Frustrated! >:-|

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Replies

  • KANGOOJUMPS
    KANGOOJUMPS Posts: 6,474 Member
    BOOZE CURES ALL
    YOUR FRUSTRATIONS WILL DISAPPEAR.
  • twelfty
    twelfty Posts: 576 Member
    One point that I don't see anybody making is that gaining a single pound of fat REQUIRES you to eat 3500 more calories than you have burned. If you haven't eaten 10500 more calories over what you have burned in the last 15 days then you haven't gained any more fat. You might be wearing heavier shoes, retaining water, developing muscle, your scale might be broken, or any number of other things. But you haven't added any fat. Period.

    someone did say that lol

    edit also you wouldn't have to eat 10500 calories over 15 days you could eat 240 a day more than you've burnt over 15 days and gain 1lb of fat
  • woodwardtm
    woodwardtm Posts: 361 Member
    I am having the same issue. I am 164 lbs and 5'6", I work in an office all day, so I cut my calories way back and with the addition of an hour workout at least 4 times a week. I have GAINED a pound or two. I would think that when I record EVERYTHING, and I see that my caloric intake is ATLEAST 4000 calories a week, it would be going down, not up. Its a let down to see my weight stay the same or even go up. I will continue to "try", but another month of this I might just give up.

    4000 calories a week?! That only averages out to 571.43 calories per day! You'd be starving yourself. I realize you are not the OP but that calorie count struck me as odd.
  • bwcrouch
    bwcrouch Posts: 105 Member
    Are you eating back your exercise calories? And how much water are you gettting in each day? Diet Sodas? Closed diaries make it hard to help. At what intensity are you exercising?
  • CharlesLadd
    CharlesLadd Posts: 39
    Everyone has an opinion. Here's mine. Ignore the scale for a month, then start weighing -- but only once a week, In the meantime, eat healthy foods in moderate amounts and exercise periodically, including strength exercises. If you focus on the scale you will more likely see this as a "project" (i.e. a "diet") and not as a life-style change. If or when you reach your "goal" (a specific weight usually) you will feel justified in stopping. So, I suggest you think of this process as 1) long term, 2) permanent, 3) aimed at a healthier life, for the rest of your life. Expect results, yes, but in a longer time span. I set out to lose 50 pounds in 7 months. At 4 months 2 weeks I have lost 37 pounds. That's my opinion, and I'm sticking to it.
  • 04ward
    04ward Posts: 196 Member
    I did the same thing. Gained 3 pounds in my first 3 weeks but just kept doing the same thing and now starting to lose this week finally. Found I need to drink LOTS of water!
  • sjcook23
    sjcook23 Posts: 87 Member
    1 lb of muscles weighs exactly the same as 1 lb of fat :)

    If you cut your calorie intake in half, you may have put your body into starvation mode. Your brain doesn't know you are trying to lose weight, all it knows is that the intake was drastically cut. The brain's reaction is to hord water and food for survival.

    Obviously, you can overcome this by not giving the brain a chance to hord, but it would take more exercise than what you are doing. Probably 5-6 days of a 60 minute workout a week.

    If I were you, I would up my workouts to 4-5 days of 60 min workouts. Interval workouts burn the most, i.e., a few minutes of fast paced workout, then a few minutes of slower paced workout OR cardio a couple minutes, then muscle workout a couple minutes for 30 minutes.

    It's going to take your body a while to adjust to the new intake level and stop panicking. Sometimes that takes 2-4 weeks. Just keep eating below your goal. Eat high protein and fiber, low fat (40 grams or less). You can also, work your way down to the 1300 daily goal, that would not send your body into survival mode.

    Good Luck
  • sjcook23
    sjcook23 Posts: 87 Member
    Are you eating back your exercise calories? And how much water are you gettting in each day? Diet Sodas? Closed diaries make it hard to help. At what intensity are you exercising?

    I agree, you can't eat your exercise calories. I always aim to be under goal by 200-300 calories on days I exercise.
  • concordancia
    concordancia Posts: 5,320 Member
    A lot of healthy habits can make the scale go up temporarily:

    More fiber
    More water
    More exercise

    For example, this week I have been on a staycation and doing twice as much exercise while still eating 1500 (Eating my exercise calories from my normal workout, but not my additional one) calories. With all that work, I maintained my weight. My muscles are sore, which means they are inflamed as they try to repair themselves. Although I ate the same calories, some of it was frozen dinners, which left me bloated from the salt and a bit constipated...
  • tomomatic
    tomomatic Posts: 1,794 Member
    Try cutting some of the sodium out of your diet. Sodium makes you retain water.
    And drink more water to get rid of the sodium.
  • tryinghard71
    tryinghard71 Posts: 593
    Have you measured yourself? I lost a few cm one week and didn't shift any weight.


    ^^
    Agree. I was not losing on the scale but was losing inches.
  • jchite84
    jchite84 Posts: 467 Member
    It seems like it is most likely water weight. Drink lots of water.
  • bumblebums
    bumblebums Posts: 2,181 Member
    If it's only been two weeks since you made the changes, then it's water weight.
  • jlapey
    jlapey Posts: 1,850 Member
    I too, started strength training recently and my weight went up almost 7 pounds. Two months in and it is coming down almost as fast as it went up and I look a lot different. So regardless of what your scale says, just keep at it. You won't be sorry.

    ETA: Also, I am 5'0" tall and weighing 151.5 (today), I eat between 1500-1700 calories a day of mostly healthy foods.
  • BigeaterMatt
    BigeaterMatt Posts: 4 Member
    As another member said, you can't gain muscle on a deficit. People are telling you what you want to hear instead of what the most likely scenario is. Even then producing several pounds of muscle in such a short span of time is anything short of impossible.
  • Cyclingbonnie
    Cyclingbonnie Posts: 413 Member
    I agree about the calories many have spoken of. I don't really think you are eating enough. I also feel like, and forgive me if I'm wrong, you are approaching this as a quick fix and a temporary way of life. You are being way too depriving, which in itself is not sustainable. In order to stick with this change for LIFE you must enjoy your food as well as receive sustenance from it. If you aren't enjoying what you eat, you will begin to stray back into the habits that got you overweight in the first place. I so admire you taking control before you were 100 pounds over weight.

    Be nice to yourself, keep up your hard work, drink plenty of water, eat well, and play a little. Working out is great and I love it, and recommend it, but you can do fun things too. Ride a bike, play tennis, go roller skating, do things that make you move and laugh. A night of dancing is one of my favorite break up the routine things around.
  • sophcath123
    sophcath123 Posts: 7
    Like Charles said...it's only been 2 weeks! Your body will do all sorts of things to compensate for the shock but it is impossible you've gained 3 lbs of muscle and even less likely you've gained 3 lbs of fat. Forgo the scale and bring out the tape measure. Don't try too much too fast or you'll get discouraged. Think of it as a long term lifestyle change and don't give up.
    Also, don't starve yourself but do cut out any refined sugars and any extra salt and make sure you're eating a balanced lean protein and carb ratio. Take it easy on the fruits and eat more veggies.

    You're obviously working hard and on the right track to get yourself healthier so please don't give up. Jump on the scale after a month and I bet you'll have a pleasant surprise :)
  • tecman1007
    tecman1007 Posts: 1
    In all honesty despite what anyone on here says or claims, the only true way to lose weight is to maintain a caloric deficit. Go online and calculate your BMR or basal metabolic rate. It basically states roughly how many calories your body burns in a 24 hour period. Me for example....I burn roughly 1700 calories a day. Throw in my exercising each day and I burn around 2400-2700 calories a day. Now if I only intake say...1500 calories a day than that would leave me with a 900-1200 calorie deficit each day. When your body doesnt eat for 16 hours straight, it goes into FASTING mode, not STARVATION mode despite popular belief. Your body doesn't go into starvation mode until about hour 72....granted that will vary some depending on the person, and lets face it...one meal a day is tough enough. To enter fasting mode you need to not eat for roughly 16 hours minimum. I just take it one step higher and eat one big meal every 24 hours. In that time period my metabolism doesn't shut down, or slow in any way. Now... it takes roughly 3500 calories to burn 1 lb of fat. So after a quick calculation using the previous numbers, I would lose a little over 1.5 lbs a week on the low end. 1-1.5 lbs a week is usually considered healthy. I will agree however, don't rely on the scale to show you progress, either use a tape measure on those trouble areas, or purchase a BMI calculator that can for the most part accurately tell you your body fat %. If your percentage goes down, and your weight stays the same....then you're doing alright. Oh and I do stand behind these claims I am making as I am on deployment # 4 currently. I always have energy in the field, and always have outstanding physicals.

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