New in the UK

ratmist

I'm new here!

I've been tracking my food intake and exercise since around April. I use a kitchen scale to weigh my food, and I've used a pedometer to check that my calorie loss matches the running I've taken up. My calorie intake, after exercising, varies from around 1500 to 1750, but my daily goal is to get between 1200 - 1500. It's very hard to do this because I really enjoy eating. I am a vegetarian/pescetarian (I don't eat any land-based meat basically, but fish, dairy and eggs are okay).

I'm extremely worried right now about my weight gain since starting tracking. I'm 184.6 lbs as of last night. When I started, I was about 170 lbs. (I'm being vague because my old scales were replaced mid-way, and they were extremely inaccurate, so I'm not entirely certain I was really 170 lbs when I started out.)

I am wondering if anyone else has had a massive weight gain happen after taking up weight lifting and running, plus cutting down the calories.

I have lost one dress size (down to UK size 14 from UK size 16), but I am heavier than I've ever been in my life. The BMI scale shows that I am at 29.8 (almost obese, near the end of the overweight scale).

Obesity runs in my family, and has probably caused the Diabetes Type 2 that have been recently diagnosed in my family members. To say I'm scared is an understatement. It was one of the reasons I started getting in shape finally, and taking charge of my food intake. But I've gained so much weight since starting, I'm terrified I'm doing something wrong.

My workouts are 6 days a week.

Sun-Tues-Thurs, I do weight lifting for 44 minutes (4 minute warm up, 20 minutes upper body, 20 minutes lower body). The workout I use is Kathy Smith's Lift Weights to Lose Weight DVDs (both 1 and 2 - I switch them in and out to prevent boredom). My weights are 2.6 lbs, 7.6 lbs, and 12.6 lbs. I'm delighted with my ability to do it. It is always challenging. My chronic back ache has stopped for the first time in about 10 years after all the core work I've done in the past few months. My legs and arms are becoming more defined. I am not sure if the weight gain is due to all this strength training. If so, how do I know?

Mon - Weds - Fri, I run. I am on the Couch to 5K programme. I am in Week 5 (Run 3). I've gone very slowly with this programme as I'm new to running (well, I haven't run like this since high school). I had injuries in Week 2, took a week off entirely at one point to rest, and was ill for half of last week, which interrupted Week 5. Despite all that, I am delighted to report that I can run for 8 minutes straight and not fall over dead! The last time I did 12 minute runs, I was 15 years old. (I'll be 30 this year.) Today I'm going to go for the 20 minute run, and I'm very curious to see if I can do it. I am very proud of myself for trying. I want to do a 5K Charity run before the end of this year, and climb Ben Lomond with my husband (I promised him at Christmas that we would).

The only thing worrying me is that I'm only 16 pounds away from being 200 lbs. This terrifies me more than I can put into words, because of the aforementioned obesity/diabetes in my family.

Any advice anyone can offer would be greatly appreciated.

Dot

PS - I really love myfitnesspal. It works well on my iPhone and it's convenient for use at work. I enjoy the recipe function the best, as my diet means I cook a lot at home instead of purchasing ready meals or takeaways. Best of all - it's free!

ramseyrose

If I were you I would get a HRM (got mine on ebay for £25 and its been fab). Try cutting down the cals slowly by 100 each week. and eating your exercise cals. If you have lost a dress size I shouldnt worry about the scales. They dont take into account, body fat, water retention (which you will have when gaining muscle as they need it for repair).

RichardCh

I think it mainly due to the fact your gaining muscle mass which ways more than fat. I think you start to lose again if you lowered the weight lifting part of your excise and increased the amount of running you did.
P.S you body changing its normal to but on a little weight as you gain muscle once that happens you start to lose again

MrsM1ggins

If I were you I would get a HRM (got mine on ebay for £25 and its been fab). Try cutting down the cals slowly by 100 each week. and eating your exercise cals. If you have lost a dress size I shouldnt worry about the scales. They dont take into account, body fat, water retention (which you will have when gaining muscle as they need it for repair).

If you decide to get a HRM Lidl have them this week for £12.99!

kell_riley

It's totally normal to put on weight when weight training and running!
You a possibly gaining muscle mass and retaining water. Muscle takes up leaa space than fat so chances are you have lost fat and gained muscle nausea on your decrease in dress size!

How much water are you drinking? Drink more lol! Your muscles need water to repair them after a workout, I noticed when I started running that my weight stayed the same or I gained, I started drinking more water and the weight fell off! Well done on couch to 5k by the way! I did this and I have found a love for running now! I started in march and this weekend completed 10k of running! It's quite addictive!

ratmist

Thanks everyone!! I'm amazed at the support - thank you!!

What is an HRM, and is it approved for use by GPs / NHS? Is it a Heart Rate Monitor? What's the advantage of using one?

I'm one of these people that never ever goes on fad diets or uses gadgets (except for a pedometer and a set of scales), and I'm an indepenent researcher, so I'm always a skeptic first, and a convert after shedloads of data.

Dot

marianne_s

HRM = Heart Rate Monitor
HRMs are for exercise purposes....nothing to do with the NHS....! The type that you need should come with a chest strap and a watch - it will calculate an accurate calorie burn for you.

This acuracy of information is especially neccessary, if you're going to eat back your exercise calories - because the calorie amounts in the MFP aren't specific for everyone and you may be burning less calories than you think.

Also, you should monitor your sodium - you will be surprised at how it affects weight loss / water retention.

Lloyds Chemists were doing a HRM for £12.99 - £14.99....
If you do go buy one, just make sure it has a chest strap & that it allows you to enter some of the following personal info - age, sex, weight, height, VOMax, etc.

Vhovell

You'll probably find that with weight training you have gained muscle which is heavier than fat so i wouldn't worry too much just yet. Definately suggest drinking more water as that seems to have helped a lot of people!

I'm intreigued with the Counch to 5km thing that everyone is talking about...is it something you have to buy to do?

Good Luck!

MrsM1ggins

Couch to 5K is a learn to run program that takes you from, you've guessed it, your couch to being able to run 5K (or for 30 minutes continuously).

The basic idea is that in week 1 you alternate walking and running with the emphasis on walking and with very short periods of running.

In week 2 the ratio of walking to running changes so there's a little more time spent running.

In week 3 the ratio changes again. Lather, rinse, repeat for the typically 9-week program. If you find one week particularly difficult you can repeat it until you feel ready to move on to the next week.

There are loads of programs available if you google C25K. You can download some of them to itunes and use your MP3 player to take you through it in real time. All you really need is a stopwatch and running gear though.

Amo_Angelus

The more muscle you gain, the more you weigh, muscle is heavy! Way heavier than fat. The BMI is a mathematical construct that was never designed for people to actually use in determining whether they're fat or not and it means nothing in reality. Brad Pitt for example is borderline Morbidly obese...see my point? He's all mucle and that make him heavy, BMI theory mean nothing, if you're concerned about it you want to get something that measures muscle a well as fat not just height and weight.

beccarockslife

Can I just point out that muscle does not weigh more than fat. A lb of fat weighs the same as a lb of muscle. That really bugs me. lol. Muscle is more dense so it's weight takes up less space therefore you can weigh the same but be smaller.

It's unlikely you've built enough muscle and not lost any fat to put on 15lbs. Especially if your dress size has changed.

Maybe your pedometer isn't as accurate as you think, try not eating all your exercise cals for a bit and that may see a shift.

Mostly I wouldn't worry about whether you've put on unless you don't see the scale move for the next two weeks.

Amo_Angelus

Well yeah, but a lb of feathers and a lb of brick weigh the same >_< Muscle is more dense so the muscle that occupies a cm i more than the fat that can occupy the cm and therefore weighs more. Which is why I had the exact same measurements at two points of my life but weighed an extra stone when I was fitter. Because I had more muscle, a stones worth but it took up no extra room becaue I'd converted fat to mucle.