Not exercising and losing weight????

[bdtracey]

Hey there,

Short version:

I haven't been to the gym for close to a month now but I've been losing weight. This morning I weighed in at 170 lbs (down from ~177 a month ago). How does that work?

Long version:

I've been taking better care of myself since January 2006 at which point I weighed in at 220 lbs. From January 2006 to May 2006 I dropped to 200 lbs. In May 2006 I quit smoking, joined a gym and have been going fairly regularly (until lately!). As with most people I hit plateaus along the way but my previous one started in March 2007 and, stubbornly, lasted until July 2007. Now for some odd reason I've broken through the plateau but haven't been exercising very much at all.

A few things have changed in my life that, I suppose, could be factors in this oddity. The major factor being that DW and I just got our first puppy almost a month ago and she's been keeping us VERY busy but not necessarily active. Obviously we're more active at home now than we were before but not to the point of breaking a sweat with the puppy or waking up with sore muscles. We have also been doing some house work (fence, deck, gravel dog run) but, again, I wouldn't think that the work we've put into this would result in weight loss.

Even though I've been working out at the gym for over a year I'm not "built". I don't have much/any muscle definition as my workout routine (as of late) has been high rep/moderate weight. Just before my current gym hiatus (sp?) began I had started decreasing my reps but increasign my weight.

My food intake hasn't changed any either since I stopped working out. I still eat reasonably healthy and drink LOTS of water but like most people I have my moments and treat myself.

Sorry for being so long winded but I figured you need the whole story. So.....what do ya think is going on? I'm loving seeing the 170 number on the scale but I'm thoroughly confused as to how it got there. We know the scale isn't broken because, unfortunately, the numbers are going the other way for DW AND she's working out harder than I am!!!!

 

[ohMom]

my first thought is you are losing muscle mass -- and you are a man; you must be blessed with that manly fast metabolism?

it may be shortlived too if you don't resume your strength training, your metabolism may just be shaken up or readjusting to your new sedentary status? i'm not an expert i just know there have been times where i feel like my metabolism was changing and readjusting.

it was always my understanding that less rep/higher weight = bulking up and lower weight/more reps = toning. for whatever that is worth

 

[bdtracey]

my first thought is you are losing muscle mass -- and you are a man; you must be blessed with that manly fast metabolism?

it may be shortlived too if you don't resume your strength training, your metabolism may just be shaken up or readjusting to your new sedentary status? i'm not an expert i just know there have been times where i feel like my metabolism was changing and readjusting.

it was always my understanding that less rep/higher weight = bulking up and lower weight/more reps = toning. for whatever that is worth

Thanks for the reply!!!!!

I didn't think that I could lose 7 lbs of muscle in a month but I could be totally wrong! I was talking to one of the guys at the gym a while ago who is pretty built and he dropped 8 lbs in a week because he was on a complete bender of a vacation.

I've never really had a fast metabolism so I'm not exactly sure what's happening there. My energy level feels fine now but a couple weeks ago I was really dragging. So you're probably right that my body is adjusting to my sedentary lifestyle. I'm going to work on getting back to the gym next week. Having a new puppy really throws a wrench into the system; I guess its just time to adapt. I ALMOST got to the gym last night but I was just having too much fun training and playing with my pup. I'll be in there FOR SURE tomorrow and maybe tonight.

Just watch, I'll start working out diligently again and I'll start packing the weight back on.

 

[Tiger Lily 03]

I would tend to agree about losing the muscle mass. The muscle while weighing more is better for your health I think you know. You are eating healthy and making good choices and that sounds like you've got that part figured, which is not at all easy for me.

Best WISHes to you for getting a busy life aligned with a healthy you!

Never give up, keep on keepin' on.