I am thinking this is normal, but need reassurance
I have changed my workout routine as of last weekend. I now do 30minutes of HIIT instead of 45 minutes of normal cardio. I still incorporate my weight training as well, and some light stretching. I do this 3-4 times a week.
I started using a calorie logger, and I am eating 1600 calories a day, sometimes 1400. As per sedentary I burn aprox. 2087 calories a day doing nothing. But I always add in my job, which is data entry, so I spend 380 minutes a day typing nonstop. That ends up bringing my calorieds burned to 2100 or more.
The issue I'm having is, since I started the HIIT I haven't lost any scale weight. I went down 3lbs then shot right back up and have been the same for the past 4 days. I am making sure to account for anything I put in my mouth, as well as drink at least 6 cups of water a day.
I did end up taking my measurements and went down a half inch on the stomach, hips, and chest but went up a half inch on the arms and thighs (I'm assuming due to my weight training).
I am thinking that I really am losing fat but I am just having it replaced by muscle which is causing the scale to stay the same, but shows I lost inches instead.
What do you think? And is this normal? Will I see a woosh soon?
The weight increase is probably due to the increased exercise and the HIIT, but not from an increase in muscle. There is no way that muscle would build that fast - it took me over a year to accumulate 4 pounds of muscle mass. You are likely retaining water. When you exercise hard you get microtears in the muscle, and then retain water to aid in the healing and repair process. Natural side effect. If you are losing inches then you are definitely moving in the right direction. On your arms and thighs moving up in size, that is most likely from the water retention as well.
As to whether you will see a whoosh I don't know. I didn't really see one, just a more gradual moving down in weight.
It sounds like you are definitely doing the right thing though, so keep at it.
What was said above is true. When you up the work-outs, you temporarily gain weight - but it's water weight. In the long run, you will burn more fat, faster. I'm finding the same for me - I've upped the intensity a bit and since then, my weight has stalled out and gone up, but I know it's temporary and in the end it means good things.
Yes, I think this is very normal. I have recently switched from "regular" cardio to HIIT. My muscles are working harder so I am retaining more water to heal them between workouts. I don't think that weight gain you are seeing is entirely muscle. If anything, it's a tiny fraction. I'm voting for water retention and with that being the case...yes...you will see a whoosh eventually. Drink more water than you normally do until your body gets used to the workouts you are putting it through.
And the inches you are losing is attributed to FAT loss, not necessarily weight training.
I am certainly not an expert as I've only been working out for a little over a month but I had the same questions you did at one time and I'm just repeating what I was told! :-) I love the people on this site!
You are doing awesome, btw! I can't believe how close you are to goal. Way to go!
When you say "HIIT", what exactly do you mean? If it's true hardcore HIIT, it takes a toll on the body. It isn't easy to do and should only be done 2-3 times per week and some sites recommend that 3 times is too much. The body needs to be able to fully recover and HIIT keeps the engine running on high for as much as 48 hours. Truly doing HIIT is touted as being a great fat buster, though.
Additionally though, you don't seem to weigh enough for 2100 calories a day at rest. The gain is definitely exercise water retention, but you also want to make sure not to be miscounting that 1600 up to 1900, because that would stall your weight loss and then the exercise bloat will really show. While you do seem to be at a deficit now, it's not nearly the 1000-calorie deficit it would appear with 2100 +exercise. Remember that they factor in things like typing and normal walking around into the sedentary calorie allowance (which isn't BMR).
Last edited by lackadaisy; 03-01-2011 at 01:04 PM.
I find that any time I change my exercise routine, adding a new movement or upping the intensity or just getting back to regular exercise after a hiatus, it takes a couple of weeks for my body to adjust - and that adjustment includes a couple of pounds of fluid retention which is enough to mask any fat loss for a couple of weeks.
This just happened to me recently, in fact - my exercise routine was disrupted for most of January, due to being sick, repeated big snowstorms, and a few other things. When I finally got back to my regular 5x/week schedule at the gym - and I hit the gym hard, since I'd missed it - the scale stuck for about 3 weeks. Now it's moving again.
So, I think what you're going through is normal - trust your plan and routine, and in a few weeks you will start seeing the benefits again!
When you say "HIIT", what exactly do you mean? If it's true hardcore HIIT, it takes a toll on the body. It isn't easy to do and should only be done 2-3 times per week and some sites recommend that 3 times is too much. The body needs to be able to fully recover and HIIT keeps the engine running on high for as much as 48 hours. Truly doing HIIT is touted as being a great fat buster, though.
Hi Eliana
I am doing HIIT 3 times a week and my 4th day is usually normal cardio or some P90X.
What I do for my HIIT is go as fast and intense as I can for a minute, then do 2 minutes at a normal pace, and I do that over and over for 30 minutes. Usually I do it on the stepper or the treadmill (run for 1 minue, jog for 2/place the stepper instensity at 10 for 1 minute, then 5 for 2 (10 being very intense))
I find this a lot more fun, challenging, and actually makes the time pass faster. When I do my normal cardio it just seems to drag on and on. Plus the fact I burn a lot more calories with the HIIT, it makes me feel more accomplished in that small time I do get at the gym.
Thank you everyone for your replies. I'm having a rough personal week and this was dragging me down more (not seeing results) and I think I needed a pick me up.
Additionally though, you don't seem to weigh enough for 2100 calories a day at rest. The gain is definitely exercise water retention, but you also want to make sure not to be miscounting that 1600 up to 1900, because that would stall your weight loss and then the exercise bloat will really show. While you do seem to be at a deficit now, it's not nearly the 1000-calorie deficit it would appear with 2100 +exercise. Remember that they factor in things like typing and normal walking around into the sedentary calorie allowance (which isn't BMR).
Hi lackadaisy
I am going to tell a dark secret that I hope most people on this board do not find out (lol). The weight on my ticker is 'supposedly' not correct.
I thought there was something wrong with my scale, so I tested it with a 10lb weight and well -turns out it's dead on. I am actually between 209-212 (bouncing around). I believe I gained it back when I took a month off in December. That or maybe my scale was just fooling me. I don't know. I just know that it seems to be working right if it is reading the weight correctly.
So, when I started my calorie counter, I placed 210 as my starting weight in order to get an accurate reading on how much I am actually burning a day, which is why my calories burned sedentary is about 2100.
According to the website that does the calorie counter, it does not take into account things like typing, as not all office jobs do typing for 8 hours a day. I count it in any way just like I do every little thing -housework, shoveling, etc. But when I do my calculations I still take 2100-1600=500 a day just so I am not fooling myself (just in case).
I would go lower than 1600 but I was zigg-zagging between 1200-1600 (with mostly 1200 days) a day and I was not losing anything for months. I was thinking maybe I am was going too low for myself and hence my body was holding onto the fat. Opinion?
i would categorize that as intervals. HiiT is intervals too, but much more intense. even doing it for 20 min. is really hard. such as 30 sec intense activity/30rest,repeat for 15 min. that's just an example. there's other ways to do it from what i understand.
i would categorize that as intervals. HiiT is intervals too, but much more intense. even doing it for 20 min. is really hard. such as 30 sec intense activity/30rest,repeat for 15 min. that's just an example. there's other ways to do it from what i understand.
Yep. And intervals are just fine! I agree they're much easier! I love doing intervals! HIIT though is truly going all out at a pace that you can NOT sustain for more than 20-30 seconds and often 12-14 minutes of it is enough!! Your legs should be absolute jello by the end.
Nothing wrong with intervals though! I love them, as I said! My new favorite way to run is to start at a comfortable pace and uptick every minute for 15 minutes and then down again for 15 minutes. It is amazing how fast the time goes.
yes, i didn't mean to make it sounds like intervals aren't good enough. they are really great and much easier on the mind and body. they are really fun! by the end of HiiT i'm ready to lay down and never get up lol.
I know I'd gain weight doing that much HIIT, but that's because my body is really sensitive to all forms of stress. Me and my overactive adrenal system :\
You probably just have to let your body adjust to the HIIT before you get a good 'woosh'. It might take a few more days or even a couple more weeks...but you ARE losing inches, that's a really good sign. You're probably just retaining water.
Yep. And intervals are just fine! I agree they're much easier! I love doing intervals! HIIT though is truly going all out at a pace that you can NOT sustain for more than 20-30 seconds and often 12-14 minutes of it is enough!! Your legs should be absolute jello by the end.
Nothing wrong with intervals though! I love them, as I said! My new favorite way to run is to start at a comfortable pace and uptick every minute for 15 minutes and then down again for 15 minutes. It is amazing how fast the time goes.
Ahh ok! Then I wouldn't be able to stand true HIIT then LOL I am heaving by the end of my intervals as it is. For me running just about kills me, but it's so exhilirating ('scuse my spelling).
I know I did one P90X video (can't remember the name), which is pretty much all squats for 60 minutes. My legs hurt so bad for 4 days I felt like I was going to die (going down the stairs I would literally collapse), but in the end it helped since now I can do squats without much effort compared to none before.
So, do intervals work just as good as HIIT in terms of keeping your calorie burning up for 24-48 hours? And for calorie burning in general?
I am thinking this is normal, but need reassurance
If it's true hardcore HIIT, it takes a toll on the body. It isn't easy to do and should only be done 2-3 times per week and some sites recommend that 3 times is too much. The body needs to be able to fully recover and HIIT keeps the engine running on high for as much as 48 hours. Truly doing HIIT is touted as being a great fat buster, though.
