A little advice please!?

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I think I'm doing something wrong. I just started a new summer job where we walk through fields (that are HILLY!! and have high, thick grass) searching for birds nests. About two hours a day. And I feel the buuurrrnnn, like, really working it. I've been putting it in as "hiking-cross country". I've left my activity level the same and I just put the hiking in everyday. I've also been getting another smaller workout in later in the day. I've been right at my 1,200 goal or so for about 5 days, and I've GAINED a pound. HALP!!!??

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  • marnieinMB
    marnieinMB Posts: 196 Member
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    Perhaps muscle? Water retention being out in the heat?

    Just keep doing what you are doing. You may see a change soon enough
  • MarthasMum
    MarthasMum Posts: 26
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    Has to be some muscle gain and some fluid retention. You are doing all the right things, well done.
  • mghane
    mghane Posts: 109 Member
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    Do you also eat the same amount of calories you burn doing those workouts? (if you burn say 300 cals, you should be trying to eat about 200-300 cals in addition to your daily 1200 limit). I would get a hr monitor to try and make sure how much you burn while hiking and while working out... and when you add that calorie burn to your exercise diary, it will let you know how much more you should be eating in terms of cals when you look at your food diary. :) Hope this helps! (It could also be muscle gain)
  • catrinka77
    catrinka77 Posts: 2
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    I'm thinking the same as Marnie. Just make sure you're drinking your water. Also, take your measurements if you haven't already. Sometimes you may not see the pounds coming off, but the inches are.
  • thughesx5
    thughesx5 Posts: 1
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    I live in that kind of terrain. Make sure you are getting plenty of water. If you have increased your water intake or not, water weight is probably what it is. Your muscles need allot of water to function. If your body is not used to this, it will hold the water until it knows you will replace it. Kind of a servival mechanism, so your body will release the water shortly IF you are replacing it. Chances are you will drop weight fast after your body adapt to the water intake. On a side note, watch your sodium intake. This also will add to the water retention. Just know that water retention is not a bad thing. If you suspect you are having more than normal retention, you might try using Vitamin B. Hope this helps. Keep it up!
  • merB89
    merB89 Posts: 122
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    @mghane. My net calories are 1,200 a day. But I'm eating over 2,000 a day usually. So I'm definitely eating back my exercise calories. I think I would have died by now if I wasn't! haha. I do have a heart rate monitor, and I'm not sure why I didn't think of using it, but that is a great idea! Maybe I'll wear it a few times just to get a good idea of what I'm actually burning. It may be different than what MFP has for hiking.

    I drink two giant nalgene water bottles of water while out there and usually 16oz of gatorade, but I think I could drink more. And I've never really tracked my sodium, but I think I will start!

    Thanks for the input friends!