Building muscle but seemingly unable to burn fat

NanRunsOnPaleo · February 2011

Greetings all,

I'm new here and so far I like myfitness pal. I have a question....I have been working out [strength training + cardio] since September. I have been watching my diet for the most part but I have been rather unsuccessful with weight loss. No inches lost anywhere and I look exactly the same. My cardio of choice has been Spinning which I do at LEAST 30 minutes but mostly around 45 since my goal has been to burn off at least 500 calories a day. I do strength training about 4 times a week.

Here is my problem. I KNOW I have been building muscle. When I flex my arms, I can feel my triceps and see them. When I squat, my quads feel quite solid. I know I have been building muscle but.........I'm not losing any fat. End of February, it will be 6 months worth of working out...but why am I not seeing results? Why does my body refuse to burn fat?

I started at a whopping 172 [I'm only 5 1 so you can imagine how huge I am - short and wide]. Now I am hovering around 176 up until yesterday, even though this morning, the scale showed 177.5.....

I have been struggling with weight loss issues for years... I abused Stacker back in college and quit when I couldn't take it anymore.....I have changed my diet back then to eating whole grains...but never bothered with counting calories....I slowly started ballooning. I toyed with the Primal Diet where I was convinced that carbs were the devil - especially, whole grains... and in about 10+ weeks, I had lost 9.5 pounds last year....so I thought well MAYBE whole grains was the devil after all... but at the time, I started working grave yard shift which wreaked havoc on my eating habits. No appetite for 2 weeks, but was still losing about a pound a week... but as soon as I started eating whole grains again like a sandwich here and there, I started putting on the weight back.. so I was at a loss......NOW, I am trying to be more balanced by allowing myself to eat whole grains again. For example, my breakfast has been a bowl of oats on a daily basis - allowing most of my carbs in the morning...I've also been eating more natural foods and watching mu sugar intake, etc. I've been more mindful of my eating habits....

But I can't seem to lose weight....I am at a complete loss and have been extremely depressed. I don't know what to do anymore. I feel like I am forcing myself to go to the gym because I feel like it's all pointless...It really has been putting me down.

And I continue to put on muscle....how long will it be before my body realizes.. OKAY! LET'S BURN OFF THE FAT NOW!

And also, let's say.....there may be a thyroid issue at play here which may explain the weight gain and inability to lose...how would a thyroid problem affect muscle building?

And.. what if I am not meant to burn fat for some reason? Would there be some kind of imbalance going on? Am I possibly doing too much strength training? Should I do light reps?

Shoulders - [where you bring your arms up and out] as well as arms going up and down in front] - 8 pounds now
Squats - 3 sets of 12
Leg press - 145 pounds, 3 sets of 12, calves 115 pounds, 3 sets of 12
Glutes - 30 pounds, 3 sets of 12
Biceps, 20 pounds, 3 sets of 12 -> [not dumbells, the 20 pound bar]
Triceps - on machine, 45 pounds, 3 sets of 12
Lateral pull - 50 pounds, 3 sets of 12
Inner thigh - 3 sets of 12, 80 pounds
Outer thigh - 3 sets of 12, 60 pounds

5 minute cardio warm up before strength training - elliptical at level 10 or jogging at 4.5 mph
AFTER strength training, anywhere from 30-45 minutes Spinning, doing intervals.

I do upper body on Mon, Wed. Lower body on Tues and Thursday. Cardio most days of the week. At least 5 days.

What does everything think of this? What am I doing wrong? Why is my body refusing to work with me? I had a goal from September to drop to 130 by Summer 2011. Doesn't seem to working in my favor......

Thanks for listening....

Kminor67 · February 2011

See a doctor, and ask her/him these questions. They will be able to help.

princesslmc2 · February 2011

Bump

meggonkgonk · February 2011

Looking at your journal I would guess you arent eating enough. Try bumping your goal up to 1300 or 1400 and EATING to your goal. 50 cals over is better than 100 under. Try that and see if you start to lose.

NanRunsOnPaleo · February 2011

And my apologies for the typos, etc. I am frustrated and have been bottling it up for a LONG TIME. Also, my diary is public.....

skinnyme125 · February 2011

could be the thyroid and could be a food alergie like gluten. I would go to the Dr. and get all your levels and alergies tested. This could be a serious problem and you need a profecional to tell you what to do. Good luck.

hpsnickers1 · February 2011

Didn't look at your diary but if you are doing serious weight lifting then you need to eat well. Maybe even bump up your calorie goal if you are at 1200 and make sure to eat up your calories burned.

And check this out: I love checking this blog out from another fitness site:

http://www.sparkpeople.com/mypage_public_journal_individual.asp?blog_id=3926473&SPShared=TRUE

scagneti · February 2011

I didn't see sodium listed in your diary -- maybe you can look at that and see if it's high? Also, I know I don't track water, but are you drinking enough?

Also, it looks like your calories might be a little low. 2lbs a week might not be suitable for you. Maybe try 1 1/2 a week and eat all of those calories (and a good portion of your workout calories if you're sure that the numbers are pretty accurate) and see if that helps. I'm sure once you figure it out, it'll come off so easily!

Good luck -- strong muscular legs are awesome, so be proud of them!

lradloff · February 2011

Okay... first, if you think there might be something medical going on - definitely check with your doctor - because that can have a major roll in it.

I did check your diary. The two things I noticed was that there was never any water logged. It is SUPER important to drink water. I struggle with getting all of mine in, but that's definitely something to do. If you just don't log it, I would start to see how much you're getting.

The second thing I noticed, the majority of the days you are not eating enough! When you exercise, you really should be eating back at least 1/2 if not all of your exercise calories. Try that and see if it helps.

Also, I have seen a lot of people post that they were stuck, they are eating their calories, and the change their goals for weight loss per week. If they have it set to 2 lbs to lose a week, they bump it back to 1.5 or 1 to lose per week and then it starts doing much better.

Good luck!

freerange · February 2011

Yes see a doctor, yes eat all your calories allowed,,,,,,,,, and this stands out to me, Primal Diet (no grains) = weight loss, add grain back = weight gain,,,,,,, hmmmmm maybe there is a connection, maybe you need to avoid gluten.

bobspdx · February 2011

First, I agree with everyone who says to go to your doctor.

But, I was plateauing for a very long time until I went to Paleo nutrition (Primal). I cut out all gluten, soy, and dairy. Everything has gluten in it. Also, watching your sodium is very important. I have to say Paleo nutrition has been amazing for my body but also my frame of mind. In one month, I lost 7 pounds and 6 inches overall. I am going into my second month and it seems like my body is now a burning machine. You have to let your body adjust itself and for some people it might take a couple weeks while for others it might take a month or more for your metabolism to kick in and really start burning fat.

rachpiper720 · February 2011

I often got discouraged and thought "why haven't I lost more especially when others lose 13 lbs their first month on MFP". I was also was worried about hypothyroidism, but all things came back normal. Then I got to thinking of all the AMAZING things I have done since I joined and the strength I have built up since July 2010 when I started. Sometimes when we do the right things for our body, it just rebels, but as long as you keep making those healthy changes and keep consistent, your body will eventually accept the change.

A big suggestion I have is continue what you are doing (strength and cardio), but maybe keep an exercise journal and try to challenge yourself. Increase reps, and increase intensity. Sometimes our bodies just get used to the same things, and just need a kick in the butt and that can be done by changing workout routines with different exercises. Maybe invest in a heart rate monitor (one with a chest strap) to track the number of calories burned while exercising (MFP overestimates). Also, a few months back completely halted on my weight loss and started gaining again, but at the same time also decreased my calories. Bump up your calories like the other posters suggested and see what it does. It is also important to eat your exercise calories that way your body doesn't feel deprived. It can't hurt to get your thyroid tested, and hopefully the doc will have some answers for you. If he doesn't , just keep up what you are doing and the weight will eventually drop!

padigirl · February 2011

I feel like you are telling my story. This has been going on for me for a couple years. I eat healthy and get up at 4:00 am to work out 4 days and try to do some form of exercise on the weekends. And I gained 15 pounds. Talk about depressing.

My nephew told me about MFP so here I am. For the past month, I've been working out so hard and tracking everything that I'm eating since joining MFP in early January. So far not a pound lost. I started doing The 30 Day Shred and after two weeks my knee went out. So no running for me (as my form of cardio) and no more lunges forever! I changed my weight loss to 1 pound per week after reading many posts on here thinking I have not been eating enough. This week I'm taking it easy to heal my knee so I can begin to train for a 1/2 marathon in April & another one in May.

I am very interested to see what others have to say about our depressing stories. :flowerforyou:

NanRunsOnPaleo · February 2011

Last night I made the change back to 1 pound a week so now my calories are up to 1300...we'll see how that goes.

NanRunsOnPaleo · February 2011

Thanks for all the feedback everyone. I've decided today to just have patience and to change my goals to 1 pound a week. I've also started back on Primal again today and feel pretty good thus far. My calories are over 1300 and planning on hitting the gym this evening. I plan on burning at least 500 calories so I know that will bring me to a deficit of 800 net cals...my problem is that how can I eat those calories back??

So it's back to nuts and seeds, good fats, berries and minimal high carb fruits, lean meats, veggies, some dairy [i enjoy cheese and non fat plain greek yogurt like chobani],

When I did this briefly before, I was eating between 1200-1300 calories a day and was eventually losin 1 pound a week.....I was also NOT working out so I don't know if I was losing muscle or water weight...what had me confused back then was that the weight loss WAS steady which made me feel that it was probably working....and yea, as soon as I started eating grains again I started putting back on the weight...but I just thought it was because I was just bringing back a food group, hence more calories... I just don't know... I'm trying to figure out what is best for me...

I also don't have insurance at this time so I can't afford to see a doctor and get blood work..

I am my own guinea pig now =/

koosdel · February 2011

I'm impressed. A girl that lifts real weights!

Anyway, it may be time for you to deload and start a short term cut. That is, take one week of your routine, and do very light weights or even mimic the motions with no weight, or no weight lifting at all. Go for brisk walks if you can, or light cardio. Basically consider deloading to be active rest. Your body can use this time to settle hormones and heal any mild injuries you may have. Then a week of intense cardio, but very very light or no weightlifting. After that, go back to what you were doing.

Wanna' arm wrestle?

Seriously, I think its cool the way you work out.

Building muscle but seemingly unable to burn fat

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