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2005/03/31, 09:34 AM
okay, somehow I weighed in at 204lbs two weeks ago and just weighed in at 210.2lbs last night (208 the night before??). The thing is I watch what I eat for the most part (weekends are different) and have been going to the gym 3 or 4 days a week for the past 3 weeks! (two nights cardio, one or two weight lifting) My question is how much can you rely on the weight scale, I mean its obvious thats what I weigh at the time, but muscle compared to fat, what is the best measure to take to realize I am actually getting results??!!? Please help, it's very depressing.
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2005/03/31, 09:38 AM
The best thing...? Don't use the scale often.. use it sparingly... once a month or so for a gauge... the best judgement is with a tape measure or how your clothes fit. Perhaps the weight gain is muscle...? Keep in mind, muscle is denser than fat, so a cup of muscle will weigh more than a cup of fat.
The best time to weigh yourself is right after you get up... if you wait till later in the day, you'll have food in your stomach (which may vary, depending upon what you've eaten).
Hope that helps!
t
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This donut has purple in the middle, purple is a fruit. - Homer (Simpson)
Be here. Live. Love. Hope. Now. Faith. Believe. You. - Keith Urban
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2005/03/31, 09:43 AM
That helps alot, it's so hard not to weigh yourself whenever you see a scale and I think I may do it too much. Another question I have is cardio, I've heard many different things about it, I ALWAYS workout at night (about 8pm), so I have dinner roughly 2 hours beforehand, is this not a good plan, should I maybe do more weightlifting than cardio, maybe two days weights, one or two days of HIIT? I usually do an hour on the bike, or 40 mins on the treadmill (30 of jogging), but should I do HIIT the majority of the time and then do the others every now and then to keep the body guessing??
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2005/03/31, 10:19 AM
If you are trying to trim up, I would actually recommend some drastic changes to your routine. For one, 3 or 4 days a week isn't enough for goal attainment. That still leaves 3 or 4 days when you are NOT exercising!
Also, you mentioned that weekends weren't all that great for your diet. If you want to indulge on the weekends, then you REALLY need to work out more often! I sometimes go out for drinks or food that I wouldn't normally let myself have, but I also work out for an hour and a half that day, and then again the following day, totally 6 actual days of working out each week.
If you only have time to workout once a day, I would advise an intense weight training session followed immediately by HIIT on the treadmill or the elliptical. Crank up your intensity, and you will crank up your results!
Aaron M. Potts
Complete Personal Training Business
http://www.completepersonaltrainingbusiness.com
info@completepersonaltrainingbusiness.com
Fitness Journal: fitnessdestinationsjournal@getresponse.com
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Quoting from reckin007:
That helps alot, it's so hard not to weigh yourself whenever you see a scale and I think I may do it too much. Another question I have is cardio, I've heard many different things about it, I ALWAYS workout at night (about 8pm), so I have dinner roughly 2 hours beforehand, is this not a good plan, should I maybe do more weightlifting than cardio, maybe two days weights, one or two days of HIIT? I usually do an hour on the bike, or 40 mins on the treadmill (30 of jogging), but should I do HIIT the majority of the time and then do the others every now and then to keep the body guessing??
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2005/03/31, 12:53 PM
Scales are evil. Do you know how much your "fat" weighs?
Check out http://www.scientificpsychic.com/fitness/diet.html for a pretty accurate BF calculator and track your fat weight.
I believe it is Carivan that has a siggy that says scales are for dead weight, and you're not dead yet.
Intense cardio is the way to go. HIIT, max exertion, and regular intervals are great ways to go (or at least for me they have been).
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_Shane
I dont have to outrun the bear - just you....
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2005/03/31, 01:11 PM
first off:
you weigh more at night than in the morning
you are also could be experiencing these weight fluctuations because of water intake...gallon of water is 8 lb.....so count on that....if your sodium intake is high then you could be retaining more water than normal.....(I really suggest you keep sodium under 2000mg......keep in mind most processed foods are very very very very high in sodium...some can soups have 1500mg in just 1 can).....
weight training 3-4 times a week is plenty if you go intensely....however as aaronmp pointed out...this doesn't mean you do nothing on 3-4 other days.....to lose weight effectively you need to do cardio 3 days a week....30-60 minutes...or you can split it up in 3 20 minute sessions....just as effective according to recent studies.....have 1-2 days of active rest.....so walk places...go on a hike....also have them not in a row but every few days.....and when you feel really sore...just take the day off...
sleep....at LEAST 8 hours....and that's the least you should ever sleep(I understand things come up with busy lifestyles but this is what you should aways aim for)...I suggest 9-10 hours......as you become more and more active you need more and more sleep......
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2005/03/31, 02:37 PM
Yes...Spamalope is very observant:big_smile:!
Forget the scale, like the others said, and couldn't agree more with Aaron. Your diet is what hit me first. Why work hard and then blow it on the weekend. Just doesn't make sense.
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Scales are for dead weight: We are not dead yet!
Still trying to find out how to do the Hollywood Free Press.
Ivan
carivan@freetrainers.com
Montreal Canada
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2005/04/05, 08:22 AM
Thanks for all your input, it's very helpful. Yes beer is very bad, but when the weekend hits after a long week, I like to go out with my buddies, and thats never going to stop. I definetly think I'm going to train harder by going more days per week, I was just used to seeing people say that you don't want to "overtrain", which I really didn't think I was doing anyways. I also have to remember that this is 4 years of doing pretty much NOTHING during my university days and I've only been gymming it up for about a year and a half. Thanks again for the motivation!
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