On our March goals I mentioned that I wanted to survive my 2 week rest without cheating and we figured that that you might need a little more explanation. So here goes…
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Not too long ago I told you guys about my weight and my efforts to lose weight. I had been the heaviest in my life and not happy so I decided to do something about it. I managed to drop down quite a bit but have essentially been stuck at my current weight for a while now. At first I just had no loss or gain, and then all of a sudden an actual gain in fat for the first time in 2 years. To me, and many others this may seem odd, I work out basically everyday, run all the time, play basketball, swim, workout with a personal trainer, track my food, have very few cheat days…. you get the drift…an actual fat gain seems pretty impossible to me. So what is the problem?? It is calorically impossible in my opinion for this to happen.
I talked to my trainer, Will, about this a lot, he dug into what he knows and asked around as well and basically came to a consensus that I am overtraining and my body is in an adaptive mode all the time. So while I have fallen into a very healthy routine of exercise and eating right my body has too and has basically decided it is going to stay where it is. Thanks body – love you too!
Talk about motivation killer. I think I actually had a pitty party at the gym the day I was weighed and even broke down and decided exercise and everything I was doing was pointless and stupid, a waste of time.. blah blah blah. Ever feel like this??
I would say that this is similar to when people decide they have to make a change and come to a breaking point. Will asked me if it was feasible to take 2 weeks off from working out and move my body from adaptive mode and into recovery. I cringed of course. I have 2 half marathons in March, hence part of the problem, but I decided to do it. During this time I am going to do no running or cardio. I will weight train 2 times a week with Will and yoga 2 to 3 times a week. Getting my runner self to not run 3-4 weeks before a race is a little scary, but I am too frustrated to stay where I am and not try something new! I can’t help but think of the insanity definition here. Can’t keep doing the same thing and expecting something to change.
Also, Beth and I both joined MyFitnessPal this week. I have always tracked her food on myapex but I found that it is less convenient. Sorry 24 Hour Fitness! MyFitnessPal works super easy on the phone and has more food listed so it makes it much easier to track food better. So with the rest, I am also becoming more on point with food.
Anyone ever been through this madness before? Let us know! What did and did not work for you??
Yes! I just recently went through this. It took getting super sick for an extended period of time (a week or so) to see results. I quickly lost 5 lbs. Overtraining can be a serious stumbling block to seeing the results we’re hoping for. I hope your two week break gives your body the rest it needs to fully recover and catapults you into greater results in the future!
Nicole – so I’m not alone in this! That’s good to hear! Thanks!
I think we all are guilty of over training from time to time. You will get through your 2 weeks of no runnig and come back even stronger! I just know it!
Thank you, Betsy! You’re support means so much! I sure hope so!
Yes, I’ve had struggles like that in the past. Right now I’m frustrated with myself because I have gained and lost the same 10 pounds for a year now. I know my eating habits are not always the best, as I am an emotional eater. I will have to try MyFitnessPal! It is difficult on apex’s app. Do u use a bodybugg? Have you heard anyone trying SlimCoach?
Aimee, I used to use a bodybugg until the stupid battery died and you couldn’t replace it on the version i had. My apex is hard to use except on an actual computer and that is not always realistic. We are really enjoying myfitnesspal. Super Easy. Never heard of SlimCoach- we’ll google! Thanks!
So is that what I am experiencing? I swear I have been so good, and still no significant loss. It is frustrating to say the least. I do like the MyFitnessPal and have used that for a couple of months. It totally gave me a wake up call on how many calories are in some things!
God only knows in this weightloss madness! For now I hope the best thing to do is be consistent and it will all work out!
Good luck, Teal! I know how hard that is. I’ve been stuck between 145-150 for a year now. I wanted to get down to 135-138 but apparently my body has other ideas! I’ve gotten leaner in terms of size but not in pounds. I just keep telling myself it’s muscle. But honestly, there is some jiggle there that needs to go away. Still, I am more worried about having enough energy for my ultras so not trying to lose right now. However, I do find that when I go into a taper for the big races and cut back on riding & running that I do lose weight. I always thought it was weird because they say you usually gain a lb or two in a taper but maybe the theory you & your trainer have was at work.
I really do wonder if that theory is really the case! Kinda hope so at this point! I can totally understand staying up to maintain energy for an ultra. Can’t imagine what that is like on eating! Thanks for the encouragement! It’s been annoying!
There are many articles and research showing that working out too much can lead to fat gain. Basically your body is rebelling and fighting back. Just need to find your pace which is different for everyone.
And by the way … it is healthy to have some fat!
Uh huh, I’m with you. I’m stuck at a weight right now & it won’t budge. Though there are some things I can do with my eating to improve it–I hope.
Don’t lose your motivation, you’ll find a way!
This is really interesting. I hope the break is just what you need. I’ve seen this happen to fellow runners when training for a marathon. The constant cardio puts them into overtraining mode and they gain weight/fat, especially around the middle.
Yah, isn’t it? We did know that much about it until we started talking about it with other people who were just like – yep! Heard of that happening before! There will definitely be a follow up post about how it went!