Scales don't budge - self-deluded or training related?

PuffedMummy

Hi All,

I'm 32 lbs into a 50lb weight loss and this has taken over a year. I've been using MFP since May this year. Slow but steady progress and I've had plenty of times when I've eaten what I wanted and plenty of it, so hence the slow progress.

Now however, I haven't lost for about 3 months and am running 4 times a week as part of a marathon training programme. I do eat my exercise calories for the most part and some days go over. But others are under.

The thing is I feel skinnier and a friend I saw at the weekend for the first time in a couple of months said I was half the size (exaggeration obviously, but you get the point). According to the scales I've lost 1 lb since I saw her last!

Am I overeatting and not recognising it? Is something happening to body shape that really can be so drastic as to compensate for calories burntr 4-5hrs running a week?

I know that muscle weighs more than fat but I've always considered this pretty irrelevant when you're carrying as much weight as I am. To be able to build so much muscle that overcomes 20 - 30lbs of excess fat seems illogical!

Advise please - even if this advice is a kick up the *kitten*! i'm running my first marathon in about 8 weeks and would be happy to be another 12 lbs down - this will reduce my injury risk and also simply makes it easier not to haul the flab around 26.2 miles!

R.
23550670

Fozzi43

Have you measured yourself with a tape measure?

Scales haven't moved for ages for me but gone down a dress size? I don't really worry about the scale now

PuffedMummy

Should have mentioned this. Not much action in the measurements either. Poo!

I do only meausure the usual places and, for example I can really see the definition coming out in my legs but don't have measurements to compare.....

jones137

You're eating too much.......the last 7 days you are over, even factoring in exercise calories, by 3700 calories. Based on that you should have gained a pound in the last week.

nxd10

I'm not a low carb person, but you are eating an awful lot of carbs. If you're at all prone towards insulin resistance - which you probably are if you've been overweight for a while, this can cause problems.

Eating fast-to-digest carbs (sugar, white flour, potatoes, bananas, juices) spikes your insulin, which makes your body pull all the sugar out of your blood and store it and keeps you from burning fat for a few hours. It also makes you hungry.

I would try going to lower glycemic foods and harder-to-process carbs. So whole wheat bread and low carb oat or corn tortillas instead of big rolls of white bread. I'd also lower your carbs to 50% tops of your calories. I found both those changes really helpful to me.

I also noticed you log 1/4 as many foods as I do, and not a lot of vegetables, although my calories are lower than yours. Are you eating veggies and logging and measuring everything?

rickerred12

Too many carbs and sugar. If your body has carbs and sugar to use for fuel, fat will not be burned. So decrease carbs and sugar increase protein by about 25 - 35g. Give it two weeks for your body to adjust.

Ann1964x

Lower your calories, eat less processed foods, and it should help. Good Luck.

PuffedMummy

thanks all. I should mention that I upped my goal yesterday to 1.5 lbs per week so this has made the earlier part of the week seem over.

I've also made a conscious decision to eat more carbs in the last week as I'm now pushing 30 miles of running a week and had a couple of runs where I just didn't have the energy.

All other points taken on board. I never think of myself as eating lots of sugar but when you look back through the diary (I also only made this public yesterday so be gentle!) There's a lot of cake!

Keep 'em coming!

valeriebpdx

Don't change anything. Keep eating enough to fuel your training--the marathon should take precedence over the weight-loss effort at this point if you have any hopes of running well. I didn't look at your diary but if you are marathon training you are having huge swings in water weight to support repair of the muscles that will pretty much obscure anything that is happening fat-loss-wise. Try to set it down (worrying over what you weigh, I mean), run your race, and then assess where you are.

JenMcCrory

Sorry I'm going to be a bit mean because I looked at your diary and you are over a lot of the time not just in the last week. There are a lot of take-aways, convenience food and treats. You definitely need to cut down on the processed food and up the veggies.

Running that much you can up your carbs but do it with complex carbs like pasta, sweet potatoes, etc...

Good luck :flowerforyou: