Dear members I think this might get a little long... please bear with me.

I recently started a fitness/diet regimen around the first of December. I am a 36 year old woman 5'3" 148lbs

Training:
MWF 10 min wmup on stairmaster then 1 hour of strength training then
20 min on stairmaster
T 45 minutes of spinning cycle class
Th 45 minutes stairmaster

Diet:
Breakfast: 1/4 cup mixed raw nuts, 1/2 cup assorted berries, 8oz of assorted meat/tofu/seitan, 2 cups of coffee(weak)

mid morning snack:
tangerine or orange

Lunch:
1/2 cup brown rice, 1/2 cup beans(2 tsp olive oil), 1/4 cup bulgur taboluli (bulgur onion tomato, tsp flax seed oil), cole slaw (cabbage, onion, corn, olive oil, lemon juice) 1 slice flax bread

snack:
can of v8 juice

Dinner:
8oz meat(precut by butcher), mixed green salad (no dressing),steamed veggies. 1 slice flax bread

Supplements - B vitamin complex, calcium and fish oil. Lots of water and decaf herbal tea throughout the day.

I stuck faithfully to this for three and a half weeks and to my utter disappointment, I *gained* 11 pounds. I felt stronger -- and when I pushed my fingers in to my stomach there was noticably less "pudge". However, I was much *bigger*. I even popped a button off a skirt at work. Over the christmas/new years I took a week off and I have to admit I pigged out a few times and imbibed twice in too much alcohol.
I did not work out at all. When I got back, I stepped on the scale to ascertain the amount of damage I had done only to be completely shocked that I had *lost* 7 pounds. Now back on the diet/fitness plan for almost a week I have dropped another 3 pounds. Weightwise I am back where I started at, however, clothes that had been tight to the point of constriction 2 weeks ago are now bagging on me.

Now I have been doing considerable searching to find out why there was so much weight fluctuation. I have seen literally hundreds of accounts of people who are starting new fitness plans that are experiencing really WEIRD weight/size fluctuations. I have not, to date, seen an explanation. Most seem to think that there is discrepancy about meals or actual amount of time at the gym or something that isn't mentioned in the post (like a quart of ice cream every day) but I know what I have done and that fails to tell me how I managed to gain and lose 11 pounds in 5 weeks. 11 pounds of fat? I don't think so. 11 pounds of muscle, how can that be? 11 pounds of water? That is an awful lot of water.

I did see one hint on webMD where someone alluded to muscles swelling a little when they are unused to strenuous activity.

How many calories are you eating??
Have you gone through the BMR calculations??
A peice of fruit or a v8 is not a meal.
If you added a pre-bed meal you would have 6 proper small meals/day which would be better than the 3 you have. If you have to eat less at the other meals to stay within your calorie range then fine.

Other than that I would keep at it. I don't know your history, but it can take a while to get your metabolism going.

148lb is not far off what I weigh and I loose weight at 2400-2600 kcal/day. OK I'm a man and I probably have more muscle and I've got my metabolism jacked up about as high as I can get it, but still an off-the-top-of-my head guess says you could probably loose on 1800 kcal/day + the exersise you are doing. That would equate to say 3 400 kcal meals and 2-3 200-300 kcal meals per day.

:gl:

Thank you very much NEdge for your reply!!! I think the information I am looking for isn't really calorie related though. I think I am on track with my diet and exercise routines.

What I really want to know is what is causing these temporary, large and very rapid, weight/size fluctuations and should I be concerned about it??? Overall I am obviously building lean mass and losing fat. I should be at my goal size in about 3 months.

Hi there,

I just briefly ran your diet through my diet program and came up with approx 1550 calories per day with a carb/prot/fat ratio of 47/29/24. The calories may be slightly on the low end and the ratios look ok. The main thing is that three of the meals are about 500 calories and two of them are less than 50.
I would recommend:
-- eat 5 meals of 300 calories each (divide the big meals in half and eat half 3 hours later)
-- calculate your BMR to find out how much you should be eating (search this site, there are zillions of ways)
-- get a good diet program to track your calorie intake
-- determine some method of tracking your body fat
If you track your bodyfat, then you will be able to figure out what those mystery pounds are! This list is a bare minimum of what you should keep track of. Checking these parameters weekly will provide the information you need to adjust your diet or workouts, clear up mystery pounds, and eliminate a lot of frustration. When you start an exercise program for the first time you make a lot of gains so if you establish these few habits early you'll really maximize your progress! :gl:

What I really want to know is what is causing these temporary, large and very rapid, weight/size fluctuations and should I be concerned about it??? Overall I am obviously building lean mass and losing fat. I should be at my goal size in about 3 months.

It could be:
1. Scales read funny - mine change depending on exactly where I put them on the floor sometimes.
2. Water

Are you weighing yourself every day? I do mine at the same time every day, then average over 7 days. Variation within a week can easily be 2-3% of my bodyweight.

If you are varying on a 7 day average by 10 lb over a couple of weeks, I would be concerned.

i STRONGLY reccomend you only weigh yourself once a week at the same time. I do it friday first thing in the morning (at gym's professional scale). Water/diet fluctuations during the week can sometimes just mess you up if you do it daily. Some people get relly obsessed with weighing-in, looking for instant results.. so PLEASE try the once a week program ;) ull like it once you get used to it.

I do only weigh myself once a week. I once charted my weight everyday for a month and noticed a predictable pattern. I found that my lowest weight occured on wednesday morning so thats when I do it.

I think my caloric level is just fine for my metabolism at the momment because I am not too hungry throughout the day. But I will take the advice to split the meals up to 5 a day. That seems like a good plan.

I think I read somewhere (valid?) that women do better on a grazing diet while men improve more on the kill-and-eat plan of bigger meals of less frequency. Seems logical to me but then I would have no idea how true it is.

First let me say don't get discouraged. I was going to post a longer response, but decided to instead to ask: what were your eating habits like in general prior to starting this?

I am the same age, 3 inches taller, and started at 154 lbs. last month seeing some success for the first time since gaining this weight 4 years ago and trying many many fitness routines etc. to get rid of it
:nod:

~ ever

Eating habits before? It's kind of hard to tell and completely dependant on my schedule at the momment. I think mostly I tend to eat pretty good meals and I do almost all of my own cooking. I am adicted to thai and indian curries! So I think I just eat too much. I also have a desk job (computer contractor) where for 3 - 6 months, while in contract, I have to sit at a desk for 9 hours a day. Then I have a while to be more active, then back to the desk.

I have weighed a lot more than I do now. My maximum on Jan 1 2001 was 180. This was the last time I worked full time. Since then I have been able to be more active through contracting and the weight just kind of slipped off. I actually got to about 130 but recently it has been creeping back on. I haven't been as active in my time off and it is freakin cold here (minnesota).

I have been in exercise prorams before but I have never seen the fluctuation that I have experienced in the last month. A few weeks in to it I got so large that I was popping buttons!!! I am at a loss to explain it.