I hit a Plateau

[Paoluccio]

Hi

So I hit a plateau with my weight loss and am looking for some help. I got back into training and dieting in March after taking some time off and letting myself put on too much weight. From March-July I lost 70lbs , with diet, lots of cardio and I belong to a boxing club.Since August I really haven't lost anything , I just fluctuate around up and down between 5-10lbs.
I don't really lift weights much at all, when I do its light weight with high reps. I usually workout 3-4 times a week in the gym for about 1 hour, plus 45-60 min of jogging. Sometimes I'll throw in HIIIT cardio session.
As for diet , I do low carb high protein. I eat about 20-35 net carbs a day. I normally cheat one day per week.When doing a low carb diet , does the calorie intake matter?
I'm assuming I need to make a change somewhere. Is it the diet or the workouts? Am I not eating enough carbs? Maybe my body is too used to the jogging and I should do more interval training, or a little more weight training. Since I'm into boxing , I do not do the heavy weight lifting which works against you , but I can start doing more light weights.
Thanks for the help.

 

[Jynus]

Hi

I'm assuming I need to make a change somewhere. Is it the diet or the workouts? Am I not eating enough carbs? Maybe my body is too used to the jogging and I should do more interval training, or a little more weight training. Since I'm into boxing , I do not do the heavy weight lifting which works against you , but I can start doing more light weights.
Thanks for the help.

huge myth. anyone who thinks boxers don't lift is crazy. look at any nfl receiver or defensive tackle. I can ASSURE you they lift their asses off using extremely heavy weights. would u call them slow with their 40 times?

big weight does NOT mean you will slow down. if it does, you're just doing the wrong type of training. only clowns do 3x10 bench press and bi curls one muscle group a day type splits nowadays.

Look into westside for skinny bastards 3. Thats your new training template. And I assure you that if you follow it, you'll be stronger, faster and leaner.

as for diet, you don't need carbs that low. ever. make carbs 30-40% of your daily intake of calories. thats a good enough number to lose on. Otherwise you just won't have the energy to truely give it all you got for your workouts to do some really effective caloric blasting. Once you get to your ideal weight and want to hit single digit body fat levels, then you can look into carb cycling. till then, don't sweat it. fyi a friend of mine was on a cutting diet for a bodybuilding comp. very carb restricted. 3 months into the diet, his body gave out on him and he spent a week in hospital recovering, put on over 40lbs in 1 week. unless this is for ascetics competition where it's very short term, stay away from low carb.

 

[KaraCooks]

As for diet , I do low carb high protein. I eat about 20-35 net carbs a day. I normally cheat one day per week.When doing a low carb diet , does the calorie intake matter?

Calories are the ONLY thing that matters. The only reason that low-carbing it works is because you're reducing calories by cutting out carbs. But at some point for most people that fails because they "make up" for the missing carbs with other things.

I agree with Jynus, unless you're cutting to get down to single digit body fat numbers, there is NO REASON you should be cutting carbs that much. You should be counting calories and trying to balance your macros at around 40/30/30 (that's 40% carbs, 30% protein, and 30% healthy fats).

I don't really lift weights much at all, when I do its light weight with high reps.

All you're doing when you lift weights with low weight/high reps is doing more cardio and building endurance. Unless you're lifting enough to stress your muscles (overload them) then you're not building muscle. Building muscle means raising your metabolism - which is what you want.

usually workout 3-4 times a week in the gym for about 1 hour, plus 45-60 min of jogging. Sometimes I'll throw in HIIIT cardio session.

So basically you do 2 hours of cardio plus some HIIT - maybe. I'd ditch the 2 hours of cardio. Learn to lift weights properly - heavy weights, medium sets of reps (like 8-12), and push yourself. Fill in around that with cardio a few times a week for 30-60 mins *if* you want to.

Read the sticky post in the exercise area titled "The Conceptual Side of Weight Lifting". It'll tell you what you need to know aobut lifting weights.

 

[Paoluccio]

huge myth. anyone who thinks boxers don't lift is crazy. look at any nfl receiver or defensive tackle. I can ASSURE you they lift their asses off using extremely heavy weights. would u call them slow with their 40 times?

big weight does NOT mean you will slow down. if it does, you're just doing the wrong type of training. only clowns do 3x10 bench press and bi curls one muscle group a day type splits nowadays.

Look into westside for skinny bastards 3. Thats your new training template. And I assure you that if you follow it, you'll be stronger, faster and leaner.

as for diet, you don't need carbs that low. ever. make carbs 30-40% of your daily intake of calories. thats a good enough number to lose on. Otherwise you just won't have the energy to truely give it all you got for your workouts to do some really effective caloric blasting. Once you get to your ideal weight and want to hit single digit body fat levels, then you can look into carb cycling. till then, don't sweat it. fyi a friend of mine was on a cutting diet for a bodybuilding comp. very carb restricted. 3 months into the diet, his body gave out on him and he spent a week in hospital recovering, put on over 40lbs in 1 week. unless this is for ascetics competition where it's very short term, stay away from low carb.

Thanks for the reply, yes some boxers lift weights. The problem with boxers that lift weights is that they gas way too quickly in the ring and I see it all the time, the more muscle you have the more oxygen you need to pump them. I see it all the time in the gym during sparring, they fighter with more muscle is usually the one gasping for air in that last minute when the other guy has his foot on the gas pedal. I'm going to look into that website. Thanks again for the info.

 

[Paoluccio]

Calories are the ONLY thing that matters. The only reason that low-carbing it works is because you're reducing calories by cutting out carbs. But at some point for most people that fails because they "make up" for the missing carbs with other things.

I agree with Jynus, unless you're cutting to get down to single digit body fat numbers, there is NO REASON you should be cutting carbs that much. You should be counting calories and trying to balance your macros at around 40/30/30 (that's 40% carbs, 30% protein, and 30% healthy fats).

All you're doing when you lift weights with low weight/high reps is doing more cardio and building endurance. Unless you're lifting enough to stress your muscles (overload them) then you're not building muscle. Building muscle means raising your metabolism - which is what you want.

So basically you do 2 hours of cardio plus some HIIT - maybe. I'd ditch the 2 hours of cardio. Learn to lift weights properly - heavy weights, medium sets of reps (like 8-12), and push yourself. Fill in around that with cardio a few times a week for 30-60 mins *if* you want to.

Read the sticky post in the exercise area titled "The Conceptual Side of Weight Lifting". It'll tell you what you need to know aobut lifting weights.

Thanks for the reply Kara. I'm eating a good amount of carbs but they are high in dietery fiber. I usually cook with almond or flax meal, etc. How many calories should I be eating a day if I weigh 225lbs? And when calorie counting , do I count the fat calories or overall?
Thanks again.

 

[KaraCooks]

How many calories should I be eating a day if I weigh 225lbs?

To lose weight, I'd start at around 2200 calories (that's based on a figure of 10 calories per pound of bodyweight).

And when calorie counting , do I count the fat calories or overall?

Why would you only count fat calories? I'm not sure I understand the basis behind the question? Calories are calories. If you consume more than you burn, you won't lose weight - so if you only count calories from one source, how are you going to know how many you're consuming?

As far as the weight lifting vs. being gassed thing - you're confusing correlation with causation. If someone is gassed because they've got more muscle, it's because they're not tailoring their training enough to endurance. But it doesn't mean don't lift weights at all.

 

[partha2009]

You can try a different fat loss program

You follow a high intensity interval training program for cardio. However, I think you can do full body weight exercises and combine it with aerobic workout like running, rope skipping or cycling at 60-70% of your maximum heart rate. After finishing each set(s) of resistance exercise like Push ups (3*10) you can do aerobic activity with no rest. Then continue with your set of resistance exercises like squats. You will burn more fat than ever before. Also you can try increasing amount of healthy carbs in your diet.

 

[Jynus]

Thanks for the reply, yes some boxers lift weights. The problem with boxers that lift weights is that they gas way too quickly in the ring and I see it all the time, the more muscle you have the more oxygen you need to pump them. I see it all the time in the gym during sparring, they fighter with more muscle is usually the one gasping for air in that last minute when the other guy has his foot on the gas pedal. I'm going to look into that website. Thanks again for the info.

thats a biproduct of training incorrectly. NOT lifting weights. look into tabata training, it will fit nicely into the dynamic days in westside. or look into kettlebell training. a college of mine owns a gym that trains mma fighters, they are big on kettlebells for their athletes, but you bet your ass they still lift too.

 

[Paoluccio]

Thanks a lot everyone for the help, I'm going to these new things and report back once I break the plateau.
Thanks again!!