When trying to burn fat, build lean muscle, or a combination of the two, motivation is really important. You want to look in the mirror and see improvements, when you don’t see improvement, it can be a little disheartening, even worse, when you seem to be going backwards it can be a real deal breaker, that can send you off the rails with your training and nutrition.
In the past I remember training and eating well, and yet sometimes my body would not seem to be responding the way I was hoping. I sometimes would look less defined than I was the week before as if I had lost definition over night, despite all my good efforts to eat correctly and train well. I would interpret this as a sign I must not be training or dieting hard enough. So as a result I would train harder, putting in extra gruelling high intensity training (HIT) cardio sessions in the mornings before eating, and reducing my calorie intake further. Sure this meant I lost weight a little faster for a little while, but it also meant that I was over training and setting myself up for failure somewhere down the line. I chronically reduced my calorie intake which had a knock on effect on my strength, my training and mood. Eventually I ended up feeling tired most of the time, and constantly putting off cravings, but I would not increase my calorie intake because I thought that this would mean losing definition like before.
I have since learnt more about water retention, and how it can effect the way the body looks and feels. When I was looking in the mirror and seeing less definition than I was expecting, it was largely due to the effect of water retention. Basically my body was holding extra water under the skin which was making me look a whole lot less defined than would be expected for my body fat %. Instead of realising the fact that this was just water retention that would pass, I was thinking that it was body fat.
There are some useful articles explaining water retention in more detail and how to deal with it on Martin Berkhan’s blog. Since learning the effects of water retention I respond much differently when I see it’s effects. I realise that just as it can appear quickly and all of a sudden, it can also disappear quickly and all of a sudden. So instead of thinking damn I’ve lost definition since last week, I realise what is going on, and just continue on my training and nutrition plan as before and a few days or so down the line I find that the water has dispersed and I look leaner than ever before. Obviously if you are overeating, this will result in fat storage, and so poor diet is the cause. However, if you have been training and eating well and seeing results but then all of a sudden without changing your diet or training you seem to go backwards, this may just be water retention. So the trick is to realise when its just water retention (the skin will feel quite lose and bloated) and just continue with your plan and eventually the water will go (you can follow Martin’s advice on how to get rid of water retention) and you‘ll see that in the meantime you have still been burning fat and getting leaner.
TP
In the past I remember training and eating well, and yet sometimes my body would not seem to be responding the way I was hoping. I sometimes would look less defined than I was the week before as if I had lost definition over night, despite all my good efforts to eat correctly and train well. I would interpret this as a sign I must not be training or dieting hard enough. So as a result I would train harder, putting in extra gruelling high intensity training (HIT) cardio sessions in the mornings before eating, and reducing my calorie intake further. Sure this meant I lost weight a little faster for a little while, but it also meant that I was over training and setting myself up for failure somewhere down the line. I chronically reduced my calorie intake which had a knock on effect on my strength, my training and mood. Eventually I ended up feeling tired most of the time, and constantly putting off cravings, but I would not increase my calorie intake because I thought that this would mean losing definition like before.
I have since learnt more about water retention, and how it can effect the way the body looks and feels. When I was looking in the mirror and seeing less definition than I was expecting, it was largely due to the effect of water retention. Basically my body was holding extra water under the skin which was making me look a whole lot less defined than would be expected for my body fat %. Instead of realising the fact that this was just water retention that would pass, I was thinking that it was body fat.
There are some useful articles explaining water retention in more detail and how to deal with it on Martin Berkhan’s blog. Since learning the effects of water retention I respond much differently when I see it’s effects. I realise that just as it can appear quickly and all of a sudden, it can also disappear quickly and all of a sudden. So instead of thinking damn I’ve lost definition since last week, I realise what is going on, and just continue on my training and nutrition plan as before and a few days or so down the line I find that the water has dispersed and I look leaner than ever before. Obviously if you are overeating, this will result in fat storage, and so poor diet is the cause. However, if you have been training and eating well and seeing results but then all of a sudden without changing your diet or training you seem to go backwards, this may just be water retention. So the trick is to realise when its just water retention (the skin will feel quite lose and bloated) and just continue with your plan and eventually the water will go (you can follow Martin’s advice on how to get rid of water retention) and you‘ll see that in the meantime you have still been burning fat and getting leaner.
TP
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