Getting back to working out; I'm gaining weight?

[kuro1]

I'm a stay at home dad, aged 29, clocking in just shy of 170 lbs at 5'7". I used to be an active person, but about 3 years ago, injured my knee, followed by a kidney stone, followed by a interstate move, followed by my wife getting pregnant, son is born, I stay at home, chase him all over creation and here I am Over that time, You could say I let myself go (gained about 15 lbs., and lost a lot of stamina/strength.) I used to be pretty athletic, playing roller hockey and running for fun. I haven't been since recently.

To get in shape again, and to protect my knee from going "instant-on" with workouts, I'd take my son on a 2 mile walk every day, trying to keep a pace so I could at least feel my heartbeat. I did this for about 6 weeks, and it really seemed to do the trick for many aspects of my daily life. I've recently (10 days or so) picked up my running again on a treadmill. I'm doing the Couch to 5K program, because it worked really well for me those many years ago, so I'm starting with that again. My ability to run has been a bit better than I expected. I'm doing it every other day, and it's asking me for 30 minutes a day when I do it. To be honest, I dont feel "satisfied" when I'm done. So I've added two workout videos I've found on the net that I enjoy, that focus on my abdominal area (I'm trying to lose belly fat.) One is 10 minutes, and I do that in the morning. The other is 20 minutes and I do that in the afternoon. I've been doing this every day for a little over a week now.

So, Every other day 30 min of jogging and walking + 30 minutes ab/cardio workout.

I've gained probably 2 pounds since I started doing this?

I've been great about tracking my caloric intake (It's been between 1500-1700 every day for this whole time.) I've also taken a second step of eliminating white flour-based food from my diet (at the suggestion of my wife, who did it to beat fatigue after our son was born, and it worked great for her.)

I have a couple of concerns:

I've always been a "camel" style eater. I eat in bursts, go long periods with taking in nothing, then eat a lot. I've read that small meals over the course of the day is best, because your body will store fat if it's not getting food regularly. Maybe that's what's happening?

Rebuilding muscle: this is my other intuition. I used to be semi-athletic, or at least active, and i let myself go. Could my body be rebuilding atrophied muscles first, before I start really burning fat? There's gotta be stuff to actually burn fat with, right? So should I expect to see an increase in my weight before a decrease?

Looking at me, I can't tell if it's working, other than to say I think my face looks thinner.

So, the questions:

1) Should I expect to go up first, and then down, in my quest to lose these 15 lbs.?

2) I've got other tools telling me that I should have a daily caloric intake of around 1700 to lose weight at a safe pace. Should I butt right up to that 1700? If I can eat and sustain at say 1400 comfortably, is that better, or should I get the most calories in per day I can?

3) Diet soda. It's my bane. I drink 0 calories soda, but probably 36-48 ounces over the course of the day. The caffeine is one thing I can not kick. I'm proud of my other dietary changes, but this one seems to be a sticking point. Is that holding me back at all?

4) Can I exercise more than I am now (about an hour a day + 1 hr of walking with a stroller) safely? I feel like I have it in me, and to be honest, I really miss the feeling of sweating and exerting myself and pushing myself, but I do not miss the feeling of pulled muscles and shin splints and coarse throat, etc.

5) Sore muscles. Yah, I get em, though not nearly as bad as I remember. Is the best way to deal with sore muscles light exercise to keep them moving, or total rest? Total rest seems to make them hurt more, while keeping them active seems to alleviate the pain. Am I alleviating pain or postponing it my staying active thru it?

Thank you so much to anyone who bothers to read this wall of text and responds. I really appreciate it.

 

[KaraCooks]

Hi there. Welcome to the board!

I've added two workout videos I've found on the net that I enjoy, that focus on my abdominal area (I'm trying to lose belly fat.)

Ab exercises won't do anything for belly fat. It's an unfortunate fact that you can't spot lose or target fat (I wish - I'd get rid of my belly too! ). Fat comes off where your body decides it comes off and the only thing that removes belly fat is losing fat all over. Ab and core work is great, so I'm not saying don't do it. Just don't do it specifically expecting to lose belly fat.

I've always been a "camel" style eater. I eat in bursts, go long periods with taking in nothing, then eat a lot. I've read that small meals over the course of the day is best, because your body will store fat if it's not getting food regularly. Maybe that's what's happening?

Nope. The whole 6 meals a day to keep your metabolism on track is one of those diet myths. The benefit to eating lots of smaller meals is that it can keep you from being ravenous and overeating. But that's personal choice. I was a 6-times-a-day eater for a long time and I think it was the right thing for me. Recently I've been exploring IF (Intermittent Fasting), in where I've condensed my eating time to 5 hours a day - for me between 4:30 and 9:30 about. I still take in 1600-1800 calories, but I do it during that shorter eating period. (I can provide you some links with info on IF if you're interested).

But honestly neither method is a magic bullet for weight loss. It's all about determining what best suits your lifestyle.

this is my other intuition. I used to be semi-athletic, or at least active, and i let myself go. Could my body be rebuilding atrophied muscles first, before I start really burning fat? There's gotta be stuff to actually burn fat with, right? So should I expect to see an increase in my weight before a decrease?

It's unlikely that you'll see an increase in muscle while you're in a calorie deficit unless you're VERY out of shape (which it doesn't sound like you are) or VERY obese (which it doesn't sound like you are). Most likely your body is recomposing, yes, but it's also possible that your muscles are retaining fluid from working out (running, weights, whatever). Or that you've changed your diet and are retaining fluid from sodium? Or any of a half-dozen other minor changes. Honestly for me 2lbs is not even enough to worry about. Granted, I'm a woman and have more hormonal issues than you do to deal with ( ) but 2lbs could be anything from sodium to the barometric pressure today.

So to answer your direct questions:

1) Should I expect to go up first, and then down, in my quest to lose these 15 lbs.?

Maybe? Yeah, that's helpful right? Weight loss is so individual that it's hard to say. I'll tell you that my weight loss this week looks like this:
Sun 176.4
Mon 178.4
Tues 175.2
Wed 174.4
Thur 175.2
If I freaked out over 2lbs, I'd go insane. But you can see that the overall trend is down. Because I've been doing this for a while, I can almost predict where my weight will go from day to day. I was pretty sure last night that I'd be up today because I pushed the weights HARD last night - I'm a little sore and I'm probably retaining fluid. I'll probably be down tomorrow.

2) I've got other tools telling me that I should have a daily caloric intake of around 1700 to lose weight at a safe pace. Should I butt right up to that 1700? If I can eat and sustain at say 1400 comfortably, is that better, or should I get the most calories in per day I can?

Always take in the most you can while still losing. The fewer calories you eat, the more your metabolism slows to compensate. Then you wind up playing a chasing game - until you get to the point that you can't go lower w/out compromising your nutrition. Always eat as much as you can to keep your metabolism as high as you can.

3) Diet soda. It's my bane. I drink 0 calories soda, but probably 36-48 ounces over the course of the day. The caffeine is one thing I can not kick. I'm proud of my other dietary changes, but this one seems to be a sticking point. Is that holding me back at all?

I think it really depends on the person. I drink a Diet Coke 3x a week or so and it hasn't held me back. Some people would rather not take the chance. Some people are really sensitive to the artificial sweeteners or find they trigger other cravings ... or whatever. I think it's personal choice.

4) Can I exercise more than I am now (about an hour a day + 1 hr of walking with a stroller) safely? I feel like I have it in me, and to be honest, I really miss the feeling of sweating and exerting myself and pushing myself, but I do not miss the feeling of pulled muscles and shin splints and coarse throat, etc.

I think there's a middle ground bewteen pushing yourself and shin splints! I think if you want to and you dont' feel fatigued or are in pain, then do what you feel like doing. I think most people will do fine with 30-45 mins a day, alternating weights/body work and cardio, but if you have fun with it and WANT to do more, go for it.

5) Sore muscles. Yah, I get em, though not nearly as bad as I remember. Is the best way to deal with sore muscles light exercise to keep them moving, or total rest? Total rest seems to make them hurt more, while keeping them active seems to alleviate the pain. Am I alleviating pain or postponing it my staying active thru it?

If you're talking about DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) the best thing is gentle stretching, warmth, light massage, and continued exercise. If you're talking about actual physical muscle injury, then think RICE (rest, ice, compression, elevation).

Hope that helps and wasn't too long!

 

[Jeanette401]

Hi and welcome! First, I second what Kara said!

I'll add that the diet soda can interfere with weight loss, but it's not necessarily the culprit. In fact, there's a rapid weight loss plan that includes caffeine & ephedra supplements, so it depends on you. Sugar free sweet drinks can cause more hunger, but if you're in control of your food intake, then it's probably not really the issue.

Second - you can probably exercise more if it's not extreme exertion. For example, if you're doing weight lifting, don't work the same muscle groups two days in a row. Also, squats & planks and other body weight exercises are probably better than a bunch of crunches (if that's what your abs video is about)

Finally, rather than just relying on the scale, get a measuring tape and see if you're losing inches. That's the best way to tell if you're losing fat but gaining muscle (although if you're retaining water it might not tell you that). The fit of your clothes says a lot more than the scale does.