In a rutt...

kristib135

kristib135

New member
Since January 17th I have lost around 15 pounds, and it has come off and been put back on in crazy cycles of either doing very well or eating whatever I see. However, right now I feel like I have consistently been eating well (with a few exeptions) and I exercise and weight-lift every day. Why is it so hard for me to lose even 1 pound right now? It's taken me a week to get from 133 to 132. My original goal was to get down to 120 by April 15th, but now it's by the last week of school, which is the last week of May. I feel like I am in a rutt, and I won't by any means give up, but I just want to get through it as soon as possible, or is this how it will be from now on? I just would really appreciate some advice.

Here are some basic facts about me.

Starting Weight = 147
Current Weight = 132
Goal Weight = 120
Eat around 1500 calories a day
I do either leg or abs strength training for 20 min every day before workout.
Workouts burn approx. 500 calories (treadmill, elipticals, stairmaster, bikes)
 
I recommend doing the abs or strength training after your cardio workout. This way your heart rate will be up while you are doing strenght training too.

I would also recommend doing some other forms of strength training. Possibly a circuit training course or some resistance training.

Additionally, since you have lost weight, you are probably hitting your plateau which means that you should mix up your workout routine. If you keep doing the same thing, your body gets used to it and it is much harder to see results.

Try doing some HIIT and mixing it up everyday. Also, on the days that you don't do a workout, try walking or doing something real light just to stay active.

I hope this helps, you are doing a lot of good things. Don't focus too much on the scale, as it is a poor way to measure progress. Muscle weighs more than fat, so focus on your measurements and how your clothes are fitting more!
 
i agree with the previous poster. esp. you may be replacing fat with muscle and not know it if you don't own a body compostion scale.

also, i would add about food- and i know food- find your RMR and on the days you don't strength train eat less than that (i guess your 1500 calories a day) and on the days you strenght train eat OVER your RMR in calories. It will shake things up and maybe release your plateau.

I read this on this site, you might want to read it also:
bodyfatguide.com

good luck!!
 
I wouldn't do strength training after cardio; you have more energy to expend at proper form/technique and will use enough weight if you do it before cardio.

Maybe you should add in some different strength training exercises and change up the cardio. Try jumping rope or doing other calisthenics for your cardio. ..

You say 1500 cals per day, but are they good calories? I know a calorie is a calorie, but there are good and bad. I'm starting to learn more and better things about them. Are you getting in enough lean protein etc?
 
kristi, sometimes (alot) scales can lie. Let's say you actually burned off 2 lb of body fat yet when you did strength training you increased your muscle mass by 1 lb. The scale will only show the 1lb total weight. More importantly, how are your clothes fitting? Are you taking measurements of various parts of the body to measure actual body fat loss? Also, is it that time o' the month (eww gross ;) ) = water retention.

the 1500 calories is good, but where are they coming from? are they 1500 cals of vitamin enriched fruits, veggies, lean meats, and whole grains? or are they empty with simple sugars?
 
I feel like i'm in a rutt too. I lost about 17 lbs in 17 days and since the 17th I have only lost .8 of a lb. Which is pathetic. I also started eating a bit more because I felt kinda like I was starving. I only eat healthy food, the only unhealthy thing I eat is salad dressing on my carrots and my lettuce but i use only a max of 2 and a half tablespoons, usually not even that much. And I like hommus but it is all natural too so I don't see what the problem is.

The way I figure it is, if you eat ALL NATURAL as in whole wheat breads, pitas, and veggies, fruits, but alot more veggies than fruits! And if you eat maybe 1 dairy product a day like cheese or organic milk then you will lose more than if you are eating PROCESSED foods with chemicals in them. I stopped eating cereal because it's loaded with garbage that I can't even pronounce and I feel so much better.

Plus once you are on an all natural diet you really start to enjoy the taste of the natural foods, it becomes like a passion almost. I used to only eat processed everything! Hamburgers, cereal, and every friday I would buy 10$ worth of candy and eat it within 10 minutes. But now i just started eating this health food and after a couple weeks it grows on you, you start to love all the tastes and it becomes easy to drink v8 and to eat veggies and wholewheat instead of processed crap.

I would suggest switching to an all natural diet. I know it's hard but coming from a guy who was a total pig and would eat POUNDS of processed sugary crap, I think you can do it too! I think your body burns it off better too and enjoys the food a lot more and it makes better use of it, but hey thats jsut what I think!

I walk 3 miles a day and do sit ups and girl push ups because i'm too heavy to do normal ones at the moment. Well I can, but not very many....GOOD LUCK!
 
i don't think that est. of 500 cals burnt can be correct.
just run everyday and you will lose weight.. its the best way.
 
Tommy_G said:
I feel like i'm in a rutt too. I lost about 17 lbs in 17 days and since the 17th I have only lost .8 of a lb. Which is pathetic. I also started eating a bit more because I felt kinda like I was starving. I only eat healthy food, the only unhealthy thing I eat is salad dressing on my carrots and my lettuce but i use only a max of 2 and a half tablespoons, usually not even that much. And I like hommus but it is all natural too so I don't see what the problem is.

The way I figure it is, if you eat ALL NATURAL as in whole wheat breads, pitas, and veggies, fruits, but alot more veggies than fruits! And if you eat maybe 1 dairy product a day like cheese or organic milk then you will lose more than if you are eating PROCESSED foods with chemicals in them. I stopped eating cereal because it's loaded with garbage that I can't even pronounce and I feel so much better.

Plus once you are on an all natural diet you really start to enjoy the taste of the natural foods, it becomes like a passion almost. I used to only eat processed everything! Hamburgers, cereal, and every friday I would buy 10$ worth of candy and eat it within 10 minutes. But now i just started eating this health food and after a couple weeks it grows on you, you start to love all the tastes and it becomes easy to drink v8 and to eat veggies and wholewheat instead of processed crap.

I would suggest switching to an all natural diet. I know it's hard but coming from a guy who was a total pig and would eat POUNDS of processed sugary crap, I think you can do it too! I think your body burns it off better too and enjoys the food a lot more and it makes better use of it, but hey thats jsut what I think!

I walk 3 miles a day and do sit ups and girl push ups because i'm too heavy to do normal ones at the moment. Well I can, but not very many....GOOD LUCK!
Click to expand...


how could you have possibly lost 17 lbs in 17 days! thats a pound a day! you must not be eating very much then. it sounds like you're starving yourself to death! how many calories are you getting in? how much are you suffering right now?
 
steve99 said:
i don't think that est. of 500 cals burnt can be correct.
just run everyday and you will lose weight.. its the best way.
Click to expand...

Also, I'd like to direct you to a very nice article at T-Nation.com that Steve posted in the On Topic section in a thread called "A MUST READ." Please, go find that and read it because it explains how and why cardio alone is not the best way to achieve desired results.

In fact, Kristib, it may be a great read for you as well! Go check it out.

Link to thread can be found here
 
Thanks for the advice guys...

Pilates- I have tried doing strength training after cardio, and find it much less effective. For example, normally I squat 130 and when I tried to do this after my cardio I couldn't even get in a standing position. I had to go all the way down to 90 pounds. Plus, I was told by my trainer to do it before because the first 20 minutes of a workout are when glycogen is used as fuel rather than fat, so when I get to my cardio I'm burning fat instead of sugar. Make sense?
 
Yeah there is some legitimacy to the fact that you are tired during your strength training. You don't want to hurt yourself.

The use of glycogen at first is valid too.

The problem I see is that you are in a rutt...you need to get out of your pleateau, so I was trying to give you something that would confuse your body a little more to give you a jump start. What is happening with your body is that it is getting used to your workouts and they are becoming less effective.

Due to this you need to switch up your workout routine to shock your body. Sometimes changing the sequence of your workouts can do this.

You could also change your focus of intensity. It appears that you are focusing more on the cardio part of your workout and doing a little strength training (only 20 min). Maybe if you tried only 20 min of cardio, somedays, and did some more strength training you could jumpstart your progress.

Or you can do the circuit training on some days instead of separate cardio and strenght training workouts.

My only word of caution with this, is you may not see the results you are looking for on the scale. This is because you will be adding more muscle. You will notice a change in body composition and the way your clothes fit.

Its tough to say what will work without seeing the intensity of your workouts. I have seen it work with people when they do cardio then strength training and I have also seen the sequence you are using work too.

You just have to remember to keep pushing yourself as hard as possible, but you have hit a plateau so you need to push really hard to get out of it!

Good luck...and remember to stay within the boundaries of your body!
 
Last edited by a moderator:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top