Gaining Weight & Working out! Frustrated

mrs_joshica · October 2012

I know I know, I've heard the muscle weighs more than fat, and I've heard a pound is a pound, but I need some HELP PLESSE. I work on the elliptical 60 min a day on Level 13 out of 20 being the highest resistance, and do 20 min slow/moderate on the stationary bike on level 11 out of 20 being the highest resistance 5 days a week Sunday-Thursday. I "rest" meaning light walks or something low paced on my days off, Friday & Saturday. Now, I have gained 6lbs, and then lost 4, and then gained 6lbs again! And I just do NOT understand this. WHAT THE HECK AM I DOING WRONG! I can usually get about 1200-1500 calories in a day, I REALLY do not have much of an appetite but I have 163lbs to lose here people, and it isn't from recent years. As I was in my late teens-early thirties I packed a lot of junk in, I ate a lot, and ate unhealthy, and ALWAYS had a great appetite. When I hit about 33 food just wasn't "it" for me anymore and my appetite decreased rapidly. Now, here I am trying to lose weight and I just can't seem to do it.

I do NOT want to be Buff in ANY WAY, I want to lose the excess fat hanging around my body. I drink AT LEAST 128 oz of water a day, try to eat healthy, staying away from junk food and high empty calories. I have cut all soda/pop from my diet, no Pepsi, coke, orange, nothing, just water, occasionally tea, maybe lemonade, but again this is occasionally, 95% of what I drink IS WATER. I really LOVE my workout routine, my job can be stressful and I use it as a stress reliever, and because of my current weight it does create a rather high calorie burn for me, according to MFP it is 1300+ even according the machine itself it is almost 800-900 on just the elliptical. Other calorie counters also give the elliptical a burn of closer to 1200 calories for me as well. I use the stationary bike as a relaxing after burn, but I take it a moderate/slow pace for 20 minutes and it feels good. However, I am scared that I am going to cause myself to become a "buff" woman rather than lose weight. I don't know what else to do here and I'm getting so frustrated.

I started this journey a while back and I honestly did 30 min on the stationary bike and 60 min on the elliptical, stayed around 1200-1500 calories, sometimes giving in to a little more, and lost weight, now this is just a struggle and I feel like my body is really fighting back and just doesn't want to lose weight which honestly makes me feel closer and closer to saying forget it it! I'm sick of changing my ticker back for a small loss, and then up for a huge gain, and I am really trying! I will say I tried on a size 24 pants the other day that fit! I was shocked, I was going to buy them as a pair of goal pants but they already fit so I had to make goal pants a size 22 rather than 24 b/c I apparently have already reached that size and I was a size 26. I feel the bottom part of my stomach shrinking and decreasing but my scale is just saying something totally different and while I feel I am losing weight I have no proof! Getting very flustered here!

RougeIllusion · October 2012

I looked at your diary and from what I could tell from the entries that were there, it seems like your not eating nearly enough. You have logged that you burned 1771 calories and only consumed 1153. That's putting you at negative 618 before you count any other calories you burn from just daily living. You should look into your BMR and TDEE. Both can be measured on this site under the tools section.

Also watch out for the sodium as that will make you retain water.

stephanie1133 · October 2012

#1 IMO too much cardio and not enough weight training. You will NOT get buff, I guaruntee. Muscle is indeed denser than fat, but I can say with confidence that you aren't putting on muscle at the same rate you are losing fat as to make them even out on the scale.

#2 Your food diary -- you aren't eating enough on the days you did log (I didn't go terribly far back), and there are days you didn't log at all. So on those empty days are you eating? If so, what? If not, why? Hard to give an answer when you have days missing. If you are overeating on those days, you could be undoing your calorie deficit, easily. If you aren't eating at all, then you are doing yourself a disservice and not helping yourself in your weight loss efforts.

Take care of yourself! That includes not giving up! Keep going, you will get to your goal.

mrs_joshica · October 2012

No, those are my rest days,, and I am eating but not overeating. I KNOW you are right in that I am not eating enough calories, but I don't know how to implement any more calories without wanting to puke

I know my work outs are cardio, but I don't know what else to do to add some some muscle training, maybe I can do sit ups, squats, and a few more things on the gym equipment every other day? But I don't understand how this is affecting my gaining and not losing??? Too much cardio makes you gain? I do feel that maybe because I am putting so much cardio out there without at least 1800 cals a day my body is going into starvation mode, which I KNOW is a no no, so maybe I will cut my cardio in half until I can eat more than 1200 calories...

mrs_joshica · October 2012

I just started looking into BMR TDEE I have no clue what that is or what it means. I will go under tools and look now. I think when I started MFP I ate more, and now that I don't I may need to re-calculate. It sucks b/c I like my work outs, and the only way to keep doing them AND lose weight seems to be to eat more.

05saleengirl · October 2012

It's not so much that muscle weighs more than fat...a pound is a pound. But a pouns of fat takes up more space on your frame than a pound of muscle does. So, thats who you can have one person who lifts weights looking 120 lbs when they are 140 and a person who does not work out/lift weights at 140 and look totally different. I've experienced this myself.

Also, I just got back into working out this last week. Talk about water retention from sore muscles!! I added 4 lbs to the scale, but kept the work outs up. And today I am back down in the weight. As my workouts progress and get harder, I know this will happen. The more lean muscle mass you have, the more calories your body will burn 24/7. Also, after you lift weights, (if I remember correctly) your body is in a fat burning mode for up to 48 hrs. *I will see if I can find some articles on this if ya want.*

mrs_joshica · October 2012

Also, after you life weights, (if I remember correctly) your body is in a fat burning mode for up to 48 hrs. *I will see if I can find some articles on this if ya want.*

Please do. I'm so confused. Maybe I will half the cardio by eliminating 30 minutes of elliptical, and start doing some other stuff from weights and see if this helps. I used to be able to tell when I was in burn mode b/c even my showers felt like I was still working out, in a good way, LOL. This journey is so darn different than last year.

mrs_joshica · October 2012

I looked at your diary and from what I could tell from the entries that were there, it seems like your not eating nearly enough. You have logged that you burned 1771 calories and only consumed 1153. That's putting you at negative 618 before you count any other calories you burn from just daily living. You should look into your BMR and TDEE. Both can be measured on this site under the tools section.

Also watch out for the sodium as that will make you retain water.

I'm not a fan of salt, I'm very strange, the way I eat most of my friends wonder how the heck I am even big, but I don't really salt my food, and I try to be very cautious of what I eat when I'm out b/c I KNOW most of the processed food has a ton of salt, and with the amount of water I drink every day if I start holding water, OH BOY! LOL I did look at my BRM, it is 2,293, but I just don't know what that means?

diannethegeek · October 2012

Your BMR is the number of calories your body would burn if you were in a coma. It's the calories needed to keep all of your organs functioning, your brain working, etc.

Your TDEE is the number of calories you burn every day, including things like workouts, work, walking to the bathroom, standing up, etc. It's the number of calories you could consume to maintain your current weight.

You might want to check out the In Place of Roadmap thread here: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

phatnotfat81 · October 2012

I agree that you're not eating enough for the amount of calories you're burning....On days you burn that much try protein shakes as in betweens if you cant eat any more solid meals. And you definitely need to UP your protein anyways. Also, like someone else mentioned, lift weights. Watch some seasoned people in the gym on the machines and kinda copy what they do. Try lifting as heavy as you can lift. Results will come in due time, hang in there.

cedarghost · October 2012

. Also, after you lift weights, (if I remember correctly) your body is in a fat burning mode for up to 48 hrs. *I will see if I can find some articles on this if ya want.*

Look up 15 minute workouts or HIIT. What this is, is when your body builds a deficit of Oxygen consumption during a workout and has to work to pay for it (kind of). You may also look up the "afterburn" effect. Basically, the idea is that you can burn more fat by doing high intensity interval training or high intensity resistance training in 15 to 20 minutes than you could in a 45 minute workout or doing 60 minutes of cardio for example.
I recently started doing 3 days a week, 15 minutes high intensity resistance training and 1 day High Intensity Interval Training, which I have been switching from cycling to elliptical, etc. It doesn't really matter which one you use, you will basically warm up, go at a normal pace for say a minute, then go at a sprint pace for a minute, kind of back and forth like that. You can use different times for sprint and normal (recovery) paces,
I am not an expert, so like I said look this stuff up and give it a try. I like it personally, but you have to really commit to it and go all out.
After a couple minutes of my 15 minute resistance workout, I don't have the breath to talk, so I am basically getting my cardio and strength training in one workout.
Like someone else suggested, definitely introduce some resistance training. This helps convince your body that it needs to build muscle and not burn it as it will need your muscle to keep up with what your are demanding of it.
Also, the more muscle you build, the more fat you will burn as that muscle needs fuel.
I am struggling with not eating enough myself. I just don't feel hungry so I try to eats hands full of nuts, protein shakes and fruit to fill it out, but usually still come up short of what I should be eating.

LeslieC1970 · October 2012

Also, after you life weights, (if I remember correctly) your body is in a fat burning mode for up to 48 hrs. *I will see if I can find some articles on this if ya want.*

Please do. I'm so confused. Maybe I will half the cardio by eliminating 30 minutes of elliptical, and start doing some other stuff from weights and see if this helps. I used to be able to tell when I was in burn mode b/c even my showers felt like I was still working out, in a good way, LOL. This journey is so darn different than last year.

I definitely recommend incorporating strength/weight training. Plus I find it helps break the boredom with exercise. Your body may also be getting used to the same exercise so the benefits begin to diminish. Change it up for a month and see what happens.

mrs_joshica · October 2012

I really, REALLY do appreciate ALL your answers. You guys do not know how much you have helped me. What I have learned so far, I did some side research too, is that my BMR is 2,292, on a daily basis if I laid in bed my body would burn that, and to me that is just crazy. So in order to lose weight I need a deficit. Since 3500 calories=1lb if I wanted to lose at least 2lbs a week I would need a deficit of at least 1000 calories a day, which means my daily intake would go to 1296 (which may I add I am barely eating right now!!). Now the magic number 1296 is just dropping calories, NOT adding any exercise, JUST cut it down to 1296 and I should see weight loss based on just that. HOWEVER, with me burning at least 1771 I would need to ADD THAT to my regular, "I'm not doing anything burn", which makes my total daily burn 4063, which adding a deficit of 1000 calories a day in order to lose 2lbs a week means my diet should really be around 3063! Which explains why my body is holding on to every piece of fat it can get its hands on b/c it thinks it is going to DIE!! LOL ROTF OMGsh. Makes WAY TO MUCH SENSE Right now.

Wow, wow wow. So OK Cutting down cardio for now 30 minutes, adding some strength training, and I LOVE THE PROTEIN SHAKE IDEA, b/c I can get a liquid down even when I can't get food down, and for moments like this, I will be more faithful adding entries on my off days. You all who have answered my questions PLEASE add me as a friend, I really appreciate the wisdom and patience that each of you took explaining this to me.

cedarghost · October 2012

Eating enough has always been my biggest struggle too. In fact, I am struggling with it now too. I am seeing progress, but I know I am not eating enough on workout days.
Just take care to make sure to eat the right kinds of macro-nutrients and that will help too. I mean you can build a calorie deficit eating just Twinkies, but you're not going to build much muscle doing that.

Here is a good post about how to figure how much you should be eating: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/383956-exercise-calories-explained

Bevkus · October 2012

Off on a totally different track.....

Very obese people often end up with medical issues that hinder weight loss including, but not limited to diabetes, fatty liver disease, thyroid problems...on and on. When is last time you saw a doctor or checked your blood glucose? Its really an uphill battle if there are underlying medical issues in addition to being overweight.

mrs_joshica · October 2012

I have no underlying issues. And Ive went back to when I was really losing weight before & working out that much, I was really consuming no less than 1500-1800 calories a day, some days 2000, and now most days Ive been red flagged under 1200. I was also doing strength training as well.

Gaining Weight & Working out! Frustrated

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