cjohnson728

You are correct; it's a process. Also correct that you don't build 2 pounds of muscle in a week (a lot of people make the mistake of thinking that a gain or lack of loss is muscle, when in reality, it does not build that fast or that much for most of us). However, I feel strongly that the culprit is the TOM. I reliably gain 3-5 pounds every time, and judging from the boards over the past two years, it happens to most if not all of us to a degree. So be patient, do what you know how to do, and put the scale away for a week if you have to!

liberatedmist

I agree that the TOTM will definitely have that effect on your weight. I can gain 2 lbs overnight during that special time!

As for the feeling really hungry and eating more when you exercise, I was there for a while too. I did a couple things to pull me out of that cycle and benefit more from the exercise.
1.) I would suggest planning out a few snacks for after your workout that are super high in protein and filling (this will help with both muscle recovery and gaining lean muscle mass, which it is my understanding that you are after). When I go to the gym, I have a piece of fruit and a protein bar waiting for me in the car. The sweetness and juiciness of the fruit works for me right after I finish and about 30 minutes later, the protein bar fills me up. I would experiment with a few good recovery type foods and plan on eating them instead of trying to not eat and then eating the wrong things or too much of something.
2.) I mentally prepare for a tough exercise by getting excited about the extra calories I am going to burn. This is a tough one that I learned over time, but works well for me. Basically, I convince myself that I can "eat more later" and never really get to "later." I'm not sure I am explaining myself well....but every time I do a tough workout and want a Big Mac afterwards, I just keep thinking about how much the scale is going to drop because it was an exercise day and keep telling myself not to "waste" all that effort on exercise. I tell myself that I worked hard today and I am not going to ruin it, but I can eat more tomorrow. By the time tomorrow comes around, I no longer feel the need to pig out and (since I weigh myself daily) am usually excited by that morning's weigh in.
3.) Water. Lots and lots of water. When you exercise, you are not always hungry as much as thirsty but your brain doesn't know the difference. I eat my piece of fruit and then "can't" eat again until I drain my water bottle. When I sweat a lot, sometimes I need a PowerAde Zero or zero calorie sports drink as well.

Anyway, it's a process and these are just things that work for me. I hope this helps you find what works for you!

(oh, and I had coffee this morning so I am in FULL rambling mode, sorry)

andieligon

You know, I've had a couple of setbacks myself. Mainly it was a result of me not being active and just really not caring. I've just been trying to avoid heat and everything else the past few weeks, and I saw the result a couple of weeks ago where I gained BACK all the weight I had lost from the previous week. And then some.

But you're right, it is a process. We don't just reach our goal weight overnight, though we'd all love (and I think secretly desire) the scale to move like that.

More importantly though, if you are planning on maintaining your weight, as we all intend to do once we reach our own goal weight, it will still require you to watch yourself and make sure you're reaching some type of balance and moderation. Of course, you admitted that you've been rather relaxed about eating and drinking. And that's fine! We're not perfect and there is no way that we can expect ourselves to eat perfectly 100% of the time. We'd like to believe that, and we beat ourselves up when we don't and we see the results on the scale, but it happens! You're not on The Biggest Loser and you're not going to be kicked out of a gym for "taking it easy" for a week.

My point is, find what works for you. If you want a cheat day or maybe a cheat once PER day, that's up to you. You will have to live with it, and be HAPPY with it.

As for being hungry after exercising, have you tried experimenting with snacks after the gym? The 24 Hour that I go to actually recommends that after you work out, have a snack. Some fresh fruit or veggies or even some cheese is good to have after the gym.

Also, I'm not sure if it would work for you, but I tend to not put anything into FitDay until the end of the day. I don't really have the time during the day, so if I do it after eating dinner, I can spend the time to make sure things are logged correctly. It doesn't help me to keep track during the day, but I'm now able to kind of able to estimate my calories I've eaten so far and judge whether or not I should eat something or if I should choose something else. If I'm not sure if I'll remember everything, I'll write down what I ate soon after eating, that way I have a reminder for when it's time to record.

twentythirteen

LiberatedMist: thanks for really, really good tips. They sound great. I'm newly motivated and feel more prepared.

twentythirteen

andieligion, thanks for the response. You echoed the good advice liberatedmist offered and you are both right.

twentythirteen

FitDay and Fitdat community,

Thanks so much for positive reinforcement and great advice. It's been a real pleasure. I am so sorry to tell you that I am moving on to a different diet and exercise tracker. FitDay just crashed one too many times, and there are so many common foods that are not in the database. Also, there are very few exercises in the database, and they can't be customized. So I chose to purchase a more extensive app. I feel kind of sad! I will be at XXXXX from now on, if anyone wants to be friends there. Sorry Fitday! You were great! Just need to work on a few things!