i want to be one of those infomercial people who say zumba made them lose 50 lbs

February 9, 2012 12:47 AM

why is my scale being a little bitch? i've been going to zumba classes for over a month and haven't dropped a single pound yet.

and it's not just me, 2 of my friends have noticed the same problem. the weird part is that all our clothes fit better/looser. what's going on?

i don't think it's possible for -weight +muscle to =weight plateau, but maybe i'm wrong.

the details: we are all females between ages 30 and 35 who aren't pregnant or have any new health issues. we are all overweight and have been eating healthier for months or years, and we've all lost weight overall, but ever since we started dancing (4 classes a week), the weight loss has stopped.

one of us has always had a junkfood fetish, she spends 8 hours at the gym on weekends, and she has lost 100 lbs over the past 2 or 3 years while doing this.

one of us isn't as overweight as the other 2, she eats normal food (not always fast food, but not always salads either), she did almost no activity before, but joined weight watchers last year and lost a few lbs while counting calories, and has lost nothing once zumba started.

and one of us has been mostly vegan for about a year, is a homebody, only exercised sporadically during the summer, and lost about 40 lbs last year while doing this.

even though our food intake is completely different, none of us has changed the way we eat for months, so i don't think food is a factor. we've all lost weight slowly and steadily, but not this year.

i used the bodybugg for one of the zumba classes and it said i burned 600 calories during that one hour. all the songs/moves are the same every class, so i only wore it that one time. i've worn it for other workouts and it has remained consistent, an hour of treadmill walking on a slight incline is 500 calories, 15 minutes of walking a trail with hills is 150 calories, etc. and we do work up a sweat, so it's not the lack of exercise in the zumba classes that can be blamed.

posted by carielewyn to health & fitness (23 answers total)

Exercise is an ineffective method of losing weight -- your body is perfectly capable of adjusting your caloric output in other areas to account for the 600 calories you burned during that hour, not to mention you often work up an appetite with these classes and eat a bit more than you otherwise would. Instead of trying to trick your body into losing weight with endless cardio, why not look into low-carb eating? It's the only way I've found to be effective in losing weight, as it actually targets insulin, the hormone responsible for fat accumulation. If you're interested in learning more about why calories in = calories is a misguided paradigm for sustained weight loss, please read Gary Taubes' book Good Calories, Bad Calories, or for the shorter version, Why We Get Fat.
posted by peacheater at 12:59 AM on February 9, 2012 [12 favorites]

Btw, I'm not trying to diss the zumba classes here -- I've done these classes and the like before, and they're fun and you do build up some muscle and feel good about yourselves. But if your goal is weight loss, I'd say you should concentrate 90 % on what you eat. As someone I forget once noted, you burn the equivalent of one slice of bread by climbing 20 flights of stairs -- you might as well just forget the stair-climbing and forego the slice of bread instead.
posted by peacheater at 1:01 AM on February 9, 2012 [2 favorites]

i don't think it's possible for -weight +muscle to =weight plateau, but maybe i'm wrong.

Muscle is denser than fat. You can definitely remain the same weight, but become smaller.
posted by pompomtom at 1:06 AM on February 9, 2012 [1 favorite]

i don't think it's possible for -weight +muscle to =weight plateau, but maybe i'm wrong.

You are. It's definitely possible.
posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 1:06 AM on February 9, 2012

i don't think it's possible for -weight +muscle to =weight plateau, but maybe i'm wrong.

I agree with others that it's quite possible to maintain the same weight yet have significant changes in body composition. It's not that uncommon to actually gain weight after getting active like that, especially when you don't intentionally starve yourself.

That said, you can't rule out that you're not actually eating more to counter the deficit. Ask any nutritional scientist if they think people can give accurate estimates about their caloric intake. Systematic under reporting is a know problem in studies that rely on just the participants providing the information. It also makes sources like National Weight Control Registry not very reliable at all. Even calorie counting, while potentially helpful, is not accurate.

The human hunger mechanism is a complex system that has developed to keep you alive and eating. It's very difficult to fight against and I wouldn't even try. Your mind can and will trick you into eating more than you think the same way it can trick you into forgetting an unpleasant dentist's appointment or a textbook for that test you really don't want to take.

But hey, you are losing inches. Woohoo! Your clothes fit better. That's awesome! Please, do congratulate yourself on making an incredibly smart lifestyle choice. Being physically active is a good move no matter your weight. If you wan't to lose more, focus on making more smart and sustainable choices. No dieting!
posted by Orchestra at 1:16 AM on February 9, 2012 [3 favorites]

Are you tracking everything you eat? If not, there's no reliable way to know all that you're consuming. Portion sizes matter more than most other factors if you're trying to make the scale go down.

The above advice applies whether you're completely sedentary, you do 3 hours of zumba a week, or whether you're doing circuit training in the weight room.
posted by ImproviseOrDie at 2:10 AM on February 9, 2012 [1 favorite]

Yeah, I'm seconding all who say creating a calorie deficit via dieting is the only way you're going to lose any real weight. Cutting those empty carbs is key. Exercise just won't get you there, even though it's great for your health. Diet is everything in weight loss. Exercise is only about 10% of the picture. And lifting weights has been proven to keep up one's metabolism better than cardio, for whatever reason.

I'm vegan like your friend and exercise does nothing for my weight-- it just makes me more toned.
posted by devymetal at 2:35 AM on February 9, 2012 [3 favorites]

Typically, it takes six months to start seeing the results of exercise-based weight reduction, exactly for the equation -weight +muscle to =weight plateau.

For the first few months, you are adding muscle and burning some fat. The real gain comes as the muscle builds, for you start burning more energy all the time, rather than just when working out. In fact, men often see a weight gain for a few months, before a gradual descent.

More than that, the good advice is that "the gym is really an extension of your kitchen".
posted by nickrussell at 3:27 AM on February 9, 2012 [2 favorites]

To add to the other comments:

The thing with exercise is that you tend not to loose weight doing it. There are many studies which show this. This is not about science, but psychology. Sure if you run for an hour you will burn 300 calories (or whatever). But you then reward yourself with a nice big glass of fruit juice. Whilst healthy, it probably contains about 300 calories. Of course you could just drink a glass of water, but the point is that most people who are exercising to loose weight don't.

Gyms are the worsed in this respect with their "healthy" snack bars to relax in after exercising. This makes the final sentence by nickrussell above even more appropriate!

Exercising is great for your overall health, but the only surefire way to loose weight is a balanced healthy diet.
posted by contentedweb at 3:42 AM on February 9, 2012

You did answer your own question by noting that your clothes fit better. That means you are losing fat. And if your weight doesn't change, you must be gaining muscle. I would just keep doing what you are doing. It appears to be working if your goal is to get into better shape and tone your body. If your goal is to specifically lose weight, no matter what, then you need to eat less.
posted by Seymour Zamboni at 4:26 AM on February 9, 2012 [1 favorite]

If you want to lose weight, you have to decrease your calories. Exercise can "burn" calories, but it's a terribly inefficient way to lose weight. Exercise is fantastic for building muscle, working the heart and lungs, flexibility, bone retention, and overall psychological well-being, but it's not going to be the main factor in weight loss.

Hardcore bodybuilders have a saying, "Abs are made in the kitchen." It was true in the 40s, it was true in the 90s, and it'll be true in the 2050s.

Keep doing Zumba; it's a fantastic workout, your cardiovascular health, your legs, and your sense of rhythm will love you for it. But if you want to lose weight, track calories and reduce them.
posted by xingcat at 4:34 AM on February 9, 2012 [2 favorites]

Your scale will always be a little bitch. DTMFA(ppliance). You already know whether you're healthy. Weight is a number that does absolutely nothing, all by itself, to measure your health. Health isn't 115 vs. 110. If you're losing weight in a healthy way, your clothes will fit better/looser, you'll be able to work out longer, and you'll be sleeping better. Sound familiar?
posted by Etrigan at 4:46 AM on February 9, 2012 [5 favorites]

(Guys, it sounds like the OP has been losing weight due to cutting calories, but that the weight loss stopped once she added in exercise.)

OP, there are a few things that could be going on here:

- As others have said, it's totally possible to put on muscle while losing fat without seeing the scale shift much, especially in the short term;

- I agree that it's easy - even common - to up your food intake when you start a new exercise routine, and not even really realise you're doing it;

- It's only been a month. I appreciate it's frustrating to see the scale sticking in place, but your body can do weird things to you at the start of a new exercise habit, and maintaining or putting on weight is one of those weird things. I've heard multiple explanations for this - it's an increase in appetite, it's muscle gain, it's the result of drinking too much/too little water during workouts, it's water weight your body's using to store energy in the form of glycogen for all this new stuff you're suddenly making it do - but it is really really common, and often it does resolve itself after a short time your body gets used to the new routine.

I never lose weight in the first few weeks of a new exercise plan, and I don't even lose weight in the first few weeks after significantly cutting down on calories, so I totally understand how annoying this is. But, I've also learnt that if I just stick with what I'm doing, the weight loss comes after a while, and in the meantime I'm having fun and feeling healthier. If you're confident that you're not upping your calorie intake or cutting exercise elsewhere to a degree that's cancelling out all the calories burnt during zumba, I'd suggest just giving it some time and assuming the scale will catch up with you after a while.
posted by Catseye at 5:16 AM on February 9, 2012 [1 favorite]

My guess is that you are inadvertently eating more since starting the class. I know you said your diet hasn't changed but you also haven't mentioned if you are really, truly keeping close tabs on your food intake versus calorie expense. You need calorie expense to be higher than food intake to lose weight, generally about a 3500 calorie difference per week to lose 1 measly pound. 3500 calories is a LOT, especially if you aren't being super diligent about measuring and tracking every single calorie.

For me, being diligent means measuring out every single thing I consume. No eyeballing or estimating EVER. I count every individual goldfish cracker I eat at snack time. I measure my wine using a one ounce measuring cup (and don't assume the pours you get at a restaurant are "one glass!" more like 2.5 glasses, which is a whole lot of calories and a good reason to stop eating out.) I measure the weight of things like meat and cheese and grains to get an accurate idea of my true portion size. I input everything into a calorie counting app every single day.

All of this is a huge pain in the ass but it's the only way to know for sure that you aren't actually eating back those calories you burned at Zumba.
posted by joan_holloway at 5:38 AM on February 9, 2012

Does the bodybugg subtract the calories you would have expended doing nothing for the same amount of time you did Zumba? If you're adding 600 calories to your daily calorie allowance on the days you do Zumba, but really you're burning 600-BMR(or EMR), that could be part of the issue.
posted by amarynth at 7:42 AM on February 9, 2012

Scales are bitches! It's not just yours. You will find more satisfaction and, I think, a better idea of the changes you're making to your body if you take regular measurements instead.

Weight, as a number, never responds as you might expect to changes in exercise and food intake. Have you ever eaten a ton of fatty, sugary food, and then weighed yourself the next morning full of dread only to find a 2 lb loss? Similarly, you could exercise and eat sensibly and notice no impact on the number on the scale. Weight-loss forums are full of similar tales of woe. This is part of the reason I don't do weighing scales anymore. I measure my health by how my clothes fit, how my skin looks, whether I'm sleeping, and how I feel. I'm sure ALL of these things will be positively impacted by a month of zumba. Keep doing it! Ditch the scale.
posted by Ziggy500 at 8:08 AM on February 9, 2012 [2 favorites]

Stop using the scale. Start using a soft tape measure.

You probably don't (or shouldn't, IMO) care about how much you weigh. What you really care about is what you look like and how you feel. If your clothes fit better, who cares what the scale does? Seriously.

Also, as people have said upthread, if you want to lose bodyfat, you should be thinking primarily about your diet. A few hours of cardio a week is okay, but it's kind of a low priority if you want to think about strategies for losing bodyfat and getting fitter.
posted by MoonOrb at 8:49 AM on February 9, 2012 [1 favorite]

I agree with everyone: throw that damn scale away! Never weigh yourself! Feeling good, feeling strong, feeling the changes in your body and the way your clothes fit is the true marker of the gains you're making. You could starve yourself and see real weight loss but you would not be healthy or feel better.

IGNORE THE SCALE!

If I were you, I'd start thinking about diet. Keep going to Zumba, but look at your diet and where in your life you can fit other exercise. I was 45 pounds heavier some years back. I started getting regular exercise and then adding in extra exercise here and there (crunches and push-ups in the morning; after dinner walk in the neighborhood) and then started with my diet. For some reason I started noticing major weight loss when I switched to skim milk and swore off diet sodas. Could be coincidence. Now I hardly drink milk at all so when I do, it's 2% or whole, I digress.... Little, gradual changes on a daily basis add up.

You're doing everything right -- keep going!

KILL YOUR SCALE!
posted by amanda at 8:51 AM on February 9, 2012

Eating well and eating less are different. You can lose weight on a diet of nothing but chocolate, as long as you're limiting calories.

I agree that using a scale is a poor method or setting and reaching goals. It would be better to shoot for a particular clothing size.

If you really want to "see" the changes, take naked or nearly naked pictures of yourself every few weeks from various angles. This is a MUCH more accurate way of judging body changes than a scale.
posted by coolguymichael at 9:31 AM on February 9, 2012 [1 favorite]

Old saw: muscles are made in the gym, fat is lost in the kitchen.
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen at 11:23 AM on February 9, 2012 [2 favorites]

If your goal is to lose weight for the sake of losing weight, then the scale is your friend. I weigh myself every morning and log it on subtractthefat.com - the averaged weight curve helps motivate me to stay on track and helps me regain control when I have indulged before it gets too out of hand.
posted by Dragonness at 11:43 AM on February 9, 2012

Zumba's probably not as demanding as you think, and your bodybugg is lying to you.

It's extremely unlikely you're burning 500 calories walking on a treadmill on an incline, as people given stress tests, running on an incline on a treadmill generally burn 4-8 calories/minute running.
posted by zentrification at 2:22 PM on February 9, 2012

Give up dairy and animal products-you will lose wt. i recently read up on Eat to Live and gave up Dairy-lost the extra lbs around my belly, which has never happened before.
posted by pakora1 at 9:25 AM on February 10, 2012