Why am I losing weight?

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Carrie6o6
Carrie6o6 Posts: 1,443 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
For 2 weeks straight I exercised more than ever, made sure I drank my 2litres of water at LEAST, NEVER went over my cals once... The first week I dropped about 5 lbs. the second My weight basically stopped at 193.3. This past week I have been extremely busy, appointments by day and work by night. No time for me to exercise and I have been eating over my cals by about 100-300 at night. My weight is now going down... Its not making sense to me at all. Im happy yes.. but why is this happening? Maybe I should up my cals?

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  • Carrie6o6
    Carrie6o6 Posts: 1,443 Member
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    For 2 weeks straight I exercised more than ever, made sure I drank my 2litres of water at LEAST, NEVER went over my cals once... The first week I dropped about 5 lbs. the second My weight basically stopped at 193.3. This past week I have been extremely busy, appointments by day and work by night. No time for me to exercise and I have been eating over my cals by about 100-300 at night. My weight is now going down... Its not making sense to me at all. Im happy yes.. but why is this happening? Maybe I should up my cals?
  • JessicaT2007
    JessicaT2007 Posts: 553 Member
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    I am not too sure how you are losing weight if you went over every night. I know sometimes a day or two of eating over your cals can help boost the metabolism. Maybe that is what is happening? I am no expert :tongue:
  • BetterVersion
    BetterVersion Posts: 459
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    Sometimes mixing things up- even unintentionally- can kind of "trick" your body and help you get over a plateau... If you're only overeating by 100-300 cals then that's not really all that much, and maybe your body just needed a break from the same old exercise routines. Anyway, good job girl! Hopefully once you start back on your regular schedule you'll still be seeing those pounds shedding!
  • banks1850
    banks1850 Posts: 3,475 Member
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    Well, first, you're going over by a very small amount, so you're probably still under your maintenance, add that to the fact that you might have been eating too few and that would be a good reason. Also, it takes a little while for the body to adjust to exercise and raise the metabolism, so maybe (and this is just a hunch) after a week of working hard, you're metabolism went up a bit and stayed that way for a week or two, which helped burn the extra cals. That's my theory anyway.
  • Carrie6o6
    Carrie6o6 Posts: 1,443 Member
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    Yeah.. I eat 1300cals a day im 5'4 193lbs now. Im just so happy my body is cutting me some slack here this week! Ive been so busy!! Just one more day then rest!! Do you think I should up my cals maybe? Or just leave them alone?
  • Sexythighz
    Sexythighz Posts: 159 Member
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    For 2 weeks straight I exercised more than ever, made sure I drank my 2litres of water at LEAST, NEVER went over my cals once... The first week I dropped about 5 lbs. the second My weight basically stopped at 193.3. This past week I have been extremely busy, appointments by day and work by night. No time for me to exercise and I have been eating over my cals by about 100-300 at night. My weight is now going down... Its not making sense to me at all. Im happy yes.. but why is this happening? Maybe I should up my cals?

    WOW that is just awesome! I need to eat what your eating! I think you reved up your metabolism!!

    Steph
  • banks1850
    banks1850 Posts: 3,475 Member
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    Yeah.. I eat 1300cals a day im 5'4 193lbs now. Im just so happy my body is cutting me some slack here this week! Ive been so busy!! Just one more day then rest!! Do you think I should up my cals maybe? Or just leave them alone?

    Well, if the increased calories have worked, I would stick with it. It might possibly (probably IMHO) be your body saying, "HEY I WASN'T GETTING ENOUGH, see what happens when I do?" but I wouldn't stop exercising, I know the same thing happened to me when I first started running hard. it took about 2 weeks to have any noticable difference, but when it started, MAN did it start. Fortunately I kept with it, and my body really responded. FYI, even though I was classified as obese (barely), I never had more then a 1.5 lbs a week goal, and I steadily lost (besides a couple of plateau's here and there). Now my goal is basically maintenance minus about 150 cals, and I'm still (very slowly) losing (about 1 lb a month) which is fine cuz I'm really not interested in losing any/much more, but it's a good way to remember how to eat healthy.
  • PishPish97
    PishPish97 Posts: 34
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    The same thing happened to me...kind of. I went on vacation to Disney World. Ate like a pig, didn't work out (other than walking from line to line) and didn't keep track of my calories (boy did I enjoy that cheese cake EVERY night). When I came home I was two pounds lighter! I couldn't believe it. I was expecting to gain at least five pounds.
  • Carrie6o6
    Carrie6o6 Posts: 1,443 Member
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    Alright... im gonna up them to 1400 which is about 200 less than my BMR (according to this site anyways) I will see how it goes. Im ok with eating more cals! hahah i will keep working out cause I LOVE IT!! Plus i want to be strong to kick ppls butts! ha ha! Thanks a lot! :bigsmile:
  • Carrie6o6
    Carrie6o6 Posts: 1,443 Member
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    The same thing happened to me...kind of. I went on vacation to Disney World. Ate like a pig, didn't work out (other than walking from line to line) and didn't keep track of my calories (boy did I enjoy that cheese cake EVERY night). When I came home I was two pounds lighter! I couldn't believe it. I was expecting to gain at least five pounds.

    Yes thats what ive been like lately.. Yesterday I live on junk.. i didnt go over by much but it was junk none the less... I felt like crap this morning and thought I gained FOR SURE.. stepped on the scale and I had lost yet again! I was like "WOOT!" hahaha
  • Fitztay
    Fitztay Posts: 13
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    Muscle weighs more than fat, so if you're not working out then you are likely losing muscle mass, but gaining fat. This is why people often gain weight when they first start to consistently work out.
    When I was pregnant last year I had to stop working out for the first time in yrs and lost weight initially as many of my muscles shriveled! :(
  • TamTastic
    TamTastic Posts: 19,224 Member
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    Alright... im gonna up them to 1400 which is about 200 less than my BMR (according to this site anyways) I will see how it goes. Im ok with eating more cals! hahah i will keep working out cause I LOVE IT!! Plus i want to be strong to kick ppls butts! ha ha! Thanks a lot! :bigsmile:
    I eat 1400 cals on my non-workout days and more when I workout. My bmr is in the low 1400s right now. I figure, as long as this works for me, I will keep going! When I hit a bad plateau, then I will lower them! But, if more calories works for you, then eat girl!! :)
  • Carrie6o6
    Carrie6o6 Posts: 1,443 Member
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    Muscle weighs more than fat, so if you're not working out then you are likely losing muscle mass, but gaining fat. This is why people often gain weight when they first start to consistently work out.
    When I was pregnant last year I had to stop working out for the first time in yrs and lost weight initially as many of my muscles shriveled! :(

    I dont understand this concept.. My sister suggested that may be it too.. But why would I be losing muscle mass? Its only been 3 days... I dont understand the whole "losing muscle" thing. I never really worked out before until recently. Im sure I did gain muscle.. but would it "go away" just as fast? I thought the body worked slower than that.
  • Mely
    Mely Posts: 166 Member
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    You should track everything that is happening right now by keeping notes. I don't see a way on MFP to see your notes over an extended period all at once but that doesn't mean it isn't here somewhere. I keep an Excel spreadsheet with my weight each week and lots of notes about what I ate that week, how much I excercised etc. You can then go back and see your patterns or make sense of plateaus or weight loss. This is the best way to repeat success later if you hit a wall.

    Good luck
  • banks1850
    banks1850 Posts: 3,475 Member
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    Muscle weighs more than fat, so if you're not working out then you are likely losing muscle mass, but gaining fat. This is why people often gain weight when they first start to consistently work out.
    When I was pregnant last year I had to stop working out for the first time in yrs and lost weight initially as many of my muscles shriveled! :(

    I dont understand this concept.. My sister suggested that may be it too.. But why would I be losing muscle mass? Its only been 3 days... I dont understand the whole "losing muscle" thing. I never really worked out before until recently. Im sure I did gain muscle.. but would it "go away" just as fast? I thought the body worked slower than that.

    The body burns the most convienent available source of energy, if the muscle is easier to burn then the fat, then the muscle will burn first, burning muscle is a longer process to burn then fat, so when fat is available it is burned first, but also, when a body is using a muscle, it will not take away from it. Conversly, when a muscle is unused, the body recognizes that fact, and "shrinks" it by burning some of it, because the body is an efficiency engine, it doesn't want to waste energy by fueling muscle (muscle requires constant fuel, even when not being used) that isn't in use.
  • Fitztay
    Fitztay Posts: 13
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    Technically a pound is a pound...so I shouldn't say muscle weighs more. A pound of feathers or a pound of butter - they're both a pound, right? However, a pound of feathers takes up a lot more room than a pound of butter. Same w/muscle vs fat...muscle mass is much more condense and takes up way less space in comparison to fat, so the scale may go up, but the body begins to look tighter, more compact. OK, now that that's out of the way...back to your follow up question.

    Muscle mass breaks down surprisingly quickly (there isn't a specific number as to just how quick out there, but it's almost immediate) - as soon as you stop using certain muscles they begin to shrink. That's why its important to just keep moving...if you can't work out, take a walk for 20 minutes and swing your arms and pause to do a set of squats every 5 minutes - anything at all will help you maintain all of your hard work! ALso, when you can't work out, watch what you eat, not just the number of calories you take in. Eat lots of protein and veggies when not working out and stay away from processed carbs as much as possible (breads, sugars) - this will help.

    :)

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