Gaining Weight vs. Losing it

it's recommended that you eat at least half of your exercise cals and pref eat protein within an hour of exercising to stop your body burning muscle rather than fat (according to my personal trainer).

Are you drinking enough water too?

And remember muscle weighs more than fat!

good luck x

I would cut out so much of the grains...... FDA's way of making us obese, diabetic and dependant on big pharma. Just try it for a week and see... You'll be suprised.

When starting an exercise program your muscles store water to aid in recovery, once you get use to the workouts your muscles will shed this water and you should notice a lose on the scale.

Is the 1200 calories per day what MFP recommended to you or did you pick that number? If MFP set it, what rate of weight loss did you set per week. You can do a high rate of loss when you have a huge number to lose, but you have to go slower the closer you get to your goal weight.

Is it more food than you normally used to eat or have you cut down on calories? If you are like some people that were not eating enough calories before, it will take time to reset your metabolism, and then you will start to lose. If you have cut down your calorie intake, make sure you are eating healthy calories and not empty ones (like pop, sugar, junk etc). Drink lots of water, and try eating back part of your exercise calories.

Also try to remember to keep taking measurements, because you can lose inches and not weight.

And remember muscle weighs more than fat!

good luck x

Actually, the same VOLUME of muscle weighs more than fat, so you can get smaller and still weigh the same. A pound is still a pound, no matter what it is, be it a pound of feathers or a pound of muscle. It is all about the space/volume that pound takes up. :laugh:

Actually, it's called in insinuation, so you can say what you mean without having to qualify your statement every single time. A lb IS a lb, but he insinuation is that you can be smaller and weigh the same, and people shouldn't have to say it every freaking time. It is all about the brain/open space that fills your head.

Hi All,

I'm new to this, started a few short weeks ago. I am working with the 1200 calorie per/day and have been sticking with it. I also exercise a minimum of 3 times per week (booty boxing classes). Even though I get in eat an extra amount of calories to eat on those days, I try to avoid it and stick with what was recommended.

In two weeks though I found that I have gained 3 pounds. I don't know what I'm doing wrong. I try to eat my daily fruits and vegetables, proteins, grains, etc...

I feel like I'm doing everything right but not getting the results...

Any suggestions?!?!?

When you change what you do with your body, your body can react in a number of ways. Water retention is an issue, as well as cortisol production which depends on levels of both physical and mental stress levels.

If your numbers are set to lose 1lb/week and your suggestion is 1200 cal/day, then stick to it. Some people eat their exercise calories, some don't. Figure out which works better for you, but just stick to it. Things will get going eventually, or you'll figure out what you need to change to get to where you want to be.

And remember muscle weighs more than fat!

good luck x

Actually, the same VOLUME of muscle weighs more than fat, so you can get smaller and still weigh the same. A pound is still a pound, no matter what it is, be it a pound of feathers or a pound of muscle. It is all about the space/volume that pound takes up. :laugh:

Actually, it's called in insinuation, so you can say what you mean without having to qualify your statement every single time. A lb IS a lb, but the insinuation is that you can be smaller and weigh the same, and people shouldn't have to say it every freaking time. It is all about the brain/open space that fills your head.

And evidently there's plenty of open space in my head, because I just hit "quote" instead of "edit."

LOVE IT!!!!!