Elliptical?

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nicolen160
nicolen160 Posts: 197 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I recently got an elliptical and I love it and I do at least 30 minutes a night on it. So for the past week and half I have not done much other cardio besides the elliptical, I was walking on the treadmill and doing the exercise bike daily. I have doing the fitness programs on the elliptical which moves the resistance from 3 to 10 usually. I have not lost any weight in the last couple weeks, matter of fact I have been up a couple pounds off and on, but I just wondered if the the elliptical is buildiing muscle because of the restistance? I did also up my calories from a 1.5lb loss per week to a 1lb loss per week since I don't have that much more to lose, hoping this might help also. Thought I would get some thoughts on this. Thanks

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  • 4legsRbetterthan2
    4legsRbetterthan2 Posts: 19,590 MFP Moderator
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    It is probably not muscle gain but it is common to retain water a little bit when you start a new exercise you are not used to. Your mucles hold onto it while they are trying to repair themselves. If you felt a little sore after your first few elliptical workouts then this is likely what you are experienceing. You will problably see a bit of a larger drop in a week or so when your muscles decide to let it go again. Keep up the good work!
  • MinnieInMaine
    MinnieInMaine Posts: 6,400 Member
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    It's definitely not muscle...you can't really gain muscle on a calorie deficit, especialy as a woman and while only doing cardio.

    The reason behind the gain is likely water weight as described by the above poster. Muscles retain water and glycogen as part of the natural healing process. You may also be retainng a bit more water as you body adjusts to the slightly higher calorie goal

    Do you eat back exercise calories? I've noticed that my friends that go by MFP numbers for certain listings get HUGE burns on the elliptical and from my own experience (using Polar HRM), they're very likely overestimated by at least 30%. Plan to eat back more like half of what MFP or the machine gives you for burns, up to 70% if you're hungry.

    Give it at least 3 more weeks before you make a decision to change your calorie goal again. The body needs time to adapt.

    Good luck!
  • nicolen160
    nicolen160 Posts: 197 Member
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    I will wait a few weeks and see what happens, not too worried but thought I would ask someone else's opinion. I am using a HRM and the difference between what the HRM says and the elliptical is dramatic usually about half, so I am glad I have the HRM since I usually eat my calories back. Thanks for everyone's help!

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