square one

Prepare yourselves, I'm not happy.

This isn't an "official" WW post, because those are reserved for Mondays, but I just need to rant.

So remember how I wrote that right before we started Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred that I weighed myself at home? Well, according to my scale (which if it's ever off or wrong, it's only off by a pound or so) I was 156.5, which means that I only gained 0.5 on my trip to the east coast. I was stoked because I really worked out A LOT, while we were gone. I used the treadmill, the bike and the elliptical every day except for two travel days. I was surprised that I didn't gain more at first, but the more I thought about it I realized that that seemed about right. I watched what I ate as much as possible. I never cleaned my plate or ate more than half of what I was served (except for one meal), so it made sense to me that I pretty much maintained while traveling.

So when we started Jillian's DVD I thought to myself that it might backfire on me, and here's why:

Every time I start a new workout regiment that includes any kind of weight/strength training, I gain weight.

And I'm not talking about 0.5 - 1 lb, I'm talking about 3, 4, 5 or even 6 lbs. 

BUT

In addition to SHREDDING, I did a ton of Zumba (cardio) this week as well. I'm on day 6 of Jillian's 30 Day Hell and this whole week I did an extra 4-5 hours of Zumba as well as staying well within my points for the week. I didn't even use half of my weekly points allowance. In the recent past I've used almost all of my weekly points allowance and still lost weight, so I thought, "Maybe I'll be okay. Maybe with all of this Zumba and great tracking, I'll have avoided the dreaded weight gain of starting a strength training regiment."

Guess again, Andrea.

No, it wasn't the pie, or the ice cream, or the birthday dinner for Dave. I ate like a bird at Dave's BBQ. I pretty much just ate two pineapple slices, 5 tiny little shrimps, a few steamed broccoli florets and 1/3 cup of mashed potatoes. I ate half my slice of pie and had two bites of ice cream. I was DISCIPLINED this week.

So according to WW this morning I had a 5 lbs weight gain since Monday.

Really? REALLY??

Am I REALLY back to square one of this whole documenting-my-weight-loss-journey-through-my-blog crap?

Yup, I sure am.

Thanks Jillian.

I mean, I do know that you cannot gain 5 lbs just from strength training for 5 days. I know that there has to be something else going on here. Water retention? Sure, why not?

I looked this up on Livestrong.com: 

Overview

You feel great! You cleaned up your diet, renewed your gym membership and knocked out your first couple of killer workouts. Never mind that you're so sore you can hardly climb on the scale. It's worth it just to see the numbers go...up?! Before you throw up your hands in despair and break out a pint of Ben and Jerry's, take a deep breath and relax. It's just a little water retention caused by DOMS.

DOMS

DOMS, or delayed onset muscle soreness, is a common phenomenon marked by muscle pain ranging from mild to debilitating and manifesting 24 to 48 hours after your workout. Besides muscle soreness, other symptoms of DOMS include loss of strength, decreased range of motion, decreased neuromuscular function, mild inflammation and an increase of two to three pounds or more in body weight. DOMS is common in individuals who are new to resistance training or as a response to a change in exercise routines, such as adding challenging, new exercises or increasing weight loads.

Yeah, it also goes on to say that it only lasts a few days, and this is day 5 and I'm not nearly as sore as I was a couple of days ago, but still 5 lbs in 5 days? I don't think so.

There's another possible contributing factor I've yet to mention, simply because of it's personal nature:

According to all of the forums I've read in the last hour or so, women tend to gain anywhere from 2-10 lbs before and/or during their cycle. I knew a few lbs was normal for me, but 10? I don't envy those girls.

Also, if I gained 5 lbs, why are my clothes looser?

But you know what? I'm gonna stick to it. I'm gonna keep SHREDDING. With my luck I'll stay the same until this 30 Days is over and then lose 10 lbs so fast. That's usually how it goes for me. I work out with a trainer, strength/weight train, gain weight, keep doing it, keep staying the same or gaining and then as soon as I stop the training I lose weight so fast I almost don't even realize it (well, I totally notice, but you know what I mean).

I am so not looking forward to tomorrow's Dub Dub post.

Whatever, I'm gonna do it because I made a commitment to documenting my journey. 

Thanks for reading my ranting. I'm just hormonal and irritable.

Has anyone else experienced this?