A long winded tale (with a point and some questions!)

[bigselfishme]

Good morning!

I am a 31 year old female with a history of weight issues. I've managed to keep my weight in check over the years but it has gotten out of control. I'm currently a hair under 5'6 and I weight about 210. I used to be able to maintain my weight and workout on a very low carb diet but that seems to have changed, I'm assuming because of my age. I can no longer workout without consuming some kind of carb before hand. My body type is muscular and I tend to develop muscle and get strong very quickly. I've tried to get back in the workout saddle over the past few months but found that cardio was actually hindering my weight loss so I dropped it. I really do enjoy lifting weights so I do that as often as I can which is about every other day. I would like to develop some sort of lower body routine. However, I have two bad knees, one of which is way worse than the other. Thus, I am prohibited from doing squats, lunges or anything of the sort and it seems like any kind of lower body workout I find consists primarily of these two things. I also cannot do treadmills, stair masters, jumping rope or any kind of repetitive impact motion type cardio because of the knee situation.

Here is what I currently do:

Bent over row - 2 sets of 20 w 15lb dumbbells
Side lat raises - 2 sets of 20 with 5lb dumbbells (I'm aware this should probably be more but I only have 3,5 and 15lb dumbbells and the 15 is too heavy)
Front lat raises - 2 sets of 20 w 5lb dumbbells
Overhead tri extension w dumbbell - 2 sets of 15 w 1 15lb dumbbell shared
Side bends - 2 sets of 20 each side with 15lb dumbbell

Then I repeat that entire circuit.

I do this every other day.

I happen to be nursing an injury to one of the already bad knees right now so for the time being, there is really no cardio I can do. Normally bikes and/or ellipticals are ok and don't hurt the knees too much. However, I did have a situation a few months ago where cardio seemed to have actually hindered my progress! I was doing an hour and day, eating really clean low carb and not losing anything at all so I'm not sure cardio is even right for me. I heard a theory that some people are "cardio resistant" or something like that but I'm not sure there is any truth to it. I actually do enjoy a kick ass spin session so I'm not making excuses to get out of it but it does happen to be a problem! Also I do not have access to a pool so swimming is out.

This is what I would like:

I need to lose about 60-65lbs to be at a weight I'm comfortable at.
I need muscle definition; not just toning, but actual definition. Not at a bodybuilder level.
I would like to figure out the exact amount of good carbs I should be eating to sustain a fitness plan and at what intervals I should be eating them. I would also like to figure out the same for protein and whatever else is important.
I would obviously like the above to happen quickly. Like I said, I do develop muscle and strength quickly but I'm concerned as to how this will affect my overall weight loss. I'm also afraid of getting too bulky.
Ultimately, I would really like to train toward a goal of participating in a cycling competition or event of some sort. That's likely far into the future though.


I'm just at a complete loss as to a diet plan right now. I know that my weight goes down and stays in check on a low to no carb diet, but as I mentioned earlier I can no longer sustain a workout eating so low carb.

I feel like after all the research I've done to find the perfect combination of diet/exercise for me, I'm just more confused than I was in the first place. I've read so many different things, ideas, logs, journals etc and many of them seem to contradict each other.

Does any one have any insight on this? Or a plan they'd like to share? I'm super motivated and willing to try anything.

Thanks so much for reading my long winded introduction!

 

[Kristi31]

Wow sounds like you have a lot on your plate you need a bit of guidance with!

What my suggestion would be is to find a personal trainer/nutritionist in your area and go for a few sessions to get it all on track, that way all your issues and concerns can be identified, recognized and worked on ... online info is great to a degree but the one on one from a professional is extremely important too especially because you are serious about making some big changes and willing to do whatever it takes.

Wishing you all the very best in your journey

 

[Adumb]

It seems you're going to have to be a bit more creative with your cardio. You have already taken a good first step by doing circuit training. Look online for more circuits.

For legs, squats & lunges are considered to be the best exercises you can do. BUT you can also do leg curls and extensions, however they may be taxing on the knees as well. Don't forget about calf raises too.

There are some personal trainers out there that will have their clients do 90% weight training and 10% cardio, so maybe it's not so important after all? Maybe you could try a rowing machine, that can provide pretty good cardio and you can control how much of your legs you use as you can pull more or less with your upper body if you want.

A diet I would recommend would be 20% protein, 20% fat, 60% carbs. These should be complex, non-refined carbs. Avoid/cut out sugars entirely. This means no more pop and no more sweets. I would recommend protein after every workout, if not at least a glass of milk (skim works just as well).

Everyone makes counting calories sound horrible. In fact, it's really not that hard and I actually enjoy it. Not only do you become more conscious of what you're putting into your body, but you develop a knack for knowing how many calories are approximately in something that doesn't have the nutrition facts. Whenever you have a fairly consistent diet, this task becomes incredible easy. Throughout the day I often whip open the calculator on my phone and walk around my kitchen and look at the packaging on the bread, the oatmeal, the tuna, the protein powder and add up what I ate. I also try to take in around 30g of fiber per day as this actually prevents fat storage.

It takes a lot of time and effort to look like a bodybuilder. It will be a slow transition which you can make adjustments long before you ever become "too muscular". One way is to simply never increase the weight you're lifting. I get a lot of information from bodybuilding.com for specific workouts and diet considerations.

Good luck!