Can too much training hinder weight loss? - Weight Loss Message Board

Scout- · 03-30-2003, 04:41 AM

Ok i'm not very happy this week. I've just weighed myself and i've only lost 3 and 1/4 lbs for the week. My gripe is that i've trained EXTREMELY hard from Monday thru to Friday and i'm on a low carb 1500Kcal a day diet AND i'm 6'3 and have 100lbs to lose. So with that combination how is it possible that i can only lose 3 1/4lbs for a week?

I've been dieting since Novemeber and have lost 70lbs via hard training and lots of concentration but lately my losses per week have been really poor ranging from 1/2lb-4lbs a week which for someone of my Height, Size and Weight is really bad. I was wondering what can i do to kick start the weight loss again?

Don't confuse me with a fad dieter or a 'quick fixer' because i'm not and i do realise that if you don't have so much to lose it is actually a GOOD thing to be losing between 1/2lb-4lbs a week BUT like i said i'm 100lbs away from my goal so i believe i'm intitled to somewhat better results.

I Run for 20 minutes every morning, train for 100minutes in early evening time with cross training that includes running, sit ups, weights (ankle and barbells) then i do another 20-30 minute run at night. Could any of this be a hinderance? or what could i do to help myself with the losses?

I've heard people mention that muscle weighs more then fat but my ponderance is how quickly do these muscles develop? i'm sure they aren't instantaneous so if anyone could enlighten me on this point also please do

Another issue i'm concerned with is this 'starvation mode' how long does it take the body to go into this mode i'm sure it's not some constantly changing thing surely the body must take a few days to realise that you are not supplying it with enough and thus the calorie retention starts?

I was a former martial artist who competed to national level and whilst i had an excellent physique then i didn't know much about nutrition and only 'ate right' when prepping for a bout but i always over indulged and those habits carried on even when i stopped training hence this mega gain i incoperate alot of my previous exercise into what i do now, obviously not for the same duration but i go at it as hard as i can for as long as i can is this a bad thing to be doing whilst trying to lose weight?

I'm aware that i should use lighter weights and do more reps to not gain weight and that's what i have been doing. AM i wrong in thinking this?

Basically this past 5 weeks has become increasingly frustrating because my fitness levels have improved quite alot and i am training alot more to counter act this so i always feel the 'burn' per session but since i've been training harder the losses have gotten worse and worse can anyone explain what is happening there?

I will greatly appreciate any replies to my long and jumbled post. I am, as i said, very frustrated right now and need advice that can help me improve those losses again so if any of you have been or are in the same boat as me pleaser reply.

ok that's enough babble from me.

Bai
Scout

Scout- · 03-30-2003, 01:33 PM

People are viewing my post but not replying

Can i get some responses?

mahly · 03-30-2003, 02:13 PM

Maybe not too many people respnd cause we don't know the answers to your questions, so we try not to confuse you. But I think I might have an idea about the muscle weight. Yes, it weighs more than fat and takes up a lot less space than fat. And everytime you weighttrain, you "brake" your muscles, and they build themselves up again, by burning calories. Muscles build up every time you break them. If you break them everyday, they will build up every day.

So don't freak out if you suddenly slow down in losing weight, as someone said in another discussion, concentrate more on the inches, don't get me wrong, do pay attention to the weight loss, but maybe you have gotten "stuck" for a bit, but don't give up, it will start again soon. Sometimes it takes a few weeks, but don't worry too much, just keep going, and all of a sudden you will see it again. (I got the info on the muscles by Jorge Cruise 8 Minutes In The Morining book).

Maybe you need to "shock" your body by going on a strict or different diet for a week or two to kickstart it again, I heard this works great on most people. But this is as much as I know.

Hope you reach your goal soon. And GONGRATS on the weight you have lost!!!

magnolia · 03-30-2003, 02:14 PM

i am no expert on this at all so my opinions may not mean a thing...i do low carb at approx 1200 calories a day, 60% fats, 30% proteins, and 5% carbs..i just completed my second body for life challenge (which consist of weight training 3x a week and cardio 3x a week, while i am doing atkins on-going weight loss proggram....

you need to lose 100 lbs and you have already lost 70, so it is expected that the weight will begin to slow down...so 3 and 1/4 lbs is still pretty good...

from the diet aspect....try switching to proteins with a higher absorption rate...for example, you use 88% of the proteins from eggs vs 33% from nuts...cheese has a higher absorption rate than meets...do a search on net utilization rate of proteins and check out any of the body building websites on proteins...
you do not want your proteins going to energy, you want them for the buildup of your muscles...
i reached a stall with the weightloss recently, losing inches though because of the weightlifting and cardio...so i found out about protein utilization rate and switched over to the higher protein foods, thus losing 5 lbs in the past 11 days...

a pound of muscles weight the exact amount as a pound of fat or a pound of feathers...a pound is a pound...however a pound of muscles takes up way less space than a pound of fat, so while you are building muscles and losing fat, there may not be a difference on the scales...are you measuring??? that is the best indicator of losing as you are probably lose body fat while gaining lean muscle mass...

starvation mode ~ on a low carb diet, as long as you are getting the adequate amount of protein and fats, your body will not go into the so called starvation mode as the constant supply of proteins and fats allow the body to believe that food is not in short supply...

lighter weight and more reps??? hmmmm weight lifting or resistance trainining is based on increasing the amounts of weights that you use, in order to strain your muscles...you must work your muscles to exhaustion...it is only through this exhaustion that your muscles will tear... once they tear then the amino acids from the proteins you eat and your naturally occurring hgh will come into play to repair those muscles and to maintain them...muscles must be torn in order to be built up...so the best way to go is higher weights with slow deliberate reps, working different parts of your body on different days...you can "overtrain" your muscles...

if you added new workouts to your training, then it is possible for your muscles to hold onto a little extra water for the first several days or a week, which would indicate a gain on the scales, but the extra water weight becomes released, usually by the end of the week...

hope this helps....

Scout- · 03-31-2003, 01:02 AM

I thank both of you for replying

i'm grateful you took time out of your days to post such responses

I knew most of the points you both made but i've picked up some extra info from both of you along the way.

I'm not sure whether i should continue using weights or just stick with cardio for another 50 or so pounds, like i said before i have like 99lbs to lose so it's far, far to early to be having 'hiccups' and slowdowns. My physique is definitely beggining to change and yes i have measured myself from the beginning of the diet - so far i've lost 12 inches around my chest, 14 inches around my stomach, 11 inches around my waist and about 4 inches around my thighs - at first the losses were consistently high but as to be expected they've slowed down some now and i usually lose around 0.5- 1.5 a week.

I hope my intial post wasn't misconstrued by anyone, i am grateful to lose each week but believe me when you train as hard as i have been doing and then see a consequential loss of 3.5lbs it can be disheartening and so i'm here trying to find out what i can do to get the maximum results per week with my lifestyle and training habits.

Funnily enough I am considering doing that 'shock-to the body' thing for a week or two because i am actually starting tot hink my body is building a resistence up and has gotten used to my current diet.

When i reffered previously to lower weights and more reps it was to avoid the very purpose of what the second person posted - i don't want to build my muscles 'up' per se right now i just want to condition them and get them used to working out so that when i get to my harder and more intense 3rd phase my body will be prepped and ready - i'm also led to believe that lifting weights burns more of your energy and calories then cardio does is this true? i'm just trying to aide weight loss in whatever way is possible that is one of the reasons i've decided to use the weights.. am i doing the right thing with that?

I only introduced Weights to my programme in mid Feb before that i was running 3 times a day - but i fear i will sag if i only do cardio and don't start toning from now- are these fears warranted?

I guess because i'm a believer in 'extremely hard work will get you the results you want' i've become a bit disallusioned with the path i'm on because this theory doesn't seem to be working too well - it took me till Sunday to recoup from my Mon-Fri sessions and it also left me mentally drained - i don't wish to go thru all that work every week for such weak results, granted if my results had been good this week i wouldn't even be posting here but as they weren't

I'd just like my outlay to be rewarded with the best possible results so if anyone has any suggestions on how i can achieve this please feel free to share

Again thanks to both of you who replied i'd love to have further responses from you if you're up to burdening yourself with my lengthy and confusing posts lol.

Anyways,

Scout Out

Bai