suggestions please....

ashleyh3156

I recently started the 30 day shred...or 30 day pain in my legs..I would rather be running. Anyhow, I have been under my calorie goal but am going over on my sugar and carbs. I recently weighed myself out of curiosity and have gained 3lbs in the last week. Could I be gaining muscle? I don't know what to do but am extremely discouraged. I have lost 40lbs from the south beach diet, but decided that was a diet I could not live on. Now I am choosing to eat healthier but have had a sweet tooth like no ones business, but remain under my calorie goal....If anyone has any suggestions please post.

mandiemahoney

I hear you! I have a major sweet tooth as well. I recently gave up all white and refined sugars. Try replacing your sugar with natural sugar like fruits, maple syrup, and agave nectar. They have worked wonders for me and totally satisfy my craving without wrecking havoc on my body. All the flavor without the crash! It's all about finding substitutions for the sweet you are craving

adjones_21

You need to make sure that you are weighing yourself at the same time everyday. Your body weight will be different all through out the day because of your meals and fluid intake. I always weigh myself in the morning before breakfast and after the morning trip to the bathroom. Also you could have gained if you are getting close to your monthly cycle or if you have eaten too much sodium. Too much sodium will cause you to have water weight. I hope that helps.

ashleyh3156

I think I will probably have to remove all of the crap from my house and replace with natural sugars....what do you eat when you crave cookies? I have gone buck wild lately.

tross0924

You didn't gain 3 lbs of muscle in a week. You also didn't gain 3 lbs of fat in a week. You started a new exercise program and your legs are sore. That soreness is your muscles "defense mechanism" telling you "hey, I'm hurting here take it easy on me." Don't listen to them and they will eventually (4-6 weeks) drop the defense and shed the water weight which is what that soreness is.

Stick with it. It's very very common to gain weight the first month of a new exercise program. Stick to your goals and keep up the program, and some day not too long from now you'll drop 5 - 6 lbs in a day or 2 and catch up to where you should be.

Oh and for sweets, Premier Nutrition makes a protein bar flavor called Double Chocolate Crunch. This thing tastes exactly like a brownie to me. Great "treat" :-)

biggerpix

I don't have the sweets problem, but I hear ya on the 3 pounds that mysteriously appeared over night. I notice that the week before my period and the week of my period I gain 3 - 5 pounds. It's also a water retention issue. Just yesterday, I dropped 1.5 of the 3 pounds I inherited somehow just from 1. changing my workout for the night, and 2. changing what I eat. you also burn carbs and fat with exercise. Change the routine even in eating and the body will react. It could also be muscle gain. More water, more green veggies, less sugar. When I get the munchies, I make a bowl of popcorn or sugar free jello. I eat a ton of fish (very low in fat) and scarf brocolli.

TrainingWithTonya

First of all, don't do the shred daily. Weight training for the same muscle group should be no sooner then 48 hours later to allow for muscle recovery. Second, you are craving carbs because you are using them for your weight training. When you add weight training, the first adaptation is in the nervous system but the second is to store more glycogen in the muscles. Hence the carb cravings because you need them to store as glycogen for fuel later. When glycogen is stored in the muscle, it is stored in 3 times as much water. So one gram of glycogen to 3 grams of water. That is what you've gained weight wise. A lot of people will say that you don't want that water weight, but if you are doing resistance training, you do want it! Relax about the scale and keep up with weight training, but maybe alternate shred days with running days since you seem to be missing your running, and eventually you will see the fat burning happening faster then the glycogen storage and eventual muscle building.

TrainingWithTonya

Oh, and the pain in your legs is DOMS. Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness. It's because weight training causes cellular damage to the muscles. That 48 hours is to allow for them to repair and rebuild. That soreness isn't lactic acid or water as some people will tell you. Like I said, the water gives you the muscle pump by allowing glycogen storage. And lactic acid is shuttled to the liver rather quickly or it is converted in the muscle to pyruvate to be used for fat burning. Be sure you are eating plenty of carbs to store as glycogen because if you don't then the protein you consume will be converted to glycogen instead of being used to repair and rebuild that muscle. The less protein you have available for repair, the longer it will take and the longer you will be sore.

jmhigg1020

I agree - I have a ridiculous sweet tooth! As silly as it sounds, those Extra Dessert gums are actually pretty effective for me. Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream is a weakness of mine, and it actually does taste like it, including the chocolate part! I'm very picky, so that's a big deal. I also find that spearmint gum helps. I'm not much for fruity gums, but my husband and kids like the other two dessert flavors of Extra. I also find that drinking a bit of skim milk and sometimes a banana will get me through - I did a soup diet several years ago to flush out fluid I was carrying around, and one of the days was specifically for skim milk and bananas because your body will start to crave them, and that will give you what you need. I hope that helps!

ashleyh3156

thank you for all of the help I appreciate the suggestions!!