I think this may be recomp!

Hey everyone!

I started a pretty solid workout and eating schedule in February, and one thing I told myself I would not do was weigh myself until after a few months. At the start I clocked in at 264 (weighed at a Dr.'s office). Here I am in July and I decided on a whim to hop on the scale, and lo and behold...I am up to 268! Now, I did not freak out because I know for a fact I have been building muscle (high protein in the daily diet). I can bench much more than when I started, increased all my weight lifting amounts by at least 10-15% since Feb, and can handle a much more intense workout on the cardio side (working with HITT and starting some Tabasa stuff now) and my overall physique has trimmed down a lot (38 jeans now start falling off me where before I didn’t need a belt!). I have to say, I was severely in need of a workout plan prior to starting, not even due to losing weight in the form of fat, I could barely get 10 pushups in, etc.

My real question is this: is it common to hit some recomp within the first 6 months of a plan such as this, and if so, what is a good time table to estimate if/when I will see net weight loss (you can be super general if you like, I know we are all different). Any suggestions to augment my plan are welcome!

Some statst:

Height: 6ft, Age: 29

Current weight: 268lbs (may have fluctuation up or down, but haven't seen much physique change in the last week) I would guess that 200ish is my ideal weight given my build. I was 185 in highschool.

Average calories a day keep at or below 2200 ( I have had days where I went over 2300 and others where I was below 2000, but those are rare). Like I mentioned, I pack a lot of protein in my diet and for the most part try to stay clear of processed carbs (white breads, etc) and sugar.

Workouts are typically 3 times a week, 15min of cardio (started with basic, but now do HIIT) followed by about 30-40mins of weight training (I alternate between an upper body/core and lower body/core workout). Every couple of weeks I will do this routine with a full 45 min of regular 75% effort cardio on the “off” days.

so are you trying to gain muscle or lose fat?  Because it's very hard to do both at the same time, you've probably lost a little fat since Febuary (I would guess less than 10 lbs) and gained muscle.  But if you really want to lose fat you need to lower your calorie intake to between 1500-1750.  That will make it harder to gain muscle but you'll be losing a lot more fat.  If you continue your workouts they will maintain the muscle you have so that as you lose fat you don't lose muscle.  Gaining muscle is great long term but it'll take many months, if not years, for muscle gain alone to help you lose weight.  Each pound of muscle gained only burns 6 more calories a day.  And gaining 10 lbs of muscle is fairly hard, even though it only burn 60 more calories a day.  Bottom line: If you want to lose fat/weight then lower your calorie intake.

A few things here...

First off, just because you can lift more, doesn't mean you've gained appreciably in muscle mass.  Compared to when I started lifting back in mid May, I'm lifting almost twice as much in many of my sets.  But I haven't increased any of my measurements appreciably.  You can gain strength without getting bulky.

Second, at 6' tall, I doubt your ideal weight is 200ish.  It might be, but it's more likely closer to 185 (upper range of the BMI).  I don't hold much stock in the BMI ranges, but unless you've been conciously body-building, you're not likely to have that much more muscle than the average bear.  I'm 6' tall, and a medium frame.  I started at 207 in March, and I'm down to 175 now.  And I've still got a ring of fat around my belly to trim.  I also started at a 38" waist, and am now down to a 32.  I'm back to a bit more than my high school weight (where I was a competitive swimmer), and my college waist size.  And for me, for every 10 pounds I lost, I lost one waist size (2").

Third... I'm not sure if you have a real question in there or not... But if I was you, I'd get a body fat measurement done.  That will tell you your "true" lean mass, and then you can shoot for a 10 to 15% fat percentage.  I would suggest cutting your calories, to average closer to 2000.  Staying clear of processed carbs and sugars is great, as is the higher protein.

Clint

In addition to what the others said, did you use the same scales, same time of day?  Scales can be all over the place.  My docs and my home scale are out by 4 lbs while the one at the gym is 11 lbs out from the docs.

Edit:  The scale at our gym is at the very least 12 years old (the same one since I've been going) and more likely was there when it opened over 20 years ago and really needs replacing.  As a test, I went to the docs one day and on the way back to work I stopped in the gym (its in our office) and I was stunned to see 11 pound difference - biggest weight gain I ever head in a 5 minute span.

Thanks for the input so far guys. I've toyed with the idea of dropping more calories for sure. I honestly have to try to get within the 2200ish range, so should not be a problem clipping more. As it stands, I am sort of hodge-poging my information and such, and forums and resources like this help tons to get me in the right direction.

Lynn, they were different scales for sure, and I am trying to bear that in mind also. The first was the old counter-balance type at my primary care's office, and the second was actually at the a doctor's office as well (long story short, 2 year old needed a weigh in and wouldnt sit still, so get dad+him and then dad alone). This second scale was a digital that read in Kg.

Admittedly we are talking about converting from KG to lbs and then comparing to a totally different scales months appart, but recently I've jumped on a home version for the past week (at the same time each day) and it consistantly comes in at the mid 260s.

I'm not at all in any freakout mode on this, I'm just looking for advice (of which I've gotten some really good bits so far) as to how to move forward. Just getting up and moving is a huge benefit outside of any weight loss!

Okay, so the scales definitely say something, but 11 pounds is probably the most difference possible... or at least I've ever heard of. When you stepped on the scale the with your 2 year old, I assume you weren't stark nude in the Doctor's office, so take into account that pants, wallet, shoes, etc. all contribute notably to accurate weight.

But nonetheless, I'm not a master of maintenance, but i'm preeettty sure that 2200 is enough to maintain, even with working out. Do some research, probably aim for 1800 - 2000? Don't trust me...

Good for you, though, for not just being in it for the looks--healthy lifestyle is an unexpected benefit to getting svelte for sure!

Here's a lesson you could learn from this: staying off the scale doesn't work for you. If you're trying to lose weight, you really should weigh yourself at least once a week to know if you're on the right track. Yes, the scale might be off by a little, but essentially you've been "dieting" for almost half a year and haven't really lost weight. 

You might also want to track your measurements if you think you're losing fat. 

He must be losing some fat, since his pants are "falling off".  But dropping down to 1800 to 2000 will likely cause more loss in a more measurable time frame.

Clint

Clint, that is what led me to jump on the recomp buzz word (I figured it was inappropriate, but perception vs. reality sort of thing). I'd be happy enough to chalk the falling off factor to water weight, tone, or what have you...but definitely needed to put a belt on with notches to spare since February.

Cosmo you are absolutely right. I've decided to keep the weigh-ins weekly and then bi-weekly if I notice any odd fluctuation.

I am going to try to drop the calories to around the 2000 on my workout days and then a bit lower on the off days.

Kudos again for all the help folks!

Good luck with your loss, and just keep tracking your weight and calorie intake.  You can tweak it as required.  You might also want to start taking measurements and pictures, so you can track changes that way.  Not all changes show up on the scale the same way.  And make sure you track your calories accurately.  It's easy to guess-timate incorrectly.  A food scale can help  a lot with measuring protein in particular (i.e. meat portions).

If you need someone to chat with, drop me a note.  I started off at 207 back in March, and through exercise and dietary changes, I'm down to 171 as of this morning.  I vary my exercise, with swimming, biking, and running (doing my first triathlon next month), as well as weight/strength training. 

As far as weighing frequency goes, there's lots of different opinions.  Personally, I weigh myself daily.  First thing in the morning, after I, how shall we say... Empty myself of fluids. :)  I put in all my weigh-ins into the CC system here.  But I only keep track of my Tuesday weight as my "official" weight.  The other weights are to track trends more than anything.  Without them, I could have a bad water weight day on a Tuesday, and end up heavier than the previous week, when in actuality, I've dropped weight.  But I don't let myself get discouraged by fluctuations on my daily weigh-ins, because I KNOW I didn't eat 7000 calories in one day. :)  And make sure you weigh yourself consistently.  Same time, same scale, and even the same clothes (or lack thereof).  I weigh myself on our Wii, and in my underwear, which is a little awkward, since the Wii is in the living room, and I've got a wife and kids.  But since I get up about 4 hours before everyone else, it's worked out. 

Clint