I''m cutting, and yet gaining weight!

[Buddybot111]

Literally the subject. Here''s a short version of my history. I''m 18 years old and 6 months ago I weighed 210 pounds at a height of 5''6". Today I weigh 153 pounds. Basically all I did was eat less and less and less while on/off gym. At around 160 pounds simply eating less was no longer really helping so I got advice from one of the gym trainers. I upped my calories to around 1500-1700 or so and started weight lifting. I dropped down to 156 where I stayed for a while. My goal is to be 140-145, so I still was not satisfied.

I then went online and researched and was told to eat more as my current intake of calories was "starving" myself. I followed that advice around 2 weeks ago. I also started a log around this time. http://www.fitday.com/WebFit/PublicJournals.html?Owner=mcFreid

Now, At first it seemed to be working but recently I''ve been going up! I thought it was a one-day thing, but it doesn''t seem to be going away.

To give a quick summary of my routine these days if your not interested in looking at the detailed fitday log, it is this.

Food: 2000-2100 cal split to 50%prot/30%fat/20%carb

Exercise: Mon/Thurs-Vigirous Lifting
Tues/Wed/Fri: Combination of HIIT/7-8min Mile/Mod Intensity Cardio
Sat/Sun: Whatever exercise I can fit in.

Please help me out and tell me what''s going on with my body!

 

[artificialaspirations]

Your body was in starvation mode with those low cals. Once you started eating again your muscles got fed and your metabolism has sped back up.

I don't think you should be restricting calories at all being as young as you are. 1500-1700 cals a day is nothing for a growing boy that will be filling out and growing taller. If you don't eat you won't grow.

What's happening since your young is you started to build muscle when you started lifting and bodyfat is likely going down. Enjoy it while you can these types of gains only happen for newbies, genetic freaks and steroid users. They will stop over time and at that point is when you'll be older and full grown and can diet down.

My advice: jump on a structured lifting program like a 5x5. Clean up your diet (no junk food, sugar, unnecessary fats, fried foods, etc.) eat lean protein and fruits/veges, unsalted mixed nuts, etc 6x a day. AT least 350-420 cals every 3 hrs. Get a dietary scale and just keep track, don't over eat.

Let the muscle you will easily build take care of the hard part of burning the fat.

140 lbs is too low of a cut. You need some muscle for that low body weight to look healthy.

Stick with it and if you have any more questions just ask!

 

[Tatyana]

Literally the subject. Here''s a short version of my history. I''m 18 years old and 6 months ago I weighed 210 pounds at a height of 5''6". Today I weigh 153 pounds. Basically all I did was eat less and less and less while on/off gym. At around 160 pounds simply eating less was no longer really helping so I got advice from one of the gym trainers. I upped my calories to around 1500-1700 or so and started weight lifting. I dropped down to 156 where I stayed for a while. My goal is to be 140-145, so I still was not satisfied.

I then went online and researched and was told to eat more as my current intake of calories was "starving" myself. I followed that advice around 2 weeks ago. I also started a log around this time. http://www.fitday.com/WebFit/PublicJournals.html?Owner=mcFreid

Now, At first it seemed to be working but recently I''ve been going up! I thought it was a one-day thing, but it doesn''t seem to be going away.

To give a quick summary of my routine these days if your not interested in looking at the detailed fitday log, it is this.

Food: 2000-2100 cal split to 50%prot/30%fat/20%carb

Exercise: Mon/Thurs-Vigirous Lifting
Tues/Wed/Fri: Combination of HIIT/7-8min Mile/Mod Intensity Cardio
Sat/Sun: Whatever exercise I can fit in.

Please help me out and tell me what''s going on with my body!

geez hun,

you upped your calories to that?

Even now you are not eating all that many calories.

Why focus on the number on the scales?

What is your goal? Just to weigh a certain amount?

That is a completely mad way to look at your body composition if you are going to train.

I think you may have developed a bit of a eating disorder, body perception dysmorphia and exercise anorexia with losing weight.

I would start focusing on what your bodymeasurements are, what bodyfat percentage you are, not what you weigh.

You could end up weighing 140 lb and still be skinny fat.


You are really going to have to do some de-programming about what you think about food, weight, how much to train, what you look like.

Seriously, you don't need to 'cut' any more. You have probably done some damage to your metabolism, however, it is fixable.

Carry on this way though, and you are looking at a lifetime of yo-yo dieting and never being happy with your body.

Start looking at what I would call body recomposition, which is adding muscle, and while you are doing that, you will burn some fat off.

I would also recommend you get a copy of Tom Venuto's Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle.

 

[Buddybot111]

You have to understand that when I weighed 210 pounds, losing weight was ALL I cared about. I understand though that my method probably wasn't the healthiest, and at the time I didn't know alot about losing weight in the "right way". I do now though. If you could, please focus on what my CURRENT diet and exercise routines are as that's what I'm more looking for advice on. Obviously I can't go back in time and change what already happened. I'm just concerned that what I'm doing right now is not helping me achieve my goal. And to clarify my goal, of course I want to lose the weight while maintaing the muscle. My bodyfat % is still probably around 15-16% since last time I got it professionally measured (around a month 1/2 ago). I want it to be 10%.

 

[Tatyana]

Again, what for?

I think that it is important to have in your mind more than just a fixation on a number, you really do want something beyond just a number.

It will help with the motivation, and carrying on a healthy lifestyle for life.

I do think it is important to look at the last 6 months, it is a short time span, and it is going to affect how your body is responding now, and how it will respond in the future.

With regards to what you are doing now it it hard to comment without more information, like a breakdown of your diet (I think the calories are still probably way too low for the amount of training you are doing), and a breakdown of what you are doing in your training (and I think you are over-training).

Our bodies are geared to putting on fat, it is how we survived all of our human pre-history living in caves, exposed to the elements and having to endure periods of feast and famine.

Brutalising the body to get the results you want typically results in rebound.

NO ONE can keep going for life on a diet where the calories are low and the exercise excessive.

I am concerned about how you are thinking about this, if you put on muscle, which is the ideal scenario, your weight could go up.

You have lost 1/4 of your bodyweight in a short period of time, it may need to adapt to the weight it is now. I would focus more on maintaining what you have now, and moving into a diet and training plan that you can maintain.

For more detailed advice, please post a typical day's diet i.e.)

7:30 am - two slices of toast/bowl of cereal (whatever you eat)

10:00 - apple and peanut butter etc

Same for training

Monday

Legs

Squats 3 sets - 10 reps

Leg Press 3 sets - 8-12 reps

Stiff leg dead lifts 2 sets 6-8 reps (or whatever it is)

30 min on X-trainer

Tuesday etc.

 

[Buddybot111]

All the information you want is in the fitday log. I keep a journal entry beyond just the daily food (which is also visible) that will show you my exercise routine. Honestly it is more about how I look than how much I weigh. The problem is, I need to see results and looks are very hard to quantify on an even weekly basis. That's why I use the scale, but in the end it all originates from my goal of wanting to look "lean and mean".

 

[Tatyana]

All the information you want is in the fitday log. I keep a journal entry beyond just the daily food (which is also visible) that will show you my exercise routine. Honestly it is more about how I look than how much I weigh. The problem is, I need to see results and looks are very hard to quantify on an even weekly basis. That's why I use the scale, but in the end it all originates from my goal of wanting to look "lean and mean".

I can get that, but it really is an 'ego' goal.

There isn't anything wrong with that, but just as much as your ego will drive you to the gym, it will also have you sit at home and eat take-aways on the sofa.

This is the thing hun, bodybuilding is a marathon, not a sprint.

I would love it if you celebrated what you have accomplished so far, it really is quite amazing.

You know that expression easy come easy go? Well that really applies to bodybuilding and having a great physique.

Most 'quick fixes' and easy gains are all too often quickly lost.

There is this theory about set points for weight, all related to our body homeostatic mechanism.

I would think that you have probably pushed yours to the max.

Your body may be trying to return to the weight it was at previously, it thinks it has been starving and going through a period of really hard work. All your body wants to do is survive.

You have to SEDUCE your body to do what you want it to, not rape it.

You can still transform your body to what you want, you may just have to be a bit more realistic about the time frame.

I do really think that the whole fast-food, fast everything available now has really done an injustice to the fitness industry. People think that if it doesn't happen NOW, that 'weight training didn't work for me', or 'I tried that, it didn't work', and then they move onto drugs.

Just a bit of patience hun. You'll get there.

I'll have a peek at your journal now.

 

[Tatyana]

I finnaly reached my goal for calories today, even going slightly beyond it. Also in P.E. in school we swam for an hour in the morning so I was happy to count that as my cardio for the day. Despite this, I felt grodgy and tired with a mild headache starting at around 2:00pm. I went to the gym at 4:30pm anyway. I wanted to startoff with squats, but with my lack of energy I figured I'd do some other easier lifts hoping that they would "wake me up".

I was wrong. I never did get to the squats, and they didn't wake me up.

Anyway, here was my routine: Dumbbell Rows 3x10x15 Tricep Rope Extension 3x10x50 Bicep Cable Curl 3x10x50 Upright Row 3x10x25 Bench Press 3x10xBAR Standing Dumbbell Shoulder Press 3x10x15

Yes, I realise I missed my legs. I was so tired though that by the end of it I just had to make that sacrifice, besides the squat rack was being used. As for everything else, it went pretty well though for the bench press I still felt it in my arms more than my chest. I'll have to work on that. I got out of my lack of energy mood later and wish I was able to go back to the gym now that I have my energy back. Sadly its closed after 9 on fridays.


I have had a scan of a few days, and your calories are still really low, they are not far off what I eat for a compitition diet, and I weigh 20-30 lbs less than you.

Also, as my bodyfat goes down and my cardio goes up, I increase my calories.

I highlighted a few things. Those are symptoms of over-training and/or exercise anorexia.

Over-training is as detrimental as not training at all.

You suppress your immune system, your body releases more cortisol which will just EAT your muscle up, convert those amino acids to glucose, have the glycogen released from your liver, and the whole 'stress' thing also triggers insulin release which will usually have that extra glucose deposited on your tummy as fat.

I would recommend you take a week off.

Your body grows muscle when you rest, not when you are in the gym.

Also, if you want to put on muscle, which is what gives people that lean and mean look, too much cardio is counterproductive.

There are also a few things in your diet that I am not sure about, it does look like there are quite a few processed foods in your diet.

How that is structured still does not lend itself to helping your sort out a daily meal plan that will work for you.

 

[Buddybot111]

just wanted to make sure, your saying 2000 calories is low for me?

I'm taking 3 days off from the gym right now as I study up on fitness, but I'm not sure about a whole week. The day you quoted from me was one particular day. I don't think it should be taken as a generalization for how I feel. I got tired I think out of pure boredom during AP macroeconomics and it sorted left me in this lethargic mood that day. I don't think it was anything to do with me physically more than it was a mental thing.

I do apreciate your advice and am very interested in anything else you could suggest. You said "too much cardio is counterproductive", how much is too much? When I was obese I used to do these 1 hour eliptical sessions, but went down to around 160 I switched over to doing 20 minute HIIT sessions on the eliptical. I enjoyed those a lot more cause 1 hour can get boring fast if your doing it everday, plus I had time constraints and 20 minutes was much more convenient. To give you an idea of the intesnity: for the hour sessions I would burn around 600 calories. For the 20 minute HIIT I would burn 300. Very recently I've been doing somedays HIIT and somedays a mile run(at around a 7:30 to 8 minute pace) followed by 20 minutes of mod intensity elitpical. I started running because one, I was getting bored of the eliptical machines, and two because I was never that good at it and like the idea of setting a faster pace as one of my goals.