I noticed that most of his friends were saying not to worry about it, that this could all be explained by gaining muscle and losing fat at the same time, with those numbers canceling each other out. Although this is possible I fear that it's not likely. Unless someone is young or starting off with a small amount of muscle, a quick and large muscle gain from a moderate gym workout is highly unlikely. The culprit is most likely food intake.
To lose weight while doing a challenging exercise program, you have to eat the right amount of food, eat the right types of food, and eat it at the right time. Anyone who's watched The Biggest Loser on TV knows that weight loss can be slowed down by eating too little as well as too much or both.
If you're experiencing very poor weight loss numbers despite a challenging exercise program, try these few things to see if you can get better results:
- Weigh yourself once every two or three weeks. Daily fluctuations can drag your motivation down, and one-week results might be too small to motivate. An effective weight loss effort will show results in two to three weeks. It also emphasizes enjoying the activity as opposed to fixating on the results (weight loss).
- Make sure that you're getting your heart rate into the "cardio" range and try the "intervals" setting on the aerobic machines. (As long as you don't have any physical issues that require a slow build up, don't be content with keeping your heart rate in the "weight loss" range; you actually burn less total fat that way.)
- Be sure to do some core exercises (stomach, sides, and lower back).
- Eat one low-sugar, reasonable-fat, reasonable-protein bar immediately after exercising. I like Kashi soft granola bars. At all other times you want to limit your non-vegetable carbs; immediately after a workout, though, your body needs some carbs, so don't get stingy then.
- Drink one low-sugar protein drink a day. This added protein will help you to maintain muscle mass while the body reduces fat.
- When you are bonking (feeling light headed, fatigued, and irritable), eat a granola bar, a handful of nuts, or some fruit. Eat just enough to make the "bad feelings" go away.
- When eating meals limit your intake of rice, pasta, potatoes, and bread. Generally cut those portions by one third to one half.
- Seriously limit snacking on sugary food (candy, cookies, and cake) or crunchy, salty snacks (pretzels, chips).
- Try to eat until you are not hungry as opposed to eating until you are full. It may take some practice for you to become reacquainted with the difference.
- If you're a vegetarian or have been on a low-fat diet, be sure to find ways to get enough protein and "good" fat. Be sure to supplement tofu and "rice and beans" with protein-rich snacks or shakes. If you want to build muscle mass, whey shakes are superior to soy. However if you want to stay true to vegan principles, soy will work OK.
Also, make sure that you're getting enough OMEGA-rich fats; if your body isn't getting enough fat in its daily diet, it will go into deprivation mode and want to hold onto the fat on your body "just in case of a crisis later on." Try upping the level of fat just a little bit to see if that triggers your body into burning more body fat. Good sources of fat can be nuts, flax seeds, flax seed oil (as a supplement), fish, fish oil (as a supplement), or avocado.
I am using a modified version of the Intuitive Eating program, which is designed to help people eat healthy without "dieting." I'll review the Intuitive Eating book in another post.
If you implement a handful of these suggestions in combination with a workout program, you should see at least a pound or two drop off every few weeks.
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