Is this just water weight?

freedomis
freedomis Posts: 55 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hello All,

General question. I am losing weight pretty fast, about 1.5-2.0lbs per week. Last week I worked out about 3 times and ate under my calorie goal, but that was because I've been busy with school and whatnot, and I lost 2lbs.

This weekend I ate a lot, and didn't work out. Worked out today, weighed myself and I lost about 2lbs, a little under, since friday?! I'm assuming this is all water weight? (which is dissapointing.) How can I focus on fat burning...? Should I eat more, and work out more? I'm new to this whole thing so please help!

Areas I'm focusing on are my thighs (aren't we all ladies?! lol) and flattening my stomach (which I have seen throughout the weightloss that I have had thus far)

I try to do cardio 2-3 times a week and Jillian Michaels 30 day shred 2 times a week. I want to lose all the weight before I tone though which is about 5 more pounds. Suggestions?

Replies

  • crewealexfan
    crewealexfan Posts: 7 Member
    yeah start doing some heavy compound lifts, squats etc and eat more oats
  • HolliCooper
    HolliCooper Posts: 12 Member
    It sounds to me like you're doing really well. Your body weight naturally fluctuates a few pounds over the course of everyday. Sometimes you may find you do everything right and you don't lose a thing or you do everything wrong and still drop a pound. To make sure you're dropping fat rather than muscle I would agree with crewealexfan that perhaps adding in some weights to your routine. "Toning up" simply means increasing the amount of muscle under your subcutaneous fat while lowering the thickness of that external fat. In my opinion its never too early to build up a good set of muscles. :). And what ever you do, don't be put off by the idea of "getting bulky". To bulk up when lifting weights you would have to be eating well over your calories limit (i'm talking 3000 or more calories a day). Good Luck with everything!
  • iWaffle
    iWaffle Posts: 2,208 Member
    This weekend I ate a lot, and didn't work out. Worked out today, weighed myself and I lost about 2lbs, a little under, since friday?!
    Don't worry about after workout body weight. I lose 2 - 3 pounds after a nice run and it's all water weight disappearing. I can't count that. When I do strength training I drink tons of water and finish up with a protein shake. I feel like a camel by the time I'm done and I know I'm up a couple pounds in water alone afterwards. Weigh yourself as often as you like but the only time that counts is first thing in the morning after you pee. That's the most reliable time to record your weight and that should eliminate a lot of water fluctuations that people see.

    I try to do cardio 2-3 times a week and Jillian Michaels 30 day shred 2 times a week. I want to lose all the weight before I tone though which is about 5 more pounds. Suggestions?

    Nope, start working with the weights now. It's much harder to add muscle than it is to lose fat. Also working out with weights now will help teach your body to retain muscle while you lose fat and to not use muscle as fuel. If you just do cardio you'll get down to goal weight and not be as happy with your body as you like. 5 pounds is nothing. If I was you I'd start in with the weights and strength training and keep up the cardio you're doing. Make sure and eat back the calories you burn during your workout and meet your Net calorie goal.
  • chimp517
    chimp517 Posts: 185 Member
    Just keep doing what your doing, however do not expect to be able to spot reduce.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,426 MFP Moderator
    You also want to be cautious about losing too fast, because it will not just be fat; it will be fat and muscle. So if you want a lean and tight body, you want to retain your muscle. If you are doing JM30, then drop the running and do weight training. JM is already cardio. WT will help retain your muscle mass if you calories are adequate. If your picture is right, you should aim for 1/2 - 1 lb per week but you can provide more details if you want to see how many calories you should eat.
  • freedomis
    freedomis Posts: 55 Member
    Yeah my picture is spot on with my body type now. Now I weigh 130lbs which I am comfortable with. I've lost 8lbs while on MFP thanks to everyones help :) and I really do want to tone, I recently bought protein powder because I'm not much of a meat eater. (I probably eat meat like 2 times a week... maybe 3) so I think I'm going to start using weights with my Jillian Michaels 30 day shred to add muscle and work my way up.

    I eat about 700-900 calories once all is said and done after my work outs. Usually on the higher end at about 900. I have a small stomach to begin with so eating a ton is difficult unless it's like pasta or I'm eating out.
    Thanks all!
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,426 MFP Moderator
    Yeah my picture is spot on with my body type now. Now I weigh 130lbs which I am comfortable with. I've lost 8lbs while on MFP thanks to everyones help :) and I really do want to tone, I recently bought protein powder because I'm not much of a meat eater. (I probably eat meat like 2 times a week... maybe 3) so I think I'm going to start using weights with my Jillian Michaels 30 day shred to add muscle and work my way up.

    I eat about 700-900 calories once all is said and done after my work outs. Usually on the higher end at about 900. I have a small stomach to begin with so eating a ton is difficult unless it's like pasta or I'm eating out.
    Thanks all!

    Yea, you should probably be eating about 2x that. That is way too little calories and will only lead to muscle loss since you are a normal weight. If you want to be "toned", you need to fuel your muscles. That is not even enough calories to sustain your metabolic rate, let alone your muscle mass. Every woman I know is eating 1700-2100 calories and losing just fine. How tall are you? I can run the numbers for you.


    BTW, if you want to improve fat loss, drop those 3 extra cardio day and start doing resistance training. Resistance or weight training will help improve muscle retention so you optimize fat loss.

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