Not sure what I'm doing wrong????

LittleSpy

According to Tom Venuto, there are several situations where gaining large amounts of muscle and losing large amounts of fat actually can occur at the same time:

*When steroids and/or fat burning drugs are used
*In beginners, whose bodies are extremely responsive to exercise (some of the rapid muscle and strength gains in beginners can be attributed to neurological adaptations, irrespective of energy balance (I think body builders sometimes refer to this as "beginners luck.")
*In advanced trainees after a long layoff (the muscle gain can be attributed to "muscle memory: i.e., they are not gaining new muscle, they are simply re-gaining what they lost.)
*In genetic superiors (giggle)

Otherwise, my (very limited) understanding is that it's actually possible to lose a lot of body fat and gain a *little* muscle or gain a lot of muscle and lose a *little* body fat -- simultaneously. I think the point of saying you can't build muscle and lose fat at the same time is to generate realistic expectations. You're not going to bulk waaaaay up while dropping a humongous amount of fat at the same time because, generally, to bulk way up, you have to be eating at a surplus and to drop a lot of fat, you have to be eating at a deficit. So.. yeah.

So, you know, take that for whatever it's worth (and I honestly have no idea how much it's worth). I'm not advocating anything or trying to make a real point here. I'm just putting it out there.
Moral of the story is that nothing scientific is as cut and dry as all that.

Edit: Just to clarify -- "at the same time" means over the same period of time. Not necessarily at the very same microsecond. Good ol' semantics.

cranberrycat

Thanks for clarifying the part about gaining muscle/losing fat.

I do think it is possible for it to occur in the same period of time, such as from one week to the next. Maybe it IS just water in those muscles, but there is definitely a reason why we appear to be more toned when we are exercising, and I would think that this toning is not JUST water retention in the muscle tissue.

I would like to make another point, and it is one that I feel is very important. Doing body measurements and using some sort of a bodyfat calculator is going to be very important in documenting that one is not losing any lean body mass. Our bodies are really only capable of burning a few pounds of fat per week (I know there are some exceptions, but this is in general). So, for those who are losing a ton of weight at a fast clip, I would be worried that these people are losing fat AS WELL as lean body mass (muscle, water, other tissues that break down). Online calculators are not perfect, but they are a nice tool to use to graph weight loss over time. The calculators are fairly sensitive to changes, and over a period of time one would expect to see fat loss while maintaining lean body mass. If the lean body mass is declining, then this would not indicate a safe weight loss.

sweetteacher123

The first problem is all people who want to lose weight need to know that true weight lose that comes off, AND STAYS OFF, is a slow process made from lifestyle changesd! Five pounds in a month is actually quite amazing, let alone two weeks! Weight loss is not like shown in an informercial on tv. Stop believing that! One to two pounds a week is actually what your goal should be.

The next problem is all people need to know that to lose weight, you have to EAT! Starving may help you to drop some pounds at first, but it will not help you lose over the long haul and keep weight off! You must eat a healthy, balanced diet so the body never believes it is starving; if the body thinks it is starving, it will stop burning calories! Thus, you stop losing weight!

You need to stick with a healthy, balanced diet rich with lean protiens, fruits, vegetables, low-fat dairy, and yes, a treat now and then (within reason). Maybe a square of chocolate every day, instead of an entire day of binging. In fact, if you are eating the calories you should, you should not be starving, EVER, and shouldn't need a binge day, just a treat now and then!

Hope this helps.

BigdaddyJ

The first problem is all people who want to lose weight need to know that true weight lose that comes off, AND STAYS OFF, is a slow process made from lifestyle changesd! Five pounds in a month is actually quite amazing, let alone two weeks! Weight loss is not like shown in an informercial on tv. Stop believing that! One to two pounds a week is actually what your goal should be.

The next problem is all people need to know that to lose weight, you have to EAT! Starving may help you to drop some pounds at first, but it will not help you lose over the long haul and keep weight off! You must eat a healthy, balanced diet so the body never believes it is starving; if the body thinks it is starving, it will stop burning calories! Thus, you stop losing weight!

You need to stick with a healthy, balanced diet rich with lean protiens, fruits, vegetables, low-fat dairy, and yes, a treat now and then (within reason). Maybe a square of chocolate every day, instead of an entire day of binging. In fact, if you are eating the calories you should, you should not be starving, EVER, and shouldn't need a binge day, just a treat now and then!

Hope this helps.

Just what I was gonna say!

For a majority of us it's bad lifestyle choices that got us where we are now, so to be healthy we can't just go on a diet for a little while and then go back to our old life style...we need to make significant PERMANENT changes in our habits

good luck all
JF

aerobicgirl

I am in the same boat as you!! I have been doing this for 4 weeks now, the first few weeks I was only doing basic cardio (treadmill/elliptical 3 days a week) but for the last 9 days I have been doing P90x.....and I have NOT LOST ANYTHING!! It is quiet frustrating!! BUT I am not giving up! I know it will happen it is just a matter of time!
Good luck to you!

i feel u bc i bought the insanity tapes after i had my baby and i felt nothing with them and got discouraged. i am currently doing hip hop abs and so far i feel ok/ maybe once i get to my goal weight i will do them again. to me i was putting on muscle in areas im not worried about right now/