1000 calories below maintenance, stopped dropping weight

3dogsrunning

AnthonyAMartin77 wrote: »

3dogsrunning wrote: »

AnthonyAMartin77 wrote: »

StaciMarie1974 wrote: »

You will not lose weight every week. Water weight has an impact on the scale readout. Water weight is temporary but can be caused by sodium/stress/muscle repair and a host of other things. Trust the science behind CICO but also understand our bodies are not terribly efficient. SOmetimes the work you do today won't show immediate results. But if you consistently eat at a deficit, you will lose weight over time.

Thanks for the encouragement!

I know about the water weight issue. Every week I see a 3-4 lbs swing due to that. Sunday is usually my high day, then the weight starts to drop until Saturday morning when it usually hits a low point.

One thing I should note is that I changed my workout style around the time I started dieting. Instead of the typical bodybuilding style workout where one puts in 15-20 or more sets per muscle group, I'm now doing big, heavy compound movements (4-5 working sets per movement) for an intense full body workout. I alternate between upper body, and lower body for each workout. Due to the intensity, I'm completely spent after 4 exercises in about an hour.

Sounds to me like I just need to be more patient.

If you have just switched up you routine I would say that is the issue. Water weight associated with an increase in glycogen stores.

From what I remember, glycogen storage is largely due to the amount of carbs consumed, and is burned off fairly quickly because it is readily accessible by the cells. I've consistently kept my carb intake between 100-150 grams (except on my cheat day - Saturday). This is why I expect to see a small weight increase on Sundays.

Even though I have a cheat day, I still keep my calorie intake around maintenance, and I don't go crazy with the cheat foods. For example, if I go out for a burger, I'll skip the fries and soda. Carbs tend to be higher, around 200-250, but still acceptable.

It is not only that. Glycogen fuels activity. When you increase your activity, your body ups glycogen stores in anticipation of exercise. That is why people often see a stall on the scale when they start exercise (you'll see a common theme around here where people say the gain weight when they start to exercise). You also see the reverse when you take some time off exercising. You may drop weight initially even though you are less active.

This can apply to new activity or increasing more than your regular routine.

AnthonyAMartin77

3dogsrunning wrote: »

AnthonyAMartin77 wrote: »

3dogsrunning wrote: »

AnthonyAMartin77 wrote: »

StaciMarie1974 wrote: »

You will not lose weight every week. Water weight has an impact on the scale readout. Water weight is temporary but can be caused by sodium/stress/muscle repair and a host of other things. Trust the science behind CICO but also understand our bodies are not terribly efficient. SOmetimes the work you do today won't show immediate results. But if you consistently eat at a deficit, you will lose weight over time.

Thanks for the encouragement!

I know about the water weight issue. Every week I see a 3-4 lbs swing due to that. Sunday is usually my high day, then the weight starts to drop until Saturday morning when it usually hits a low point.

One thing I should note is that I changed my workout style around the time I started dieting. Instead of the typical bodybuilding style workout where one puts in 15-20 or more sets per muscle group, I'm now doing big, heavy compound movements (4-5 working sets per movement) for an intense full body workout. I alternate between upper body, and lower body for each workout. Due to the intensity, I'm completely spent after 4 exercises in about an hour.

Sounds to me like I just need to be more patient.

If you have just switched up you routine I would say that is the issue. Water weight associated with an increase in glycogen stores.

From what I remember, glycogen storage is largely due to the amount of carbs consumed, and is burned off fairly quickly because it is readily accessible by the cells. I've consistently kept my carb intake between 100-150 grams (except on my cheat day - Saturday). This is why I expect to see a small weight increase on Sundays.

Even though I have a cheat day, I still keep my calorie intake around maintenance, and I don't go crazy with the cheat foods. For example, if I go out for a burger, I'll skip the fries and soda. Carbs tend to be higher, around 200-250, but still acceptable.

It is not only that. Glycogen fuels activity. When you increase your activity, your body ups glycogen stores in anticipation of exercise. That is why people often see a stall on the scale when they start exercise (you'll see a common theme around here where people say the gain weight when they start to exercise). You also see the reverse when you take some time off exercising. You may drop weight initially even though you are less active.

This can apply to new activity or increasing more than your regular routine.

Thanks for the clarification! Now that I think about it, I've experienced this effect in the past, I just never attributed it to glycogen stores.

Is it possible that I'm putting on more muscle despite the calorie deficit? I realize it probably won't account for a significant amount of weight, but maybe that's part of my issue.

AnthonyAMartin77

Quick update. It looks like the weightloss has started again. It took almost 3 weeks before I saw any noticeable change on the scale, but things finally seem to be heading in the right direction.

My diet and exercise has remained the same, but this week I added 20 minutes of cardio during lunch which includes jumping rope (as best as I can), burpees, and mountain climbers. So far this week, I'm down about 1/2 lb, but based on past experience, I expect the actual to be closer to 2 lbs by Saturday.

Things are finally looking up again!