Is it common for jeans to feel tighter when you start exerci

HappilyLifts

Here's what's happened. I started working out 5 days a week for an hour at a time, since the beginning of January. The workouts leave me breathless so I am working hard. I started counting calories a couple of weeks ago (my diaries are open), before that I was eating reasonably. The last few weeks I've noticed that my jeans are becoming uncomfortably tighter around the belly and hips. My thighs are showing some muscle tone just above the knee but that's the only positive change I've noticed. I've lost maybe 2lbs.

So why are my jeans feeling tighter not looser?! It's really disheartening.

marie_2454

Do you use a heart rate monitor to track your calories burned? MFP tends to calculate them pretty high from what I've heard. Also, the cals burned here are always higher than the number whatever fitness machine I'm using says. If you're eating all or most of your exercise cals back that could be it. I don't have a HRM, so I usually only eat 1/2 my exercise cals back.

HappilyLifts

no, I don't yet have a HRM. I try not to eat all my exercise calories back. MFP has recommended just over 1500 cals but I'm going to aim for 1800-1900 for a while as I have about 3 stone to lose ( want to drop from 207 to 160 pounds), plus I try to burn 400-600 cals 5 days a week (using MFP's estimates).

I wondered if it could be all the water and fibre intake I am now getting, I am a bit, erm, windy :-) My stomach doesn't feel hard from top to bottom like it used to when I ate huge portions and alot of junk though.

I have only just started working on my core, so it can't be muscle building up under the rolls of fat.