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bride2be on 30ds and gains weight 0_o

chroniclesofthinoholic
chroniclesofthinoholic Posts: 143 Member
edited December 2024 in Fitness and Exercise
A friend of mine started doing 30ds after I recommended it to her...and in ten days time she added on around 9 pounds... She is all upset...and I don't know what went wrong...I thought a 20minute start to a workout would see her losing weight quick...especially since the first week of dieting/working out is where you lose the most....

Her height is 5"4 and her starting weight was 154 pounds...

Please do help...because she wants to quit (lack of motivation) and her wedding is coming up and she's all depressed

Replies

  • tinad120
    tinad120 Posts: 267 Member
    Everyone loses weight differently; one week isn't enough of a time frame to get upset and quit. Make sure that she's tracking what she eats properly, keeps hydrated, and stays motivated.

    Also, not all workouts work for everyone. You cry & get upset, then you move on to one that works for you (her).
  • summerlovin0817
    summerlovin0817 Posts: 12
    I've found that whenever I start something new that my body is not used to (meaning a new exercise regime), I put on a few pounds. It is very difficult to gain 9 pounds of fat in a week. Most (if not all of it) is probably water weight. I recently started lifting, and my muscles were definitely swollen the first few days, and of course I gained "weight" the first week. Muscles hold on to water to repair themselves, even from cardio exercises (like 30ds). However, stick with it and you will see the drop. When I did P90x a year ago (quit it because it was boring after 30 days) I gained 10 pounds the first 2 weeks, but lost 2 inches in my waist. 2 weeks later (4 weeks in) i had lost that 10 pounds, plus 7 more, so encourage her to not take the scale so seriously. I had to take the batteries out and hide mine in an inconvenient location to keep myself from weighing everyday. The stress of not losing can make you not lose (and binge if you aren't prepared to cope). Good luck to your friend!
  • DrMAvDPhD
    DrMAvDPhD Posts: 2,097 Member
    Well, there are really only two options. (1) She is eating at or below maintenance and is retaining a lot of water due to the intensity of the workout. No big deal. or (2) She is eating waaaaaaaaaaay too much, in that case, it isn't your fault. It takes a huge calorie surplus to gain 9 pound of fat or muscle.
  • jamers3111
    jamers3111 Posts: 495 Member
    Is she on MFP and/or tracking her food? Maybe her appetite has increased with the increase in activity and she is eaten too much? That would be the most realistic explaination. This happened to me when I started back into running a couple years back. I am a bride to be (2.5 weeks!!) and that would scare the hell out of me!
  • jgm379
    jgm379 Posts: 97 Member
    When i exercise w/o watching my calorie intake I gain weight too. She probably just built muscle.
  • vmekash
    vmekash Posts: 422 Member
    Surely, it is just muscle build up. How does she feel? Do her clothes still fit? Do they fit better? Are they too big now?
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
    She should take measurements. She should lose inches, and the point is looking smaller, fitting into wedding dress, etc. She should stop weighing herself, eat right, keep exercising and the inches will start coming off.
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
    Unless she was eating at a 3500 cal/day surplus you know it's not fat. I'm also pretty certain that it's physically impossible to pack on 9 lbs of muscle in that short of a time either.

    Did she weigh herself on the same scale, same time of day etc etc?

    Has she increased her sodium intake?

    I can tell you from personal experience that significant increases in exercise intensity and duration can result in temporary water weight gain. (Just for fun I weighed myself the morning of and the day after a really intense bike ride - I "gained" 5 lbs overnight which disappeared over a couple of days)
  • chroniclesofthinoholic
    chroniclesofthinoholic Posts: 143 Member
    Thank you all...sadly no she's not on mfp yet... her laptop is busted but I have read each and every response to her here so thank you once again!

    ... I thought I'd help her track her calories... and have asked for her measurements for tomorrow...because i seriously suspect that even though she says she eats less she must be eating the wrong food high in sodium and fat.... or maybe it could be she is eating less and her body is holding on to it


    So do I suggest her to increase or decrease calories?
    I asked her to cut down fried food and sweets to a complete zero though...and reduce her rice intake to a fist size... she eats rice for lunch everyday...
  • chroniclesofthinoholic
    chroniclesofthinoholic Posts: 143 Member
    Is she on MFP and/or tracking her food? Maybe her appetite has increased with the increase in activity and she is eaten too much? That would be the most realistic explaination. This happened to me when I started back into running a couple years back. I am a bride to be (2.5 weeks!!) and that would scare the hell out of me!


    yes she is freaking out ...this is her heaviest it seems... she never has ever crossed 70 kgs :O... I don't want her to gain because of the wrong advice I give... I do realize different bodies have different ways of losing..and what works for me may not work for her!
  • chroniclesofthinoholic
    chroniclesofthinoholic Posts: 143 Member
    . I had to take the batteries out and hide mine in an inconvenient location to keep myself from weighing everyday. The stress of not losing can make you not lose (and binge if you aren't prepared to cope). Good luck to your friend!

    I have suggested this but she threatened to kill me if at the end of the month she realizes she has only gained... not ready to take the risk lol!
    :laugh:
  • chroniclesofthinoholic
    chroniclesofthinoholic Posts: 143 Member


    Did she weigh herself on the same scale, same time of day etc etc?

    Has she increased her sodium intake?


    same scale same time of the day... her sodium intake i what i think the issue should be!
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member

    So do I suggest her to increase or decrease calories?
    I asked her to cut down fried food and sweets to a complete zero though...and reduce her rice intake to a fist size... she eats rice for lunch everyday...

    Well, how many calories is she eating now? She has only been doing it for a week or so right? That is not long enough to gauge. What is her height, weigh and age? You can estimate the amount of calories she should target.... but depending on different factors, you sometimes have to keep readjusting to find out what works best for her. Also, people often underestimate their portion sizes. If she is really serious, she will need to measure and weigh food.
  • chroniclesofthinoholic
    chroniclesofthinoholic Posts: 143 Member
    I asked her food...and it is mainly carbs and around 1200 calories.. in total..but this is only a rough estimate...


    her height is 5"2(160 cm) and weighs right now around 73 kilos (160 pounds)...

    I have asked her to measure the size next time for accurate reading...but the food probably has a lot of spices and added oils... that would increase the calories by another 200 easy... the fish she eats are all deep fried...and the Vegetable curry probably has a lot of oils <she is Indian>... She should probably cook for herself from now on to watch her weight......
  • DopeItUp
    DopeItUp Posts: 18,771 Member
    Doing some moderate exercise (or almost any amount of exercise) isn't going to do anything if her diet isn't on track. She's gotta fix that first.

    She definitely didn't gain any muscle so she either added 9lbs of water weight or perhaps even some fat in there if she's overeating. Without logging her food it's all just a random guess beyond that.
  • chroniclesofthinoholic
    chroniclesofthinoholic Posts: 143 Member
    I have asked her to somehow log in her food everyday... download an application... she's all upset now...and won't workout...
    I guess I'll let her "self pity" for tonight and push her with pics of her wedding outfit tomorrow...
  • jamacattack
    jamacattack Posts: 94 Member
    She should take measurements. She should lose inches, and the point is looking smaller, fitting into wedding dress, etc. She should stop weighing herself, eat right, keep exercising and the inches will start coming off.

    This. I took my measurements today, even though the scale hasn't changed it a while- I've lost 4" and then I did my body fat calculations and I've lost 5% body fat. The scale isn't everything.
  • secretlobster
    secretlobster Posts: 3,566 Member
    Nine pounds in ten days?

    She's pregnant
  • jamers3111
    jamers3111 Posts: 495 Member
    Is she on MFP and/or tracking her food? Maybe her appetite has increased with the increase in activity and she is eaten too much? That would be the most realistic explaination. This happened to me when I started back into running a couple years back. I am a bride to be (2.5 weeks!!) and that would scare the hell out of me!


    yes she is freaking out ...this is her heaviest it seems... she never has ever crossed 70 kgs :O... I don't want her to gain because of the wrong advice I give... I do realize different bodies have different ways of losing..and what works for me may not work for her!

    I personally believe that the "starvation mode" idea is a crock of you-know-what because it takes DAYS for you body to go into this mode (I have a BA in Cellular/Molecular Biology). So I don't think she is eaten too few calories. For fun, could you plug her info into MFP on your profile to determine how many cals they recommend? I hope she finds a solution soon :)
  • jamers3111
    jamers3111 Posts: 495 Member
    I asked her food...and it is mainly carbs and around 1200 calories.. in total..but this is only a rough estimate...


    her height is 5"2(160 cm) and weighs right now around 73 kilos (160 pounds)...

    I have asked her to measure the size next time for accurate reading...but the food probably has a lot of spices and added oils... that would increase the calories by another 200 easy... the fish she eats are all deep fried...and the Vegetable curry probably has a lot of oils <she is Indian>... She should probably cook for herself from now on to watch her weight......

    Before MFP I seriously thought I ate 1200-1500 cals a day... when logged by food for the first few days I realized I was eating 1800-2100 calories! haha I wasn't gaining but I def wasn't losing! She will definitely benefit from some sort of food log/app.
  • Austin1988
    Austin1988 Posts: 243 Member
    When i exercise w/o watching my calorie intake I gain weight too. She probably just built muscle.

    If only building 9lbs of muscle were that easy...
  • chroniclesofthinoholic
    chroniclesofthinoholic Posts: 143 Member
    Net Calories Consumed* / Day 1,200 Calories / Day
    Carbs / Day 165 g
    Fat / Day 40 g
    Protein / Day 45 g


    FITNESS GOALS TARGET
    Calories Burned / Week 680 Calories / Week
    Workouts / Weekends 6 workouts
    Minutes / Workout 20 minutes

    If you follow this plan...
    Your projected weigh loss is: 1.1 lbs/week
    You should lose 5.7 lbs. by October 31


    I plugged it in and this is what mfp says...and yea I have asked her to take measurements and rely more on that over the scale!
  • chroniclesofthinoholic
    chroniclesofthinoholic Posts: 143 Member
    Nine pounds in ten days?

    She's pregnant

    lol asked her and got an earful :laugh:
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