OVERwhelmed

This was another MFP Thread

Why you gain when starting a new workout

An amazing article I had to re-post that one of my favorite fitness celebs posted – Chalene Johnson. For me, it was my “ah-ha” and for others that I’ve shared this with, it re-settled their discourage and kept them charging forward with their respective workout program and goals. DON’T GIVE UP and get some great insight from this fitness expert:


This makes a lot of sense and I completely get it but also they say after 2 weeks the weight should start to decrease on the scale. It's been 2 months for me with no change!


Probably the most common question I get when I release a new exercise program is, “Help! I’m gaining weight! Am I doing something wrong?” This is a common phenomena with any new exercise program, Turbo Kick, Turbo Jam, Hip Hop Hustle, you name it! It’s especially common (and temporary) with intense strength training programs like ChaLEAN Extreme or Tony Horton’s P90X.



The motivation to start a new exercise program is almost always to lose weight loss. However, what most personal trainers know and most at-home exercisers do not, is that a new exercise program often can cause an immediate (and temporary) increase on the scale. (Notice I didn’t say weight gain! I’ll explain.) This common increase in the scale is also the reason why perhaps millions of people start and then quickly quit their resolution to get fit.



The temporary weight gain explained:



When someone starts a new exercise program, they often experience muscle soreness. The more intense and “unfamiliar” the program, the more intense the muscle soreness. This soreness is most prevalent 24 to 48 hours after each workout. In the first few weeks of a new program, soreness is the body trying to “protect and defend” the effected or targeted tissue. Exercise physiologists refer to this as delayed-onset muscle soreness, or DOMS.





This type of soreness is thought to be caused by tissue breakdown or microscopic tears in muscle tissue. When this happens the body protects the tissue. The muscle becomes inflamed and slightly swollen with fluid retention. This temporary retention of fluid can result in a 3- to 4-pound weight gain within a few weeks of a new program. Keep in mind that muscle soreness is not necessarily a reflection of how hard you worked. In fact, some people feel no signs of muscle soreness, yet will experience the muscle protection mechanisms of water retention and slight swelling.





Most people are motivated enough to put up with this temporary muscle soreness. Yet, many, especially those who really need immediate weight loss to keep them motivated in those first couple of weeks become discouraged and quit!





When I worked with a group of 70 test participants during the development stages of ChaLEAN Extreme, this happened. Who was the most upset and discouraged? You guessed it… the women! I’m happy to report with absolutely every single woman (and man) in our group, the weight increase was temporary and never lasted more than 2 weeks before they started to see a major drop in the scale. However, these people had the advantage of working with someone who was able to explain to them why this was happening and assure them the weight would come off if they stuck to the nutrition plan and stayed true to the program.





For those of you who are following the ChaLEAN Extreme phase plan, keep in mind that when you start each phase, your body will be “in shock” again. Don’t be surprised or discouraged if you experience a temporary gain on the scale the first week of each phase.





My own personal example of this is running 10K’s. I don’t do it very often, maybe 1 or 2x a year. Even though I run on a regular basis, when you run a race you push much harder. It’s natural for me to be “insanely” sore the next day. It’s also very common for me to see the scale jump 4 pounds the next day from forcing fluids post race and the resulting DOMS. Even though I know the cause of it, it’s still a bummer. We’re all human and hard work should mean “results”. Hard work equals results, but our bodies are amazing machines and they know how to protect us from hurting our selves. Soreness forces you to give those muscles a break Ultimately you will lose the weight and you will change your metabolism in the process.





The key is understanding that this is a normal and temporary and stick with the program!!





When to be concerned:



If you experience a significant weight gain (exceeding 5 pounds) which does not begin to decrease rapidly after the second week, guess what it is??? I’ll give you one hint… you put it in your mouth and chew it. You know it! You’re food (or calorie laden beverages). Newsflash friends.. exercise doesn’t make you gain weight. Consuming more food than you burn makes you gain weight!





So if after two weeks you are not losing weight, have gained weight that’s not coming off, it’s time to take a close and honest look at your food intake. It’s time to find out what your burning in calories each day. Have your RMR or BMR tested. This can be done for less than $50 and the information is invaluable. It takes out the guess work. Google “hydrostatic body fat testing _______ ” and insert the name of the big city you’re closest too. Companies that do HBFT also do BMR testing. Knowledge is king.





I’m gaining weight, but I’m sure it’s muscle:



Possibly, but if you’re following ChaLEAN Extreme correctly, you should be losing fat and gaining muscle and the fat loss should be much more substantial than the rate at which you can physically put on muscle. This is even true for the guys. Of the 70 plus people in my test group, every single one of them lost body fat and gained muscle and not one of them gained weight. I believe the average weight loss after 4 months was 28 pounds with many people losing 40 plus pounds. Even the men, who as you can see put on a lot of muscle, were seeing huge drops in the scale. We tested their muscle composition at the beginning and at the end and 100% of the participants maintained or gained muscle while achieving substantial weight loss. That’s the key to keeping weight off long term, i.e. muscle. Muscle burns fat. But you’ve heard me say that before.





Moral of the story:



Be patient young grass hoper. You’ll be lean and mean in no time!



This is one of the most useful articles I have come across that makes sense and enlightens one, as they prepare for their new program or are in the midst of it. Just having an understanding and a reason why we experience this temporary weight gain, makes the experience that much more enjoyable.

. Thanks Chalene!

Hi! I took a quick look through the past 2-3 weeks in your diary. My suggestions are to try eating your exercise calories back more often, at least 50-75% of them. There are plenty of great posts and articles around for you to read up on about this so I won't go into more detail here. Also try keeping your sodium intake under 1500 mg (daily recommended amount for adults) and watch your sugars! If you're trying to lose that last bit of belly fat, no amount of exercise will do it if you're still eating a lot of salt and sugar in your diet.

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask! I've been there!

Keep your head up. Just think. Would you feel as good as you feel now if you didnt workout. I have seen your progress myself. I know it sucks and you want to look beautiful now. The beautiful you want. But what you dont notice is that you already are. Know that. weight sucks and it is not easy. if it was easy this site wouldnt exsist.

I know I want to quit when I am so far from my goal and all I do is loss 2 pounds in a week. But all i tell myself is that someone would love to have lost that 2 pounds.

So think there are millions of women out there that would love to have your body!

Keep your head up. You are still a motivation to many.


You are so sweet! This helps a lot! More than you know. Thanks for your encouragement! always!

Sugars are definitely a tough one. Don't worry TOO much about the sugars you get from fruit, but try to keep your serving of fruit at 1-2 a day while you're trying to lose weight and opt for berries, which generally have lower sugar contact than melons, etc. You can get some great natural peanut butters with no sugar added as well.

Strength training is something that scares a lot of women but is actually a lot better for losing the belly fat than excessive amounts of cardio. If you want links/info on this, just let me know! Strength training instead of cardio is what is helping my little belly pouch slowly but surely going away. Doing cardio appeared to have no effect on it whatsoever!

I started weight training about 3 weeks ago. I love it and will keep doing it!

Awesome! You'll find the more you do it, the more you love it and the stronger you'll want to be! It will def help you get where you're going, just remember you may gain muscle (extra weight) and lose body fat. That means you'll lose the "jiggle" I assume you're unhappy with, even if your weight on the scale goes up! Don't give the scale too much power over your goals!

I totally understand. I gained 3 lbs the first week I started the 30 DS and was so upset but decided to keep going. Sometimes our bodies like to hold onto water when we first start exercising because the muscles need to heal. Also, make sure you are eating your exercise calories. I thought that if I didn't eat them back that I would lose weight quicker and it was the opposite.

And finally.....don't give up!!!

Start small and light while you focus on making sure your form is correct for whatever moves you are doing. This will help make sure you don't injure yourself and will make it easier for you to concentrate on the proper forms. Only then should you move onto heavier weights.

As for what weights to start with, it will be different for everyone depending on your strength level. Choose a weight that you can lift for between either 6-8 reps, with the last few reps being very difficult, or 10-12 reps, with the last few reps being very difficult. Do 2-3 sets of each exercise at those weights, making sure to give yourself some rest in between sets!

I'll send you some links that helped me get started once I'm at home (currently on a work computer with nothing bookmarked!)

I hope this helps!

http://nerdfitness.com/blog/2010/02/15/how-to-build-your-own-workout-routine/

That's just something to get you started as I'm still at work with no bookmarks hehe! Doing 5 different exercises is enough as long as they are exercises that work more than one muscle. And depending on what exercises you're doing, don't be scared of heavy weights! It's nearly impossible for us lovely ladies to get all bulked up body-builder style without taking testosterone supplements.

http://nerdfitness.com/blog/2011/07/21/meet-staci-your-new-powerlifting-super-hero/

Hi! I took a quick look through the past 2-3 weeks in your diary. My suggestions are to try eating your exercise calories back more often, at least 50-75% of them. There are plenty of great posts and articles around for you to read up on about this so I won't go into more detail here. Also try keeping your sodium intake under 1500 mg (daily recommended amount for adults) and watch your sugars! If you're trying to lose that last bit of belly fat, no amount of exercise will do it if you're still eating a lot of salt and sugar in your diet.

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask! I've been there!

Thanks. I do seem to go over my sugars a lot but it's only from peanut butter and fruit. UGH. I have to have something to make my sweet tooth happy ha! And yes, it is that last little bit... I don't have much there at all... most of it just needs to be toned!

Here is just something to consider:

If you really don't have much weight to lose and it's really just toning that you need then why not focus on the toning and ignore the scale? I think we've become so focused on that number that shows up between our toes that we ignore what's really important, how we look and feel.

I say this because it sounds like you are already eating right. Hearing people tell someone who is already eating the right things to "eat cleaner" or "cut out sugar entirely" or whatever they think you should completely stop eating, just to lose 3-5 pounds always makes me cringe. They probably aren't things you're going to cut out of your diet forever, so what happens when you hit your goal weight and start eating those things again? More than likely, those couple of pounds will come right back. So why bother just to see some arbitrary number on that scale? I think it's better to focus on toning and strength training and get your body LOOKING the way you want it to look.

I've weighed 120-125 pounds at many different times in my life and I've been different sizes each time. This is probably the biggest I've been at this range because I'm the least toned of any of the times I've been in it. I know that I'm more interested in firming up and being smaller than I am at losing a couple of pounds at this point. It's a mindset change you might consider, too.

I completely agree that my focus should mostly be on toning. Do you have any tips or suggestions for the best ways to go about getting rid of the extra flab without weightloss?

It sounds like you're already planning to up your strength training which is what you need, as well as regular cardio. Be sure to measure yourself and keep track, if you aren't already, since it'll be your new measure of progress. Keep to your current eating plan. If you lose some weight as a result of the increase in strength training, awesome. If not, but the tape measure is showing that you're shrinking, then you're still accomplishing your goal. Good luck!

I just want to make sure you know I'm definitely not saying to "cut out" anything like sugar, not at all. But if you are trying to lose the belly pouch, making sure you don't consume too much sugar is definitely something you should think about. Same with sodium. You don't need to stop using salt, just try not to have excessive sodium levels every day! Speaking from my own experiences, it keeps me feeling bloated, and affects the scale more than I had realized before I started really tracking it.