Lost 23 lbs w/out exercise but started workouts this week an

cdavis2387

Since the first week in January, I've lost 23 pounds without any significant exercise. I decided not only to lose weight but to get healthy/fit and purchased P90X. This week I started doing the bonus power 90 workouts on the "How to Bring It" DVD that came with P90X & stopped losing weight. I increased my caloric intake (from 1550/day) to compensate for the workouts and actually gained weight so I backed off the calories and didn't gain but haven't lost either. It's only been a week but before I started excercising I was dropping a couple of pounds per week & I don't want to lose any progress. This may just be an adjustment period for my body to adjust to the new routine but it could be I'm not eating enough or over/underestimating the calories burned for each workout. I figure I'll just have to be patient & try increasing/decreasing my caloric intake but would be interested in other's opinions.

Anybody have a decent estimate of the calories burned on either of the UML or Cardio workouts I'm referring to? I can't find anything specific to P90X or Power 90 in the exercise database.

PS: holy crap the P90X shakeology is expensive. Really, is it that much better than other products that it justifies the price? I guess I'll have to try it & decide for myself.

ehg87

Remember that muscle weighs more than fat; if you're building muscle now that you're exercising that could cause a bit of a standstill in your weight loss.

nolakris

I've not tried the Shakeology, but 2 friends swear by the stuff. In my experience with working out, I either maintain or even gain the first couple of weeks. Always. Then, usually after 2 weeks, I start dropping again. Have you taken your measurements? I'd recommend that too, sometime the scale doesn't move, but that doesn't mean your body isn't changing.

PlanetVelma

Get an HRM to get a better estimate of your calorie burn. In the interium you could probably estimate using aerobics or circuit training that are in the database (?) Unless someone has a better suggestion.

A week isn't enough time to determine if the new caloric levels are going to work or not. Personally I'd give yourself about a month to adjust to exercise and new caloric levels.

Your food journal is closed so I can't give any feedback from there.

From my understanding the P90X workouts are pretty intense, so you're probably just not getting enough fuel/food.

Tourney3p0

Remember that muscle weighs more than fat; if you're building muscle now that you're exercising that could cause a bit of a standstill in your weight loss.

A standstill would occur only if they were eating as many calories as they were burning, which would also explain a lack of weight loss. If you're burning more than you're eating, whether it be from muscle, fat, etc, you're going to lose weight. The other option is water retention in the muscles, but that's not really muscle building either.

cdavis2387

I just read an article that reminded me of something I had forgotten & I'm certain is at least part of the solution. Skimping on sleep stalls calorie burning. I can't cram any more hours in the day so have been getting up an hour earlier than usual to do my workouts. I'm going to have to find a way to get to bed earlier.