Losing more weight when NOT working out?!

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omgznikki
omgznikki Posts: 1
in Fitness and Exercise
Ok so, one thing I've noticed (twice) and can't explain. This spring and last spring I've been trying to get fit in time for summer. I've been eating well-balanced meals and exercising daily. Last year I went on vacation and stopped working out for the week and the next few weeks thereafter... and my body started looking slimmer and I began losing more weight than when I was working out! This year, I got a spray tan that doesn't allow much sweating (crazy!) and I have to postpone my workouts until it fades, and AGAIN, I notice my body losing more weight than it was before! Both physically and numerically! Is it just the loss of muscle? I don't get why I lose more weight when I stop my exercising

Replies

  • PinkEarthMama
    PinkEarthMama Posts: 987 Member
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    Are you eating less now that you aren't working out?
  • jsapninz
    jsapninz Posts: 909 Member
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    Loss of muscle probably has something to do with it. Also, you probably aren't eating as much because you aren't burning as much cals, but apparently you are eating less than you would net even with the cals burned (you eat 2000 with 500 cals burned a day = 1500 net, but now you eat 1300 net with no exercise).

    Either way, it's not something wise to keep up because pretty soon you won't be happy with the results.
  • fluffysexyme
    fluffysexyme Posts: 104 Member
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    Same thing happened to me. I've been stuck for a month now that I've started working out, but my clothes are loose.and I've had a few people comment on how they can tell, but the scale won't move. I chalk it up to the exchange of fat for muscle. While I would like to see the scale reflect what I see, I love seeing what I see more.
  • wrecktechno
    wrecktechno Posts: 145 Member
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    I find weight loss is on delay so it's probably just weight loss catching up from when you were exercising/eating well but if you didn't start eating well/exercising, you'd put weight on.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
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    Did you use a heart rate monitor when exercising? It could be you were simply eating back too many calories. Some of the calorie counts given in MFP are way off. A heart rate monitor measures your fitness level, MFP can't know your fitness level.
  • mandylooo
    mandylooo Posts: 456 Member
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    How long does this effect last? If it's only a couple of weeks and the weight loss stops, it's probably just water weight. We retain water in our muscles after exercising.
  • DDahl5570
    DDahl5570 Posts: 5 Member
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    Might be a form of over training. When you jump into a program full bore, sometimes your body goes into panic mode, and doesn't allow much weight loss as a deference. The time off could just be a rebound/ adjustment your body has made to catch up to the work you have been putting in. I experienced the same sort of thing on my last deployment... Took a week off, and lost like 5lbs in the off week with the same diet.

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