What am I doing wrong?

masterbaker88 · September 2016

Hello everyone! 4 weeks ago I started the app and managed to drop 5 pounds in the first week! Hurray! I'm drinking tons of water, fast food and processed stuff is essentially gone. I'm guilty of a small cheese steak or a slice of pizza every once in a while. 3 weeks ago I started Billy's Bootcamp, 4 days a week, 120-140 minutes over those 4 days. It's a mix of resistance/strength training and cardio. Since I've started Bootcamp I haven't dropped a pound. And today is weigh in day, and I gained a pound! Needless to say I'm discouraged and worried. Is this common for newbies starting a training program? Is this the muscle weighs more than fat thing I've heard? Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!

kommodevaran · September 2016

Not logging food intake correctly/consistently, not weighing yourself correctly/consistently, water retention from new/increased exercise, unrealistic expectations, and/or impatience.

RoseTheWarrior · September 2016

@kommodevan is 100% correct in every point. Words like "essentially" say not always. For weight loss, you MUST be consistent. Log 100%, weigh 100% of the solids you eat. Use a measuring cup/spoons for liquids. Intense exercise (or any new exercise for that matter) causes your body to retain water for repair. High sodium foods like pizza cause you to retain water.

You can only get out what you put in to any program. Sorry to say, it sounds like you're not fully committed. And no, you are not gaining muscle at any rate near what people think.

Docbanana2002 · September 2016

Oh good grief people a small indulgence here and there while doing intense training isn't lack of commitment, it is normal life. I've lost over a 100 pounds and kept it off over a year while evidencing such lack of commitment!

To the OP, I would say (1) When you have a cheesesteak or whatever, just make sure you are logging the calories and the overall trend (if not that day) is still staying in a deficit. Good nutrition is a positive thing but if you allow some "unclean" to touch your lips once in a while it shouldn't cause fat gain as long as calories are in check. (2) a pound of muscle weighs the same as a pound of fat, so becoming heavier from muscle would still require gaining weight, i.e. Being in a surplus. And muscle weight gain goes pretty slowly, I doubt you picked up a pound of it that quickly (3) Startng a new training program can lead to temporary water weight gain that can obscure fat loss temporarily (as can hormone fluctuations, alcohol indulgence, higher sodium intake, etc) while your muscles heal and the body adapts to the program. If you are really in a deficit I predict that your weight may stall for a bit (as you gain water and lose fat in similar amounts), then when your body is ready to stop holding the water weight you will have a quick loss of a few pounds.

tapwaters · September 2016

Give it some time. Buy a food scale if you haven't already and weigh everything, log consistently and accurately, including the indulgences, and don't eat back all the exercise calories. You don't mention if you are or aren't, but if you are, only eat back half or so. Mfp and programs/machines are notorious over estimaters.

Good luck

sarahthes · September 2016

New exercise can cause water retention, as can eating foods with high sodium or even a lot of carbs. All of that can mask weight loss to an extent. The good news is, it's temporary! Keep eating at a deficit and the weight will come off.

haviegirl · September 2016

Slow and steady wins the race. Be as accurate as you can with your logging, don't eat back all your exercise calories, and keep at it. You say you haven't lost any weight since you started boot camp, but how do you feel? Is your endurance starting to improve a bit? How are your clothes fitting--has there been any sort of change? I bet you feel pretty proud of yourself for exercising regularly! There are lots of wins that don't show up on a scale. And the scale wins will come.

masterbaker88 · September 2016

Thanks everyone for the help! My clothes are fitting differently and my wife says there's a noticeable difference in my appearance. I'm not eating all of the calories back. I measure everything I can and over estimate on things I'm not sure of. A food scale would probably help. Thanks again!

JeromeBarry1 · September 2016

Indeed, a food scale will be more than 'help'. It will be an eye-opening revelation of epic proportions. I don't know how a cheese steak is created or consumed, but assuming it has a few ounces of beef steak and a few ounces of cheese sauce and a few ounces of bread I can guess the calories and sodium to be above my usual breakfast of 700 calories and 1000 mg. With a scale you will be surprised how easily a slice of pizza can be fit into your daily calorie budget.

masterbaker88 · September 2016

I feel like there's a misconception on this thread of the cheese steak remark. People really seem to be hanging on that. In the month that I've been doing this I've had one, maybe 2. I'm not downing one every day or even every week. Even before i started doing this it wasn't very often. I mentioned it because I live in Philly and if I have a cheat meal or something like that that's probably what it's going to be. I am not eating them daily or weekly or hourly.

Dano74 · September 2016

A 1 lb. gain isn't anything to worry about, honestly. It's tough but you have to get out of the "scale defines my progress" mentality. Your cheese steaks and pizza? Who cares. Enjoy them- they're not what would make you "fat" if eaten in line with your caloric goals.

Weight will vary day by day. Haven't used the bathroom? Weight gain. Water retention? Weight gain. Heavier shoes than yesterday? Weight gain. The point is your noticing changes and weight-- the measure of your gravity against the earth... NOT a comprehensive measure of fat by any means-- is going to fluctuate all over the place.

A new training program, when applied consistently, will really start to "make traction" at 14-30 days based on my experience. One day you'll look in the mirror after a week or two of stagnation/frustration and be like, Hot damn! I've changed!Just be consistent- eat to your daily caloric intake and macro/micro needs and worry less about the scale. Easier said than done but I promise... in a few months time consistency will make the difference. And as long as you're consistent, you WILL BE progressing, whether the scale or mirror indicates it or not.

Sounds like you're doing awesome. Kick that scale in the privates and keep on keepin' on.

loulamb7 · September 2016

Are you tracking calories? How many calories are you eating daily? Whether the food is fast and processed or homemade and "clean" isn't really relevant if you're eating more than you're burning.

singingflutelady · September 2016

masterbaker88 wrote: »

I feel like there's a misconception on this thread of the cheese steak remark. People really seem to be hanging on that. In the month that I've been doing this I've had one, maybe 2. I'm not downing one every day or even every week. Even before i started doing this it wasn't very often. I mentioned it because I live in Philly and if I have a cheat meal or something like that that's probably what it's going to be. I am not eating them daily or weekly or hourly.

No one said anything negative about the cheese steak.. just make sure you weigh and log everything accurately

singingflutelady · September 2016

And it's more than likely not muscle on that amount of time

What am I doing wrong?

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