HELP! Has this happened to anyone else before? I'M CONFUSED

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xDeannaGarciax
xDeannaGarciax Posts: 675
in Health and Weight Loss
I've always been a healthy eater and have enjoyed working out a coupe times a week but when I decided end of April it was time to steal back my "pre-mommy" body I had to obviously boost up the excersicing and eat even healthier. No problem, changed it all dropped about 15lbs fairly easily. I got stuck after the 15lbs for almost 2 wks, changed up my working out upped my calories, got in the right water intake, and still nothing. Out of frustration I decided to take a week off from working out "hard" I still did a little cardio here and there but not 1hr to 1 1/2hrs like I had previously been doing. I weighed in a week later and miraculously dropped 4lbs...hmm. So I figuredit was probably a fluke and should get back to it the next week...I did and weighed in at the end of that week, I think I dropped like a half a pound. So again, last week, I didn't work out continued eating well, held off a few days (my weigh in days are Friday) and I weighed in today....down another 4.6lbs. What is going on? Has this happened to anyone else? I'm really confused obviously I know I need to work out to burn calories so does this mean I'm burning enough through daily activity and maybe the working out is building muscle which is causng just an even balance on the scale? Do I continue to work out maybe just ligter then what I normally would? Or is it just that flectuating is what works! I really would like to know if this has happened to anyone else before, it's just weird if you ask me. Thank you ahead of time :flowerforyou:

Replies

  • Oompa_Loompa
    Oompa_Loompa Posts: 1,099 Member
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    Man I wish I had that problem lol
  • jnsangel33
    jnsangel33 Posts: 49
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    I know the feeling. I did weight watchers 2 years ago w/out exercise and dropped a really decent amount of weight!! Everyone noticed the drop in size!! Unfortunately I lost track of myself and got back into old habits bringing me back here once again. This time I am counting my calories and working out from 30-60 min/day 5-6 days a week. I have only dropped a couple of lbs so far (only in 3 weeks) and only about 2 inches. NOTHING TO WHAT I AM USED TO. I have been told that if you exercise while dieting you tend NOT to lose as much because you tend to eat more.....being more hungry from exercise. And.. the building of muscles. I am thinking about taking a week off, myself, to see if anything changes while still counting my calories... Maybe still do a few crunches before I go to bed. Good luck! Sounds like we can both use it!! :)
  • Oompa_Loompa
    Oompa_Loompa Posts: 1,099 Member
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    See this confuses me too. I mean I know obviously it's good to workout...but should we bother?
  • RewindApril
    RewindApril Posts: 39
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    I'm not particularly good with this stuff, but I think it may be because your body got used to your exercise and eating habits. I know that some people that are stuck in a plateau will cease all their exercise for like a week or two and they break the plateau by doing that. So maybe that's what happened! Ahaha. CONGRATS on losing weight and being motivated!
  • xDeannaGarciax
    xDeannaGarciax Posts: 675
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    Thanks. Yeah I stopped working out because I had hit that plateau, I mean I guess I am STILL losing weight but I'm trying to make sense of it. I workout don't lose, don't workout-lose. Should I just not workout or keep doing what I'm doing. :ohwell:

    Jnsangel33- What you said makes sense- diteing + working out= dropping weight slower, because you are hungrier and eating more, but may I ask if your eating your workout calories too?

    I don't know about the rest of you, but I've been told over and over to eat my workout calories but I never do, because it just doesn't make sense to me in order to lose a pound you have to have a 3,000 calorie defecit right.....well how am I creating any sort of defecit if I'm eating all the calories I burn, plus my 1200 calories a day.... I'm back to square one then and break even, right? No calories technically burned at the end of the day?
  • lisawest
    lisawest Posts: 798 Member
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    I don't know if this is what is happening with you, but I do know that muscles that are being used store glycogen. Glycogen is essentially sugar water that muscles use for energy. What MAY be happening (I'm not a doctor or anything like that so I don't know for sure!) is that your muscles are retaining glycogen on the weeks you work out, and then shed it on the weeks you don't. What you may want to think about is doing an every-other day schedule. That may keep your body guessing just enough to keep the weight coming off.

    Good luck in finding what works best for you!
  • xDeannaGarciax
    xDeannaGarciax Posts: 675
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    I don't know if this is what is happening with you, but I do know that muscles that are being used store glycogen. Glycogen is essentially sugar water that muscles use for energy. What MAY be happening (I'm not a doctor or anything like that so I don't know for sure!) is that your muscles are retaining glycogen on the weeks you work out, and then shed it on the weeks you don't. What you may want to think about is doing an every-other day schedule. That may keep your body guessing just enough to keep the weight coming off.

    Good luck in finding what works best for you!

    Thank you, that's very brilliant, I would have never thought of that on my own :) I'm thinking that's what I might do this week and weigh in again Tues. and see what happens. Thank you :flowerforyou:
  • lisawest
    lisawest Posts: 798 Member
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    I don't know about the rest of you, but I've been told over and over to eat my workout calories but I never do, because it just doesn't make sense to me in order to lose a pound you have to have a 3,000 calorie defecit right.....well how am I creating any sort of defecit if I'm eating all the calories I burn, plus my 1200 calories a day.... I'm back to square one then and break even, right? No calories technically burned at the end of the day?

    I'll try to clear this question up a little (although I may end up just muddying the waters more:wink: ). When you put your information into the MFP calculator, MFP automatically subtracts calories so that you will meet your weight loss goal each week. For example:
    if your maintenance calories are 2000, and you put in that you want to lose 1lb per week (recommended). To lose that 1lb each week, you should have a 3500 calorie deficit each week. Which comes to 500 calories per day. MFP subtracts 500 calories from your maintenance calories (500*7=3500). If you did nothing else, and just ate within your calorie goal, theoretically you would continue to lose 1lb each week. (Unfortunately, our bodies don't always work that way:grumble: ) When you exercise, you are burning more calories. MFP gives those calories back to you because it has already given you the deficit needed to reach your goal. Even if you eat all of your exercise calories back (and I'm not going to go into why you should or should not do that), you still have the needed deficit and should continue to lose weight.

    Having said that, our bodies don't always do what they should do in theory, because they are like that!:laugh: If you have questions, just keep asking! (You can also use the "Search" function at the top of this topic if you get tired of typing up questions.)
  • unknownndoll
    unknownndoll Posts: 161 Member
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    I honestly do think that when we exercise a lot and don’t eat as much as we should, our body does get used to it and kind of hangs on. I have done it myself, but I’m afraid to not exercise / burn calories. I have read a lot about doing too much cardio (ive done that myself too) is actually not good for weight loss….. so if you were over doing It, I guess it isn’t effective in losing weight…. Google it…and overtraining… very confusing because you think the more the better with exercise and then we think the less we eat the better too.

    Here are a quick few I remember looking at…

    http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/food_coach&id=6977663
    http://www.ehow.com/video_4982046_how-much-cardio-much.html
    Summary: Too much cardio exercise breaks down the muscle, but five 30-minute cardio workouts per week is a healthy amount to keep the heart rate up and trim down the body. Do cardiovascular workouts throughout the week with tips from an experienced fitness and exercise guru in this free video on exercising.

    Read more: How Much Cardio is Too Much?: How to Work Out Properly | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/video_4982046_how-much-cardio-much.html#ixzz0uFcIiqNM
  • xDeannaGarciax
    xDeannaGarciax Posts: 675
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    WOW! Lot's to take it, but it is greatly greatly appreciated. Thank you all very much!

    Unknowndoll- I will be reading up on those sites now that I have layed my little one down for nap, thank you :)
  • aippolito1
    aippolito1 Posts: 4,894 Member
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    I did the same thing but only once. I was working out really hard, losing inches but not weight and then I took off two days (instead of my 1 normal rest day) and then I lost almost a whole pound. I went back to my hard working out and have been able to lose a lb each week that I'm actually good (drinking a lot of water, not going over on sodium, staying within calories, etc.). I think sometimes our body just needs a little break to "catch up".
  • supersarah14
    supersarah14 Posts: 170
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    I don't know if this will help. But according to my doctor it takes 7-10 days for what you do to show up on you're scale. For instance, if I have really hard work outs I don't usually see results until the next week.

    The only exception I've noticed is when I increase my salt or increase my weight lifting. Then my body tends to hold onto a lot of water and shows up almost immediately on the scale.
  • SHBoss1673
    SHBoss1673 Posts: 7,161 Member
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    Lisa is essentially correct. When you incorporate new workout routines your body activates muscles that were pretty much dormant before (assuming you're using new muscle groups), as such they will store glycogen at the muscle site, which can add a few lbs of weight. Remove the work, and after a few days you will remove the excess glycogen. It's quite common to begin a new routine and not see further losses for a few weeks, even small gains. That's not a reason to stop though, keep doing the routines, eventually the body will kick back in and you'll continue losing as previous.

    If you set a goal with MFP, you're already set to lose XXX weight per week, by not eating exercise calories, you're essentially changing that goal, which may or may not work (depending on your situation) but just know that eating them usually works, unless there is something else going on, or you are miss reporting, or trying to go to big with your goal or something like that. It's a bit of a tweaking game when you get down into the normal level as everyone's body responds differently.
  • Vanessa1977
    Vanessa1977 Posts: 101
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    Excersise is not only to lose weight but build strength & stamina, instead of just weighing in to track your progress you should also be following your measurements, weight is influenced by fat, muscle and water retention, keeping track of your measurements really helps you to see how the actual shape of your body changes and is defined.
  • robstot
    robstot Posts: 36 Member
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    As you weight train and build muscle, the muscle will retain water so much of the plateau is water weight and your body readjusting itself. some people increase their caloric intake to "shock" the body to burn more, some ease off the weights a bit, other increase cardio. Its tough. It is a learning experience for everyone.
    I just went through the two week plateau and at one point gained five pounds, all water. I increased my caloric intake for a three days, no weight training for three days and then returned to my normal routine. I broke the plateau this morning big time. I lost not only the five pounds I but another 3. I am below my plateau weight and think I am reaching for the next one which I hope is 10 pounds away

    So in short, tweaking the body a bit does help in reaching your ultimate goal.
  • xDeannaGarciax
    xDeannaGarciax Posts: 675
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    As you weight train and build muscle, the muscle will retain water so much of the plateau is water weight and your body readjusting itself. some people increase their caloric intake to "shock" the body to burn more, some ease off the weights a bit, other increase cardio. Its tough. It is a learning experience for everyone.
    I just went through the two week plateau and at one point gained five pounds, all water. I increased my caloric intake for a three days, no weight training for three days and then returned to my normal routine. I broke the plateau this morning big time. I lost not only the five pounds I but another 3. I am below my plateau weight and think I am reaching for the next one which I hope is 10 pounds away

    So in short, tweaking the body a bit does help in reaching your ultimate goal.

    Thank you...at least I know I'm not the only one :) I agree "tweaking" anything I have found, gives me a boost in my weight loss! Good luck to you!
  • FireRox21
    FireRox21 Posts: 424 Member
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    I understand what you are going through. In fact, I'm getting ready to head into my own "vacation" from my normal exercise routine. My pool is closing for two weeks for maintenance, so I won't be putting in my normal 2 hour cardio workouts in the water (5 days a week) and I'm getting a new engine put into my truck, so I won't have transportation anyway! I'm going to give it a break and just do some light plyometric/cardio work at home along with my regular housework, errands, etc. all while staying at my normal alloted calories. I did take a long 3 day weekend this past weekend and wound up dropping a pound! I'm pretty curious to see if I have the same results as you did when taking a break from exercise. Hopefully, it doesn't backfire and I gain!!!

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