Is it possible I'm putting on muscle?

yankeedownsouth

Have you tried tracking sodium? I know that when I eat too much sodium, I gain water weight, and it can stick around for a while. It really masks real weight loss. That, combined with water retention from your exercising, may be part of the problem.

JAT74

I don't normally eat bread or pasta at night, or any carbs really and tend to have more protein at night as a small snack, with my main meal at lunchtime. Having said that tonight I had wholegrain bread for dinner as my carbs were quite low today so we will see.

As for sodium, I don't tend to eat a lot and I was tracking sodium but it was quite low so I don't really track it now. I use Lo salt anyway rather than sea salt and although some foods contain salt already I don't think it's high.

I am going to keep doing what I'm doing and decrease my cardio a little and see what happens. I've started lifting heavy so maybe that will be enough to get my body changing.

yankeedownsouth

As for sodium, I don't tend to eat a lot and I was tracking sodium but it was quite low so I don't really track it now. I use Lo salt anyway rather than sea salt and although some foods contain salt already I don't think it's high.

Really? Because looking at your diary, it looks like you eat quite a bit of food that would be high in sodium. For example, tinned tomatoes, bacon, cottage cheese, bread, baked beans, any kind of cheese, tomato sauce, Ready Cooked Bbq Chicken Wings, Chicken Satays, Chunky Fish Fingers, etc...

Anything canned or pre-prepared (frozen) usually has a ton of sodium. Even some frozen veggies have added sodium.

Lt_Starbuck

realize the difference between fluctuations and weight gain now, and how much each of those tends to be, and save yourself a lot of unnecessary stress and worry now.

VasylP

I started on MFP probably about 25 days or so ago. A month ago yesterday I got back into the gym after relocating from Europe where I spent nearly three months on an extended business trip and a re-adjustment to my lifestyle. I managed to maintain the weight I had lost when away just by food lifestyle change for a month; though when I hit the gym a month ago I was plateaued. I reviewed everything and realized a very simple thing.. I was not eating back enough calories on the days I was in the gym and not being active enough on my days off. I have a friend who is a Certified Fitness trainer with a great deal of education behind his certification. He had told me once you start hitting regular deficits on a regular basis - about 10 days - you would start seeing a healthy loss. But one thing people do forget and there are studies that show doing cardio for less than somewhere between 27 and 33 minutes depending on the individual is not even worth doing if you want to burn fat.

I just noticed below, but by the time I post this he will be above, that ninerbuff suggests you cut back on your high intensity training. I think he is right if you want to burn fat from my personal experience high intensity is not going to do it for you.

My two cents that are not worth much..

You mention you are having wholegrain bread.. Is it just labeled whole grain or is it really whole grain. I have changed my food lifestyle completely in the last four months.. Unless I know who baked the bread, and all the ingredients I stay away from it. I get my carbs elsewhere...

JAT74

I could look at it a little more closely. I had such a small quantity of beans today for example (75g) and whole grain homebaked bread without added salt. I also only had 1 rasher of bacon today too. Again cheese is in quite small quantities.

The problem I've got is the cost of food, it's really expensive and when trying to get in the protein to meet macros of 100-120g per day means eating cheaper protein sources like canned or pre-prepared packaged foods. Fresh protein sources are very pricey here. BBQ Chicken wings for example are 2 euros and feed two of us for a meal whereas fresh chicken is close to 5 euros for the same quantity. Other foods like bacon, cottage cheese etc. are also quite inexpensive and useful for high protein sources.

I am trying to cut down on processed meat now after reading a report in yesterday's newspapers about how it increases the risk of getting heart disease and cancers. I usually buy bacon, burgers (mainly for my other half who loves them) and sausages as well as ham, salami etc. but I'm going to stop and save them for a special occasion.

Fish fingers are also very high protein for the calories although I know they not exactly natural. I bought fish and prawns today in my shop which were fresh and they cost me 8 euros 50 and they'll probably last me for 2 meals whereas fish fingers for 2.50 will last me for 3 meals for a similar amount of protein.

yankeedownsouth

I could look at it a little more closely. I had such a small quantity of beans today for example (75g) and whole grain homebaked bread without added salt. I also only had 1 rasher of bacon today too. Again cheese is in quite small quantities.

The problem I've got is the cost of food, it's really expensive and when trying to get in the protein to meet macros of 100-120g per day means eating cheaper protein sources like canned or pre-prepared packaged foods. Fresh protein sources are very pricey here. BBQ Chicken wings for example are 2 euros and feed two of us for a meal whereas fresh chicken is close to 5 euros for the same quantity. Other foods like bacon, cottage cheese etc. are also quite inexpensive and useful for high protein sources.

I am trying to cut down on processed meat now after reading a report in yesterday's newspapers about how it increases the risk of getting heart disease and cancers. I usually buy bacon, burgers (mainly for my other half who loves them) and sausages as well as ham, salami etc.

Fish fingers are also very high protein for the calories although I know they not exactly natural. I bought fish and prawns today in my shop which were fresh and they cost me 8 euros 50 and they'll probably last me for 2 meals whereas fish fingers for 2.50 will last me for 3 meals for a similar amount of protein.

Please know I'm not judging - I totally understand why you eat this stuff - take a look at my diary, it's high in sodium too. I just track it so that when I see a gain on the scale, I can understand a reason why. It's a mental thing. If you look at yours and it's a bit high, you can help offset the sodium by drinking a lot of water and getting enough potassium.

JAT74

I don't look at Potassium so maybe I should. I know Bananas contain Potassium but not sure what else. I do drink a lot of water, at least 1 litre per day plus water in protein shakes, tea, green tea, coffee and other drinks so its at least 2 litres per day.

Maribabewhich

Jat74, I will be watching this thread with interest as I'm in exactly the same boat!! Since 3rd Jan I've cut out so much rubbish - even just the chocolate and sweets I used to eat would have saved me over 3000 cals per week but I haven't seen even a pound go. I work out 5/6 days per week for 45-60 mins and they are punishing workouts for 3 of the days and just hard the other 2!

I'm just trying to decide whether to give up or to give it another 3 months which will take me to the end of June.

B x

I'm feeling the same as you. Doing workout 6-7 times a week tracking my intakes too and nothing!!!! Feel like giving up.

JAT74

Don't giveup! I'm not ready too yet even though I thought I'd be at least 10 lbs and 3-4 body fat % down by now.

inshapeeasy

First thing is, get enough calories. 1000 is not enough. you need to be at at least 1300. You achieve this by eating "clean" complex carbohydrates and a balance of fats, carbs, proteins. Websites like this are great for beginners but they cannot analyze everything about you and what food you need to be putting inside your own body. YOU need to know what your body can eat before anything. Knowing yourself is the first step. Second, are you even exercising hard enough? hitting protocols in the gym. Exercising with resistance 2-3 days a week for 20-30 minutes each session? Cardio exercising for 3-5 days per week for 30-90 minutes each session. When exercising with resistance are you lifting at least 60% of your 1 rep max? These are just a few things that we need to understand. Stop feeding into the gimmicks and start doing things correctly before you say nothing works.

Try some of these cardio warm up exercises, i think these may help you see a few different ones

http://www.isefitness.com/exercises/total-body-exercises/warm-exercises-cardio

JAT74

Read the rest of the thread and you'll see what I'm doing, I'm not eating 1000 or even 1300 cals and as for workouts I've been advised to do less not more.

mmapags

First thing is, get enough calories. 1000 is not enough. you need to be at at least 1300. You achieve this by eating "clean" complex carbohydrates and a balance of fats, carbs, proteins. Websites like this are great for beginners but they cannot analyze everything about you and what food you need to be putting inside your own body. YOU need to know what your body can eat before anything. Knowing yourself is the first step. Second, are you even exercising hard enough? hitting protocols in the gym. Exercising with resistance 2-3 days a week for 20-30 minutes each session? Cardio exercising for 3-5 days per week for 30-90 minutes each session. When exercising with resistance are you lifting at least 60% of your 1 rep max? These are just a few things that we need to understand. Stop feeding into the gimmicks and start doing things correctly before you say nothing works.

Try some of these cardio warm up exercises, i think these may help you see a few different ones

http://www.isefitness.com/exercises/total-body-exercises/warm-exercises-cardio

Yeah, you didn't really read the thead, did you bro?