Water Weight or Fat?
TheOriginalPancake
Posts: 34 Member
So I've been slowly working my way up into this new routine I started on Wednesday. I cut back on sugary drinks, started packin a lunch, hit the gym twice a week for 3 weeks. I lost about 8lbs in those 3 weeks. This week I brought up the intensity. I'm doing 40-60 minutes of cardio a day (20 minutes at a time throughout the day) as well as a full body workout every other day. In 4 days I've lost 5lbs - over half of what I lost in those 3 weeks. So my question is, am I losing fat? Is it working? I feel great after a run. Splitting them up makes it so much easier too.
0
Replies
-
If you're eating at a caloric deficit you're losing weight. Take photos and measurements of your body.
Congrats.
0 -
If you're eating at a caloric deficit you're losing weight. Take photos and measurements of your body.
Congrats.
Resistance training, cardio and in a deficit all at once from he beginning? Try not to burn the candle from every possible angle to start with. Reason being that what have you got left to try if you hit a plateau? Any room left to up your energy expenditure? Can you drop calories lower if they are already relatively low? Just be mindful of this, fantastic results so far!0 -
scottwilson16 wrote: »If you're eating at a caloric deficit you're losing weight. Take photos and measurements of your body.
Congrats.
Resistance training, cardio and in a deficit all at once from he beginning? Try not to burn the candle from every possible angle to start with. Reason being that what have you got left to try if you hit a plateau? Any room left to up your energy expenditure? Can you drop calories lower if they are already relatively low? Just be mindful of this, fantastic results so far!
All of this is fantastic advice.0 -
Average your weight loss per week over 6-8 weeks will let you know how you're doing in reality as judging the scale from day to day or even from week to week just gives you an idea of fluctuations
You are clearly doing something right but I would suggest you may need to consider whether you are actually doing too much and might burn out, you should be monitoring your calorie intake well and you should have a long term plan to commit to
good luck
0 -
If, by "fantastic," you mean "wrong," then I agree.PinkPixiexox wrote: »scottwilson16 wrote: »If you're eating at a caloric deficit you're losing weight. Take photos and measurements of your body.
Congrats.
Resistance training, cardio and in a deficit all at once from he beginning? Try not to burn the candle from every possible angle to start with. Reason being that what have you got left to try if you hit a plateau? Any room left to up your energy expenditure? Can you drop calories lower if they are already relatively low? Just be mindful of this, fantastic results so far!
All of this is fantastic advice.
It makes no sense to eat more, move less, or not lift just to avoid a theoretical future plateau.
Now, possibly burning yourself out or setting yourself up for injury or biting off more than you can manage so that you give up? Those are reasonable things at least to consider.0 -
DeguelloTex wrote: »
If, by "fantastic," you mean "wrong," then I agree.PinkPixiexox wrote: »scottwilson16 wrote: »If you're eating at a caloric deficit you're losing weight. Take photos and measurements of your body.
Congrats.
Resistance training, cardio and in a deficit all at once from he beginning? Try not to burn the candle from every possible angle to start with. Reason being that what have you got left to try if you hit a plateau? Any room left to up your energy expenditure? Can you drop calories lower if they are already relatively low? Just be mindful of this, fantastic results so far!
All of this is fantastic advice.
It makes no sense to eat more, move less, or not lift just to avoid a theoretical future plateau.
You've read what I said wrong then. So you'd advise someone to eat in a deficit, train hard and do endless cardio from the beginning, then if they do plateau, what next? Train harder? Add even more cardio? Good luck with that.0 -
What did I read wrong? You're saying leave room for more cardio (i.e., move less), leave room to drop calories (i.e., eat more), or don't lift hard, aren't you? So, again, tell me how I read it wrong.scottwilson16 wrote: »DeguelloTex wrote: »
If, by "fantastic," you mean "wrong," then I agree.PinkPixiexox wrote: »scottwilson16 wrote: »If you're eating at a caloric deficit you're losing weight. Take photos and measurements of your body.
Congrats.
Resistance training, cardio and in a deficit all at once from he beginning? Try not to burn the candle from every possible angle to start with. Reason being that what have you got left to try if you hit a plateau? Any room left to up your energy expenditure? Can you drop calories lower if they are already relatively low? Just be mindful of this, fantastic results so far!
All of this is fantastic advice.
It makes no sense to eat more, move less, or not lift just to avoid a theoretical future plateau.
You've read what I said wrong then. So you'd advise someone to eat in a deficit, train hard and do endless cardio from the beginning, then if they do plateau, what next? Train harder? Add even more cardio? Good luck with that.
60 minutes of cardio is "endless"?
If they plateau, they're eating at maintenance, regardless.
0 -
scottwilson16 wrote: »DeguelloTex wrote: »
If, by "fantastic," you mean "wrong," then I agree.PinkPixiexox wrote: »scottwilson16 wrote: »If you're eating at a caloric deficit you're losing weight. Take photos and measurements of your body.
Congrats.
Resistance training, cardio and in a deficit all at once from he beginning? Try not to burn the candle from every possible angle to start with. Reason being that what have you got left to try if you hit a plateau? Any room left to up your energy expenditure? Can you drop calories lower if they are already relatively low? Just be mindful of this, fantastic results so far!
All of this is fantastic advice.
It makes no sense to eat more, move less, or not lift just to avoid a theoretical future plateau.
You've read what I said wrong then. So you'd advise someone to eat in a deficit, train hard and do endless cardio from the beginning, then if they do plateau, what next? Train harder? Add even more cardio? Good luck with that.
I don't want to speak for anyone, but I wouldn't say that what they're doing is "endless cardio." I'd advise anyone to train within their limits - listen to your body, OP. If you're feeling weak, overly tired, etc. you will know you're going too hard. You will see a drop off in your weight loss because the initial loss of water weight is faster than the weight loss you should expect as you get closer to your goal, but if you're eating at a deficit, there is no reason you will plateau. Lifting is recommended to maintain muscle mass while in a deficit.0 -
DeguelloTex wrote: »
What did I read wrong? You're saying leave room for more cardio (i.e., move less), eat more (i.e., leave room to drop calories), or don't lift hard, aren't you? So, again, tell me how I read it wrong.scottwilson16 wrote: »DeguelloTex wrote: »
If, by "fantastic," you mean "wrong," then I agree.PinkPixiexox wrote: »scottwilson16 wrote: »If you're eating at a caloric deficit you're losing weight. Take photos and measurements of your body.
Congrats.
Resistance training, cardio and in a deficit all at once from he beginning? Try not to burn the candle from every possible angle to start with. Reason being that what have you got left to try if you hit a plateau? Any room left to up your energy expenditure? Can you drop calories lower if they are already relatively low? Just be mindful of this, fantastic results so far!
All of this is fantastic advice.
It makes no sense to eat more, move less, or not lift just to avoid a theoretical future plateau.
You've read what I said wrong then. So you'd advise someone to eat in a deficit, train hard and do endless cardio from the beginning, then if they do plateau, what next? Train harder? Add even more cardio? Good luck with that.
60 minutes of cardio is "endless"?
If they plateau, they're eating at maintenance, regardless.
I'm advising against throwing all available tools at it from day 1. Resistance training and a caloric deficit being the first stage. Daily 60 minutes cardio isn't something I would do from the outset.
0 -
scottwilson16 wrote: »DeguelloTex wrote: »
What did I read wrong? You're saying leave room for more cardio (i.e., move less), eat more (i.e., leave room to drop calories), or don't lift hard, aren't you? So, again, tell me how I read it wrong.scottwilson16 wrote: »DeguelloTex wrote: »
If, by "fantastic," you mean "wrong," then I agree.PinkPixiexox wrote: »scottwilson16 wrote: »If you're eating at a caloric deficit you're losing weight. Take photos and measurements of your body.
Congrats.
Resistance training, cardio and in a deficit all at once from he beginning? Try not to burn the candle from every possible angle to start with. Reason being that what have you got left to try if you hit a plateau? Any room left to up your energy expenditure? Can you drop calories lower if they are already relatively low? Just be mindful of this, fantastic results so far!
All of this is fantastic advice.
It makes no sense to eat more, move less, or not lift just to avoid a theoretical future plateau.
You've read what I said wrong then. So you'd advise someone to eat in a deficit, train hard and do endless cardio from the beginning, then if they do plateau, what next? Train harder? Add even more cardio? Good luck with that.
60 minutes of cardio is "endless"?
If they plateau, they're eating at maintenance, regardless.
I'm advising against throwing all available tools at it from day 1. Resistance training and a caloric deficit being the first stage. Daily 60 minutes cardio isn't something I would do from the outset.
But why? Why wouldn't you want the optimum fitness gains from Day 1 if your body is tolerating it?0 -
I know you are feeling impatient but if you rush it, … well let me put it this way, its easier to sustain if you take it a little more slowly.
I know there are a lot of people who do one hour's worth of fitness six days a week but there are many more who started out this way and quit.
You see as someone above suggested, you could burn out. It might not even be burn out but one day you won't feel like going and then you will get the guilts - and that's the beginning of trouble, if not the end of all your good intentions and efforst.
So let me make this suggestion, carry on as you are if that's what you really want to do at the moment. But when your feelings change, don't just chuck it all in. Don't get the guilts. Adjust. Adjust your midn and your routine. Slow it down. Take a step back. Stablise and start again with less fervour but as much diligence as now. Diligence counts, fervour can get you into trouble.
Let me put it another way. TAking a day off exercise, or even quitting altogether is going to be detrimental to your plans to lose weight. But taking big liberties with what your eat and your calorie load could well be deterimental to your plans to lose weight. Diet - in my book - is far and away the most importnat thing.
By diet I mean, how many calories you consume and what you eat. Lots of people here say it doesn't matter what you eat. It does. Its easier to lose weight if you stick with eating mostly healthy food. Its easier to lose weight if you can avoid binging. Its easier to lose weight if you can avoid junk food and refined foods. And so on.
Its also easier to lose weight over hte long haul if you don't cut your calories too severely.0 -
I wrote, "It makes no sense to eat more, move less, or not lift just to avoid a theoretical future plateau." (Emphasis added.)scottwilson16 wrote: »DeguelloTex wrote: »
What did I read wrong? You're saying leave room for more cardio (i.e., move less), eat more (i.e., leave room to drop calories), or don't lift hard, aren't you? So, again, tell me how I read it wrong.scottwilson16 wrote: »DeguelloTex wrote: »
If, by "fantastic," you mean "wrong," then I agree.PinkPixiexox wrote: »scottwilson16 wrote: »If you're eating at a caloric deficit you're losing weight. Take photos and measurements of your body.
Congrats.
Resistance training, cardio and in a deficit all at once from he beginning? Try not to burn the candle from every possible angle to start with. Reason being that what have you got left to try if you hit a plateau? Any room left to up your energy expenditure? Can you drop calories lower if they are already relatively low? Just be mindful of this, fantastic results so far!
All of this is fantastic advice.
It makes no sense to eat more, move less, or not lift just to avoid a theoretical future plateau.
You've read what I said wrong then. So you'd advise someone to eat in a deficit, train hard and do endless cardio from the beginning, then if they do plateau, what next? Train harder? Add even more cardio? Good luck with that.
60 minutes of cardio is "endless"?
If they plateau, they're eating at maintenance, regardless.
I'm advising against throwing all available tools at it from day 1. Resistance training and a caloric deficit being the first stage. Daily 60 minutes cardio isn't something I would do from the outset.
You're advising the "move less" part, by eliminating or reducing the cardio. It sounds like you're confirming that I read it exactly right.
0 -
scottwilson16 wrote: »DeguelloTex wrote: »
What did I read wrong? You're saying leave room for more cardio (i.e., move less), eat more (i.e., leave room to drop calories), or don't lift hard, aren't you? So, again, tell me how I read it wrong.scottwilson16 wrote: »DeguelloTex wrote: »
If, by "fantastic," you mean "wrong," then I agree.PinkPixiexox wrote: »scottwilson16 wrote: »If you're eating at a caloric deficit you're losing weight. Take photos and measurements of your body.
Congrats.
Resistance training, cardio and in a deficit all at once from he beginning? Try not to burn the candle from every possible angle to start with. Reason being that what have you got left to try if you hit a plateau? Any room left to up your energy expenditure? Can you drop calories lower if they are already relatively low? Just be mindful of this, fantastic results so far!
All of this is fantastic advice.
It makes no sense to eat more, move less, or not lift just to avoid a theoretical future plateau.
You've read what I said wrong then. So you'd advise someone to eat in a deficit, train hard and do endless cardio from the beginning, then if they do plateau, what next? Train harder? Add even more cardio? Good luck with that.
60 minutes of cardio is "endless"?
If they plateau, they're eating at maintenance, regardless.
I'm advising against throwing all available tools at it from day 1. Resistance training and a caloric deficit being the first stage. Daily 60 minutes cardio isn't something I would do from the outset.
But why? Why wouldn't you want the optimum fitness gains from Day 1 if your body is tolerating it?
Because when you are no longer losing, your calories are very low and you can't bare to drop them any more, double your cardio then? Not for me I'm afraid.
0 -
scottwilson16 wrote: »scottwilson16 wrote: »DeguelloTex wrote: »
What did I read wrong? You're saying leave room for more cardio (i.e., move less), eat more (i.e., leave room to drop calories), or don't lift hard, aren't you? So, again, tell me how I read it wrong.scottwilson16 wrote: »DeguelloTex wrote: »
If, by "fantastic," you mean "wrong," then I agree.PinkPixiexox wrote: »scottwilson16 wrote: »If you're eating at a caloric deficit you're losing weight. Take photos and measurements of your body.
Congrats.
Resistance training, cardio and in a deficit all at once from he beginning? Try not to burn the candle from every possible angle to start with. Reason being that what have you got left to try if you hit a plateau? Any room left to up your energy expenditure? Can you drop calories lower if they are already relatively low? Just be mindful of this, fantastic results so far!
All of this is fantastic advice.
It makes no sense to eat more, move less, or not lift just to avoid a theoretical future plateau.
You've read what I said wrong then. So you'd advise someone to eat in a deficit, train hard and do endless cardio from the beginning, then if they do plateau, what next? Train harder? Add even more cardio? Good luck with that.
60 minutes of cardio is "endless"?
If they plateau, they're eating at maintenance, regardless.
I'm advising against throwing all available tools at it from day 1. Resistance training and a caloric deficit being the first stage. Daily 60 minutes cardio isn't something I would do from the outset.
But why? Why wouldn't you want the optimum fitness gains from Day 1 if your body is tolerating it?
Because when you are no longer losing, your calories are very low and you can't bare to drop them any more, double your cardio then? Not for me I'm afraid.
Why would one no longer be losing in a calorie deficit?0 -
Who's no longer losing? What, in your view, causes someone no longer to lose?scottwilson16 wrote: »scottwilson16 wrote: »DeguelloTex wrote: »
What did I read wrong? You're saying leave room for more cardio (i.e., move less), eat more (i.e., leave room to drop calories), or don't lift hard, aren't you? So, again, tell me how I read it wrong.scottwilson16 wrote: »DeguelloTex wrote: »
If, by "fantastic," you mean "wrong," then I agree.PinkPixiexox wrote: »scottwilson16 wrote: »If you're eating at a caloric deficit you're losing weight. Take photos and measurements of your body.
Congrats.
Resistance training, cardio and in a deficit all at once from he beginning? Try not to burn the candle from every possible angle to start with. Reason being that what have you got left to try if you hit a plateau? Any room left to up your energy expenditure? Can you drop calories lower if they are already relatively low? Just be mindful of this, fantastic results so far!
All of this is fantastic advice.
It makes no sense to eat more, move less, or not lift just to avoid a theoretical future plateau.
You've read what I said wrong then. So you'd advise someone to eat in a deficit, train hard and do endless cardio from the beginning, then if they do plateau, what next? Train harder? Add even more cardio? Good luck with that.
60 minutes of cardio is "endless"?
If they plateau, they're eating at maintenance, regardless.
I'm advising against throwing all available tools at it from day 1. Resistance training and a caloric deficit being the first stage. Daily 60 minutes cardio isn't something I would do from the outset.
But why? Why wouldn't you want the optimum fitness gains from Day 1 if your body is tolerating it?
Because when you are no longer losing, your calories are very low and you can't bare to drop them any more, double your cardio then? Not for me I'm afraid.
And, yeah, calories can be dropped because the person has lost weight and therefore has a lower TDEE.0 -
DeguelloTex wrote: »
Who's no longer losing? What, in your view, causes someone no longer to lose?scottwilson16 wrote: »scottwilson16 wrote: »DeguelloTex wrote: »
What did I read wrong? You're saying leave room for more cardio (i.e., move less), eat more (i.e., leave room to drop calories), or don't lift hard, aren't you? So, again, tell me how I read it wrong.scottwilson16 wrote: »DeguelloTex wrote: »
If, by "fantastic," you mean "wrong," then I agree.PinkPixiexox wrote: »scottwilson16 wrote: »If you're eating at a caloric deficit you're losing weight. Take photos and measurements of your body.
Congrats.
Resistance training, cardio and in a deficit all at once from he beginning? Try not to burn the candle from every possible angle to start with. Reason being that what have you got left to try if you hit a plateau? Any room left to up your energy expenditure? Can you drop calories lower if they are already relatively low? Just be mindful of this, fantastic results so far!
All of this is fantastic advice.
It makes no sense to eat more, move less, or not lift just to avoid a theoretical future plateau.
You've read what I said wrong then. So you'd advise someone to eat in a deficit, train hard and do endless cardio from the beginning, then if they do plateau, what next? Train harder? Add even more cardio? Good luck with that.
60 minutes of cardio is "endless"?
If they plateau, they're eating at maintenance, regardless.
I'm advising against throwing all available tools at it from day 1. Resistance training and a caloric deficit being the first stage. Daily 60 minutes cardio isn't something I would do from the outset.
But why? Why wouldn't you want the optimum fitness gains from Day 1 if your body is tolerating it?
Because when you are no longer losing, your calories are very low and you can't bare to drop them any more, double your cardio then? Not for me I'm afraid.
And, yeah, calories can be dropped because the person has lost weight and therefore has a lower TDEE.
Someone who is no longer in a deficit for fat loss. I would always rather up output (in a low stress way that doesn't hamper recovery in a deficit), than decrease intake. But that's my opinion.0 -
Why isn't the person who's doing reduced cardio going to get to the point where he's no longer in a deficit for fat loss just that much sooner than the person who is? And then won't the suggestion be to up cardio... which the other person has been doing all along?scottwilson16 wrote: »DeguelloTex wrote: »
Who's no longer losing? What, in your view, causes someone no longer to lose?scottwilson16 wrote: »scottwilson16 wrote: »DeguelloTex wrote: »
What did I read wrong? You're saying leave room for more cardio (i.e., move less), eat more (i.e., leave room to drop calories), or don't lift hard, aren't you? So, again, tell me how I read it wrong.scottwilson16 wrote: »DeguelloTex wrote: »
If, by "fantastic," you mean "wrong," then I agree.PinkPixiexox wrote: »scottwilson16 wrote: »If you're eating at a caloric deficit you're losing weight. Take photos and measurements of your body.
Congrats.
Resistance training, cardio and in a deficit all at once from he beginning? Try not to burn the candle from every possible angle to start with. Reason being that what have you got left to try if you hit a plateau? Any room left to up your energy expenditure? Can you drop calories lower if they are already relatively low? Just be mindful of this, fantastic results so far!
All of this is fantastic advice.
It makes no sense to eat more, move less, or not lift just to avoid a theoretical future plateau.
You've read what I said wrong then. So you'd advise someone to eat in a deficit, train hard and do endless cardio from the beginning, then if they do plateau, what next? Train harder? Add even more cardio? Good luck with that.
60 minutes of cardio is "endless"?
If they plateau, they're eating at maintenance, regardless.
I'm advising against throwing all available tools at it from day 1. Resistance training and a caloric deficit being the first stage. Daily 60 minutes cardio isn't something I would do from the outset.
But why? Why wouldn't you want the optimum fitness gains from Day 1 if your body is tolerating it?
Because when you are no longer losing, your calories are very low and you can't bare to drop them any more, double your cardio then? Not for me I'm afraid.
And, yeah, calories can be dropped because the person has lost weight and therefore has a lower TDEE.
Someone who is no longer in a deficit for fat loss. I would always rather up output (in a low stress way that doesn't hamper recovery in a deficit), than decrease intake. But that's my opinion.
0 -
This content has been removed.
-
I think many of us played around with our calories / exercise and weight loss goals over time
Just because OP is hitting it hard right now (and it sounds like he's worked up to this point after an initial slower start) doesn't mean he can't adjust his programme next week or next month or in 7 months time
But I do think only he can decide that .. he may well be the energiser bunny when it comes to cardio and be really enjoying it
I think your gut reaction is fine and more down to whether YOU would be able to manage to keep it up @scottwilson16 but you're not OP so I think he's best to consider for himself how he can continue and be aware of potential burn-out
Also I have to say .. I don't know what you mean by 'no longer in a defecit for fat loss'. Surely if his TDEE is high from exercise his defecit will just reduce slightly based on his weight loss .. he's not going to hit a CICO balance because he started out fast - metabolic adapation does not work like that0 -
OP, take the advice here subjectively. Do you think you are going to be willing and able to continue this routine indefinitely or are you going to become burned out by it? Know yourself and your body/mentality. If you come to this supposed plateau, there are always ways to work through them. But, again, going full steam from the beginning does tend to lead to a burn-out for many individuals; it's the too-much, too-soon phenomenon that causes us to give up. It's why studies / research shows that losing .5-2lbs per week (when you have a lot to lose) leads to a long-term thing. Consistency, really, is what leads to it.0
-
I think many of us played around with our calories / exercise and weight loss goals over time
Just because OP is hitting it hard right now (and it sounds like he's worked up to this point after an initial slower start) doesn't mean he can't adjust his programme next week or next month or in 7 months time
But I do think only he can decide that .. he may well be the energiser bunny when it comes to cardio and be really enjoying it
I think your gut reaction is fine and more down to whether YOU would be able to manage to keep it up @scottwilson16 but you're not OP so I think he's best to consider for himself how he can continue and be aware of potential burn-out
Also I have to say .. I don't know what you mean by 'no longer in a defecit for fat loss'. Surely if his TDEE is high from exercise his defecit will just reduce slightly based on his weight loss .. he's not going to hit a CICO balance because he started out fast - metabolic adapation does not work like that
This^ Im sure his body will tell him if he's hitting it too hard or for too long or the deficit gap is too large and he can adjust calories and/or exercise accordingly. I doubt he will plateau as long as there still is a deficit.0 -
The initial, was water weight. NOW, you're in the weight loss part. You will be losing fat and muscle, so make sure you're getting enough protein. Good job!0
-
This content has been removed.
-
I do not regret starting weight loss, strength training, and cardio (well, HIIT rather) all around the same time. Even if I were at my goal weight I would currently be at a deficit. Any theoretical plateau I eventually hit should either be temporary (e.g. water weight) or a result of sloppy logging.
The interval training has done wonders for my overall fitness, both subjectively and objectively. I have more energy and can enjoy myself more as I'm less limited by fitness, even though I am still quite obese.0
This discussion has been closed.
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 393.7K Introduce Yourself
- 43.8K Getting Started
- 260.3K Health and Weight Loss
- 176K Food and Nutrition
- 47.5K Recipes
- 232.6K Fitness and Exercise
- 431 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.5K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.6K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 153K Motivation and Support
- 8.1K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.4K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.8K MyFitnessPal Information
- 23 News and Announcements
- 1.2K Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.6K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions