I only lose when I DON'T exercise

2

Replies

  • bagge72
    bagge72 Posts: 1,377 Member
    You said you were eating barely above your BMR, and exercising, before you had to stop? You still weren't eating enough. If your BMR is 1550, and you're eating 1650 but working out to burn 300, you're actually only netting 1350, which is 200 below BMR and might cause your body to slow your metabolism and store fat.

    You should net no less than your BMR. Eat your exercise calories back.

    Otherwise, the comments from others about water weight is true. The weight you lost when you didn't exercise? Water weight from your muscles.

    It's good that you're changing up your exercise. You should do that frequently to keep your body guessing so it doesn't get too efficient. A good mix of strength and cardio, plus flexibility training and definitely including rest days, is helpful to keep the game changing.

    I hope you find your way out of the plateau--but don't fear exercise. Just know that you'll put on water weight to start with--for at least a couple of weeks or so. Go by measurements and body fat analysis. rather than weight if you want to see what changes your body is making.

    I thought your BMR is what your body is going to burn on average in a 24 hour period, so to lose weight you would want to deduct from that point, and then eat back any extra calories over your BMR you have burned already? Maybe she meant her TDEE?
  • efarrar13
    efarrar13 Posts: 78
    Are you Hypothyroid? Liver issues? Read up on Reverse T3. If you endocrine or adrenal system is messed up this will happen. I trained and ran a marathon last year and barely lost anything. Its how they diagnosed my hypothyroid as well as the other things screwed up with my endocrine system.

    Basically for me I need to do short/intense workouts rather than longer drawn out ones. In laymen terms, if I do long runs or biking my body goes into "Oh *kitten*" mode and the Reverse T3 will prohibit weight loss or sometimes I would even gain.
  • MrsAgi
    MrsAgi Posts: 338 Member
    something looks weird with your sodium. I'm pretty sure sausage has more than 1mg sodium. watch that - be sure to log it accurately because sodium makes you retain water. also, you seem to have extremely light breakfasts and then heavy dinners - eat more calories and protein at breakfast. aim for like 30g of protein for breakfast. and for dinner - high protein, no starchy carbs is best.

    and drink more water.

    I try to log as accurately as possible. I know sausages are pretty iffy generally, but those particular sausages have the following nutritional value:

    Typical Values 2 grilled sausages (119g) contain
    Energy 1445kJ (350kcal)
    Protein 21.3g
    Carbohydrate 6.4g
    Sugars 1.1g
    Fat 26.0g
    Saturates 10.7g
    Mono Unsaturates 9.8g
    Polyunsaturates 4.3g
    Fibre 1.2g
    Sodium* 0.5g
    *Salt Equivalent 1.3g

    My sodium intake is very low most days as most of my food is home made.....
  • em9371
    em9371 Posts: 1,047 Member

    I thought your BMR is what your body is going to burn on average in a 24 hour period, so to lose weight you would want to deduct from that point, and then eat back any extra calories over your BMR you have burned already? Maybe she meant her TDEE?

    BMR is what you would burn if you were in a coma. You need to factor in activity and exercise to get TDEE, and work your deficit from that.
    With the amount OP has to lose based on ticker, I would say the number was her BMR.
  • MrsAgi
    MrsAgi Posts: 338 Member
    Just want to add:

    I have absolutely no intention of not going back to the exercise:) I started this in an attempt to get healthier, rather than lose weight (though that is obviously a lovely bonus). So I ill be starting the running again next week. I'm aiming to do 3miles in my 30 mins by the Autumn (only at about 2miles atm).

    But scale movement would be nice too.
  • atjays
    atjays Posts: 797 Member
    You tend to retain fluids when exercising, it's not uncommon to drop several pounds quickly over a rest week of no exercise yet still eating correctly.
  • bagge72
    bagge72 Posts: 1,377 Member

    I thought your BMR is what your body is going to burn on average in a 24 hour period, so to lose weight you would want to deduct from that point, and then eat back any extra calories over your BMR you have burned already? Maybe she meant her TDEE?

    BMR is what you would burn if you were in a coma. You need to factor in activity and exercise to get TDEE, and work your deficit from that.
    With the amount OP has to lose based on ticker, I would say the number was her BMR.

    So we said the same thing... just in a different way.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,428 MFP Moderator
    The reason you didn't lose weight was due to water retention. When you start working out, your body will store additional water in order to repair the muscle. And as it seems, you didn't work out previously, so your body needs time adjusting. On top of that, you are also eating more calories, which also requires your body to adjust. Give it more time and your body will adjust to both the calories and exercise. The biggest piece of advice I can tell you, is start doing heavy weight/resistance training as that will provide the best benefit for fat loss. Also, over extending your goal can make it more difficult to lose weight. I suggest estimating your TDEE (see link below) and cutting 20%. This way, you will increase the chances of maintaining lean muscle mass.



    http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/bmr/
  • jaymek92
    jaymek92 Posts: 309 Member
    the way i understand it is that exercise does a couple of things - first of all, muscle weighs more than fat. so you'll be losing inches, but not necessarily weight at first. and as you build that muscle, you begin to burn more calories at rest - so you should still see loss, it will just be slower (but you'll be losing the inches).

    AND, exercise causes the muscles to retain water. so some of that could be water weight too from your body repairing the muscles. make sure you are including a rest day or two to allow those muscles time to recoup... good luck!!! (i've had the same issue by the way).

    Muscle does NOT weigh more than fat. Muscle is more dense than fat, but a pound is a pound is a pound. A pound of muscle takes up less physical space than a pound of fat, but muscle doesn't "weigh more" than fat.

    Muscle does weigh more than fat. Nobody is saying a pound of muscle weighs more than a pound of fat... That would be like saying steel weighs the same as a feather because a pound of steel is the same as a pound of feathers. What they are sayingis if your body hasn't changed in size, but you have lost fat, and replace it with the same amount of muscle it is going to weigh more. Something being more dense means when you compare things the same size it weighs more.
    just saying, if you're comparing equal masses, then, yes, steel/feathers/muscle/fat all weigh the same. muscle is more dense than fat, just as steel is more dense than feathers.
    because weight is a value based on density and volume, you can say any two materials weigh the same: i weigh the same as a part of the empire state building, for example. a pound is a pound, no matter what it's made up of. a pound of feathers weighs the same as a pound of steel weighs the same as a pound of fat weighs the same as a pound of muscle.
    while they're not saying that a pound of muscle weighs more than a pound of fat, they are saying that muscle weighs more than fat and, without a given volume, that's just not true.
  • ANewLucia
    ANewLucia Posts: 2,081 Member
    I started on mfp in Jan 2012 - it set me to 1200 cals, and I lost happily 2lb per week for the first mont. Then I decided to add in some exercise (running) and I plateaued. Did some reading and upped my cals, then upped them again. I am now on 1600, which is just a little over my BMR of 1550ish.

    I dropped miniscule amounts over the next few weeks, then due to various circumstances, I had to stop exercising for a few weeks. I immediately started losing again (about 1 - 1.5lb per week.)

    I'm ready to get back to my running now, but don't want to stop losing weight again - anyone got any helpful hints? I'm pretty sure that 30mins cardio a day and occasional 30DS is not building muscle to counter the fat loss. I have plenty of fat to lose.

    I would've thought that adding the exercise in ought to make me lose quicker - it should speed up my metabolism and help with fat burning rather than muscle loss?

    My diary is open:)

    You stopped losing because your body isn't getting enough calories....you must fuel your body to lose weight. You can lose to a degree low caling, but the moment you eat more, your body will hold everything and the gain begins. Your body didn't have to conserve its resources when you stopped working out because it probably received at least BMR in calories...you started working out, you are way under you BMR and the metabolism slows down to a halt bec it thinks it is starving.

    Please take a look at the group Eat More to Weigh Less, over 1700 people have joined in the 7 wks I started it. It is not a drop it quick low cal diet...but a rewarding way of eating to fuel the body to allow it to trust you to start letting go of the fat...you don't have to starve to lose weight! I am a living witness and there are sooooo many others that will tell you the same. Please take a look at the group. Read the topic on TDEE and BMR in the sticky, then what to expect when UPPING your calories....you will not regret it. I don't think I have met a person yet that didn't agree for the regaining of energy alone, they can't imagine going back to starving...
  • castlerobber
    castlerobber Posts: 528 Member
    I recall reading about weight-loss studies from before World War II in which this effect was mentioned. Extremely obese patients on restricted-carbohydrate diets actually lost more weight when put on bed rest than they did if they exercised. It wasn't because they were losing muscle from inactivity, either; it was almost entirely fat loss. If anything, some of the subjects gained muscle, IIRC. I wish I could give you references, but I don't have the book with me right now.
  • jbella99
    jbella99 Posts: 596 Member
    If you hadn't exercised in a long time your muscles may have been holding onto water to help with tissue damage. I lose about a pound a week but I see a difference in the way my body looks and the way my muscles feel. I would rather be strong and healthy than skinny.
  • bagge72
    bagge72 Posts: 1,377 Member
    the way i understand it is that exercise does a couple of things - first of all, muscle weighs more than fat. so you'll be losing inches, but not necessarily weight at first. and as you build that muscle, you begin to burn more calories at rest - so you should still see loss, it will just be slower (but you'll be losing the inches).

    AND, exercise causes the muscles to retain water. so some of that could be water weight too from your body repairing the muscles. make sure you are including a rest day or two to allow those muscles time to recoup... good luck!!! (i've had the same issue by the way).

    Muscle does NOT weigh more than fat. Muscle is more dense than fat, but a pound is a pound is a pound. A pound of muscle takes up less physical space than a pound of fat, but muscle doesn't "weigh more" than fat.

    Muscle does weigh more than fat. Nobody is saying a pound of muscle weighs more than a pound of fat... That would be like saying steel weighs the same as a feather because a pound of steel is the same as a pound of feathers. What they are sayingis if your body hasn't changed in size, but you have lost fat, and replace it with the same amount of muscle it is going to weigh more. Something being more dense means when you compare things the same size it weighs more.
    just saying, if you're comparing equal masses, then, yes, steel/feathers/muscle/fat all weigh the same. muscle is more dense than fat, just as steel is more dense than feathers.
    because weight is a value based on density and volume, you can say any two materials weigh the same: i weigh the same as a part of the empire state building, for example. a pound is a pound, no matter what it's made up of. a pound of feathers weighs the same as a pound of steel weighs the same as a pound of fat weighs the same as a pound of muscle.
    while they're not saying that a pound of muscle weighs more than a pound of fat, they are saying that muscle weighs more than fat and, without a given volume, that's just not true.

    This isn't against you, but why would someone need to give a volume, when everyone on here knows what you are talking about? You (not you specifically) know people are saying that if you replace the same amount of fat size with the same amount of muscle size that the muscle weighs more. It's like arguing for the sake of arguing just to pretend you are smarter than everyone else. Everyone knows that a pound of one thing weighs the same as a pound of something else... or at least I hope they do....
  • cwilhelm40
    cwilhelm40 Posts: 9
    When you exercise, you are gaining muscle while losing fat. That muscle weighs more than the fat it is replacing, so your weight will plateau for a while. Get into that routine and the weight will begin coming off again. Take your measurements, though, because even though you aren't losing weight, you should notice that you are losing inches. Don't give up! :smile:
  • boys3girl1
    boys3girl1 Posts: 4
    Bump
  • jaymek92
    jaymek92 Posts: 309 Member
    This isn't against you, but why would someone need to give a volume, when everyone on here knows what you are talking about? You (not you specifically) know people are saying that if you replace the same amount of fat size with the same amount of muscle size that the muscle weighs more. It's like arguing for the sake of arguing just to pretend you are smarter than everyone else. Everyone knows that a pound of one thing weighs the same as a pound of something else... or at least I hope they do....
    yes, you would think everyone knows that, but people are idiots.
    sources: 3+ years in retail, 4 years in public high school, 1 year of public college.
  • SheehyCFC
    SheehyCFC Posts: 529 Member
    something looks weird with your sodium. I'm pretty sure sausage has more than 1mg sodium.
    Sodium* 0.5g
    MFP does sodium in mg... so that would mean this nutritional info is 500mg, not 1.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    the way i understand it is that exercise does a couple of things - first of all, muscle weighs more than fat. so you'll be losing inches, but not necessarily weight at first. and as you build that muscle, you begin to burn more calories at rest - so you should still see loss, it will just be slower (but you'll be losing the inches).

    AND, exercise causes the muscles to retain water. so some of that could be water weight too from your body repairing the muscles. make sure you are including a rest day or two to allow those muscles time to recoup... good luck!!! (i've had the same issue by the way).

    Muscle does NOT weigh more than fat. Muscle is more dense than fat, but a pound is a pound is a pound. A pound of muscle takes up less physical space than a pound of fat, but muscle doesn't "weigh more" than fat.

    Muscle does weigh more than fat. Nobody is saying a pound of muscle weighs more than a pound of fat... That would be like saying steel weighs the same as a feather because a pound of steel is the same as a pound of feathers. What they are sayingis if your body hasn't changed in size, but you have lost fat, and replace it with the same amount of muscle it is going to weigh more. Something being more dense means when you compare things the same size it weighs more.
    just saying, if you're comparing equal masses, then, yes, steel/feathers/muscle/fat all weigh the same. muscle is more dense than fat, just as steel is more dense than feathers.
    because weight is a value based on density and volume, you can say any two materials weigh the same: i weigh the same as a part of the empire state building, for example. a pound is a pound, no matter what it's made up of. a pound of feathers weighs the same as a pound of steel weighs the same as a pound of fat weighs the same as a pound of muscle.
    while they're not saying that a pound of muscle weighs more than a pound of fat, they are saying that muscle weighs more than fat and, without a given volume, that's just not true.

    If your logic works they you and I weigh the same because 1 lb of you weighs the same as 1 lb of me, I call BS to that argument.
  • Rikki007s
    Rikki007s Posts: 102 Member
    I would think that it is not the muscle building that is slowing the weight loss, but your body is attempting to replace the water and glycogen normally stored in your muscle in order to perform activities that slows your weight loss down. If your BMR is 1550 you need to make sure your are eating a bit above that and that you eat back your exercise calories so that your body has fuel to use and turn into glycogen to store in your muscle. the glycogen and water stored in the muscle will weight a little bit more initially and may show on the scale. It may take a month of staying on track with the calories eaten and the exercise regime, but you will again begin to lose weight. This weight loss will be a healthy weight loss. Stay the course, you will come through it.

    ^^my thought exactly. If you don't eat enough and especially if you're not eating back your exercise calories you're body is going to hold on to the weight for dear life. Just make sure your net calories are in a healthy range.
  • MrsAgi
    MrsAgi Posts: 338 Member
    OP here - just adding (again) I do eat back my exercise cals, minus 100-150 to allow for mfp's generous estimations of burns.....

    Probably don't drink enough water, so will really try harder with that.

    Thanks re the sausage info - that's how someone else has put it into mfp, so I will have to add it in again correctly next time I have them:)
  • jaymek92
    jaymek92 Posts: 309 Member
    the way i understand it is that exercise does a couple of things - first of all, muscle weighs more than fat. so you'll be losing inches, but not necessarily weight at first. and as you build that muscle, you begin to burn more calories at rest - so you should still see loss, it will just be slower (but you'll be losing the inches).

    AND, exercise causes the muscles to retain water. so some of that could be water weight too from your body repairing the muscles. make sure you are including a rest day or two to allow those muscles time to recoup... good luck!!! (i've had the same issue by the way).

    Muscle does NOT weigh more than fat. Muscle is more dense than fat, but a pound is a pound is a pound. A pound of muscle takes up less physical space than a pound of fat, but muscle doesn't "weigh more" than fat.

    Muscle does weigh more than fat. Nobody is saying a pound of muscle weighs more than a pound of fat... That would be like saying steel weighs the same as a feather because a pound of steel is the same as a pound of feathers. What they are sayingis if your body hasn't changed in size, but you have lost fat, and replace it with the same amount of muscle it is going to weigh more. Something being more dense means when you compare things the same size it weighs more.
    just saying, if you're comparing equal masses, then, yes, steel/feathers/muscle/fat all weigh the same. muscle is more dense than fat, just as steel is more dense than feathers.
    because weight is a value based on density and volume, you can say any two materials weigh the same: i weigh the same as a part of the empire state building, for example. a pound is a pound, no matter what it's made up of. a pound of feathers weighs the same as a pound of steel weighs the same as a pound of fat weighs the same as a pound of muscle.
    while they're not saying that a pound of muscle weighs more than a pound of fat, they are saying that muscle weighs more than fat and, without a given volume, that's just not true.

    If your logic works they you and I weigh the same because 1 lb of you weighs the same as 1 lb of me, I call BS to that argument.
    we have different volumes and densities. i weigh the same as a part of you (or you weigh the same as a part of me; i don't know what your mass is.).
  • seizethefray
    seizethefray Posts: 109
    Thanks for this thread, OP! I'm having the same problem right now. My scale moved a bit when I started my journey but I haven't seen a significant loss in weeks. It's hard not to get discouraged, but I can FEEL myself getting healthier and losing inches. I keep telling myself to stick wth it and it's bound to come off eventually. Slow and steady...

    Also, found a quote online last night that I LOVE. It's now the wallpaper on my phone:

    EARN IT.
    It takes 4 weeks for you to notice your body changing,
    8 weeks for your friends to notice,
    and 12 weeks for the rest of the world to notice.
    Give it 12 weeks.
    DON'T QUIT.

    :) Best of luck!
  • DeanneLea
    DeanneLea Posts: 261
    Greetings ! Haven't looked at your diary, but my immediate thoughts: By adding the exercise, you stopped losing because you weren't getting enough fuel - not enough food for the exercise you were doing. Our bodies are built to survive, to adapt. Too large of a caloric deficit has the effect of putting us into a plateau. You need to eat more. If exercising - EAT MORE. Calculate your BMR - make sure you eating, at minimum, your BMR daily.

    If exercising, you can actually eat at maintenance and let the exercise create your caloric deficit for weight loss. LOTS of good information out there on this topic. An immediate place I'd lead you to is the "Eat More to Weigh Less" forum group. Check it out !

    Jen
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/harlanJEN

    What she said!
  • Darlingir
    Darlingir Posts: 437
    maybe you are just at a plateau...you are almost 30 pounds down...
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    the way i understand it is that exercise does a couple of things - first of all, muscle weighs more than fat. so you'll be losing inches, but not necessarily weight at first. and as you build that muscle, you begin to burn more calories at rest - so you should still see loss, it will just be slower (but you'll be losing the inches).

    AND, exercise causes the muscles to retain water. so some of that could be water weight too from your body repairing the muscles. make sure you are including a rest day or two to allow those muscles time to recoup... good luck!!! (i've had the same issue by the way).

    Muscle does NOT weigh more than fat. Muscle is more dense than fat, but a pound is a pound is a pound. A pound of muscle takes up less physical space than a pound of fat, but muscle doesn't "weigh more" than fat.

    Muscle does weigh more than fat. Nobody is saying a pound of muscle weighs more than a pound of fat... That would be like saying steel weighs the same as a feather because a pound of steel is the same as a pound of feathers. What they are sayingis if your body hasn't changed in size, but you have lost fat, and replace it with the same amount of muscle it is going to weigh more. Something being more dense means when you compare things the same size it weighs more.
    just saying, if you're comparing equal masses, then, yes, steel/feathers/muscle/fat all weigh the same. muscle is more dense than fat, just as steel is more dense than feathers.
    because weight is a value based on density and volume, you can say any two materials weigh the same: i weigh the same as a part of the empire state building, for example. a pound is a pound, no matter what it's made up of. a pound of feathers weighs the same as a pound of steel weighs the same as a pound of fat weighs the same as a pound of muscle.
    while they're not saying that a pound of muscle weighs more than a pound of fat, they are saying that muscle weighs more than fat and, without a given volume, that's just not true.

    If your logic works they you and I weigh the same because 1 lb of you weighs the same as 1 lb of me, I call BS to that argument.
    we have different volumes and densities. i weigh the same as a part of you (or you weigh the same as a part of me; i don't know what your mass is.).

    muscle and fat have different densities, but keeping volume constant, muscle will weigh more due to Earth's gravitational force.
  • kimberly0416
    kimberly0416 Posts: 123 Member
    I only lose when I exercise.. Can eat like a horse as long as I exercise..
  • kimberly0416
    kimberly0416 Posts: 123 Member
    the way i understand it is that exercise does a couple of things - first of all, muscle weighs more than fat. so you'll be losing inches, but not necessarily weight at first. and as you build that muscle, you begin to burn more calories at rest - so you should still see loss, it will just be slower (but you'll be losing the inches).

    AND, exercise causes the muscles to retain water. so some of that could be water weight too from your body repairing the muscles. make sure you are including a rest day or two to allow those muscles time to recoup... good luck!!! (i've had the same issue by the way).

    Muscle does NOT weigh more than fat. Muscle is more dense than fat, but a pound is a pound is a pound. A pound of muscle takes up less physical space than a pound of fat, but muscle doesn't "weigh more" than fat.

    Muscle does weigh more than fat. Nobody is saying a pound of muscle weighs more than a pound of fat... That would be like saying steel weighs the same as a feather because a pound of steel is the same as a pound of feathers. What they are sayingis if your body hasn't changed in size, but you have lost fat, and replace it with the same amount of muscle it is going to weigh more. Something being more dense means when you compare things the same size it weighs more.
    just saying, if you're comparing equal masses, then, yes, steel/feathers/muscle/fat all weigh the same. muscle is more dense than fat, just as steel is more dense than feathers.
    because weight is a value based on density and volume, you can say any two materials weigh the same: i weigh the same as a part of the empire state building, for example. a pound is a pound, no matter what it's made up of. a pound of feathers weighs the same as a pound of steel weighs the same as a pound of fat weighs the same as a pound of muscle.
    while they're not saying that a pound of muscle weighs more than a pound of fat, they are saying that muscle weighs more than fat and, without a given volume, that's just not true.

    If your logic works they you and I weigh the same because 1 lb of you weighs the same as 1 lb of me, I call BS to that argument.
    we have different volumes and densities. i weigh the same as a part of you (or you weigh the same as a part of me; i don't know what your mass is.).

    muscle and fat have different densities, but keeping volume constant, muscle will weigh more due to Earth's gravitational force.

    Muscle is more dense than fat.. Like men or heavier than women because their bones are denser. Meaning the molecules are closer together... Just saying... ;p

    A lb is a lb, but a lb of feathers is much larger in the space it takes up than a lb of iron..
  • shakybabe
    shakybabe Posts: 1,578 Member
    I found this when I first started as my body wasn't used to exercising that excessively. When i stopped due to pulled muscles and couldn't exercise for a week or two I dropped the water and more.

    So then I started building up slowly, having a more intense week the week before TOTM is due (when woman's metabolism is naturally higher) then taking a few days off once it started.. mainly due to stomach craps and let the water come off naturally. I usually find I lost 3-4lbs extra to what went on. Though now I'm nearer to goal I'm only losing an extra 2lb.
  • angiechimpanzee
    angiechimpanzee Posts: 536 Member
    the way i understand it is that exercise does a couple of things - first of all, muscle weighs more than fat. so you'll be losing inches, but not necessarily weight at first. and as you build that muscle, you begin to burn more calories at rest - so you should still see loss, it will just be slower (but you'll be losing the inches).

    AND, exercise causes the muscles to retain water. so some of that could be water weight too from your body repairing the muscles. make sure you are including a rest day or two to allow those muscles time to recoup... good luck!!! (i've had the same issue by the way).

    Muscle does NOT weigh more than fat. Muscle is more dense than fat, but a pound is a pound is a pound. A pound of muscle takes up less physical space than a pound of fat, but muscle doesn't "weigh more" than fat.
    If you take a cupful of muscle, and a cupful of fat, the cup of muscle will weigh more... I'm sure when people say muscle weights more than fat, they're talking in terms of two samples of equal volume of each being compared..

    what you're doing is like correcting someone for saying "lead weighs more than feathers". I think it's obvious that a pound of lead would weigh the same as a pound of feathers. But a certain volume of lead would clearly weigh much more than an equal volume of feathers.
  • ironanimal
    ironanimal Posts: 5,922 Member
    Not eating enough

    Eat your 1200 plus your exercise calories.

    And we have a winner!

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