WHAT HAVE I DONE!!!

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Corinne_Howland
Corinne_Howland Posts: 158 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
After "stalling" or "plateauing" for 4 months, I decided last week to change it up. Great intentions, thought I was making a move in the right direction.
Since April, I've had the same exercise routine. Brazil Body Now three days a week, walking on my treadmill burning on average 300 calories three days a week, rest on Sunday. Worked great for three months, lost 14 pounds and lots of inches.
Stall........stall.......plateau.......reading about changing my routine. The body gets accustomed to what I'm doing. OK....here I go.

Strength training Mon, Wed. Walking for cardio health Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. On Friday, I did my Brazil Butt Now dvd, because I think it really targets the legs and butt, and makes me sweat.

Last week, I get my TOM. I always put on a few pounds the week after. OK, I have to accept this. But, I'm up 5 pounds!!!! Measurements are up. UGH!!! So, part of me is reasoning this out, part of me fears that the reasoning is nothing but excuses. I'm scared. Do I stick with this change in my routine and accept the gain as water since I've done something new? I don't want to go backwards. I worked too hard to lose the 14, but I want to lose 15 more to reach my goal. What I "was" doing stopped working. So, sound advice is being asked.
My diary is open to friends only. Simply because, a lot of my friends are diabetic, as I am, and won't scold me when they see candy or cranberry juice on it, for treating low blood sugars. I am doing the 1200 MFP has recommended, and eat back my exercise calories. I go over when I have lows on some days. Most days, I'm on target.
Thank you in advance for the help.

Replies

  • denisegunnels
    denisegunnels Posts: 43 Member
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    Have you had a BMI reading? Are your clothes fitting the same? It is VERY possible that you are building muscle which is more dense than fat.
  • PikaKnight
    PikaKnight Posts: 34,971 Member
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    What do you have your loss per week set up as? Looking at your ticker on your profile, it seems like it should be at 0.5lbs/week.

    Do you log everything, everyday (consistently)? Do you use a food scale?


    ETA: Note that whenever you make changes to your intake amount or exercise activity level, you should give your body 4-6 weeks to adjust before reassessing if you need to make additional changes.
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 9,970 Member
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    Lifting weights while losing weight is never a wrong choice because it helps protect lean muscle mass while in a defict, regardless of caloric intake. As far as your 4 month stall is concerned, I would reevaluate how you measure your food intake because it more than likely is where the problem is, and no the body doesn't become more efficient and somehow burn hundreds of less calories, the difference is moot.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    Have you had a BMI reading? Are your clothes fitting the same? It is VERY possible that you are building muscle which is more dense than fat.

    No. It's almost impossible to build muscle on a calorie deficit.

    Personally, I don't believe that your body gets used to the exercise you're doing. I've been doing the same things for months and I've yet to stall longer than 3 weeks. My guess is you're eating more than you think. Either you're not logging your food properly (do you use a food scale?) or you're overestimating your calorie burn.
  • billsica
    billsica Posts: 4,741 Member
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    1) take off caps lock
    2) don't weigh again for a month
    3) keep doing what your doing for a month..
  • chani8
    chani8 Posts: 946 Member
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    Your exercise routine sounds fantastic and I wouldn't change a thing, if you are enjoying it.

    Really make sure you are measuring your food carefully. A tablespoon needs to really be a tablespoon and in my house, a tablespoon is usually closer to two when we don't use the measuring spoon.

    It could very well be from your new weight lifting causing water weight. Make sure you drink a lot of water. If your muscles are sore from working out, then it's most definitely the reason, unless you're overeating.

    Also, when was the last time you updated your weight settings on MFP? It could be that 1200 is not the right number of cals for you anymore.

    When I reached a plateau, I dropped to BMR cals (plus exercise) and it jump started my loss again.
  • lebaker310
    lebaker310 Posts: 164 Member
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    okay first BREATHE. Don't stress out, you'll only make yourself feel worse. Not sure why, but as women I feel like we tend to freak out as soon as the scales start going the wrong way before we really understand what's going on.

    It seems like you are very active, which is great! Have you always done strength training or did you just start? From what I understand you started a new workout routine AND your TOM last week. Two changes at once so it's hard to tell what is effecting what, but either could be responsible for weight gain.

    I tend to avoid the scale because of this reason, ITS HORRIFYING. I used to weigh myself all the time. In one week the scale went up 9 pounds for me (Not gonna lie, I cried), but I physically felt fine and even my jeans were looser. After doing some research I realized that it is common and I stopped paying attention to the numbers and more on my measurements and how I felt.

    As for your calories, I don't log so I can't help you there.

    it's only been a week! Give your body sometime to get used to things before you worry yourself too much. Maybe try to stay away from the scale for a little. Try to be patient and focus more on being healthy and happy. Keep doing what you're doing and check back in two weeks and see how you have progressed. If you are really worried about the gain maybe check with your doctor or or a professional trainer if you can afford it.

    Good luck and be proud of yourself!
  • Corinne_Howland
    Corinne_Howland Posts: 158 Member
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    When I reached a plateau, I dropped to BMR cals (plus exercise) and it jump started my loss again.

    Do the BMR, and eat back exercise calories?
  • Ed98043
    Ed98043 Posts: 1,333 Member
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    Try eating back only a percentage of your exercise calories and see what happens.
  • Dawn_Snowden
    Dawn_Snowden Posts: 111 Member
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    Lots of good advice here.
    Also be sure the calories you are eating are all good calories. There really is a difference between 1400 calories on chips, candy, soda, Starbucks, and bread vs. 1400 calories of fresh veggies, lean proteins, good carbs and healthy fats.

    I know you need the juice and some candy for your blood sugar, but ask your doctor if you can instead substitute fresh fruits and berries rather than the empty calories. Juice and candy may be taking up a ton of your caloric needs leaving you little left for the healthy food your body must have to actually lose weight and not eat muscle.
  • yewbic
    yewbic Posts: 37
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    It's possible it could be water weight not only from your TOM, but also from your muscles retaining water cause of strenuous weight lifting. I always notice that I lose the water weight the day after the day i don't exercise, so you might want to try a no exercise + low sodium + plenty of water intake day.

    what strikes me more though is a "4 month plateau." that shouldnt be happening with your diet and exercise plan... It's very possible that you might be under-eating, and might have down-shifted your metabolism into some degree of "starvation mode."

    In the last 6-7 months I've lost 66 pounds. I've plateaued twice, and for one whole of those months i completely stalled and plateaued at the same weight, despite eating near 1200 and cardio 5 days a week... I went through my "Reports" on "Net Calories" consumed and realized that on some days i was coming in at 1000 net, and once or twice at 900 net... and i realized that i might be in starvation mode with a down-shifted metabolism...

    The way i got out of it was, i spent around 3 days not exercising and eating enough calories to come up to "maintenance" or BMR. What happens is you kind-of reset your metabolism and assure your body that you're not starving. So after those 3 days of eating up to maintenance, I started cutting calories and exercising again, and i immediately went back to losing 2-3 pounds per week.

    You know how a lot of people have "cheat days" where like 1 day out of the week they'll eat whatever they want... I was never a fan of it, but I realized the importance of having a day like this... Atleast once a week you need to assure your body that you're not starving, so you should dedicate a day per week of eating up near BMR--just to keep your metabolism healthy and "up-shifted."

    and if your calorie intake is going to be something really low like 1200 you should make sure to always eat back your exercise calories, I know you said you do.. it's important to note though :)

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