Weight increasing, feeling nervous

metacognition

Hi everyone. Forgive me if this thread sounds like a whine, but I am starting to panic.

I have lost about 45 pounds using cardio, a high rep weight workout once a week, and a big calorie deficit.

About a month ago, I took up heavier weight training with a circuit of machines at my gym twice a week.
Three weeks ago I started doing 30-minute upper / lower body workouts with cables and dumbbells. 2 - 3 times per week. I go for muscle failure.

My lifts have gone up.
Leg press has gone from 130 - 170. Bicep cable curls have gone from 50 - 65. Single leg glute kicks (machine) have gone from 55 to 105. Squats from 25 to 35 lb dumbbells.

I work out five days a week for about an hour.
My body fat scale says that my lean mass has gone up a half pound and my body fat has gone down 1 % to 16.5%.

My eating is also "cleaner" than it was a month ago. I eat a ton of fruit and whole grain bread. I also eat more calories. I get around 1600 - 1800 calories / day, which is near maintenance (200+ calorie deficit according to some calculations). My hunger is through the roof, though. Before I lifted weights, I was doing between 1200 and 1500 calories per day.

The problem is that I have actually gained weight - two pounds - for the first time since I started my program six months ago.


I don't see a difference in the mirror or look like someone with 16% body fat. I have loads of flab on my back, stomach, and thighs. It's worst around my stomach as an apple shape. Measurements have stayed the same except for 1" off my hips.
Current: 36 - 27.5 - 32. Because I am only 4'11" I look a lot thicker than a person of average height.

It sounds stupid, but after being obese for ten years any weight gain makes me terribly nervous.
I still have ten pounds to lose to reach my doctor's goal weight.
I feel like each additional pound takes me further away from my goal.

How worried should I be?
Should I cut more food calories?
Should I continue to go hard with the weights?

scrane68

The fitness gains are fantastic! I understand the scale thing. Seems like the more I look at it the more depressed I can get. I had the same issue and increased my eating frequency to 6 small meals and that seemed to recalibrate me. I hate the scale thing and found it best to focus on other victories since the scales bounces up and down on me all the time. Small victories to win the epic battle. Hang in there

jonchew

I agree with what scrane68 has to say, the scale can be a S.O.B., and you're seriously kicking-fitness-butt! I also feel your pain regarding lack-of weight loss, or even slight weight gain, I've gained a few lbs over the months, even though I continue to treadmill or run outside, weather permitting, and stay at-or-near my suggested MFP daily caloric intake. I'm still in denial regarding this one, so I haven't changed my stats on MFP, which probably should read 55lbs lost, not 58. Grrrrr!

It's both scary and a tad depressing, for sure - and it DOESN'T sound stupid!

I really, really wish I had some great answers for you, because if I did, then I'd also have answers for my own situation, which feels eerily similar to yours. I guess all that we can do is our best, in "keeping it real", being honest with what we eat and do, tweaking our diets & exercise routines... and hope that mommy nature doesn't fail us on this one.

One thing that I've noticed with regard to my exercising... which is primarily cardio. I've started to use a heartrate monitor during treadmill workouts, and trying to keep my heart range in either "fatburn" or "aerobic" ranges. When I run without monitoring... without keeping a constant eye on my heart rate, I've discovered that I'm frequently in the "anaerobic" and "redline" ranges, which "grapevine sez" is breaking-down muscle tissue... not a good thing, for me, at-least. So I've started using the treadmill more for fast walking, up an incline, & using the incline to regulate my heart rate. Time will tell if this will help in getting me out of this weight-loss-stagnation-gray-funk - I really hope it does!

I've tried doing resistance training (bands), but I keep over-doing it, and messing-up my back (my back... for lack of a better word, sucks!) as a direct result... it's frustrating! You sound like you're really getting-into the weight/resistance training thing - good for you! I have a feeling that this is a primary reason for your hunger issues, do you perhaps need more protein in your diet, to offset the breaking-down & building-up that you're doing to your muscles? just a thought. I'm not sure that it's a really good idea for you to cut more calories, but I'm far from an expert here.

Apologies for the novel here, but yours is a story that is easy to relate to - best of luck to you, & keep us posted!