newbie runner...have some questions

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PammyB3130
PammyB3130 Posts: 203
in Fitness and Exercise
I just got a treadmill and started a jogging routine about a month ago. I've been staying within my calorie budget, getting enough protein, and working out at least 5 days a week. I lost about 10 pounds the first 2 weeks and then the past two weeks I've been slowly gaining it back. Is this normal? I thought maybe I was losing inches and just gaining muscle so I took my measurements and everything is the same....I'm really at a loss and not sure if I'm doing something wrong!! It's hard to stick to an exercise routine and not see any results!!

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  • lucifa73
    lucifa73 Posts: 110
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    Havce you upped your fluids to compensate for the extra exercise? If you don't drink enough you'll retain water.
  • PammyB3130
    PammyB3130 Posts: 203
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    I have upped my water intake a little, but I'll try to do more......
  • acstein
    acstein Posts: 55
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    I had a similar problem. I started out losing inches like crazy and then ended up gaining 10 lbs right before a 2 month long plateau. I tried varying my exercises, eating, etc. I changed the number of times I eat a day and that worked for me. Our bodies are creatures of habit so don't forget to change things up a bit. Doing the same thing over and over again doesn't do much to help your body change. I'm not sure if that's something you have tried already or not. Also, I went from eating 3 times a day with maybe a snack or 2, to eating 6 times a day. Sometimes I eat 6 meals, sometimes I eat 4 or 5 and then fill in the rest with snacks. Sometimes things get in the way of me eating on a particular schedule, with particular amounts of food, so I just do what I can. Also, Lucifa73 is right, water, especially when exercising, is a must. You can retain water, not to mention your body may signal hungry when it's really just thirsty. I drink 12 glasses of water on days I exercise, and 8 on days I do not. I also sweat profusely so don't necessarily use my numbers.
  • tleray
    tleray Posts: 1
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    First of all, good for you for starting to run! Remember that most people (even people who are not overweight) can not run more than a couple of minutes. Don't give up!

    I went through the same issue when I started running many years ago. I found that I had to eat more often to compensate for the calories I was burning. Since I really wanted to loose weight, I only ate the calories that I would have needed had I not exercised. I am not sure if this is the same for you, but once I started to eat more (it didn't take much), I continued to loose weight.

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