So what am I doing wrong?

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  • Virginia90
    Virginia90 Posts: 317 Member
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    I am eating most of my exercise calories back (and it's why I exercise a little extra sometimes, so I can eat a little more. LOL) I am measuring everything (it's annoying my husband. lol) and weighing things on my postal scale (until I get a kitchen scale) that need weighing. So I can't build muscle while eating less? Does that mean I won't get stronger, or am I misunderstanding? I thought I was building a little muscle because if I flex my arms I can actually SEE something underneath it all, but no?

    You can get stronger without increasing muscle mass as you will be conditioning the muscle you do have. It is possible as someone new to exercise and with a fair bit of weight to lose, that you will gain some initial muscle, but while losing fat, the goal is to maintain as much of your existing lean muscle as possible (some loss will occur and the less you have to lose the higher % muscle loss is).

    So you will get stronger even if you don't gain muscle.

    Ah okay, good to know. That's why I'm exercising while doing this - I want to keep this tiny amount of muscle I already have.
  • shydaisi
    shydaisi Posts: 833 Member
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    I am eating most of my exercise calories back (and it's why I exercise a little extra sometimes, so I can eat a little more. LOL) I am measuring everything (it's annoying my husband. lol) and weighing things on my postal scale (until I get a kitchen scale) that need weighing. So I can't build muscle while eating less? Does that mean I won't get stronger, or am I misunderstanding? I thought I was building a little muscle because if I flex my arms I can actually SEE something underneath it all, but no?

    You can get stronger without increasing muscle mass as you will be conditioning the muscle you do have. It is possible as someone new to exercise and with a fair bit of weight to lose, that you will gain some initial muscle, but while losing fat, the goal is to maintain as much of your existing lean muscle as possible (some loss will occur and the less you have to lose the higher % muscle loss is).

    So you will get stronger even if you don't gain muscle.

    This!

    Plus, as you lose fat, you will be able to see more of the muscle beneath! :)
  • AJP59
    AJP59 Posts: 1 Member
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    :laugh: Thats happens sometimes and has happened to me which is why I give up - Stick at it, next week you could lose double !
  • jabberwockgee
    jabberwockgee Posts: 49 Member
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    I saw in your diary that you've lost great inches from the shred! Ignore the scale. When you lose inches but not weight that means you're replacing fat with muscle, so don't worry about it!

    Same here, I worked out with a trainer for a couple months, even biking 6 miles to and from the gym 3 times a week, and I was annoyed that I was stuck at the same weight the whole time. But then he measured my body fat percentage again and it had gone from 23% to 18%.

    Not losing weight doesn't mean nothing is happening, it may mean you're gaining muscle.

    And muscle burns more calories, I believe.
  • Virginia90
    Virginia90 Posts: 317 Member
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    *i see that you like grape fruit and oranges and bananas. the sugar in one ripe banana is equivalent to almost a CUP OF SUGAR!!! i would suggest trying a natural greek yogurt like chobani instead of the fruit. you have about the same amount of carbs, but waaay more protein. the pineapple ones are the bomb!!!

    I thought there was over 200 grams of sugar in a cup of sugar and only about 17 grams of sugar in a banana, or roughly 4.5 sugar cubes. :wink:
  • shydaisi
    shydaisi Posts: 833 Member
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    *i see that you like grape fruit and oranges and bananas. the sugar in one ripe banana is equivalent to almost a CUP OF SUGAR!!! i would suggest trying a natural greek yogurt like chobani instead of the fruit. you have about the same amount of carbs, but waaay more protein. the pineapple ones are the bomb!!!

    This makes it sound as though you are telling her to not eat fruit...
  • Crystalchaos72
    Crystalchaos72 Posts: 531
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    I've been at this for 5 weeks and haven't lost a pound. However I have lost 15 inches, 6% body fat, and gained 13lbs of muscle. It's hard not seeing a change in the scale but when you are exercising you put on muscle weight; which is 2x heavier than fat. My nutritionist and trainer both tell me to ignore the scale right now and measurements do not lie!
    [/quote


    WOW........13# of muscle in 5 weeks!!!!! :drinker:
  • dsak
    dsak Posts: 367 Member
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    Looks like you are eating pretty well and getting in enough water. You may want to track your SUGAR and SODIUM to see how much is hidden in the foods you are eating.

    I also see you are subtracting 200 calories for breastfeeding. I'm not sure what the normal calorie burn on that would be or if it should be tracked. That's honestly a new one for me to see on MFP.
  • Missjilly1025
    Missjilly1025 Posts: 146 Member
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    First off congrats for continuing breastfeeding it's so healthy for you and baby. Secondly, you might want to try and spread your calories out more. You dinners are much higher in calories than your breakfast and lunches. Breakfast is what starts you off for the day. You might want to shoot for around 300 calories for breakfast. Lastly, it takes time...if you stay dedicated it will come off.
  • brybre0413
    brybre0413 Posts: 212 Member
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    I saw in your diary that you've lost great inches from the shred! Ignore the scale. When you lose inches but not weight that means you're replacing fat with muscle, so don't worry about it!

    I second this one!!!!!
  • Yooperm35
    Yooperm35 Posts: 787 Member
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    An exclusively breastfeeding mother needs about 500 extra calories a day. My daughter will nurse once or twice a day - in the morning or before bed. I no longer count those calories, as I am hoping she is weaned very soon. When she was nursing twice a day on schedule, I added an extra 200 calories to my diet.

    Remember to drink LOTS of water.
  • Dumbell_Diva
    Dumbell_Diva Posts: 175 Member
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    The fact that you have a young baby, are breastfeeding and yet still managing to exercise is amazing! Give yourself a pat on the back! When I was feeding my first (Ive got 3 children) I could barely get dressed each day! Also breastfeeding massively increases the appetite, even on just one feed a day. When I fed my youngest, just before I gave up, he only had a small feed every day yet I was still craving lots of calories until I stopped entirely. My kids are aged 13, 10 and 7 and I lost about 45lb after each pregnancy but it came off slowly. I remember my first weigh in after having my youngest son and I actually gained weight. So stick with it.

    Ive been on this now since November. I stayed the same for the first week and several weeks afterwards. I only started losing when I started weighing my food religiously. Also I spent a good 4 weeks feeling negative about the weight gain and feeling sorry for myself (I gained it very very fast 30lb came on within 8 weeks due to 2 months taking contraceptive pill (hormones are just awful!!!!) and then quitting smoking and ate more). When I stayed the same weight I noticed my clothes became a little looser, so what about weekly measuring too. I have a pair of skinny jeans that I try on every couple days too, which is my yardstick! Another thing I did when I lost the 45lb of babyweight...everytime I lost 1lb, I put a tin of beans in a bag and after a few pounds off it really is so encouraging to see how heavy that bag is getting and how well you are doing.

    Best of luck...you can so do this.
  • siabevis
    siabevis Posts: 811
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    It takes a while for body to adjust
  • rpeterman22
    rpeterman22 Posts: 6 Member
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    i suggest measuring yourself. it's the best way to tell a seriously difference. i'm sure you have heard that muscle weighs more than fat and that's true. so just measure yourself in the places that count every couple of weeks and log it on here! you'll really be happy once you see that your losing inches.
  • andreaeose777
    andreaeose777 Posts: 24 Member
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    I noticed your breastfeeding. Your body can fluctuate with fluid so much when u are breastfeeding especially if you haven't had a recent feed. Just keep going. There were weeks when I was breastfeeding that I wouldn't loose anything but the next week id loose 2 or 3 lbs.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,394 MFP Moderator
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    First off congrats for continuing breastfeeding it's so healthy for you and baby. Secondly, you might want to try and spread your calories out more. You dinners are much higher in calories than your breakfast and lunches. Breakfast is what starts you off for the day. You might want to shoot for around 300 calories for breakfast. Lastly, it takes time...if you stay dedicated it will come off.
    It does not matter if you all your calories in one meal or five meals, as your body doesnt know the difference. Your metabolism will still continue to work 24 hrs a day.
  • Yooperm35
    Yooperm35 Posts: 787 Member
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    First off congrats for continuing breastfeeding it's so healthy for you and baby. Secondly, you might want to try and spread your calories out more. You dinners are much higher in calories than your breakfast and lunches. Breakfast is what starts you off for the day. You might want to shoot for around 300 calories for breakfast. Lastly, it takes time...if you stay dedicated it will come off.
    It does not matter if you all your calories in one meal or five meals, as your body doesnt know the difference. Your metabolism will still continue to work 24 hrs a day.

    I just watched Dr. Oz last week and Chris Powell was on there and talked about how to increase your metabolism:

    http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/3-rules-reboot-metabolism

    I have to disagree with eating all of your calories in one meal or 5. I was stuck at not losing any weight despite moving and eating the suggested calories a day (sometimes in one meal, or 2) and once I started eating 3 meals a day plus snacks - spreading out the calories - wow - the weight started coming off!
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,550 Member
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    If you are putting on muscle, you would be adding weight since muscle weighs more than fat. You should stick to cardio in the beginning. Also, how many carbs are you doing in a day?
    You don't add muscle on calorie deficit. And why stick to just cardio?


    A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,550 Member
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    I'm hesitant to believe it's water retention, because from the 1st to the 2nd, I dropped 5lbs overnight and assumed that was my water weight (probably from eating less carbs - unintentionally) . Since then, nothing. :frown:
    And then you ate more carbs which when your body starts conditioning itself for the next workout, will store more glycogen and water. Also water is NEEDED to repair any muscle. This is science we're talking here.


    A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,394 MFP Moderator
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    First off congrats for continuing breastfeeding it's so healthy for you and baby. Secondly, you might want to try and spread your calories out more. You dinners are much higher in calories than your breakfast and lunches. Breakfast is what starts you off for the day. You might want to shoot for around 300 calories for breakfast. Lastly, it takes time...if you stay dedicated it will come off.
    It does not matter if you all your calories in one meal or five meals, as your body doesnt know the difference. Your metabolism will still continue to work 24 hrs a day.

    I just watched Dr. Oz last week and Chris Powell was on there and talked about how to increase your metabolism:

    http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/3-rules-reboot-metabolism

    I have to disagree with eating all of your calories in one meal or 5. I was stuck at not losing any weight despite moving and eating the suggested calories a day (sometimes in one meal, or 2) and once I started eating 3 meals a day plus snacks - spreading out the calories - wow - the weight started coming off!

    Not that I want to contradict a TV star on their vast wisdom of eating and whats health, there are a ton of recent studies that show other results. Have you heard of interim fasting? The truth behind eating 5+ meals a day to lose weight comes down to one simple thing; you make smarter choices. When you are hungry, you tend to make worse choices of food and tend to splurge. There is no metabolic reasoning to eat more frequently. It still takes the same amount of energy to digest the food, rather it's one meal or 5 meals or 10 meals. I would suggest looking back at your diary to see if you made better food choices while eating more often. I will note, that I eat 7 times a day because it's better for me mentally. I make a lot better choices when I eat often over interim fasting.

    Also, from a personal standpoint, I can't believe Dr. Oz as he used to support HCG. I am sure he can be capable but in the end, he is on TV and he is trying to get ratings and I am sure is paid to support certain products.


    http://www.marksdailyapple.com/meal-timing/#axzz1j4Kj86IY

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19943985

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