Exercising more than ever & resulting in weight gain

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goalpeace
goalpeace Posts: 272 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I am down 30Lbs since I started my diet/exercise routine about 1 1/2 yrs ago.
I have ranged from 30-40Lbs down.

A month ago I was 123Lbs, last Monday I weighed in at 128.5, last Friday I weighed in at 127, yesterday 131.5! These are crazy swings.

My exercise routine has picked up big time over the past 3 weeks. I have been doing 30 Day Shred every morning (today was Level 2 Day 9) and hitting the gym for some good cardio 3-4 times per week at least.

90% of the time I count my calories. However, I am not very careful as to the quality of my food and am thinking this might be a major factor if not, the entire issue.

I have 4 Kids and a Husband and do not want to force those crazy paleo, eat clean, blah blah blah diets on them so I just use "in moderation" as our guide. Should I personally cut out some type of food?

Why would I weigh MORE than before? I also don't feel thinner. My goal was to try and not be skinny fat but it's beginning to seem better now!

Replies

  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
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    It's likely to be water weight from a combination of the increased exercise and any sodium you might be eating (also hormones, stress, etc will increase your scale weight). When we start a new exercise routine our bodies flood sore muscles with water to help them heal. Drink plenty of fluids to help flush out any excess and try to be patient.

    You might also want to make sure you're eating back some of your exercise calories to help fuel your workouts. I know it sounds counterintuitive, but a lot of us have seen results by increasing our calories just a bit.
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
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    Why are you doing cardio 2x day?

    If you don't want to be skinny fat, do some real resistance training (weights, bands, body weight, but make it HARD).

    Do you track macros, or only cals? My guess is that carbs + exercise is leading to water weight retention (assuming you're honest and accurate with your calorie logging).
  • goalpeace
    goalpeace Posts: 272 Member
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    Why are you doing cardio 2x day?

    If you don't want to be skinny fat, do some real resistance training (weights, bands, body weight, but make it HARD).

    Do you track macros, or only cals? My guess is that carbs + exercise is leading to water weight retention (assuming you're honest and accurate with your calorie logging).

    I guess I think I still have some fat to lose so I do extra cardio. I try and do interval style cardio with fast/slow movements with light & heavy resistance in between.

    I only track cals not micros. I am a beginner in lifting so the Jillian lifting is actually challenging me lol
    I am moving on to another one of her videos in 12 more days, then another. It would be great if I can actually figure out how to lift heavy. A good routine. I am just in the dark, lost!
  • kdiamond
    kdiamond Posts: 3,329 Member
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    Beleve it or not, less is more. You don't need to exercise 2 times a day. It isn't sustainable and it isn't necessary.

    I agree, less cardio, more weights.

    Diet is important, but there is no reason to cut out foods or try to follow some ridiculous fad diet. Again, not sustainable long term.

    I have always done IIFYM (*if it fits your macros*) and I've stayed the same weight for 8+ years now. I try to stick to a 35/35/30 ratio of carbs/protein/fats and within reason, I eat what I want. I try to stay away from fried and processed foods, but that isn't to say I don't eat any. I just eat as healthy as I can 80% of the time, and the other 20% is what I want to eat. It works.

    Don't overthink it, just stick to your calories, measure your foods, eat at home as much as possible, and workout a reasonable 3-5 hours a week. You will start seeing the pounds fall off.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,867 Member
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    Why are you doing cardio 2x day?

    If you don't want to be skinny fat, do some real resistance training (weights, bands, body weight, but make it HARD).

    Do you track macros, or only cals? My guess is that carbs + exercise is leading to water weight retention (assuming you're honest and accurate with your calorie logging).

    I guess I think I still have some fat to lose so I do extra cardio. I try and do interval style cardio with fast/slow movements with light & heavy resistance in between.

    I only track cals not micros. I am a beginner in lifting so the Jillian lifting is actually challenging me lol
    I am moving on to another one of her videos in 12 more days, then another. It would be great if I can actually figure out how to lift heavy. A good routine. I am just in the dark, lost!

    Use your diet for weight control and exercise for fitness. You'd be much better served using one of those cardio sessions for resistance training.

    Resistance training is going to do more for you long term for fat burn than cardio will ever do. My resistance training, I mean more than pretty little pink dumbbells...you need to progressively lift...start light and get heavy.

    You reach a point of diminishing returns with too much of any exercise...you exercise for fitness, not weight loss...use your diet for weight loss.
  • elyelyse
    elyelyse Posts: 1,454 Member
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    90% of the time I count my calories.

    you already know at least part of the answer. start there.
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
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    Use your diet for weight control and exercise for fitness. You'd be much better served using one of those cardio sessions for resistance training.

    Agreed
  • Mrsallypants
    Mrsallypants Posts: 887 Member
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    You could be overeating slightly since people have such terrible accuracy estimating their calories, or it could be water weight from menstruation, exercise, high sodium levels, stress, etc... Weight can fluctuate in that range, but it's not a fat gain. Most people try weighing first thing in the morning as water retention and the weight of food is less confounding than later in the day.

    It could be some muscle gain also. If you had a good skin caliper you could determine if the gain is body fat or muscle. You could also do body measurements, especially around the hips and waist.

    Perhaps your metabolism has slowed down and your body is forming a homeostasis.
  • OtiWanKenobi
    OtiWanKenobi Posts: 340 Member
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    You're situation sounds a lot like mine. I started about 1 1/2 years ago and dropped a good 45 lbs being on a very restrictive 1200 cal diet...doing a ton of cardio and rarely ate back my excercise calories. Then a year ago Spring... I decided to register and train for a half marathon hoping that it would help me break the plateau and loose the last 30lbs. I was wrong.... I maybe lost 3 lbs at most by August 1/2 marathon. I was really trying to lose weight for my wedding in September. I gave up....got married, went on a honeymoon in October, ate all I could and by Thanksgiving I gained about 10lbs!!!!!

    So frustrated. Well I picked it up again just after Thanksgiving. Tried the 1200 cal thing....nothing was budging, nor up or down. Then I heard about "In Place of a Road Map" where you eat more based on your total daily energy expenditure and body fat %. I was scared at first because it required me to eat 1900 calories!!!! I tried it a couple of weeks in January and OMG I gained!!!! I went back to 1200....nothing. This March I decided to really stick with it....I read that it could take up to 4 - 6 weeks for your body to adjust. I did just that... I put away the scale, raised by calories to 1944, scaled back on cardio and picked up heavy weights 3x's a week and started measuring myself. They were right...after 4 weeks I started to finally see a change in my body!!!!!! Eureka!!!! In one month I lost about 2 lbs, BUT I lost a total of I lost a total of 7 inches all over!!!! WOW!!! This was more progress in one month than I have seen in a whole year being on a 1200 cal diet. I'm down another size...and I'm eating so much more!

    I urge you to at least try it....there's a group called eat more to weigh less. If you do try it...be patient as we've done harm to our bodies of low cal dieting for so long. It takes a while for your body to adjust. Feel free to add me as a friend or shoot me a message if you have any questions.
  • RambyPandy
    RambyPandy Posts: 118 Member
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    My exercise routine has picked up big time over the past 3 weeks. I have been doing 30 Day Shred every morning (today was Level 2 Day 9) and hitting the gym for some good cardio 3-4 times per week at least.

    This happened to me two when I started 30DS. I spiked up a few pounds, then up, then down, up again, and now back down. I think it's my body's way of revolting against the new activity. It's been 2 weeks and the trend seems to be lower spikes, which is good. I am going to be patient and see what happens.
  • CJ_Holmes
    CJ_Holmes Posts: 759 Member
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    If you are relying on the scale and whether you "feel" thin, you are going to have huge swings based on water AND your mood!

    Take pictures and measurements. You'll be amazed on those days where you "feel" fat or the scale jumps up, you may actually be the same or smaller.

    Keep challenging yourself with the resistance exercise- keeping muscle is what will make you feel firm and fit.
  • kberry1915
    kberry1915 Posts: 3
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    I am a 51 year old female. I have a sedentary job and haven't been able to lose weight although I consider myself active once I leave work. I joined LA Boxing 3 months ago and haven't seen any weight loss, however, I have noticed my hips, legs and waist shrink a bit. But, my question is why haven't I been able to lose weight? I also just joined MyFitnessPal today and love how I can track food and excercise. When I tried logging in my exercise, I plugged in cardiovascular exercise for 15 min and boxing (w/bags) for 45 minutes. The workout at LA Boxing is 60 minutes long and very, very intense. I have truly never sweated as much in any other type of work out. So my calorie intake increased by approx 500 calories (I think it could actually be more, so I underestimated) and I am very timid about adding the extra calories into my daily food intake.

    When should I see some weight loss?
  • goalpeace
    goalpeace Posts: 272 Member
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    Use your diet for weight control and exercise for fitness. You'd be much better served using one of those cardio sessions for resistance training.

    Agreed

    This makes it much more simplified, thank you! I have no problem pushing myself, it's just that I do not know how. I hardly go upstairs at the gym where the weights are. I think a personal trainer will serve me well at this point. Hawaii in 3 months so I would like to get some sort of progress by then!
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
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    Use your diet for weight control and exercise for fitness. You'd be much better served using one of those cardio sessions for resistance training.

    Agreed

    This makes it much more simplified, thank you! I have no problem pushing myself, it's just that I do not know how. I hardly go upstairs at the gym where the weights are. I think a personal trainer will serve me well at this point. Hawaii in 3 months so I would like to get some sort of progress by then!

    I think a personal trainer could be a huge help at this point. There are lots of sources for good, free routines, so I would go that route first. Then book a session or two with a PT just to introduce you to the machines/weights that you want to use. Work on proper use and good technique. Some gyms will offer a free (or cheaper) into program for this very purpose, so you may not need a true PT session, just an orientation to the equipment.
  • ChangingAmanda
    ChangingAmanda Posts: 486 Member
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    Took a peek at your diary and on the days that you do log fully, you're netting very low calories. Too much of a calorie deficit can hinder weight loss as much as too little of one. Your body needs, craves, wants fuel especially with as much as you're exercising. This is a great post with resources to calculate your caloric need: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/912920-in-place-of-a-road-map-3-2013.

    Also, use other tools to gauge your success - body measurements, progress pictures, how you feel, how your clothes fit. The number on the scale can be deceiving about your progress. I gained 2.4lbs one week but the jeans that were a tad too tight the week before fit perfectly the morning I logged my gain. The number on the scale just a number that unless you tell someone, no one will know.

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