I just don't understand. Can you help?

JustJenn419
JustJenn419 Posts: 780 Member
edited September 30 in Motivation and Support
Let me first start off my saying that I am not complaining at all. I am just looking for some understanding in order to do things properly.

I started my journey in March of this year. One of the first things I did was joined a gym and signed up for my first 5k. I started logging all of my food, both good and bad. I maintained a 1670 calorie diet, went to the gym at least three times a week, and was running about 6-7 miles a week. I almost always ate back my exercise calories. I felt GREAT and the weight was slowly coming off. From March to June I lost 14 pounds.

Since my 5k on June 12th, I have not done ANYTHING! I haven't seen the front door of the gym let alone the inside of it. I stopped running all together, stopped logging all my food, and found myself back to spending an awful lot of time on the couch in front of the TV. None of this is good, and I definitely do NOT like the way I feel.

So why am I confused?!? Because in the 5 weeks since the 5k I've lost more than 8 pounds!!! And when I weighed myself this morning, I was down another 2 pounds even though TOM just showed up. When I was working my butt off and eating well, the weight was a struggle. Now that I'm not doing anything, it's pouring off. (Again, I'm not complaining. Trust me, I enjoy seeing the numbers go down. Just trying to get an understanding.) I'm almost afraid to go back to exercising thinking the weightloss will slow down.

WHAT'S GOING ON?!?

Replies

  • tlems
    tlems Posts: 104 Member
    What is your calorie intake like? Are you drinking tons of water?
  • bloodlesscoup
    bloodlesscoup Posts: 32 Member
    Have your eating habits changed since then, even when you're not logging it? Small changes can really do a lot.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    When you workout your muscles store water to protect them from the mirco tears caused by working out, when you get use to the working out, or stop working out, you muscles will shed the water. Most likely a large % of your loss is water weight.

    You don't need to workout to lose weight, but you do in order to be fit and healthy.
  • UsedToBeHusky
    UsedToBeHusky Posts: 15,228 Member
    Are you still tracking calories? You don't have to exercise to lose. Also, it may be taking some time for your metabolism to settle back to a slower pace.
  • JustJenn419
    JustJenn419 Posts: 780 Member
    Since I lost more than 10lbs, the calorie allotment droped to 1560. I drink about 6-7 glasses of water a day, but I was actually drinking more before.
  • LessMe2B
    LessMe2B Posts: 316
    You got your metabolism revved up while working out a lot. It's still up there, and burning the food you eat, but IT WILL CRASH AGAIN if you don't get re-started.
  • leenyG
    leenyG Posts: 6
    During those 5 weeks you obviously built up some muscle. When you have more muscle you will burn more calories even at rest, than you did before. The weight loss will taper off and go away. If you go back to the gym you will see the long term effects and see the weight come off, stabilize, and stay off.
  • MinnieInMaine
    MinnieInMaine Posts: 6,400 Member
    I'm thinking you're probably not eating badly even without tracking and you've likely lost weight due to muscle loss and water loss since you're not being active. Just a theory...
  • Joynes
    Joynes Posts: 1 Member
    Could be you are loosing muscle. It ways more than fat.
  • UsedToBeHusky
    UsedToBeHusky Posts: 15,228 Member
    Since I lost more than 10lbs, the calorie allotment droped to 1560. I drink about 6-7 glasses of water a day, but I was actually drinking more before.

    Well if you are still consuming less calories than your body requires, then you are still burning fat. It's just not as quickly as you would when exercising.

    When I started out, I did an hour of cardio a day and had 1500 to 1600 calorie diet. I lost 20 lbs. in a month. Then I stopped working out, but lowered my calorie intake 1200 to 1300, and I still lost 10 lbs. in the second month.
  • SueInAz
    SueInAz Posts: 6,592 Member
    Losing weight is more about eating right than exercise. The exercise tones you up and helps you to maintain your muscle mass. If you're still eating less than your BMR, you'll continue to lose weight, perhaps even faster because you aren't adding muscle mass while you do. Keep in mind, however, that you are probably losing lean muscle more than fat which may look good on the scale but isn't good for you and will only make it harder for you to continue to lose weight down the road.
  • unluckyIrish
    unluckyIrish Posts: 121 Member
    You could be losing muscle mass. Muscle does weigh significantly more than fat.
  • SeaChele77
    SeaChele77 Posts: 1,103 Member
    You may have trained your mind to eat much better than you used to, so you may very well still be under 2000 calories per day. Addtionally, the weight may be coming off, but you are not increasing muscle. Yes, the weight was slowly coming off before - but you were gaining muscle mass. Muscle takes up less room than fat, so while you may only way 8lbs less you are going to be much smaller in inches (clothes fitting better, people noticing more, etc). And another thing - your body needs a break every now and then. If/when ones to get off a plataeau they stop working out and 'dieting" for a week or two and then get back into it. Our bodies get used to a certain way of doing/being after so long and its hard to move past that.

    Word of advice...the weight will not contiue to keep coming off. Again, your body will get used to what you are doing/not doing now and level off.
  • SeaChele77
    SeaChele77 Posts: 1,103 Member
    You could be losing muscle mass. Muscle does weigh significantly more than fat.

    Muscle does NOT weigh more than fat. Such a huge misconception that people need to get out of their head. Muscle takes up less room than fat. So you can fit 5lbs of muscle into a space currently occupying 1lb of fat.

    1lb of feathers is the same as 1lb of bricks. Its just that it will take a whole lot more feathers to make a lb. Get it??

    When gaining muscle you will lose inches, but may not lose weight.
  • briabner
    briabner Posts: 427 Member
    I have noticed that if I dont really focus on loosing weight then I loose. If I am obsessing over it then I dont loose. For instance I have been doing great up until more or less end of June beginning of July, I had lost 19 pounds in about 6 weeks. Up until last friday I did not loose any weight. I was doing everything the same and logging everything I ate trying to get to " X" amount of calories daily, work out...the whole 9 yards to no loss in weight. When I stopped caring at the beginning of last week I immediately lost 2 pounds in about 5 days. It makes absolutely sense but hey I am loosing again.

    So I am not going to be super concerned about eating a certain number and basically really caring about loosing weight.
  • maryd4love
    maryd4love Posts: 164 Member
    When you workout your muscles store water to protect them from the mirco tears caused by working out, when you get use to the working out, or stop working out, you muscles will shed the water. Most likely a large % of your loss is water weight.

    You don't need to workout to lose weight, but you do in order to be fit and healthy.

    I like that! That is so true. Thanks!
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    Losing weight is more about eating right than exercise. The exercise tones you up and helps you to maintain your muscle mass. If you're still eating less than your BMR, you'll continue to lose weight, perhaps even faster because you aren't adding muscle mass while you do. Keep in mind, however, that you are probably losing lean muscle more than fat which may look good on the scale but isn't good for you and will only make it harder for you to continue to lose weight down the road.

    actually you can lose eating more than BMR, many experts suggest not eating below your BMR to have a safe caloric deficit. You just have to eat less than maintenance calories to lose. BMR is always lower than maintenance.
  • portexploit
    portexploit Posts: 378 Member
    What happens when you stop stressing the muscle? It goes away. You have a new BMR(BASAL METABOLIC RATE) with out exercise? Sounds like muscle loss to me.
  • maryd4love
    maryd4love Posts: 164 Member
    You could be losing muscle mass. Muscle does weigh significantly more than fat.

    Muscle does NOT weigh more than fat. Such a huge misconception that people need to get out of their head. Muscle takes up less room than fat. So you can fit 5lbs of muscle into a space currently occupying 1lb of fat.

    1lb of feathers is the same as 1lb of bricks. Its just that it will take a whole lot more feathers to make a lb. Get it??

    When gaining muscle you will lose inches, but may not lose weight.

    Love it!!!!!
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    You could be losing muscle mass. Muscle does weigh significantly more than fat.

    Muscle does NOT weigh more than fat. Such a huge misconception that people need to get out of their head. Muscle takes up less room than fat. So you can fit 5lbs of muscle into a space currently occupying 1lb of fat.

    1lb of feathers is the same as 1lb of bricks. Its just that it will take a whole lot more feathers to make a lb. Get it??

    When gaining muscle you will lose inches, but may not lose weight.

    Yes muscle does weigh more than fat. No one said 1 lb of muscle weighs more than 1lb of fat. When comparing weights of 2 different things you should keep volume constant, and if you do that muscle will always weigh more than fat.
  • andsteel
    andsteel Posts: 1
    When the weight was slowly coming off, did your cloths fit better? did you take measurements? you could loose 10 lbs of muscle and fat by laying around. but working out, you can loose 5lbs of fat but gain 5 lbs of muscle. and only show a slight difference on the scale. but look much better and slimmer.
  • SeaChele77
    SeaChele77 Posts: 1,103 Member
    You could be losing muscle mass. Muscle does weigh significantly more than fat.

    Muscle does NOT weigh more than fat. Such a huge misconception that people need to get out of their head. Muscle takes up less room than fat. So you can fit 5lbs of muscle into a space currently occupying 1lb of fat.

    1lb of feathers is the same as 1lb of bricks. Its just that it will take a whole lot more feathers to make a lb. Get it??

    When gaining muscle you will lose inches, but may not lose weight.

    Yes muscle does weigh more than fat. No one said 1 lb of muscle weighs more than 1lb of fat. When comparing weights of 2 different things you should keep volume constant, and if you do that muscle will always weigh more than fat.

    There is the difference - muscle and fat do not have the same volume therefore can not be compared equally. Apples and oranges. But basics physics says 1lb of bricks is equal to 1lb of feathers therefore 1lb of fat is equal to 1lb of muscle. But I agree that the volumes will be drasically different! Again why I said you are able to fit 5lbs of muscle into a space that is currently holding 1lb of fat. So....the scale may or may not show a decrease, but the pants will be less tight and inches will be lost.
  • JustJenn419
    JustJenn419 Posts: 780 Member
    Thank you all so much. I am going to try and re-incorporate the exercise back into my routine. Hopefully I'm not losing muscle because that took a LOT of hard work to get in the first place.
  • UsedToBeHusky
    UsedToBeHusky Posts: 15,228 Member
    You could be losing muscle mass. Muscle does weigh significantly more than fat.

    Muscle does NOT weigh more than fat. Such a huge misconception that people need to get out of their head. Muscle takes up less room than fat. So you can fit 5lbs of muscle into a space currently occupying 1lb of fat.

    1lb of feathers is the same as 1lb of bricks. Its just that it will take a whole lot more feathers to make a lb. Get it??

    When gaining muscle you will lose inches, but may not lose weight.

    Yes muscle does weigh more than fat. No one said 1 lb of muscle weighs more than 1lb of fat. When comparing weights of 2 different things you should keep volume constant, and if you do that muscle will always weigh more than fat.

    There is the difference - muscle and fat do not have the same volume therefore can not be compared equally. Apples and oranges. But basics physics says 1lb of bricks is equal to 1lb of feathers therefore 1lb of fat is equal to 1lb of muscle. But I agree that the volumes will be drasically different! Again why I said you are able to fit 5lbs of muscle into a space that is currently holding 1lb of fat. So....the scale may or may not show a decrease, but the pants will be less tight and inches will be lost.

    Not to get sucked into this argument AGAIN. But volume is subjective. There is no specific number of volume for anything. You can compare equal amounts of anything in volume (liters) or in weight (pounds). Whichever you choose determines the result. If you compare a liter of fat with a liter of muscle, then muscle weighs more. If you compare a pound of fat with a pound of muscle, then the muscle will be smaller.
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