A month ago I decided to increase my calories slowly by about 2-300 mainly with protein and complex carbs. My total calories are now about 1400 maybe 1300. Anyway my weight is 101 - 102 was about 99 - 100 and my bodyfat was 18 - 19% I had just gotten over the plateau of 20% and now it's back to 20% for about the last couple of weeks. I'm currently doing a strength rotation so I don't really want to cut calories or I'll be too hungry. With all of this my measurements are basically the same. Do you think my body is just readjusting or do you think I'm doing something wrong. I eat 5 small meals a day. Anyone else have a temporary increase in the bodyfat while changing diet and then things came back together? Looking for any comments, please.
Who has this happened to?
- Thread starter Mic
- Start date
toastythemosty
Cathlete
I guess it all depends on what your 5 small meals consist of. If your sticking to clean/healthy eating then maybe you just need to do more cardio.
Also, if it is close TTOM your body fat will give you strange numbers, and you should always take your body fat measurement as soon as you crawl out of bed.
Charlotte~~
Also, if it is close TTOM your body fat will give you strange numbers, and you should always take your body fat measurement as soon as you crawl out of bed.
Charlotte~~
Thanks you guys. This is close to that time of the month, actually I'm on my period right now. As far as the cardio I'm doing it 3 times a week which is less than I would normally do but that is because I want to build more muscle up. I'm going to do another month of the strength rotation and then I thought I would switch to the fat rotation were I'll be doing more cardio. I kind of think I may just need to give it more time to see what's really going on. It hasn't really been that long, it just can be frustrating. Thank you for your comments and suggestions.
Bobbi
Cathlete
Your current calorie intake is on the low end. I wouldn't worry about it too much since you need a calorie suplus to gain muscle. When you are happy with your muscularity, a boost in cardio should streamline the very slight increase in body fat. Twenty percent is quite low and you could risk your muscle gains if you cut back. One hundred and one is very light. Do you mind if I ask how tall you are?
Bobbi http://www.handykult.de/plaudersmilies.de/chicken.gif "Chick's rule!"
Tell me, what it is you plan to do with your one wild and precious life? Mary Oliver
Bobbi http://www.handykult.de/plaudersmilies.de/chicken.gif "Chick's rule!"
Tell me, what it is you plan to do with your one wild and precious life? Mary Oliver
Hi, thanks for responding. I'm 5'2 and very small boned so 101 or 102 even 103 none of that looks too small on me because of my frame size. I tend to be more on the small side, not that I can't get out of shape but you know what I mean. I like your thinking on that I would really rather not worry about the caloric intake right now. Like I said, I'm trying to gain muscle so I'm only doing the cardio 3 times a week. In order to keep any muscle I might be gaining and I'm trying to up the calories slowly, not too fast. Thanks so for any insight you may have.
Mic, IMO, you need to eat more. I don't think you're taking in enough calories for a strength rotation. A car can't run without fuel, and I don't think you're putting enough fuel in your engine. Make sure you are eating enough whole wheat & grains (good quality carbs are excellent fuel for engines that exercise). Make sure your protein is lean, lean, lean and that you're not eating "enriched wheat flour" products (enriched wheat flour is NOT whole wheat).
Also, don't pay attention to the scale and the numbers. That will stress you out and stress releases - oh, now I can't think of what hormone that is -- at any rate, stress releases a hormone in your body that makes you retain fat.
Also, how tall and how old are you? 101 pounds sounds WAY too little. I mean, I was a small girl in high school and never got below 115 pounds. I can't imagine someone who's strength-training and in her mid-20's and beyond to weigh only 101 pounds!!! Maybe if you're less than 5' tall or 18 years old, but....whew, that's pretty small! I don't think you need to be worrying about having gained a couple of pounds at this weight.
EDITED to say: I just saw your height. Sorry, I hadn't read through all the posts when I replied. Let me go back and read the details.
Also, don't pay attention to the scale and the numbers. That will stress you out and stress releases - oh, now I can't think of what hormone that is -- at any rate, stress releases a hormone in your body that makes you retain fat.
Also, how tall and how old are you? 101 pounds sounds WAY too little. I mean, I was a small girl in high school and never got below 115 pounds. I can't imagine someone who's strength-training and in her mid-20's and beyond to weigh only 101 pounds!!! Maybe if you're less than 5' tall or 18 years old, but....whew, that's pretty small! I don't think you need to be worrying about having gained a couple of pounds at this weight.
EDITED to say: I just saw your height. Sorry, I hadn't read through all the posts when I replied. Let me go back and read the details.
Mic, I'd still like to know how old you are. Even at 5'2", you sound very small. But then again, I weigh much more than I look because I must have big bones and lots of muscle in my legs. People think I look about 40 pounds lighter than I am, so sometimes it's hard for me to gauge how much someone SHOULD weigh based on the whole body type thing.
At any rate, in light of the fact that you are experiencing "Aunt Flo" right now, I think that explains the couple of extra pounds. You're lucky! I gain about 5 pounds every month from my Aunt Flo. I'm always glad to see her leave so I can lose the excess weight! :7
At any rate, in light of the fact that you are experiencing "Aunt Flo" right now, I think that explains the couple of extra pounds. You're lucky! I gain about 5 pounds every month from my Aunt Flo. I'm always glad to see her leave so I can lose the excess weight! :7
Imafitnessfreak
Cathlete
101 pounds is not too light for your height! I am 4'11 and 101 pounds and perfectly healthy! I get compliments on my build all the time! Besides, it's not like your "trying" to lose 5 or 10 pounds! Your working on muscle gains and that is great!
If I were you, I'd pay more attention to your "lean body mass" numbers and "fat pounds" instead of weight. To get your fat pounds, multiply your total weight by your body fat percentage. To get Lean body mass(LBM) number, subtract body fat pounds from total body weight. I'd check once a week and since you are trying to gain muscle, work towards increasing the LBM. If you don't see a positive change then make adjustments to your routine.
JMO!!!
If I were you, I'd pay more attention to your "lean body mass" numbers and "fat pounds" instead of weight. To get your fat pounds, multiply your total weight by your body fat percentage. To get Lean body mass(LBM) number, subtract body fat pounds from total body weight. I'd check once a week and since you are trying to gain muscle, work towards increasing the LBM. If you don't see a positive change then make adjustments to your routine.
JMO!!!
I've been strength training since the Hardcores came out, and for the last three weeks I've been using a HC/S&H rotation. So I've been hungry a lot and of course, I do eat so I can do the workouts well and recover well. Lately I've been feeling bloated and fat because of the extra food, but today I stepped on the scale and found out I gained only one pound. That's it. I've been eating between 1800-2400 calories. On those higher calorie days I consume a lot of oatmeal with nuts in it and more fat-free dairy and lean meat. I'm 5'1", currently 107 lbs., still fitting into a 2/4. I'm also small boned; I can fit into a girl's size 16 or XL. I don't measure much when I'm weight training because that just detracts me from my goal, which is to be able to lift more. That's it. I do expect to gain fat and gain weight when I'm weight training. Whatever fat/weight I gain I burn during a cutting phase, where I shave off 200-300 calories from my daily intake and do more cardio.
That extra weight you gained can be anything. Water, fat or muscle. How do you measure your body fat? Do keep in mind that there's some degree of inaccuracy to a lot of these methods. The number that you get is best used only as a base from which to compare future results. If you are using a tape measure, also take into account that when we weight train, our bodies hold a lot of water. So the difference may be just water weight. I am currently chug-a-lugging my way through my current rotation. I am always thirsty as well. More than usual.
Pinky
That extra weight you gained can be anything. Water, fat or muscle. How do you measure your body fat? Do keep in mind that there's some degree of inaccuracy to a lot of these methods. The number that you get is best used only as a base from which to compare future results. If you are using a tape measure, also take into account that when we weight train, our bodies hold a lot of water. So the difference may be just water weight. I am currently chug-a-lugging my way through my current rotation. I am always thirsty as well. More than usual.
Pinky
Thanks guys, all of this is very good to know. I will take into consideration subtracting the percentage of my bodyfat from my weight so that I can get an idea of my lean muscle amount. I use the Tanita Bodyfat Scale to get a reading on my bodyfat. I do think I will listen to what you guys are saying as well as listening to my body. As I get older, I'm discovering that my body may be off sometimes but most of the times if it's telling me I need to eat then I need to eat (as long as I keep it clean, most of the time, ha ha). I also think it's correct that with my trying to put on the muscle and lessening the cardio I may put on a little more fat but then I'll just try to take that off in a cardio phase. Thanks to everyone I didn't think I would get very many responses and I appreciate it very much!!!