Weight loss: What the hell happened??!

[xtiangankaico]

Newbie here, I hope I can find the answer to this really weird thing that happened.

Im a 21 year old male, used to be about 200lbs (5"8'). I never did sports nor exercised a day in my life. Being 200lbs I was really over my ideal weight. I've always been a bit chubby all my life but when I hit the 200lb mark, I was really alarmed. This is when I decided to do something. I still remember I made that decision during the end of the semester and I told myself that I would dedicate the entire summer to exercise and healthy living. I was determined to lose weight. And I did. I lost 55lbs in 6 months.

basically all I did was cut down on my carbohydrates (basically I removed rice from my diet--im asian so rice has always been part of my diet), ate a lot of vegetables, skipped rope an hour a day, and lifted 8lbs dumbells (i was not really strict on the number of reps, i just lifted until it hurt), and did crunches (again not strict on the number of reps). As you can see, it wasn't really the clean cut exercise and diet program but it worked for me.

Then the downfall started. I was a graduating student in college, the pressure was on. All nighters, fast-food and smoking were in my routine now. I was slowly gaining weight. Slowly but surely I gained weight, I am now 160lbs. Although I was not yet overweight, I knew I was going there. But I was not going to let this happen. Thinking that I did so well when I was just winging it, I concluded that it would be much more effective if I followed an exercise routine instead of just skipping rope, and lifting 8lb weights and doing crunches until it hurt. So I purchased Shaun T's Insanity workout and it was insane! It was so hard, I thought that I will lose whatever I gained in no time. It didnt! Im now 180lbs!!! I'm hungry all the time. I've never felt like this when I was just winging it in exercise. Now I've lost all motivation. I'm afraid im on my way to that awful 200lbs!!

What the hell happened? why was it easier to lose weight when i did not follow any laid out exercise plan--when i was just exercising and stopped only when "i felt like it"? and why the hell am i so hungry all the time?

Edit: and oh, the most disturbing thing about this is that Shaun T's insanity workout was soo hard especially for me who is not that athletic.It was a million times more difficult than my skipping rope-8lb dumbbell routine. There were times when I had to scream just so I could finish the exercises. But to what end? nothing! I gained 20lbs and developed a messed up appetite!!

 

[malkore]

Well, your old training routine wasn't very good. 8lb dumbbells...my wife doesn't even use that light a weight for anything but front raises.

Gaining 20lbs...of what? Fat? Muscle? Water? Cancerous tumors?
The point I'm making is that 'weight' means very little until you quantify it (fat vs muscle vs water weight, etc).

If Shaun T's workout was 'so incredibly hard'...and you're starving all the time...I'd say you're probably getting a better workout now, and might be gaining muscle finally, since 8lbs and infinite reps doesn't build muscle tissue/add weight.

Hard to say, because you really don't give any numbers besides height and 'weight'...nor do you expand on your actual daily diet/intake of food/food diary.

 

[summer123]

Yup, agree- how o you know you didn't build muscle? have your body measurements gone down? Also, your likely to slow down as you age- what used to just melt off in terms of weight, now takes a great deal of effort, not only because your older and a natural side of ageing is that your muscles start to decay, you have to work at keeping them there and also work harder on developing them then when you were younger. Add to that that your body requires fewer calories as you age, as your no longer growing after the age of about 25-30 and you simply do not require as much food.

Work on what you need to eat to survive- this is the biggest deal in terms of weight loss, there are websites and calculators on the site stickies. Then add to that exercise to build muscle and cardio to help your heart and boost your circulation. Cardio helps with calorie burning but you have to do alot to make a real difference, don't rely on it for calorie burning, its just there to take the edge off. You could try HIIT or interval training which can make cardio feel less boring and mean you take less time to get to a better degree of fitness.

Weight loss more then 2lbs a week is not fat loss, its muscle and water loss. Keep that in mind, the body can only metabolise so much per week to 10 day period.

 

[HollyFJ]

Wow, that is disappointing. But you have to start somewhere!! I am going to suggest that you go back to your old stuff for now... How long have you been off the things that worked for you? If you could give more info that would be helpful. Your mind has a lot to do with what goes on also! Believe it or not, you had a determination back then that you would devote the summer to what you wanted, you knew you were going to succeed. Now you sound a little desperate. You will likely feel drained when you do the insanity workout... but you don't have to kill yourself to get what you want, although it may take longer that way. How are your eating habits? Did you back off the foods that worked last time? For you own health don't give up... Start with something, then find someone who knows what they are doing and get some more experienced advice. Holly

 

[xtiangankaico]

Well, your old training routine wasn't very good. 8lb dumbbells...my wife doesn't even use that light a weight for anything but front raises.

Gaining 20lbs...of what? Fat? Muscle? Water? Cancerous tumors?
The point I'm making is that 'weight' means very little until you quantify it (fat vs muscle vs water weight, etc).

If Shaun T's workout was 'so incredibly hard'...and you're starving all the time...I'd say you're probably getting a better workout now, and might be gaining muscle finally, since 8lbs and infinite reps doesn't build muscle tissue/add weight.

Hard to say, because you really don't give any numbers besides height and 'weight'...nor do you expand on your actual daily diet/intake of food/food diary.

hey thanks for this!

I know my old exercise routine was really crap for someone experienced. My old diet was crap too as I just practically ate less of everything. I am practically a no0b to anything healthy.
But that "crappy" exercise and diet helped me loose about 55 lbs and I kept that off for a very long time (about a year). Thats my point. Now that I'm doing a "better" exercise I gained a lot of weight and am getting hungry all the time. I'm not really sure how to really know if its water, muscle or fat. But from what I can see in the mirror, its definitely fat.
It would be great if anyone told me how to know what kind of weight I gained for sure. My diet when I started Shaun T exercise was: Breakfast a bowl of cereals with skim milk. Lunch and dinner: a cup of white rice, a slice of meat (ex. 1 chicken breast, or a slice of lean meat), a cup of mixed vegetables. But this makes me so hungry so there are times that I grab something else to eat in between and its always the unhealthy foods like chocolate or chips.

 

[anthonynelson]

That's really cool.....loosing weight actually also depends upon individual's metabolism. Every individual should combine healthy diet and exercise in daily routine.

 

[tcguy]

Wow, that is disappointing. But you have to start somewhere!! I am going to suggest that you go back to your old stuff for now... How long have you been off the things that worked for you? If you could give more info that would be helpful. Your mind has a lot to do with what goes on also! Believe it or not, you had a determination back then that you would devote the summer to what you wanted, you knew you were going to succeed. Now you sound a little desperate. You will likely feel drained when you do the insanity workout... but you don't have to kill yourself to get what you want, although it may take longer that way. How are your eating habits? Did you back off the foods that worked last time? For you own health don't give up... Start with something, then find someone who knows what they are doing and get some more experienced advice. Holly

In my opinion the most important aspect for any fitness routine is enjoyment because otherwise, no matter how effective it is for you, it won't last long.
It is fairly obvious that the new program burned significantly more calories hence, your body was starving for nutrition. Your diet seems to be pretty low protein and your muscles were dying for muscle repairing protein.

I agree with Holly, go back to the program that worked "don't fix it unless it's broke" they say. If you do decide to increase your fitness, do it with baby steps. Arnold Schwarzenegger once said that "the body has to be teased...if you give it too much, too soon you will either get really sore or injured and one or both can lead to quitting".

 

[Quadlas3r]

But this makes me so hungry so there are times that I grab something else to eat in between and its always the unhealthy foods like chocolate or chips.

Okay, this is the problem. If you are building muscle, your body is going to need more calories. It's just very, very hard to lose fat and build muscle at the same time. You are expecting way too much of yourself with the diet you are trying to stay on. You need more calories. Let yourself have them. You should not be feeling hunger at all.

Being really hungry is a pretty desperate feeling. Seriously, it's almost emotionally trying. When you let yourself get to that starved feeling, you'll let yourself eat whatever you want and as much of it as you can. You end up eating loads of stuff that is crazy fattening and has no nutritional value. That's why you're gaining weight.

Keep a food journal. Write down what you are eating, when you eat and when you're feeling hungry. You need to figure out how much food really you need so that you can give it to yourself in a healthy, nutritious, mindful way.

Don't give up. Being fit feels a million times better than just being thin. Stay on this course. The pay off will be worth it.