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2003/06/10, 05:05 PM
A few months ago I posted a topic about basically hitting a plateau and the general consensus was that I was slacking off on weekends and that is what I needed to change. So for the past few months I have been eating 5 meals/snacks a day and also on weekends. I eat healthy foods and workout every day changing cardio and weight lifting. I still am not loosing any weight and I am getting very discouraged. I feel like going back to eating brownies and junk food. And I thought my energy level would rise from eating correctly but it hasn't.
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2003/06/10, 05:08 PM
What about your workouts did you change them as well. What are you eating exactly. Doing as much cardio and lifting as well as eating right should have done the trick.
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Squats are really a very good thing, but in my world, Deadlifts are King!!!!!!!!
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2003/06/10, 05:13 PM
Yes, I changed my workout by increasing my reps which I read is to help obtain lean muscles. For breakfast I will usually eat oatmeal and a piece of fruit and then fig newtons or crackers for snack and then lunch is either a salad or yogurt and my afternoon snack is usually another piece of fruit. Dinner is always a meat, veggie and a starch. I refuse to eat 3 hours before I go to bed.
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2003/06/10, 05:21 PM
Well I think that the major thing is that a meat at dinner is not enough protein at all like only 30-40grams depending on serving size. You need at least 1gram per lb of bodyweight so if you weigh 100 you would need to eat at least 100grams a day. What I think is happening and I am not the greatest expert here lol, is that you are forcing your body to lower your metabloism cause of all the cardio and lifting you havebeen doing. You need to lift and do cardio that is ok. But the body runs and makes muscle by protein as well as carbs. Most of your above diet is based on carbs. The oatmeal is ok but add 3-4 egg/eggwhites along with that. For a snack have a can of tuna or chicken breast with the fig newtons drop the crackers they are just useless carbs. Eat a salad but add a meat, and have a few nuts or something like that for a snack, fruit is ok but it has a lot of sugars locked in them. Dinner is ok but add one last snack of protein before bed it will not hurt.....I am sure BB1 and others will add or take away from this but the lack of protein and the abundance of carbs is the problem i see.
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Squats are really a very good thing, but in my world, Deadlifts are King!!!!!!!!
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2003/06/10, 05:34 PM
I don't know if you want an amature opinion, but I might say you're not eating enough. fig newtons, yogurt, one piece of fruit: those aren't really meals.
I've been there, done that. I'll let someone else confirm this, somebody who knows more...but from my personal experiences I would say "eat more"
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2003/06/11, 09:13 AM
I agree, adding protein to your diet will definately help, it's helped me. How about any supplements, be careful, but sometimes that can help give you the kick you need.
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2003/06/11, 02:31 PM
Are you eating enough protein? Are you lifting pretty heavy? Your situation sounds similar to mine before I got all this great advice here on ft. I wouldn't lose weight in a certain amount of time, so I would just go back to my bad eating habits, which was basically nothing during the day and then junk for dinner. (Chips....I love chips!) I knew I was building some muscle, but it was still hiding under the fat. What I found out was that I not only needed to stick with the proper eating plan, but I wasn't progressing enough with my workouts. I was doing pretty much the same routine and going up in weight, but slowly. I was lifting a certain weight for 3 sets of 15 reps. Once I could get that I moved the weight up, but just a little. I was basically spinning my wheels. I was afraid to lift 'heavy'. Now, I am working out with my husband and he makes me advance even if I don't think I'm ready. I now do three sets of 12, 10, 8 or failure of a progressively heavier weight. Once I can do it 2 weeks in a row, he moves it up. And I have learned a lot of the ones I was afraid to do by myself, bb bench press, bb biceps curls, smith squats, etc. I still am not seeing the scales go down, but I can feel and see my muscles changing a lot faster than before. In a couple of weeks, we will be changing our workouts again and I expect to feel new soreness and more gains, even if the scales don't go down. It is really hard to think that you just might have to weigh more than you want to be healthy, especially for us women. The woman who is helping me with the nutrtion part of my plan told me that it may be 6 months before I see any weight drop, but it will happen. And I'm willing to work my butt off until then. This may not have been what you wanted to hear, but hang in there, stick to your diet and keep changing up your workouts.
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~Victoria~
...Some things have to be believed to be seen!
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2003/06/12, 10:22 AM
I recently have changed my diet because I thought I was eating too much. I was eating 5 meals/snacks a day and felt like such a pig. So I tried lowering my portions per meal. I have been exercising faithfully for almost 2 years now and experimenting with different regimes and this plateau is quite frustrating. I am going to take your advice and try to eat more protein. Is peanut butter and nuts okay besides eggs and more fish?
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2003/06/12, 10:24 AM
Andrea75, what type of supplements would you suggest?
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2003/06/12, 10:39 AM
Yup that would be good.....
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Squats are really a very good thing, but in my world, Deadlifts are King!!!!!!!!
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2003/06/14, 09:56 AM
lucyladybug, what and how long are the types of cardio you do? If you are doing long bouts of cardio and the same each time, this could very well be your problem. See, the bodies priority is not burning fat, but survival. Long bouts of repettive exercise such as cardio can actually trigger the body to store fat as part of its natural survival mechanism. Your body produces certain catabolic hormones such as cortisol to maintain bodyfat in deperate situations such as starvation. Long bouts of repetitive exercise falls under that category. Some people do cardio for 45-60 min. at a time, and your body will actually learn to store fat by producing stress hormones to preserve life. Just some thoughts.
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As far as genetics go, the skies the limit. You are limited only by your mental perception of it.
Ron
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2003/06/16, 01:17 PM
My cardio changes each time. I take a kickboxing class once a week for an hour but I also will jog for 30 minutes or do the stair stepper for 20 minutes.
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2003/06/17, 09:06 AM
Hmmmm......what types of supplements have you tried? I am not big into ones with Ephedra because they can be dangerous. Try one of them with out that Ephedra, and although they have caffeine, they can sometimes push you through.
Ugh not seeing results can be frustrating. I was being good during the week and I now have trouble on the weekends sticking to my plan. As long as I don't over do it, I should be fine.
Do you lift heavy or light?
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2003/06/17, 10:20 AM
When you hit a plateau, something has to change to bust through it. If your training regimine is changing, then you need to look towards your diet. Even though you are eating 5 meals/snacks daily, this does not mean your body has not adjusted to that. You probably need to change macronutrient ratios. Meaning your P/C/F ratios, and calorie amounts. There are 2 things that rev your metabolism (which burns fat) and that is exercise and diet.
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As far as genetics go, the skies the limit. You are limited only by your mental perception of it.
Ron
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2003/06/17, 02:23 PM
I am not keen on trying supplements. If I drink more than one cup of caffeine I am wired so I know my system and I do not think I would do well with supplements.
I have been lifting light weights. I do 3 sets of 15 at a light weight that I still feel like I am pushing myself.
bb1fit: Where can I find information as to my P/C/F ratios and what I should be doing?
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2003/06/17, 04:52 PM
If you can get 3 sets of 15 reps then it's time to go heavier. I was stuck in that rut for almost 2 years and was not seeing much progress. You should be using a weight that you can't do three sets of 15 with. Go up to the next weight on all of your moves and do 12 reps, rest, go up to the next level, do 10 (or as many as you can), rest, and do a third set at the next weight up, again as many as you can. Try changing your workout to something like that, or just go heavier on them for a few weeks and see what happens. We girls tend to be afraid to lift heavy, but since finding this website, my motto is 'go heavy, or go home'.
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~Victoria~
...Some things have to be believed to be seen!
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2003/06/17, 10:42 PM
You give no profile to go on, so just by your post your priority is losing weight. If you are weight training, which you say you are, then a good ratio for you would be a 50/20/30 ratio, P/C/F. This type of diet has been proven over and over to yeild results. You need to find your maintenance calories, then set up your ratios accordingly. Eat 5-6 meals, evenly spread out throughout the day in this ratio. When you have your maintenance calories,(your weight has leveled off for 2 weeks or so without any loss or gain), then you have a place to start. Start adjusting your calories downward, about 250 per week till you see weight loss start. Stop here and let the weight loss proceed. When you stop losing, adjust down another 250 calories, and repeat. Keep nutrient ratio steady. After a few times of this, you may actually have to increase calories a bit, especially if you gain some lean tissue. This requires calorie support. Good luck to you.
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As far as genetics go, the skies the limit. You are limited only by your mental perception of it.
Ron
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2003/06/18, 02:40 PM
I used to do reps that were higher in weight until I hit a plateau and then read on this website that to tone and loss weight I should do a lighter weight and higher rep. So I tried that and haven't had success. I am afraid to try higher weight again because I did not see the results the first time and I was doing so for about a year.
I am going to try and fill out my profile because I am not grasping the ratio information.
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2003/06/18, 03:14 PM
I may be wrong, but I believe if you continue to lift the same weight whether light or heavy, you will not see any progress. You have to constantly change it up.
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~Victoria~
...Some things have to be believed to be seen!
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2003/06/18, 06:21 PM
Dropping your weights for a while is ok. It is a good shock to the muscles if you use it for that. Really do some high intensity training. But this should be for a short period, maybe 3 -5 weeks, then go back to heavier weight. YOur body will adapt to what you do, and you may eventually lose muscle mass if your body sees that it doesn't need that much any more(to work heavier weights). So, be careful here, just keep changing things up and keep the body guessing. Azredhead57 is right.
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As far as genetics go, the skies the limit. You are limited only by your mental perception of it.
Ron
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2003/06/19, 02:02 PM
Well, I started this afternoon by doing a low weight for 12 reps, a higher weight for 10 and then a little bit higher for 8. I am going to keep this up for a few weeks and see what happens. I am going on a cruise next week so I have to be really disciplined with what I eat. This is going to be hard but I think I can do it.
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2003/06/19, 06:52 PM
Yes, this is not an easy thing we do. The closer we get to our goals, the harder we must work at both our workouts and diet, and the more effort it takes. When first starting out, everything seems to work, you have the gung ho attitude and all and the body gives up fat easily. We have to keep changing things up and stay on top so the body does not adapt. If it were too easy, we would all look great. You can do it, or you would not have started this post. Good luck!!
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As far as genetics go, the skies the limit. You are limited only by your mental perception of it.
Ron
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2003/06/20, 12:47 AM
Have a great time on your cruise. We are planning one for next year to go to Hawaii. I've never been on one, so let me know how it goes. And have fun.
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~Victoria~
...Some things have to be believed to be seen!
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2003/06/20, 01:49 PM
Thank you! A cruise is just the most relaxing vacation! I went on my first cruise for our honeymoon and it is a great way to reward yourself for all of the hard work.
Unfortunately for me my body has never wanted to give up fat at all. I used to be a dancer so I never had problems staying in shape and healthy. Once I stopped dancing it was curtains for me and now it is a million times harder! I wish I could get back into dancing, hopefully someday.
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2003/07/10, 02:59 PM
Get a blood test and get your sugar and thyroid tested just to rule out any medical problems that may hinder weight loss. All the other above advice is great. Remember your ratio of proteins, carbs to fat. Definitely increase your protein as Mutt suggested. You are eating too many carbs and I have a feeling not enough calories. You should NEVER go below 1500 cals per day. You should strive for 1500-to 1800 cals per day (vary the amount each day to keep the body guessing). Perhaps a visit with a dietician may be in order for you also. Remember aside from a potato, anything white goes to garbage, that is white bread, rice, sugar etc, EatWHOLE grains, brown rice, etc. Lots of veggies and limited fruit and very limited junk.
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2003/07/10, 04:13 PM
I have already had blood work done and everything is okay. I have been buying fish lately and trying to incorporate protein shakes into my daily diet. Is it possible to have too much protein?
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2003/07/14, 05:16 PM
So lucy, it's been a month since your post; how was the cruise and how is your nutrition/exercise program going? I try to eat around 1g of protein for each pound of bodyweight. Some do more and some do less.
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~Victoria~
...There are no shortcuts to any place worth going.--Beverly Sills
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2003/07/14, 06:15 PM
The cruise was very relaxing. I amazingly lost weight, about 3 lbs even though I ate ice cream every day but I think it is because I lost muscle from not exercising. I gave my body a break for a week from all of the hard work I have been putting in. I am reading the book Body For Life right now and I am thinking of changing my exercise routine. I was doing more reps with less weight and hitting my plateau and in this book he suggests going up in weight while going down with reps for each set. I think I just need to find what will work for me and it is just going to be trial and error.
azredhead: thanks for asking about me.
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2003/07/15, 03:47 PM
As I said in my previous post, that is what got me through mine...going heavier. Where did you cruise to?
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~Victoria~
...There are no shortcuts to any place worth going.--Beverly Sills
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2003/07/15, 04:01 PM
We went to Belize, Key West and Miami. Belize is still a third world country so it was a little bit sad to see their living conditions. Key West was your typical tourism and shopping place where you spend way too much money.
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2003/09/12, 12:59 PM
Well, here I am a few months later and I managed to loose about 7 pounds but now I am plateauing again. I am not too sure what it was that did the trick but I am still trying to loose about 6 more pounds and these are the hardest. I see my muscles and abs and there is a layer of ? still to go before I can really see my muscles. I have taken everyone's advice and changed my routine, I wonder if it may be time to change my routine again?
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2003/09/12, 01:38 PM
Do you use any EFA's? I do not see that in any of the posts, even mine. Healthy fats may really help you over the hump. They actually help metabolize fat. You do need some. If you are not getting any, incorporate some into your calorie scheme to stay in your calorie/macro needs. For some good reading on healthy fats, go to http://www.barleans.com and click on info. Tons of stuff, will maybe enighten you if you are unsure of their needs, or afraid of fats.
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Great people never want it easier, they just want to be better!
Ron
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2003/09/12, 04:02 PM
It seems changing our routines and eating pattern every 8-12 weeks is the secret. Well, it's one of them. It has been that long for you so your body is probably used to what you are doing and now you need to shock it again. 7 pounds is great though. Have you put on a lot of muscle? If you have you might need to add a few more calories a day to your diet. Again it will be trial and error til you find what works. Good luck.
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~Victoria~
...There are no shortcuts to any place worth going.--Beverly Sills
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2003/09/15, 01:51 PM
What exactly is an EFA?
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2003/09/15, 02:19 PM
Hello ladybug :o)
EFA's are healthy fats...BB1 listed a website for you to ck out:
http://www.barleans.com
Good luck.
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2003/09/19, 10:56 AM
I have put on muscle but I am so afraid to eat more calories. Since I lost those 7 pounds, I have been eating 5-6 times a day but less amounts with each portion and that is when I noticed a difference. I eat a lot of peanuts and nuts and hopefully that is helping. I am going to checkout the website now.
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2003/09/19, 04:02 PM
If you are putting on muscle the last thing you want to do is drop your caloric intake. The more muscle you have to support the more calories you need to keep it. And how much is "a lot of peanuts and nuts"? I think a couple tablespoons a day is ok, but more than that will probably put you over your fat max for the day. Anyone else think that?
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~Victoria~
...There are no shortcuts to any place worth going.--Beverly Sills
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2003/09/22, 02:07 PM
To me it seems like a lot of nuts but it isn't. It is only a few tablespoons a day. I have been fighting this battle so long and I am trying so hard to not loose it. It is more than hard work to me. I just have to get on a good eating regime and it is hard when one's lifestyle is so varied. But I think I am doing okay and as long as I see results I can stay motivated.
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2003/09/22, 05:14 PM
You said it! As long as you ar getting results yo must be doing something right!
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~Victoria~
...There are no shortcuts to any place worth going.--Beverly Sills
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2008/01/07, 05:07 AM
I've significantly reduced my calorie intake for the past 6 months and lost around 20lbs. I've noticed though that I seem to have hit a plateau such that I seem to have stopped losing weight even if I'm still controlling my calorie intake. How do I go about this? Should I lower my calorie intake even further? Also, what should I do when I hit plateau during my workout program?
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