Frustrated.. HELP!!

F

FitDad

New member
Looking for some practical advice. I am at a plateau, have been for 2 months now. Some background information.

I was working out 5 days a week an hour a day.. To “change things up" I added an additional day.. I have been doing mainly cardio with some light weight training (have herniated discs in my back limiting some activities). The last two weeks I’ve increased my workouts to 1hr cardio; 30 min resistance training. Sometimes I will even walk an extra 2 miles in the evening. I’ve tried low carbs, I focus on healthy fat’s, counting calories, low fat, low carbs.. I am logging everything (down to my vitamins) that I eat. I’ve got to the point that I weigh everything and log it.. I even bought a bodybugg to get a better idea of my caloric burn. For the last month I have consistently (according to the body bugg) burned at a min ~3500 to ~4500 calories a day (depending if I do extra exercise) and I’ve kept my caloric intake to about ~1700 calories a day and it’s been weeks since I’ve lost a pound. I just don’t get it..

My daily avg nutrition for the last two weeks is.. (1600-1700 Calories per day)

Fat: 25.5g
Sat. Fat 11.5g
Cholest. 125 mg
Carb’s 90.2g
Fiber 28.2g
Sugar 14.2g
Protein 180g

I am motivated and frustrated at the same time!! HELP!! :banghead::banghead::banghead::banghead::banghead::banghead::banghead:
 
Your working out 6 days a week for an hour and a half a day?
I am no exercise expert, but that sounds like a lot.

Also, your post says a two month plateau, but then you say you haven't lost weight for weeks. What is the actual number?
 
An hour of cardio followed by 30 mins of weights every day? sounds to me like you're overtraining.

Weight workouts should only be every other day at the most - your muscles need recovery time. And an hour of cardio is really simply not necessary. Take it down a notch - a weights workout 3x a week and fill in around that with cardio - maybe 3-4x a week additionally. Give yourself at least one full day off a week.
 
Sorry , I guess I was not clear on a few things.. It has been weeks (8 weeks this Friday) since I've lost weight. I don't weigh in everyday I try twice a week and it fluctuates (up/down) a pound or two but I’ve been the same (252-254lbs).. For the resistance training I am doing two different things. One set of exercises that I have to do is for physical therapy for my back, I have 8 herniated discs. I do these 3 days a week to strengthen core muscles. I also do shoulder/chest/arms two days a week. Doctor says can’t do legs at this point, not until more improvement on my back. I don’t do these on the same day, I alternate days. For cardio I walk on the treadmill and use the elliptical. This has been great for me to manage stress and I’ve been doing this 5 days a week for an hour a day. Out of frustration I added Saturday.. Rest Sunday..

So maybe I am overtraining? I also think I may not be eating enough calories??
 
I think it would help if you say state your age, weight, height, gender. I would not able to say whether 1600 to 1700 calories per day is right without it. Your training program needs no improvement. I do not think it responsible for your plateau though.

Are you drinking water? Are you getting too much sodium?
 
Well at your current weight, 1700 calories is probably not really enough. But even so, if you're eating 1700 calories, plus working out for an hour a day or more, you should be losing weight.

Are you taking any meds for your back that could interfere? Are you eating things with a lot of sodium? Have you made any changes to your routine or food in the last few weeks?

Other than that, my thoughts are this: Not everyone loses weight linearly. I am one of those people who might not lose anything for 2-3 weeks - and yes, it's FRUSTRATING. Then suddenly ... whoosh. I'll drop 3-4 lbs almost overnight. Then maybe a pound or two. Then nothing. Then ... bang! Again, 4 lbs. I just don't lose in a linear fashion. Some people are really lucky to see a steady 2lb loss every week until they're done .. but they sure make it hard on the rest of us! :)

The other thing I'm thinking is that your diet looks really low in fat - I'm wondering if you might have some vitamin absorption issues. I don't know if that would affect the scale drastically, but it's something I'm throwing out there. Ideally you should be getting about 20%-30% of your calories from healthy fats. 25g of fat at your weight is SERIOUSLY below that.
 
Thanks for the replies; so I just turned 45, and 6' tall. I do drink water, typically about 6-8 8oz glasses a day. I don't typically drink soda, I may have had one diet soda in the last 3 weeks. I do have coffee in the morning but I usually drink it black. I don't use any sweeteners..

As for sodium, my daily avg for the last 4 weeks has been between 2100~2300mg per day.
For vitamins - I take a daily men's multi vitamin, 1000mg fish oil + glucosamine.

One thing I have changed just this week is I now drink a protein shake before going to the gym in the morning. Not sure if it makes a difference or not but I do my training in the morning, it's the only time I can get time for me.. I am out the door @ 4:30am 5 days a week.. I also went to my doctor this week to get a full blood work up just to be sure nothing else is going on.

Thank you for your support, I need it.
 
One thing I have changed just this week is I now drink a protein shake before going to the gym in the morning.
Click to expand...
:banghead::banghead::banghead:

Ok, so you've added ... what? 300 - 500 calories or more to your day. You didn't think to mention that up front?????

I'm sorry - I don't mean to be rude, but this is why it's SO frustrating to give advice sometimes. You said in your first post that you hadn't changed anything and you just don't understand why you're not losing weight any more - or losing at the same rate.

Then, days later you say "oh yeah, btw, I've added a protein shake in the mornings" and you're not sure if it makes a difference or not??

Really?
 
No actually it's included in my calorie count. Instead of having it AFTER I work out I have it BEFORE I work out and its 120 calories, 2 carbs, 23gm protein.

So you know your response is extremely rude, you should check before blasting someone on a forum. Don’t bother replying to my post, I won’t be wasting my time here any longer.
 
Water, Water, WATER!!!

FitDad said:
Thanks for the replies; so I just turned 45, and 6' tall. I do drink water, typically about 6-8 8oz glasses a day. I don't typically drink soda, I may have had one diet soda in the last 3 weeks. I do have coffee in the morning but I usually drink it black. I don't use any sweeteners..
Click to expand...

As for me, I'm 6'0 and about to turn 31. The one thing that stood out to me was your water intake. The old theory of 8-8oz glasses of water is outdated. The health professionals here in the military have told me that new studies show the human body actually needs 80-90 oz of water at least. Now, they have added coffee and tea into the water catagory as long as it's natural without any added sugar or milk.

From my own experience, if I notice a plateu on the scale, I increase my water intake and can instantly see my weight begin to decrease again. On an average day I drink right in that range of 80-90oz. When I increase I drink upto 120-130 oz of water a day. You might pee alot, but will feel much better.
 
Hey Fit Dad,

The fact that you are keeping such detailed counts of your calories, protein, sodium, etc., makes it clear to me that you plan on making something happen for you. A manager I worked for when I first went out into the working world told me something that I will never forget. He said "if you are not frustrated, you probably aren't learning anything." I do not believe in a lot of grief and anxiety, but when you get frustrated, you are about ready for a breakthrough.

I am no expert, but at 254 pounds, 45 years old and 6' tall, you have a BMR of 2256.82 cal/day. There are plenty of basal metabolic rate calculators on the web, I just used one of them. You are also doing a great exercise regime. So, you are burning a whole lot more calories.

So there are possibilities why your weight is not moving:

1. Too much sodium in your diet is keeping you from dropping water weight. Do you eat any processed food with too much salt? Do you salt your food heavily?

2. Unaccounted for calories in your diet?

3. Lazy thyroid

I think that doing a check up with a good health or fitness doctor that can do the blood thing and all might be a good idea.

I am hoping that this helps.

Frank
 
Frank, SMabrey,
Appreciate the helpful advice you and the other members provided. To answer your questions I log everything I eat and measure/weight/log, it’s a habit now. I stay as far away from processed foods as I can, the only exception are protein shakes (accounted for in my calorie count). I don’t add salt on anything, I count my sodium religiously.. If I look at the ingredients of something and the sodium daily % is above 10% I put it back and don’t touch it. I did see my physician today, was not exactly the prognosis I was hoping for but it seems certain I have a thyroid problem. Not good news but not the end of the world either and I am hopeful. After the examination they did ultrasounds and did not like what they saw, now I go for biopsies Friday. Should get result and my blood work back soon. Anyway, thanks again for your advice, wish you all the best but I think I am done here, at least for now.

Best Regards,
Giovanni
 
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Hey Fit Dad,

When you look closer and closer at what you eat, you will find that you may be overlooking something or not accounting for something.

The answer is real. Do not give up nor do not thing you are a terminal medical problem of thyroid.

When you are really able to look clearly at what you are doing with your food, the answer will emerge. Keep looking.

I do not believe that this forum needs to be rude. Speak your truth and let others speak theirs. The truth does not need to be rude. Thanks for speaking your truth.

Frank
 
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