Weird way of losing weight

shaleasymphony

ok i know this is gonna sound really strange and off, but in the beginning i wasnt exercising and i was losing weight. i started exercising and i gained a few pounds back then weightloss was coming off really slow. then i stopped exercising as an "experiment" and i drop 1 and a half pounds in less than a week.....any explanations or ideas why that is?

what things do you do or eating habits do you have that might not seem like it should make you lose weight but does?

Skinny_Beans

I lost ten pounds in two months because I rarely ate and mostly lived off alcohol...it was bad though, but gave me the push to start eating healthy. Dropped pounds aren't the goal, a fit body is, for me.

vtmoon

When you work out you tend to retain more water than not working out.

shaleasymphony

When you work out you tend to retain more water than not working out.

ok so i may be stupid for asking, but then why must we drink so much water?
i'm totally new at the whole weightloss thing so don't bash me about this question too much lol, just trying to get a firm understanding

ashesfromfire

Well - when you first start your journey you're at the point where it is easiest to lose - because you weight the most, the more weight on you the more that'll wanna get off you. So by just having a calorie deficit each day you're body will lose.
When you work out a couple things happen - one is you gain muscle, which could account for your weight gain. Tracking your measurements, not just the scale will show you evidence of this (my first week of the 30 day shed I lost 1.5 inches from my waist but not a single pound). The other thing is that your muscles retain water. Water weighs a lot.
When you stop working out your muscles release that water and you surprise your body by changing up your routine.

ashesfromfire

When you work out you tend to retain more water than not working out.

ok so i may be stupid for asking, but then why must we drink so much water?
i'm totally new at the whole weightloss thing so don't bash me about this question too much lol, just trying to get a firm understanding

your muscles retain the water because you need it - so drink lots so your body has what it needs

shaleasymphony

Well - when you first start your journey you're at the point where it is easiest to lose - because you weight the most, the more weight on you the more that'll wanna get off you. So by just having a calorie deficit each day you're body will lose.
When you work out a couple things happen - one is you gain muscle, which could account for your weight gain. Tracking your measurements, not just the scale will show you evidence of this (my first week of the 30 day shed I lost 1.5 inches from my waist but not a single pound). The other thing is that your muscles retain water. Water weighs a lot.
When you stop working out your muscles release that water and you surprise your body by changing up your routine.

so do you think if i start working out again then stop then start again and continue that cycle, i would be a bit more successful in losing weight? (by the way, i'm over 100 lbs overweight so losing the weight is more important to me now than toning at the moment)

YoshiZelda

That's how it was for me the first few months. But I started losing slower and slower and eventually had to add exercise in. Now that I exercise I lose a lot more it seems - But I don't over do it on exercise. I'm at a pretty good calorie goal already, so I usually only exercise when I am hungry ( and 3 times a week just for the hell of it ).

raylenebrooks

Ok I may get bashed but I had well over 100 to lose at my biggest about 45 from goal now. I believe that moderate walking will make the scale move the fastest I like the eliptical fo ra little toning if I do more I stop losing no matter how hard I try. Maybe muscles holding water but really I do not think the rules are always the same for the morbidly obese

shaleasymphony

thanks guys

and i'm always looking for motivated friends and i'm on daily and religiously, so if you wanna send a request, i'm greatly appreciative

Bobbie_89

When you change your eating your cleaning your system out so there for your losing the weight. When you add in exercise you'r using muscle groups thats not use to being worked so your building those up and when you build muscle you retain water. Muscle weighs more than fat. Don't always go by what the scale says (as I'm trying to do that myself), go by how you feel and how your clothes fit.

Verity1111

ok i know this is gonna sound really strange and off, but in the beginning i wasnt exercising and i was losing weight. i started exercising and i gained a few pounds back then weightloss was coming off really slow. then i stopped exercising as an "experiment" and i drop 1 and a half pounds in less than a week.....any explanations or ideas why that is?

what things do you do or eating habits do you have that might not seem like it should make you lose weight but does?

The problem is that a lot of times you still lose more inches when you work out. Is this about the number on the scale or the size of the jeans? If it is the size of the jeans I would work out/exercise. When you have muscle it weighs more than fat because if I fill a bucket with fat and it weighs 5lbs I can will the exact same bucket (same measurements) with muscle and it would weight more pounds. So, you can lose inches and gain weight because fat takes up less space/weighs more pounds than fat would. Yes, you may also gain water when you work out, but it will fall off after a few days because it is not "real" weight gain either and often you will lose the weight you gained plus more eventually. You need to give it time to see the results OR take your measurements, not just look at the pounds on the scale. Lots of luck.

marie_2454

Were you eating your exercise calories back? Because MFP tends to really overestimate those, so if you were eating most or all of them it could be from that. Otherwise it doesn't really make any sense that you would lose less weight when you add exercise.