Exercice, your friend or not?

mpdes
mpdes Posts: 40
edited September 26 in Fitness and Exercise
Hi all,

I don't know if i'm the only one but when I do cardio/low weights 5 days a week (once or twice a day) nothing new but I don't see the scale moving. I haven't exercice for the last 3 weeks and I lost like 4 pounds???? :S I still love doing exercice as it makes my body more fit but really???? It feels like exercice is more of a weight maintain help then losing help...

It has nothing to do with eating exercice calories or not, I usually eat them, but the only time I was able to lose weight is NOT to eat them! I know, I know most will disagree and say you still have to eat them because your body goes in starvation mode, but I kept the weight off for 3 years and didn't get all of it back (I gained back because I was not eating healthy as before).

Am I the only one who saw that? Do you guys think it's because my muscles haven't work as hard for 3 weeks but when i'll start to exercice again I will gain those 4 pounds?

Replies

  • stephanielynn76
    stephanielynn76 Posts: 709 Member
    Exercise is my lover... :wink:

    Just being thin isn't the goal... it's being FIT!
  • lawkat
    lawkat Posts: 538 Member
    I have experienced what you have. However, the weight loss you experienced isn't really weight loss. It is the conversion of muscle into fat. Whenever I would stop working out, I would see the scale go down, but it was only a short term thing and then the weight wouldn't come off.
  • BigBoneSista
    BigBoneSista Posts: 2,389 Member
    That weight was just your muscles releasing the water it was retaining for recovery purposes. Cardio & strength training is what you need to have a physical fit and tone body. You don't have to exercise and lose weight just by eating healthier with a calorie limit but your body will just be skinny fat. Not attractive at all.

    So you decide what you want to look like and go from there.

    I gain 2lbs when I first started strength training and held that 2lbs weight gain for 3 weeks before my muscles released on their own. During this period I just relied on my measuring tape which showed inches loss. As long as you are staying on plan you will lose pounds.
  • RunHardBeStrong
    RunHardBeStrong Posts: 33,069 Member
    That weight was just your muscles releasing the water it was retaining for recovery purposes. Cardio & strength training is what you need to have a physical fit and tone body. You don't have to exercise and lose weight just by eating healthier with a calorie limit but your body will just be skinny fat. Not attractive at all.

    So you decide what you want to look like and go from there.

    I gain 2lbs when I first started strength training and held that 2lbs weight gain for 3 weeks before my muscles released on their own. During this period I just relied on my measuring tape which showed inches loss. As long as you are staying on plan you will lose pounds.

    This is a great response! Pretty much what I was going to say! More than likely it's water weight you've lost. Keep up the exercise!!!
  • blakeym
    blakeym Posts: 97 Member
    It makes no logical sense to me that if you eat 2000 calories a day and your metabolic rate is 2500 (doing nothing) and your burn off another 500 jogging etc. each day that you don't loose 2lbs a week. (1000 daily daily caloric shortfall = 7000 a week) The math says it has to work that way.

    But it does not seem to work that way.
  • Stephanie you look so good! do you have any advice?
  • missie21
    missie21 Posts: 103 Member
    Exercise is my lover... :wink:

    Just being thin isn't the goal... it's being FIT!

    i like that!
  • BflSaberfan
    BflSaberfan Posts: 1,272
    I never ate my exercise calories and lost 50lbs that way. Now that I am so close to my goal weight I have had to increase my calories though.
  • doutri2
    doutri2 Posts: 186 Member
    I am so glad that you posted this question. I have been wondering the same thing for awhile. I was recovering from a cold and couldn't exercise, but lost almost 4 pounds without exercising. Now, that I have returned to my ususal activiites, I see the weight creaping back on.

    I was wondering what was happening.
  • BigBoneSista
    BigBoneSista Posts: 2,389 Member
    I am so glad that you posted this question. I have been wondering the same thing for awhile. I was recovering from a cold and couldn't exercise, but lost almost 4 pounds without exercising. Now, that I have returned to my ususal activiites, I see the weight creaping back on.

    I was wondering what was happening.

    The lbs you lost wasn't fat. You lost fluids. Now that you are eating you are replenishing your body with those fluids and nutrients that it wasn't getting during that time.
  • Stooooo
    Stooooo Posts: 1,191 Member
    I never ate my exercise calories and lost 50lbs that way. Now that I am so close to my goal weight I have had to increase my calories though.

    Because you body has more muscle. You need to feed that muscle. Muscle burns way more calories then fat does.


    SABERS SUCK!!! :laugh: LET'S GO FLYERS!!!!
  • BflSaberfan
    BflSaberfan Posts: 1,272
    I never ate my exercise calories and lost 50lbs that way. Now that I am so close to my goal weight I have had to increase my calories though.

    Because you body has more muscle. You need to feed that muscle. Muscle burns way more calories then fat does.


    SABERS SUCK!!! :laugh: LET'S GO FLYERS!!!!

    OH NO YOU DIDN'T :explode: :laugh:
  • stephanielynn76
    stephanielynn76 Posts: 709 Member
    Stephanie you look so good! do you have any advice?

    Thanks so much! Feel free to friend me if you wanna look at my diary and workout info... or if you have specific questions ask away...
  • Exercise is my best friend. I miss it on my rest day.

    Nothing too much to add to the points above - combination of Cv and Strength will get you a slender toned body. I do my stength workout first, followed by at least 30 mins CV. CV is pure fat burn, according to my personal trainer. A lot of my fat has coverted into muscle - so no dramatic weight loss - slow and steady. But I have dropped two dress sizes and can wear short shorts again.

    Weight is just a number - it is how you want to look and feel that really matters.
  • mkennedym
    mkennedym Posts: 253 Member
    i have a hypothesis. when you exercise, you end up eating more and you eat more calories than you need in order to lose any weight (so you are right around your maintenance calories per day). exercise makes us hungry, and we tend to eat when we are hungry, thus you are eating too much (for your goals) when you exercise.

    when you don't exercise, your body is less hungry and you are managing to stay under your maintenance calories, thus you end up losing weight.

    but, exercise coupled with a strict diet will make you lose weight faster than just dieting alone (though most likely not THAT much faster). exercise is a good supplement to your diet, but diet is the most important thing in weight loss.
  • i have a hypothesis. when you exercise, you end up eating more and you eat more calories than you need in order to lose any weight (so you are right around your maintenance calories per day). exercise makes us hungry, and we tend to eat when we are hungry, thus you are eating too much (for your goals) when you exercise.

    when you don't exercise, your body is less hungry and you are managing to stay under your maintenance calories, thus you end up losing weight.

    but, exercise coupled with a strict diet will make you lose weight faster than just dieting alone (though most likely not THAT much faster). exercise is a good supplement to your diet, but diet is the most important thing in weight loss.

    Thats really interesting. Back in September last year I got into running to aid my wieght loss. Through running I discovered triathlon as I wanted to cross train. I then decided to enter an international triathlon (sprint) with only 8 weeks to train. I was training really hard 2 hours a day, 6 days a week. I thought my appetite would go through the roof - but it didn't. I never felt hungry after a training session, although I did eat of course!

    One thing I did discover is that I could devour a plate pf pasta very quickly once the first mouthful was in!

    I think it must be different for everyone as we all have different metabolic rates.
  • doutri2
    doutri2 Posts: 186 Member
    i have a hypothesis. when you exercise, you end up eating more and you eat more calories than you need in order to lose any weight (so you are right around your maintenance calories per day). exercise makes us hungry, and we tend to eat when we are hungry, thus you are eating too much (for your goals) when you exercise.

    when you don't exercise, your body is less hungry and you are managing to stay under your maintenance calories, thus you end up losing weight.

    but, exercise coupled with a strict diet will make you lose weight faster than just dieting alone (though most likely not THAT much faster). exercise is a good supplement to your diet, but diet is the most important thing in weight loss.

    I had had that same hypothesis a few years back. However, this year, I have been watchful about not eating extra, especially on workout days. I, too will feel extra hungry after a long workout but I don't want to sabotage what I worked so hard for.

    Now,if I could just lose the fat around my hips and middle, I would be so much happier with my shape and being able to fit into last year's clothes.
  • Stooooo
    Stooooo Posts: 1,191 Member
    I never ate my exercise calories and lost 50lbs that way. Now that I am so close to my goal weight I have had to increase my calories though.

    Because you body has more muscle. You need to feed that muscle. Muscle burns way more calories then fat does.


    SABERS SUCK!!! :laugh: LET'S GO FLYERS!!!!

    Oh yes I did!!!

    OH NO YOU DIDN'T :explode: :laugh:
  • BigBoneSista
    BigBoneSista Posts: 2,389 Member
    Exercise is my best friend. I miss it on my rest day.

    Nothing too much to add to the points above - combination of Cv and Strength will get you a slender toned body. I do my stength workout first, followed by at least 30 mins CV. CV is pure fat burn, according to my personal trainer. A lot of my fat has coverted into muscle - so no dramatic weight loss - slow and steady. But I have dropped two dress sizes and can wear short shorts again.

    Weight is just a number - it is how you want to look and feel that really matters.

    I miss it to when I don't do it...I feel like I'm cheating on exercise when I don't do it lol
This discussion has been closed.