Don't really feel like getting into this and veering off top, but*I* personally don't believe starvation mode is the case here, ESPECIALLY given that her weight loss journey is in the early stages and we haven't a clue as to what she's eating.
I agree, I am just speaking to the general principle.
Gaining weight by not eating enough doesn't make sense to me... wouldn't that logic lead to starving children in third world countries being chubby from starvation? I can understand by not eating enough, your body adapts and burns it differently/slower, etc. But it still needs to burn energy to keep going.
The hour (or two) of exercise a day doesn't matter as much as what you put in your mouth the other 23 hrs of the day.
That being said, you could be over training. When was the last time you took some time off, and changed up your routine? A rest of a few days and cutting back the exercise can allow your body to release some weight.
And just because you cut out soda doesn't mean you will automatically lose weight. You need to evaluate what you are eating to make sure you are eating less. Cutting out the soda may have simply brought you from gaining mode to maintenance mode. And the extra working out may be causing you to eat more because you are more hungry.
Dieting and losing weight takes experimenting to find what works for you.
I am using a plain bathroom scale and a wii fit, and they both show no change. How is that possible, with the huge increase in activity, cutting out 300+ calories a day in soda, and the tone I (think) I am seeing? How long does it take for the scale number to start falling?
I want to point out that before this change you were actively gaining weight--20 lbs in 9 months. So if you are seeing no change, it may well be because you are NOW maintaining, when before you were gaining. So something has changed.
You also need to make sure you aren't eating more elsewhere. Exercise makes me SO HUNGRY and makes food taste SO GOOD, so if I am not actively weighing and counting everything I eat, I can easily overeat enough to cancel out the exercise.
Muscle does not "weigh more" than fat.
It's just more dense. Takes up less room. A pound is a pound, no pound weighs more than another pound.
The same volume of muscle weighs more than the the same volume of fat. That is what people generally mean when they say this. I assume we all know a pound is a pound
Ah eating. Well, I don't count calories, so I am not sure how many I average, but here is a typical day:
Breakfast: whole grain cereal, like grape nuts or shredded wheat and fruit
Lunch: chicken bowl from chipotle with no sour cream and a sprinkling of cheese
Dinner: Have been going out a lot, but recently I am cooking homecooked meals that are high in protein. Examples: salad with grilled chicken; beef stew
I don't snack much, and when I do it is fruit or the old apple with peanut butter.
When I started running a few years ago and was really into it, my weight dropped from 130 to 117 without changing ym diet much. Maybe I am older now so this model won't fit anymore. I probably burn 1000 cals through exercise each day, and yes, it has made me pretty hungry.
What are you doing that you think you burn 1000 cals/day with exercise? People tend to overestimate their calorie burn and that is quite a lot.
I have read that even elite athletes need to watch their calories when they are training as the increased activity can often cause them to eat more than they should and cause them to gain fat.
Kwinkle, if i could chime in (not to attack, please...... ) I marathon, and some days before work run upwards of 12 miles, then strength train in the evening, etc...... i dont burn 1000 cals exercising..... It may be helpful in your situation to *seperate* exercising from dieting? I do not factor in my exercise calories when i meal plan, or talley calories..... They are two very separate things!
To lose fat, you must be in a caloric deficit, period. You achieve this *moslty* or totally, through diet. (DONT STOP EXERCISING THOUGH!! It definitely contributes to your overall health, wellness, energy, happiness, and total daily caloric burn).
If you arent lossing fat, and you arent GAINING fat, then you are in maintenance. period. You are taking in the number of calories your body burns a day. End of story. Simple as that.
Maybe you need to start actually counting? Or at least weighing/measuring food....a bowl of cereal in the am could be a masured out, single serving of 120 cals (or whatever) of cereal, or it could be a heaping, delicious overflowing 3 or 4 servings, totalling more than 400 cals, EASILY. Thats not including the mILK! Im not even going to address the peanut butter thing (suffic eto say, you could easily be getting hundreds more cals than you realize from that, alone....) Going out to dinner? Im not judging, or wagging my finger, but theres very little, if any way to know really how much you are eating of you go out to eat.... count on a MINIMUM of 1000 to 1500 cals for a dinner....unless you are specifically order though side house salad, no cheese, no croutons, no dressing no chicke, etc...... Restaurants "gourmet" salads (like ceasar,and spicy asian crunch, and whatever" can easily top 1000 cals, and often are higher calorie than the burger and fries...this is purely for edification....... ANd i dont know much about what type of chicken bowl you are eating, but they appear to avg mostly around 500 cals, with some upwards of 800..... once again, fyi.
COngrats on cutting out soda though, that is a huge step in the right direction!
Secondly, not eating enough makes one hold onto weight? Pretty much it's just the opposite. When you take in less calories than you burn, you create a calorie deficit or an underage and the body has to turn to your stored fat to use as energy, thus losing the fat and losing the weight.
But that is precisely what happened to me. I could not believe that I could eat between 2,500 and 3,000 calories to lose weight, so I cut down to 1,500 and my weight did not shift at all. I upped it a bit, then a bit more, and still nothing. As soon as I started eating a lot more, I started losing an average of two pounds a week, and I started at 129 pounds.
Eating more has also been successful for others I know in RL and some I have met online. I know it doesn't work for everyone, and I have no idea what and how much the OP is eating so I am not at all suggesting this is the case for her, but the principle does work all the same. It isn't without merit; it just isn't a solution for everyone. That said, however, at 1,500 I was eating at far more than a 1,000-calorie deficit, so that right there was a real problem. But, as I say, others I have known whose initial deficit wasn't near as extreme also lost weight by eating more.
In the OP's case, I'm guessing the opposite issue is at fault.
Last edited by Petite Powerhouse; 07-09-2010 at 12:21 PM.
oh, and ditto about having a low starting weight..... you are going to have to be extra extra dilligent to see any real progress sweety...sorry...its the curse of the "last 10 pounds" kinda thing........ Oh, and being so small already, you probably need WAY LESS cals than you think you do
your brm has got to be around 1400 a day, so i would start there...... just as a spring board, a starting point...maybe 1500...once again, becaus eyou are so small already...... i personally can lose fat unless i drop below 1200.... it sux. 1200 is not a lot.... you get that in one meal of you go out to eat regularly
Trying to lose about 20 lbs. I have a stressful job and gained that much in 9 months.
Going back down to 110lbs at 5'4 will make you underweight. It is hard enough to maintain a normal weight, striving to be underweight will be that much harder ~ your body does not WANT it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by kwinkle
I was drinking 3 or 4 sodas a day, and I but back to one (baby steps). I have been working out for the last 6 weeks or so--intense 2 hour workouts. I am seeing SOME results...I think...in my upper arms and waist.
That is normal. 6 Weeks is not long. You gained it in 9 months, it can take 9 months to come off.
Quote:
Originally Posted by kwinkle
I can see muscles that were not there before. What is confusing me is my weight.
So you are losing body fat - that's good. Starting to exercise can cause water retention, hence the # not changin.
Bottom line - more patience needed
To those who say muscle gain.. not in 6 weeks weeks, especially when undereating. Muscle requires food to grow - above maintenance. Steroids don't even work on women in 6 weeks.
I marathon, and some days before work run upwards of 12 miles, then strength train in the evening, etc...... i dont burn 1000 cals exercising.....
I know this is veering off the OP, but it just has me curious. I'm currently at 145lbs, and every calorie counter I use, (HRM, GPS, Calperhour website and others) generally have me burning at approximately 100 calories per mile.
Entering your weight into the website calculators, it shows you don't burn that much less.
So, I guess I'm curious as to how you figure that you don't burn 1000 cals by running 12 miles plus strength training? I'd like to know if there is a more accurate way you have found.
Ah eating. Well, I don't count calories, so I am not sure how many I average, but here is a typical day:
Breakfast: whole grain cereal, like grape nuts or shredded wheat and fruit
Lunch: chicken bowl from chipotle with no sour cream and a sprinkling of cheese
Dinner: Have been going out a lot, but recently I am cooking homecooked meals that are high in protein. Examples: salad with grilled chicken; beef stew
I don't snack much, and when I do it is fruit or the old apple with peanut butter.
When I started running a few years ago and was really into it, my weight dropped from 130 to 117 without changing ym diet much. Maybe I am older now so this model won't fit anymore. I probably burn 1000 cals through exercise each day, and yes, it has made me pretty hungry.
I agree that you are not burning 1000 calories. And I also agree that you should not even track THOSE calories. The ones you really, really , really need to track are the one that you EAT. There is no way to accurately know how many calories you burn, I don't care what those calculators say- they are HIGHLY inaccurate.
Seems to me very clear why you're not losing weight - you're taking in too many calories from the looks of that menu of yours. And like I mentioned earlier, given your low-ish starting weight - you are going to have to be extremely consistent with those calories. One *off* day can wipe out any deficit you created the other 6 days of the week, assuming that you may have.
If it's weight loss that you're after, I believe the only way for you to do it would be to track your calories, adhere to a budget and make each and every calorie a highly nutritious one.
