Pardon Me: I Need to Vent!!!!

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LucyFordxo
LucyFordxo Posts: 62 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm sure..like many of you here I've been battling my weight issues ever since I can remember. Last Summer-after finally being fed-up of my health failing on me I went on a cleanse and dropped a bunch of weight and felt really fantastic. (The pH Balance Diet by Dr. Robert Young)
Now-I slowly introduced crap into my diet, stopped working out ect ect and put most of the weight I lost back on.

For the entire month of June I have been trying REALLY HARD and working my BUTT off to loose some weight. For example this week...I've been in the gym five days in a row doing mostly cardio and working my thighs. I've been burning about 1,000 calories a day at the gym doing cardio. I got onto the scale this morning and have GAINED SIX POUNDS since 2 weeks ago!!!
SIX FLIPPING POUNDS!!! AND GAINED 2 INCHES ON MY WAIST!!!!! HOW DOES THAT EVEN HAPPEN?!?!?!
I realize "muscle weighs more than fat"- but I've been doing mostly cardio!!! And I've been watching what I eat-especially this week, and you can sure bet I've been drinking good amounts of water!!!
I'd bawl my eyes out if I had the energy.
I could be semi-content if I was at least gaining energy from working out-but I'm not. I'm still dragging my *kitten* all the time-so the reward of "at least you're doing your body some good" isn't working for me. I still feel nasty.

I've been trying for MONTHS to get my weight back under control again and having such a hard time. My body is flip-flopping and it's really starting to take a tool on me emotionally.

*sigh*

ANYWAY. Not to be a dweller, the show must go on. I'm all suited up now to hit the gym and burn more calories; for what purpose I'm not entirely sure.
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Replies

  • Ian513
    Ian513 Posts: 10
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    It's possible some of the fat is turning into muscle....that's what I'm marking my weight gain up to, I've slimmed down quite a bit, clothes fit better but I've gained 4-5 pounds in the last two weeks. I run 3 days a week, 9-10 miles a week, I feel a lot better, just not dropping the weight I want. I was diagnosed with hypothyroid about 7-8 weeks ago, I've been on levothyroxine, trying to get the dosage figured out, that could also be contributing to my weight gain.

    check out this post:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/641472-hypothyroidism-can-t-lose-weight

    Good luck and stay positive....!

    -Ian
  • LittleButMightyOne
    LittleButMightyOne Posts: 117
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    Fat does not "turn into" muscle. You can lose fat while you gain muscle, however. And it's what I suggest you do: incorporate strength training into your routine as well as cardio.
  • pavingnewpaths
    pavingnewpaths Posts: 367 Member
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    Small note: Being stressed makes you gain weight, so take a breather before starting again, haha.

    What I think you should do is stop and re-evaluate everything you've been done. Reset your goals and make sure to follow them.
    Excersize about 3-4 times a week only, give your body a break. Make sure you're eating back calories too!
    If you're eating under your calorie goal, you're body will go into starvation mode. So make sure you aren't doing that. Don't slack off and start eating mindlessely because you'd be surprised how many empy calories the food you eat without realizing has.

    Last but certaintly not least, be patient! If you have been eating under your calorie goal and then start eating properly again, you might gain weight before you start losing it again. It takes time, but it's much healthier to lose weight slowly than it is to drop it all at once.
  • Ian513
    Ian513 Posts: 10
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    Fat does not "turn into" muscle. You can lose fat while you gain muscle, however. And it's what I suggest you do: incorporate strength training into your routine as well as cardio.

    Yes, that was my point...sorry....

    -Ian
  • tdmcmains
    tdmcmains Posts: 227 Member
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    How much are you eating? maybe not enough???
  • clynch1968
    clynch1968 Posts: 45 Member
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    eating too few calories?
  • SelkieDiver
    SelkieDiver Posts: 260 Member
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    Significantly upping your exercise can cause you to retain water. Keep at it and that water weigh WILL subside. Any time I come back to the gym after a break I automatically go up 5 lbs for 2-3 weeks. Its completely normal.
  • Julzanne72
    Julzanne72 Posts: 467 Member
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    Would help if your diary was open so we could look at what you are eating. But I would suggest that you make sure, if you aren't already, eating at least some if not all of your exercise calories back. If you are burning that much and not refueling your body, that is going to make you feel pretty beat down and worn out.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
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    You just asked your body to do extensive energy burns with high intensity cardio.

    You burned off a bunch of glucose/water stores, and your body responded by storing more for next time.

    500 cal worth of carbs stored as glucose/water weighs 1 lb. That is part of the weight.

    Since you went this route before and it didn't work, don't you think you should approach it more realistically?

    Are you going to keep doing those types of workouts into foreseeable future?

    Why not pick a level of workout frequency you are likely to continue, make it habit.
    Feed that level of workout correctly to actually see the improvements.
    Make a realistic deficit so you don't fall off it again.

    And keep moving.

    Fat loss comes mainly from diet changes.
    Exercise is for heart health and body improvements, which may or as you found, may not include actual weight loss.
  • Athijade
    Athijade Posts: 3,272 Member
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    Open up your log so people can give you a more educated opinion on what it could be. We needs to see what and how much you are eating plus your burn estimates.
  • korsicash
    korsicash Posts: 770 Member
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    They say the muscles protect themselves in a swelling. This causes weight gain in the early periods and what happens is those of us who want results cry and stop. Those who are not scale obsessed keep going and find a few weeks down the line that they have lost weight and inches and the swelling went away. Are you giving yourself rest days?
  • ArtemisMoon
    ArtemisMoon Posts: 144
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    Usually with people who exercise like mad and can't lose weight, they seem to consistently not eat enough to support their activity level and as a result metabolism slows and the body hangs on to calories with surprising determination. I know someone who is eating 500 cals a day and isn't losing any weight and doesn't understand why (more like she won't listen to common sense).

    Also, you may say you are drinking enough, but are you? The old eight 8 oz. glasses of water a day mantra is a one size fits all plan that only fits a few people. Try drinking half your body weight in oz. a day. That will flush your body. If I am dehydrated and drink more, over just a few days my weight will drop by several lbs.

    And the above poster made a good point - if you work out after not being very active, for several weeks afterward your body will hold on to a lot more water because of inflammation in the muscles. Once your body settles into routine and your muscles recover, you'll drop it suddenly.
  • sandown12
    sandown12 Posts: 648 Member
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    Ive lost weight plenty of times with no strenght training just cardio

    How many calories are you eating?
    Have you worked out your BMR & TDEE
    Water weighs alot
    TOTM
    Inches

    I used to go to the gym 4-5 times a week lost 2lbs in 2 months but dropped 2 dress sizes Waist gain Ive had that even now and work out 5-6 times aweek

    Maybe check what your eating too is it quiet clean or is it junk calories? x
  • Pedal_Pusher
    Pedal_Pusher Posts: 1,166 Member
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    This isn't a get rich quick scheme. You gotta keep on keepin' on and make sure you have realistic expectations.
  • brjustice2000
    brjustice2000 Posts: 33
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    You may want to start tracking your sugars! I had a week that by calorie deficit should have been a loss of 3 lbs but instead gained over a pound. You don't gain a pound of muscle a week. A personal trainer said look at your sugars. I had myfitnesspal show me the sugar intake and went back several weeks to find to my dismay that my daily sugar intake was always over a 100% and sometimes well over 400%. I wasn't eating table sugar but the sugar was already in the foods I was eating. I quit having raisins in my oatmeal every morning, snacks were changed as well. I now don't eat much fruit as some has very high sugar like my favorite, navel oranges. One large navel orange will wipe out my sugar intake for the day, and I used to eat 3 at a time. We have found no sugar added low fat ice cream which still has natural sugar in it. We use unsweetened almond milk in the oatmeal which eliminates the sugar that was in the skim milk. We made those changes and started dropping weight again. Last week was a great week because I lost 3 lbs. Calorie deficit for this week I should lose the same but it looks like a single pound. Checked my sugar intake and have let it grow too much this week. There is so much more to it than just the calorie count of what goes in and what gets burned in order to lose weight.

    Hang in there. It does get frustrating at times. 3 weeks in a row, I lost weight, but no decrease in the waist, the next week a 1/2 inch disappeared. I can't figure it out. I use a body fat monitor, and my new attitude is as long as the fat percentage goes down, I'm happy.
  • laddyboy
    laddyboy Posts: 1,565 Member
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    You can't out train a poor diet. Let's see what you are eating. Oh and another thing. Muscle does not weigh more than fat nor does fat weigh more than muscle. 1 lb of fat weighs the same as 1 lb or muscle. So let's start with what you are eating and go from there and move right into you're not eating enough and then we will add some weight training to build some muscle so the muscle can help you burn some fat...weight...I'm getting ahead of us.
  • laddyboy
    laddyboy Posts: 1,565 Member
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    Fat does not "turn into" muscle. You can lose fat while you gain muscle, however. And it's what I suggest you do: incorporate strength training into your routine as well as cardio.

    Thank you!!!!
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
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    So sorry.

    If it's as hot where you are as it is here, I'd have put all that weight on in water. Check your salt and keep on working.

    Good luck!
  • purplegoboom
    purplegoboom Posts: 400 Member
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    Ask yourself:

    Are you eating at least 3/4 of your exercise calories back? If you're netting to few calories per day you're not going to lose anything.
    Are you taking sufficient rest after workouts?
    What type of foods are you eating? Are they all processed, full of carbs, full of sugar, etc.? The more veggies and fruits the better!
    Are you doing any type of strength training? Cardio alone will most likely not get you the results you want.
    Have you talked to you doctor to have your thyroid checked? Had a complete hormonal panel? Try to rule out any medical issues.

    It would help if you opened up your food diary so we can help you more.
  • MisterTEZ
    MisterTEZ Posts: 272 Member
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    Now you have vented lucy...I love your profile pic...luv strawberries :flowerforyou:

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