Experts...Why would you lose at a much faster rate

Just1forMe
Just1forMe Posts: 624 Member
edited September 29 in Health and Weight Loss
when you stop exercising? I normally (for the last 10 months) exercise 60 minutes min per day/6 days per week (cardio or walking only) and for the past 2 weeks I have had out of town company and been slammed with work making it impossible to squeeze in any exercise. I have maintained the same NET calories though so I am just eating less as I normally eat back most my exercise calories. I normally lose 1/2-1 lb per week but the last 2 weeks have been almost double that...? What would this indicate? I don't think I've "lost muscle" in the past 2 weeks...
could it be that my muscles were still retaining water (isn't that just when you are doing lifting etc)? Any ideas?

Other info: I use a Body Media Fit to track calories burned...

Thanks!

Replies

  • amyannie
    amyannie Posts: 139 Member
    bump... i'd like to know too!
  • amyannie
    amyannie Posts: 139 Member
    i actually noticed when i stopped working out for about 2 weeks i lost about 6 inches total... but no weight.
  • kdouglas11
    kdouglas11 Posts: 185 Member
    i have no idea... but i wish that worked for me! LOL!
  • Edestiny7
    Edestiny7 Posts: 730 Member
    The same thing happens to us. I think it is our muscles releasing the extra water they were holding on to. Just my guess though.
  • lsand
    lsand Posts: 78 Member
    I've also noticed that happens to me if I stop exercising. I've just assumed that I am losing muscle weight but I don't know.
  • lausa22
    lausa22 Posts: 467 Member
    Same thing happened to me! I used to work out almost 2 hours a day, every day.
    I've hardly been exercising this week because I've been busy and I've lost another inch on my waist and 1.5lbs!
  • Just1forMe
    Just1forMe Posts: 624 Member
    I've also noticed that happens to me if I stop exercising. I've just assumed that I am losing muscle weight but I don't know.

    I don't think you can lose muscle weight in 2 weeks...especially if I haven't been doing any strength training or lifting. I just do aerobics/ power walking, etc.
  • Chelij
    Chelij Posts: 49
    Plain and simple muscle loss. You start to lose muscle mass after just a few days of not exercising! I've noticed it too. Glycogen is the main form of energy storage in muscles and it holds 3x it's weight in water...so you lose a bit of muscle and a whole lot of water too.
  • sarah307
    sarah307 Posts: 1,363 Member
    could be that you weren't eating enough in the first place..then when you started eating the same but exercising less (if i have that info correct?!) then you were actually eating a little bit more.. which caused you to lose!

    when i was closer to my goal, i increased my calories, and lost weight.

    or it could be loss of muscle mass.. not sure your exact stats or whatever!
  • Jconner30
    Jconner30 Posts: 311
    When you give your body a rest, it goes into repair mode. Your muscles will actually increase :smile:
  • crisanderson27
    crisanderson27 Posts: 5,343 Member
    Bumping this one. I don't have the answer, but its worked for me too. Took 2wks off, and even ate like crap the whole time...list 8lbs, 4" off my waist, gained 1/4" on my biceps...and this was coming off a 6wk plateau.
  • Just1forMe
    Just1forMe Posts: 624 Member
    Bumping this one. I don't have the answer, but its worked for me too. Took 2wks off, and even ate like crap the whole time...list 8lbs, 4" off my waist, gained 1/4" on my biceps...and this was coming off a 6wk plateau.

    That is so interesting...just out of curiosity, do you normally eat back your exercise calories?
  • risefromruin
    risefromruin Posts: 483 Member
    This happens to me as well. I really don't think it's muscle loss because my body fat percentage doesn't go up, although it could be water from the muscles. There are a lot of people on here that work out like 6-7 days a week and my trainer tells me to just work out 5 days a week to give my body and muscles adequate resting time and this nearly always works for me. I haven't really been stuck in a plateau for long at all. I just believe that every once in awhile my body needs a legitimate rest.
  • crisanderson27
    crisanderson27 Posts: 5,343 Member
    Bumping this one. I don't have the answer, but its worked for me too. Took 2wks off, and even ate like crap the whole time...list 8lbs, 4" off my waist, gained 1/4" on my biceps...and this was coming off a 6wk plateau.

    That is so interesting...just out of curiosity, do you normally eat back your exercise calories?

    Yes, I do. The thing is...I zig zag my calories...I was still eating the right amounts of food...it was just crappy quality. Fast food, soft drinks...etc. For 3mos prior, I had been eating nothing but whole foods prepared myself.
  • sarah307
    sarah307 Posts: 1,363 Member
    it happens to me too.. i should add on here...

    about a month ago, i went on vacation or something and then i didn't log everything I ate.. and i lost weight! that's when I started to zig-zag calories. But yeah, I think for me personally it was because i wasn't eating enough in the first place! maybe the same for you? IDK.

    or maybe our body's just take a while to catch up with ourselves?? hahaha!
  • Just1forMe
    Just1forMe Posts: 624 Member
    I also zig zag my calories :)
  • Dala544
    Dala544 Posts: 13
    I also zig zag my calories :)


    Sorry I'm pretty new to this site, What does "zig zag my calories" mean?
  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,316 Member
    I've also noticed that happens to me if I stop exercising. I've just assumed that I am losing muscle weight but I don't know.

    I don't think you can lose muscle weight in 2 weeks...especially if I haven't been doing any strength training or lifting. I just do aerobics/ power walking, etc.

    Yes you can lose muscle weight in two weeks. I had knee surgery several years back and in the two weeks with my leg locked in a brace it got much smaller and weaker. It takes very little time to lose conditioning. I don't actually know the answer to your question, but it could be muscle loss, it could be your muscles releasing the water they hold on to as part of their repair mechanism when they are used, or it could be a whole bunch of other things, but I wanted to make clear you can lose a lot of muscle weight in just 2 weeks.
  • crisanderson27
    crisanderson27 Posts: 5,343 Member
    I've also noticed that happens to me if I stop exercising. I've just assumed that I am losing muscle weight but I don't know.

    I don't think you can lose muscle weight in 2 weeks...especially if I haven't been doing any strength training or lifting. I just do aerobics/ power walking, etc.

    Yes you can lose muscle weight in two weeks. I had knee surgery several years back and in the two weeks with my leg locked in a brace it got much smaller and weaker. It takes very little time to lose conditioning. I don't actually know the answer to your question, but it could be muscle loss, it could be your muscles releasing the water they hold on to as part of their repair mechanism when they are used, or it could be a whole bunch of other things, but I wanted to make clear you can lose a lot of muscle weight in just 2 weeks.

    Two weeks of continued complete disuse is a little different than simply not working out or exercising. I'm not saying you're 100% wrong...but I think you're far from 100% right. My arms, after two+ weeks of not doing a damn thing exercise wise, were 1/4" BIGGER per side than they were before I stopped.
  • circusmom
    circusmom Posts: 662 Member
    bump
  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,316 Member
    It was not really two weeks of no use, but very limited use. I was directed to bear weight on it, I could not bend the knee though. Having said that, my point is you can lose muscle in two weeks. Not the many pounds I lost on my leg. As for you, a week of eating freely can often help break a person out of a plateau. Constantly eating at a caloric deficit will result in plateaus eventually. They way to stop that is have occasional times where one eats freely. I have done that throughout my weight loss and have never had a plateau. Usually when I do that I will lose faster afterward although I put weight on during the free eating. I think the whole of my answer was there are simply too many things that it could be including muscle loss, water loss, or something else.
  • crisanderson27
    crisanderson27 Posts: 5,343 Member
    I think the whole of my answer was there are simply too many things that it could be including muscle loss, water loss, or something else.

    Definitely, and this I agree with 100%.

    For me...it's the same thing, too many factors to consider. I was exhausted for a week prior from taking care of my sick kids, then violently ill myself for the first two days (that's what prompted the change in diet/exercise for 2 weeks), then...once that was over...(still exhausted), it was easier to pick up fast food etc than to go shopping and cook. Additionally, I switched my zig zag from a 7 day schedule, to a 3 day schedule (2 low 1 high)...along with the junk food.

    That's part of the problem with any of us (I'm as or more guilty than others) giving advice based on our experience. Far, far too many variables to be able to say really anything with certainty.
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