I gained weight??? wtf.....

[Leonidas]

Ok ok heres the problem, i been working out really hard for the last 3 or 4 weeks, i mean i been really kicking my ass on these workouts. I've cut my meals in about half , only eating 3 or 4 times a day, fairly small meals, smaller than i used to eat atleast. But i dont really feel all that hungry and my energy level is fairly normal or i wouldn't be able to workout at all. I haven't really seen any improvement save for strength gains, but i know, you gotta be patient :rolleyes: . After pushing myself even harder than usual i go to the scale and just my luck, instead of atleast staying the same i gained five pounds (all i did was sip water and my meal was hours before). I hope to god its 5 pounds of muskle . I couldn't do 10 pushups when i first started, and now i can do 25-30 straight, in a few more days its gonna be 35-40 hopefully. What am i doing wrong???

PS- Oh yea i also see cardiovascular improvements but whats the deal with this fu(king gut. Urgh :mad:

[Budokan]

I don't think you're doing anything wrong, and it may very well be muscle. Anyway, you should weigh yourself first thing in the morning after you wake up and go to the bathroom (if you need to) and not later in the day. Our weight fluctuates throughout the day, an early morning weigh-in should give you a good baseline for your true weight. All in all, keep working out, you're doing the right thing there.

[IronFist]

Unless you need to make a certain weight class, don't go by the scale, go by the mirror. It's most likely water weight or muscle, the latter being more probable if you're new to working out (cuz newbies put on muscle fast).

Good luck,

IronFist

[Silumkid]

Midsection fat tends to be like the Marines...first in, last out. Keep chipping away at it.

Iron is correct (as usual)...forget the scale unless it's competition time.

[Leonidas]

Competition? Yea right. I guess i'm freaking out for nothing, its just that i had just finished working out, was especially sore and alittle aggravated from not seeing any results so when i went to the scale and saw plus 5 i got really p!ssed to say the last. Its good to know that its fairly normal then. I guess I got along way to go cuz i dont see any changes in the mirror either. Doctor said i'm built pretty solid, i'm sure as hell not the shape i wanna be in but he says im pretty healthy. I guess i shouldn't complain, i feel stronger, abit faster and my eating habits are better. I feel generally healthier and my asthma's not fu(king with me anymore. Still, the whole reason i started was for loosing all this extra flab before i start MA training seriously. I guess we'll see in 4 more weeks then. Thanks for the replies

[Silumkid]

I guess I should have asked earlier....(my bad)

What sort of workouts are you doing? What order are you following, as in cardio/weights, weights/cardio, one day weights one day cardio switch....maybe it's time for a change?

[Leonidas]

I'm using the Bowflex Power pro machine if that makes any difference. I work out Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday and rest the other days. I start every excercise by running in place and or jumping jacks for about 5 minutes to heat myself up then i do 15-25 pushups 20 second break then 30-40 bicycle situps. i do about 3 or 4 sets of each with a 20 sec. break inbetween.

Day 1 and 3 workouts (all excercises have atleast 3-4 sets and 10-12 reps)
- Bench Press
- Seated Shoulder Press
- Lying Tricep Extension
- French Press
- Leg Curl
- Leg Press

Day 2 and 4 workouts
- Seated Lat Rows
- Lying Lat Pulldown
- Rear Deltoid Row
- Standing Bicep Curl
- Reverse Curl
- Functional Lower Back Extension

I take it easy or just plain skip that day if i'm really sore or my muscles hurt or feel strained.

[guohuen]

Don't worry, it's muscle weight. Muscle weighs more than fat.

[Royal Dragon]

When I was a beginner, I was about 210. With in 3 month, I droped to 180, that's 30 pounds, or about 10 pounds a month. After that, I stopped dropping weight nd slowly gained untill I was about 195. I was getting very frusterated, because I had been so happy with my weight loos, untill a freind sgjested I STOPPED with the scale, and started measuring my body. Sure enogh, my legs arms and chest were getting bigger and my tummy was getting smaller.

Muscle IS heavier than fat, and one guy at 210 that is all muscle willl have the ladies going goo goo, but the same guy (all else being equal) who is all fat will be alone.

I would not wory about it, concentraight on what you can DO, and the rest takes care of itself.

RD

[Leonidas]

My mother told me that if you suddenly cut back on your food intakes by like half, your body is fooled into thinking that theres a food shortage or that your starving so it shuts down your metabolism and increases fat cell pro-duction. Any truth to that

[Royal Dragon]

Very much so infact. What's worse if you go for long periods of time with too little food, you loose muscle and bone mass. Then, when you do eat again you don't have the muscle tissue needed to burn it all off, so you REALLY plump up. Lots of Muscle is the key to being trim, and then useing it is what actually burns the fat away.

I've always struggled with wieght. everytime I'm serious about loosing, I do lots of muscle building exercises and I do cardio 4 times a week for a minimum of 40 minutes at a time as it takes 20 minutes just to shift from burning sugar to fat. It never fails me.

[SevenStar]

I wss getting ready to say that, but you beat me to it. yes that's true. you can actually gain weight from this even though you are eating less. you are still eating 4 times a day (I think that was what you said) so unless those are very small meals, then you should not be affected by this, unless you were really eating alot before. My guess would be that it's most likely water weight, or it could be muscle mass. Also, when are you weighing yourself? if you have recently eaten, you will of course register more on the scale. Take Iron's advice and rely more on the mirror than the scale.


Originally posted by Leonidas
My mother told me that if you suddenly cut back on your food intakes by like half, your body is fooled into thinking that theres a food shortage or that your starving so it shuts down your metabolism and increases fat cell pro-duction. Any truth to that

[circle_walker]

Instead of the mirror I would suggest a polaroid. Take a picture of yourself and date it every week. After about a month look back at week #1. Buy a tailor's measuring tape, and measure yourself; gut, upperarms,as well as forearms, thighs, chest calves, the whole 9 yards. Keep journal of what you eat, how long you work out for, and what you do. Also record your weight(optional), and the aforementioned measurments. The journal will help you track your progress, and you are more likely to pass on the dessert tray if you have to write it down later. It adds a sense of accountability. I would also reccomend starting your m/a training now to compliment your regamine, just don't over do anything. Your muscles will work better if they are taught to coordinate actions early. Also drink a ton of water, record how much drink, and record it in your journal. Record everything your body takes in. Water, soft drinks, juice, everything. Good luck!

[Okami]

If you want to loose fat, walk slow.

I know this sounds silly at first, but I just read an article in my local hospital's magazine that explains it well.

Walking fast or running burns calories. Your body is under stress and uses calorie energy to keep it moving.

Walking slow, or at a normal gait, helps to burn off fat because the body is not under extra-normal stress. Of course if you run every day your body will get used to the stress and start to burn fat, but it takes a little while for your body to get used to the stress.

It seems like a good theory to test if you want to burn fat. In my experience I have found that everyone is different, and one must try different exercises to see what works for them to accomplish whatever goals they have. Don't be misled by this statement. Trying a new exercise means performing it regularly for 3 to 6 months. If it is working, continue, if not try something new.

Example: I wanted to decrease my time in the 2 mile run. I was told to run 4 or 5 miles regularly. This didn't work. I did it for 3 months (3 days a week) and didn't shave a second. The result was that I wasn't as tired when I finished. I tried running just over 2 miles with lots of up and down hill terrain and my time improved.

Everybody is different, so try new things.