Uh-Oh! I'm getting bigger.

K

kaddy31

0
Hi everyone! Please help if you can! I've recently started a workout routine, and I used to be pretty inactive. Fortunately for me, I stayed pretty slim without worrying about exercising. I decided to work out because my body fat % was a little high. I've been working out for a month, and I have not changed my eating habits at all except I eat later two days out of the week. I even cut the chocolate chip cookies out, and I used to eat them every night. I'm putting on inches and gaining cellulite. What am I doing wrong? My workout schedule is as follows:
Tues. - 45 mins. cardio, arms, abs
Thurs. - 45 mins. cardio, legs, back
Saturday - 45 mins. cardio, arms, abs
Sunday - 45 mins. cardio, legs, back

I'm 5'10" and I weigh 139#.

Please help. I'm very upset and considering quitting working out altogether. I felt better about my body before I did all this.
 
My diet usually looks like the following:
Breakfast: yogurt
Snack: plain popcorn
Lunch: Lean Cuisine
Snack: apple, or celery/peanut butter
Dinner: Varies (This is usually my heaviest meal because I eat out all the time.)

I do want to say again though, my diet was this way before I started working out, and I was thinner then.
 
For a totally uneducated guess: you've increased your caloric requirements but have not increased your food intake to support your workouts (assuming your calorie intake was sufficient before working out even). Because of this, it sounds to me like your body is heading into (if it isn't already) into starvation mode, where it will store anything you put into your mouth. But I'd defer to any of the professionals on this forum, as like I said, my answer's a totally uneducated guess.
 
I do see your point about the "starvation mode," but I, too, am not sure if this is true because I do have a calorie-rich dinner every night. I appreciate your help though. Maybe I'll slowly start adding calories in throughout my day.

Thanks!!
 
Spreading your calories evenly throughout the day (over 5 or 6 meals) might help also, particularly having a bigger breakfast.

Edited to add: websites like fitday.com will help you track your calorie intake as well as give you breakdowns in terms of fats, carbs and proteins of what you've eaten.
 
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Almost nothing you do in the gym has any direct effect on whether you will gain or lose fat or muscle, other than the calorie expenditure.

It's all in your nutrition. Take a closer look. Figure out how much you're eating, as stingo says, and then use a calorie calculator (check out the stickies, or search for other posts of this type), and figure out how much you should be to maintain or lose fat. You'll probably find you're eating more than you need to. After that, do some reading, specifically, John Berardi's 7 Habits.

Also, read the weight training stickies. Your routine looks like it's going to develop imbalances, judging from your incredibly vague description. Also, you should do cardio after weights, or on a separate day.
 
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