Working SO hard but still gaining weight

lynnette2003
lynnette2003 Posts: 18 Member
in Motivation and Support
I am on week 4 of an intense interval workout program called JNL fusion. Its 30-40 min long and it kicks my butt and I love it! Every workout is mixed with cardio and weight lifting. Here's my problem. I have gained 9 lbs since I started the program. I have reduced my calories by quite a bit, i have cut down on wine. now i prob have 3 glasses a week. My husband and I just recently stopped going out to eat for Lent! I don't know what's going on! I am drinking enough water. I have lost about 1 inch in my waist and 0.5 inches in each thigh but I would expect a little more after working out 5-6 days a week for 4 weeks. what could be going wrong? is there anything wrong? is this normal?
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Replies

  • UsernameStillLoading
    UsernameStillLoading Posts: 299 Member
    Well the fact that you are loosing inches means that it is working.
    I can't see your diary so I don't know how to help you in that department but maybe, and this might sound strange, you need to up your caloric intake (the days you workout, at least). If you do hard workouts, you need more than the average caloric intake. Increase your metabolism and increase your protein intake.
    Do you know your body fat %? Your extra weight could be water weight (which means it would come off easier than fat), or even just bloating from the carbonation in the wine.
  • lynnette2003
    lynnette2003 Posts: 18 Member
    My body fat % is around 28%. My goal wt is 170 and when I started I was 183 now i'm 192!!!! i'm very athletic and am 6'0" tall. I usually try to stay around 1400-1500 calories. some days I'm quite a bit less, some days i'm arouns 200-300 more
  • julschneider
    julschneider Posts: 2 Member
    Try dropping your calories to around 1200; don't eat processed foods; don't eat late; eat 4-6 times a day (i.e. spreadout your calaries); eat complex carbs, instead of refined carbs. If none of these tips work, talk with your doctor. Good luck.
  • jzammetti
    jzammetti Posts: 1,956 Member
    Try dropping your calories to around 1200; don't eat processed foods; don't eat late; eat 4-6 times a day (i.e. spreadout your calaries); eat complex carbs, instead of refined carbs. If none of these tips work, talk with your doctor. Good luck.

    With all due respect, DON'T DO THIS ^^^

    You are way too active for a 1200 calorie diet. Have you calculated your TDEE? Remember, our bodies need food for fuel.
  • nagniho
    nagniho Posts: 132 Member
    Try dropping your calories to around 1200; don't eat processed foods; don't eat late; eat 4-6 times a day (i.e. spreadout your calaries); eat complex carbs, instead of refined carbs. If none of these tips work, talk with your doctor. Good luck.

    Please don't drp your cals to 1200!!

    Read this and calculate your #s

    https://www.facebook.com/pages/In-Place-of-a-Road-Map-MFP/342385002516919

    Niva
  • KatLifter
    KatLifter Posts: 1,314 Member
    Try dropping your calories to around 1200; don't eat processed foods; don't eat late; eat 4-6 times a day (i.e. spreadout your calaries); eat complex carbs, instead of refined carbs. If none of these tips work, talk with your doctor. Good luck.

    NO. DO NOT drop calories to 1200! At 6' tall you may not be eating enough.I'm about 5'10" and while working out I need to eat 1600-1800 to lose anything. Here is a calculator to help you determine calories.
    http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

    ETA: If you are just starting strength training, your muscles hold onto water, and that can mess with the scale. Cut down on weighing yourself and go by measurements.
  • blu_meanie_ca
    blu_meanie_ca Posts: 352 Member
    A certain amount of water retention is to be expected when you first start a program, the more intensive, the more water.
    Try increasing your water intake and reducing your sodium for a couple days. If it's near your TOM, forget about the scale. The fact that you are losing inches does show a loss of fat. The scale will reflect that soon enough. (and dear god.. you are 6 feet tall... do NOT eat only1200 calories, and the intervals in which you eat don't matter.... once a day, 20 times a day...).
  • mommamills
    mommamills Posts: 437
    absolutely do NOT drop cals! You really need to up them. Especially on days that you are working out!

    Agreed on the water weight from muscle retention after lifting. Make sure you are not weighing after lifting and at the same time every time.
  • jodymaro1
    jodymaro1 Posts: 78 Member
    Same thing happened to me... it took some time to register but then it finally did and 5 plus pounds registered finally and then the rest kept melting off daily. It takes time to catch up so give it time. Also if you are doing weights, you are building muscle so that adds more weight until the fat that you lose actually registers. Give it more time and keep doing what you're doing!
  • Ed98043
    Ed98043 Posts: 1,333 Member
    Are you weighing your food and counting every calorie? You said you just recently and temporarily stopped going out to eat, you're down to 3 glasses of wine a week....is it possible that you're underestimating your calorie intake? One thing that exercise generally does is make you hungry, and it doesn't take much restaurant food and wine to replace the calories you've burned.
  • lynnette2003
    lynnette2003 Posts: 18 Member
    WOW!! all such good advice and encouraging! I thought I would see some drop in the scale at 4 weeks but maybe not! I'll keep going. The minute i see 1 lb drop, i am going to be ecstatic!
  • lynnette2003
    lynnette2003 Posts: 18 Member
    Are you weighing your food and counting every calorie? You said you just recently and temporarily stopped going out to eat, you're down to 3 glasses of wine a week....is it possible that you're underestimating your calorie intake? One thing that exercise generally does is make you hungry, and it doesn't take much restaurant food and wine to replace the calories you've burned.
  • lynnette2003
    lynnette2003 Posts: 18 Member
    I was actually counting all that into my calorie counting app. I was still within my caloric intake. that's not to say I didn't cheat. I allow myself 1 day a week to cheat
  • rhall9058
    rhall9058 Posts: 270 Member
    Agree with everybody except the dropping of cals to 1200. If anything, I would expect to see you up in the 1500-1600 area. Sounds odd, I know, but the harder you workout and don't feed that workout, the more your body will store. If you don't feed the need, your body is going to store what it needs to live. Agree with the TDEE calculations, they are a must. Keep up the AWESOME workouts though!!!
  • bfitgirl
    bfitgirl Posts: 138 Member
    I agree with other posts I'm 5'11" and do 3 x strength training a week and my TDEE is 2200 cal. BMR is 1500 so if I just lie in bed this is the miminum cal I need to function!

    Do not go on the 1200 route u will lose initially however you will stall and return to eating normally cos you'll be unable to sustain that low cal.. Read up on the group here Eat More to Weigh Less even if just for another prospective.
  • fightininggirl
    fightininggirl Posts: 792 Member
    first the scale is not accurate. I just created a group for those who want to focus on losing inches. it's all about measuring you are welcome to join.

    you are not doing anything wrong. the fact you are losing inches means it is working. my scale tried to tell me I gained weight yet I lost inches everywhere accept for my bust and just dropped a size in jeans today.
  • iulia_maddie
    iulia_maddie Posts: 2,780 Member
    Try dropping your calories to around 1200; don't eat processed foods; don't eat late; eat 4-6 times a day (i.e. spreadout your calaries); eat complex carbs, instead of refined carbs. If none of these tips work, talk with your doctor. Good luck.
    Please stop giving advice like this on the forums.
  • Jennisin1
    Jennisin1 Posts: 574 Member
    I see a huge shift up when I do intense workouts... which usually flushes to an all time low when I go light for 3 days (usually over a weekend I have my kids)... for me, it is all the fluid my body is retaining to repair the new muscles.

    If you are losing inches, I really wouldn't stress about it. If you are keeping at it, your body will adjust to the intensity and you will flush eventually... or when you take a few days off... at least that is my experiences.

    BUT, I will tell you... at 5'10 177lbs, I consistantly lose 4-5 lbs a month NETTING 1800 calories a day (usually eating around 2300)... so you may not be eating enough.
  • ze_hombre
    ze_hombre Posts: 377 Member
    You are building muscle mass. Muscle weighs a lot more than fat. The fact that your body is slimming down is proof you are burning off the fat. Don't put a lot of faith in scales that use electric impedence to determine body fat. Just having a glass of water before and after can add 2-3%. The one I have will actually add a percent if I get back on it.
  • Brad805
    Brad805 Posts: 289 Member
    I can't quite get on board with the inches gang. I know how hard it is to build muscle, and you have not built a lot yet. Muscle mass increases at a much much slower rate than one can lose fat. Even for a newcomer. You cannot out train a bad diet (not saying yours is). I would re-visit the diet plan, and make sure I was not missing too many spare calories. I am a believer in tweaking things every two weeks if the progress stops. There should be no reason you cannot consistently lose 0.5% - 1.5% of your mass each week for a lot of weeks yet. Once you get close to the goal it always slows.
  • Ge0rgiana
    Ge0rgiana Posts: 1,649 Member
    There is only one thing you gain this fast, fluid.
  • Sharonks
    Sharonks Posts: 884 Member
    Keep up the great work and read Dan's In place of a road map that someone posted a link to. I am 4'11" and I don't think 1200 cals is enough for me. You are more than a foot taller I don't see how that can be enough for you unless perhaps you are comatose and even then, probably not. Enjoy the size you are losing. People see what you look like not what you weigh. I, like pretty much everyone else, really watches the scale but the reality is, no one know what you weigh unless you tell them. Also, I have weighed the same thing as others who are taller and not looked fat while they look fat. Muscle is very dense and you can weigh quite a bit if your are solidly muscled yet you will still look great.
  • Serah87
    Serah87 Posts: 5,481 Member
    Try this. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12 Good luck. :flowerforyou:
  • rebasporty
    rebasporty Posts: 287 Member
    Saving
  • jbenner54
    jbenner54 Posts: 1
    I gained too when I started working out. I was told it was muscle and not to give up. I eventually started losing. I lost 20 lbs. total. Good Luck:)
  • Pixi_Rex
    Pixi_Rex Posts: 1,676 Member
    For godsake... stop weighing yourself you will lose your mind.

    You have lost inches, you are working hard just go with it. I quite stepping on the scale on Jan 31st because all my scale was doing was going up but my measurements were going down.

    Take pictures, make sure you eat a reasonable amount of calories and stop worrying about the scale - weigh in when you are done your work out progam - I chose the end of march as that gives me time to finish Insanity. Its much easier to not worry about the scale - the first few days are the worst and then you feel pretty free.
  • lynnette2003
    lynnette2003 Posts: 18 Member
    I am very thankful for all tha advice. I have always felt that increasing my calories is a bad thing. My only issue is that I have tried to eat more but I just can't! Its so hard to eat so much food! Don't get me wrong, I LOVE to eat, but when I'm told I have to eat more, its very hard for me to
  • downinaggieland98
    downinaggieland98 Posts: 224 Member
    Try dropping your calories to around 1200; don't eat processed foods; don't eat late; eat 4-6 times a day (i.e. spreadout your calaries); eat complex carbs, instead of refined carbs. If none of these tips work, talk with your doctor. Good luck.

    With all due respect, DON'T DO THIS ^^^

    You are way too active for a 1200 calorie diet. Have you calculated your TDEE? Remember, our bodies need food for fuel.

    Totally agree. At 6ft, there is NO WAY you should drop to 1200. I don't think you are eating enough as it is...
  • RunningMannn
    RunningMannn Posts: 135
    If it's a really intense program and your weight lifting is equal or more then the cardio. You have to eat a lot..I ate more then ever when I did a program called bodyforlife. No way is 1200 calories enough..You might be somewhere between 1600-2000 calories..Eat 5 meals a day..Add more protein to your diet..Protein powder or meal replacement drinks should work. Like some have said before. If your losing inches then it's working..Keep at it..
  • RunningMannn
    RunningMannn Posts: 135
    I am very thankful for all tha advice. I have always felt that increasing my calories is a bad thing. My only issue is that I have tried to eat more but I just can't! Its so hard to eat so much food! Don't get me wrong, I LOVE to eat, but when I'm told I have to eat more, its very hard for me to

    Try meal replacement drinks...Walmart usually has EAS drinks..Vanilla, strawberry and chocolate..Strawberry is the best imo..

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