I have been on a workout program called on Insanity for three days. I''ve also been dieting reducing the amount of calories I take in. I am 5 ft 7 at first I was 188 now Im 190 why am I gaining weight imstead of losing it? Could it be I am gaining muscle or should I cut down some more on calories? I want to lose weight really bad.
How To Lose Weight Fast and Safely
Recommended Answer:
this is why they recommend that you take your measurements & monitor things like your resting heart rate, blood pressue, & your fasting blood sugar & cholesterol levels. & not rely entirely on that number on the scale.
when I started exercising, I actually gained weight the first 4 weeks. If I had only been relying on the scale, I would have quit. but I had done those other things I mentioned above. I checked by blood pressure, resting heart rate, & measurements weekly & my fasting blood sugar & cholesterol levels every 12 weeks. In that first four weeks, I gained almost 10 pounds but I lost 2" off my arms, waist & thighs each & 4" off my hips. I went down almost 4 sizes, my blood pressure dropped from borderline high to normal & my resting heart rate dropped from 80 beats per minute to 60 beats per minute.
what happened was: I burned fat but I put on muscle (muscle is heavier & more compact than fat). that initial muscle was needed to increase my metablolism in order to help burn more fat. once my body put on enough muscle to help increase my metabolism, I started losing weight.
my recommendation:
you''ve only been doing this program for 3 days. commit to it for 12 weeks. no matter what the scale says you are going to continue this program for 12 weeks.
get an exercise journal ( this is one I like: http://www.amazon.com/BodyMinder-Workout-Exercise-Journal-Fitness/dp/0963796844) or do a search online for a template you like & make one of your own. set it up for 12 weeks
take the following measurements:
weight, neck, chest, upper arm, waist, hips, thighs, calves, blood pressure (if you don''t have a monitor then go to your local pharmacy--there will either be a machine that takes your blood pressure or the pharmacist will do it for free or a small fee), your resting heart rate (count the number of beats in 6 seconds & multiply by 10. a normal range is 60 to 90 beats per min w/ the lower end being ideal). optional: you can have your sugar & cholesterol checked (again check w/ your local pharmacy. many will do these readings for a low fee. some do them all the time, some only do them once a month.)
the measurements you can do at home you will check weekly. the measurements you need help with, you''ll check monthly. blood sugar & cholesterol you can check every 3 or 4 months but really only need to check once or twice a year. (this means no weighing yourself between official weigh ins. the weight fluctuations you''ll experience throughout the week will just make you crazy.)
the idea here is if you can see you are making progress in other areas then you''re less likely to get frustrated because the scale doesn''t say what you think it should say
