Excercise and weight loss

whatshequilts

I'm a little frustrated this morning.

Since I have started this Process in early January, the weight has been creeping down (not frustrated with that!)

In the last 3 years I managed to break both my ankles and tear various ligaments and rupture both achilies tendons which has added some weight so finally in January I was boot free, rehabbed up and ready to get moving again

I'm excercising 2x a day. One hour in the gym doing various cardio and then once in the pool doing water work.

I had some great weight loss for the last 2 weeks and then for the last 4 days my scale has been creeping up about 3lbs

The only thing that has changed was last week I had to take most of the week off to nurse one of my sore ankles so only did the calorie part not the gym part

I eat at 1200-1300 calories a day, I'm pretty consistent there.

So how important are rest days? I usually don't take any because I have RA and if I take a day off I stiffen up like a robot. And the excercise makes my joints feel nice and lubed up

But by taking a few days off I was able to drop some weight that was stubbornly staying.

Also I Never eat my calories back ever, well not ever, I do if we go out to eat it's nice to have a cushion.

So how important is it to have a couple of rest days during the week?

macgurlnet

How important rest days are is really dependent on what you're doing and how you feel.

If you've been really inactive, the increase in movement could very well be causing some water retention. This will eventually stabilize.

You don't have to just sit around on a rest day. Most people are still active - they're just not going hard at the gym/going out for a run. I generally go for a walk every day, no matter what other exercise I do. I like to do yoga most days, too.

If you want to be active every single day, that's fine. But I think planning two easier days might be a good idea. Walk on the treadmill or go a little easier on the elliptical or whatever it is you're doing for cardio. Do slower laps in the pool.

And keep an eye on your energy levels - 1200 calories and exercising and not eating those back could mean you're underfueling. I would recommend you log your exercise here and eat back some of those calories on a regular basis, just to ensure you're fueling your body.



~Lyssa

AnnPT77

In my opinion, it's not vital to take rest days from light-to-moderate, varied exercise. For people new to exercise, or who do the same exercise every time, or who exercise at very high intensity, it can be more important, just to let their body physically recover. (People who exercise at very high intensity and take rest days often do things on their "rest day" that would be exercise to the rest of us, like go for a long moderate-pace walk, or a casual bike ride.)

I'm having a little trouble figuring out what you're saying though. Here's the root of it: You say "for the last 4 days my scale has been creeping up about 3lbs" but you also say "last week I had to take most of the week off to nurse one of my sore ankles so only did the calorie part not the gym part".

One of those sounds like you took some rest days then the scale crept up; the other sounds like the opposite. So I'm misunderstanding something.

Personally, if I were you, and had difficulty when I did not do exercise (stiffen up like a robot), then I would be inclined to do some amount of exercise every day, as long as I didn't feel fatigued, but maybe vary the nature of the exercise a bit.

My own self, with my routine, I do some exercise most days, but different things on different days. I randomly take a rest day if other parts of life become busy, or do so intentionally if I feel especially fatigued or sometimes if I'm feeling like I'm coming down with something and want extra rest.

I don't think rest days will have a dramatic effect on your weight loss (other than the loss of the calories burned via the exercise primarily), but you may see some differences on the scale mainly from differences in water weight retained if you exercise vs. don't exercise.

whatshequilts

AnnPT77 wrote: »

I'm having a little trouble figuring out what you're saying though. Here's the root of it: You say "for the last 4 days my scale has been creeping up about 3lbs" but you also say "last week I had to take most of the week off to nurse one of my sore ankles so only did the calorie part not the gym part".

One of those sounds like you took some rest days then the scale crept up; the other sounds like the opposite. So I'm misunderstanding something.

.

It's Tuesday for me, I live in Singapore. so last week Monday through Sat I had loss 3+ which is to much and probably a fluke. I hurt my ankle Tuesday so sat with ice wend, Thursday Friday (where I had the large drop (4 lbs) saterday and Sunday I did 6 mile walks gained a pound, yesterday Worked with a trainer HIIT and by this morning there were 2 more lbs

Possibly body flux I guess. Just questioning as those three days were the only 3 days where I didn't have to work my behind off for a 1/4 of a pound:)

AnnPT77

Yeah, I'd say stick to your routine for another few days to a week or two, and see how things balance out. If your workouts Sunday/Monday/Tuesday were vigorous enough to require some muscle repair, that can cause your body to hold on to a bit more water to use in the repair process, and mask any actual fat loss that should still be taking place. Weight loss is never linear, and some people's is very much a plateau-y up and down for a while, followed by a bigger loss. As long as you're eating/exercising to maintain a deficit, patience & consistency is a good strategy.