Help with reasonable expectations for weight loss/muscle gain

S

SueB

New member
I've spent time looking on this and many other boards so I think I got the following message loud & clear: just because muscle mass weighs more than fat, doesn't mean that failure to lose weight is due to increased muscle mass. So, here's my question: what is reasonable to expect if you are in fact trying to lose weight and gain lean muscle mass.

Here's my circumstance. Female, 47 yrs old, currently 208lbs after losing 32 lbs (lost 40, gained 10 when on travel, lost 2 lbs when getting "back on plan"...then stalled a bit). I found myself at the gym nearly in tears as I was trying to push thru some tricep extensions. A personal trainer approached me and after a decent "pitch", I decided to try something new for a few months and go with a PT. After dieting for a year, I feel like this is probably a good thing as I need to get momentum back.

So...here's the issue. After the first week I gained a pound. He had cut back on cardio for me (only 2X instead of my normal 5-6 times) but had given me a really intense workout (3 sessions). Each 45 min session I focus differently: Legs, Chest/Back, and Arms/Shoulder. I'm always alternating in abs and because I have a really big lower body, he adds some leg work in every time. The exercises vary but I work close to or at muscle fatigue for every group of exercises. Week 2 we added back the cardio 5 days a week (30-40 min elliptical, 350-440 calories per the machine). I lost a grand total of 1 pound. Needless to say I was a little disappointed. I wanted 2 pounds at least. I feel like I'm killing myself here (yes, I do have alot of DOMS although the PT said that this should settle out after the first few weeks). I track my calorie input religiously. I try to stay between 1500-1700 and am within those number +/- 25 calories every day.

BTW I originally lost my weight with my own cardio/strength training program and b/w 1700-1900 calories a day. I stalled out as I approached the 200lb mark and went to the 1500-1700 calorie plan. It was starting to work but then I got waylaid by 6 weeks of business travel plus my daughter's graduation and tons of relatives. So... when the dust settled I got back on the "wagon" but my time in the gym was really hard. This is when I went to the personal trainer. So:
1) I think I'm at the right calorie amount and I practice "Bite It/Write It" which means everything I eat is measured & recorded on an excel spreadsheet with calorie counts derived from CalorieKing.com.
2) Based on everything I've read, I really think the PT is working the right muscles and doing a good job of helping me with the strength training.
3) I drink a protein shake on legs day but not the other days
4) I was hoping for 2lbs a week and after a hard week was rewarded with only 1 lb.

This may seem minor but I don't want to get started down the wrong path. Is this just a lack of patience? Is it unrealistic to expect that if I'm working this hard, I should be making a 2lb a week target?

Is there any fatal flaw in my plan?

Thanks in advance for anyone who answers.
 
Ok, it took me a few minutes to read through and get everything straight ... :) So here's what I"m going to tell you.

The very first thing that struck me is that you said you have a lot of DOMS. Are you aware that part of DOMS .. .and part of the recovery process .. is the flooding of muscles with fluid? When you stress your muscles (which is a good thing, BTW, so don't stop), your body reacts by flooding the muscle tissue with blood and other fluids to aid in the recovery of the muscle fibers. It is VERY normal to gain anywhere from 1-5 lbs after a very intense workout. This isn't fat gain ... it's fluid gain from the natural healing process your muscles go through.

Now, if you haven't really been pushing hard at your exercise, it'll take a while for the fat loss to level out with the fluid gain and for you to start showing a loss again.

Here's the thing that you're going to have to work on accepting: Unfortunately the body is not a linear machine. The basis of losing weight is calories in vs. calories out, that's true. The unfortunate fact is that there are tons of other variables that influence how quickly you lose. Fluid retention in muscles is just one of them.

A lot of people start out losing a lot of weight easily at first. It makes sense really - when you've not exercised before and you first cut back, your body loses quickly and you see pretty fast results. Then, as your body becomes more accustomed to the lowered calories and the increased exercise, the rate of loss starts to fade. People become discouraged by this and give up.

The thing is that once you get past that first rush of loss, many people don't lose that steady 2lb per week like clockwork. I'm one of those people and so I know the frustration. Even if I eat perfectly on plan and exercise every day, some weeks I"ll lose nothing (by the scale) and then 2 weeks later, I'll drop 5lb like magic. It's just the way my body functions.

My absolute best advice to you is DON'T GET HUNG UP ON THE SCALE. :) I know that's hard sometimes, but the scale is not always the best indicator of your progress. Look at how your clothes fit. Look at the measurements of your hips/waist/thighs. Look at how you feel and how strong you're getting. The scale is only one of several ways to measure your progress and sometimes the scale doesn't accurately measure what's going on inside your body. Use it as *a* guide, but not the only guide.
 
If your diet is in check and you are hitting the gym 5 days a week, then one pound OF FAT a week should be a good goal. That's a lot of weight to lose. Every 10 weeks could be a whole new you. Just keep showing up at the gym.
 
Thanks everyone for all the good feedback. It helped alot. I appreciate the "realism" to the expectation.

The fluid retention for the first few weeks makes sense, but it IS hard to put as much effort in and see so little "results". As for feeling better -- well that's a mixed bag. I felt better on Sunday because I didn't have the DOMS but the rest of the week I had to get by on ice & ibuprophen. I certainly will keep going but I must admit, I'm hoping to "feel" better within the next few weeks because it's awfully hard to kill yourself with little measurable results. Perhaps if after 5 weeks I've lost 5 lbs, then I'll see the progress and feel I'm on the right track.
 
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I am right there with you. The last 2 weeks I did between 2 and 4 hours of dance a day (very strenous exercise, not just standing at a bar but properly constant sweating). I ate between 1300 and 1700 cals a day and still, I gained (about a pound) instead of losing.
After getting angry and whining and crying a little bit, I just decided that a few weeks is not enough time, if I continue working this hard and eating as I did and then still I do nto lose then I will try to figure this out!

Have a great week, Camy
 
Following Up:

- Upped the water to 80oz/day
- Pain went down to recovering within 1-1.5 days (the DOMS are over IMO)
- Kept up the cardio intensity and was spot-on for nutrition
- Dropped 4lbs this past week

I expect this was a function of the pain getting under control and the water increase --- or my body just was holding on for whatever reason and finally let it go. Presuming I'm back to a normal pace next week (1-2lbs), I think I'm on a good track.

Thanks for the good advice and recommendations for patience. It paid off.
 
Glad to hear it's working out.

Just keep in mind, like I said, that weight loss is not a linear process for a lot of people. For some of us, it's something that shows up on the scale in fits and starts ... even though our bodies are changing composition. :)
 
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