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Eating right, Working out but NOT losing weight
I was wondering if ANYONE has any advice for me. I have been trying to lose about 5-10lbs over the last year. I am 31 years old , 4'8" and weigh 101 lbs. I used to weight between 89 and 94lbs at the most!
I am pretty atheltic. I ran a marathon a few years ago and shortly after that is when I gained the weight. I have been training for half marathons (I ran one in April 2006) so I have been keeping the cardio up with running 3-4 days during the week and then 5-10 miles on the weekends.
Recently I got so frustrated that I went to a dietitican. She claimed that I needed to rev up my workouts by doing interval training and then eating more protein and more times of the day.
For the last two months, I have been eating 5 times a day (about 1000-1200 calories) Each meal has protein and carbs and I get my 5 a day fruits and veggies.
I do cardio 5 days a week (3 days are interval training for 45 min--60 seconds at 65% target heart rate and 60 second 85% target heeart rate) The other 2 days of cardio are a 45 minute dance class and then a weekend long distance run that lasts between 1-2 hours. I also weight train 3 days a week. 1 days lower body and two days upper body.
My body fat has increased and my pants size has increased. Why can't I lose the weight or at least the body fat? Does anyone have advice for me?
I am pretty atheltic. I ran a marathon a few years ago and shortly after that is when I gained the weight. I have been training for half marathons (I ran one in April 2006) so I have been keeping the cardio up with running 3-4 days during the week and then 5-10 miles on the weekends.
Recently I got so frustrated that I went to a dietitican. She claimed that I needed to rev up my workouts by doing interval training and then eating more protein and more times of the day.
For the last two months, I have been eating 5 times a day (about 1000-1200 calories) Each meal has protein and carbs and I get my 5 a day fruits and veggies.
I do cardio 5 days a week (3 days are interval training for 45 min--60 seconds at 65% target heart rate and 60 second 85% target heeart rate) The other 2 days of cardio are a 45 minute dance class and then a weekend long distance run that lasts between 1-2 hours. I also weight train 3 days a week. 1 days lower body and two days upper body.
My body fat has increased and my pants size has increased. Why can't I lose the weight or at least the body fat? Does anyone have advice for me?
Clean eating is the only way to go. Ground turkey, quinoa, brown rice, wheat germ, vegetables and limited fruits will never steer you wrong. Do not drink any calories. What's wrong with water? It does the job better than the rest, and although calorie-free drinks are what they say, they desensitize you from the taste of natural foods and will hamper your progress in the long run.
These foods must be without any "sugar coating" like butter, salt, or sugar, even substitutes. And no canned or processed food. Trust me, these foods do not need any improvement once you become used to them. Most of us are so desensitized to good food because all of the processed, salty garbage we eat that a simple floret of broccoli is lost on us. It tastes bitter and bland when it should be flavorful and nutty.
I would challenge everyone to eat as much "clean food" as they possibly can, all day long, every day for 2 weeks. I guarantee that you will not gain a single pound no matter how much you can eat before you feel like you're going to burst. Your body, when denied of any "sugar-coating" will tell you when you're full and will refuse food when you've had enough calories. Exercise will help you tone muscle, harden your core, etc. as well as improve heart, brain, and other organ functions and health.
On a related note, weight does not determine if you are healthy or not. Ever. It can be a guide, but if you go up 4 lbs and your pants are tight, it doesn't mean that it is fat. If you are distressed, I suggest a "body dunk" with a company like Fitness Wave. I have used them in the past. They are very thorough and will be FAR more reliable then calipers.
Rely on how you feel walking up stairs, your breathing, your chest (any constricting feeling?), fatigue, hair, nails, and skin pallor, etc. to help determine your health. I am 5'6, 168 pounds, and big boned, and I am healthy and beautiful, and not overweight. Doctors had been convincing me all my life that I was doing something wrong. I exercised, limited, and restrained myself so much that at 145 lbs I was a stick and zombie-like because I was so malnourished. If this sounds like you, try gaining a little muscle. Since you are eating too little and burning more than you take in, your muscles are in need of food constantly, and are even used as a source of fuel when you are hungry. Try eating a little real food, you might feel better! Everyone's body type is different and needs different things. Just listen to your body and it will listen to you. :)
These foods must be without any "sugar coating" like butter, salt, or sugar, even substitutes. And no canned or processed food. Trust me, these foods do not need any improvement once you become used to them. Most of us are so desensitized to good food because all of the processed, salty garbage we eat that a simple floret of broccoli is lost on us. It tastes bitter and bland when it should be flavorful and nutty.
I would challenge everyone to eat as much "clean food" as they possibly can, all day long, every day for 2 weeks. I guarantee that you will not gain a single pound no matter how much you can eat before you feel like you're going to burst. Your body, when denied of any "sugar-coating" will tell you when you're full and will refuse food when you've had enough calories. Exercise will help you tone muscle, harden your core, etc. as well as improve heart, brain, and other organ functions and health.
On a related note, weight does not determine if you are healthy or not. Ever. It can be a guide, but if you go up 4 lbs and your pants are tight, it doesn't mean that it is fat. If you are distressed, I suggest a "body dunk" with a company like Fitness Wave. I have used them in the past. They are very thorough and will be FAR more reliable then calipers.
Rely on how you feel walking up stairs, your breathing, your chest (any constricting feeling?), fatigue, hair, nails, and skin pallor, etc. to help determine your health. I am 5'6, 168 pounds, and big boned, and I am healthy and beautiful, and not overweight. Doctors had been convincing me all my life that I was doing something wrong. I exercised, limited, and restrained myself so much that at 145 lbs I was a stick and zombie-like because I was so malnourished. If this sounds like you, try gaining a little muscle. Since you are eating too little and burning more than you take in, your muscles are in need of food constantly, and are even used as a source of fuel when you are hungry. Try eating a little real food, you might feel better! Everyone's body type is different and needs different things. Just listen to your body and it will listen to you. :)
Everything you just said is me exactly. I started Zumba for 1 hour nonstop every night for 3 weeks, sweating like I never sweated before, and in 3 weeks, lost no weight! And if I ate 5 small meals a day? I would still gain. I have to starve! Noone knows my body like I do, and starving is the only thing that ever worked for me.
So Im 23 years old and i cant seem to get weight off, I have excersise induced asthma which makes it extremely difficult to do a fast paced excersise. I dont eat fast food, I try to drink as much water as possible and if i do drink soda its diet. I dont eat alot of food, i make sure i eat 3 square meals a day though, I dont snack and if i do its lowfat popcorn or something. Im at my wits end on what to do about my weight. I have a 3 and a 4 year old and its basically the baby weight i havnt been able to get off since i became a mother. does anyone have any suggestions?
I should add, before someone comes on with an explanation of "starvation mode", that recent validated research shows quite definitively that starvation mode does not cut in until we are at approximately 5% body fat.
Until that point, our bodies will use our fat reserves as part of our daily calorie requirements.
There are only 2 dangers in very low calorie programs. The most important is risk of nutritional deficiency so a very high-quality broad-spectrum nutritional product is essential. The other danger is that the person may not learn or develop healthy eating and exercise patterns.
So it's also essential to have a plan to return to a sustainable lifestyle. For me that will be the addition of a poached egg to the single slice of dry toast with vegemite in the morning, a piece of fruit mid morning, and a small amount of (for example) tuna and salad for lunch, with a very small portion of whatever is dinner.
I don't know at this stage if I'll ever be able to have alcohol again because I suspect that if I get back to the 1000-1200 level again the weight will once again pile on.
So a glass of wine now and then will be something of a treat. I don't have any food addictions so nothing will be missed.
Until someone comes up with an answer to post-menopausal weight (and research strongly indicates that may be as close as 24 months away) if we want to be slim we have to starve. Otherwise be fat and happy and wait for the cure.
Until that point, our bodies will use our fat reserves as part of our daily calorie requirements.
There are only 2 dangers in very low calorie programs. The most important is risk of nutritional deficiency so a very high-quality broad-spectrum nutritional product is essential. The other danger is that the person may not learn or develop healthy eating and exercise patterns.
So it's also essential to have a plan to return to a sustainable lifestyle. For me that will be the addition of a poached egg to the single slice of dry toast with vegemite in the morning, a piece of fruit mid morning, and a small amount of (for example) tuna and salad for lunch, with a very small portion of whatever is dinner.
I don't know at this stage if I'll ever be able to have alcohol again because I suspect that if I get back to the 1000-1200 level again the weight will once again pile on.
So a glass of wine now and then will be something of a treat. I don't have any food addictions so nothing will be missed.
Until someone comes up with an answer to post-menopausal weight (and research strongly indicates that may be as close as 24 months away) if we want to be slim we have to starve. Otherwise be fat and happy and wait for the cure.
Research consistently shows that increased physical activity does not significantly impact on weight in post-menopausal women.
Similarly a 1000-calorie-per-day diet is no guarantee that weight will be lost, despite what dogma dieticians and nutritionists like to spout. I used to spout that stuff also, until I went through menopause and the weight stacked on despite no change in diet or exercise. I am nearly 20 kilos overweight and on a very small frame (small boned 5' 3") it looks particularly bad.
So I cut my diet back to 1000-1200 calories per day, cut out alcohol completely, and in fact the first month put weight on (and this was not muscle, my clothes were tighter). Gave up on that.
Now I've cut down to 500 calories or less, supplemented with nutriceuticals, and drinking more water and have so far lost 0.5 kilos in a week. Not great but at least it's a loss.
I'm at the stage where I don't care what I have to do to lose that weight - and hunger doesn't bother me. I simply refuse to be fat. The old "calories in/calories out" mantra is not only outdated, it is highly offensive to women like me, and completely ignorant of up-to-date research in obesity and overweight.
Clearly weight loss is a lot more complex than that and dieticians and nutritionists need to get off their backsides and do some serious professional reading.
Similarly a 1000-calorie-per-day diet is no guarantee that weight will be lost, despite what dogma dieticians and nutritionists like to spout. I used to spout that stuff also, until I went through menopause and the weight stacked on despite no change in diet or exercise. I am nearly 20 kilos overweight and on a very small frame (small boned 5' 3") it looks particularly bad.
So I cut my diet back to 1000-1200 calories per day, cut out alcohol completely, and in fact the first month put weight on (and this was not muscle, my clothes were tighter). Gave up on that.
Now I've cut down to 500 calories or less, supplemented with nutriceuticals, and drinking more water and have so far lost 0.5 kilos in a week. Not great but at least it's a loss.
I'm at the stage where I don't care what I have to do to lose that weight - and hunger doesn't bother me. I simply refuse to be fat. The old "calories in/calories out" mantra is not only outdated, it is highly offensive to women like me, and completely ignorant of up-to-date research in obesity and overweight.
Clearly weight loss is a lot more complex than that and dieticians and nutritionists need to get off their backsides and do some serious professional reading.
I agree.
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