Not losing much weight with high-intensity type workouts?

gerbies

I've been reading a bunch of posts on-line, including success stories. The more of them I read, the more I've been noticing moderate to low weight loss results with high-intensity workouts. Some examples include TurboFire, Insanity, Jillian Michaels Body Revolution, etc. People just aren't losing the same amount of weight as people with similar starting body compositions as those who do elliptical, running, etc. I realize that one might have fat loss with muscle building/retention that does not show itself on the scale. This also would make sense for someone who is within 20 lbs of goal weight (e.g., lower weight loss equates to higher % of total weight loss).

Anyone who is "overweight" or obese who has noticed this? I really love super high-intensity workouts (fun to see what I can do), but see more scale results with more moderate workouts. I've been doing Power90 (alternating cardio workouts with weight-based interval workouts), which also builds muscle, but is not as intense as some of the other examples.

I wonder if it makes more sense to get a bit closer to goal before doing really high, high-intensity workouts. That is, do more moderate workouts, ensure I have a strong calorie cut and lose a bulk of my weight now? Is it smart to do such high-intensity workouts when you're over 200 lbs (as a woman)?

Thoughts?

phillips529

I can feel your frustration. I've been on MFP for awhile to realized that you really need to do what you love to do. Don't believe everything you read on the message boards. Some have great intentions but truthfully all of our circumstances are different and will achieve different results.

What ever activity that you love to do...just do it and have fun...your getting active. Stay safe with good from, eat right and have a blast getting in shape. This journey is not meant to stress you out. It's meant to change your life for the better. I myself have tried it all...and for me... high intensity like turbo fire and circuit training for resistance training works for me. All I'm saying find what works for you...if you like it stick with it and enjoy the ride to the new you...Take Care!

egatta

I can feel your frustration. I've been on MFP for awhile to realized that you really need to do what you love to do. Don't believe everything you read on the message boards. Some have great intentions but truthfully all of our circumstances are different and will achieve different results.

What ever activity that you love to do...just do it and have fun...your getting active. Stay safe with good from, eat right and have a blast getting in shape. This journey is not meant to stress you out. It's meant to change your life for the better. I myself have tried it all...and for me... high intensity like turbo fire and circuit training for resistance training works for me. All I'm saying find what works for you...if you like it stick with it and enjoy the ride to the new you...Take Care!

^^^ love this

peacelovelose

I'm going to bump because I've been noticing a similar thing. For me, I assumed it was other factors, but I'd like to hear other explanations/experiences!

heather_huggins

yes i totally agree. i'm doing jillian michael's 30 day shred and have 15 pounds until my goal weight and i've pretty much reached a plateau and i can't beat it. i've noticed my inches have gone down, but my weight is not changing. a lot of people have told me it's because i'm gaining muscle now. it's very frustrating and discouraging to not see a decrease in numbers on the scale though. very un-motivating

tenshiblue

This is a very interesting post. I can't really confirm this. For me, I plateaued for an entire 3 month! During these 3 month, I was doing high intensity work out such as Turbofire, Insanity, and alternating with weight training.

It was an incredibly frustrating 3 month. I was working out hard and eating as health as I can and within my calorie limit. The scale wasn't budging! It wasn't until I started taking weight loss supplement did my weight start to drop again.

I'm interested to know what other people have to say about this.

tap_0072

I have been doing insanity and have gotten similar results (only 2 weeks of it though). Even though the scale has frustrated me; I already feel stronger and have noticed weight loss by how my clothes fit. I am going to stick with it and try not to worry about the scale. I want to become healthier and I know exercise is important. As long as you are losing the inches, I wouldn't be too worried about the scale. GL!

Tiberius707

Weight is totally based on nutrition - if you want to lose weight you need to reduce your calorie intake. That's why you can lose weight by eating well even if you don't work out. Workouts will obviously help that process along with providing a ton of other great stuff and the higher intensity the more calories you will burn and the faster you will lose weight, so I would recommend checking how many calories you need to be having to achieve your goal weight and setting that with custom goals with mfp. There are a lot of formulas out there to do that so I would say just use to google to find one. I have been doing p90x for 6 months and have lost 30 lbs, but I could tell when i didnt eat as well my weight didnt drop as fast as when i was eating well. Also, the nutritional values of foods is highly important - 2000 calories of processed stuff and red meat and white bread and fast food and etc....is not the same as 2000 calories of whole grains, lean proteins fruits, vegetables, and healthy fats. So make sure you are taking in the right number of calories for your goal weight. And btw you will be hungry if it's less than what your currently taking in everyday, but stick with it!

mustgetmuscles1

Could be a ton of variables for this but I think you nailed it in your OP. Weight loss is NOT going to be as fast when you are preserving lean body mass. THAT IS A GOOD THING. Getting rid of body fat should be the goal not some number on a scale.

Second I think a LOT of people severely over-estimate the calories they are burning on some of these programs.

michellekicks

I've always had a harder time shedding pounds with high intensity cardio... and I LOVE to run! I lose weight much easier with diet and walking. As soon as I add a bunch of high stress workouts to my body I need to eat a lot more... the acceptable deficit range (i.e. the sweet spot) gets smaller.

If you train at a sport because you love the sport, keep going. If you don't, work out moderately - 30 minutes a day most days of the week and lose weight through diet. It's easier in my opinion.

BBcoachJSMottin

One thing to take into consideration is that it's not going to happen in just one round. There are Insanity success stories about people that have lost 100+ lbs in MULTIPLE rounds. I myself am about 3/4 the way through. I've lost 21 lbsin 5 weeks, but put on quite a bit muscle mass. The measurements are where the true results are.

Also, many people that do Insanity and similar workouts don't eat properly either. You need to eat and do it healthy to lose weight while working out. I'm not saying to pig out, but you need to be conscious of your intake and calories you burn or your fat burn/weight loss can stall out. It is proven that people who track calories become more aware of how much they eat. In a recent study, it was shown that people who counted calories, even if just initially, were 90% more successful in long term weight loss that stayed off.

I know a lot of people say that it's not as easy as it sounds and they're right. It's not. The high intensity workout is only the beginning. All in all, its all about the lifestyle change. It's not just about the quick loss. Without the full lifestyle change, the quick loss won't last and will be very unhealthy.

sweetchildomine

*sigh* Why are people so focused on the NUMBER? If you're losing inches, isn't that what matters? Ps. Obviously that pic is not me lol.

princessarah1984

Try to remember that you build muscle mass that weighs the same as the fat you lost but takes up a smaller area. Sadly i have the same problem also but because MFP doesn't track for me muscle mass and body fat even though i burn body fat i have gained five pounds in muscle. So i go for measurements to see my numbers because i am a number person!

Also my trainer makes me take a "easy" workout day where i stay in my "fat burn" zone. Though he doesn't believe in the fat burn zone he wants me to keep a moderate pace and it helps me to have a heart rate number to follow.

Also another key ( i know so many but i have done so much research and hired a trainer and added a nutritionist to expand my knowledge and to share) its 70% diet and 30% exercise, when and how you eat for your body can really give you a huge push.

Hope this helps

jlohcook

I've always had a harder time shedding pounds with high intensity cardio... and I LOVE to run! I lose weight much easier with diet and walking. As soon as I add a bunch of high stress workouts to my body I need to eat a lot more... the acceptable deficit range (i.e. the sweet spot) gets smaller.

If you train at a sport because you love the sport, keep going. If you don't, work out moderately - 30 minutes a day most days of the week and lose weight through diet. It's easier in my opinion.

That seems to be it, high intensity, need more energy, eat more to keep up. I tried this too, in fact I gain on high intensity workout week, because I'm so hungry that I ate back all my calories and maybe more because I'm so hungry all the time. I think there's a need to moderate the workout, and main thing about losing weight is the diet. So, do what works for you.

cindybickler

it ultimately is calories in and calories burned. BUT you have to eat healthy to achieve some of the results you see. Not until I stopped eating sugar, processed foods and salt did i start to see results in my muscle tone. I weigh 157 and wear a size 10 and about 10 years ago i was down to 145 and wore a size 14 and had to wear a XL in shirts because my arms were so big. now i am even able to wear medium tops and the arms fit. Most people don't believe i weigh that much. My aunt made me get on the scale and prove it. : ) I would like to be 150 and even if and when i get there it is not like i can quit and go back to my old way of life, so why get wrapped up in what the scale says??? You are choosing a healthy way to live not a number on the scale. Enjoy the ride! : ) And i totally a

cindybickler

i totally agree, do what you love. and try new things!!! got cut off by my fat fingers.....

heybales

Diet is a stress on your body. Too restrictive even more stressful.

Exercise past a certain point or intensity is just additional stress without nearly the benefit derived from it.

Too much stress causes hormone imbalances that will make the weight loss more difficult, either because you slowed your metabolism not eating properly for the level of exercise, or the exercise is not helping keep LBM, but helping to burn it.

Diet is for fat loss.
Exercise is for heart health and body improvement - and may help or hinder fat loss.

anemoneprose

I think you should hold off any kind of impact until you're within 10 lbs of your goal weight.

I lost 50 lbs by calorie counting and doing C25k, Jillian Michaels, and other high-impact activities. I'm at goal weight, but have body composition issues and a handful of injuries to show for it (which, by the way, have restricted me from impact activities - ie, most recreational sports - for life.)

Which is really frustrating. Just as I finally got to enjoy feeling strong, and being in my body - after a lifetime of having not much to do with it, and after so much effort and solitary work - I can't do the fun stuff.

I say, watch your cals, strength train, and walk, swim, row or bike at moderate intensity until your body can cope with it.

(Unless your high intensity stuff is on low/no-impact machines)

DavPul

*sigh* Why are people so focused on the NUMBER? If you're losing inches, isn't that what matters? Ps. Obviously that pic is not me lol.

I was pretty sure that pic was of you. I thought you just dyed your hair or something. Either way I agree with your comment about scale weight vs inches.

To the OP, the workout isn't what makes you lose weight. The calorie deficit does. I do the same high intensity type work all the time, and when I want to lose/gain/maintain weight I manipulate my calorie intake. When I'm on a severely restricted calorie intake I may lower the intensity or amount of exercise, not because I lose more weight, but because I no longer have the energy to work that hard and am not getting enough cals to recover.

If people aren't losing while doing high intensity workouts, I would bet they are overestimating their calorie burn and overeating as a result.

meshashesha2012

fcukascale :laugh:

i primarily do high intense stuff and i'm burning tons of fat. the scale hasnt caught up to my loss BUT i've gone from a size 20 to a size 12 as of sept 1 and that's becoming a little loose. i also havent lost any scale weight for about 2 months now which means i weighed the same at a size 16/18 as i do now at a 12

most of the people i know who are doing it the moderate way are also spending lots of time obsessing over calories (which i dont), are regularly exercising 90-120+ minutes a day and haven't really lost inches. i'd rather be able to eat whatever i want (within reason), fit into smaller clothes and have the majority of my workouts be 60 minutes including warm up, workout and cooldown.

it all comes down to what your goals are. if you're more concerned with needing to see a specific number on the scale, then high intense workouts and weight lifting probably arent going to be the right option

Jynus

The obsession people have with the number on a scale rather than how they look utterly baffles me....

gerbies

I agree with all of you, particularly when someone has 30 lbs or less to lose...inches/body composition matters much, much more. But when someone has 100 lbs to lose, isn't it more healthy to lose weight at a quicker pace (e.g., 2 lbs a week) for the first chunk, then focus on muscle retention when you're a bit closer to a healthy BMI (maybe in the "overweight" category)? Ultimately, when someone is 100 lbs+ overweight, the person has to lose some of the muscle mass (especially a woman), because she has more muscle mass than she will need at her goal weight due to carrying that volume of weight around.

I question if the "fat loss" only focus at that high of a weight makes more sense when you have less to lose. That is, create your calorie deficit, do moderate exericse and strength training in the beginning, then when a bit lighter, focus on high-intensity exercise in order to maintain/build muscle mass.

My question was less about the impact of high-intensity workouts on all people...and more on the impact to obese individuals.

AlsDonkBoxSquat

Could be a ton of variables for this but I think you nailed it in your OP. Weight loss is NOT going to be as fast when you are preserving lean body mass. THAT IS A GOOD THING. Getting rid of body fat should be the goal not some number on a scale.

Second I think a LOT of people severely over-estimate the calories they are burning on some of these programs.

This. While it's great to see those pounds drop on the scale, it's really only one factor, and not necessarily the BEST focus. I would suggest that if you're going to commit to one of those programs that you do it like you mean it for a month, and stay away from the scale. Get your bodyfat% checked before you start and then again at the one month marker, as it's a MUCH better way of analyzing results. The goal of hiit (high intensity interval training) is to burn fat while preserving lean mass, pair this with weight training and a proper diet and you should see that bf% drop significantly while the scale may not move as much as someone who only commits to pure cardio. Also, it's important to get as accurate an estimate of calories burned by using a hr monitor with a chest strap or a bodybugg or fitbit (I'm not sure how the chest strap does on folks with more to lose).

And to answer the burning question of why stay off the scale for a month - when you add a new exercise you will find that you may increase weight over the first week or two of starting the new program. This is water retention and has nothing to do with true weight. When you bang your leg on something your body's natural instinct to that trauma is to rush fluid to the area as a part of the healing process. When you add a new exercise you cause trauma throughout your entire body, so that happens all over adding to your wieght on the scale. It takes a few weeks to sort out sometimes.

squirmmonster

Actually, quite the opposite for me. I started off my weight loss at 276. I'm now 242-3, depending on how you read my scale needle. My calories for most of that time, said I should be losing about a pound a week, but I've been able to lose 2-5 lbs a week, depending on the week, by doing high intensity workouts. Usually an hour a day, sometimes half an hour or an hour and a half. It depends on what combination of workouts I'm doing. I get tired of repeating certain workouts, especially if I find the trainer annoying. XD

HOWEVER... All of my high intensity workouts were cardio alone, and I did some sporadic strength training here and there. Last week, I did start Shed and Shred. The first two days were murder, cardiovascular wise. I was actually a little light headed. However, that only took a little while to remedy itself, and my heart is going hard, but not overly hard, considering, when I do it now. So after the third day, my muscles were aching REALLY bad all over. I weighed myself on day four, and had GAINED five pounds. But after the weekend, when I don't work out, I've lost all of those five, and two or three more. (I started this week at 245ish.) I was retaining a full eight pounds of water, which, with a body my size, and with the amount of muscular soreness I had, is completely feasible, I think.

Additionally, every week I have failed to exercise less than three days a week, has been a complete plateau. Granted, I do use a mechanical scale, but face it: a difference of less than a pound could easily reflect whether or not you just had a cup of tea. I lost 2-3 this week, and my calories have NOT been immaculate. I overdid it yesterday, and one day earlier in the week.

So no. Everything these people are saying, isn't true for everyone. For me, working out hard is the way to get the weight off at a reasonable pace. I think the issue is that there is a lot of water retention happening in those who are also doing strength training... so they don't seem to be losing weight. But they are losing fat, more than likely. I'm eating at a deficit, but get plenty of protein. My arms and legs are definitely WAY more toned than when I began. I have gained muscle mass and lost fat. It is quite possible. I wouldn't say it's possible to look for HUGE muscle gains on a diet, but assuming everyone has to lose muscle mass? Please. The body isn't THAT inefficient.

AlsDonkBoxSquat

I agree with all of you, particularly when someone has 30 lbs or less to lose...inches/body composition matters much, much more. But when someone has 100 lbs to lose, isn't it more healthy to lose weight at a quicker pace (e.g., 2 lbs a week) for the first chunk, then focus on muscle retention when you're a bit closer to a healthy BMI (maybe in the "overweight" category)? Ultimately, when someone is 100 lbs+ overweight, the person has to lose some of the muscle mass (especially a woman), because she has more muscle mass than she will need at her goal weight due to carrying that volume of weight around.

I question if the "fat loss" only focus at that high of a weight makes more sense when you have less to lose. That is, create your calorie deficit, do moderate exericse and strength training in the beginning, then when a bit lighter, focus on high-intensity exercise in order to maintain/build muscle mass.

My question was less about the impact of high-intensity workouts on all people...and more on the impact to obese individuals.

No, if your focus is to get healthy than you want to lose as much fat as possible while trying to preserve as much lean mass as possible. It's not the weight that's sitting around the organs causing potential health risks, it's the fat. The focus shouldn't be on the scale . . . the scale isn't what's unhealthy . . . it's the fat.

cindybickler

when i started my journey i was obese. i have to ask my doctor what my heaviest weight was, it is something i didn't want to accept at the time and i frankly don't remember. but my best guess is at least 220. i started with turbo jam. i don't consider that high intensity anymore but i sure did back then! i think the best advice for anyone is find something you like to do! if you don't like it you are more likely to give up! once you start and see results i think most of us start to say wow! if i can do this, maybe i should try something a little harder! : ) And no matter how much weight you have left to loose, FAT is the only thing i want to loose!!!!:bigsmile:

bbriscoe13

For me, I started with running only and no strength training. You are right, I did lose the most WEIGHT when I was doing that, but I did not notice a significant difference in my appearance. It wasn't until I started doing weight training and other things rather than cardio that I noticed a change in appearance. I only lost 10-15 pounds with that, but I went from a size 8 to a size 4. It isn't all about the weight. Losing weight at a slower rate seems to be working well for me. I haven't been able to lose the last bit of weight that I want to, but I also haven't gained any in over a year. Good luck and don't get discouraged with the number on the scale (it does not define you).

alpine1994

*sigh* Why are people so focused on the NUMBER? If you're losing inches, isn't that what matters? Ps. Obviously that pic is not me lol.

Some people (including myself) have a reason to get to a certain number. Mine has to do with a hobby/sport that I do. I understand your point, but everyone's goals are different. I'm very focused on the number.

cindybickler

For me, I started with running only and no strength training. You are right, I did lose the most WEIGHT when I was doing that, but I did not notice a significant difference in my appearance. It wasn't until I started doing weight training and other things rather than cardio that I noticed a change in appearance. I only lost 10-15 pounds with that, but I went from a size 8 to a size 4. It isn't all about the weight. Losing weight at a slower rate seems to be working well for me. I haven't been able to lose the last bit of weight that I want to, but I also haven't gained any in over a year. Good luck and don't get discouraged with the number on the scale (it does not define you).

i have been focusing on strength training for just over 3 months now and i lost an additional 8 lbs but went from a size 12 to a 10. i enjoy weight training and plan on running my first half marathon in the spring. I am excited to see what changes will happen to my body next! you are so right the number on the scale does not define you. : )

cars1244

I know this is way late, but I just came across this and found it very interesting. About 3 years ago I was within 10-15 pounds of my ideal weight and decided to do the P90X program. I finished the full 90 days and did not lose much weight but had never been happier with my body. 2 years later the weight came back plus a lot more so I tried the program again. I felt stronger, but was not seeing the results I wanted. So I tried Insanity, and again I felt like i was getting in better shape but I only lost about 5 pounds in 2 months.

I know some people say that the scale does not matter, but actually it does. I know I probably gained some muscle, but that number definitely needed to be coming down, and I was not about to let myself buy into the "well muscle weighs more than fat, so its okay that I'm 35 pounds overweight" excuse.

A couple months ago I decided to just run and use MFP to count calories and nothing else. I run an average of 5x a week and started the C25K plan. I have lost 15 pounds. I recently went to my doctor to tell her about it, and she said that high intensity workouts are not ideal until I am closer to my goal weight (exactly what you predicted). The reason is because they burn mainly glycogen, whereas lower intensity workouts (such as jogging) burn fat.

Thought that might be helpful if you're still interested!