Okay, I’m bummed. In…

Okay, I'm bummed. In the past week of all that biking, I've gained a couple of pounds. I've probably been eating more, feeling the need for energy, but I'm hoping at least some of that new weight is muscle. That's not unreasonable, right? I feel stronger and I have better wind, definitely, but I did hope that all this biking would also help me lose at least a little weight. :-(

Successfully biked to and from work yesterday (about 8 miles total) and it was relatively easy -- or so I thought, until I crashed into bed at 8:30 last night. So tired! Mostly quiet day today at home, punctuated by check-ups for Kavi and Ellie. Tomorrow, biking in again to work.

4 thoughts on “Okay, I’m bummed. In…”

  1. 1. weight fluctuates. Especially for women.
    2. In a week, you probably haven’t gained any muscle. 1 lb/month is good for an active weight training regimen.
    3. exercise increases fluid retention, aka inflammation, temporarily. not as good as muscle, but not as bad as fat.

  2. I started going to the gym five weeks ago and my weight has gone exactly nowhere, despite reaching new weights on all the machines and new difficulty levels and workout lengths on the elliptical whatsit. On the other hand, I’ve reached new weights on all the machines and new difficulty levels and workout lengths on the elliptical whatsit. Focus on what you can do, and trust the rest of it to take care of itself eventually.

  3. Mary Anne Mohanraj

    David, fair enough, and something I need to remember. But I want to be a super-skinny hottie!! Okay, I’m over it. No, not really. Can you tell I’m just a little bit torn on this issue???

    Fitness goals for fall:

    – lose twenty pounds (hah)
    – fit into a size 10 again (not so far off, actually)
    – be able to bike easily to campus in half an hour (4 miles)
    – run up both flights of stairs in our apartment without feeling it
    – be able to carry baby around for half an hour without minding the weight
    – eat better

    Plans to accomplish said goals:
    – bike regularly to work, until it gets too cold out
    – take a dance class weekly, and enjoy it
    – make relatively healthy lunches and bring them in to campus (done and done and done for this week, yay me.)

    We’ll see how it goes.

  4. Honestly, I disagree completely with David. But only slightly. 🙂

    Okay, I know you don’t want to count calories, and I really understand and don’t think it’s necessary, but here is what I find: I find that in order to lose weight (as a short, Asian, female with hypothyroidism and a sedentary job/lifestyle) I have to watch what I eat and I have to exercise. What I do is sort of alternate: one month, I focus on eating better (less junk, more nutrients, fewer calories) while not exercising less; the next month (or even just 2 weeks) I focus on exercising more while not eating more. Repeat.

    On a longer-term basis, I have a sense of “on a scale of 1-10, what level can I aim for this month”; based on what else is going on in my life. Keeping in mind that exercising tends to be a zero-cost activity (the time spent on it repays me with more focus), it can still be one more thing to juggle that I need to be comfortable dropping sometimes.

    So I agree with David in the sense that (as long as you’re not compensating by eating more) I think you should relax and focus on exercise. But I disagree that you should assume “the rest will take care of itself”. It won’t. You will have to up the exercise even more or drop the calories. But you don’t have to do it today.

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