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Original poster

To be disillusioned with my gym progress and weight gain?

53 replies

OverTheHammer · 05/08/2017 09:59

I'm 5ft 10in and started off at 11st. After calorie counting I got down to 10st 7lbs. I joined a gym just over a month ago and have been going 4 times a week. Last weekend I weighed 10st 3lbs.

Now all of a sudden I'm 10st 5lbs. Apart from that my clothes feel weird, almost tighter than they did before. I'm looking in the mirror and really not liking what I'm seeing. I look saggy and old. A bit of definition around the stomach area but other than that, I see myself looking saggier than I did before.

I'm under my calories every day (1500). I feel really disillusioned by it all. At least before I was chubby but looked like I was meant to look that way! Now I just look weird.

As I said I joined gym just over a month ago. What am I doing wrong and why am I putting ON weight??

OP posts:
SoPassRemarkable · 05/08/2017 12:24

Definitely mix it up. Body pump is a good class for calorie burn and strength.

Original poster
OverTheHammer · 05/08/2017 12:36

I'm 36. I keep booking myself into classes at gym but then pulling out as I'm too self conscious (and anti social!) to actually go!

MFP was set to lose 1lb a week giving me 1500 calories a day. I've just changed it to 2lbs a week and now my calorie goal is 1200!! Seems so low, I'm going to starve to death arnt I 😭

OP posts:
Genghi · 05/08/2017 12:39

MFP provide a net goal. So you have to eat back your exercise calories, or set your settings to a higher activity level. Not doing this means you'll gain it all back the minute you stop going to the gym!

Birdsgottaf1y · 05/08/2017 12:46

""MFP was set to lose 1lb a week giving me 1500 calories a day. I've just changed it to 2lbs a week and now my calorie goal is 1200!! Seems so low, I'm going to starve to death arnt I ""

Have you tried free weights?

I've been in gyms with all age group of Women and i've never known weight lifting to not work. Lift enough and you could eat all day.

You at least need HIT. All the evidence shows that it keeps you burning fat, even in between workouts.

19lottie82 · 05/08/2017 12:49

OP how much weight are you trying to lose? You're not overweight?

Original poster
OverTheHammer · 05/08/2017 12:56

I want to weigh 10 stone. I don't really know why but it's the number I've become obsessed with.

OP posts:
Somerford · 05/08/2017 12:58

I'm 36. I keep booking myself into classes at gym but then pulling out as I'm too self conscious (and anti social!) to actually go!

If your gym has a separate, sectioned off boxing gym why don't you go in on your own and use the equipment when there are no classes on? Boxing really is excellent, if you do it right you will shed body fat and tone up in no time. You don't need a boxercise class or a coach, just you and a heavy bag. Watch a few YouTube videos on basic technique to make sure you're doing it properly and not risking injury, concentrate hard on your technique whilst training and you're all set. You'll be absolutely knackered at the end of each session but the results are quick.

Lucysky2017 · 05/08/2017 13:02

Weights would be good then. It sounds like the treadmill hsa got you at 36 down to 28 year old's fitness though which is good. If you want to lose weigh 1200 calories and no exercise at all would probably do it however..... unless you'd just be sitting at home bored and eating.

Decaffstilltastesweird · 05/08/2017 13:05

Not to freak you out or anything, but this has happened to me twice in my life during health kicks. Both times I was in the early stages of pregnancy! I seem to gain a few lbs when I fall pregnant and then it comes off again. Just saying as it just happened to me a few months ago. Currently 14 weeks with dc2.

swingofthings · 05/08/2017 13:09

2 pounds is nothing and can easily be due to bowel movements/periods coming/water retention etc...

However, you mention eating a protein bar every evening so that could definitely be an issue as these can be high in calories. These bars are really only necessary if you do intensive training. From what you are describing, I don't think they would do any good, you'd be better sticking to high protein diet.

Also a month at the gym is nothing. It's taken me at least 2 years of regular intensive exercise (triathlon training) to really see a difference in my body shape (beyond losing weight). It does take quite some time unfortunately especially when approaching the 40s.

Keep going and it will happen. Going from couch to 5k is a massive achievement and you'll get a real buzz when you do it.

Original poster
OverTheHammer · 05/08/2017 13:11

Chance would be a fine thing decaff 😂 Congratulations btw x

OP posts:
cluecu · 05/08/2017 13:41

I have lost weight in the past by a combination of:

If in gym then some weight training and mix of spin class and treadmill. On treadmill i would sprint then rest/jog, sprint then rest, rather than a slower consistent run. Burpees, squats, planks, pressups etc.

If at home I'd do a run around the streets (just as my gym isn't near home and exercise to me is about health and wellbeing as well as weight loss) then burpees, plank, squats etc in my bedroom.

Also find that black coffee, lower carb, low sugar and high protein defo helps...

Also nothing is off limits but i found that breaking the sugar cycle helps as i might fancy a cake but then not want it after a bite rather than wanting more and more with the sugar spike and crash.

I still drink alcohol but try and have spirits unless i really want a pint Grin

But i do think body shape changes a lot when you start. You'll probably find that your clothes will start to fit much better but the scales might not show a huge weight loss. It sounds like you've got the right mental attitude which i think is the hardest element Smile good luck!

cluecu · 05/08/2017 13:45

Ps i love classes in the gym you learn so much and i defo push myself more!

FatGirlWithChocolate · 05/08/2017 13:50

Your weight can fluctuate by as much as 5lb daily! Hormones, what you have eaten (glycogen =water retention)..I bet you haven't actually put on 2 lbs, and it will go as quickly as it appeared. Keep going, it does work..and it's not just scale weight, but inch loss..and that makes more of a difference I find.

19lottie82 · 05/08/2017 14:20

10 stone is underweight for your height OP.

Original poster
OverTheHammer · 05/08/2017 14:25

It's not just underweight as such, just on the lower end of healthy :-)

OP posts:
seething1234 · 05/08/2017 14:34

Switch to weights - weights is great for burning fat and toning. I would find an hour on a treadmill soul destroying.

Loungepants · 05/08/2017 14:46

Running four time a week on a treadmill for example will not give you any result.

What a ridiculous, demotivating thing to say Hmm

Loungepants · 05/08/2017 14:49

OP, it's probably just water retention. Keep going with the couch to 5K, you will feel great when you get there, independent of weight loss.

19lottie82 · 05/08/2017 14:56

It is underweight, anything below 10st 3 is underweight for 5'10"

Theresnonamesleft · 05/08/2017 15:07

I started back in the gym around the same time. Couldn't do 5 minutes on the lowest setting on the elliptical. Now I can do 30 minutes increasing every 5 minutes.
I do 2 days gym one day rest and rotate what I do. I currently use the elliptical, rowing, amt and the wave. Cool down either on the tread or bike.
In between cardio and cool down I do some free weights, crunches and stay up for a few seconds, leg lifts (front and back), ski sit, leg cycle, scissors, plank, push ups, pelvic lifts, burpees, push ups and the cobra. Like cardio I do different things each session.

At the beginning I saw a trainer who said that doing the same things isn't good as your body gets used to it.

I've lost a stone. Can see early stages of muscle tone. Feel more fitter and not easily out of breathe.
Work our days I will have slow release carbs a couple of hours before hand. Then maybe a banana or smoothie around 30 minutes before.
Afterwards berries and yogurt, if I didn't have a banana before will have one and some peanut butter, or apple and peanut butter, humous and pitta or turkey, cheese and apple.

I also drink loads of water during the session.

Nancy91 · 05/08/2017 15:17

Water, glycogen, undigested food. That's probably why you weighed in a bit heavier. Probably not muscle I'm afraid as you're doing cardio and you're eating at a deficit. It's annoyingly hard to gain muscle and you need a surplus of calories. Keep up the diet and you'll be at your goal before you know it, you're just retaining a bit of water I'd say.

Motherbear26 · 05/08/2017 15:20

Please don't cut calories any lower than 1500. You'll ruin your metabolism and I'm not convinced that's enough as it is.

RandomWordsandaNumber5 · 05/08/2017 15:57

I'd mix it up a bit. Try incorporating some weights exercises into your routine. Body pump is excellent and the programme changes regularly. Another good one is legs, bums and tums - bit of an old failthful, I know, but it has enduring popularity for a reason.
Have you tried a spin class instead of the treadmill?

Finally, at your height and weight, I think you should be focussed on toning up and increasing muscle mass, not on losing weight. Good luck!

silkpyjamasallday · 05/08/2017 16:24

Honestly OP I would go to some classes if I were you, I've just started going to the gym for the first time in my life, and it is the first exercise I had done since I was 17. Classes are really motivating, and the time honestly flies by, I'll be thinking that I can't do much more, look at the clock and there's only 10 mins left of an hour long class. I get really socially anxious but I managed to get myself to classes and I enjoy it now, you don't notice everyone else once you're into the swing of things.

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