The past month I have been hard core about exercise. The first 2 weeks I was on vacation in the mountains and I was exercising twice a day -- a combination of hiking, running, kayaking and tennis. The last 2 weeks I have been back at home but I have gone to the gym 13 out of the last 14 days. (Running 2-3 miles alternating with stairmill or elliptical every other day, so i don't hurt my knees, plus weight training every other day.)
i have *not* been counting calories. And I guess the take home message is that I NEED to. I have been making healthy choices -- eg tons of fruit and veggies, replaced popsicles for desert with frozen berries, got rid of cereal which I am addicted to and eat too much of and replaced it with oatmeal which is easier to limit.
So I get on the scale and I am up 7 from what I weighed before I left from vacation. WTF?!?!??! I would have totally understood not losing, or not losing much, since I was not counting calories, but isn't that a ton of weight to gain in a month? (And its not TOM either...) Even if I had been doing nothing right I wouldn't have expected to gain that much. ARGH!
Hey Transformer,
I can understand your frustration!!! First of all, I think it's great that you plan to count calories. That is the best thing I have EVER done. It really takes the guesswork out of this process because you don't have to wonder if you're eating too much or too little. I would like to say that when you first start working out, your body needs to repair itself and in the first few months, lots of people retain water. I heard this from Bob Green, Oprah's trainer. I'm sure that if you watch your calories and workout, you will see that weight drop quickly. Also, could you be pms-ing too? Probably not, since you would have put that in your post, but I thought I'd mention it in case you forget.
The key is that I sense a great deal of determination and dedication in your post and those are the main ingredients for success. Now, it's just a matter of time! Don't give in or give up because you can do this!
I was going to ask if you're drinking enough water. If you're exercising that much you're sweating A LOT!! And it's really important to replace that water!
Transformer - I feel your pain! I've upped my exercise considerably as well the past 6-7 weeks (running 8-12kms 2-3 times a week outdoors, cardio at the gym - either treadmill or spin or both split between a morning and evening session- for up to 90 minutes nearly every day, weights session 3-4 times a week plus a hiking session usually one a week) and I have managed to gain about 2kgs.
I'm eating the same as usual - healthy foods, good breakfast, salads for lunch, protein source and veggies for dinner with an occasional treat and glass of wine.
Counting calories will help you get back on track! I also think it may be because you're not drinking enough water like someone else said. Don't fret you will probably lose that weight in no time! Good luck!
hey transformer
i agree with all of the above! i ate pretty healthily (ok not as good as i could have been, but still relatively ok) but i was just eatting WAY too much of everything. I didnt like the idea of counting calories, but its actually not that hard and i think you will have a lot of success with it
Thanks for the replies everybody! Even though I'm still frustrated as all get out I like knowing I have support coming from somewhere.
Luckymommy -- the muscle retaining water thing goes on for a matter of months? I guess I had assumed that was just a "day after" kinda thing. But far me it from me to question Oprah's trainer!! (I wish I had a trainer....)
Artsnsmarts -- I am drinking soooo much water!!! Well a combination of water and crystal light and green tea. I have been peeing constantly, almost to the point of embarrassment at work because I am always getting up to go. Unfortunately I don't think it's just a lot of muscle. That's initially what I hoped it was, but the sticky about gaining weight while exercising says that at most that's a pound or two...
Lyria -- Sorry! This sucks! I'm sorry you've got the same thing going on.
Mommysince and Iconisedghost -- I SWEAR I am drinking enough water. I do sweat like a (I dunno, gross, sweaty person?) but I have been drinking ridiculous amounts of fluids.
I think you all are right ... I need to start counting calories.
I still CANNOT believe that I gained 7 lbs though. At that rate I don't even want to think about what that adds up to over a year... It's not like I'm fast food or candy bars or anything. My goodness...
Thank you again, everybody. I am going to start counting calories this week and see how it goes....
Just thought I'd update you all, since you were so supportive when I felt like crap:
#1. I am now only up 4lbs instead of 7lbs! (So I'm moving in the right direction!)
#2. I am tracking calories *most* of the time. I need to get better at it. It's really easy for me to track my AM and lunch calories but then when I get home at night I sometimes totally forget to track anything I ate in the afternoon or for dinner. Then I remember the next morning... I know this just needs to become a habit like anything else.
Could you have a little piece of paper that you maybe write down those things you ate in the afternoon? What I do is I track my breakfast, lunch and dinner in dailyplate.com so I know how many calories my main meals are then what's left over is what I get to play with for snacks!
I do not feel like I've gained weight. That's why i was so shocked with the 7lb increase at the time! --Frankly I don't feel like I've dropped 3 either. My "fat" clothes still fit fine (when they get tight then I get real scared!), my "regular" clothes are still too tight.
I have been using daily plate. It's so awesome! love, love, love it. The problem is that in the morning I have regular computer access so it's not a big deal to login and fill out what I've eaten, but in the afternoon I'm all over the place so its harder. I've been trying to write stuff in my PDA as I eat it (like a fancy piece of paper!), and when it works it works but I still forget.
Maybe I need to set a rule like no eating UNTIL it's written down somewhere.
or you can plan what you are going to eat that day on the daily plate in the morning and not wat anything that you ahvent written down. Sometimes that helps me. Then i know around about what im going to end up with calorie wise (no nasty surprises!) and extra snacks are easy to remember
I GAINED 7 lbs!!! :( :(
I would like to say that when you first start working out, your body needs to repair itself and in the first few months, lots of people retain water. I heard this from Bob Green, Oprah's trainer. I'm sure that if you watch your calories and workout, you will see that weight drop quickly. Also, could you be pms-ing too? Probably not, since you would have put that in your post, but I thought I'd mention it in case you forget. 
