Help me tweak my exercise routine so I lose weight

May 24, 2006 8:24 AM

Fitnessfilter: I keep putting on (muscle) weight while exercising. I want to stop this.

Two months ago, I started a workout regimen that includes daily visits to the gym for approximately 75 minutes each. I spend a half hour daily doing weight training (free weights & machines) and 45 minutes spent in a combination of stairmaster, rowing machine and exercise bike.

The kicker: In those eight weeks, I've *gained* 4 lbs. I eat a healthy diet and avoid soda, beer and most processed foods, so I'm assuming the weight gain is muscle mass.

Now, I'm on the large side. 6'3, 230 lbs. I'm trying to lose weight after 6+ months of neglecting to exercise due to long work hours and family issues. But rather, it seems like the exercise routine I'm doing is causing me to gain weight.

How do I tweak my routine to up the weight loss quotient?

posted by huskerdont to health (26 comments total)

Stop the weight training. Stick to only cardiovascular activities.
posted by geoff. at 8:29 AM on May 24, 2006

Muscle is more dense than fat. That's probably it.
posted by jon_kill at 8:30 AM on May 24, 2006

Is your body getting smaller, or are you still the same size? (If you haven't been taking measurements, how are your clothes fitting?)
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 8:30 AM on May 24, 2006 [2 favorites]

Stick to your routine if you can. Muscles require more energy and hence they burn more calories. A short-term weight gain while your body recalibrates itself into an efficient calorie burning machine should not be something to be worried about.

And I second ThePinkSuperhero, if you haven't been keeping track of your measurements, you should start. The differences there are often a more important indicator of how effective your workouts are then what the scale might say.
posted by ilikecookies at 8:37 AM on May 24, 2006

Perhaps you shouldn't focus on the number (230); it's more important how you feel and look, isn't it? Although muscle weighs more than fat, from what I understand, worked-out muscles continue burning calories even while at rest, so in the long run it's good to do weight training, even if you gain a few pounds at first.

That said, if your main goal is to reduce the number, just switch to straight cardio. Forget the rowing machine, run marathons.

Good luck.
posted by sic at 8:38 AM on May 24, 2006

I'm going to nth everyone on not worrying about the number, but instead on measurements. In the past six months, I've dropped 2-3 dress sizes and look very nice (as ThePinkSuperhero can confirm), but my weight has stayed exactly the same.
posted by dame at 8:43 AM on May 24, 2006

Oh, another thing I forgot to mention: it's pretty common to hit a plateau when you're working out and then all of a sudden tumble down and start shedding fat like crazy. So if you hit a sticking point, don't worry.
posted by dame at 8:45 AM on May 24, 2006

If you just want a lower number, stick to cardio.

But the increased muscle mass is going to help a lot with the fat loss, and the fat loss is the important thing. When you increase muscle your metabolism increases since it burns calories just sitting there. Fat doesn't. So you'll lose fat faster.

When most people talk about losing weight they're not looking for a specific number, they're looking for a specific look and feel. Toned, less belly and jelly, more stamina, able to climb stairs without dying, lower blood pressure, etc etc. These things are tied to extra fat on you, not extra muscle.

I guess I'm saying don't worry about the muscle weight gain. It's a damn good thing. Make sure you're eating a diet high in protein, low in fat, low-to-moderate in overall calories to promote fat loss, and the fat will be cut to reveal the muscle you've been building underneath it. And your pant size and overall size will go down--you replace 5 lbs of fat with 5 lbs of muscle and your body will be smaller since muscle's more dense.
posted by schroedinger at 8:49 AM on May 24, 2006

Holy crap, you're working out 75 minutes a day, EVERY DAY? That seems crazy to me. But I have to agree with everyone here, when I say that gaining weight isn't that big a deal. What's your body fat percentage? Are you losing size in any appreciable way?
posted by antifuse at 8:52 AM on May 24, 2006

Why are you so concerned about your weight? Seriously-- if you are training for some activity that involves weight classes, that is one thing, but I am puzzled as to why somebody would not want to gain muscle. Muscle is good for you.
posted by synecdoche at 9:11 AM on May 24, 2006

Thanks for the tips/insights everyone. My major concern is that I, well, put on a ton of weight over the past six months. Due to working 12 hour days, not having time to exercise and living on fast food/drinking tons of soda, I put on 25 lbs. and gained a sizeable beer gut.

I guess my major concern is that I see my arms/legs/chest bulking up, but not a single thing is happening to the gut AFAIK.
posted by huskerdont at 9:26 AM on May 24, 2006

Something that I find helpful. Get a scale that shows both weight and body fat percentage. I think you can get them at the sharper image. Yes, there are more accurate ways to measure body fat, but this way you can see your level of body fat going down steadily, even if your weight doesn't go down as much at first.
posted by bingo at 9:32 AM on May 24, 2006

Don't worry about the number. If you're eating healthy and following that kind of training schedule, it's most definitely muscle, and you are improving your overall health.

The gut, I hate to say it, is one of the last things to go. Just stick with it, and things will fall in to place.
posted by dead_ at 9:44 AM on May 24, 2006

In order to gain weight (muscle or fat), you must be eating more than your body is burning. If you want to reduce your weight (without increasing your already heavy exercise routine), you must also regulate what you eat. In your case, it sounds like you need to change how much you eat rather than what.
posted by beniamino at 9:50 AM on May 24, 2006

if you are putting on weight its because you are eating the calories. eat at maintenance and do the workout you do now, guaranteed in one week you drop a few pounds.

to figure out ya maintenance you muliply your weight in pounds by 12

so 230 * 12 = 2760 cals a day.

working out that much though, i bet you could get away with eating slightly over maintenance.

to drop weight without doing all the CV eat a few hundred cals below maintenance.
posted by moochoo at 9:51 AM on May 24, 2006

That's not entirely true.

If you eat less you will lose weight, eat more you will gain weight--in the long term.

Perhaps he has already cut some calories. This almost always results in short term weight gain as the metabolism adjusts.

And don't forget, muscle weighs considerably more than fat.
posted by dead_ at 9:53 AM on May 24, 2006

"I eat a healthy diet and avoid soda, beer and most processed foods, so I'm assuming the weight gain is muscle mass"

I was in a similar situation - heavy workouts and no weight loss, with healthy and I wasn't sure what the problem was.

Then I tried fitday.com and it became apparently quickly that even with a relatively healthy diet I was overeating. I liked fitday so much I bought the full version of the software. (this isn't an ad, no connection with the company).
posted by Brando_T. at 9:58 AM on May 24, 2006

Bingo and I have opposite experiences with body fat measuring scales. Mine gives different readings at different times of day, but varies negligibly over the course of months at the same time of day, though my weight has changed significantly. (Old AskMe)
posted by aneel at 10:07 AM on May 24, 2006

I guess my major concern is that I see my arms/legs/chest bulking up, but not a single thing is happening to the gut AFAIK.

If you can visibly see these areas bulking up, and have only gained 4 lb, then that means you must have lost some fat in those areas as well. Congratulations. Sorry about the gut, just keep with it.
posted by grouse at 10:16 AM on May 24, 2006

moochoo's answer is a gross oversimplification. Eating 100 calories of butter is not the same thing as eating 100 calories of celery, and it will not ultimately have the same effect on your weight. (Yes, they are both 100 calories, but they don't both have the same chance of actually reaching the point where they will be burned.) Also, I know from personal experience that if you try to cut back your caloric intake while engaging in a rigorous exercise regimen that involves both weights and cardio, you are setting yourself up to feel tired, light-headed, and generally deprived. Your daily 75-minute workouts are going to pay off, and soon, unless you are mainlining high fructose corn syrup for two hours every night before you fall asleep.
posted by bingo at 10:58 AM on May 24, 2006

i wrote down the calories so he had something to aim for. i assumed he would be able to work out a sensible diet to fit within that calorie limit.

i second fitday though. i use it to monitor my diet very closely when cutting. which i find incredibly easy to do compared to bulking. i wish i had your problem!

if you would like some help in working out a specific diet email me and i can work on one with you. as i can list a good diet here but that doesnt mean you gonna like what i list.
posted by moochoo at 11:24 AM on May 24, 2006

I'm probably the last person who should give fitness advice, but here are some things to consider:

While "Muscle is good" is true, if you are going to fall back into the long hours/family problems/no time to exercise cycle again, all this extra muscle you have added will get soft and you will start to get fat all over. When you decide it's time to start doing something again, you will again get into shape, but you have "raised the bar" and your total body weight will likely keep increasing. If you are 230 lbs and figure you are 25lbs overweight, you are likely 190-200lbs at a normal healthy weight, which is probably as high as you want to go for the long term strain on your heart.

The majority of people live in a constant state of dehydration. 1 litre of water weights a little over 2 lbs. Since you started exercising again, you probably started drinking more. Your body may be storing some of this water. Keep a regular intake of water and everything should balance out eventually.

Skip the weight training. 45 minutes a day of cardio training should be OK. The resistance with the rowing and biking should be enough to keep your muscle up and may even be too much. The half hour you spend on the weights may be doing you more harm than good. This time would be better spent WALKING 15 minutes before and after your cardio routine.

Calorie counting is most peoples answer to weight lose, but it is as simple as eating x calories a day. Basically, you want to adjust your metabolism so that your body knows it has enough food coming to cover your activities, so that is doesn't have to save any. Eat and drink steadily, with frequent small portions being the best.

Stick with it. If your work picks up again, reduce the time or frequency of your workouts, but do not stop. The gut will be the last thing to go, but it will go. There are ways to lose the gut quickly, but none of them are healthy. Your focus should be on how well you feel and not your weight or even size.

Good luck.
posted by Yorrick at 11:40 AM on May 24, 2006

If you are weight training, there are two methods: one for gaining strength and building muscle, the other for toning muscle.

If you just want to tone muscle, you should be doing three sets of 12 repetitions, as opposed to 8 (which is for building). Set your weights/chose the weights where you can just do 3 sets of 12 repetitions.

Or drop the weight training altogether.

But as others have said - muscle weight is good weight, unless you have a good reason to want to be lighter (eg you are a jockey, you want to get into a lighter weight category in a sport). Muscles mean you are healthy - and they do burn more calories.
posted by jb at 1:07 PM on May 24, 2006

I will confirm that dame does look fabulous. Girl, if you keep dropping, we're gonna have to clean out your closet AGAIN (yaaaay I love throwing away old clothes).
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 1:17 PM on May 24, 2006 [1 favorite]

As has been said before, you are eating too much.
Skip the weight training. 45 minutes a day of cardio training should be OK. The resistance with the rowing and biking should be enough to keep your muscle up and may even be too much. The half hour you spend on the weights may be doing you more harm than good. This time would be better spent WALKING 15 minutes before and after your cardio routine.

This is so wrong I don't even know where to begin with the wrongness. Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.
When you lose weight, you lose both fat and muscle. If you want to encourage your body to lose fat over muscle, you need to keep your muscles engaged, and cardio without weights is not the way to do that.
The reason to keep lifting while trying to lose weight is not because you're going to build a lot of muscle. You might get some newbie gains, but if you're eating less than you burn your body does not tend to build more muscle. The reason to keep lifting is so that your body knows "hey, I need to use those muscles, I can't just eat them for fuel even though I'm huuunnngggrrryyyy." So it reluctantly goes for the fat stores instead. Without resistance training your body will have less incentive to choose fat stores over muscle stores, and you will likely lose much more muscle mass than you even realize. It's a good way to being that unhealthy cycle of losing weight through intense cardio only to quickly gain it all back the moment you slack off.
So start writing down what you eat, then cut 500 calories a day or so off of that. Don't quit lifting, for the love of god, give up the cardio before you give up lifting. Make sure you are keeping all of your exercises challenging (lift heavy and keep increasing the weight, bike faster/longer/whatever, etc), and I bet you will see excellent results.
posted by ch1x0r at 4:14 PM on May 24, 2006

Why worry at all about weight if you're losing fat? My partner trains heavily for athletics (three hours a DAY of heavy training), lost a hell of a lot of unwanted fat and put on a few kilos. She could bench press me if she chose, and I'm a heavy guy.
posted by tomble at 5:13 PM on May 24, 2006