Frustrated! Please tell me if I'm being unreasonable!

squirrelzzrule22

Hi forum! I'm a long time iPhone app user but this is my first post and I really need some advice! I've been hating an extra 25 pounds on my body for the past two years but not had the time or dedication to really do anything about it, mostly just yo-yoed the same 7 to 8 lbs. That changed three weeks ago when I signed up for a half marathon. I've always enjoyed jogging and I found a training plan that was great for my starting mileage. I started the plan two and a half weeks ago and have been eating healthy, sticking close to my 1200 cal budget, sometimes over on the weekends with a few bar drinks. In those two and a half weeks I've been running hard five times a week, at the required mileage in my training schedule. So far it has felt really great- difficult but no injuries, primarily mental obstacles while running. My long run this week will be seven miles and I'm actually excited for it!

So the problem is in this time since starting the program I have GAINED FOUR POUNDS. Eating habits have improved, calories have been good, and I've basically went from not working out at all for three weeks over law school exams and holiday break to running long runs five times a week. I feel much stronger on my runs but as far as I can tell I can't see a big change in my body.

Someone please tell me- am I being crazy to expect results this soon? Is there a reason for this gain despite my improved habits? Any suggestions?? The half marathon is mid- March and I had SO hoped to finish it 15 lbs lighter. Any and all tips welcome!

Thanks and good luck to everyone with their own goals!!

-C (female, 24 years old, weight 168, goal weight 140)

Edit: I should have said eating the 1200 balance, sorry. I do eat more than 1200 on days I run, not always quite the full balance but usually close. thanks so much for the helpful responses!

Babeskeez

Ill save you the frustration and direct you to here:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

kjoy_

Are you drinking enough water? Heavy sweating plus dehydration (which is also caused by alcohol, so the bar drinks don't help) will force your body to sponge up water as much as it can. I've gained 4 pounds the morning after drinking from being dehydrated. Try alcohol detox for a week or two and lots of green tea/water to flush your system through your bowels (gross, but the only way). You have to get the toxic stuff out of your system first for your body/cells to accept the good nutrients.

katy_trail

maybe the extra running is making you more hungry?

didiricho

Hi C,

Do you do any strength traning - light weights etc? - When I was doing personal traning he explained that by doing weights I actually burned more when doing my cardio vascular workout. Maybe some light weights in your routine? Just things like short sprints followed by squats with a light weight then running again and maybe push-ups in between. I saw really good results! Good luck on the marathon! yay! Could also be your muscle weighting more than body fat beacuse you have started working them > that can happen when you first start training too?

seekingstrengthX2

I would say the problem is that you arent eating enough. A 168lb woman needs more than 1200 calories for one. Second, you dont mention eating your exercise calories. You are running A LOT so I assume you are netting WAY UNDER 1200 each day. Thus would cause a gain.

isys5

It is normal to gain weight in the beginning of a program as you are likely building muscle mass. Your calories may be a little low but it depends on the quality of your calories. If you are serious about losing weight, cut out the refined sugar (even the odd drink) I know it was killing my weight loss for sometime even though I only had the odd drink on the weekends.

For me as well, I had a really hard time losing weight until I cut out gluten, then the weight seriously started dropping off. I now eat mostly veggies, fruit, nuts and seeds, beans & lentils, quinoa and almond milk. Of course it took me a year to make these changes as I made them slowly over time and began to realize I preferred this type of eating and feel SO much better. Not to mention, I am finally in control of my weight loss as I notice if I go back to my old ways, the pounds start creeping back on. But a couple of days of eating really clean and they start to melt off again. Makes a HUGE difference the quality of calories you put in.

Good luck

jenndymond

1200cal seems pretty low for marathon training.

purple_tux1

Are you weighing and measuring your food? I"m wondering how you can eat only 1200 calories/day and do all that exercise?

foodie178

i didn't read the other responses, so i'm sorry if i'm repeating info... depending on what time and how much you've eaten/expelled since your last weigh-in, your weight could fluctuate up to 5 lbs! in addition, i've heard that water weight can add up to another 3 lbs. new runners/athletes-in-training often experience an initial weight gain due to fluids rushing to newly used muscles that are trying to speed repair, so there may be some swelling or extra fluid weight retention. When you're working out, your new muscles need extra calories, so don't skimp. Undereating and overtraining can slow your metabolism and mess up your weight, so make sure you're eating enough and weighing yourself on a consistent weekly basis

skinnylatte53

You may be putting on muscle which shows up first on the scale. Don't be disheartened, keep going. The body fat/muscle balance WILL tip and the scale will start being nice to you. I know because this was the problem I had for years until a trainer kept me going long enough to see results. You need to 1. Eat right, 2. Drink lots of water, 3. Get good sleep, 4. Weight train, and 5. Run because it makes you happy and excited, not to lose weight. Good luck on the Marathon!!

onlythetancan

I always gain a bit of weight when i get back into my exercise routine, I am not sure if its water retention or muscle gain but after 2 weeks i generally start loosing it again

CMMia17

Supposedly, the lowest calorie intake for a woman is 1300 and 1600 for men. If you take in too few, you body can go into starvation mode and hold onto every little thing you eat and store it as fat. Adding a few days of strength training will really kick start your calories burned. I had jogged and started weight training and saw major differences in a short amount of time. Also, check your sodium intake. There are many foods out there that are low calorie, but high in sodium which will make you bloat and retain water weight. And of course, make sure your drinking a lot of water throughout the day. I wouldn’t worry about it. Sometimes you can gain weight when beginning a new routine, this has happened to me a few times.

BayAreaBabe1

cut out the alcohol! it will keep the pounds on.......especially if you drink beer/wine, try eliminating this from your diet.

geekyjock76

Even a 1200 net intake is likely too low with that amount of exercise and the fact you do not have much fat mass to lose as your goal. It would have been great before you did this cut to eat the maximum amount of calories to maintain weight while doing this training, and then eating 350 calories less to reduce fat mass while not negatively affecting performance.

ldrosophila

I would be so grateful that my body was strong and healthy enough to run 7 miles most days! Might want to feed your body some more nutritionally dense food. I bet if you can tolerate it your body would love some calcium and vitamin D rich dairy foods or some gorgeous nuts, avocados and fish loaded with some essential fatty acids.

gimmegimmemoar

Cut down on the alcohol and sodium! I will completely admit that when I go out I can throw em back, but now I try to get a water in between each drink I order. Saves you money and calories! Also, are you eating clean foods? I wasn't losing and yo-yo-ing with 5 lbs for almost a month and finally cut out my over-eating of lean cuisines, although I was still staying in my calorie allowance. Boy what a difference that made!!! I have been steady 1.5-2+lbs a week now because I stopped retaining so much water!

I second the idea of drinking something/taking a cleanse to flush your system. I became very.. uhh... blocked when upping my protein and lowering my carbs. Did a natural colon cleanse and boy did I feel better! Also drink as much water as you can!!!

DanaDark

Increased physical activity means increased water weight. The more you exercise, the harder you push, etc. means the more water your body will need to hold onto in order to facilitate with repairs.

How significant is water weight? I took a hot bath and shaved (my head and some body hair). I lost 2.8 pounds. O.o

Are you keeping ALL conditions constant when weighing? Same clothes/none, empty urinary bladder, same sodium intake in the previous day, same day of the week, same time of the day, etc.

Is 1200 calories suitable for your weight loss goal (which should be 0.5 pounds loss a week)?

What is your BMR and TDEE (at sedentary)?

NRSPAM

You are gaining muscle girl! That's why it's a good idea to measure! However, if you're really only consuming 1,200 cal's/day, your body could be in starvation mode, and holding on to everything! You seriously need to up those calories. Give it 2-3 weeks for your muscle mass to stabilize, and make sure you measure, in the mean time. 1,200 is the LEAST amount of calories you should eat daily, but you shouldn't go that low everyday! Feed your muscles! AND the more muscle you gain, the more calories you will burn, daily, so you will need to account for that, as well.

NRSPAM

You are gaining muscle girl! That's why it's a good idea to measure! However, if you're really only consuming 1,200 cal's/day, your body could be in starvation mode, and holding on to everything! You seriously need to up those calories. Give it 2-3 weeks for your muscle mass to stabilize, and make sure you measure, in the mean time. 1,200 is the LEAST amount of calories you should eat daily, but you shouldn't go that low everyday! Feed your muscles! AND the more muscle you gain, the more calories you will burn, daily, so you will need to account for that, as well.

BTW, I know it's discouraging to not be losing, but stick with it! Inches lost, is way better than pounds lost, even though we're not programmed to believe that. I wouldn't care if I weighed 200lb's if I could wear a size 6, ya know what I mean? Not that I want to weigh that much again...lol.

flarge

Take pics of yourself approx every month so that you have visual documentation of your progress. This is what I do because I have a bad relationship with my scale (I gain muscle easily and tend to retain water a lot). I'm always very encouraged to see the difference in my body through the photos I've taken.

squirrelzzrule22

Thanks for the great advice and the very supportive responses! I'm thinking I should be more mindful of drinking enough water- I always forget because its counterintuitive but dehydration can cause water retention and bloat....have others experienced that?

Samantha44145

How tall are you? 140 may not be a reasonable expectation if you're athletic and 5'10 for example. I'm 5'9. I run 3 times a week. Take 2-3 martial arts classes a day and hit the gym 4-5 days a week. I'm about 153 and a size 4. 145 on me looks emaciated.

In terms of the weight gain, give yourself a month of solid numbers before trying to look for a pattern. I know it's hard but when you're at a healthy weight to begin with, it's not as easy as cutting calories and adding exercise. Results won't be overnight.

You also have to realize that when you train hard, the glycogen in your muscles holds water. Give yourself a day or 2 of rest and that water weight will come down.

The only other thing that I find is that the closer I am to my natural heathy, happy weight, the harder I have to work to get my body to lose. If I were you I'd be eating super-clean and I'd be trying to get my nutrition as perfect as possible. It's really painful to eat that way especially if you have a social life but there's no way around it if you have to fight your body to get there. Quality in food choice is so important!

Eat clean. Consume less calories than you burn. Eventually you'll get there.

valeriebpdx

Your body is doing complicated things with water, storing it to repair your muscles and replenish glycogen stores. It will drive you crazy to live by the scale while running a hard (5 runs a week is hard) half program. I have never lost more than a couple of pounds training for a marathon, because you need to fuel the work. Halves are different--I don't specifically "train" for a half marathon--but if you are pushing with a long run you will definitely retain water. Just enjoy the running, enjoy watching your thighs turn to granite, and try not to care about the number on the scale.