Help! Am I a freak of nature?

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jg627
jg627 Posts: 1,221 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Ok, I started out with well more than 100 lbs to lose 2 months ago. I started at ~340 lbs and doing 1800 - 1900 calorie diet. My first month I lost 22 lbs, so I decided to step it up and get a gym membership. I started doing a weight lifting routine and a little bit of cardio. This month my weight loss started to slow down, then stood still, then I started to gain weight and pretty much ended up breaking even for month 2. Is that even possible? What's going on here?

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  • spaingirl2011
    spaingirl2011 Posts: 763 Member
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    Keep at it, sometimes it takes some time for your body to recognize the exercise--especially if you just started. Your body will catch up! Just keep eating well and exercising!
  • beccau_20
    beccau_20 Posts: 191 Member
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    Seems a little suspect to me. Have your foods continued to be good? Maybe you need to step up your cardio? Getting enough water? Sleep?

    I dunno, just throwing things out there!
  • calmmomw3minimeez
    calmmomw3minimeez Posts: 499 Member
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    Every time I start a new exercise routine, I get a gain AND a plateau, but with patience the lbs always start to come off again so you're doing great and keep it up...gains always come when you're building muscle! I'm currently trying to break a plateau RIGHT NOW and it's happening slowly but surely...just gotta be patient with yourself so not to worry, keep workin' it!!!!
  • TrishJimenez
    TrishJimenez Posts: 561 Member
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    The same thing happened to me when I started exercising but now the pounds are starting to drop like flys and I feel so much better. Have you noticed any nsv victories even if the scale isnt moving? I barely lost a few lbs but went down two notches on the belt. If so then you are gaining muscle. Also I was told on here that muscles retain water and glucose to heal and grow themselves and that will keep the scale from droping but you are still loosing fat.
  • Quarantined
    Quarantined Posts: 50
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    If you've started a weight training routine, and if you're working pretty hard at it, then your weight gain might be due to increased muscle mass. Best way to figure out what's going on is by taking your measurements (stomach, hips, thighs, etc) - if your weight is staying the same but your measurements are decreasing, then you've lost fat and gained muscle. If not then you may need to step back and readdress your diet; figure out if you're consuming too many calories or if you are eating healthily enough.
  • jg627
    jg627 Posts: 1,221 Member
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    I eat essential fats from whole food sources only. I usually use peanuts and/or sunflower seeds to reach my dietary fat goals. I eat starchy vegetables like corn and potato in extreme moderation only. I eat a lot of green vegetables. My protein comes from animal sources. Beef jerky is a pretty common snack these days. I even got a grill. When I strength train, I train with the absolute highest intensity that I can put out 3 times / week. I have to stop using the machines now and switch to barbells because a few of the machines don't have enough weight on them anymore.
  • jg627
    jg627 Posts: 1,221 Member
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    I guess I'll find out if it was muscle gain this month though. I'm going to drop the intensity of my strength training to practice my form for barbells, since I don't want to hurt myself. My workout routine is going to focus on the foundations of strength: squats, bench press, barbell row, overhead press and deadlift.
    For my water, I know, due to my size, I need over a gallon of water per day and some days I do well on my water intake, but others I slack off a bit. Just a few hours ago I was a chugging my water and somehow an earwig got in it. I hate bugs and so I lost half of my dinner.
  • Nikkiairforcewife
    Nikkiairforcewife Posts: 164 Member
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    You need to increase your calories. As I mentioned on someone's similar forum post, according to Fat2FitRadio the magic number number of calories for you to lose weight is your BMR plus 20%. You'll be surprised at how much it is and how you'll lose weight! Your metabolism will get a kick start and will know that it can burn calories because there's no famine!

    Don't forget your water as well. It seems like a lot of grilled foods tend to have higher sodium even if they are lower fat.
  • joyce80214
    joyce80214 Posts: 4
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    I'm thinking you should up your cardio because ultimately this will fat. I think your doing fine with weight training because lean muscle mass burns fat too!! Are you eating 5-6 times a day?? Getting enough sleep?? I hit plateaus too, it was so frustrating......ugh!!!
  • jg627
    jg627 Posts: 1,221 Member
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    I've been increasing the amount and intensity of my cardio gradually. I'm up to 30 minutes at 85% of my BPM. I usually eat about every 2-3 hours. I'll try adding some more calories. I started drinking 2% milk instead of skim today.
  • MzBug
    MzBug Posts: 2,173 Member
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    Sounds like you got the ball rolling in the right direction! Congrats! It is normal for people to slow down or plateau after a good loss or starting more vigorous exercise. Keep up with your NET calories, watch the sodium intake (I love beef jerky too, it doesn't like me though), and have patience. Re figure your calorie settings every month or so to keep up with your more active self. Good Luck!
  • beccau_20
    beccau_20 Posts: 191 Member
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    I've been increasing the amount and intensity of my cardio gradually. I'm up to 30 minutes at 85% of my BPM. I usually eat about every 2-3 hours. I'll try adding some more calories. I started drinking 2% milk instead of skim today.

    I think 30 minutes is quite good actually. Yes, we all know that cardio burns the most calories, but IMO, weights and strength training are what show the true results. I don't think you need to go overboard on your cardio, just try to fit it in, maybe 5 days a week?

    You sound like you're doing all the right things. Good luck!
  • Gerald_King
    Gerald_King Posts: 2,031 Member
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    your not eating enough your going into starvation mode
  • jg627
    jg627 Posts: 1,221 Member
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    You might be right. I think I may have been overestimating instead of measuring properly and actually getting less calories than I thought I was. I upped my calorie intake a bit and going to be more strict with measuring cups and scales from now on instead of slacking off on the measurements.
  • mamagooskie
    mamagooskie Posts: 2,964 Member
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    are you eating back your exercize calories? drinking your water? watching your sodium?
  • jg627
    jg627 Posts: 1,221 Member
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    I did a huge milk chug after getting back from an hour walk today. My sodium is good, but water can be hard because of my size and I sweat more than any two other human beings put together. I try though.
  • mikethom
    mikethom Posts: 183 Member
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    I started out at ~340 and my daily caloric intake was ~2500; that was ~100 days ago and I'm down 26 pounds. I'm wondering if perhaps you are trying to push things too fast. Is the 1800-1900 calories what MFP calculated? Maybe with the exercise you are pushing your body into starvation mode? I'm not an expert but this seems to be working for me; I should mention that I did "stall" for 2-3 weeks, but the weight was coming of before and after that pretty steadly so perhaps you just have to stay the course. Good luck!
  • jg627
    jg627 Posts: 1,221 Member
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    I started with an 1800 calorie diet, because my doctor recommended it. I didn't feel weak or anything. I just got scared because the lbs weren't coming down for the last couple weeks, however, I did some reading today. It turns out that people have muscle memory, which makes it extremely easy to gain muscle if you used to train years ago and I have been getting freakish strength gains since I started going to the gym. example: I improved my row by 100 lbs in ~2 - 3 weeks and could have gone higher, but the seated row machine ran out of weight. It only goes up to 250 lbs. So I'm switching to barbell / freeweights now.
  • jg627
    jg627 Posts: 1,221 Member
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    Apparently it's also possible if you're morbidly obese. I still don't know if I should 'consider myself lucky' being a fat guy who used to be in shape though.

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