Arghhhhhh....the gym and weight

[JCJRSmith]

Try this - do your lifting first. Any sweat you lose then is strictly water weight. Your cardio will be more effective.

You are seeing an increase in muscle mass, thus your weight goes up. Eventually your weight will reverse itself as the body starts burning off more fat than the muscle you are putting on.

Don't use the scale as a measure of your fitness. Use how you FEEL and how you LOOK

 

[Tumblwd501]

I found this heart rate range calculator that gives you the various heart rate ranges for the varying goals you may be trying to achieve. It's based on your age and resting heart rate.

http://www.changingshape.com/resources/calculators/targetheartratecalculator.asp

 

[momrek06]

Human phsyology evolved to survive lean times-we are biologically programed to hold on to every calorie we take in so that we can 1) survive a glacial winter 2) nurse our children when times are lean and 3) carry a pregnancy to term when we are near starvation. If you work out very hard and eat to little -your system is programed by nature to go-hmm there is no food available and we are hunting alot-we better slow metabolism down so we dont starve to death trying to find food. so you gain or fail to loose weight because at the deepest level your system is trying to save your life. Low carb diets play off this same physiology-the "harmless" non-diabetic ketosis they rely on is actually the brain telling the liver you are starving to death. Glycogen (sugar) which comes from carbs is the primary fuel for the brain-when you stop eating carbs after about 48 hours the brain tells they liver hey-im starving if you do feed me we will die-the liver then kicks in the "fat burning" that low carb diets are famous for-its actually the liver excreteing an eyezyme that converts fat to glycogen. The reason low carb dieters gain weight back so fast if they stop is that they have conditioned thier systems to think they live in starvation so they hold on to every source of glycogen possible (ie converting sugar to fat for later use)
*disclaimer-this is not an inditment of low carb diets-it worked great for me in the past-just an explination of the human biology behind the "starvation mode"

OP and ajk912....you guys need to eat more fruits and veggies, so you're not starving. I'm not big on high protein, never have been, but you do need *some* of course.

I remember my first time doing Weight Watchers (I have a quitting problem, LOL) and realizing that I had never been so full before, because I was eating a ton, but it was GOOD, real food.

Neither of you have mentioned if your clothes are fitting differently. Are they? It's very very common (so common any trainer you met with at your gyms should have mentioned it) to gain before you lose, especially if you are strength training. You are slowly losing fat, but also gaining muscle. Muscle is trimmer, takes up less space, than fat, but it also weighs more. Made up numbers here...you might lose .5 lb of fat, which takes off some gunk, but you're gaining 1 lb of muscle, which is smaller than the fat. So you're smaller, but weigh more. For now.

If that's not happening, if your measurements aren't getting smaller and your clothes aren't fitting different, if your neck isn't slimming a bit...then look heavily to your diets.

Good luck! Do better than I am! Exercise Science major, Doctor of Chiropractic, former rower...I know it all and do none of it.

I eat 6 small meals a day. When I first was told or was suggested I go that route....I thought "how does one lose weight eating SIX meals a day?"....well it does work. Even if it is allot of fruit and protein. Slice of cheese, mid day or late afternoon, celery w/pb on it. Orange. Handful of Almonds.

 

[OhMari]

I did quit smoking and go back on depo at the same time I started going to the gym so I need to keep those in mind too. Heck, I guess I'm lucky I only gained 3lbs. lol

I alternate my cardio between the treadmill (not fond of it), elipticle (hate it) and the arc(?) machine (love it and it gets my heart rate up the best).

You have done a lot just for the month of January.
Depo can make you can weight as well as your effort to quit smoking.
Right now, don't look at it as "why have I not dropped any weight".
But reward yourself for keeping up your diet and work-out routine.

Start a journal, or it can be as simple as putting a "star" on your calendar, for the days you have met your goals.

For the month of February, I would step up the cardio.
30 minutes is for "maintaining" weight.
Do 15 minutes on a bike
and 15 minutes on a treadmill.
I know you said you hate the eliptic trainer, but maybe sign up for a exercise class. Those go fast and usually the class is 30 minutes of total cardio, with 10 minutes of warm up and 10 minutes of stretching and 10 minutes of ab workout.

Good luck and keep up the good work.

 

[momrek06]

I found this heart rate range calculator that gives you the various heart rate ranges for the varying goals you may be trying to achieve. It's based on your age and resting heart rate.

http://www.changingshape.com/resources/calculators/targetheartratecalculator.asp

Thats awesome, thanks for posting that, Tumblwd501!!!

 

[Tumblwd501]

I eat 6 small meals a day. When I first was told or was suggested I go that route....I thought "how does one lose weight eating SIX meals a day?"....well it does work. Even if it is allot of fruit and protein. Slice of cheese, mid day or late afternoon, celery w/pb on it. Orange. Handful of Almonds.

This does help a lot because it keeps your metabolism higher and if you're constantly eating (the right type of foods, of course) throughout the day, you're less likely to go hungry and then go overboard at dinner.

 

[ajk912]

Thanks guys! I really don't know if my clothes fit differently yet- in the fall and winter I live in track pants and tees. I have track pants in 3 different colors and I have black ones in two different styles..one with a white stripe down the side and one with a pink stripe down the side. That's my SAHM wardrobe. I did start trying on my cute capris and shorts I have from last summer, but considering I haven't worn them in 6 months I am not sure if they fit better yet or not!

The scale FINALLY budged a bit..yay..I was SOOOO EXCITED to see 155 on the scale! I think I am being wayyyy too anxious. I did lose about 5 lbs this month overall!!!

 

[Disneyfn420]

I am having the same trouble too. I've been working out like crazy and not seeing the results. I ask myself if I wasn't working out this much would I be gaining? I don't see why I'm saying the same. But I will have to try some old clothes and see if that is the difference. All these suggestions have been great though and I'm glad I'm not the only one who is frustraed with not seeing results on the scale.

 

[soupy11]

I find if I am not hitting my goals that I have to take an honest account of my situation. Am I working out hard? Really hard? Or am I going through the motions. Did I really eat well today? Oh, that mayo filled sandwich maybe wasn't the best idea.

All in all, a careful introspection can really kickstart a program, or kick you over a plateau.

To the OP - you have been doing a program for 3 weeks...are you upping intensity? You will be getting stronger, fitter, and building endurance. Maybe your not challenging yourself?

 

[ajk912]

Question for those in the know:

I know it's important to keep your heart rate up to burn the most fat/calories/etc. But, even when I do normalish cardio my heart rate stays up without too much of a problem. Is this wierd? Like today, I was barely breaking a sweat walking on the treadmill at 4mph. Yet my heart rate never dropped below 153 or so. I am 30, so the cardio range is anything above 152. Because I want to burn a decent amount of calories in my workout (walking at 4mph suposedly is only 299 calories per hour) I do run/jog in spurts at 6mph to get my "calories burned" count up. Then, I take my heart rate immediately after jogging/running and it's usually right around 180. I am a wimp, I know, but I can usually only do .5-1 mile straight jogging/running before slowing it down to a walk.

Any thoughts on this? Is doing this for 45 minutes 3-4 days a week doing me any good? I REALLY don't want to do weights/situps/pushups/a lot of bending type classes..I really do want to stick to the elliptical or treadmill- I had back surgery 4 years ago and bending is painful. But if there is a more effective exercise regimen (preferably using these machines, or NO bending) I would LOVE to hear it!

 

[wvjules]

Wow, lots to read. Thanks guys.

I'll read it all and see what changes I need to make.