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traineo Community / Diet & Nutrition Tips / What is going on with my body?
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Colin Barnes
Fitness Guru
Posts: 216
Post History
 # Posted: 19 Feb 2008 23:24


The scales have not moved in over 2 and a half weeks now, and this morning it went up!! I've been careful with my diet and have worked hard in the gym 5 days a week for the last 3 weeks, and yet nothing has changed! How can this be? It can't all be muscle mass and water-retention, i'm drinking a ton of water at the moment, and limit my weights to 20mins a day.

Do I have a ridiculously slow metabolism? Am I doing something wrong? In my first week I shed 5lbs which most of it must have been water, but I have seen absolutely no trend going downwards for about 18 days straight - this is pretty annoying!
Megan G
Fitness Guru
Posts: 268
Post History
 # Posted: 19 Feb 2008 23:26


simple question: are you counting calories?

if not, just start, and measure portions. you don't have to do it forever, just long enough to see what you're taking in on average- and to fix it. try dailyplate, a lot of people here like it.

misestimating how much you're eating is the most common reason for not seeing results. being careful isn't enough.

good luck


Colin Barnes
Fitness Guru
Posts: 216
Post History
 # Posted: 19 Feb 2008 23:29


Hi Megan, Thanks for the suggestion, but I meticulously plan every calorie in my diet, and have recently planned a new more inclusive one with a few more calories, but I can't understand why I've not seen even a glimmer of a down trend


Angie H
Fitness Guru
Posts: 718
Post History
 # Posted: 19 Feb 2008 23:35


Have you measured yourself? Don't get too hung up on the scale. If your measurements are shrinking you're losing fat.

If you haven't already, GET A TAPE MEASURE!
Splint Chesthair
Fitness Guru
Posts: 471
Post History
 # Posted: 19 Feb 2008 23:48


You have a total of almost 1000 calories burned in 65 minutes of exercise today and eating 1980 calories. Is that right?

First, calories burned seems high, but at your weight maybe not, I burn maybe 500-600 calories exercising for an hour.

If you've not gaining muscle and losing fat then something needs to be changed. Start changing things and see what happens. Try Up Day - Down Day diet where you eat 2500 calories one day and 1200 the next or something.

But if you're not getting the results you want than you obviously need to change what you're doing. Change to what is the question and something only you can find out for sure.
Jeff Bristow
Fitness Guru
Posts: 280
Post History
 # Posted: 19 Feb 2008 23:53


I am currently experiencing weight that doesn't seem to want to go anywhere.

I have been hovering between 186 and 190 lbs now for one month.

However, my body fat percentage is decreasing. I attribute my relatively steady weight at the moment to muscle mass gains. People are telling me I am looking better, even thought the scale is not cooperating, and my clothes are fitting different.

This may be what is happening to you as well.
Colin Barnes
Fitness Guru
Posts: 216
Post History
 # Posted: 20 Feb 2008 00:15 - Edited by: ColinFB


HI all

Angie - I didn't measure myself to begin with so I don't have a reference until today when I wrote down my measurements, but my clothes don't feel any looser, and my weekly photo's also show no difference - I was hoping my belly might shrink a little at least ;(

Splint - the calories burnt on that graph always seem to show more than is actual, It's just what it comes up with when I select the options. Based on the machines in the gym, I would say it's an average of about 600, give or take 50.

I'm trying a new diet this week (thanks again Angie for your advice on the previous thread) to see if that changes things.

For anyone that is interested, here is a link to a spreadsheet that shows my diet broken down into calories, protein, carbs, and now fats
http://www.mediafire.com/?1e01nomoty2

The ratio at the moment is:
Cal: 1859
Protein:135
Carb:110
Fat: 74

Spread over 5 meals throughout the day, with most of the carbs earlier in the day, and light evening meal.

I will continue to monitor measurements on a weekly basis, but it's pretty annoying to see no downward change, and as of this morning, and increase! Grrrr... biology is confusing


Angie H
Fitness Guru
Posts: 718
Post History
 # Posted: 20 Feb 2008 00:56


When I do the math on the grams listed,

4 X 135 = 540 calories from protein
4 X 110 = 440 calories from carbs
9 X 74 = 666 calories from fat

Add it all together and I get 1646 calories. What am I missing?

Depending on where you're losing body fat, you might not could tell with your clothes, especially if any are a bit snug already. Make sure to measure biceps, thighs, calves, belly, chest, neck, forearm. Basically, anything that might look a bit pudgy - measure it! It may only be incremental differences; an 1/8" here, 1/4" there. Over the course of a month if you're sticking to your diet and exercise, I'd be flabbergasted if you don't see any changes.
Jocelyn Coutant
Fitness Guru
Posts: 222
Post History
 # Posted: 20 Feb 2008 01:53


when do you weigh yourself? it could be water weight. you might be eating foods high in sodium which can cause you to retain water. maybe your body is still adjusting to what you're doing. sometimes it might take a few weeks for your body to kick itself into gear and start burning fat.

don't give up just because you don't see results. if you feel better about yourself overall, that's the biggest thing you could ask for.
Dave Nicholson
The Master
Posts: 2094
Post History
 # Posted: 20 Feb 2008 02:15


measure, give it 3-4 weeks. Likely, you are gaining muscle.

If, indeed, you are gaining muscle - this is great

How are your cardio workouts?
Colin Barnes
Fitness Guru
Posts: 216
Post History
 # Posted: 20 Feb 2008 11:50 - Edited by: ColinFB


Angie, I'm not sure why the calories don't add up - i'm going by the calories as metioned on the food labels, maybe there is some manufacturers inaccuracies on there?

Jocelyn, I weigh myself each day, but I really only take notice of my weekly weigh-in on monday mornings. I agree, maybe it's taking my body a while to adjust from the previous very lazy and high carb/fat intake state it was in.

Dave, my cardio is usually 45 minutes each day, split between the treadmill, cross trainer and stationary bike. I work out to an average HR of 160, before it was between 140-170, but I seem to have trained in such a way that my heart-rate has stabilised to 160 when working hard.

At the end of the day, I need to stop worrying so much and monitor measurements and bf%, I suppose because i'm new I was expecting a little more for all the hard-work, but I'll keep plodding along and see how I do with the new diet.
David DeVore
traineo Fanatic
Posts: 71
Post History
 # Posted: 20 Feb 2008 14:22


might I suggest HIIT training a couple of days a week? It might be the surprise that your body needs to spike your metabolism. Good luck with that diet, I don't know if I could do something that structured. I'd probably go crazy



Dean Grimshawe
Fitness Guru
Posts: 1182
Post History
 # Posted: 20 Feb 2008 14:35


In the early days you just got to start working through the gears.

It's a bit like a car. As you pull away in first, no matter how hard you accelerate, you're still only in first. It's taking a huge amount of fuel yet all you've done is start to pull away. The bigger the task at hand also, the steeper the incline, so at first it is like a hill start.

Once you get rolling, it is so easy to rise up through thr gears and cruise along in 5th at 80mph.

Training is the same. It takes a huge amount of energy and resource to get the ball rolling, but as you build up speed it just becomes easier and easier. The work you are doing today is pivotal to your success, though training does not distribute results in line with the effort put in. In months to come you will be seeing huge gains when doing relatively little and it will all be because of you busting your ass today!!

The results are coming, they are in the post!!
Colin Barnes
Fitness Guru
Posts: 216
Post History
 # Posted: 20 Feb 2008 14:42


David - Thanks for the suggestion, I do currently incorporate interval training when doing the cardio, hopefully this will work!

Dean - thanks for the analogy, I like the idea of my weight loss stuck in a royal mail sorting office, it will be nice when it turns up Cheers mate.
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