Oh Sh*t. Losing Weight (and my muscle gains) Really Fast! Help! - JP Fitness Forums

HailMary · 07-25-2006, 01:09 PM

So, here´s what´s up.

I´m currently on vacation in Mexico for a month and, to my horror, I´m finding that I´m rapidly losing weight.

I´ve been bulking up for the past 8 months (in preparation for the start of college in the Fall) and I´m really freaked out that I´m going to lose a lot of the gains that I´ve made. (I´ve bulked from 165 to just under 190)

I joined a gym here (I´ve been in Mexico now for a week) and have worked out several times already.

I haven´t, however, found a lot of stuff to eat in Mexico. I´m a vegetarian which means that I´ve always had to eat more than the rest of you guys but I haven´t had a problem gaining mass, as you can tell from my gains.

I have to be really careful what I eat off the street and the food selection in the stores here is super limited. I´ve been eating oatmeal in the morning (with nuts and yogurt) and then have been eating some sort of beans/rice dish and often some meal with eggs. That´s fine and all but it´s not as many calories as I should be eating.

So, as you can see I´m having a tough time.

To add to this, I just spent the last two and a half days sick in bed and, when I finally got back to the gym today, I got on the scale and realized, to my horror, that I had lost about 4 lbs.

So, I´m not quite sure what to do. I need to be able to find food that I can eat so that I can maintain my weight. One idea I had was to buy a big bag of peanuts every day and eat those. I don´t know if that would help or would it just make me fat? Any ideas, guys? I´m scared I´m going to keep losing weight!

Part of the problem could also be my workout. I´ve been doing Waterbury´s high-frequency training. This could be aggravating the problem. Perhaps I need to switch to just a 3-day-a-week full-body program so I can just maintain my muscle mass for the next few weeks. The intensity of Waterbury´s program may be too much for my body at this time, given that I´m finding myself short on food.

Any ideas and help from you guys would be great. I´m freaking out here. I don´t want to lose all that I´ve gained.

Thanks,

HM

Jokerz · 07-25-2006, 01:43 PM

it could be that your sweating more then you think you are, and just need to drink more water.

TrainingGirl · 07-25-2006, 02:23 PM

Calm down and try not to freak out too much

What do you have left there...3 weeks? I don't think you'll be able to lose all of your gains in 3 weeks. You can fluctuate up and down a few pounds just in one day...don't let that 4lbs freak you out too much. And I'm sure being sick didn't help. Now that you are feeling better, get back to eating and to the gym, and you will probably be ok. Can you increase your portion sizes so you can keep your cal intake higher? I know you are short on variety, but for the short term at least, try to increase the quantitiy while you are there.

Jason B · 07-25-2006, 02:29 PM

First off, calm the hell down!! 4lbs is nothing, esp. since you've been sick, it's probably all water. Trust me, you're not going to whither away in a month unless you almost starve. Yes, if you find you're not able to eat as much as normal you will have to tone down your exercise volume to keep in caloric surplus or maintenance. Going to a 3-day a week program would be fine. Nuts will help out a lot, they've got a ton of calories, get mixed nuts if you can, better than just peanuts. And stick with the oatmeal, beans, rice, and eggs, those are great foods for a vegetarian.

HailMary · 07-25-2006, 06:24 PM

Thank you guys/gals for those comments.

I guess I wasn´t fully clear. I lost four lbs over those few days of sickness and a couple more upon the first few days of my arrival. So I´m down about six or so.

But all your comments have reassured me a lot. I feel much assured. I will buy a bunch of mixed nuts and also try to up my portion size a bit.

Would it be a mistake to continue with Waterbury´s high-frequency program? I guess I will have to really watch the scale and see how my weight is fluctuating.

Lost Dog · 07-25-2006, 06:31 PM

Yes, it's a mistake to continue on that program. If you're having trouble getting food, then you need to cut down the activity levels.

Drink a lot of milk, avocado, cheese, tortillas, beans, rice, fruit, and veggies. Lots of seeds, too.

If the food in the stores is limited, ask the locals to direct you to some different stores. You can always eat the same things, over and over and over again.

JoshDunn · 07-25-2006, 06:36 PM

The scales no doubt are different to your ones at home (unless you took them with you) and each scale reads differently. I'd suggest stop weighing yourself so much and just go by the mirror. Its not about the numbers when you head off to college its the body. Just chill and enjoy the sun.