1 month into the program, 5 lbs heavier and NOT happy
Last year I lost over 40 lbs through a very strict low calorie diet and exercise. No weights, just cardio. I bought the book because I had fallen into the dreaded "skinny fat" zone and decided I needed some muscle tone and thought it would help losing those last few lbs.
Fast forward 3.5 weeks. I have done the exercises to the letter, followed the diet plan well (though I had a few occasional slip ups), and am definitly getting stronger. However, I have gained 5 lbs in this time and am really unhappy. It took me MONTHS to lose the last 5 lbs only to put it on in a few weeks.
I know that the book says not to cut calories but this just isn't working for me anymore. I love the strength training but I can't afford to gain another pound after all the work I did last year to lose weight.
HELP!
FYI- 5'4", 132 lbs (I WAS 127 a few weeks ago) and a 25 year old female. I also do cardio 3 days a week (either a half hour of HIIT or an hour of spinning).
5 lbs? How many of those pounds are muscle, fat, blood volume, bone density, lunch? Are you trying to be less fat or less weight? Move to Denver and you will weigh a little less. You loosing "weight" for health or looks - "skinny fat" isn't sexy; shape is way more appealing than the number on the scale. In fact people will only know that number if you tell them, but they can see your shape.
I definitly agree with you-shape is far more important than a number. However, I still have a decent amount of body fat to lose...at least 10 lbs. I feel like I can build all teh muscle in the world but if I am covered in fat then what's the point?
I am not saying I am going to go back to my cardio obssessed ways, but I am concerned about the diet in this book and am wondering if I could do it on a higher caloric deficit than I had been doing.
Well, let's figure this out. Calories in vs calories out determines your weight. You say you gained 5 lbs in roughly 25 days. It takes 3500 extra calories to gain a pound. This equals 17,500 extra calories. Over 25 days, this would equate to your eating 700 calories OVER maintenance every day. Remember that fat loss is all about diet and not so much about what you do in the gym.
So, either you are eating over maintenance by 700 calories or else you are looking at water weight or normal weight fluctuations.
More importantly,
1. Are you tracking your food religiously (ie weighing and measuring) so that you KNOW your maintenance and what you are currently eating?
2. How about your measurements? Are they up or down?
I actually have an online food journal where I keep track of everything (literally everything) that I eat. Clothes fit the same and my measurements are the same.
I have had a few slip up days where I have eaten more than my maintenance of 1900 calories, but for the most part I have eaten 1850-1900 on lift days and 1650-1700 on nonlift/cardio days. This is up from the 1200 a day I was eating to lose weight in the first place.
Can I do this program on a 1500 cal a day diet? That's what I am aiming for right now...thoughts?
Are you SURE of your food? Are you weighing everything? For instance, if you have a tablespoon of peanut butter, are you measuring via a tablespoon, or are you weighing out the 16 grams? If you aren't weighing, you could be taking in much more than you think you are. Weighing your food is quite an eye-opener.
May I be devils advocate for a sec??? Maybe your aren't eating enough! The programs numbers are specified for the program as written , and since you are added HIIT ( which is a serious workout) 3 x a week, perhaps you are hindering your progress. SO if you are doing the program as written at a 300 cal deficit and you are gaining then that is one thing, but to be doing all that extra and at a 300 cal deficit, it is difficult to believe that that weight is real. Perhaps you are not eating enough so your body is storing everything you eat. You seem pretty good about counting your calories so I don't think you could be eating an extra 700 calories EVERYDAY, as Jane said.I say try the program as written with the 300 deficit and see how it goes. And make sure to be tracking your measurents, because in my case, I gained four lbs in the first couple of weeks, but my measurements were down .5" so I knew it was not real weight.
Hope I helped!It does talk alot about hindering your progress by eating less and adding more cardio in the book. Stay positive and stay with the program!!!
I am currently cutting 300 from the maintenance calories suggested by the book. How bad would it be to cut down by 500? Would I lose weight but not build muscle? Not lose weight and lose muscle?
Your body will sometimes retain water when starting a new (and intense) lifting program. If your clothes/msmts are the same and clothes are not tighter I would be willing to get the scale has gone up from water retention/swelling. It is temporary.
I just think that if you weren't doing any extra exercise then the 300 calories deficit would be right. SO with that extra I think you are doing too much for that calorie amount. I do HIIT after every workout for 15min, and I eat a little over their amounts, and I am maintaining. I know you want to lose the fat and you can do this program on a deficit, but I think you should try sticking with the program, as written, with a 300 calorie deficit. Do you really think you are eating 700 calories over your maintainence? No one EVER got obese on 1800 calories a day! That is a sedentary number for the average woman. SO if you are eating 700 over your maintainence, plus the extra calories you are burning doing the cardio then it is real weight. But I find that hard to believe, because you are so diligent with your counting. SO let's think about it....if you AREN'T eating that much EVERYDAY, then you could not have gained "real fat". I'm thinking you body is struggling to get enough calories so it is holding on to everything you eat. ( this is why there are people out there who can actually gain weight on 1200 calories a day, they aren't eating enough)
I second what LaraT said as well. I am retaining water weight ( about 4 lbs) in the first few weeks of the program. The scale is up about that much, and it fluctuates EVERYDAY, EVERY HOUR. The day after my workout I am ALWAYS a little puffy. ( feel like Im having a fat day) I just drink 3 liters of water and eat clean, and realize that I have not over eaten enough for a four lb weight gain in two weeks. You have to keep your mind logical, it is so easy to see that nuimber and freak out, but you really need to think hard about the numbers and realize that your body is going through a "shock" because you have switched it all up!
I also think it's water/temporary. When I started I gained weight too, but my clothes got tight, so I knew I was eating too much. If you aren't any bigger, you aren't any fatter. It can take more than a month for your body to adjust to going from 1200 calories a day to a more functional amount.
I also think it's water/temporary. When I started I gained weight too, but my clothes got tight, so I knew I was eating too much. If you aren't any bigger, you aren't any fatter. It can take more than a month for your body to adjust to going from 1200 calories a day to a more functional amount.
I was going to mention this as well. Did you raise your calories from 1200 to ~1900 pretty quickly? Because that cause your body to store extra water - not to mention the extra food.
If you are new to lifting, you could also be putting on muscle, which is not a bad thing. Also, if you are not used to intense workouts, you could be storing water and/or glycogen in your muscles.
Bottom line: increased weight does not always equate to increased fat. Whenever I freak out about a weight gain, the first thing I do is what Jane did - figure out how many extra calories I would have to eat for it to be fat. I then realize that it was impossible that I underreported my calories by that much and relax.
Don't forget, too, that with a program like this it is not so much about "losing weight" as it is making body recomposition changes (trading fat for muscle). This can result in very little scale loss, but greater loss in measurements, so you may want to find another way of tracking your progress.
here's the question - if at the end of the day you weighed the same (or 5 lbs more ) but were 1-2 sizes smaller and looked better with shapely shoulders and firm arms (etc.) - would you even care about the scale number?
here's the question - if at the end of the day you weighed the same (or 5 lbs more ) but were 1-2 sizes smaller and looked better with shapely shoulders and firm arms (etc.) - would you even care about the scale number?
I asked myself that exact same question this morning!
here's the question - if at the end of the day you weighed the same (or 5 lbs more ) but were 1-2 sizes smaller and looked better with shapely shoulders and firm arms (etc.) - would you even care about the scale number?
Lisa, Thanks for posing that question. It really hits home for me. In fact, it's something that I'm thinking about a lot lately. I started NROL4W at 136lbs. By the time I finished, and up until about a month and a half ago, I was up to 141, but looked better than I did at 136lbs.
I did NROL4W at maintenance calories because I was more interested in gaining lean body mass vs. losing fat (knowing also that I had fat to lose). In Oct, I decided it was time to start working on losing the fat, so I started eating at about a 200-300cal deficit while continuing to lift. I'm now down to 137.6 (as of this morning) and can't wait to see 136 again. At 136, I'm going to take pics and do a compare of 136 before and after weight lifting. I'm actually really exicited about it. Oh, I'm also 1-2 sizes smaller now.
Lisa, Thanks for posing that question. It really hits home for me. In fact, it's something that I'm thinking about a lot lately. I started NROL4W at 136lbs. By the time I finished, and up until about a month and a half ago, I was up to 141, but looked better than I did at 136lbs.
I did NROL4W at maintenance calories because I was more interested in gaining lean body mass vs. losing fat (knowing also that I had fat to lose). In Oct, I decided it was time to start working on losing the fat, so I started eating at about a 200-300cal deficit while continuing to lift. I'm now down to 137.6 (as of this morning) and can't wait to see 136 again. At 136, I'm going to take pics and do a compare of 136 before and after weight lifting. I'm actually really exicited about it. Oh, I'm also 1-2 sizes smaller now.
I'm planning on doing something similar. How long did you do NROLFW at maintenance for? And are you still doing it now that your in a deficit?
I'm planning on doing something similar. How long did you do NROLFW at maintenance for? And are you still doing it now that your in a deficit?
I started NROL4W in Feb this year, went through all stages at maintenance with the exception of 7--I ended up only doing part of stage 7 because I got sick. By the time I was better, I decided it was time to move on. Since then I've started NROL--the original and love it. It's here that I'm eating at a deficit.
I can see where you could be frustrated by a weight gain...trust me, I'm working hard at this fat loss thing too! I think that you are right to seek advice, but you also need to make sure you don't get frustrated and give up. Finding the correct balance is a lot like diagnosing an illness sometimes. (Excuse my morbid simile) You need to go by trial and error, and sometimes after a lot of trials and errors it comes down to a guessing game! A lot of people in this thread have given viable answers...water weight, eating too much, eating too little, too much cardio, etc. Now comes the science experiment! (I love science..I'm a biochem student and I work in a research lab) Vary one of those things each week. One week, do less cardio. Evaluate. Another week, eat more. Evaluate. Go on until you find the source of your issue! A long process, I know, but one well worth it in the grand scheme of things. Plus, who couldn't use a little variation?? Maybe the variation itself will kickstart your progress again!
Sorry if this is a redundant post, but I was in an inspirational and scientific mood!
I can see where you could be frustrated by a weight gain...trust me, I'm working hard at this fat loss thing too! I think that you are right to seek advice, but you also need to make sure you don't get frustrated and give up. Finding the correct balance is a lot like diagnosing an illness sometimes. (Excuse my morbid simile) You need to go by trial and error, and sometimes after a lot of trials and errors it comes down to a guessing game! A lot of people in this thread have given viable answers...water weight, eating too much, eating too little, too much cardio, etc. Now comes the science experiment! (I love science..I'm a biochem student and I work in a research lab) Vary one of those things each week. One week, do less cardio. Evaluate. Another week, eat more. Evaluate. Go on until you find the source of your issue! A long process, I know, but one well worth it in the grand scheme of things. Plus, who couldn't use a little variation?? Maybe the variation itself will kickstart your progress again!
Sorry if this is a redundant post, but I was in an inspirational and scientific mood!
I'm not sure that a week is a long enough time to gauge results. But other than that I agree with what you're saying.
The past two weeks I have been on a job shadow (I'm a student) and my routine was all wonky so I was eating less. I noticed immediately that I couldn't push myself as hard in the gym, I needed to sleep more and HIIT was completely out of the question. So I made a concerted effort to eat more throughout the day, and now I'm back to my old self as regards to energy levels, and I haven't gained.
Yeah you're right, a week probably isn't long enough. Take the big picture as trying to transform your body, no matter how long it takes. Think of it this way. You're in this for the long haul now...you're not going to finish NROL4W and become sedentary (I'm assuming). So what's the problem with taking some time now to figure out how your body responds to different approaches? Then you'll know better for your next venture in fitness!
New to lifting = muscle soreness or DOMS.
DOMS has nothing whatsoever to do with 'injured' muscles but 99.999% with inflammation and water retention. Chalk it up to that and go on doing what you just did.
You know, most guys would be beyond happy to find they looked more 'swole' as this thing what happened is very typical for those who lift regularly = teh pump.. teh swoleness. Get used to it... and above everything be proud & happy!
BTW, it's not just the inflammation causing the water retention , it's also increased blood flow so the muscles become more engorged with blood & nutrients. This can be advantageous too as your fat cells surrounding the muscles will get more blood circulation as well and release fats more easily.
However, while fat is being burnt, the empty fat cells will fill up with water.. here's also some of your weight gain.
Sometimes it takes deliberate overeating to make the fat cells release that extra water as the next time you work out, the extra nutrients (mostly excess carbs) that enter the fat cells, will be pulled out along with the water.. this is called a 'whoosh'
I am just starting stage 6. I've only managed to workout twice a week due to life demands, but I really enjoy it. I started on this about 15 months after having my third (and last) baby because my stomach was not returning to normal and I liked how much muscle I had built up over the pregnancy and lugging a big baby around for a year - I didn't want to lose it all once he was walking.
Here's my dilemna - I love the way my arms and legs look: much more muscular and so they appear thinner. Even my stomach has improved noticably and I'm happy about that. However, in addition to my scale saying exactly the same thing as it did at the beginning (perhaps even up a pound or two), my clothes do NOT feel better and I have lost NO measurable inches. I have finally decided to admit defeat and get rid of all my pre-pregnancy clothing and move up to a new size. I have been living in elastic waist pants for 2 years now. I don't watch my calories too closely - I measured initially and stick to that kind of diet, but I also don't consider myself overweight - I'm 5'1" (in the morning) and weigh about 120 lb.
Has anyone else not experienced any change in body size while also seeing many more muscles? Thanks.
This is a recepie for disaster. Before you admit defeat, why don't you actually measure, weigh and record all your food in a log. Fat loss is achieved in the kitchen, not the gym. Get yourself a food scale and a calorie counter, plan ahead for menu and grocery shopping and you will get the results you want.
I know this is hard with little ones, but it is not impossible. Good luck.
I appreciate your advice, but is that really worth it if I'm not trying to loss weight? If I weigh the same but have more muscle, shouldn't that mean I've converted fat to muscle and so should be losing inches?
Also, I've done the weighing and keeping track of calories before - I had gestational diabetes three times. My baseline calorie needs for this diet (not working at a deficit) are basically the same as what I needed while pregnant. I'm not doing it not because it is too hard with little ones running around (obviously I needed to do it under those conditions with pregnancies 2 and 3), but because I need a dire consequence to motivate me. Since I feel like my weight is in the healthy zone and I am managing to keep from gaining weight, I don't really have the motivation right now.
I just don't understand how I can weight basically the same, have more muscle and have lost no inches around my waist. I will keep your thoughts in mind, though and reconsider whether I'm really ready to give up.
Fat doesn't convert to muscle. You can lose fat and gain muscle. A pound of fat weighs the same as a pound of muscle, too. Muscle just takes up less space.
How do you KNOW you have more muscle? Have you had your body fat measured before and after? Did you take measurements before you started and now?
ETA: It sounds to me like you want to be smaller than you are. And, I would bet that it's going to take some fat loss for that to happen.....which, unfortunately, does mean you need to be real diligent with your food.
I appreciate your advice, but is that really worth it if I'm not trying to loss weight? If I weigh the same but have more muscle, shouldn't that mean I've converted fat to muscle and so should be losing inches?
I know you're not trying to lose weight, that's why I said fat loss, not weight loss. Big difference. If you want to change your body composition, you need to experiment with your macronutrients, not your calories. Try different carb and fat percentages while keeping your protein steady, to see what gives you more bang for your buck. What do your macros look like right now?
Jane - I can now see muscles bulging where I didn't have any before, so I assume I have more muscle. I suppose I could be losing fat in those areas and redistributing fat to my stomach. That would make me very sad. My stomach has changed shape - it is now nice and flat up top, near my ribs, and I can see definite ridges along the sides. However, there is still the 'baby bulge' from just above my navel down to my c-section scar. That is what is keeping all my pants and skirts from fitting.
Luna Sea- What an interesting idea that it is not how MUCH I eat, but WHAT I eat! I have been eating a high protein diet since I was in college (and got diagnosed with hypoglycemia) and the gestational diabetes diet was also high protein. However, it was also low in fat (many women suffering from gestational diabetes start their pregnancies with too much weight). Since that is the basic diet I am following, I suspect I am eating more carbs and less fat than my typical diet. I know carbs are not my friends, in general, because of those previous experiences. In fact, I once went of a wheat-free diet and went down to a weight I have rarely seen since high school. I might have to keep track of my food after all (at least for awhile) to see if I can change my ratios around and keep my overall calories the same. Thanks for the thought!
On a random positive note: the improvement in my chest muscles has made my breasts look way better than they did after 3 pregnancies and over 3 years of nursing (in total). A benefit I LOVE and totally did not expect!
1 month into the program, 5 lbs heavier and NOT happy
Linear Mode
