Why is'nt the weight coming off!!?

Question

I have been working out every day for the past month. I lost about 9 pounds. I do 45 mins. of cardio everyday. I eat Special K with skim milk in the morning and a very low cal. lunch and low cal & low carb dinner. No more sweets, I cut back on carbs. I stepped on the scale this morning and I GAINED 4 pounds in a week. How and why? I am about to give up.

Answer 1

If you gained 4 lb in one week, I'd guess its water weight. Why would that happen? Could be because you actually didn't drink enough water (causes your body to horde what it has), too much salt or, I'll point out, your monthly cycle. A lot of women retain water before their period, water weighs a ton.

You can also see weight gain from muscle. Muscle is much more dense then fat, 10 lb of muscle takes as much space up as 1 lb of fat.

My advice, seriously, is to throw the damn scale out. Do you want to be thinner or lighter?

Judge your progress by how your clothes fit. And watch out for bloating at certain times of your month - that might be normal for you.

Answer 2

The cardio could be responsible for the weight gain because muscle weighs more than fat. You may have also drank a diet soda or too much sodium which is making you retain a little water.

Low cal and low carb isn't always good. Your body may think your starving it causing you to have a dieters platea. Try a adding a few calories every few days and see if that helps. You'll get past it, don't give up.

See how your clothes fit. Are they looser? If so you're making progress.

Answer 3

Don't give up!

It's quite conceivable that you will gain weight when you first begin to exercise due to gaining *muscle*. This is good.

A lot of nutritionists will tell you that the bathroom scale is worthless. What you want to do is check your body composition. Call local fitness clubs to see if they can do or at least can recommend a place to get a body composition check. This measures how much of your weight is fat versus everything else.

Failing that, take a picture of yourself every month. Do you look better? I'd bet that you do! Another technique is to measure your stomach, thighs and butt (with a tape measure). These measurements can get smaller even if your weight is going up.

Finally, it is possible that you are over-training and or not eating enough. Don't starve yourself: eat *better*, not less. If you are starving yourself, your body will store more energy as food because it thinks you are suffering through a famine. Think about POWs or people in a prison camp: sure, they're thin, but do they look good?

Answer 4

Right. Muscle is heavier than fat, so as you build strength and lose fat, you may actually see a weight increase, so it could be a good thing.

I, too am in the process of trying to lose weight, almost at the end of my first month and I have not seen much in results yet. Be patient and give it time.

Rather than focus on weight, I tape myself and focus on my waistline, rather than pounds.

Here are things to look out for:

1. Make sure you are drinking enough water. They recommend 8 to 10 cups of water a day.

2. Cutting carbs is good, but calories still count. You can research online how many calories you need for your height and target weight.

3. A recent article I read says you need to do at least 60 minutes of cardio a day to see significant weight loss.

Good luck and don't lose hope.

Answer 5

Gina, that could easily be just water weight. You are sure working hard and dieting a lot for only losing 9 lbs. Are you telling the whole truth about your caloric intake in the evening before bed? Do Not Give Up. Eat half of your normal portions for supper and NEVER eat later than 7:00 pm... Just drink water or have some celery stix WITHOUT THE PEANUT BUTTER OR FILLING IN THE CENTER. Have an apple. Just stay away from the fat stuff. Remember. Oxygen, does not cause weight gain. It is all what goes into your mouth.

Answer 6

You may be loosing weight but gained it in muscle. Check you body shape may tell you this. I have been working out for last few months and have lost 2"s around the waist but gained weight. So something similar may have happened to you?

Answer 7

It's true what they say that muscle weighs more than fat. By working out, you're building muscle. Muscle is more appealing than fat so you won't have to worry about that. As for gaining pounds, I wouldn't worry about that. I worked out all year last year to avoid the freshman fifteen, only to gain it anyway from muscle build up. You're diet is very healthy, and I would encourage you to continue your workout plan. Take the difference in body shape as the main goal.

Answer 8

the things that sneak weight onto my body are fat and sugar. no matter how much I exercise or low calory meals I do/eat. If i get too much sugar and fat in my meals, hidden stuff too, than I will gain. since I started using different fats it got way better. I gain no longer and slowly lose further weight. I now use cold pressed sesame oil instead of sunflower oil or butter. or baking products for that matter... maybe this can help you too. but for me it still was a slow process after the oil-change... :))

Answer 9

DON'T GIVE UP GINA!!! I take measurements now, and it's much more helpful. Scales are good in a way that you can just jump on them and they tell you your progress, but if you're building muscle, they just end up making you feel like crap. It could also be water retention.

Try a scale, that measures fat % and water % in your body. That could help. But measurements kick ***.

Good luck. No giving up.

Answer 10

YOU need a special plan based on your body type/blood/life styles and much more.
or just protein no curbs and 1 litre fresh vegetable&fruite mix made by you every day!!!! try organic as much you can aford.
a tip is when your going at the organic stores ,look for the redused price products/ you dont need perfect ones for juising.it works wonders!!!!