RMR and UNWANTED rebound weight gain

[Jim1]

Hello. Can anyone shed some light on this please??? I am a 35 male who is trying to lose fat. I weigh 225 lbs, 5'9". I have for the last couple years been restricting my diet to around 1800 calories and able to get down to about 210 lbs. I run on the treadmill for 60 minutes per day, 6 times a week. I recently discovered that my RMR is around 2380. Since then (about 4 weeks ago), I have increased my calories to about 2400 per day. I am also gaining about a pound per week because of the increased calories. After 2 weeks, I implemented the running again (I took 4 weeks off thinking that my metabolism should normalize before I do he aerobics again). My point is that I am still gaining weight. How long should it take before my metabolism normalizes and I can start losing fat? I am excited knowing that I should be able to lose fat with my increase of calories (based on my rmr) but how long will it take before my metabolism stabilizes? Is it correct that I was actually in starvation mode all of those months because I was only consuming 1800 calories when my rmr is closer to 2400?

Thanks,
Jim

 

[allcdnboy1]

Hi Jim,
Yes, it is definately possible. And, since you say you have been doing this for years, it could take quite some time for your body to adjust, especially since you have been losing weight. The problem is that if you had been at a steady weight and increased your calories, your metabolism will adjust almost immediately. But, as you have been losing weight, your body may think that you are now trying to gain weight because you are eating more.
However, before I go any further with that, can you give me a log of what you have been eating for the last 4 days, for example. It may not be the calorie intake that's the problem, but the source of those calories. If you simply increased your calories by adding straight carbs, it makes sense that you are putting on weight.

Cheers,
Sean

 

[Jim1]

Hi Sean. Thanks for the help. Because of the holiday season, I have been on vacation for the past couple weeks. Although I have not adhered to my normal diet, we have been "eating out" alot. I am sticking to my calorie alotment, but I admit my choice of calories aren't the norm. For example, today I had 3 meals of about 800 calories each.
Meal 1 - Chicken sandwich/fries
Meal 2 - 6" sub (turkey/swiss)
Meal 3 - Chicken/Rice and a small serving of apple pie.

This has pretty much been the norm for the past 2 weeks on vacation. On my normal schedule, here is my diet:
AM Treadmill/Workout (60 min) (7am)- EAS premade shake (140 cals)
Meal 1 (9am) - 2 cups Oatmeal /1 banana (380 cals)
Meal 2 (12 noon) - Turkey/Swiss sandwich w/ 1 tsp mayo - 8 0zs OJ (600 cals)
Meal 3 (2:30pm) - PBJ sandwich on whole wheat /1 banana (350 cals)
Meal 4 (5pm) - PBJ sandwich on whole wheat /1 banana (350 cals)
Meal 5 (7:30pm) - Chicken w/rice (or pasta) (600 cals)

I have stayed pretty consistant with this diet, giving myself a day (Saturday) to splurge with pizza or ice cream *but staying in the same calorie range.

I drink a good amount of water, close to a gallon per day. But I also drink a lot of diet soda :-(

What do you think???

Thanks,
Jim

 

[allcdnboy1]

that sounds really good actually. some simple suggestions that may not make a big difference:
- don't have any heavy carbs after 5 (ie. pasta) ... stick with high protein. If you can make your big pasta meal your lunch
- PBJ isn't that healthy unless you take out the J and have non-preserved PB w/out any salt
- substitute some of those bananas for some other fruit like berries, which are high in protein
- trying some cottege cheese or yogurt w/ a protein scoop instead of one of your PBJ
- ... lastly, don't drink soda , diet or other ... if you need the flavor outside of water, add a scoup of ice tea or gatorade or something to your water ... i know it's not the best, but, as they say "getting in shape isn't a diet, it's a lifestyle"


-- you obviously know about the "cheat day", so i'll just commend you for that. it's great for keeping you sane and your body will kick into high gear to burn off any of those extra calories outside of the norm

 

[wonderwoman]

since you mentioned your such a big diet soda drinker, i thought i'd copy and paste my post from the diet soda thread. its no good for weight loss!

caffeine leads to an increase of insulin in your body that retards the burning of your stored fat.
also, aspertame kills your serotonin levels which affects your moods drastically (depression) and can increase your cravings for carbs and even increase your appetite overall (due to lowered serotonin). plus, all that carbonation can make you tired and then you may not feel motivated to do your cardio.

 

[Jim1]

Thanks Sean for all of your help. I will post in a few weeks and let you know my progress.

Wonderwoman, I know the diet coke has to go. I have been drinking it for many years. I plan to remove it completely, and replace it with more water.

Thanks everyone!
-Jim

 

[Jim1]

Frustrated

Sean, I have maintained my daily calories of 2500. I have now gained 10 pounds. I know my metabolism is OFF because I have only increased my cals by about 700/day, but and still running (treadmill) for 30 minutes 6x week and Workouts (weights) 4 x week. If you add the exercise up, I am burning around
2500-3000 calories per week. Which makes it (mathematically) impossible for me to gain that much weight, right? I am gaining a steady 1 to 1.25 pounds per week.

My diet is good. Same as before, but cutting out the carbs at night.

I have also given up Diet Soda completely! (22 days now).

I am absolutely frustrated. I know if I drop down to 1800 again, I may lose weight, but will plateau again and have to start over (same position I'm in now). How long until my metabolism neutralizes??? I can't take any more weight gain, at least emotionally.

 

[allcdnboy1]

hi jim ... i haven't forgot about you. i received you PM and this message via notification. i've been slaving my ass off with work and i want to look into this in detail ... talk to some friends that may be able to help you out more ... hopefully tomorrow ... latest Friday ... it's 3:15am and i'm still working ... this is crazy

 

[allcdnboy1]

sorry, i should have read this when i was more awake. You may not have a problem at all ... besides judging your progress based on the scale. By increasing your calories, you have allowed your body to use the extra calories to build muscle. The weight gain is probably simple a result of the weight training ... i went through a similar phase. Until I plateaud on my weight training, i didn't start to see my weight leveling off.
You should try increasing your treadmill exercise to 40 minutes and change to a HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) program. Sprint for 20 seconds then jog lightly for 40 ... it will maximize your fat burning without dipping too far into your protein stores for energy (which happens at high intensity - breathing hard). Something that I hate recommending, but energy drinks help too ... check for all natural ingredients, though. XS I believe is the best ... compare it's contents of natural herbs with any other drink that you are thinking of using. Some are purely chemical and you want to stay away from those.

... so, do measurements on your neck, chest, biceps, stomach, hips, legs and calves ... a string is the easiest and then put it against a ruler. Maybe take notes as to exactly where you measured to be consistant ... same thing with flex or no flex. With your stomach, don't push it out or suck it in ... try to breath normally for 3 or 4 breaths and relax ... the result should be a decent mid-point. Also, do this first thing in the morning before eating anything ... it's the most consistant point in your day.

Cheers

 

[Jim1]

Thank you Sean. I will definitely track the measurements. I will try the protein drinks and definitely the HIIT training. At least I am feeling better knowing that I may be on the right track after all. I will post in a couple weeks...

Thanks again.
Jim

 

[sky2]

Hi, am wondering if this might be happening to me, after reading AllCdnBoy's post...have been working out regularily since sept 05 and weightloss seems to have plateaued (arrggh), still get to gym and run and walk a lot, I lost NOTHING (!!!) last month despite definately being under 1200-1500cals most of the time. Whats happening, any ideas? Am a girl, btw.

 

[kzplano]

sky-
I haven't read all the posts in detail...but if you've been doing the same thing for a loong time, yes, there's a great possibility that you've hit a plateau.
Plus, I'm not sure what your eating is like.

I always wonder how everyone comes up with a set number of calorie intake a day. It's really difficult to set (and those online calculators can be waaaaaay off). It's a number that needs to be played around with and always take into consideration what your workout routine is like.

I'm not a big protein fan. We DO need proteins but not as much as people think...unless you're an elite athlete etc. You pretty much need about .8-1.0 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight (up to 1.8 for athletes). So for a 155 body, they'd need about 56-70 grams a day which can be easily attained in a good bfast.
So anyway, I'd stick to a 55-65% carb diet (of course not from junk food), 12-20% proteins and fat 25-30%...depending on your body size and activity level.

As far as working out, change it up a bit. You've been using the treadmill for a looong time, try a class, spinning, kickboxing, boxing, add strength training etc. something to really shock your body.
OR change up your run/walk routine, make it more intense, do some hill work, intervals, tempo runs etc.

 

[ImaFatass]

that sounds really good actually. some simple suggestions that may not make a big difference:
- don't have any heavy carbs after 5 (ie. pasta) ... stick with high protein. If you can make your big pasta meal your lunch
- PBJ isn't that healthy unless you take out the J and have non-preserved PB w/out any salt
- substitute some of those bananas for some other fruit like berries, which are high in protein
- trying some cottege cheese or yogurt w/ a protein scoop instead of one of your PBJ
- ... lastly, don't drink soda , diet or other ... if you need the flavor outside of water, add a scoup of ice tea or gatorade or something to your water ... i know it's not the best, but, as they say "getting in shape isn't a diet, it's a lifestyle"


-- you obviously know about the "cheat day", so i'll just commend you for that. it's great for keeping you sane and your body will kick into high gear to burn off any of those extra calories outside of the norm

What he said, my doctor has also told me no carbs after lunchtime.