Increasing calories??--Insanity discussion

Shantabulous

Shantabulous

Cathlete
In addition to the intense workouts from Cathe that I have loved for the last 14 years, I've become a huge Insanity fan, too! I would almost say I enjoy the insanity! Enjoy??? Not sure that's the right word. That's like saying I enjoy Cathe's low ends! They burn so good, right? hehe. In addition to the Insanity workout, I'll usually do something with Cathe, too for an additional 20-40 mins, whether it be additional cardio or some weight training. Because of this, I think I'm shocking my body because not only have I not lost any weight, the scale was up 4 lbs this morning. Anyone have any insight into this? Maybe my body is in starvation mode and not pulling from my fat stores and actually conserving them or adding to them?? Do I need to increase my caloric intake? About one year ago I cut my calories down to 1500/day and have since lost 42lbs. I would like to lose an additional 10lbs, so about a 4 weeks ago, I added Insanity to my workouts and increased my workout time from 60 mins to 75-90 mins. I have read about zig zagging my calories by increasing my calorie intake for 3 or 4 days to around 2000 and then doing 1500 the other days. I did this for one week, essentially 3 days and like I said, number on the scale is up. I'm at a loss and a bit frustrated.
 
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I think I know what the problem is

It was the increased time. I know it seems odd but once upon a time I had read (?? where Idk) that over 60 minutes our bodies will start producing cortisol. I do know that you get a hit of testosterone and insulin (fat storage hormone) with every hit of cortisol. Often new marathoners will gain 10 pounds with their first marathon. Try bringing it back down to 60 min. for a week and see if that doesn't work. Also, for me plyos put on muscle. I don't know if your body is making muscle. New muscle is often full of blood which weighs a lot. One more thought, you could be retaining fluid in general.

I hope this helps, let us know how it goes.
 
Thank you for your insight. You could be exactly right. I think I will cut my workouts back to 60 mins. I have thought about the fact that maybe I'm adding more muscle, but I don't see it and with having done Cathe workouts hardcore for so long, my muscles are pretty well defined especially in my legs. If anything I feel leaner at times ( but not everyday, LOL). Thanks to Cathe I have kicked major butt in the Insanity workouts during the plyometric segments because my legs are so strong. Thanks again!
 
Because I've been working out since the triplets were born, they really don't know any different. All of my kids know to leave mommy alone when I'm working out. When I'm done, they tell me I'm sweaty and smelly and need to take a shower. I've had to make working out a priority in my life, so no matter how busy I am, I always manage to fit my workouts in ;)
 
As a mommy of twins......I often wonder how much different it would be with TRIPLETS! My twins are 6 mos old & rule my world! I LOVE it!

Congrats on your weight loss! Keep up the good work!
 
Shantabulous said:
I have read about zig zagging my calories by increasing my calorie intake for 3 or 4 days to around 2000 and then doing 1500 the other days. I did this for one week, essentially 3 days and like I said, number on the scale is up.
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I've heard about zig-zagging calories too. How do you know what your high/low calorie levels are?

Rapidbreath, I heard about keeping your workouts to around 60 min too. Is this just for cardio though or weights too? Usually on the days I lift, I like to add some cardio in and my workouts wind up being around 80 min long. Maybe this is why I'm not losing anything???
 
Melissa-That's usually what I do too. Cardio and weights. I have heard so many times that in order to lose weight, one should increase muscle and burn more calories with cardio. I wish I knew what my body needed! I feel like I'm just playing a guessing game right now.
 
Whenever I change the intensity a lot my body stays at the same weight or gains and it lasts a few weeks. Once my body adjust to the new normal things level out or I lose a lot in a short time.

For me the change just takes my body a little while to adjust.
 
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