, if your goal is to be healthy, why would you give up workouts you enjoy for a number on the scale?
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
    It sounds like bizarre advice to me, but without more details it's hard to say.
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
    Do you exercise every day? Sometimes the muscles swell in response to added activity and a rest day can help them recover (and you miraculously lose some water weight).
  • RoseTheWarrior
    RoseTheWarrior Posts: 2,035 Member
    The only thing I can think of is if you weren't taking a rest day. I always, always have my best scale losses after my rest day. If you're doing exercise 7 days a week, then I don't see why you can't at least dial it back for 1 or 2 of those. Rather than HIIT, just go for a nice medium-paced walk, or something. If you already incorporated rest days, then I'm not sure why anyone would give that advice, unless they're just at a loss as to what the "real issue" might be.
  • looney9708
    looney9708 Posts: 174 Member
    They believe that the calorie restriction I am on -roughly 1200 cals a day with low car high protein and moderate fat, and exercising at the intensity I'm working out on causes fat gain. It sounds so backward but am living it when it comes to weekly workouts and then my weigh in. So they want me briskly walking but not breaking into a full sweat. See if backing off workouts will mean more fat loss this week
  • looney9708
    looney9708 Posts: 174 Member
    There have been studies of folks training for marathons who have trouble losing weight, but in this case, I suspect it is the nutrition advice or its implementation.

    Five weeks isn't that bad as far as plateaus go: really just time to start playing with the factors. Usually the first place to start is to verify that you aren't doing something unusual with your calorie intake. Did you decide you know how much is 4oz of meat and stop weighing? Did you start drinking something you thought was free of calories, but it might not be?

    Are you overfocused on a weight goal, rather than seeing the results from you wonderful workout? Does that "last ten pounds" put you into a healthy weight range or are you already there and trying to get lower in the range?

    Finally, if your goal is to be healthy, why would you give up workouts you enjoy for a number on the scale?

    I'm on a very specified plan and everything is weighted and measured and nothing extra. We will see how this week goes I guess
  • tulips_and_tea
    tulips_and_tea Posts: 5,754 Member
    I can't see how that would actually cause fat GAIN. Sometimes taking a break from intense workouts is good just for your body to recover but I don't know what they mean by what you are doing now would cause you to gain weight. Perhaps I misunderstood something.
  • looney9708
    looney9708 Posts: 174 Member
    I weigh on a body fat comp machine weekly and they swear too low intake and too much out your body saves fat. Makes no sense to me but they asked me to trust them. So here goes nothing
  • Jruzer
    Jruzer Posts: 3,501 Member
    looney9708 wrote: »
    I weigh on a body fat comp machine weekly and they swear too low intake and too much out your body saves fat. Makes no sense to me but they asked me to trust them. So here goes nothing

    If they are saying that explicitly then they are wrong. Also, the %BF measurements made on a scale or handheld device are notoriously inaccurate.

    Now, too low an intake can lead to reduced energy and reduced TDEE, and a low intake over a long period can lead to adaptive thermogenesis. But if they are making the old-fashioned "starvation mode" claim I would question their credentials.
  • usmcmp
    usmcmp Posts: 21,219 Member
    edited October 2015
    looney9708 wrote: »
    They believe that the calorie restriction I am on -roughly 1200 cals a day with low car high protein and moderate fat, and exercising at the intensity I'm working out on causes fat gain. It sounds so backward but am living it when it comes to weekly workouts and then my weigh in. So they want me briskly walking but not breaking into a full sweat. See if backing off workouts will mean more fat loss this week

    If you are eating 1200 calories (as in you weigh everything and log accurately) you are not gaining fat. Your exercise is not making you gain fat. Your nutritionist is full of crap and has no idea how the body works. If you pay them stop immediately because they are ripping you off. If anything they may have set your calories too low and that much exercise is causing you to burn through lean mass. That's their fault for not making sure you fuel your body appropriately.
  • oh_happy_day
    oh_happy_day Posts: 1,137 Member
    usmcmp wrote: »
    looney9708 wrote: »
    They believe that the calorie restriction I am on -roughly 1200 cals a day with low car high protein and moderate fat, and exercising at the intensity I'm working out on causes fat gain. It sounds so backward but am living it when it comes to weekly workouts and then my weigh in. So they want me briskly walking but not breaking into a full sweat. See if backing off workouts will mean more fat loss this week

    If you are eating 1200 calories (as in you weigh everything and log accurately) you are not gaining fat. Your exercise is not making you gain fat. Your nutritionist is full of crap and has no idea how the body works. If you pay them stop immediately because they are ripping you off. If anything they may have set your calories too low and that much exercise is causing you to burn through lean mass. That's their fault for not making sure you fuel your body appropriately.

    Agreed. Also BF measurements on those scales are really inaccurate. Maybe consider getting a DEXA scan.
  • brianpperkins
    brianpperkins Posts: 6,124 Member
    Nutritionist is a term with no standardized set of qualifications.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 49,092 Member
    usmcmp wrote: »
    looney9708 wrote: »
    They believe that the calorie restriction I am on -roughly 1200 cals a day with low car high protein and moderate fat, and exercising at the intensity I'm working out on causes fat gain. It sounds so backward but am living it when it comes to weekly workouts and then my weigh in. So they want me briskly walking but not breaking into a full sweat. See if backing off workouts will mean more fat loss this week

    If you are eating 1200 calories (as in you weigh everything and log accurately) you are not gaining fat. Your exercise is not making you gain fat. Your nutritionist is full of crap and has no idea how the body works. If you pay them stop immediately because they are ripping you off. If anything they may have set your calories too low and that much exercise is causing you to burn through lean mass. That's their fault for not making sure you fuel your body appropriately.
    This. Glycogen has to come from somewhere and if your nutrition isn't supporting it and you're on low carb, it's not uncommon to start catabolizing some lean muscle. It's easier for to that than lipolysis.


    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    9285851.png
  • looney9708
    looney9708 Posts: 174 Member
    ninerbuff wrote: »
    usmcmp wrote: »
    looney9708 wrote: »
    They believe that the calorie restriction I am on -roughly 1200 cals a day with low car high protein and moderate fat, and exercising at the intensity I'm working out on causes fat gain. It sounds so backward but am living it when it comes to weekly workouts and then my weigh in. So they want me briskly walking but not breaking into a full sweat. See if backing off workouts will mean more fat loss this week

    If you are eating 1200 calories (as in you weigh everything and log accurately) you are not gaining fat. Your exercise is not making you gain fat. Your nutritionist is full of crap and has no idea how the body works. If you pay them stop immediately because they are ripping you off. If anything they may have set your calories too low and that much exercise is causing you to burn through lean mass. That's their fault for not making sure you fuel your body appropriately.
    This. Glycogen has to come from somewhere and if your nutrition isn't supporting it and you're on low carb, it's not uncommon to start catabolizing some lean muscle. It's easier for to that than lipolysis.


    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    9285851.png
    Thank you. This makes sense now. I appreciate the factual information and not making me feel like an idiot like so many people. I obviously don't fully understand and am trying to get a grasp on proper nutrition and exercise. If I knew it then I wouldn't need them or mfp. So many times people are just rude. Thanks again. I will research more.
  • looney9708
    looney9708 Posts: 174 Member
    BZAH10 wrote: »
    I can't see how that would actually cause fat GAIN. Sometimes taking a break from intense workouts is good just for your body to recover but I don't know what they mean by what you are doing now would cause you to gain weight. Perhaps I misunderstood something.

    I should have said that differently. Keeps the fat and loses muscle. To me that is a fat gain but I realize that I worded it incorrectly
  • looney9708
    looney9708 Posts: 174 Member
    usmcmp wrote: »
    looney9708 wrote: »
    They believe that the calorie restriction I am on -roughly 1200 cals a day with low car high protein and moderate fat, and exercising at the intensity I'm working out on causes fat gain. It sounds so backward but am living it when it comes to weekly workouts and then my weigh in. So they want me briskly walking but not breaking into a full sweat. See if backing off workouts will mean more fat loss this week

    If you are eating 1200 calories (as in you weigh everything and log accurately) you are not gaining fat. Your exercise is not making you gain fat. Your nutritionist is full of crap and has no idea how the body works. If you pay them stop immediately because they are ripping you off. If anything they may have set your calories too low and that much exercise is causing you to burn through lean mass. That's their fault for not making sure you fuel your body appropriately.

    Agreed. Also BF measurements on those scales are really inaccurate. Maybe consider getting a DEXA scan.

    I do both inbody scan and water submersion for testing. Both always agree with each other so I assume the accuracy is pretty high. I'm not talking an everyday calibration scale
  • looney9708
    looney9708 Posts: 174 Member
    edited October 2015
    "Excess exercise can cause health problems, as well, especially if the diet is lacking in proper nutrition. Overtraining can signal the body to start burning muscle for fuel and store more fat, resulting in some weight gain." Found on a few medical/fitness sites. This is from livestrong.com. Quite interesting and will do more reading. Thanks for your help. We will see how this weeks test goes

    http://www.livestrong.com/article/456348-over-exercising-weight-gain/?utm_source=email&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=mobile-sharing
  • concordancia
    concordancia Posts: 5,320 Member
    At 1200, you are not eating enough to sustain your workout routine, that is for sure.

    Personally, I would adjust the diet and keep the workouts, albeit with a rest day.
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
    looney9708 wrote: »
    "Excess exercise can cause health problems, as well, especially if the diet is lacking in proper nutrition. Overtraining can signal the body to start burning muscle for fuel and store more fat, resulting in some weight gain." Found on a few medical/fitness sites. This is from livestrong.com. Quite interesting and will do more reading. Thanks for your help. We will see how this weeks test goes

    http://www.livestrong.com/article/456348-over-exercising-weight-gain/?utm_source=email&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=mobile-sharing

    Livestrong is not a reliable source. They will even often post contradictory articles on the same topic.
    You WILL NOT store more fat while eating at a deficit.
  • usmcmp
    usmcmp Posts: 21,219 Member
    looney9708 wrote: »
    ninerbuff wrote: »
    usmcmp wrote: »
    looney9708 wrote: »
    They believe that the calorie restriction I am on -roughly 1200 cals a day with low car high protein and moderate fat, and exercising at the intensity I'm working out on causes fat gain. It sounds so backward but am living it when it comes to weekly workouts and then my weigh in. So they want me briskly walking but not breaking into a full sweat. See if backing off workouts will mean more fat loss this week

    If you are eating 1200 calories (as in you weigh everything and log accurately) you are not gaining fat. Your exercise is not making you gain fat. Your nutritionist is full of crap and has no idea how the body works. If you pay them stop immediately because they are ripping you off. If anything they may have set your calories too low and that much exercise is causing you to burn through lean mass. That's their fault for not making sure you fuel your body appropriately.
    This. Glycogen has to come from somewhere and if your nutrition isn't supporting it and you're on low carb, it's not uncommon to start catabolizing some lean muscle. It's easier for to that than lipolysis.


    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    9285851.png
    Thank you. This makes sense now. I appreciate the factual information and not making me feel like an idiot like so many people. I obviously don't fully understand and am trying to get a grasp on proper nutrition and exercise. If I knew it then I wouldn't need them or mfp. So many times people are just rude. Thanks again. I will research more.

    My post wasn't intended to be rude. The blame is squarely on your nutritionist's shoulders. You're smart enough to seek help here. If you would like help setting up goals that are more appropriate as you move on without the nutritionist I would be glad to help you for free if you send a private message. I won't try to sell you anything, I just really want to help people get on the right track.
  • looney9708
    looney9708 Posts: 174 Member
    usmcmp wrote: »
    looney9708 wrote: »
    ninerbuff wrote: »
    usmcmp wrote: »
    looney9708 wrote: »
    They believe that the calorie restriction I am on -roughly 1200 cals a day with low car high protein and moderate fat, and exercising at the intensity I'm working out on causes fat gain. It sounds so backward but am living it when it comes to weekly workouts and then my weigh in. So they want me briskly walking but not breaking into a full sweat. See if backing off workouts will mean more fat loss this week

    If you are eating 1200 calories (as in you weigh everything and log accurately) you are not gaining fat. Your exercise is not making you gain fat. Your nutritionist is full of crap and has no idea how the body works. If you pay them stop immediately because they are ripping you off. If anything they may have set your calories too low and that much exercise is causing you to burn through lean mass. That's their fault for not making sure you fuel your body appropriately.
    This. Glycogen has to come from somewhere and if your nutrition isn't supporting it and you're on low carb, it's not uncommon to start catabolizing some lean muscle. It's easier for to that than lipolysis.


    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    9285851.png
    Thank you. This makes sense now. I appreciate the factual information and not making me feel like an idiot like so many people. I obviously don't fully understand and am trying to get a grasp on proper nutrition and exercise. If I knew it then I wouldn't need them or mfp. So many times people are just rude. Thanks again. I will research more.

    My post wasn't intended to be rude. The blame is squarely on your nutritionist's shoulders. You're smart enough to seek help here. If you would like help setting up goals that are more appropriate as you move on without the nutritionist I would be glad to help you for free if you send a private message. I won't try to sell you anything, I just really want to help people get on the right track.

    Your post wasn't rude. Obviously I can't type today. I was referring to others who, in the past, come up with rude responses. Yours was very informative. I may pm you if this week doesn't work
  • MissJay75
    MissJay75 Posts: 768 Member
    edited October 2015
    I wouldn't trust anything that happens this week following 'their' plan. Anything you lose will be water weight. Period.
  • ARC1603
    ARC1603 Posts: 113 Member
    Based on how much you're eating and exercising I'd really recommend looking at a group on here called Eat more to weigh less. Makes a lot of sense
  • looney9708
    looney9708 Posts: 174 Member
    ARC1603 wrote: »
    Based on how much you're eating and exercising I'd really recommend looking at a group on here called Eat more to weigh less. Makes a lot of sense

    Thanks!
  • bearondiet
    bearondiet Posts: 53 Member
    I used to keep up workouts with my diet. I couldn't keep them up anymore; it was getting too hard. So, I quit my exercises & focused with my meal plans. It worked. I weigh less now. I plan to get back to exercises after I finish losing my fat. But I eat less than most of you.
  • abacus93jp
    abacus93jp Posts: 55 Member
    Muscle weighs more than fat. Maybe she is trying to get you to loose some muscle so you can loose the lbs. I, personally wouldn't worry about the lbs and more about my size. Muscle makes you leaner than fat!
  • Isabelle_1929
    Isabelle_1929 Posts: 233 Member
    looney9708 wrote: »
    I've been doing a specified program with a nutritionist and lost the first 19 lbs. but I've been stalled the last few weeks-about 5 at this point. I've always done crossfit and hiit and love my workouts. It had been working to do my exercise while doing a low carb calorie restricted diet and still losing fat. But since I've been stalled she suggests hanging low on the high Intestity workouts and see if we can't get my body to respond. Im terrified the opposite will happen. Does laying low on workouts make sense to anyone else? Help me mentally get through this so I can get the last 10 lbs off!

    I hope this is just a way of speaking.
  • titianwasp
    titianwasp Posts: 139 Member
    Honestly, I reduce exercise when I am first starting, just because it makes me hungry! ☺️ But once I am well into my program and have my head in the game, I add it back in.
  • looney9708
    looney9708 Posts: 174 Member
    looney9708 wrote: »
    I've been doing a specified program with a nutritionist and lost the first 19 lbs. but I've been stalled the last few weeks-about 5 at this point. I've always done crossfit and hiit and love my workouts. It had been working to do my exercise while doing a low carb calorie restricted diet and still losing fat. But since I've been stalled she suggests hanging low on the high Intestity workouts and see if we can't get my body to respond. Im terrified the opposite will happen. Does laying low on workouts make sense to anyone else? Help me mentally get through this so I can get the last 10 lbs off!

    I hope this is just a way of speaking.

    No, I'm terrified without exercise I'll gain. Isn't it cico? But so far I have to say it seems my plateau is finally broken and I'm down about 4 lbs. the whoosh effect since taking a step back from hitting the gym so hard.

This discussion has been closed.