Hi, I was a member years ago and have come back.
I'm married, currently unemployed, raising 3 kids (pre-teens) and basically, think I'm having my mid life crisis...without the crisis part (I'm pretty laid back)!!
I do have an employment prospect looming, I did pass the first step in the hiring process. If I get this job, I do expect it to be moderately physical. So, on that note, about a month ago, I quit smoking, stopped biting my nails and started working out about 4x a week, mainly cycling and treadmill. Food wise, I've been pretty good all my life regarding healthy eating and not going mad on processed or packaged food and cooking from scratch with fresh ingredients. Portions are my downfall and so is soda, but I am doing my best to keep a food journal and keep the sodas to a minimum (I need at least 1 vice now, I stopped 2!!). I have ramped up the carbs/fibre since I seem to need some help with 'moving' (I know, TMI)! I'm also trying to maintain the amounts and portions set out in the food pyramid.
My main problem right now is the lack of weight loss. I do not put too much stock into what the scales say, but they haven't moved at all. I have noticed that some areas on my back are no longer 'pinchable', but my clothes still feel uncomfortably tight around the waist. I am taking in about 1800 calories, but burning off 1000 in my work outs.
The question I have is....Has anyone else started off this way? Does the weight start to shift soon? It is a bit frustrating and soul destroying to put in so much work for what seems to be nothing. I'm trying to figure out if I need to make changes and what and where to do it...(I know, the soda, but it's minimal and I'm working on it).
I'm weighing and measuring everything, and I round up. I have a little notebook I keep in the kitchen, next to my fridge and scales.
The 1000 calories are between the bike and treadmill in different sessions during the day, it works out to about half and half.
You quit smoking, most people gain even if they don't eat more when they stop smoking, something to do with all those toxins. You may just be maintaining with the other changes you made.
I tend to lose slowly if I'm doing a lot of exercise. But I can tell that things are building and shifting underneath the padding. I track/measure/weigh, too and just hope at some point things catch up. It is very disheartening.
I'm weighing and measuring everything, and I round up. I have a little notebook I keep in the kitchen, next to my fridge and scales.
The 1000 calories are between the bike and treadmill in different sessions during the day, it works out to about half and half.
Sounds like you are doing everything you need to then! Keep at it and the fat loss will start reflecting on the scale!
You quit smoking, most people gain even if they don't eat more when they stop smoking, something to do with all those toxins.
Ehhh no offense to this poster, but most people don't gain weight when they quit smoking from getting rid of toxins, they gain weight because they replace their cigarette oral fixation with food and start eating food/candy/lozenges/sugary gum etc. instead of cigarettes
To OP, just a question as to how diligently you are counting ALL your calories. I know when I quit smoking about 6 weeks ago, I had to make sure I wasn't replacing smoking with calories - I made a plan to just chew sugar free gum & water. My friends who have quit have gained b/c they didn't even realize they were adding 100-200 cals a day by sucking candies, sugary gum, etc. things like that...
If that's not the case, I would give it a few more weeks before you get too concerned. Sometimes your body needs time to make changes.
Have you calculated you TDEE to find out how many calories you *should* be consuming? Silly question, but I haven't seen you say how much you are eating so I wonder.
Counting calories obviously does no good if you don't know how many you need to lose weight.
About a month ago you started but did you start full bore or did you ramp in to it? Both from a calories in and a calories out perspective. Sometimes it is easy to look at what we did THIS week and project back to where we started when we really started slower.
You say you burn 1000/day in exercise, but you also say 4 days per week. What do the other days look like.
How sure are you on the 1000 burn? That is roughly 9-10 miles of running or 20-25 miles of biking.
Ramping up carbs/fiber may also contribute to water weight gain. Not necessarily a bad or a good, just something to be aware of. It will usually level off. New exercise can temporarily bring on water weight. Again, should level off.
I would say hold tight, try and maybe gain some more knowledge and just focus on the good new habits awhile longer and then tweak. And FWIW my waistline is the LAST to shrink. If you are less pinchable you are seeing results, it just may take time to kick in. You have made a lot of healthy changes, stick with those until they are routine and then if you need to tweak tweak.
Since we don't know your weight and height, it's hard to see if 1800 calories is good or not. I, too, find it hard to believe you're burning 1000 calories a day with exercise. I lost steadily at 1400 or so calories a day and 45 minutes a day of walking or classes at my gym. No big deal stuff, mostly cardio and circuit training.
Figure out your TDEE and cut 500 calories from that per day and you should see about a pound a week. Track carefully if eyeballing things isn't accurate enough for you.
Ehhh no offense to this poster, but most people don't gain weight when they quit smoking from getting rid of toxins, they gain weight because they replace their cigarette oral fixation with food and start eating food/candy/lozenges/sugary gum etc. instead of cigarettes
To OP, just a question as to how diligently you are counting ALL your calories. I know when I quit smoking about 6 weeks ago, I had to make sure I wasn't replacing smoking with calories - I made a plan to just chew sugar free gum & water. My friends who have quit have gained b/c they didn't even realize they were adding 100-200 cals a day by sucking candies, sugary gum, etc. things like that...
If that's not the case, I would give it a few more weeks before you get too concerned. Sometimes your body needs time to make changes.
OK- I agree that smoking could be part of the issue, having RECENTLY quit.
TO THE ABOVE- the reason people gain (if its NOT because they replace cigs with food) is a physilogical response...
1) Smoking is a stimulant.... quitiing slows your basal metabolic rate (not by ALOT, but its there) Also, must factor in the reduced activity as a result of not smoking (for *most* people) Ie; getting up from desks several times a day to walk outside and smake.... this is activity, and those are calories burned, they seem minimal, but it ADDS UP On the conservative side, factor in a reduced metabolic daily burn of approx 10-15%.
2) Smoking is a diuretic-- when you quit, you WILL GAIN BACK WATER WEIGHT. it may be minimal,i t may be noticable. For me, whenever i quit, i gain IMMEDIATELY 5 pounds, within the week. Thats water weiight thats supposed to be there
3) Smoking induces a response in your body to promote insulin production and release. Because it is a stimulant, it quiets hunger cues/hormones, thus forcing your body to produce more insulin to get the "hunger" response. When you quit smoking, it takes a while for all these hormones responses to even out.... Hence, some more weight gain.
OK, enough about smoking.
You arent burning 1000 a day through exercise, and even if you were, it doesnt matter. What matters is what you do with the OTHER 23 hours in a day. THATS where fat loss occurs. Diet is KEY KEY KEY. It Seems like youve got everything undercontrol, using a food scale and all. But make sure youre honest with yourself, and remember there is no such thing as a calories free food! Not PAM, or Splenda, or Icant Believe its not Butter Spray, or Sugar free gum..... any of it.
Can you start trying to replace your sodas with Diet soda? SOme of the diet sodas nowadays are really fantastic... i drink diet A&W root beer and i cant tell a diff......
ALso, we dont know how much you weigh, or your height, and that all factors in as well. You may need to drop your calories more, especially given that youve just quit smoking
everything will eventually balance out. Youve just thrown your body for a homeostasis loop
Weight is 193, height is 5'3".
Despite the fact I am overweight, I am and have always been a physically fit and healthy 'fat'. I was an athlete in my youth and my body has always seemed to remember that and adapts fairly well when I pull my finger out. I've spent a lot of time in gyms and martial arts classes in recent years, but I've either always lost sight of my goals and got depressed when I plateaued or I got caught up in circumstances and went back to the lazy side.
TDEE works out to 2654, rec. cal for loss is 2154.
My total gym time is about 2.5-3 hrs a day. The rest of my day, when not sleeping, is spent running errands, cleaning house (man-child and 3 kids) and working in the garden...basic SAHM stuff.
Food wise, my calorie intake has been journaled for months now. I'm fairly anal about it, I will work out the calorie intake for 2 potato chips (weighed) if I eat them. My usual foods are worked down to as low a calorie unit that is reasonable so I can work out the calorie intake of combined meals.
I haven't substituted smoking with anything else...the reason my nails are growing is because my hands aren't going near my face anymore. It was just the right time for me to quit. My mind was focused, the cravings were almost non existent and my body has reacted really well to the change.
I'm thinking that you are all right, it might just be that everything combined has been a shock to the system and that I've moved too fast for my body to catch up like I expected it to. I'll try patience for another few weeks.
Good idea...think my mom's thyroid went downhill about the same age. I was thinking that if things didn't change in a few weeks, might be worth a trip to the docs.
Question, would appreciate some input.
