Maybe you are losing weight?
Tracking our bodyweight can be deceiving at times and will always seem to be going the opposite direction of what we want it to be doing. However, based on hormones, time of day, how much we moved, and even how much water we drank, our weight can fluctuate 1-5 pounds based on our day-to-day experiences. The best way to overcome this and truly see if you are losing weight is to track your Weight Trend. This includes tracking your weight every day with the same variables to see what the trend does over two weeks. For example, weigh yourself first thing in the morning after using the bathroom and do that consistently for 1-2 weeks. If, after tracking this for 1-2 weeks, you do not see a slow trend down, then we may have to look at other factors that could be affecting your weight. However, your weight may be going down slowly, and the best way to make yourself aware is consistent tracking to identify the downward trend that may be happening.
You are gaining muscle?
Another reason you may not be seeing the scale trend down is because you are gaining muscle as you are losing bodyfat. This is especially common to people who are new to working out or who have not worked out for a while. To explain this, think for example that you worked out for 3 months and your weight has stayed at a consistent 170Lbs. However, you are stronger and feel better in the gym. Because of this, it is accurate to say that you lost bodyfat and gained muscle almost at the same rate. Therefore, despite the scale being the same, you are in a healthier place than before.
Too Much stress with no room for recovery?
Working out is a stress on the body, a good stress. However, inducing that stress and never feeding it the proper recovery will not allow the body to trigger the muscle growth you are looking for. Our Autonomic Nervous System in our body is composed of two components. The Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS) and the Parasympathetic Nervous System (PNS). When we work out, our body is in the sympathetic nervous system. This is the fight or flight mode of our body and creates a lot of stress. This needs to happen to promote muscle building and to allow our bodies to undergo the stress of working out. However, as the muscle receives this signal and some of the muscle is stressed, it must now enter the PNS mode, which is where our body is calm and recovering. If we work hard all day long, plow through a workout, go home and work till bedtime, then get poor quality sleep at night because our body never had time to calm down, then our bodies will never experience the PNS response that it needs. Do not think of the SNS-PNS relationship as one or the other. Just because you are sitting down and not working out does not mean you are “recovering.” Think of the relationship as a gas/brake pedal in the car. Both must be controlled and activated. If we want to be proactive in getting true recovery, we need to actively work at getting our bodies in a recovery state. One study by the Journal of Molecular Biology showed the impact stress management could have on weight loss. They had an 8-week controlled study with 45 overweight adults. Both groups had the same standard workout and dietary routines. However, only half of the adults were given stress management interventions throughout. These included practices such as muscle relaxation, guided visualization (meditation), and proper breathing habits. At the end of the study, the group with the stress-management intervention had better BMI levels as well as better perceived stress and depression levels, despite going through the same workout protocol as the control group.[1] Simply working to achieve better stress management and allowing time to recover will significantly improve your body composition. In addition, you will have better mental health as well.
Mental and Physical Compensation?
The American Journal of Physiology conducted a simple experiment to help confirm the idea that increased weight training does not always mean increased weight loss.[2] <https://us4.admin.mailchimp.com/campaigns/preview-content-html?id=16909744#_ftn2> They had 2 groups of overweight men participate in a 13-week study including 6 days of aerobic exercise each week. The first group exercised for about 30 minutes each day burning about 300 calories each time. The second group worked out for twice as long and burned close to 600 calories each time. However, at the end of the trial, both groups had very similar markers in terms of body composition and weight loss. This goes to show that even though one may move more and even exercise more, it does not necessarily include weight loss. Reasons for this can include our bodies compensatory patterns which try to regulate our intake based on how much we move. Our body’s main goal is to survive, so if it notices a period of higher movement it will want to intake more food to compensate for this. Also, psychologically, one may feel a desire to reward themselves after engaging in a workout. As a result, they eat more food later in the day because they know that they worked out earlier. Both can result in weight gain or maintenance even though the body was moving more.
[1] < Xenaki,Niovi et al. “Impact of a stress management program on weight loss, mentalhealth and lifestyle in adults with obesity: a randomized controlledtrial.” Journal of molecular biochemistry vol. 7,2 (2018):78-84.
[2] Mads Rosenkilde et al., “Body Fat Loss and Compensatory Mechanisms in Response to Different Doses of Aerobic Exercise—a Randomized Controlled Trial in Overweight Sedentary Males,” American Journal of Physiology-Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology 303, no. 6 (2012).
