Is it possible I'm putting on muscle?

ndj1979

Why is it bad to eat so much protein? I could eat less and decrease calories but I thought that with all the training I'm doing I needed more protein to help with fat loss?

I would be happy to decrease protein to 100g per day if I thought that was enough.

As for dairy, I'd also be happy to eat less but I can't seem to find protein rich foods which are as cheap. I have 1-2 protein shakes per day plus some meat/fish once or twice a day but other than dairy I don't really know what I could add that's high protein. I have nuts and eggs a lot too but can't think of any alternatives that are fairly low in carbs and are also low in calories.

By the way if you're looking at my food diary I log my exercise calories but I don't eat them back. I try and stick to around 1600 per day and around 2100 at weekends which works out to 1742 calories per day if I was to eat the same every day. That's due to being active and burning off at least 3000-3500 calories per week through working out 6-7 days.

You can actually do serious harm to your liver and kidneys with too much protein. Excess protein in a meal will get converted into what the body needs but that's overall that's too much protein for your nutritional needs.

Bodybuilders usually only have one re-feed day a week and they only give themselves maybe another 100-150 carbs which nets to only one day they add 400-600 calories. I think your energy expenditure is too high. I think your execution is fine, but you've been mislead in calculating your nutritional needs by the online calculators.

the liver and kidey damage from eating too much protein is not true....

JAT74

About my maintenance calories.

I have calculated my maintenance cals using at least 4 different TDEE calculators so I don't use MFP for this, I only use it for logging calories and food.

I used one particular online calculator where I had to put in the things I do every minute of every day (except exercise) and that came out at a maintenance amount of 1950 cals. The lowest online calculator I've used put me at maintenanceof 1750 also without exercise.

Based on a TDEE of being active and working out 6 days a week I am told that my maintenance is 2300/2400 which would be about right as I normally burn off anything from 450 to 800 calories daily through exercise.

I have then taken off 500 calories from my active maintenance figure of 2300 to get my daily calories in order to lose weight. To the previous poster who said I was overestimating my maintenance I can't see given these figures how that can be the case.

ninerbuff

Expert here. How much rest and sleep are you getting?

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Here,

Well for the last 4 weeks or so I've been very stressed as my dog was really sick and I was extremely worried about him plus not sleeping much as he was ill in the night and then we had to have him put down 2 weeks ago so don't know if that would have anything to do with it. Having said that I'm continuously stressed anyway really due to money worries so don't know if that's having any kind of effect. Plus I'm on the pill so maybe that makes my weight loss slower than most.

I can't see a doctor about this as I don't have medical cover except for in case of emergency unfortunately at the moment.

I will try cutting down by 100 calories per day and see what happens and maybe I'll try not to double up on the two days I do weight training or just go for a walk instead of doing Insanity so I don't run out of energy.

I generally sleep around 6-6.5 hours per night and I usually have a good night's sleep too.

Okay sleep doesn't sound like the issue. Next question is are you doing high intensity training everyday (that includes cardio)?

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

JAT74

At the moment I'd say it's high intensity at least 5 days per week as Insanity is 6 days and one of those days is a recovery day with mainly stretching and not high intensity cardio. On the 7th day I normally clean the house and burn off quite a bit (per HRM) plus an hour long walk some Sundays but it's not as high intensity as the Insanity or weight training days. On cardio days (6 days Insanity workouts) I can get my HR up to 185 and on weight training days it easily gets up to 160.

SteveJWatson

I'd possibly also try to get over the notion that fruit and veg in Spain is 'covered in pesticides' and start eating some. Rinse it if you must. It is probably no more or less 'covered in pesticides' than American fruit and veg - all the fresh stuff I have eaten in Spain has been pretty good.

JAT74

About eating vegetables, despite not feeling happy about eating a lot of the veg in Spain, every week in my weekly shop (which I've just done) I always buy onions, mushrooms, garlic, carrots, sweet potatoes, avocados, red/green/yellow peppers, tomatoes, aubergine, asparagus and green beans. I also eat frozen mixed vegetables, tinned tomatoes, frozen mediterranean vegetables and with my breakfast I usually have blueberries. raspberries or grapes. Every day I have these vegetables in some combination or another.

I'd hardly say that's not eating any fruit or veg, would you?

JAT74

Bump

ninerbuff

At the moment I'd say it's high intensity at least 5 days per week as Insanity is 6 days and one of those days is a recovery day with mainly stretching and not high intensity cardio. On the 7th day I normally clean the house and burn off quite a bit (per HRM) plus an hour long walk some Sundays but it's not as high intensity as the Insanity or weight training days. On cardio days (6 days Insanity workouts) I can get my HR up to 185 and on weight training days it easily gets up to 160.

It may be too much high intensity training. Try cutting back by doing alternating high/moderate intensity days.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

JAT74

I might try switching two of my cardio days with weight training instead of doubling up on those days. Plus with the recovery day in the middle of the week it will mean I'll only be doing 2 intense cardio days, 1 low impact day in the middle of the week, 2 weight training days and a day off with low impact cardio ie. walking/cleaning.

kariannmbc

What I have noticed for me is that on days where I don't eat as many fresh veggies, even if I exercise, drink all my water, and stay under calories, I don't lose anything at all. Also, when I have salty food at night or bread and pasta at night, I don't lose anything, (even with all of the previously mentioned good habits).

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.