Frustrated

[mayfly]

Hello All,

I am new to this website, but have to get some opinions on this and appreciate your honest feedback. I have been spinning for a few months now and have recently started instructing as well. I am 5'4" and 178 lbs, so I am not petite by any means. I know I am getting in some intense workouts at least 3 times/week and am feeling very frustrated because the scale is not budging. I actually started at 173, so am actually up 5 lbs. Over the past 5 years I have lost 100 pounds, and am dedicated to the scale. My clothes are not any tighter and I actually thought I looked like I was slimming down a smidge, but the #'s don't reflect how I feel. Help!!!! Has anyone else had weight gain or am I building up different muscles? Thanks!

[crazybikinchic]

Don't look at the scale. Ask yourself how your clothes are fitting. My scale has not moved, but I have had a rash of people tell me I have lost weight. My shirt size has gone down and I have to continually pull my pants up, therefore my size is what is changing.

[coyote]

Muscle weighs more then fat. Maybe give the scale up for one that measures body fat percent? My brother swears by them but I personally go by how my cloths fit and the scale. Congrats on having lost the 100lbs. That is quite an accomplishment.

[Zen]

Muscle weighs more then fat.

One cubic inch of muscle cells weighs more than one cubic inch of fat cells

A muscle cell resembles a pencil (like the kind they give you at Putt-Putt)
A fat cell resembles a marshmallow.

try keeping a food journal for a few days, especially spin days. Are you unconsciously eating more?

If your clothes still fit, don't sweat it. Safe weight loss is a slow process,
+/- 2lbs/week.

[LBTC]

I also have a scale that measures weight, bodyfat percentage and pounds of muscle mass (amongst other things). I love it! While I generally agree with not using the scale to mark your progress, because muscle is heavier than fat, I have been in a situation of uncontrolled weight gain once before and vowed to always have a scale after that. So this is a nice way to do it. This lovely device has shown me that an increase in weight can definitely be an increase in muscle and a decrease in fat, so I love the machine!! If the price tag is too high, then you must simply do your best to convince yourself: by how you feel, how your clothes fit, how you look....

Congratulations on your fantastic weight loss! Sending lots of butterflies to help you keep on track with your fitness and health goals!

Hugs,
~T~

[roadie gal]

Congrats on the weight loss!

Along with muscle weighing more than fat, I find that sometimes after a hard workout my weight is up a pound or two for a few days. I think it's from holding extra water.

I agree with the others, go by your clothes rather than the scale.

[Miranda]

Congrats on the weight lose for sure! Lots a bunch myself. Taking it off is one thing, maintaining it another. Hitting a plateau can be very frustrating for sure. My post title is a thought for you on the situaiton. Have you had a checkup lately from the doc? Sometimes lots of things with ladies can make us hold onto #, regardless of our fitness efforts. Hormones changing can do it. Sometimes a thyroid being out ot whack, etc. Wearing my holiday winter eating coat right now unfortunately, but when I did find spinning, my last 10#s I thought was there to stay, just melted off. Somehow the spin interval training finally took hold, and broke me thru the plateau. Maybe a nutritionist might help. Sometimes we can have hidden things in our diet that add a ton of calories without even knowing it. Some ideas for you. Stick with it!

[Dogmama]

Hello All,

I am new to this website, but have to get some opinions on this and appreciate your honest feedback. I have been spinning for a few months now and have recently started instructing as well. I am 5'4" and 178 lbs, so I am not petite by any means. I know I am getting in some intense workouts at least 3 times/week and am feeling very frustrated because the scale is not budging. I actually started at 173, so am actually up 5 lbs. Over the past 5 years I have lost 100 pounds, and am dedicated to the scale. My clothes are not any tighter and I actually thought I looked like I was slimming down a smidge, but the #'s don't reflect how I feel. Help!!!! Has anyone else had weight gain or am I building up different muscles? Thanks!

I see women in & out of the spinning classes on a daily basis & their shape never changes. Why? Because their diets are not clean and their bodies are actually getting accustomed to spinning. I think there is a mentality, too, that says, "I burned 500 calories at spinning, so this 300 calorie Hagen Daz won't hurt" when the reality is that she burned 300 calories at spinning & the Hagen Daz is 500 calories.

I would mix it up. Try jogging or fast walking. Start doing some weight training & review your diet. Do intervals on the bike, fast pace for a minute & recover for two minutes. Get a heart rate monitor so that you keep yourself honest during your intervals. Fast means 80% of your max heart rate - you should be breathing hard & sweating!

[KSH]

I would mix it up. Try jogging or fast walking. Start doing some weight training & review your diet. Do intervals on the bike, fast pace for a minute & recover for two minutes. Get a heart rate monitor so that you keep yourself honest during your intervals. Fast means 80% of your max heart rate - you should be breathing hard & sweating!

That could be the case here. You need to shock your body with another type of routine.

I can tell you that if I only rode 3 days a week on my bike, I would not lose weight... in fact, I would gain it. My body is use to that. For me to keep my weight down with a healthy diet... I have to do about 8-10+ hours of cardio a week (I'm a triathlete). If I only do 2-3 hours of cardio a week, my weight climbs... because my body is use to doing a lot more.

[tulip]

Adding weights or pilates or yoga may also help. I found that when I started to do pilates, things really changed. I also cut out my morning coffee and muffin (which is really just cake), and added an apple a day. Drink lots and lots of water every day.

[han-grrl]

I just added a post on my blog about weight loss/management

There are so many factors to consider

exercise, eating, food allergies (some you might not be aware of), medications can cause weight gain and there is an article that plastics can also cause weight gain...as can lack of proper sleep and rest and high stress levels...

One of the best ways to start is by journalling food, exercise and symptoms/moods along with your weight. also measure girth of waist, arms and legs to get another baseline measurement.

Good luck (and keep smiling)
Han

[Keepmovin]

I hit that wall too....

I swim, spin, bike, weight-train, play racquetball....at one point I was averaging about 15-18 hours per week of exercise and my calories were pretty low. It's taken a year and I've lost about 40-45 pounds of pure fat, gained some lean muscle and my blood-work has tremendously improved....but at this point I keep looking in the mirror and wondering when it's gonna come of.

When I go on long rides I always wear a heart-rate monitor that measured calories burned...what used to take me 1,200 calories I can now do in about 700: the body becomes that much more efficient...and let's not forget, I'm not carrying around as much weight when I ride, so it's easier! Point being, your body adapts!

Also, it's almost unfair how calories can add-up!!! I had lunch with my nutritionist and afterwards I asked him to estimate how many calories he took in....he figured about 1,100. When we really sat there and broke it down, it was closer to 1,900. It's almost unfair how many calories food has!

You're body has simply found an equilibrium....if you want to see further progress, you'll have to change it up and tweak the numbers. Sounds like your lower-body is ripped....perhaps look to do some swimming to nab some upper-body and lean things out in that direction.

But yeah, congrats on the weight-loss and especially being an instructor!!!

[Dogmama]

Also snacking - grabbing a handful of crackers, tasting while you're cooking, it all adds up.

[Starfish]

Fast means 80% of your max heart rate - you should be breathing hard & sweating!

Well, I know I'm out of shape! For me, fast in spin class means more like 98% of max HR, and I am DEFINITELY breathing hard and sweating!

Have you tried putting in a short second workout every day? Like 25 minutes in the morning if you are an evening workout person? Or 25 minutes in the evening if you workout every morning? Just a little extra exercise to surprise the metabolism?

And wow...you are my hero... a 100 pound weight loss. VERY inspiring.