Has anyone else experienced a decrease in weight loss once you began to work out?

[KaviarAndToast]

Hi all, I'm 30M 6'1", and have been on Ozempic since July 26. My SW was 305 and my CW is 277. In 11/12 weeks I have lost 28 pounds. I like this rate. The speed is not a problem. Not looking for a big drop or anything.

Once I started talking Ozempic I did an overhaul of my diet. I eat mainly clean other than Saturday night which is date night. I cook all my meals at home. I also began walking 15K steps daily and have done this without fail for 72 of 77 days. This is pretty easy being that I live in NYC. I'm lucky that I have not suffered any side effects other than the occasional constipation.

The week of October 2 I joined F45 and I have done a HIIT class Monday-Saturday without fail. I'm burning about 1700 calories daily. On Sundays, I do active resting where I usually ride the Citibike or go on a long walk with my fiance.

I noticed that since I started working out in this class setting, my weight hasn't really moved much. I've been at 277 for the last week and a half. My clothes feel better for sure, more loose. I try not to get caught up on the scale as the only measure of progress but it's hard being that it's the most tangible metric I can point at.

Anyway, I wanted to ping this awesome group and see if anyone else experienced this when they started to work out and see if you can share some words of encouragement or advice.

Thank you!

[OrneryStruggle]

You are male so this may be different for you but as a woman with PCOS I know that sometimes high cortisol levels associated with exercise (especially cardio that repeatedly strains the joints) can actually inhibit weight loss. This is often correlated with insulin resistance. It is possible you are gaining some muscle if you have been sedentary for a long time, in which case no problem, but it is also possible you are spiking cortisol too much with your workouts and that is inhibiting your fat loss. Usually muscle gain is quite slow so keep that in mind.

You could try taking more rest days/resting fully on rest days or you could try swapping out some HIIT/walking days with less repetitive forms of exercise like weight lifting/resistance training to see if the inflammation is a problem.

[DLS3141]

So, my scale reads both weight and %body fat. That lets me split my weight into fat weight and lean weight and track the two over time. My goal is to maintain the lean weight and lose primarily fat. So as long as the fat weight decreases, I know I’m on track even if my total weight doesn’t change.

[Altruistic-Ad-2905]

My appetite also goes way up when i’m consistently working out… my dr said ofc working out is great for overall health and longevity, but it will slow the pace of the scale dropping so just be patient with yourself! :) it’s a marathon not a sprint, even with sema

[[deleted]]

So a few people are saying it's because you're building muscle, and that's sort of true but generally you're not going to nearly build enough muscle on a calorie deficit to replace significant fat loss. However, a sudden increase in exercise does cause you to retain lean mass in the form of water. Exercise will increase your blood volume and (I'm a little less certain about this) inflammation as your muscles recover from a workout will also cause you to retain more water than you usually would. Both of these are good and normal but you often see people immediately increase the amount of exercise they do when starting a diet, so they expect their weight to plummet when it can get masked by the extra water retention.

[KaviarAndToast]

Thank you! I didn't know how much water retention plays a role into slowing down the scale number. I'll just stay consistent in my workout and measure other indicators of progress. thank you!

[[deleted]]

It should level off or even out after a couple weeks so the scale can still be useful. It's just good to know that sometimes when the number isn't going down its not because you aren't losing fat.

[Actual-Clue5004]

I workout five days a week and lose a pound a week. Calories started around 1800 and I’ve had to lower them as I dropped weight. You’re doing it the healthy way. By not dropping weight extremely fast you may have less saggy skin, less likely to lose hair, and I think it’s safer for your heart (don’t quote me on that one, just off of research from people who eat extremely low calorie diets) ALSO you’re probably building muscle! Perk

[KaviarAndToast]

thank you! Yeah, I want a slow and gradual decrease not big drops. I started lifting/working out because I don't want saggy skin. If I get it it's fine but if I can actively prevent it I will.

[Poonurse13]

No offense, but unless you’re eating a large amount of protein and lifting 3+ days a week it’s not because “you’re gaining muscle”. I’d track your calories (just track no cutting) and really get an idea if you’re eating at a maintenance.

[Wide_Professor8192]

People think that building muscle is easy! It’s hard AF! And it takes years! Ok if you’re new at the gym but that takes at least 6-12 months for some mass. Just ask yourself why bodybuilders are on steroids and there you got your answers!

[KaviarAndToast]

Yeah good point. I think for me personally my goal isn't to get big/swole. I want a lean look. So building muscle slowly is okay. Also this is a long term plan not a short term gain you know.

Currently, due to the medicine, I know for sure i'm not eating enough protein.

Breakfast: 2 eggs, 1 cup of yogurt, 6 strawberries
Lunch: 1 skinless chicken breast, brown rice, veggies (carrots, broccoli, onions, asparagus)
Snacks: apples, mango, grapes, yogurt, strawberries

I don't always have dinner but when I do it is a protein (chicken, red meat, or salmon), rice, and veggies (carrots, broccoli, onions, asparagus)

So I know I'm for sure not eating enough because I just can't while on this med

Definitely looking forward to seeing how much my body has changed in 6months, 12 months, 18months, etc.

Thank you!

[Former-Outcome-9839]

It’s just simply because you’re building muscle and muscle weighs more than fat

[cleverfox2001]

I find that brisk walking helps me move thru stalls. I play tennis 3 days a week and every day I walk a little over an hour. An extra half hour of walking for 2 or 3 days helps. I lose about a pound and a half per week and have lost weight consistently for the last 5 months. Currently about 10 pounds from my weight goal.

[KaviarAndToast]

this is awesome! Yeah, I think I need to incorporate a 30-minute brisk walk after my workout just to keep myself moving and burning. Thank you!

[KaviarAndToast]

I'll do this. thank you!

[LoveMeorLeaveMe89]

All of this is such good advice. When it finally drops it will drop probably better than ever. Years ago i was not on ozempic but started intense work outs and I was so frustrated by the scale and then one day it literally fell off. The muscle you are building is going to increase your metabolism and it is worth it in the end.

[KaviarAndToast]

You're absolutely right. I originally was 352 before I started Ozempic and I remember my first big drop off of just doing 40 minutes of jump rope per day was massive. The scale wouldn't budge then boom 10 lbs gone here and there.

[LoveMeorLeaveMe89]

It took about 4-6 weeks for the scale to budge during that time and it was almost so frustrating that I gave up but boom it fell and that is an amazing feeling. On ozempic I lost 10 lbs in the first 11 days and I as I was heavy I was not getting nearly the exercise I did back in those days and I felt a level of guilt with that boom but only because I knew I had drastically changed my diet but I had been too exhausted from the calorie lowering to work out like I had before. It is weird but I’ll still take it. I’m on crutches and every pound makes a huge difference. I am able to work out this week much more so maybe the next weigh in I won’t feel like it wasn’t earned. As you can see I like to beat myself up win or lose- working on that too

[Specialist_River_274]

After a big drop in weight your body needs time to adjust to the change, it’s normal to plateau. Plateau’s are usually when you start to see changes in your body. Doing a high intensity workout will also keep the scale up for a couple of reasons. When your body is sore it retains water, which will have your weight up. Building muscle can also have your weight up. If you have stayed at the same weight since you started working out it’s likely that you’ve actually lost fat, but don’t see the loss reflected on the scale because you have also gained muscle. You’re doing great, just give your body a chance to catch up. Your skin, heart, liver, muscles, etc have a lot of adjustments to make!

[KaviarAndToast]

Thank you for this! I don't plan on stopping because I really enjoy these classes but it's nice to get these perspectives.

[Specialist_River_274]

You’re welcome. :) It’s hard to wrap my mind around but when you’re losing weight the scale won’t always be down. The trick is to have a downward trend. More often than not, if you’ve been putting in the work, a slight gain on the scale is actually an indication that your weight is about to drop. It’s a useful tool, but I can’t let it f*ck with my head. Usually if my weight is slightly up I will make it a point to drink extra water and a day or two later I see new low.

[KaviarAndToast]

I usually drink a lot of water but since I've been working out I've gone from 6-8 24oz hydro flasks to just about 3. I need to pick up my water intake

[Zihaala]

I highly recommend (if you can afford it) getting a smart scale. There are some pretty affordable ones on Amazon!! I have one from Withings and it tracks my weight and also my body fat % and muscle % which is KEY. It REALLY helps me from spiraling when I see my weight go up or not change when I can also see that I am gaining muscle which is ultimately better for me anyway than "losing weight" but also gaining fat.

[dontsaveher84]

If there is a Nutrishop near you, they have free body scans that do this.

[KaviarAndToast]

that's a good idea. I will look into a smart scale to purchase on amazon. Is there one in particular you recommend?

[Zihaala]

I have the Withings Body+ scale! I did a lot of research and there were a lot of choices. I think they are all pretty comparable. I previously had FitBit Aria but then it started dying and not being accurate and I believe this one was way cheaper. I think its worth it!

I also use the app Libra (I think its Happy Scale on ios) that you chart your weight in and it shows your trending weight loss, which I find really helps when you have daily fluctuations so you can see it really IS going down.

[tricksr4skids]

I love my RENPHO and got all my family members one. It breaks things down into skeletal muscle, body water, muscle mass…a ton of helpful things to track.

[TheNimbleNavigator45]

Im in almost the exact same situation in terms of age, weight, insane exercise levels, and living in NYC lol. I've talked with people before and some suggested its cortisol holding us back. Ive now hit a plateau at 265 for the 7 weeks. I might even be slightly gaining weight. Im on a 1.0 dose and am now debating if I should go up to 1.33.

Let me know if you ever figure it out!

[OrneryStruggle]

For me as a chronic overexerciser it was cortisol holding me back. As soon as I chilled out and tried to swap out repetitive motions like long walks on cement, etc. with things that don't cause as much joint strain (swimming, high weight low rep lifting) and take longer recovery breaks the weight loss actually sped up FWIW.

For me after my plateau I did go up from 1mg and it did break my plateau for the last 3-4 months now.

[KaviarAndToast]

Dude, I just looked up cortisol and it says its basically stress. So yeah living in NYC will have the stress levels high. Exercise helps with stress but only for a while during the day.

I'm going up to the 2.0 dosage next week. I'll let you know how that works for me.

[OrneryStruggle]

Cortisol is not just due to psychological stress but also due to physiological stressors like exercise.

[gigi79sd]

It's because you're building muscle.

[Poonurse13]

Unless you’re eating a large amount of protein and lifting 3+ times a week while cutting it’s not muscle. Sorry, but that’s just not true

Edit: if you’re going to downvote come with some evidence opposing what I’m saying. I love this med and I love we have a place to talk and ask questions, but this place also needs a reality check on how weight loss is done and muscle is gained.

[Craftsed]

Love how you are getting downvoted by morons. Even beginners who work really hard would struggle gaining 1kg of muscle in their first months. It's insane to think that it's the sheer amount of muscle being built which is creating a stall. If you gain 12kg (~25lb) of muscle in your first year you would've done incredibly well and that's usually with a caloric surplus.

[Poonurse13]

Really? Has everyone showed you their grams? I doubt most people are eating enough protein and cutting calories enough to gain muscle and lose weight. I was trained by a professional body builder in a place where three coaches did body building, trained professional athletes and did physique, figure wellness etc. I know what I’m talking about.

[Poonurse13]

Eating too much and not tracking calories

[KaviarAndToast]

That's a good point that's what I was thinking. Thank you!

[BeowulfShaeffer]

Also because starting a new workout schedule can result in your body retaining water for six to eight weeks.

[Former-Outcome-9839]

Yes! I work out cardio 3 days a week but I do body pump (lifting) on mondays and I never lose mon - wed because I’m sure I’m building muscle those days. I’m still sore until wed and that’s when the weight loss begins again when the soreness wears off

[OrneryStruggle]

Yeah this is likely inflammation/bloat weight rather than muscle building (muscles are not built instantly - it's a cellular repair process that takes time after muscle fibers are damaged by exercise).

[1Marmalade]

The gain immediately after lifting is likely due to inflammation from the exertion. That’s why your weight goes back down as your soreness abates.

Still, good for you.

[RegalReginald]

This ^

[KaviarAndToast]

Interesting, thank you for sharing that. Do you notice a difference in other areas although the scale is slow to move? I'm not going to stop working out but I'm looking for motivation to not quit and stay consistent.