Can you exercise too much?

butters1

I started dieting 2/1/11. I am about 15 pounds down but NOTHING, ZERO, etc in the last 6 weeks. In fact, i might be up a pound or two in that time. The food diary is open but ignore the last two days....ive been on a binge out of family necessity. Other than that, i'm eating the same stuff since 2/1, (cholesterol & sugar is way down, yeah!) but all weight loss seemed to have stopped after the initial loss.

The huge difference in my routine is exercise. I started with 20 minutes 3 days a week or so and that was fairly mild. Now i usually am at well over an hour a day 5-6 days a week and the routines are much more intense since i can physically do more. I AM losing inches consistantly over this period and you can see an obvious difference (to me & DH) in muscle definition especially in the extremities. And in my clothes.

But these boards say i cannot gain weight that fast in muscle, so where is my weight loss????. The inch loss is great but i really really would like the scale to go down. I am not a thin woman so that should be important too. I just cannot figure out how i keep getting denser (literally - i would choose another word if i could find one ).

I wonder if i should slow down the exercise???. I actually would hate to....since i quit smoking and can do more, i am actually enjoying it and it keeps me occupied.

aippolito1

Yes, you can exercise too much. Allow yourself a rest day at least once a week or take a week off after a few weeks of working out really hard.

butters1

Thanks Arielle. I have tried to take a day off each week, max 10 days. Just because life happens. I do miss it then .....whoever thought i'd be an exercise buff lol. It's the nicotine withdrawl for me.

2stepz

... Don't put the power in the scale. It's just ONE number. As long as you're losing inches and body fat, who cares what the scale says?

butters1

... Don't put the power in the scale. It's just ONE number. As long as you're losing inches and body fat, who cares what the scale says?

I believed that. For weeks. But 6??? Even the doc would say he would care that the weight # would go down i would guess. Maybe i need more patience though

libstr

I actually dont weight myself anymore as my weight doesnt seem to go down. but i am toned and continuing to tone up and lose the cms which I think is way more important.

the weight will come off but be happy with the inch loss and dont be discouraged by those nasty old scales :happy:

butters1

Thanks lib. I'm going to try less intense longer workouts this week and see what happens. the more intense seems to set me up for a scale gain....*sigh*. but either way i guess im better off..............

texasrebel83

I would use your clothes and their fit over the scale. I had the same problem, initial weight loss, then nothing. However, I can now fit in a pair of jeans from 3 years ago (before my twins) and button them! I use those jeans as a gauge to measure how my body is changing. I won't lie, I still get on the scale just to see, but I don't put much stock into it.

LG61820

Don't discount your stopping smoking in your dilemma. Quitting smoking can cause all sorts of changes in your body, I'm glad I quit, but not so glad for the mild depression and weight gain. You are fighting against those changes as well as normal weight loss. If you are not gaining, you are doing well. Hang in there. The exercise will help stave off the depression.

butters1

thanks texasrebel, i'm really trying to hold onto the inchs as some form of success. just wish the dang scale would agree. :explode:

LG, i really hadn't considered the smoking issue. It was just after i finally fully quit that the weight loss stopped. As i exercise to relieve that stress (still ) i thought for sure that would mean i would lose tons. but then nothing instead is quite dissapointing. Slowing down the exercise is not an option for me sometimes. i'd rather being fat than start amoking again.....

MellowGa

can you exercise to much? sure it is possible, but I don't think that is the case.

I been following a book called New Rules of lifting, but the author preaches "switching it up"

so say like I am doing push ups, first time it is 5 sets of 5 = 25 total, Day 2 is 3 sets of 15 = 45, then day 3 is 4 sets of 10=40, the day that is 5x5 is the heaviest weight, the 3x15 is lighter.

I will also do the same thing with my cardio routine, 20 this day, 30 another day, 45 another and different programs.

the key is to find out what works best for you, and something you enjoy.

I play soccer 6 months of the year, it is a fantastic workout, but it is not enough to keep me in shape, but I LOVE playing it, so it is good cardio for 1 day a week.

Find some sports you would enjoy doing, skating, biking, rowing, etc.

Best of luck! We are with you!

ruenectar

From what it sounds like, you've hit a plateau. Not sure where you stand overall in fitness...but in my previous experiences here's I've done...

CHANGE. If you are on a regular routine...Cardio every other day, lifting on off-Cardio days...change the type of lifting you do. On a "home gym"? Use bags, buckets, and the kids. always using a "set"? Stop. Do one set at max weight for as many as you can. In that, if your lifting is 4 sets, do 2 sets, but at max weight for as many as you can with a 30 second breather.

For cardio, find another means...if its always running, get on a stair master. If it's eliptical, get in a pool.

Also, if your focus is losing "water" weight, go with 2 days cardio, one with hgh peaks of intensity, and the second day long distance, then lift 1 day, back to cardio 2. On the next week, lift 2 days, cardio 1. then lift again.

Hope that works well for you! Good Luck!

Lleldiranne

As much as you've bumped up your exercise, it's possible that you aren't eating enough (I haven't looked at your logs). Are you eating back a good deal of the calories? If not, you might want to start doing that. If you are, try manually adjusting your calorie goal up by 300 or so calories and see how that works for a couple of weeks.

Also make sure you are changing your routines regularly. Especially when you are exercising this often, your muscles can get used to everything and it becomes less effective. Do a good mix of cardio and resistance.

Don't forget to drink lots of water. You should drink 8-16 oz for every 30 minutes of exercise, even if you don't feel you're sweating, because your body uses water to function and needs more when you exercise. This should be on top of your regular 8 glasses a day.

Good luck!

edit: Oops, forgot to add, I've done the 1 hour of exercise 5-6 days a week and never saw any negative effects from it. There is such a thing as too much exercise, but I would guess for most people it's more than this.