Crimpet

I don't know if I'm doing something wrong, but all this month I have been really active and I'm not losing any weight. In fact, I'm gaining!!

I started my exercise program of walking a minimum of 4 days a week, doing calisthenics a min of 5 days, strength training 3 days. Lately I've been more active than usual because we had to run a to of errands, which required walking for 8 miles through town, among other activities, on top of extreme house cleaning for the holidays here in Turkey.

I eat on average 1200-1400 calories because right now we just finished Ramazan, and we only eat 2 meals a night, but I would try to snack between meals to cram in calories otherwise I was at like 900 calories after meals. Today was the last day, so after now I can start eating my usual small meals/light snacks.

So, I weighed myself monday thinking I would have lost at least 2 lbs, but instead I had gained back 5 lbs. I thought maybe it was due to a lack of fiber because I was having trouble there, but I learned that that's not the problem...the weight is just there.

So, I was thinking maybe it could be water retention, but I realized the weight isn't varying day to day. It's always the same.

I'm so frusrated and don't know what happened. With all my activity I was sure I would lose some weight! I even measured myself to see if maybe it was from muscle mass being gained, but it's no change in measurements at all, and in fact it seemed like on my waist line it went up half a cm.

Anyone else experiencing this? I'm not throwing in the towel, but I'm wondering if there's something I could be doing wrong that maybe I just don't know about. =(

Anyone got any ideas, or experiencing the same thing?

klayr

it could be because you're building muscle, as you know muscle is heavier than fat. Water retention is always a killer, i always wonder why our bodies do that! out of curiosity...do you normally do intense exercise, or are you more sedate in what workouts you do? it could also be because you've done so much in exercise than normal, your body has produced too much cortisol. Cortisol is a hormone produced by the adrenal glands to convert fat into energy in times of stress, it could be as you have "upped" your exercise, your body produced excess cortisol, to which your body isn't used to. in a nutshell...your body isn't allowing the cortisol to use the fat cells (the body is so panicky!)
i hope i haven't confused you...if i have i'm sorry . you're body will get back to normal, and you will lose weight once more.

fletch8502

You've thought about/tried most things I usually suggest, so I'm afraid I won't be too much help, but I just wanted to tell you to hang in there and keep your chin up! You're doing what's best for your body, so remind yourself of that no matter what the scale says. You're more than a number!

Weight loss is a slow process with lots of ups, downs, and in betweens. Sometimes it seems like all we can do is vent here, get some support, and keep on keepin on until things get better!

Hope things are looking better for you soon!

Crimpet

Thank you both! I never knew that about cortisol. I'm really glad you told me about that. Usually I'm more knowledged about things like that, but I tend to absorb myself on one subject for a while, so now I'll study about cortisol

When I exercise I do tend to push myself to just the point where I can't do another rep, or another crunch when it comes to calistenics or strength training. With walking I walk about 4 miles, but I always feel relaxed, like I got a good workout but if I had to I could still walk a lot more. So, I don't think I'm overworking myself, but I'm not being to sedate either.

I did do High Intesity Interval Training once this week, and it kicked my butt for 2 days this week. The soreness just went away today, and I had to force myself to do leg exercises to ease the pain in the muscles yesterday. I think that's a sign that certain muscle groups aren't getting worked out enough.

I did 1 minute warm up jog, then 60 seconds sprinting HIIT, 4 minute cool off jog,, 60 seconds sprinting HIIT and 4 miutes cool down jog. Then a stretch.

I don't know if I should contine this or not, but I heard it speeds up the metabolism, and for a longer time.


I also did a test to see how much I'm eating, and realized I am miscalculating my milk intake. I took a milk container to measure the ounces in the glass I use, and found out it's a 6oz glass, not a 4 oz glass. But this would only change my calories by about 150 more. So it's still not the cause. :S

I guess I will just have to let time tell and keep up what I'm doing.

Sorry for the long message, but thank you both for your responses. They really did make me feel better. I was worried I was doing something wrong, or that I slowed my metabolism.

vsabino

Don't worry, really. Weighing around 170, you literally cannot GAIN weight eating 1200-1400 calories. Be accurate in your measurements at least at the beginning, and if the 1200-1400 are real, you will just need to wait and results will come!

I envy you guys for how much exercise you can do, so amazing! I'm sooo lazy! I always have a good excuse not to exercise. Any secrets there?

Crimpet

Vsabino thank you It makes me feel better knowing that maybe patience is the best answer here.

As far as exercising goes..when I first came to Turkey I did absoultely nothing! I literally sat on my butt all day because I couldn't go anywhere or do anything, so I spent all my time online or sleeping.

I finally motivated myself a few months ago to get off my butt because it was starting to hurt my back, and sitting for so long on a hard chair can cause severe heath problem. (uncomfortable ones too)

I motivate myself to do it by getting bored lol When I'm bored I talk myself into standing up and exercising, or even laying on the bed and doing leg workouts and crunches. I really do have to talk myself into it at times, but after a while I realized how good it makes me feel, and knowing I can still exercise while laying down is great. I can get exercise and be lazy at the same time. lol

My husband goes on walks with me, and just the scenery alone here in Ankara makes me wanna walk. It's so beautiful that I love to get out and enjoy it and the weather. When it comes to repetative exercises without any sort of stimuli I get bored SOOOOooo easy. I'm seriously ADD, wish I was the H part but not

I admire so many of the ladies here who have really stuck to their guns and reaped the rewards. I use them as my motivation too when I read their weight loss success and see how much they lost, it motivates me to stay active so I ca achieve that too.

I just hope I can get over this hurdle I'm experiencing. Jeeeeez!

GameGal

I am not sure I can add anything that hasnt been said except I used to eat just once a day ( evening) like it sounds like your holidays are making you do... and I also gained weight. The reason is, your body goes into starvation/stingy mode. It feels the exercise and only gets fed once a day, and so it says.. heck no! we arent letting ANY weight go, in fact, lets add to it!! So now that your holidays are over and getting back to normal routine may help! Good luck!

Lizzycritter

When I started, I had a hard time measuring things accurately. I bought a food scale at Target for $10, not much money, because weight is the most accurate way to measure. I also took a measuring cup and filled my glasses and bowls to see how much they would hold, and I measure out things like rice and noodles with a measuring cup to make sure I'm accurate. Underestimating the carbs and fats will catch up with you quick. I also don't add butter, noodles, or sauces to cooked veggies. Cortisol and missing meals will both mess with your metabolism, so hopefully now that the holidays are over for you, you'll be able to eat more regularly.

almeeker

I really can't give you any more advice on diet and exercise, seems like you have it well in hand and the advice above is all good too, but I didn't see anybody mention water. Are you drinking enough? I actually don't lose anything if I don't get enough water. So if you aren't sure if you're drinking enough, drink some more, drink drink drink and flush those pounds off of you sister.

cjohnson728

Maybe having your meals at night was also a contributing factor?

Muscle does not develop that quickly, sorry to say, that it would account for the increase; it's a very gradual process.

Have you weighed since Monday? You may have just caught a bad time on a bad day at a bad point in your digestive process.

Keep up the HIIT and the strength training; both will kickstart your metabolism. I do HIIT with 30 seconds high intensity, 90 seconds recovery, then 30 seconds high, etc. etc., for about 20 minutes but I'm not sure what is best; I'm just doing something I found on the internet. With regard to exercise, make a commitment that you will do 5 minutes and if you get bored, you can stop. Once you get started and get over that hump, you will be in the mode and will keep going. Also, if you can find a sport you like, that really helps. I started playing tennis and it's so addictive that the calorie burn is just an extra bonus now.

Give yourself some time back on your normal routine; your body may have just held itself in stasis because of the change...see what next Monday brings. Hang with it...I have read about some folks plateauing when they start out, just wait it out. You will show your body who's boss!!