Help! Breaking a Plateau!

Nony · Oct 17, 2003

Hi there!
I am new to this forum but i have decided to join and post a plea for help!

I started a diet an fitness program this January and things have been going well until recently. I have lost about 70 lbs so far but i am still VERY far from my goal weight! By "very" i mean by more than 50 lbs.

THE PROBLEM:
The problem is that right now (as in the past) I have reached a weight that i call a plateau. It is a weight at which i level off and no matter how many calories i cut from my diet or how much more i exercise, i just can't seem to get past it. This is the same weight at which i called it quits in the past and i am not ready t let it happen again. So PLEASE any ideas are welcome!

WHAT I AM DOING:
I have limited my calorie intake to average about 1600-1700 daily. I do clerical work during the day so i am seated with some movement. For fitness, I do the following routine 3 times weekly:

30-45 minutes of high pace cardio (stationary bike and stair climber
at ~200 watts)

35-45 minutes of weight lifting for upper body and back (no more
than 25 pounds on free weights and 70-75 for the lateral pull). I do
about 3 sets of 6 different lifting exercises at about 20 reps each.

Abdominal crunches/pilates type exercises.

NOW... beacuse i am lifting weights, i am pretty sure i am building muscle and some fat MUST be replaced by that muscle weight wise, but lately i haven't even noticed my clothes getting loose and my weight is staying the same. It has been like this for about 6 weeks or more now and i am getting really frustrated. I am not what to do next. I'd kick up to more exercise but i really don't have the time for it in my scheduel.

SO... HELP! PLEASE! Any ideas or anyone gone through somehting similar? I'd appreaciate your input!

Thanks!

Nony

Kalrog · Oct 17, 2003

The best thing for you might be to change up your weight workout. And why don't you do any leg weights? The muscles in your legs are much larger than your arms so that would be a good place to add muscle mass.

Try something in the 3 set by 8(arms) to 12(legs) rep range with relatively heavy weights. That should help build muscle mass and muscle burns calories fabulously even when you are at rest. Don't worry about "getting buff" because that just isn't going to happen unless you really train differently. Try to do each muscle group no more than twice a week.

Something else to look at is your diet. Maybe you need to add some calories or just switch up the carb/protein/fat ratio. If you are trying to add muscle mass and not add much weight you probably want to stay at the same caloric intake (maybe even up it a bit - to say 2000) but go with a 40/40/20 split. I don't know what you are at now, so this might not be a change for you. Your body can't add muscle unless you are giving it the right nourishment, and that means eating enough. If you do this and gain muscle, you will actually lose weight in the long term.

Lex · Oct 17, 2003

Kalrog made some very good suggestions. In addition, I would add some HIIT (high intesity interval training). For example, go hard for 15 seconds at about 85-90% of your maximum heart rate. Then drop to about 65-70% and stay there for 45 seconds. Alternate like this for your 30 minutes of cardio. Usually running works best for this. However, any type of interval training will present a challenge to your body.This not only improves your endurance, but is a great fat burner.

Your body adapts very easily to exercise. Most times, when people plateau it is because they are doing the same exercises day in and day out. Every so often you need to shock your body by changing your routine.

Nony · Oct 18, 2003

This board is the first place i have ever heard of HIIT! I will Definately do it! I have been increasing the resistance ony cardio and also time but i have never tried this, so I'll get to it!

Thanks Lex!

And Kalrog! Someone else gaveme a similar suggestion about upping cal intake and another person on the leg training! You were right. I was worried about making some bulky muscle because i have really strong legs already considering i am not a runner. I'll give the weight training a try on my lower body and seehowit affects things! Also! thanks for the advice on the ratios! I have a nutritionist but we never really went over what the ratios of fat to carbs and protein should be. looking at my diet now, the fat is at a good level but i could afford to take in a little more protein and maybe less carbs. I was at 13oo calories when i started loosing weight but as i increased the intensity of my workouts i needed to raise it to 1600. I might bump it up a bit (particularly on my workout days) to 1800-2000 and see that what does for me too! Thanks a lot!