Getting bigger.... Pants tighter

tripletmom2004

I have been going to the gym regularly for a month now and counting my calories which I think I have had more good days than bad. I have not weighed myself in about 6 weeks so I have no idea what I weigh but my pants feel tighter not looser!! I thought that in 4 weeks I would have seen some sort of result. Help. So discouraged!!!

raisingbabyk

open your diary?

2012asv

I dont know what work outs you are doing at the gym, but over the past 2 months my thighs increased an inch, which I'm ok with because its muscle. But I'll be honest at first I could not believe it.

I experienced this effect on a few areas on my body- they got a little bigger before getting smaller. It's a bit discouraging at first, but as you build muscle the fat will start to shrink also. Hang in there, i'm sure you're doing the right stuff!!

tripletmom2004

Open. I know there are still big changes I need to make and bad habits to break. Today was a bad day. I completely blew it.

NoAdditives

Sometimes it takes a while to see progress. When you start exercising it's normal to retain some water as your body and muscles adjust. Give it more time, if you're eating at a deficit you're not gaining weight.

wookiemouse

How many calories and how much do you burn with exercise?

You can still gain weight if you eat over your TDEE and don't burn as much as you think. MFP is really bad about guesstimating calorie burn - it has me down for 600 cals on things i only burn 150 in reality.

beccarockslife

You eat a lot of processed food....could be salt bloat.

tripletmom2004

I will have to change that. Thanks and drink more water.

Helloitsdan

"Getting bigger.... Pants tighter"

Thats what he said!
=D

In all honesty, carbs are way to high, fat is too low, protein is wayyyy too low.
You are working in the right area, 1500 cals a day, but with the wrong materials.

Set protein and fat at 30% each and hit carbs hard on workout days and fats hard on rest days.
If you workout more than 3 times a week you may be overdoing it.

Abbreviate your routine and knock it down to 3 days a week with walking as your cardio and you WILL LOSE FAT!
PM me if you need specific numbers run because I can help you customize MFP to work for you.

Hugs!

tripletmom2004

I workout everyday and this past week have put on two workouts. Maybe I am overdoing the exercise. I do basically either the treadmill elliptical or recumbent bike.

Helloitsdan

Whats your body fat%?
It's possible that you need more weight lifting as opposed to cardio.

tripletmom2004

I don't know what my body fat % is

tripletmom2004

High I'm sure!!!

TourThePast

I workout everyday and this past week have put on two workouts. Maybe I am overdoing the exercise. I do basically either the treadmill elliptical or recumbent bike.

Get off the cardio and start lifting, really it's not that you're overdoing the exercise it's that you're concentrating too much on repetitive cardio which is great for health and cardiovascular fitness, great for burning calories as long as you're not eating more than you should to make up for the exercise, but it won't do a lot to improve your body shape.

TrainingWithTonya

I can't see your diary to see what you are doing exercise and eating wise, so I will just give a standard program. No program is perfect for everyone so if this isn't working in 6 weeks or so, we can change it up to adjust to how your body is responding.

First, go to my blog ( http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/TrainingWithTonya ) and figure your Calorie needs based on the formulas I have up there. I see you don't know your body fat %, so you will have to figure it out first. You can do it with a formula too, also in my blog, but way down, from May 2011. You will need the body fat % to figure your Calorie needs. Once you have your RMR (EER) figured, enter that as your goal on MFP so that when you add Calories for exercise then MFP will figure your TDEE daily because it changes daily. Eat NO LESS THEN 80% of your TDEE! Eating too little will tell the body to store fat and lose muscle, which is the exact opposite of what you want to do. Now for your percentages, unless you have a metabolic condition or other health issue that requires you to do something specific with your macronutrients, I recommend you start with about 55% carbs (the primary fuel for the weights you'll be doing later), 25% protein (the building block to maintain that muscle), and 20% fat (sticking with unsaturated fats for heart health). Honestly, I would use a range of 50-60% carbs, 20-30% protein, and 15-25% fat, but MFP only lets you use one % value when setting your goals, so just go with the middle one for setting it up but if you are slightly over or under on the individual macros, it's fine, just get close.

As for your workouts, you need to add weight training!!!! I recommend starting with a 5-10 minute warm up (longer warm ups for people with conditions like asthma, allergies, high blood pressure, etc., and shorter ones are fine for people with no illnesses or other issues), followed by weights for 20-30 minutes, followed by cardio for 20-30 minutes, and finish with a cool-down/stretch for 5-10 minutes. If you are going to workout every day, split your body parts up so that you aren't working the same body part two days in a row with weights. So, you can do any combination you like, but nothing two days in a row. I also recommend at least one day a week (preferably 2) of rest, but if you are one of those people who will lose motivation from not working out everyday, do a day where you are doing something milder like a beginners yoga, Pilates, tai chi, etc. instead of your weights and cardio. If you need more specifics because you aren't familiar with weight training, please PM me.

---

16 years Certified Personal Trainer and Group Exercise Instructor
9 years Certified Sports Nutritionist
Bachelors in Exercise Physiology with a Minor in Nutritional Science
ACSM Certified Clinical Exercise Specialist
NSCA Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist

tripletmom2004

My TDEE is 1808 so how many calories should I be eating to lose fat?? I have adjust my workout program to 4 days cardio, 2 days strength training and 1 day rest.

TrainingWithTonya

My TDEE is 1808 so how many calories should I be eating to lose fat?? I have adjust my workout program to 4 days cardio, 2 days strength training and 1 day rest.

Is this your TDEE or your RMR (EER)? TDEE changes daily based on your specific workouts, so you have to look at it daily to see the amount of Calories you need to eat. Once you have your TDEE, then multiply it by 0.8 to get the minimum number of Calories you need to eat to lose body fat.

---

16 years Certified Personal Trainer and Group Exercise Instructor
9 years Certified Sports Nutritionist
Bachelors in Exercise Physiology with a Minor in Nutritional Science
ACSM Certified Clinical Exercise Specialist
NSCA Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist

tripletmom2004

Got it-thanks!!