Any help here would be great!

[carbonmade78]

Hey ladies (and guys if you read this..)

I'm not new to lifting, but I'm new to this board. I was in the gym all last summer and fall, but around oct.-november, I fell off the wagon. The holidays were bad (not horrible though) and I'm trying to get back in the swing of things - lifting, diet and cardio wise. I'm trying the 'get back on track' plan I found in the latest m&f hers.

Anyways, I've been doing the plan this week (it's an upper/lower 4 day split) and eating well - or so I thought! I got on the scale and it turns out I've GAINED 4 lbs. If someone eats less than they burn daily, wouldn't that be impossible?? Is it normal for someone to gain a couple pounds right at the beginning of a workout/cardio regime? I've been drinking 80 oz of water daily (at least) so I don't think it's water retention..

I DID quit smoking on New Year's (1 week so far! Yay! ) - would that have a negative effect on my metabolism at all?

Here's a sample of my meal plan if anyone needs it.. (this is what I'll eat today)

m1 - 3 egg whites, 1 serving ground soy protein, 1 slice low-fat cheese
m2 - 1 stick lowfat string cheese, 2 stalks celery, 1 tbsp. natty pb
m3 - 6 oz lean ground turkey, 1 low carb tortilla, 1.5 cups broccoli, 1 apple
m4 - 1 zone protein bar (I'm only eating these cuz I have to get rid of 'em!)
m5 - PWO shake, 1 slice bread w/ sugar free jam
m6 - dinner - dunno yet! - probably tuna w/ salad.

Any ideas on what could be going on?

[nunu713]

Originally Posted by carbonmade78

I got on the scale and it turns out I've GAINED 4 lbs. If someone eats less than they burn daily, wouldn't that be impossible??

Not necessarily. If your body is in a catabolic mode (aka starvation mode), it will store foods as opposed to burning them.

I'm certainly no expert when it comes to all this, but off hand, it looks like you should be consuming between 1600-1800 calories per day. Do you know how many calories you're consuming? You can use websites like fitday.com or nutridiary.com to track your daily intake.

Another thing I noticed is that it looks like some of your meals (meals 1 and 5) are 'all protein' or 'all carb'. Try to include carbs and protein into every meal. Also, mix in some more healthy fats like half an avocado or some flax seeds - 1 tblsp of peanut butter is not enough. My only other recommendation is ditch the cheese for fat free cottage cheese. It's a better protein choice and I personally found that other types of cheese make me bloaty. Not so with cottage cheese. I'm not sure if that's just my body though. Aside from that, up your water. 80oz is a lot, but I know many people who drink more. I drink at least 3 liters a day in addition to a few cups of green tea and the occasional *treat* diet soda.

good luck!

[carbonmade78]

Originally Posted by nunu713

Not necessarily. If your body is in a catabolic mode (aka starvation mode), it will store foods as opposed to burning them.

I'm certainly no expert when it comes to all this, but off hand, it looks like you should be consuming between 1600-1800 calories per day. Do you know how many calories you're consuming? You can use websites like fitday.com or nutridiary.com to track your daily intake.

Another thing I noticed is that it looks like some of your meals (meals 1 and 5) are 'all protein' or 'all carb'. Try to include carbs and protein into every meal. Also, mix in some more healthy fats like half an avocado or some flax seeds - 1 tblsp of peanut butter is not enough. My only other recommendation is ditch the cheese for fat free cottage cheese. It's a better protein choice and I personally found that other types of cheese make me bloaty. Not so with cottage cheese. I'm not sure if that's just my body though. Aside from that, up your water. 80oz is a lot, but I know many people who drink more. I drink at least 3 liters a day in addition to a few cups of green tea and the occasional *treat* diet soda.

good luck!

Thanks for the reply!

I do eat around that many calories - I track them in fitday and I have a HRM that shows the calories I burn so I know when I'm eating at a deficet.(sp?) I know the HRMs aren't TOTALLY accurate, but it does give me a pretty good idea.

I usually eat around1500-1700 cals a day - with a deficet of about 300 cals a day.

And maybe I didn't put enough detail in my meal plan, but I usually do end up getting around 50-60 g of fats daily. That should be enough, right?

I guess I'll up my water intake to at least 100 oz and see how it goes.

How much dairy is usually recommended? 2-3 servings? I LOVE cheese.. I find it hard to limit my intake to 2 a day.

The way I'm eating now is how I was eating all last summer and fall and I didn't gain ANYTHING - that's why this is so weird to me!

[girl81]

Originally Posted by carbonmade78

Hey ladies (and guys if you read this..)

I'm not new to lifting, but I'm new to this board. I was in the gym all last summer and fall, but around oct.-november, I fell off the wagon. The holidays were bad (not horrible though) and I'm trying to get back in the swing of things - lifting, diet and cardio wise. I'm trying the 'get back on track' plan I found in the latest m&f hers.

Anyways, I've been doing the plan this week (it's an upper/lower 4 day split) and eating well - or so I thought! I got on the scale and it turns out I've GAINED 4 lbs. If someone eats less than they burn daily, wouldn't that be impossible?? Is it normal for someone to gain a couple pounds right at the beginning of a workout/cardio regime? I've been drinking 80 oz of water daily (at least) so I don't think it's water retention..

I DID quit smoking on New Year's (1 week so far! Yay! ) - would that have a negative effect on my metabolism at all?

Here's a sample of my meal plan if anyone needs it.. (this is what I'll eat today)

m1 - 3 egg whites, 1 serving ground soy protein, 1 slice low-fat cheese
m2 - 1 stick lowfat string cheese, 2 stalks celery, 1 tbsp. natty pb
m3 - 6 oz lean ground turkey, 1 low carb tortilla, 1.5 cups broccoli, 1 apple
m4 - 1 zone protein bar (I'm only eating these cuz I have to get rid of 'em!)
m5 - PWO shake, 1 slice bread w/ sugar free jam
m6 - dinner - dunno yet! - probably tuna w/ salad.

Any ideas on what could be going on?

I would:
*be patient; give it 2 weeks
*cut out all soy
*cut out protein bars
*pat myself HARD on the back for not smoking! that is awesome!

Your cells are no longer being regularly abused/destroyed by nicotine carcinogens. They are trying to detox and restore their strength and function; the four lbs will pass soon.

[polinutrigirl]

Get rid of the Zone bar for a lower carb bar. Get full fat cheese. You are good at avoiding grains, so continue that. Add more green veggies. Add nuts.

[fitlover]

Originally Posted by carbonmade78

Hey ladies (and guys if you read this..)

I'm not new to lifting, but I'm new to this board. I was in the gym all last summer and fall, but around oct.-november, I fell off the wagon. The holidays were bad (not horrible though) and I'm trying to get back in the swing of things - lifting, diet and cardio wise. I'm trying the 'get back on track' plan I found in the latest m&f hers.

Anyways, I've been doing the plan this week (it's an upper/lower 4 day split) and eating well - or so I thought! I got on the scale and it turns out I've GAINED 4 lbs. If someone eats less than they burn daily, wouldn't that be impossible?? Is it normal for someone to gain a couple pounds right at the beginning of a workout/cardio regime? I've been drinking 80 oz of water daily (at least) so I don't think it's water retention..

I DID quit smoking on New Year's (1 week so far! Yay! ) - would that have a negative effect on my metabolism at all?

Here's a sample of my meal plan if anyone needs it.. (this is what I'll eat today)

m1 - 3 egg whites, 1 serving ground soy protein, 1 slice low-fat cheese
m2 - 1 stick lowfat string cheese, 2 stalks celery, 1 tbsp. natty pb
m3 - 6 oz lean ground turkey, 1 low carb tortilla, 1.5 cups broccoli, 1 apple
m4 - 1 zone protein bar (I'm only eating these cuz I have to get rid of 'em!)
m5 - PWO shake, 1 slice bread w/ sugar free jam
m6 - dinner - dunno yet! - probably tuna w/ salad.

Any ideas on what could be going on?

Hey hun! First of all, this isn't "impossible". The best thing to do, really, is to step away from the scale. Muscle is denser, and therefore weighs more than fat. A lot of dieting women experience weight GAIN, even though they're actually losing body fat. This is just because you're leaning up with muscle.

Also, a good way to see if your body is just reacting to something, is to cut out possible things from your diet that could be causing the weight gain. I know that in a lot of women I've spoken with, eating soy products makes them bloat out. Also bread and milk products can cause extra weight gain in some people, so see how your body reacts to limiting it, or cutting it out.

Personally, I think it's just because you're gaining muscle. That's what happened to me when I first started dieting and using weights...I gained weight and thought it was fat! It kinda scared me for a bit, haha. But I learned to rely on sight, and what I saw in the mirror to tell whether I was gaining weight or losing weight. It's worked way better so far.

Cutting carbs is a good way to lose some body fat. Try cycling them, and see if that works for you. I carb cycle, and it gives me great results!

Good luck!! <3

[kimm4]

Originally Posted by carbonmade78

Hey ladies (and guys if you read this..)

I'm not new to lifting, but I'm new to this board. I was in the gym all last summer and fall, but around oct.-november, I fell off the wagon. The holidays were bad (not horrible though) and I'm trying to get back in the swing of things - lifting, diet and cardio wise. I'm trying the 'get back on track' plan I found in the latest m&f hers.

Anyways, I've been doing the plan this week (it's an upper/lower 4 day split) and eating well - or so I thought! I got on the scale and it turns out I've GAINED 4 lbs. If someone eats less than they burn daily, wouldn't that be impossible?? Is it normal for someone to gain a couple pounds right at the beginning of a workout/cardio regime? I've been drinking 80 oz of water daily (at least) so I don't think it's water retention..

I DID quit smoking on New Year's (1 week so far! Yay! ) - would that have a negative effect on my metabolism at all?

Here's a sample of my meal plan if anyone needs it.. (this is what I'll eat today)

m1 - 3 egg whites, 1 serving ground soy protein, 1 slice low-fat cheese
m2 - 1 stick lowfat string cheese, 2 stalks celery, 1 tbsp. natty pb
m3 - 6 oz lean ground turkey, 1 low carb tortilla, 1.5 cups broccoli, 1 apple
m4 - 1 zone protein bar (I'm only eating these cuz I have to get rid of 'em!)
m5 - PWO shake, 1 slice bread w/ sugar free jam
m6 - dinner - dunno yet! - probably tuna w/ salad.

Any ideas on what could be going on?

Based on your stats you're not eating enough calories for fat loss. This will stall progress for sure. You need to be at a solid 1800 calories for fat loss. You need more protein and healthy fats in your plan. Each meal needs a protein, clean carb and healthy fats...for a better overall balance.

Give your body a few weeks to adjust. It's only been a week!

You should really start seeing some changes within the next 5-6 weeks!

Nice work so far!

[carbonmade78]

Originally Posted by kimm4

Based on your stats you're not eating enough calories for fat loss. This will stall progress for sure. You need to be at a solid 1800 calories for fat loss. You need more protein and healthy fats in your plan. Each meal needs a protein, clean carb and healthy fats...for a better overall balance.

Give your body a few weeks to adjust. It's only been a week!

You should really start seeing some changes within the next 5-6 weeks!

Nice work so far!

THanks for the help everyone.

kimm - It's my bad for posting that meal breakdown - I guess I wasn't specific enough. (I was at work and trying to post it quickly on a break. )
That meal plan I put up there is what I ate on my last day off from training.

I know some people will consume less calories on days they aren't lifting or doing cardio. Is this a good practice? Or would it be more beneficial to eat the same # of calories each day?

On the days I go to the gym, I eat around 1700-1800 cals and try to shoot for around 1500 on off days.

[kimm4]

Keep your calories the same everyday.