exercise junckie

[Robin C]

I'm an exercise junckie, so after being very good with my eating and doing extra cardio the past 2 weeks I was dissapointed to weigh myself this morning and see NO drop in weight. http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/frown.gif How could this be? Any words of advise?

[SusieO]

Scales can be very deceiving. Better to go by how you feel and how your clothes fit. If you're beginning a weight loss program I would recommend taking measurements as you go so that you can see a drop in inches even if you don't see a drop in pounds.

Kudos to you for keeping up a healthy eating and exercise program. Keep up the good work!
http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

[Jessica]

Great work, Robin. Don't get discouraged. As SusieO says, scales are deceiving and muscle weighs more than fat. Also, I work out four times a week and try to eat right; the weight comes off but it comes off so slowly it's like watching grass grow. Give yourself a break--you're doing the right stuff http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

[emilycat]

I have to ask, how much do you exercise? And do you know about how many calories you're getting each day? I of all people am not one to tell others they're exercising too much; but if you've added cardio to you're already-"exercise junkie" routine, and you're not eating enough (less than 1,200) calories is inadvisable, your body will retaliate by slowing down your metabolism, or at least stalling it, and the extra exercise will do more harm than good.

[acorreia]

What about carb intake? I noticed last year that all of my excersizing and healthy eating were not giving me the results I wanted. I then reduced my carb intake and almost immediately saw results. Now, I don't eat breads or pastas. I do eat rice and cereal and potatoe every once in a while.

Emilycat, You seem to be pretty knowledgeable on this stuff. What do you think?

-Angela

[lindrusso]

SusieO -

I couldn't agree more! Almost always, every one of these extreme diets is shown to fail in the end. Sure, they may have results initially, but most of these diets make it impossible to stick to it for a lifetime. I for one, will NOT stick to a diet that does not allow pasta or bread or potatoes. I can, however, see the benefit in reducing carbs to some point - especially things like white bread which have little nutritional value to begin with.

Some of the diets just crack me up. Like eating grapefruit all day, every day. Of course you're going to lose weight!!!! But for how long??? And it may have a lot more to do with what you're NOT eating than with the grapefruit itself.

Well, I could go on and on, but I'll spare you.

Emilycat - are you simply well-read on all of this or have you studied in this area in some fashion?? Just wondering...

[emilycat]

It's actually a really bad idea to reduce your carb take dramatically. Sure, if it's currently at say, 80% of your diet, you might want to cut down, but carbs are the most easily accessible form of energy for your muscles, and reducing them only makes it more difficult for your body to burn calories and get the energy it needs for exercise. The reason carb-cutting works is because it's essentially just an over-all cut in calories. There's really no reason to cut out breads and pastas, just make sure you're eating whole grain variations of them.
I'm not an expert, but I hope this helps somewhat!

Emily

[SusieO]

Bravo, Emily, and ditto.
You'll have to forgive my soapbox, but I get really frustrated with diets like Dr. Atkins or Sugarbusters which advocate eliminating certain foods or entire food groups. They may or may not work in the short- or long-run, but they CANNOT be good for you!

[hhcowgirl]

Robin: I understand your frustration, as I went through a similar "rut" years ago. I learned, though, that you can exercise as much as your body can take but the scales will simply not budge if you don't reduce your caloric intake. I promise if you keep your calories between 1200 and 1500 a day, you will begin to see results. After my freshman year in college, I had some weight/eating "issues" and my parents forced me to work with a nutritionist--as soon as I started heeding her advice, the pounds dropped off.