I DON'T KNOW WHAT I'M DOING! I THOUGHT I DID., BUT NOPE!

When did you start the strength training? New workouts, especially weights, will cause muscles to retain water to repair and heal, which will show as weight gain on the scale. Not a big deal, it will drop back off. Not sure what to tell ya about feeling heavy and bloated.

Checked your diary - I'll agree with what you said about not doing to well fueling your body! Many days you're under 1200, and looks like you're not eating back exercise cals, even on high burn days? If your logging is accurate, both intake and exercise burns, you're not doing yourself any favors - netting 276 some days!! :noway:

I just posted this in another topic less than an hour ago - food is fuel, and goal means GOAL! Not several hundred calories under goal. Especially if you're doing any sort of strength training, heck even if you're not exercising - eat too low for too long and you're giving your body a reason to store fat, not burn it. Metabolism will slow down to match the low calorie intake, making it more and more difficult to lose weight.

Give your body the fuel it needs, it will thank you for it!

2-4 hrs of exercise a day is overkill. That is insane, it isn't always a case of more is better....

Another good point - it is possible to over train, and coupled with under eating, you set yourself for all kinds of problems. Great article on that there: http://www.shapefit.com/overtraining-exercising-too-much.html

I have had my best success over the past year eating according to the info in this topic: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/937712-in-place-of-a-road-map-ver-3-0

I'm 44, 5'8", stay at home mom, working out 5-6 days a week, about an hour a day, and eating 1800+ calories daily. And the fat and weight has come off like never before since I started eating this way. :bigsmile: My workouts are three days of weights with my dumbbells at home, and the other three days I run, average about 4 miles most days.I've reached goal weight, dropped to a size 4, and I look & feel better than I have in YEARS!

We don't have to eat low calories and "diet food" and go gonzo at the gym all week long to have success! What I do now is part of my lifestyle, and the changes were easy - so it's sustainable, something I can do for life, and keep the weight off and stay fit. :drinker:

Thank you both!

I started strength training last Monday. I worked super hard last week; getting in 2-4 hrs a day of cardio & strength. I did lost 1 lb in that week, but my measurements are pretty much the same. I really want to fuel my body. I'm not intentionally neglecting my body food, but my problem has been that I often don't finish up at the gym until around 8:30 pm, which is late. I do still try to eat something when I get home.

*How bad is it to eat following a 2-4 hr workout, late at night with very little activity after??

2-4 HOURS! HOLY *kitten* that's iNSANE!!!! this isn't biggest loser. you need/must eat more. almonds and trail mix for dinner is NOT a healthy dinner. dominos pizza is not the best snack in the world. if you SERIOUSLY are working out 2-4 hours then EAT when you get home regardless of time you'll still burn fuel afterwards. if you continue at this pace you're going to burn yourself out and quit either that or injure yourself which is worse. slow down, it's a marathon not a sprint. stop starving yourself, eat something cut back on your exercising. the weight will come off.

2-4 hours a day is ridiculous. You do not need that level of exercise, and beyond a certain point, it can actually be detrimental to fat and weight loss. You will burn away all your muscle and totaly mess up your metabolism. I suggest learning how to do this the sensible way and stop treating your body like rubbish.

I'm eating close to 2k cals a day and working out 5-6 days a week. Some days I burn 600-800 calories according to my HRM. Last week, I ran 20 miles! 2 days are strength training. I've been on a higher caloried diet since beginning March and I'm just gaining gaining! I don't get it. It was so easy before to eat 1200-1400 calories, but everyone said to eat more, now it's "hard" to cut back! I hate this and the 10+ lbs that I gained!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm probably just repeating what everyone else has already said, but 2-4 hours is far too much to do any good, and you should keep your calories AT LEAST at 1200, but preferably more given you don't want to burn out (especially if you're exercising a lot). Maybe smaller meals more often can be helpful?

But honestly when I get bloated its usually because I had too much sodium and didn't drink enough water (or its that time of the month), but same thing. I can combat it with more water. But that's just me, it doesn't have to be the same with you. I just wanted to mention it, in case it helps at all.

Sorry I can't be more helpful!

Good luck!!

2-4 hrs of exercise a day is overkill. That is insane, it isn't always a case of more is better....

Another good point - it is possible to over train, and coupled with under eating, you set yourself for all kinds of problems. Great article on that there: http://www.shapefit.com/overtraining-exercising-too-much.html

I have had my best success over the past year eating according to the info in this topic: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/937712-in-place-of-a-road-map-ver-3-0

I'm 44, 5'8", stay at home mom, working out 5-6 days a week, about an hour a day, and eating 1800+ calories daily. And the fat and weight has come off like never before since I started eating this way. :bigsmile: My workouts are three days of weights with my dumbbells at home, and the other three days I run, average about 4 miles most days.I've reached goal weight, dropped to a size 4, and I look & feel better than I have in YEARS!

We don't have to eat low calories and "diet food" and go gonzo at the gym all week long to have success! What I do now is part of my lifestyle, and the changes were easy - so it's sustainable, something I can do for life, and keep the weight off and stay fit. :drinker:

That's amazing........just shows you don't have to pay the expensive gym membership every month.....good for you!!!