Ok. I am new to the board, and I have read all the newbie stuff. It didnt quite answer my question, so I am going to throw it out there (please bear with me).
I joined a gym this summer, and they routinely have a 12 week/90 day challenge similar to “the biggest loser”. That is, they make teams of 5, have mandatory 3 times a week workout, and the team to lose the highest bodyfat percentage at the end of the period wins $1000. We have a bodpod on site, so that takes care of the discrepancy between weight loss and fat loss.
I initially had started with the first phase of p90x nutrition (i have read, please dont kill me for mentioning p90x lol), which was protein/carb/fat ratio of 50/30/20. I had used that for about a month along with a fat loss work program by alwyn cosgrove (nrol - squats, deadlifts, inefficiency, etc).
Within 4 weeks, I gained 10 lbs. What is crazy is that I used to go drink 3-4 times a week ( i played in a billiards league and would be up at the pool hall practicing/drinking), and now its 3 times a month. That coupled with taking all the pizza/spaghetti/chef boyardee crap out of my diet, I am really scratching my head on the weight gain.
Now, I understand that there is some muscle gain, as my weights have gone up each time I go into the gym. I feel better, I look better, and I am happy with making strength gains. However, I was at 29.4% bodyfat, and the goal here is to decrease that.
I switched over to a paleo/carb cycling diet (6 days on/ 1 day refeed), but I can’t honestly comment yet because it has only been 5 days. Then again, I have 8 weeks left in the competition. I will have another bodpod composition test in two weeks, which will let me know what’s been going on.
So my question is, does jumping ten pounds in 3-4 weeks make sense? I didnt work out for years prior to this, and I have always stayed in certain weight ranges. 4 weeks ago I was 6’4 and 194, now I am 204. I will always stay within a pound or two of my range, months- years at a time. So something so dramatic is really unusual, and is definitely not me eating worse. Ideas?