Question about working out...

Hi everyone! Hope your day is going well!

I have a question to ask, it seems that when I work out in the gym, usually 5 times a week I am in there. I run almost 2 miles Mon, Wed, and Fri. Then on Tues & Thur I do something that is called Combat Fit (or Crossfit).

My question is this, it seems the weeks I am working out I don't lose weight on the scale. I will stay put, or even gain a pound or so.

But if there is a week when I am too busy (or lazy) to work out I can lose up to 4-6 pounds that week. I know I need to work out, exercise is the key to long term success, so please don't think I am a lazy person.

I am really just trying to figure out what I am doing wrong on the weeks I am working out, am I not drinking enough water, am I not putting back enough calories into my body so it is holding on to anything I eat like I am "starving" it?

My doctor wants me to be 180 pounds before I can have my tummy tuck, but it seems everytime I really amp up my workouts I gain weight.

Any advice sure would be great. Oh and I always get my 65+ protien in everyday, I drink my recommended water, and take all my vitamens.

Thanks!!!

First of all, 65 g of protein is not enough for someone with a malabsorptive surgery. If normos are supposed to be getting that much, then you need to get in more in order to absorb that much. But, also, if you are working out and you are dieting, then you should be getting in more too. A common recommendation for people on a low calorie diet is 70-90 g a day. But a common recommendation for athletes is 1 g per pound of body weight!

I believe the ASMBS recommends that RnYers get 100 g of protein a day. If you malabsorb 30% of it, that is the equivalent of 70 g. so that makes sense.

Anyway, if you are heavily working out, you are building up muscle. This can cause your weight to go up, if you also aren't losing fat. But it's a good weight gain because lean muscle mass is good.

Another thing that happens is that, when you work out, your muscles retain water in order to repair themselves. When you don't work out one week, they let go of the water. So your scale goes up and down but your "real" weight -- i.e., the stuff you care about which is fat and muscle -- isn't necessarily changing. Or, you could be losing some muscle -- unused muscle will be cannibalized by the body for energy. So the scale is going down but it's not necessarily a good thing.

Finally, some people respond to increased exercise by increasing their food intake, but more than their energy expenditure. So some people do actually gain real weight when they work out. If that is what is going on, the best way to combat it is to track your food for a while and see exactly how many calories you are eating. But, if you already track and you aren't eating more, then I would assume it's one of the things going on above and not worry about.

Wow, thank you very much for the detailed post back. I get 65 g of protein a day in drinks or snacks, that isn't counting what I get from food. So, I guess the easiest would be to try to up my protein first.

If that still doesn't help I think my next choice would be to try eating more food. I really don"t eat more than I normally do, so maybe that would help too.

I really appreciate the advice. Thanks!!
Jen

See this thread that was posted yesterday about the same thing...

http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/fitness/4181444/Frustrated /