Active Community: Message List - Exercising like crazy but gaining weight?

Re: Exercising like crazy but gaining weight?

guest — Sat, 31 Mar 2007 03:51:46 GMT

5'3" and 124 lbs, yup you need to lose a good 30 -40 lbs.Just kidding...

I wonder if you have a skewed concept of where you need to be. I can not picture you being anything but ideal.I see too many people (hi, i'm 6' and 98 lbs and just can't lose those last 12 lbs...).

OK, that is extreme, but think about it. Really.You are fine. Don't listen to those that talk about carbs or protein. You are FINE! 42 years old at that! wow!

Re: Exercising like crazy but gaining weight?

guest — Fri, 30 Mar 2007 23:46:07 GMT

i agree that evaluating your diet would likely be really beneficial, but i think it's also time to seriously re-evaluate your workouts!! it sounds like you are doing about 2 and a half hours of only cardio 5x a week right? i would highly suggest starting to lift weights and work on core strength while reducing some of your cardio. women can really benefit from lifting weights and your body will change and get smaller, even if the scale doesn't (muscle weighs more han fat). working with a trainer or someone who is familiar with weight training initially can be really helpful to learn proper form and technique. hope that helps!

Re: Exercising like crazy but gaining weight?

guest — Fri, 30 Mar 2007 20:43:36 GMT

exercisetm, have you added up your caloric intake? The labels on the package will tell you how many calories you're eating as well as what the serving size is supposed to be. Try that, but be astute and record everything. Often times calories sneak in, especially with sports drinks and soft drinks. Also, have you just started exercising? If you've been doing this for less than three months, I would not be surprised that the scales are not yet tipping in your favor.

Re: Exercising like crazy but gaining weight?

guest — Fri, 30 Mar 2007 20:36:31 GMT

Nutrition 101: grains, fruits and vegetables are the richest sources of B vitamins. Like many other nutrients, they are involved in the much-loved Krebs cycle and electron transfer systems that make us go. But they do not "control energy regulation" because that phrase doesn't make any sense.

Kines 101: a high carb diet is the mainstay of distance runners. The next thing we learn is that high protein diets are very dangerous for endurance athletes because of the renal load of nitrogen. Too much nitorgen with inadequate fluid intake is setting oneself up for some serious kidney damage.

Re: Exercising like crazy but gaining weight?

guest — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 14:53:16 GMT

As a nutrition professional (B.S. in Nutrition) I think your problem is without a doubt carbs. Many studies show that the greatest success in weight loss (and maintenance) comes from a High Protein/Low Fat diet. The problem for many vegetarians is that they are overweight (not implying that you are) because of the high carbohydrate/ high fat diet that is their normal intake. (Also, many grains are very high in calories) From experience with clients I have also observed that many are vegetarian because they think it is healthier, not necessarily so. What tends to be lacking in a typical vegetarian diet is vital micronutrients such as the B family, which control energy regulation.

So, now the exercise... (have my M.S. in Kinesiology) we know that it is vital for health maintenance and weight loss, but there is a point where you are doing too much. It's the law of diminishing returns. I think if you focus more on lean proteins and 60 minutes of vigorous aerobic exercise plus some strength training you will be amazed. Good luck and be well.

Re: Exercising like crazy but gaining weight?

guest — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 06:36:45 GMT

Why are you trying to LOSE weight when you are at a normal weight??? Isn't it enough to be healthy and active?

I am 5'6" and 118 lbs but I can assure you that you are in much better physical fitness than I (I wish I could even run half a mile!). Are you exercising to be healthy or to be skinny?

Re: Exercising like crazy but gaining weight?

guest — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 22:07:48 GMT

Excellent points. Ice cream is vegetarian, too. Being healthy is about balance. Too much exercise, too much water, too much of anything can be bad for you.

When eliminate a vital nutrient from your diet, you risk serious damage to your health.

Re: Exercising like crazy but gaining weight?

guest — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 21:04:30 GMT

Yeah, I wonder what that guy is selling.

3 years ago, I lost 25 pounds with simply severly ramping up my exercise and making sensible changes in my diet, while still keeping some of the things I truly love (Doritos, beer). I have 2 points to make:

1. The scale is not a measure of fitness. This seems to really bother you, so go ahead and get a body fat test.

2. Your body is fairly simple: all you have to do is make sure that the amount of calories you take in is less than the amount you expend, and you will lose weight.

It is common for those who workout to think that they need to eat a great deal more because they workout. It is also common for vegetarians to eat a ton of vegetarian food, thinking "It's okay, it's vegetarian." Neither of these things is necessarily true.

Please don't start to starve yourself.

Re: Exercising like crazy but gaining weight?

guest — Fri, 23 Feb 2007 00:58:39 GMT

I couldn't disagree more-but what do I know? I've only lost 51 pounds....

That one just sounded too much like an ad to me.

Re: Exercising like crazy but gaining weight?

guest — Thu, 22 Feb 2007 20:27:34 GMT

It definitely is your high carb diet: this may help explain how your body responds and why you are not losing the weight you want. I got this information from a Medical Symposium that I attended discussing the responses of the body to proteins and carbs.

The latest research findings in regards to weight loss show that DHEA hormone plays a key role in your body.

To understand how and why this works, here is a simple explanation:

Think of your body as a computer.

At night with extended darkness in the retina of your eye, the body releases naturally occurring melatonin (a hormone). Think of this as turning off your computer.

In the morning with first extended light in the retina, your body releases naturally occurring DHEA, think of this as turning the computer back on.

Just like your computer, your body is looking for files to start properly. The first thing your body looks for is a new source of protein for energy. If your body doesn't sense new protein within the first 30 minutes of waking (the release of DHEA), it sends a signal that the body is trying to starve itself. The first thing it does in a response is to lower the metabolism to conserve what protein it has in the body. If no new protein has been detected within 2 hours, your metabolism is basically shut off for the day until you reset the computer the next day.

One of the keys to protein in the morning is approximately a 2 to 1 ratio (eg. 14 grams of protein to 7 grams of carbohydrates). If the carb content is too high, the body will only read the carbs and not the protein.

You can have some fruit or other carbohydrate items about 30 minutes after your protein.

I hurt my back and could not exercise so I put this to the test myself. I used a protein shake (with the correct 2:1 ratio) first thing in the morning,then 1/2 hour later had my fruits and carbs.I lost 10 lbs. in 6 weeks! If you want information about the product I used, you can contact me through my personal website.

Hope this helps you to understand better why you may not be getting the results you want.