Weight Loss Stops With Exercise

hollish17
hollish17 Posts: 5 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
So I have been consistently losing weight for the past two years with primarily diet alone. I will see small progress on the scale almost every day. Every single time I start working out, I stop losing weight altogether and just get stuck at the same weight. This has happened for a month at a time and I usually get frustrated and stop working out. Does anyone have any advice? I'm not sure why this is happening. I am not eating the extra calories I've burned by working out. Obviously I want to be healthy, and working out is part of that, but I also want to reach my goal weight in time for my wedding and the weight loss is consistent with diet only. I'm currently doing the Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred workout every day (although I'm only on Day 6 - but have gotten stuck again).

I would love to hear peoples' suggestions and opinions!! THANKS! :)

Replies

  • ashleyisgreat
    ashleyisgreat Posts: 586 Member
    How come you're not eating the extra calories from working out? I know that exercise calories can be inflated, but you should eat back at least some of them. Have you tried the TDEE method? That way you don't actually have to eat back anything, as they are already accounted for in your daily caloric limit.
  • eamarketos
    eamarketos Posts: 1 Member
    According to Bob Greene's Best Life Diet pages 16 -17 - "Whenever you increase your activity, your muscles will store more glycogen, and thus more water, to help them keep up with the demands you're placing on them. You will also add water to your bloodstream, increasing your blood volume and resulting in an increased ability to deliver oxygen, which in turn will increase your capacity to burn more calories. These changes will cause you to gain, not lose, water weight in the beginning. But know that you are still loosing fat." The book states it takes about 4 weeks for your body to adjust. Maybe get off the scale for awhile and take body measurements instead to see the results of your exercise. Good luck!!!
  • hollish17
    hollish17 Posts: 5 Member
    4 weeks? Wow! Much longer than I would have expected. That makes me feel a lot better, thanks! Also, I will look into the TDEE method. Thanks guys!
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    It is temporary. When you start a new exercise or increase intensity of an exercise you stress your muscles and they need to be repaired. They require fluids for that repair, so you retain more fluid. This fluid has weight...it can be as much as 3-5 Lbs easily.

    exercise is good for you...you need to look beyond just the scale.
  • weightliftingdiva
    weightliftingdiva Posts: 522 Member
    Like the other poster said, you are probably retaining water weight. Keep with the exercise program and that accurate logging, and after the first few weeks the scales should start to move again.
  • MoreBean13
    MoreBean13 Posts: 8,701 Member
    I mean, I think you know in your heart of heart that working out doesn't make you fatter- so you just have to start and stick it out for 2 months. By then you'll be losing again, guaranteed.

    And make sure you're accurately logging your food and not accidentally overeating because the workouts make you hungrier.
  • hollish17
    hollish17 Posts: 5 Member
    Thanks everyone! I appreciate the feedback. I'm 70 days out from my wedding so I'm feeling a little bit of a time crunch to reach my goal of losing another 11.6 lbs before then, but I guess I can take comfort in the fact that even if I don't reach my goal weight, if I am working out every day and pushing myself I will at least be more toned for the wedding and will look better in my strapless dress.
  • MoreBean13
    MoreBean13 Posts: 8,701 Member
    Thanks everyone! I appreciate the feedback. I'm 70 days out from my wedding so I'm feeling a little bit of a time crunch to reach my goal of losing another 11.6 lbs before then, but I guess I can take comfort in the fact that even if I don't reach my goal weight, if I am working out every day and pushing myself I will at least be more toned for the wedding and will look better in my strapless dress.

    Congrats! You'll look beautiful- you've lost 70 lbs!

    With only 2 months, can you really lose more weight and risk having the dress not fit at this point? Could it be tailored at the last minute?
  • hollish17
    hollish17 Posts: 5 Member
    Thank you! That is really nice of you! My alterations appointments are 02/11, 02/18 and 02/25... so technically I am supposed to stop losing weight by 02/11. But I am planning on still working out my arms after that. :)
  • Will_Thrust_For_Candy
    Will_Thrust_For_Candy Posts: 6,109 Member
    Yes, it's absolutely fluid retention that you are experiencing. Continue with the exercise and with weighing and measuring your food and logging your calories and you'll be golden! Congrats on your upcoming wedding and 72lbs lost! Great work!
  • asilmegan34
    asilmegan34 Posts: 256 Member
    I am the same way you are so I totally get it. I was running and lifting and was stuck at a weight for a while. I eventually started to lose but it was REALLY slow. I ended up not working out in November and December. I did gain 5 pounds from eating horrendously, but I look like I gained way more than that because I lost some of my toning and strength. Keep it up!
  • karlospiklington
    karlospiklington Posts: 143 Member
    If you are building muscle the scale may not move as quickly as it used to but you should see differences in your inch measurements and just a general improvement in the tone of your body. When my scale isn't moving after working out I just remember that muscle burns more calories at rest anyway so it's all good.
  • RGv2
    RGv2 Posts: 5,789 Member
    If you are building muscle the scale may not move as quickly as it used to but you should see differences in your inch measurements and just a general improvement in the tone of your body. When my scale isn't moving after working out I just remember that muscle burns more calories at rest anyway so it's all good.

    Op's not building muscle. OP is complaining of weight gain shortly after beginning exercise. It can take a professional female body builder 4-6 weeks to put on a pound of muscle mass. The OP is also performing a cardio based workout program which isn't going to do much for putting mass on.

    The OP is also trying to lose weight, so they are eating in a deficit. When you eat in a deficit, you won't put on mass.

    It's what everyone has said. When you start a new workout regimine or increase the intensity of your current one the body will retain water for repair until it adapts to the workout. After it adapts, the water will flush and the scale will drop.

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