i surely need some harsh truth....

[skyler1]

-Stats (age, height, weight, Body fat %) - 30 y.o. female, 5'5'', cw: 147, bf%19-20%

-Diet (in detail meal to meal, overall daily caloric intake, ratios)
B: 2 eggs/english muffin
S: yogurt/fruit
L: can of tuna/brown rice & side salad
S: protein shake/almonds
D: lean protein and veggies

breakdown tries to be 40P/30C/30F% w/ the help of sparkpeople.com
*i log EVERYTHING
*currently eating 1400-1600 calories/day - I DID listen to advice to up my calories from the 1200-1400 range to 1500 for 6 wks (no change) and then to 1700-1800 cals/day for 7 wks and still no loss...that is actually when i started gaining and now my fluctuation is bw 145-150 vs 140-145 - needlesstosay..i'm baffled

-Exercise routine in detail (cardio/weight training)
-Clear reason and question for the post : I went from 160-136 losing about 3 lbs /month on a 1200 calorie diet. i only saw anything below 140 prior to my wedding so technically i d say i went from 160-140....went on my honeymoon and came back at 145 lbs (JUNE 2006). i've been wavering since then first from 145-140 lbs and NOW b/w 145-150 lbs! and i cant figure out what is going on and why my weight is a)going up b)not going down....i seem to have a medium frame and i believe that 130-135 would be able the 'right' weight for me (though that i am not sure of either). i wear a size 28 jeans/size 4 pants so i am small on bottom and a large chest (maybe that puts me in large frame- dunno?).

My Question is that how do i lose approx 15 lbs? I love to exercise and have been doing it my whole life. i always enjoyed sports & always ate healthy so i'm not one of those people that ate junk and never moved and now wants to lose 20 lbs...or something like that. i used to run daily ~ 5 miles...but my body is obviously used to that as it gets me nowhere w/ weight loss. i incorporated weights a while back (yet i dont know if i was every doing it right as i never did go to fatigue, as i do now w/ reps & prob didnt lift heavy enough).

My current exercise program is like this:
Sunday: rest or active rest -- walking dogs mostly
Monday: advanced reformer pilates class
Tuesday: full body weights & 20 min HIIT
Wednesday: steady state cardio...about an hour
Thursday: same as monday
Friday: same as tuesday
Saturday: Kickboxing - 45 min advanced or SS cardio for 45 min to 1 hr

WHAT AM I DOING WRONG? DOESNT MAKE SENSE TO BE STUCK WAVERING IN BOTH DIRECTIONS FOR 6 MONTHS??

-Current and overall goal - to get down to about 130-135, STAY There, and look LEAN & actually lose this last fat layer - BF% to be around 16-18%

-How long you have been doing what you are doing in diet and routine - i just changed my exercise routine 2 wks ago as i know you are supposed to change every month or so, but all i really changed was adding HIIT and changed the weight routine to less machines, more free weights

-If you have any medical problems or injuries we should be aware of - zippo


THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[tonymcclellan]

Can you post your strength training routine please?

 

[skyler1]

Can you post your strength training routine please?

sure....

squats
incline leg press
upper back row
chest press and flys on bench
dumbell curls w/ free weights or bar
tricep - overhead on bench w/ curled bar
tricep dips
shoulder raise
ab & lower back work
pushups & pullups (well, working on being able to do UNassisted pullups

FEEL FREE to tell me whatever is wrong!!!!!!!! thanks!!!!!!!!

 

[Steve]

Skyler, I responded to you in my journal. Plus, do you do these exercises every day that you train? What are the parameters of your program design?

 

[skyler1]

thanks for the double reply, steve!!

i do these exercises on tues/friday during my weight training sessions...

 

[Steve]

Skyler, you have to remember that resistance training is instituted in a caloric deficit namely to block the catabolic signals your CNS sends while in a caloric deficit state. You are not lifting to add muscle. You are lifting, merely to maintain what you have.

That said, your workouts should consist primarily of a lot of barbell work, know what I mean. The big compound movements. Squats, deads, bench, row, vertical press, vertical pull.

Volume should be kept very low while dieting since you don't have the energy through food to supplement a normal routine. Intensity should be kept high, which triggers muscle maintenance. By high intensity, I mean, 4-6 reps of most exercises.

I do no isolation work in a dieted state with my clients. I don't see much of a point.

Full body routines would be fine in this case, training 2-3 days per week.

I forget, how many days per week are you lifting?

 

[skyler1]

i lift 4x a week...

 

[Steve]

i lift 4x a week...

This is fine, as long as your volume is in check. If you are doing all of these exercises, depending on your set/rep parameters, you are grossly over training considering you are in a energy deficit state.