Why is this? I started seeing a trend so I've been paying close attention and I've realized that on the days I work out, I am the same weight the next day or gained a couple of ounce. The days I didn't work out, I see a small drop in weight the next day.
This past 7 days, I stopped exercising completely, and I've lost almost THREE pounds in 7 days. What in the world....??
If you are exercising a lot when you go to the gym, your body could be retaining water to help with the muscle healing. You're probably still losing the weight when you're working out, but you're just holding the extra water. Give it a couple days and it siphons off as water weight.
The other thing that could be true is that you're letting yourself eat more than you burned after working out to "compensate" for the exercise? I used to do that. "I worked out really hard tonight, I definitely need this second piece of lasagna, and a brownie, to recover." Or whatever.
Whatever is true about the number on the scale, there's no way exercising is a factor that's making you less *healthy*.
I started out on this journey just calorie counting. What got me on the exercise wagon was finding out that if we lose weight by diet alone, as much as 40% of what we lose may actually be muscle. I want the majority of my weight loss to be FAT. With exercise, though I may be a slow loser, I am confident that what I do lose is FAT and not muscle.
As stated above, the muscles do retain water for repair. When you lift weights and/or strain the muscles, tiny tears appear in the muscle and they use the water to repair those tears, as much as two pounds worth.
Just to encourage you, when I first started this journey I was amazed at how women my height/weight were wearing smaller sizes than I was. Now I'm on the other end of that spectrum. I have a relatively high weight for the size pants I am in. (size 10)
Exercise is good! Yes, it stalls out the scale. It took me a long time and several failures to finally be ok with that. Stalls happen.
You can't judge strategies based on day-to-day comparisons. What you do today may not show up on the scale tomorrow (it can, but it doesn't necessarily).
Exercise can result in small temporary "gains" but this isn't fat, it's the extra water your body is using for muscle building and repair.
In the short-run this can seem as though exercise is counterproductive - you'll even see some people recommending you avoid exercise because it can cause weight gain - this is horrible advice, because in the long-run exercise will make weight loss easier - the more muscle you have, the more calories you burn.
If you try to make day-to-day comparisons, you can end up making some silly decisions. For example, you could decide to avoid high-fiber foods. If you eat 1500 calories of high volume, low-calorie foods like vegetables and fruits it can look like you've "gained weight" on the scale (because of the weight of those foods in your digestive tract). Until your body rids itself of the undigested bits, you could think you've gained weight. You could think it makes more sense to eat meat and fat than to eat fruits and vegetables - but you didn't really "gain" weight on those fruits and veggies, you just haven't pooped out the fiber and water yet.
You also have to keep in mind your monthly cycle. The different hormone levels can also account for changes, and if you're comparing day-to-day you can make the wrong connections. When I was a teenager, I thought that one or two candy bars could make me gain 5 lbs (impossible, by the way unless you're dealing with an 8 lb candy bar). I didn't eat much candy, in fact I didn't like chocolate very much unless it was right before TOM. I'd crave a candy bar, eat one or two and then see a 5 lb gain on the scale the next day. Two candy bars did not add those 5 lb, it was the water-weight gain of TOM, but it sure seemed like there was a connection between the candy bars and the five pounds (and there was - but it wasn't the candybar causing the weight gain, it was the hormones causing the candy bar cravings and the weight gain. I would have gained those 5lbs with or without the candy).
Weighing daily isn't a terrible idea - but it can make jumping to false conclusions easier. You've got to remember that what you do today might not show up on the scale until next week - or even next month.
Just to encourage you, when I first started this journey I was amazed at how women my height/weight were wearing smaller sizes than I was. Now I'm on the other end of that spectrum. I have a relatively high weight for the size pants I am in. (size 10)
Oh, I know what you mean. Throughout my adult life I've always exercised on and off going through phases. My body type is athletic and muscular, however I was (am) an emotional eater so it was all covered by fat. I am now at 177 lbs and in a comfortable size 12. I see we are about the same height too. When I get down another 10 lbs I can definitely see myself in a size 10. I think it's taking longer with the scale, but in the end my body will be much tighter and leaner.
Oh, I know what you mean. Throughout my adult life I've always exercised on and off going through phases. My body type is athletic and muscular, however I was (am) an emotional eater so it was all covered by fat. I am now at 177 lbs and in a comfortable size 12. I see we are about the same height too. When I get down another 10 lbs I can definitely see myself in a size 10. I think it's taking longer with the scale, but in the end my body will be much tighter and leaner.
I'm willing to be patient for those results
Oh, cool! Yep, I was a 12 about 10 pounds ago. Now this depends on the store, of course! For instance I'm wearing a pretty comfy, slightly big pair of 12's right now. But I have a pair of 10's that are actually getting too big. I hate that it means nothing to say "I'm a size X".
Oh, cool! Yep, I was a 12 about 10 pounds ago. Now this depends on the store, of course! For instance I'm wearing a pretty comfy, slightly big pair of 12's right now. But I have a pair of 10's that are actually getting too big. I hate that it means nothing to say "I'm a size X".
Yeah, I could slide into 12's when I was just over 180, but it was not comfortable. The victory came when I could wear them without the dreaded muffin top bulging at the top!
Wow, 180 and size 12? Thats pretty good. I am hovering between 152-155 at 5'7" and wearing size 12 When I started at 171 pounds, I was wearing size 16 comfortably!! I'm sure I'd have to lose another 6-7 pounds to get down to a 10.
My problem is that ALL my extra weight is in the belly/hips. I'm sure that having 5 kids has attributed to that. My legs could easily wear a size 10 right now, but my mid-section isn't cooperating
Soooo, if everyone says you can't "spot train" then how do I get rid of this belly issue?? Cuz really, my arms and legs are quite thin right now and I'd rather NOT lose anymore in those area's.
We monitor the calories and nutrition of the food we eat, so we know what our bodies are getting.
We know what our BMR is, so we have an idea on what we are losing calorie-wise everyday.
We exercise and burn even more calories. We could not possibly exercise, move or breathe without calorie expenditure.
So - regardless of what the scale says - if we are honestly measuring all of our calories that we take in and make sure than we do not eat more than we burn - we are losing weight. If you have a deficit in the calories from what you take in vs. what you burn off - the weight is coming off. The weight will come off faster the bigger the calorie deficit that we create, but even if we just maintain a calorie deficit of 200 calories a day, - the weight is STILL going to come off.
The scale can be inaccurate for so many reasons! Maybe there was more sodium in something than you expected, maybe you haven't poo'd right in a couple days, maybe your muscles are retaining water to repair from the work out... Just make sure you have a deficit everyday and the scale *will* change, eventually. I monitor more by a measuring tape than the scale, for me, it is more reliable!
Keep going, it always works out in the end as long as you keep getting up and going back to the gym!
I noticed the same thing, especially when using weights that are heavy to me.
I wonder if weight loss slows down because of the starvation mode thing... I read we need to eat a little more to fuel our workouts, or is that an excuse to eat more? I don't we are holding on to POUNDS of water or putting on pounds of muscle that quickly.
If anyone watches the Biggest Loser, how are they working out hard for hours a day, some of them working out for the first time in their lives and they still lose weight/pounds?
Last edited by ringmaster; 09-01-2010 at 02:28 PM.
I agree with kaplods on reasons for gaining/losing weight.
Meanwhile, I wanted to 'weigh in' on the size thing. I am 5'4" and 204 lbs and I wear a size 14 jeans comfortably, I have 16s I sometimes wear but they are way too big. I can get 12s on and buttoned but not zipped. However I hold my weight differently, I'm an hourglass, smaller waist and hips/bust always exactly the same or an inch apart. My arms and legs are HUGE though. I hate my calves and my upper arms. I could never ever wear skinny jeans even when I was a size 8, knee high boots are next to impossible to find too. Shirts with fitted sleeves are pretty much off limits too. I tried on a size 16 blazer today and bust fit fine, it buttoned but arms were insanely tight, I knew it had been awhile since I wore it... :P
Lose more when I DON'T exercise?
When I started at 171 pounds, I was wearing size 16 comfortably!! I'm sure I'd have to lose another 6-7 pounds to get down to a 10.
