newbie runner...have some questions

PammyB3130

I just got a treadmill and started a jogging routine about a month ago. I've been staying within my calorie budget, getting enough protein, and working out at least 5 days a week. I lost about 10 pounds the first 2 weeks and then the past two weeks I've been slowly gaining it back. Is this normal? I thought maybe I was losing inches and just gaining muscle so I took my measurements and everything is the same....I'm really at a loss and not sure if I'm doing something wrong!! It's hard to stick to an exercise routine and not see any results!!

lucifa73

Havce you upped your fluids to compensate for the extra exercise? If you don't drink enough you'll retain water.

PammyB3130

I have upped my water intake a little, but I'll try to do more......

acstein

I had a similar problem. I started out losing inches like crazy and then ended up gaining 10 lbs right before a 2 month long plateau. I tried varying my exercises, eating, etc. I changed the number of times I eat a day and that worked for me. Our bodies are creatures of habit so don't forget to change things up a bit. Doing the same thing over and over again doesn't do much to help your body change. I'm not sure if that's something you have tried already or not. Also, I went from eating 3 times a day with maybe a snack or 2, to eating 6 times a day. Sometimes I eat 6 meals, sometimes I eat 4 or 5 and then fill in the rest with snacks. Sometimes things get in the way of me eating on a particular schedule, with particular amounts of food, so I just do what I can. Also, Lucifa73 is right, water, especially when exercising, is a must. You can retain water, not to mention your body may signal hungry when it's really just thirsty. I drink 12 glasses of water on days I exercise, and 8 on days I do not. I also sweat profusely so don't necessarily use my numbers.

tleray

First of all, good for you for starting to run! Remember that most people (even people who are not overweight) can not run more than a couple of minutes. Don't give up!

I went through the same issue when I started running many years ago. I found that I had to eat more often to compensate for the calories I was burning. Since I really wanted to loose weight, I only ate the calories that I would have needed had I not exercised. I am not sure if this is the same for you, but once I started to eat more (it didn't take much), I continued to loose weight.