i need some serious guidance..pls help?

[enjoysadvice]

okay, heres the deal - i apologize if this is long but i am really needing some help.....i've read though this forum a TON and the stickies and everything to try and find my answers, however, this weight loss thing is obviously very personal and i'm confused and hoping for some of your wisdom & knowledge & help....

A brief history - in Dec '05, i realized my weight was getting out of control (5'5'' and weighed 160). I worked hard in '06 and got down to 140 and built muscle (you can see some of it) and got back into my size 4 jeans comfortably. THEN I STALLED>>>BIG TIME.

The question then was "are you at maintenance?". No, i dont believe so because i can surely lose a small layer of fat covering my muscles...

I lost the 20 lbs by eating a 1200-1300 cal diet. I was told this was too low for my activity level (i'm at a desk all day but I will outline my exercise below along with my nutrition intake). Soo, i upped my cals to 1500/day and kept the same weight/cardio routine. Nothing changed...fluctuations b/w 140-145. I ideally would like to fluctate b/w 130-135. *if that is realistic*

Again nothing changed so I upped my cals some more due to some advice to 1700 for 6 wks & again nothing changed. So, I changed my workout routine and my weights and now I am (only a couple weeks now) doing HIIT SOLEY vs a hour on an interval cardio routine, i changed weights til after cardio (to try to confuse my body) and i am focusing on my diet - eating 40 (protein)/30/30 split (was already eating 5-6 meals a day and most carbs in the early part of the day. I'm also eating 1400 cals. IS THIS WRONG?????????

Im so sick of being stuck. And not only that am I not stuck but the past 2 wks, my overall 'body weight' on a scale is telling me i am bouncing b/w 145-150 so actually GAINING WEIGHT.

I AM SO CONFUSED AND WOULD LOVE SOME GUIDANCE AS TO IF I AM ON THE RIGHT TRACK AND WHAT I AM DOING WRONG?

exercise schedule example:
monday - 20 min HIIT elliptical
tuesday - full body weights at gym/ HIIT treadmill
wednesday - power yoga class and interval cardio on bike/tread/ or ellip
thursday - pilates class
friday - same as tuesday
saturday - kickboxing class
sunday - rest

nutrition :
I've always eating 'clean food' and make my own food...

example day:
B: oatmeal
S: yogurt/ fruit
L: salad w/ tuna
S: almonds/protein powder drink
D: grilled chicken/shrimp/fish and veggies...

and upped the past 2 weeks from 2 ltrs of water/day to 3 ltrs..

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ANY ADVICE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

No, i havent gotten my BF% tested but I am planning to at a gym shortly but i'd rather not be weighing all the way up to 150 at this time. Also, according to my frame - technically i'm medium if you look at my wrist/elbow but i do have a large (DD) chest - not sure if that matters...as you can tell, i'm baffled after trying many things and need a new recommendation..

thanks again.

 

[jsb]

ok in relation to weighing yourself when do you weigh yourself. Ideally you should be weighing yourself at the same time everyday and under the same circumstances, so generally the best way to do this is to do it first thing in the morning after you have been to the loo, otherwise both food and fluid consumption will lead to fluctuations in your weight. Also remember that your menstrual cycle may also effect water retention and also may lead to irregular weight readings

Also in relation to your diet you are getting no protein into your system until lunch time, ideally you should be trying to get protein into with every meal.
truthfully your best bet maybe to wait till you get your BF% tested and then at that point you can work out what your maintance calories should be. Then from here you can workout what ideally you should be eating. Truthfully though your diet seems quite decent so I would suggest putting it in fitday and see what exactly the calorie and macro nutrient breakdown is for each of your meals. If possible can you give a detailed example of your daily diet (also can you give example of the diet you used to get down to 140 initially and your exercise regime at that point), that and I would suggest dropping the HIIT session on the Tuesday

 

[enjoysadvice]

Thank You!!

ok in relation to weighing yourself when do you weigh yourself. Ideally you should be weighing yourself at the same time everyday and under the same circumstances, so generally the best way to do this is to do it first thing in the morning after you have been to the loo, otherwise both food and fluid consumption will lead to fluctuations in your weight. Also remember that your menstrual cycle may also effect water retention and also may lead to irregular weight readings

yup - aware of this and always weigh in the am (first thing after the loo) and yes, i alway always fluctuate at that time of the month but not currnetly the case....

Also in relation to your diet you are getting no protein into your system until lunch time, ideally you should be trying to get protein into with every meal.

I just gave a sample menu but i do eat eggs a lot for breakfast - 2 hard boiled w/ my oatmeal & a glass of milk (Skim).

Truthfully though your diet seems quite decent so I would suggest putting it in fitday and see what exactly the calorie and macro nutrient breakdown is for each of your meals.

i use sparkpeople.com and it gives me the breakdown which WAS at 30% protein, 50% carbs and 20% fat (roughly) - i got a recommendation to have 40% protein and 30/30 for carbs/fat so i recently changed to be that...

If possible can you give a detailed example of your daily diet (also can you give example of the diet you used to get down to 140 initially and your exercise regime at that point),

Diet when i dropped down to 140 (1200 cals always):
B: 2 hard boiled eggs
S: apple/yogurt / cottage cheese (2%)
L: can of tuna/ 10 water crackers
S: protein powder shake & fruit/veggie
D: lean protein with veggies

SHOULD I GO BACK TO THIS? IT ISN'T TOO LOW IN CALS??

that and I would suggest dropping the HIIT session on the Tuesday

why? too much cardio??????????????



THANK YOU

 

[dswithers]

I would recommend dropping all the "organized" classes. They tend to be volume oriented, and what you need to drop fat is intensity, not volume. That is why HIIT is better than steady state cardio. You might be better off with a schedule like this:
M-total body weights 45 min
T-HIIT 20 min
W-total body weights 45 min
Th-HIIT 20 min
F-total body weights 45 min
S-Steady state cardio or class 45-60 min

Remember the goal is intensity NOT volume, you should be working hard enough during your weight and HIIT sessions that you can not do more than the time listed without feeling faint/puking...

What does your weight routine look like?

 

[enjoysadvice]

weight routine..i'm SURE i could use help here..

chest press or flys on bench
upper back row
pullups & tricep dips
lat machine
incline squat lifts
quad/hamstring machine
biceps w/ bar
triceps w/ bar

i generally do 3-5 sets , each until fatigue (about 8-10 reps per set)

 

[jsb]

yup - aware of this and always weigh in the am (first thing after the loo) and yes, i alway always fluctuate at that time of the month but not currnetly the case....

hmmm, this is strange if your weight is fluctuating this much and you are weighing yourself each morning at the same time

Diet when i dropped down to 140 (1200 cals always):
B: 2 hard boiled eggs
S: apple/yogurt / cottage cheese (2%)
L: can of tuna/ 10 water crackers
S: protein powder shake & fruit/veggie
D: lean protein with veggies

SHOULD I GO BACK TO THIS? IT ISN'T TOO LOW IN CALS??

no the reason I was asking was more to gauge how you got down to 140, as straihgt off people can make bad diet choices when dieting so can lose a lot of muscle aswell as fat and then when they start to eat properly again, can put on more muscle, even if they some how didn't manage to add some excess fat, so would be heavier again by the extra muscle.
However your diet seemed to be quite decent and may have aided in reducing the amount of muscle you actually lost but I have a funny feeling that the being so under your daily calorific intake may have caused you to lose some muscle anyway and that some of the weight gain you are seeing now is due to regaining some muscle. Just as a matter of interest although you don't know what your BF% is have you seen any noticable increase in BF% since you went back up to 150?
A rough calculation would give your daily calorific needs at being around 2500 including activities so around 1700-1900 would be a good figure and even at that maybe a bit low

why? too much cardio??????????????

I have a funny feeling that in an effort to lose teh extra weight you maybe pushing yourself to hard, That and I would generally leave a day between HIIT day's

 

[jsb]

also drop the machines and use freeweights and don't be afraid of lifting anything that isn't pink, a lack of test in females restricts the amount of muscle they can actually build so you aren't going to get "big", hell even if could would would take a hell of a lot of hard work to get there.
So things like proper squatting should be a part of your programme

 

[enjoysadvice]

Thank you!!!!

Just as a matter of interest although you don't know what your BF% is have you seen any noticable increase in BF% since you went back up to 150?

Well, i dont know my BF% - i need to get it tested but just recently (as the scale weight has steadily increased), i went shopping and bot a smaller pair of jeans (size 28) AND then needed to change my belt notch to smaller w/ those jeans...weird!

A rough calculation would give your daily calorific needs at being around 2500 including activities so around 1700-1900 would be a good figure and even at that maybe a bit low

Are you saying that I SHOULD be eating 1700 cals????????? that isn't what is making me gain? It didnt work for the 6 wks I tried it? It seems like a lot. This is where i am mostly confused.

and as far as the free weights..i'm the only girl in the gym section for boys (supposedly) so i'm not afraid of the free weights...

 

[jsb]

Well, i dont know my BF% - i need to get it tested but just recently (as the scale weight has steadily increased), i went shopping and bot a smaller pair of jeans (size 28) AND then needed to change my belt notch to smaller w/ those jeans...weird!

ok this is where you problem lies you are equating weight loss with success instead of BF% (or even inch) loss, this is why I stated that that you may put muscle back on when people up their calories again. From the sound of it you are still getting a smaller waist so are still losing fat however the weight gain may be a result of putting some muscle back on.
Truthfully you may want to invest in a pair of calipers, as these would help you monitor your BF change (generally they don't give an proper BF reading but are good for monitoring change) as oppose to relying on the scales to measure your success. another method would be to take photos of yourself every few weeks (not every week) and see if there are any changes, or just keep on monitoring your belt.

But it sounds like you are moving in the right direction anyway


edit: Oh and there is nothing sexier then a woman who knows her way around a free weights section

 

[enjoysadvice]

thanks again!

ok this is where you problem lies you are equating weight loss with success instead of BF% (or even inch) loss, this is why I stated that that you may put muscle back on when people up their calories again. From the sound of it you are still getting a smaller waist so are still losing fat however the weight gain may be a result of putting some muscle back on.
Truthfully you may want to invest in a pair of calipers, as these would help you monitor your BF change (generally they don't give an proper BF reading but are good for monitoring change) as oppose to relying on the scales to measure your success. another method would be to take photos of yourself every few weeks (not every week) and see if there are any changes, or just keep on monitoring your belt.

i actually bot a pair of calipers but i was told that doing it myself was a bad idea...i guess i can see changes cant be too bad...i'll try it out again...

But it sounds like you are moving in the right direction anyway

Man, i hope so! Any clue on my caloric intake though? Should I drop it back down to 13000-1400ish or back to 1500ish or up to 1700 again? BAFFLED, clearly...

edit: Oh and there is nothing sexier then a woman who knows her way around a free weights section

Gracias!

 

[jsb]

i actually bot a pair of calipers but i was told that doing it myself was a bad idea...i guess i can see changes cant be too bad...i'll try it out again...

ye they probably just said cause they generally aren't the most accurate way of testing BF unless you know what you are doing, but for measuring changes they are fine

Man, i hope so! Any clue on my caloric intake though? Should I drop it back down to 13000-1400ish or back to 1500ish or up to 1700 again? BAFFLED, clearly...

Truthfully I am going to go with the 1700 as I think what you have said so far clearly shows that you where undereating, and anyway if you notice that you you BF levels are going up, by using the calipers, you can then cut back a bit

 

[enjoysadvice]

Thank you so much for your help!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm going to follow your advice...6 weeks for sure and hopefully start seeing more results.

One more question if you have a second:

If you are doing a lot of weight training and undereating, will that inhibit you from actually seeing the 'cut' toned muscles b/c i am surely stronger but that definition of muscles isnt really there..????????????

thanks.

 

[jsb]

If you are doing a lot of weight training and undereating, will that inhibit you from actually seeing the 'cut' toned muscles b/c i am surely stronger but that definition of muscles isnt really there..????????????

It depends on the extent to which you are undereating, in your case when you where on 1200 calories the amount of muscle you hard was probably being reduced as it was being used as an energy source (even if you where weight training), so cause of this as you don't have as much muscle it would be harder to the "toned" look that and at the time you BF levels may have been higher so again making it harder to see the muscle.
If you are only 300-500 calories under your maintance calories it is a lot easier to maintain muscle levels while still losing fat. So just keep an eye on the calipers over the few weeks and if you see the measurements going up drop the calories down a bit