Gained a pound in a month... while eating below TDEE?
Replies
-
You’re cutting too drastically to be building any kind of significant muscle9
-
stargirlhorse wrote: »stargirlhorse wrote: »Hmm, yeah. It might be stress since I'm preparing to go away to college soon.
I don't have a weight trending app because I hate stepping on the scale, I'm always afraid I'm going to gain another pound. I assume it was water since yesterday I was back to 121. But on the downside, I haven't lost any weight in a month.
I have also ruled out that it's muscle. My body looks the same from the side (~very~ scientific, I know) but also, my waist hasn't shrunk. However, I've been doing ab exercises- at least 30 crunches, a 1-minute plank, and 20 leg lifts each day. I've expanded into doing that AND MadFit's senorita ab work out (so basically a 3 min ab workout). My thighs are still jiggly as hell and my arms look like bat wings when I put them straight out. I've also been doing 5 knee push-ups because that's all I can do (and get up from).
I know it may sound a bit ironic, but the weight-trending app can actually make you feel better about stepping on the scale because it shows you how normal those fluctuations are. As others have mentioned, the one-pound-freakout is a bit concerning.
While you can’t spot reduce, ab exercises can help build muscle over time, which losing fat can help reveal. But your body may not lose fat around your mid-section initially. And I don’t think that’s enough intense exercise to build muscle or burn fat just yet. And any exercise is better than none. Keep at it, and you’ll build on your current strength and stamina.
But I’ve been doing these ab exercises since at least March, I want to say even since February (and I think I remember doing them late February on vacation, but only 25 crunches and 15 leg lifts). I haven’t seen any results. My stomach is just as giant as it was the day before or even the month before. I know because I’m Asian, I tend to get belly fat. It sucks but it’s just my stupid genetics.
BUT I have never seen an Asian with as much belly fat as I do. I’ve never seen an Asian with a protruding stomach like mine. I look like a pregnant teenager and that is NOT a look I want for college because everyone will think I’m a hoe. I REFUSE to attend college looking like this and will invest in waist trainers if I have to. Why won’t this belly fat go away? There’s no logical reason why it should still be here! Models like Ming Xi are also Asian and prove that nearly-flat stomachs are possible (yes I’m aware that females have uteruses. I took health). But why won’t mine look like hers? Or literally any of the ladies when you google “asian woman body from side” ?? And why do I have two chins?!
Any chance part of it is anterior pelvic tilt and/or upper body slouch/chin-forward? Those are a very common issue these days, and both emphasize the abdomen - make it look bigger.6 -
stargirlhorse wrote: »stargirlhorse wrote: »Hmm, yeah. It might be stress since I'm preparing to go away to college soon.
I don't have a weight trending app because I hate stepping on the scale, I'm always afraid I'm going to gain another pound. I assume it was water since yesterday I was back to 121. But on the downside, I haven't lost any weight in a month.
I have also ruled out that it's muscle. My body looks the same from the side (~very~ scientific, I know) but also, my waist hasn't shrunk. However, I've been doing ab exercises- at least 30 crunches, a 1-minute plank, and 20 leg lifts each day. I've expanded into doing that AND MadFit's senorita ab work out (so basically a 3 min ab workout). My thighs are still jiggly as hell and my arms look like bat wings when I put them straight out. I've also been doing 5 knee push-ups because that's all I can do (and get up from).
I know it may sound a bit ironic, but the weight-trending app can actually make you feel better about stepping on the scale because it shows you how normal those fluctuations are. As others have mentioned, the one-pound-freakout is a bit concerning.
While you can’t spot reduce, ab exercises can help build muscle over time, which losing fat can help reveal. But your body may not lose fat around your mid-section initially. And I don’t think that’s enough intense exercise to build muscle or burn fat just yet. And any exercise is better than none. Keep at it, and you’ll build on your current strength and stamina.
But I’ve been doing these ab exercises since at least March, I want to say even since February (and I think I remember doing them late February on vacation, but only 25 crunches and 15 leg lifts). I haven’t seen any results. My stomach is just as giant as it was the day before or even the month before. I know because I’m Asian, I tend to get belly fat. It sucks but it’s just my stupid genetics.
BUT I have never seen an Asian with as much belly fat as I do. I’ve never seen an Asian with a protruding stomach like mine. I look like a pregnant teenager and that is NOT a look I want for college because everyone will think I’m a hoe. I REFUSE to attend college looking like this and will invest in waist trainers if I have to. Why won’t this belly fat go away? There’s no logical reason why it should still be here! Models like Ming Xi are also Asian and prove that nearly-flat stomachs are possible (yes I’m aware that females have uteruses. I took health). But why won’t mine look like hers? Or literally any of the ladies when you google “asian woman body from side” ?? And why do I have two chins?!
It's great that you do ab workouts. However, what ab workouts do is increase strength and eventually muscle. They do NOT do anything to the fat on top of the muscles.
Unless you have seen Ming Xi's bare stomach in person, there's a good chance you have never seen what her waist actually looks like. Photoshop is a thing and way too common. Videos an be edited, too. Same with the pictures you got from the google search you mentioned (which I'm not going to try myself, because frankly it sounds like results could be too fetish-y for my breakfast).
As a recent college student, I strongly recommend you spend the summer working on your self-confidence instead of your waist. I spent 6 years in college (non-US, so different system) and literally the only person to ever comment or stare at my waist was an elderly man at a charity event we threw. Like I mentioned in one of your other threads about the same subject, in all my photos from college the "good ones" are where I'm happy and confident, and the "bad ones" are the ones where I'm self-conscious about my body. Same obese weight in all of them.10 -
Is it time for the tough love yet cuz boyyyyyyy do I have something to say.18
-
Please take a breath, you are comparing yourself to images that aren't real.
People will not assume your pregnant.
The girls in the pictures on the internet did not wake up like that. There is very flattering posing, lighting, photo-shopping going on.
It's also self selecting, only those who are very confident in their appearance are there. All the other people who look and feel like you are not having their picture shown everywhere.
You can only compare you to you, progress will happen slowly.
My suggestion for what it's worth is that you start doing Yoga, pilates, something of that nature.
It's easy to do at home so doesn't need to cost anything.
From what you've said I think part of it could be poor posture. Most of us sit down and slouch to much, and it makes an enormous difference when we stand up straight.
That kind of exercise done regularly helps to line everything back up, makes you stronger - including your core.
That can often help someone to carry themselves better, which in turn helps us to look better.
10 -
This thread and the self-image distortion started bothering me. So, I went and took some photos. Neither photo is photoshopped in any way. Both are taken within 5 minutes of each other in the same location, in the same lightning, of the same person without any eating/drinkin/bathroom activity between them. No waist trainers, corsets, spanx or anything like that either.
The first picture (grey shirt) is with me slouching with bad posture, pushing my stomach out. I purposefully put on my belt too tight and a bit-too-tight shirt to accentuate the effect. The second picture (blue top) is with good posture, stomach sucked in, more flattering pose. I chose pants that don’t create a muffin-top effect and a more flattering top.
I’m literally obese (BMI 32.4) with unhealthy amounts of fat in my abdomen, and I can create a full baby bump OR a flat stomach for pictures without digital editing or any other tricks than changing my pose and clothes. Think about what lighting, proper underwear, professional editing and differences in bloat could do.
ETA: today is actually a fairly non-bloated day and I haven’t had lunch yet, usually I could do a much heavier fake bump...18 -
stargirlhorse wrote: »stargirlhorse wrote: »Hmm, yeah. It might be stress since I'm preparing to go away to college soon.
I don't have a weight trending app because I hate stepping on the scale, I'm always afraid I'm going to gain another pound. I assume it was water since yesterday I was back to 121. But on the downside, I haven't lost any weight in a month.
I have also ruled out that it's muscle. My body looks the same from the side (~very~ scientific, I know) but also, my waist hasn't shrunk. However, I've been doing ab exercises- at least 30 crunches, a 1-minute plank, and 20 leg lifts each day. I've expanded into doing that AND MadFit's senorita ab work out (so basically a 3 min ab workout). My thighs are still jiggly as hell and my arms look like bat wings when I put them straight out. I've also been doing 5 knee push-ups because that's all I can do (and get up from).
I know it may sound a bit ironic, but the weight-trending app can actually make you feel better about stepping on the scale because it shows you how normal those fluctuations are. As others have mentioned, the one-pound-freakout is a bit concerning.
While you can’t spot reduce, ab exercises can help build muscle over time, which losing fat can help reveal. But your body may not lose fat around your mid-section initially. And I don’t think that’s enough intense exercise to build muscle or burn fat just yet. And any exercise is better than none. Keep at it, and you’ll build on your current strength and stamina.
But I’ve been doing these ab exercises since at least March, I want to say even since February (and I think I remember doing them late February on vacation, but only 25 crunches and 15 leg lifts). I haven’t seen any results. My stomach is just as giant as it was the day before or even the month before. I know because I’m Asian, I tend to get belly fat. It sucks but it’s just my stupid genetics.
BUT I have never seen an Asian with as much belly fat as I do. I’ve never seen an Asian with a protruding stomach like mine. I look like a pregnant teenager and that is NOT a look I want for college because everyone will think I’m a hoe. I REFUSE to attend college looking like this and will invest in waist trainers if I have to. Why won’t this belly fat go away? There’s no logical reason why it should still be here! Models like Ming Xi are also Asian and prove that nearly-flat stomachs are possible (yes I’m aware that females have uteruses. I took health). But why won’t mine look like hers? Or literally any of the ladies when you google “asian woman body from side” ?? And why do I have two chins?!
I just wanted to say, if you really do have an unusual amount of belly fat compared to the rest of your body (not just the OP but anyone reading who feels similarly) have a doctor check you out, and ask specifically about Cushing’s syndrome. One other frequent sign is a lot of bright red stretch marks on the bottom of your belly. It’s caused by hormones going wild, and mine was caused by an ovarian tumor. My “looks pregnant” belly was NOT just normal obesity but an actual medical condition which was resolved by the tumor being removed.
OP, I don’t think you probably have this, just wanted to mention the possibility both for you and for others. Sometimes when you hear the sound of hooves, it really is a zebra, not a horse.
Also: may I suggest doing push-ups from an elevated surface rather than knee pushups? Knee pushups don’t really allow the same muscles to be targeted. Start with a wall, then a counter, then the seat of a chair. I also found that an ab roller is great for both strengthening those pushups muscles and the abs. You can get a cheap one for less than 10 dollars, or use a dumbbell or barbell.
6 -
stargirlhorse wrote: »stargirlhorse wrote: »Hmm, yeah. It might be stress since I'm preparing to go away to college soon.
I don't have a weight trending app because I hate stepping on the scale, I'm always afraid I'm going to gain another pound. I assume it was water since yesterday I was back to 121. But on the downside, I haven't lost any weight in a month.
I have also ruled out that it's muscle. My body looks the same from the side (~very~ scientific, I know) but also, my waist hasn't shrunk. However, I've been doing ab exercises- at least 30 crunches, a 1-minute plank, and 20 leg lifts each day. I've expanded into doing that AND MadFit's senorita ab work out (so basically a 3 min ab workout). My thighs are still jiggly as hell and my arms look like bat wings when I put them straight out. I've also been doing 5 knee push-ups because that's all I can do (and get up from).
I know it may sound a bit ironic, but the weight-trending app can actually make you feel better about stepping on the scale because it shows you how normal those fluctuations are. As others have mentioned, the one-pound-freakout is a bit concerning.
While you can’t spot reduce, ab exercises can help build muscle over time, which losing fat can help reveal. But your body may not lose fat around your mid-section initially. And I don’t think that’s enough intense exercise to build muscle or burn fat just yet. And any exercise is better than none. Keep at it, and you’ll build on your current strength and stamina.
But I’ve been doing these ab exercises since at least March, I want to say even since February (and I think I remember doing them late February on vacation, but only 25 crunches and 15 leg lifts). I haven’t seen any results. My stomach is just as giant as it was the day before or even the month before. I know because I’m Asian, I tend to get belly fat. It sucks but it’s just my stupid genetics.
BUT I have never seen an Asian with as much belly fat as I do. I’ve never seen an Asian with a protruding stomach like mine. I look like a pregnant teenager and that is NOT a look I want for college because everyone will think I’m a hoe. I REFUSE to attend college looking like this and will invest in waist trainers if I have to. Why won’t this belly fat go away? There’s no logical reason why it should still be here! Models like Ming Xi are also Asian and prove that nearly-flat stomachs are possible (yes I’m aware that females have uteruses. I took health). But why won’t mine look like hers? Or literally any of the ladies when you google “asian woman body from side” ?? And why do I have two chins?!
Ming Xi is 5’10”, for starters, and spends literally all day every day working hard to look like that. It’s a full time job, she has people designing her meals and her workouts, and even at that, fewer than one in a million women look the way she does. There are billions of women in the world and only a handful of Victoria’s Secret models. And after all that hard work, many many people on earth would still say she’s not to their taste, because humans have different taste.
Even if you were literally pregnant few people would care enough to judge you. College is not high school. High school is a tiny little Petri dish where toxic people are forced together and no one can avoid judgement. In college no one cares what you look like unless you go out of your way to interact with them. You will be amazed at how freeing it is to be able to pick and choose where to go, what classes to take, and who to be friends with.
And, by the way, it’s kinda rude and judgy to call other women hoes, even if you are putting those words in someone else’s mouth. Work on that!14 -
rheddmobile wrote: »stargirlhorse wrote: »stargirlhorse wrote: »Hmm, yeah. It might be stress since I'm preparing to go away to college soon.
I don't have a weight trending app because I hate stepping on the scale, I'm always afraid I'm going to gain another pound. I assume it was water since yesterday I was back to 121. But on the downside, I haven't lost any weight in a month.
I have also ruled out that it's muscle. My body looks the same from the side (~very~ scientific, I know) but also, my waist hasn't shrunk. However, I've been doing ab exercises- at least 30 crunches, a 1-minute plank, and 20 leg lifts each day. I've expanded into doing that AND MadFit's senorita ab work out (so basically a 3 min ab workout). My thighs are still jiggly as hell and my arms look like bat wings when I put them straight out. I've also been doing 5 knee push-ups because that's all I can do (and get up from).
I know it may sound a bit ironic, but the weight-trending app can actually make you feel better about stepping on the scale because it shows you how normal those fluctuations are. As others have mentioned, the one-pound-freakout is a bit concerning.
While you can’t spot reduce, ab exercises can help build muscle over time, which losing fat can help reveal. But your body may not lose fat around your mid-section initially. And I don’t think that’s enough intense exercise to build muscle or burn fat just yet. And any exercise is better than none. Keep at it, and you’ll build on your current strength and stamina.
But I’ve been doing these ab exercises since at least March, I want to say even since February (and I think I remember doing them late February on vacation, but only 25 crunches and 15 leg lifts). I haven’t seen any results. My stomach is just as giant as it was the day before or even the month before. I know because I’m Asian, I tend to get belly fat. It sucks but it’s just my stupid genetics.
BUT I have never seen an Asian with as much belly fat as I do. I’ve never seen an Asian with a protruding stomach like mine. I look like a pregnant teenager and that is NOT a look I want for college because everyone will think I’m a hoe. I REFUSE to attend college looking like this and will invest in waist trainers if I have to. Why won’t this belly fat go away? There’s no logical reason why it should still be here! Models like Ming Xi are also Asian and prove that nearly-flat stomachs are possible (yes I’m aware that females have uteruses. I took health). But why won’t mine look like hers? Or literally any of the ladies when you google “asian woman body from side” ?? And why do I have two chins?!
Ming Xi is 5’10”, for starters, and spends literally all day every day working hard to look like that. It’s a full time job, she has people designing her meals and her workouts, and even at that, fewer than one in a million women look the way she does. There are billions of women in the world and only a handful of Victoria’s Secret models. And after all that hard work, many many people on earth would still say she’s not to their taste, because humans have different taste.
Even if you were literally pregnant few people would care enough to judge you. College is not high school. High school is a tiny little Petri dish where toxic people are forced together and no one can avoid judgement. In college no one cares what you look like unless you go out of your way to interact with them. You will be amazed at how freeing it is to be able to pick and choose where to go, what classes to take, and who to be friends with.
And, by the way, it’s kinda rude and judgy to call other women hoes, even if you are putting those words in someone else’s mouth. Work on that!
Exactly. Different people have different goals, and it is none of our business to judge them. Having a baby is perfectly normal, and having one (even without marriage or a steady relationship) does not a hoe make. Even if it did, there's nothing wrong with "being a hoe". I could go on about how damaging and messed up the whole concept of hoes or sluts being a bad thing and using those words to judge or degrade people is, but I'll try to not digress.
It sounds like you have internalized some messed up views of what women *should* be and look like, and struggle with not being able to meet those unrealistic goals.
I'm going to be honest here, OP. The things you write here make me think the problem is in your self-esteem, self-hate and how you view the world, not in your belly fat. Have you talked with an adult about how you feel? I know you're going to college so you're probably over 18, but I mean someone several years older than you, like a parent, teacher, guidance counselor, doctor, aunt, older cousin, neighbor, a friend's parent, someone else in your life you could trust?
Refusal to go to college because you're afraid of your looks and others judging you is pretty serious stuff.9 -
No one is going to assume your pregnant at 120lbs 5’6...
70 percent of people are overweight or obese. Most people will think you are extremely thin.7 -
stargirlhorse wrote: »stargirlhorse wrote: »Hmm, yeah. It might be stress since I'm preparing to go away to college soon.
I don't have a weight trending app because I hate stepping on the scale, I'm always afraid I'm going to gain another pound. I assume it was water since yesterday I was back to 121. But on the downside, I haven't lost any weight in a month.
I have also ruled out that it's muscle. My body looks the same from the side (~very~ scientific, I know) but also, my waist hasn't shrunk. However, I've been doing ab exercises- at least 30 crunches, a 1-minute plank, and 20 leg lifts each day. I've expanded into doing that AND MadFit's senorita ab work out (so basically a 3 min ab workout). My thighs are still jiggly as hell and my arms look like bat wings when I put them straight out. I've also been doing 5 knee push-ups because that's all I can do (and get up from).
I know it may sound a bit ironic, but the weight-trending app can actually make you feel better about stepping on the scale because it shows you how normal those fluctuations are. As others have mentioned, the one-pound-freakout is a bit concerning.
While you can’t spot reduce, ab exercises can help build muscle over time, which losing fat can help reveal. But your body may not lose fat around your mid-section initially. And I don’t think that’s enough intense exercise to build muscle or burn fat just yet. And any exercise is better than none. Keep at it, and you’ll build on your current strength and stamina.
I look like a pregnant teenager and that is NOT a look I want for college because everyone will think I’m a hoe.
The world is full of women (and non-women) with bellies that protrude to various degrees. I promise you that anybody who thinks someone with a visible belly is a "hoe" is both an exception and extremely not worth your time.
You can't live your life trying to avoid random losers thinking baseless negative things about you. Put that energy into accomplishing stuff that is meaningful to you (which can include fitness goals).
7 -
I feel like you are dealing with issues that have very little to do with your actual body but rather your self-perception. Perhaps focusing on your mental health right now during this transition is more important than worrying about your physical appearance which seems to be quite skewed at the moment. Just be well and know that people really don’t really look at you the way you look at you and your self-perception is very rarely the perception other people have of you.10
-
stargirlhorse wrote: »janejellyroll wrote: »(cut)
You're very close to your goal so it's going to require patience and consistency. There are probably going to be times when the scale goes up and you can't get thrown by that.
How much going up is normal?
andmeharmahshahid wrote: »Same girl, Im also 18,5'5, Asian (Pakistan) and my goal is 120, and right now I'm at 138lb. It honestly kills me when the weight goes up even by half a pound. A veryyyyy small side of me knows it is probably because of too much salt the day before or water retention, but it still KILLS me, no joke. I know i have a very toxic mindset but the mind does what it does. How did you achieve your goal?
Welcome to the club haha. Do you happen to know how much water our bodies retain?
I retain a few pounds when I ovulate and premenstrually, and after having Chinese-American food.2 -
stargirlhorse wrote: »Hmm, yeah. It might be stress since I'm preparing to go away to college soon.
I don't have a weight trending app because I hate stepping on the scale, I'm always afraid I'm going to gain another pound. I assume it was water since yesterday I was back to 121. But on the downside, I haven't lost any weight in a month.
I have also ruled out that it's muscle. My body looks the same from the side (~very~ scientific, I know) but also, my waist hasn't shrunk. However, I've been doing ab exercises- at least 30 crunches, a 1-minute plank, and 20 leg lifts each day. I've expanded into doing that AND MadFit's senorita ab work out (so basically a 3 min ab workout). My thighs are still jiggly as hell and my arms look like bat wings when I put them straight out. I've also been doing 5 knee push-ups because that's all I can do (and get up from).
I know it may sound a bit ironic, but the weight-trending app can actually make you feel better about stepping on the scale because it shows you how normal those fluctuations are. As others have mentioned, the one-pound-freakout is a bit concerning.
While you can’t spot reduce, ab exercises can help build muscle over time, which losing fat can help reveal. But your body may not lose fat around your mid-section initially. And I don’t think that’s enough intense exercise to build muscle or burn fat just yet. And any exercise is better than none. Keep at it, and you’ll build on your current strength and stamina.
Yes, I use the Happy Scale app and don't obsess about the actual number - I just concern myself with if my chart is green (losing), blue (maintaining), or red (gaining.)6 -
I agree with the previous posters, I think you have two problems, neither if which are actually your body, as compared to a large percentage of the population, you are quite thin.
It sounds like the biggest issue is your self esteem and I encourage you to work on that. I also urge you to try to think about the way you view others differently and be less judgemental: people at college who are pregnant are not "hoes", any (Asian) person larger than you is not automatically fat or somehow unattractive (and I'm sorry, I don't believe that you've "never" seen anyone of your background whose bigger than you or has a belly). Try to be more open minded, it will stand you in better stead in the real world.8 -
I just had a look at the video the TO posted. The girl who complains about her tummy has quite a lot of pelvic tilt, which makes her tummy stick out. If she were to stand upright, as other people have already mentioned (will likely require stretching and strengthening the appropriate muscles) she'd look completely different. She's totally sticking out her belly, accidentally or to score cheap video likes.3
-
Redordeadhead wrote: »I agree with the previous posters, I think you have two problems, neither if which are actually your body, as compared to a large percentage of the population, you are quite thin.
It sounds like the biggest issue is your self esteem and I encourage you to work on that. I also urge you to try to think about the way you view others differently and be less judgemental: people at college who are pregnant are not "hoes", any (Asian) person larger than you is not automatically fat or somehow unattractive (and I'm sorry, I don't believe that you've "never" seen anyone of your background whose bigger than you or has a belly). Try to be more open minded, it will stand you in better stead in the real world.
The thing that makes me sad for OP here is that you can never ever ever be thin enough to keep *anyone* from thinking negative things about your body. Look at the internet, even the most beautiful and amazingly fit women will have *someone* critiquing their body. You just can't construct a reality where nobody will ever have those kind of negative thoughts about you. The thing is: that is their problem!
(This doesn't mean we can't decide on fitness goals for ourselves that are worthwhile, I'm just saying that having goals with the aim of controlling how others respond to us is a pointless endeavor because no female body is above critique in our society [and probably no male body either, although I'm not as knowledgable about how unreasonable body standards impact men and I need to learn more]).
You are never going to construct a body that won't be viewed as a legitimate target of sexist insults *by someone*. This is not your fault and it isn't because something is wrong with your body.7
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 393.6K Introduce Yourself
- 43.8K Getting Started
- 260.3K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.9K Food and Nutrition
- 47.5K Recipes
- 232.5K Fitness and Exercise
- 431 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.5K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.6K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 153K Motivation and Support
- 8K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.8K MyFitnessPal Information
- 24 News and Announcements
- 1.1K Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.6K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions