Calories up, weight way up, but looking leaner?
fitwithwhit88
Posts: 59 Member
Hi all,
Hoping for a little reassurance/help here. I joined em2wl about a year ago, weighing in at 168ish, eating around 1600cal per day. I spent 12 solid weeks working my way up to 2400 calories and ate there for at least a few weeks. I was feeling great, had gained about 7lbs total bringing me to about 175lb.
I started a mild cut, and was able to get back down to 168, at a loss of about .5-.75 per week. I then experienced some personal issues which left me extremely stressed, fatigued and severely off balance in my eating and exercise habits from early May through end of September. I was literally so anxious/stressed that I felt nauseous every morning and could barely bring myself to eat more than 1300 calories for many of the days in that timeframe.
I've since recovered and as of mid-November have begun increasing my calories back toward TDEE of 2400 (Started eating at 2200 and currently around 2350), with 30-minutes of HIIT style body weight exercises performed 3x a week and one 45-minute walk and maybe 20 minute sprints once a week.
The issue I'm dealing with is that I'm not sure how to interpret my scale/measurements/strength gains. The scale is now up to 179lb which is freaking me out, my measurements are slightly up, yet I can tell I have a lot less fat on my stomach and some removed from my thighs. Though neither the scale nor measurements are reflecting this. Am I crazy? Am I doing something wrong? I seriously can't watch that scale keep creeping up...would a small 2 week cut be detrimental at this stage?
Hoping for a little reassurance/help here. I joined em2wl about a year ago, weighing in at 168ish, eating around 1600cal per day. I spent 12 solid weeks working my way up to 2400 calories and ate there for at least a few weeks. I was feeling great, had gained about 7lbs total bringing me to about 175lb.
I started a mild cut, and was able to get back down to 168, at a loss of about .5-.75 per week. I then experienced some personal issues which left me extremely stressed, fatigued and severely off balance in my eating and exercise habits from early May through end of September. I was literally so anxious/stressed that I felt nauseous every morning and could barely bring myself to eat more than 1300 calories for many of the days in that timeframe.
I've since recovered and as of mid-November have begun increasing my calories back toward TDEE of 2400 (Started eating at 2200 and currently around 2350), with 30-minutes of HIIT style body weight exercises performed 3x a week and one 45-minute walk and maybe 20 minute sprints once a week.
The issue I'm dealing with is that I'm not sure how to interpret my scale/measurements/strength gains. The scale is now up to 179lb which is freaking me out, my measurements are slightly up, yet I can tell I have a lot less fat on my stomach and some removed from my thighs. Though neither the scale nor measurements are reflecting this. Am I crazy? Am I doing something wrong? I seriously can't watch that scale keep creeping up...would a small 2 week cut be detrimental at this stage?
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Replies
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Yes it would. Let go of the scale's judgement and trust your eyes and inner sensations. You are healing and your body needs the calories. If you cut now, you're just telling your body "welcome back to the roller coaster!" And it will hold on to every calorie with all its got! Just breathe, be thankful that you're healthy and life is good now. Don't let the measure of gravity become your provider of stress! You need the break from anxiety!4
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I can tell I have a lot less fat on my stomach and some removed from my thighs.
This is all that matters:)
Put the scale away. There is no reason you need to be watching it, it has no bearing on your success. If YOU can see changes happening in your body, and places where fat loss is occurring, why does it matter if the scale says something that doesn't reflect that? The scale means nothing. Put it away:)
I wouldnt cut at this point. You had a pretty rough year with stress and the lack of calories your body needed. It sit at TDEE for a while and just allow your body the time to really heal. Besides, December is not the time to cut when there are so many other stresses going on. Dont let your calories be another added stress when this time is hard enough as it is. Relax, enjoy the holidays and the time with your family. Cutting can be done in the new year sometime.
Kelly
EM2WL Ambassador and Moderator1 -
I know it's hard to remember to focus on this, but a reset is a time for healing and recovery both physically and mentally.
You should not expect to see losses in inches, scale, or fat loss.
Don't let your diet mentality voice shout you down!
You have come this far, keep going! The long term lifestyle is SO worth it.
Ichel
EM2WL ambassador and moderator1 -
Thank you all for your comments. I guess I'm just confused at how, over the course of about 6 months I seem to have gained so much weight. I didn't even gain that much weight in my first reset! I know the calories vs calories out, BMR and TDEE calculations and I guess I could estimate the math, but it just doesn't seem possible. I'm wondering if some weight isn't additional muscle that has simply replaced the fat, but have no clue how to determine this.
I wish there was a concrete way to measure these numbers and a concrete way to put the right amount of food/exercise in to achieve the right results. I sort of feel like I'm shooting in the dark at this point and have no clue if my strategy is working
and yes, I know about heybales' worksheet and all of that, but I feel I've lost that same confidence I had during my last reset in terms of feeling like this will work for me again. 0 -
Stress can play a major factor on the scale. You have nee under a lot of stress over the past six months, and coupled with the lower calorie range, its no wonder the scale went up during that time.
This might help explain why stress can wreck havoc on your plans
http://eatmore2weighless.com/stress-makes-you-fat/
I implore you, put the scale away. You already said you see changes in your body. Focus on those and not what a stupid number says.
Kelly
EM2WL Ambassador and Moderator0 -
I felt frustrated watching the scale go up and still working out and eating better. I'm at 2,000 TDEE. I hop on the scale and take measurements only once a month but I don't put much stock in the numbers. I do take the measurements and calculate my body fat percentage. I use www.heathstatus.com to figure it. I have not lost any pounds, no significant change in inches but I have lost 9% body fat. So I go with that for a goal. As I loose pounds, I gain muscle. That's probably why I don't see a change with the scale.3
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This pin leads to an article that is a great read in why you should break up with the scale: http://pin.it/Nl94-ZQ
Tereza
Team EM2WL Member and moderator2
This discussion has been closed.