The FastDay Forum

I'm getting really frustrated. This week I have gained YET AGAIN, while giving a real push to eating mindfully on my feast days and cutting down on wine. I'm still not at the weight I was before I went on holiday almost a month ago. - still haven't taken off what I gained and though I have lost some of it, this week I put some back. I am at my wits' end.

At the same time I have been fairly diligently doing a Jillian Michaels workout video - it is only 30 minutes, so I know it's not a huge calorie burn but I do feel it has been toning me. But i don't really know - when I saw the 400g gain today I thought I'd take some measurements to see if that was at all encouraging but then appear to have deleted my previous data, so I have nothing to compare today's measurements with. Clothes feel ok but are not falling off me. I also have a fitbit and try very hard to get in my 10,000 steps by keeping moving.

Anyway, I am starting to think the workout videos are actually hampering my weight loss. I know about the risk of "eating your workout back and then some" and lately have been making a particular effort to avoid it but earlier this week I moved up a level and am feeling really, really sore and stiff, to a degree I haven't since I first started doing them back in May. Could the muscle repair be making me hold onto water to the extent it is showing a gain? How long after starting the exercise does it take for the water to build up, and when (if ever) does go away?

I believe I have read from Moogie's posts that she has waited till far into her weight loss before taking up regular exercise. I'd be very interested to hear anyone's thoughts on the extent to which exercise like this can sabotage a weight loss program. For now I think I'm going to lay off it a week, though continue walking as much as possible because it is gentle and I enjoy it.

For what it is worth, I am also, after much kicking and screaming, going to log every morsel into myfitnesspal for the week, and stay on the wagon Monday to Thursday. I hope I have good news next week.

You sound like being lighter overall is more a priority than actual body composition?

I've not lost for a month but I'm losing fat & gaining muscle. Depends on what your motivation is?

I value fitness over scale weight because I was in a bad way before.

BBT053, I honestly don't know what I want. I suppose I want both, to be lighter and to be strong and healthy. Right now I am so tired and sore, working really hard but not able to see any benefit at all in it, and in fact I feel like I am regressing. It's not just that I have stopped losing but that I seem to be starting to gain again.

I don't intend to give up exercise completely. I guess right now I just want to know why I am gaining weight, and I'm trying to isolate the workouts out of the equation and see if that makes any difference, because my eating and drinking shouldn't be. If it does, then at least I will know the effect it has and be better prepared for it when I do take up the workouts again.

[carorees]

I'm sure it will be the exercise causing this. Muscle and water are both more dense than fat so you only need to gain a little volume of either to see a gain on the scales. Re your question about water retention due to sore muscles I would guess that as long as the muscles are sore you'll have some water retention.

Have you considered changing to a HIIT protocol? Science says it's at least as effective for heart health as long cardio workouts.


Try measuring not only your waist but also your thighs and upper arms. You may find you are gaining muscle there! I remember that my aerobics teacher back when I used to go to exercise classes weighed much more than me but was considerably thinner! I know which of us was healthiest and looked best and it wasn't the lighter of the two of us!

Keep calm and carry on!

My arms are much bigger because I'm on a program to build upper body strength. Someone commented on my weight loss last week & I ended up having a discussion about scale weight with the coach about the irony that I would be even lighter if I wasn't on a strength & conditioning program. He was saying I would be less healthy though...

Google "skinny fat" if you want more debate on this.

You should periodise your workouts & have rest weeks. But think long-term with the exercise as it helps keep your mobility good when older.

First, you should not exercise to lose weight, exercise is for your over all health.

Second, it is not because you are not losing weight that you have not lost fat. Those 2 are very different things. When you exercise, your muscles will retain water in order to repair your muscles ( dont be alarmed , it is a good thing) also, your liver will store glycogen, this is giving you energy, the problem with this is that to store glycogen, your body need a lot of water (up to 5 pounds if I remember right)

All that to say that if you are at a caloric deficit, you will lose fat but it does not always mean losing pounds. In fact if you stop exercising I can guaranty you will see a lost on the scale......since you will not need all that extra water but it won't be fat

There might be the possibility that you are actually not in a calorie deficit, you might be eating at a level where you maintain , in that case, you have 2 choices, eat less or move more.

Good luck

Most of us would probably be better off long term if we reframed the problem, instead of battling against something negative and desperately try to lose weight, we should strive for something positive, like getting healthy and staying there.

Logging your progress is a good thing, and measuring your weight is an excellent tool for this. But it doesn't say much in itself. If you stop exercising you will lose weight provided you actually are on a calorie deficit, but you will definitely get further away from what should be the primary goal, feeling and looking fit and healthy.

Also, do as much exercise as you can on fast days, you'll avoid the very common behaviour of people rewarding themselves with extra calories. Again, you can't outrun your fork.

Most of us would probably be better off long term if we reframed the problem, instead of battling against something negative and desperately try to lose weight, we should strive for something positive, like getting healthy and staying there.

That's a great thought - walk towards rather run away from - puts into words something I've been thinking (rather vaguely) for sometime. Thanks, Michael!

Onwards and positive-wards! (ok, so that needs more work!)

Thanks everyone for your replies and support. I am not necessarily working out to lose weight (I have read enough on this forum to understand that it is largely fruitless) but I would have hoped that its effect would at least have been neutral on my weight.

I do measure thighs and upper arms, as well as waist (narrowest part and widest part) and hips. There might indeed be a reduction in all of them but I wouldn't know as I lost all of my previous data and off the top of my head I just don't remember where I was before.

I do feel better today - I was just so tired and sore and feeling discouraged yesterday. I am still going to rest for this week on the intense workouts but walk/move gently as much as I can, and make sure I really am in a calorie deficit.

I have learned to enjoy exercise and do 30 mins of something every day apart from Sunday. On a very basic level 30 mins of any form of exercise burns more calories than the same time spent sitting on the sofa.

Glad you are feeling better btw

When I ramped up my weight training I saw a 5 lb increase. It took 5 weeks to get back to my lowest weight (during which time I still weight trained at my new weights). I didn't eat more to compensate so I put it down to water retention/muscle repair/growth. Next time I ramp up my training I'll not panic so much about weight gain.

I just posted this in another thread but it's possibly pertinent here too...

http://breakingmuscle.com/sports-psychology/what-do-you-really-want-when-what-you-want-and-how-you-train-dont-match

Ah, as one who has layed off of the Jillian videos since mid July I would say DON'T DO IT!!!!! I did initially loose weight (water I guess) then my weight stabalised at the same as it was when I was shreading (normal I was on holiday and not planning on losing weight). The I put on weight (too much holidaying) but now I am back to the weight I was before I left, and my body looks so much worse It's actually very depressing how quickly you can lose muscle tone...and I have been still walking, cycling and swimming twice a week, so I haven't completely stopped all forms of excercise. I am planning on doing a Jillian workout at least three times a week from next week to try and get toned again!

Re your stats I found this from you in the 30 DS thread:
Re: Starting the 30 Day Shred

Postby mummybunny2005 » 19 Jul 2013, 22:26

Ok, current stats for the record:

Started 30 Day Shred
Weight 65.2kg
Arms - 30
Thighs - 62
Hips - 101
Waist - narrowest part -77
Waist - widest part -90

Stats after finishing 30 Day Shred
Weight 64.9kg
Arms - 29
Thighs - 60
Hips - 95
Waist - narrowest part -75
Waist - widest part -86

Current stats (Ripped in30 started Week 4)
Weight 63.7kg
Arms - 28
Thighs - 60
Hips - 90.5
Waist - narrowest part -74
Waist - widest part -81.5

Thanks so much for that Nicky! Hmmm...looks like I've lost a cm off arms and thighs (yay!) and 1.5 cm off widest part of waist (yay!). However, hips are 5 cm bigger (if I recall at one point I realised I must have measured my hips completely wrong in the first place - that may have been the time so I will just ignore that measurement) and narrowest part of waist is also 1 cm bigger. I'm pretty sure there were measurements since the ones posted above but I will look at it as an overall move in the right direction and consider it encouragement!

I don't think I will give up on Jillian entirely but Level 2 of the 6 Week 6 Pack is really, really tough. I don't consider myself a namby pamby when it comes to doing her videos - if I don't start each level/week doing the advanced moves I am almost always doing them by the time I finish it. I do think my body needs a break right now and I am going to give it a week and get back into it, maybe with a lighter weight.

Thanks again for the encouragement everyone!