Cassandra: Please Break this Down for Me (others welcome too)

DanceDiva · 02-03-2008, 04:19 PM

Need this broken down for me so that I do not stop doing a weight-lifting program. I'm doing NROL4W and am up to Stage 1, Workout A8.

I just took comparison measurements. I have lost 0.4 lbs. However, every measurement but 2 has increased. These two events do not seem logically possible to me.

So this is the baggage I'm carrying into this question:
I was not trying to lose any weight. I wanted to see if I could complete a program on my own. However, I don't think I'm strong enough to fight this image I have of me becoming hugely muscular. I'm still fighting an internal battle to get used to how muscular I looked on the day I started NROL4W.

rixatrix · 02-03-2008, 04:53 PM

Do you take regular measurements? Do you weigh yourself every day? Once a week?

My pants have been fitting tighter around the thighs lately. But you know what? According to my calipers and my scale, I've lost two pounds of fat. Freaking out would be a waste of my time - I know lifting weight tightens me up. So why are my pants fitting tighter? There are probably several explanations, but the one that makes the most sense in my own mind is that my muscles are repairing themselves and holding extra fluids (blood, water, glycogen, whatever).

Don't let other people talk you in or out of something. Use your own experiences as what to compare yourself against. Listen to your intuition. You've lost nearly half a pound, but your measurements have gone up? Tune out the freak-out voice and listen to your body - what does it tell you it is?

Now get back in that weight room!

You're not going to be the next American Gladiator overnight.

AnnetteW · 02-03-2008, 05:23 PM

I went and looked at your photos, and you are right, you don't need to lose any weight. But 0.4 lbs doesn't count for much. It could be a bit of water retention or food in your gut. If you lost a few lbs, maybe then you should worry.

And if you don't want to lose weight, the only other option I see is to gain muscle, which you've done (as per measurements.)

I think you look extremely lean in your photos. I'm only going to say this as my own personal opinion, so please don't take it in any other way. I think a couple lbs of fat would soften your look and be very attractive. Have you considered doing a bulking diet and see how much extra muscle you gain put on? Your body size doesn't seem to be one to over bulk (just how I view you.)

DanceDiva · 02-03-2008, 08:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rixatrix

Do you take regular measurements? Do you weigh yourself every day? Once a week?

My pants have been fitting tighter around the thighs lately. But you know what? According to my calipers and my scale, I've lost two pounds of fat. Freaking out would be a waste of my time - I know lifting weight tightens me up. So why are my pants fitting tighter? There are probably several explanations, but the one that makes the most sense in my own mind is that my muscles are repairing themselves and holding extra fluids (blood, water, glycogen, whatever).

Don't let other people talk you in or out of something. Use your own experiences as what to compare yourself against. Listen to your intuition. You've lost nearly half a pound, but your measurements have gone up? Tune out the freak-out voice and listen to your body - what does it tell you it is?

Now get back in that weight room!

You're not going to be the next American Gladiator overnight.

Your point about what you think your muscles are doing repairing themselves sounds logical, but I don't know enough about the physiology of muscle tissue to know if that is accurate.

I'm neither freaking out or trying to have anyone talk me into or out of anything. I'm asking for information so I can decide what I am going to do.

Quote:

Originally Posted by AnnetteW

I went and looked at your photos, and you are right, you don't need to lose any weight. But 0.4 lbs doesn't count for much. It could be a bit of water retention or food in your gut. If you lost a few lbs, maybe then you should worry.

And if you don't want to lose weight, the only other option I see is to gain muscle, which you've done (as per measurements.)

I think you look extremely lean in your photos. I'm only going to say this as my own personal opinion, so please don't take it in any other way. I think a couple lbs of fat would soften your look and be very attractive. Have you considered doing a bulking diet and see how much extra muscle you gain put on? Your body size doesn't seem to be one to over bulk (just how I view you.)

I agree with your assessment of the look of leanness in my photos and about me softening up with a couple more lbs of fat. I hadn't considered a bulking diet because I didn't want to be measuring and monitoring food. I'm not on a restrictive diet. I try to eat more natural than processed foods. But I eat sugar, butter, cheese, bread, and chocolate on a regular basis.

I couldn't understand how a person could be losing weight and gaining inches. I'm really just trying to get some idea of what my body is doing here.

I mentioned how I was feeling about my muscularity because I am having angst about it -- not about weight. I have to decide if I need to lower the intensity, number of days or stop the workouts and try something new. But I wanted to get a clearer picture of whether this was a transitive period and I might want to wait to see more of the outcome before making adjustments.

Bonnie · 02-03-2008, 08:24 PM

DanceDiva, I have nothing really substantive to add to this thread except that I looked at your pictures and you are beautiful and boy, I hope I may one day get arms and legs like yours. Yes. That would make me very happy.

Aoife · 02-03-2008, 08:54 PM

From personal experience, I'd stay the course.

It could just be that your workouts produce muscle pump, as your muscles are swollen and trying to repair themselves... which may be the cause of your increased size.

However, this has nothing to do with why I'd continue on. I know from personal experience that higher rep work, which is in stage 1 getting you ready for the rest of the program, will minorly increase my size. However, switching to lower rep schemes (which are coming up) significantly decreases my size.

Now, the real question is, without knowing how much you're eating, do you know if you're eating too much? I'll say I highly doubt you're really all that bulky, unless you're taking those steroid shots in the butt you're not gonna go all bulky. However, minor fluctuations will happen... in weight, in size measurements, etc. Hell, you height varies throughout the day even... your body is constantly moving and changing and adapting... and right now with your exercise being every other day or so, you're not really losing that pump from the workout.

Think about the insignificance of that .4 pound measurement. That's less than a half a pound. If you just ate, your meal in your belly weighs more than a half a pound. (I know you're not worried about the weight, I'm making a different point.) Now extrapolate that to your other measurements. How much have they increased? which ones? Muscles that you didn't use before will prolly go up because you've increased their resting tone... shouldn't be much, and for most women the accompanying fat loss means that overall their measurements don't go up. For you, since you're so lean, it may be a bit different. But still, the measurements are so variable that they're not significant unless they're actually statistically significant.

But, here's the nice catch... gains taper off the longer you're at it. In the beginning, you're forcing so much new stuff onto your body, it can't help but change greatly to adapt. Your strength grows quickly because first it's just neurological, and then because your muscles have never been so taxed and scurry to catch up. But as time goes on, your body is used to the work and change happens more slowly. You can't always be "most improved."

Analogy: D student v. B student:
D student, with a 60% average only needs 10 points to get to a C, that 10 points is 1/6th or 17% percent of his starting average. So, his work of getting 10 more points results in a 17% gain.
B student, with a 80% average only needs 10 points to get to an A, that 10 points is 1/8th or 12.5% of his starting average. So, his work of getting 10 more points results in a 12% gain.
So, for those same 10 points of grade increase, the percentage of improvement for the D student is much higher than for the B student.

So, in the beginning of someone's training career, gains are great, percentage wise, but as time goes on it decreases. This is true whether we're talking about the amount of weight they're lifting (if you add 10 pounds to your 100-pound squat you're 10% stronger, if you add 10 pounds to your 300-pound squat you're only 3% stronger), the speed they're traveling, the growth in their bodies they're seeing, and sometimes usually the loss of fat they see as well.

So, even if you're gaining and your worst fears are true, and even if the changing rep scheme doesn't "fix" it for you, you're still not going to continue on a linear path of growth.

Not to mention... I highly doubt you're turning into SheHulk and bursting out of your pants. Not that it's fun to have to shop for a new wardrobe necessarily, but considering the benefits, it could be well worth the small detriment of being a smidge bigger... and if not it's quite easy to lose muscle... just sit on your butt for a while.

I'm personally betting it's mostly in your head with all those normal girl fears about eating and training and lifting heavy things and how to be "assertive without being a bitch" and "how to be nice without being a doormat" and other silly stuff society pours into us...

DanceDiva · 02-03-2008, 10:58 PM

Bonnie: Thanks for the compliment.

Aoife: You are very good at kicking ass just how it needs to be kicked (and understanding of girly angst). I thought I had gotten my head stuff resolved when I first discussed it in my log -- until I took those measurements. I've never been the athletic type and hell I only danced for the first 2 of the 4 years I called myself "exercising" -- my pitiful and very true excuse is that I'm still adjusting to what I'm looking like after consistently moving my butt.

That SheHulk comment had me on the floor.

Thank you for the detailed analogy. It helped me to clear my mind and look at this more clinically. I've printed it to put on the wall.

LWilson212 · 02-04-2008, 09:40 AM

Hey DanceDiva-

I think you look fantastic, but I know what you mean about not being sure how muscular you want to get. I think it can't hurt to stay with the program for six months and see how you feel then. It seems to me like I could work hard for a period of time, but when I would slack off with exercise or diet the gains would go away pretty quick. So after six months you could decide where you want to go from there.

Since I banned myself from weighing for the month, I was measuring myself quite often and you would be surprised how much it can fluctuate. Within 24 hours of lifting, my thigh measurement was always bigger. It also depended on how much water I drank and what types of foods I consumed the day before.