At Wit's End

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fitgirlphd
fitgirlphd Posts: 4
in Health and Weight Loss
I really thought I'd lose my mind today. I am and always have been a pretty fit person--I've completed P90X, have climbed Grand Canyon Rim to Rim, scale 14ers, run anywhere from 20-30 miles a week (sometimes more). Still, I'm 16 pounds overweight, and I can't drop it no matter how hard I try. I've not been good at watching nutrition because I am a "clean-eating vegetarian", so I assumed my diet must not be the issue. At Christmas, I started watching what I ate, recording everything in MyFitness Pal, dropping calories about down to 1200 while running at least five miles a day, sometimes up to eleven. I literally ate the same thing every day: Protein shake for breakfast, quinoa/black bean salad with brussels sprouts for lunch, and four egg whites, a piece of veggie sausage, and a piece of toast with a little jam for supper. Nothing changed. No inches lost.

A few weeks ago a personal trainer suggested I eat more--around 2000 calories a day. After some test, she determined my BMR to be 1394. I cut down on running (to about 3-4 miles a day), incorporated heavy weight training four times a week, kept my hiking regime, and upped my calories to 1600-1700 (because 2000 calories boggles the mind). Today, I weighed myself and I'd gained a pound. A pound!! How is this possible? What am I doing wrong? I think my brain is going to break. Any help would be appreciated.

Replies

  • stephmofo
    stephmofo Posts: 21 Member
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    I would tell your doctor and have him run some tests to make sure there isn't an underlying medical issue like an under active thyroid or something.
  • fitgirlphd
    fitgirlphd Posts: 4
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    Thank you, Steph, I was actually just looking up thyroid issues. I think I'm going to have to investigate that.
  • terbusha
    terbusha Posts: 1,483 Member
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    If you've been eating at a low calorie level for a long time and doing lots of cardio (running), your metabolic rate is likely down. If you're honestly eating 1200 cal/day, doing lots of exercise, and you're not losing weight, then you need to spend some time working your metabolism up to a point where you can effectively lose weight. Check out this video on this subject and let me know if you have any question.
    www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHHzie6XRGk

    Allan
  • lishie_rebooted
    lishie_rebooted Posts: 2,973 Member
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    You just start lifting and completely changed your work out routine.

    Water retention.
  • 1stplace4health
    1stplace4health Posts: 523 Member
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    Your BMR was based on your running regimen. When you changed it to lifting. You probably changed your calorie requirements too.
  • wkwebby
    wkwebby Posts: 807 Member
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    What are you considering as overweight? There are not stats on your profile. Please elaborate. MFP has people who think overweight according to BMI is an absolute (which is SO not the case), others have a skewed sense of what overweight is (i.e. at 5'9" they want to weigh 115lbs., etc.). You have to look at overall picture, not just the scale. Have you measured % body fat, etc?

    One pound is nothing in the grand scheme of things. You just started weight training so you could be retaining water. It could be close to TOM, again, could be water retention.

    Give it a little time on the new regimen and see how it goes. Patience and some science is the key to this game.
  • gothchiq
    gothchiq Posts: 4,590 Member
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    Go to the doctor, get bloodwork, get thyroid looked at. If your thyroid tanks, nothing at all works correctly until you have the right medication for it.
  • MinnieInMaine
    MinnieInMaine Posts: 6,400 Member
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    I don't think you need to go to a doctor just yet... You just started doing strength training and that leads to water and glycogen retention in the muscles and therefore can cause a slight uptake on the scale.

    Give it a bit more time, let your body adjust to the higher calorie goal and new workout routine for at least a couple more weeks and then see how you're doing. Patience can be tough but it's vital in this process.
  • fitgirlphd
    fitgirlphd Posts: 4
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    You just start lifting and completely changed your work out routine.

    Water retention.

    I wish it was water retention! I was doing a running streak this year from January 1 until May 21 (at least 5 miles a day, but up to eleven) when I moved from one state to another. When I moved, I dropped down to just a 5k a day and in July, incorporated weights. But before the running streak I was lifting weights and doing Crossfit.

    Despite all this, the test that the personal trainer ran (a body composition analysis of some kind) indicated I have 16 pounds of body fat to lose. I'm 5'2, around 150 pounds. So embarrassing to say that. Never had weight troubles till I was pregnant, now can't get it off.
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,150 Member
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    When you start lifting, its very normal for your muscles to hold onto water while they heal.

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