I need help

P

Penniedo

0
Hi. I could really use some help here.

I'm 44 years old, 5' 3" and weigh 128lbs. My body is in pretty good shape, very fit with lean muscle mass everywhere, everywhere except for my core area, I have those love handles right below my waist and a layer of fat in my lower abdomen and hips. I can feel the muscles hard as a rock under that layer of fat but you can't see them.

My diet consists of 4-6 small meals a day keeping my calorie intake around 1400 a day. My calories are consistently 35-40% protein, 35-40% carbs and 20-30% fat. On days that my fat is high it is always from good fats, eggs, chicken, nuts, etc. not crappy foods. I drink water all day and the only other thing I drink is tea, which I limit to 2 cups day.

I do cardio with light weights for at least an hour 5 days a week and lift heavy weights 3 days a week doing a full body workout, usually doing a pyramid or a push pull routine.

So I have been following this routine for 4 months, occasionally sneaking in a day of eating something "unhealthy" like a piece of pizza or a home cooked cheeseburger but I can honestly say, other than that I've been really good! I try to eat more calories every 3 days or so to keep my metabolism from going into a slump. So why haven't I lost a single pound and why do I still have this roll of body fat?? Suggestions please!!
 
Well, your BMR alone is 1300 calories a day...which puts 1400 cals a day as a bit low in my opinion.

Granted, you are 'fighting' your age...the older we get the less efficiently we burn fat, the fewer calories we need, and the body doesn't like to grow as much muscle. But I think you're too low on calories for your activity level so the body thinks its starving. when that happens it won't burn fat unless it has to, and 1400 cals is enough that it doesn't 'have to'. hell, coma patients get at least 1100 cals a day through their IV...and I suspect you're a little more active than that.

I'm not sure I follow your 'cardio with light weights 5 days a week/3 days of heavy fullbody training per week' program.
don't use weights for cardio...ride a bike, run/jog, hit the elliptical.

and how would you describe 'heavy fullbody workouts'? all freeweights? no more than 8 reps? feel like you got your ass kicked when you leave the gym? cuz after a fullbody, you should. the next day you should feel fine, but directly after a fullbody workout you should feel spent.

I'd like to see a more detailed explanation of your cardio/weight thing, and what you do for your heavy fullbody workout: exercises, weight used, sets performed, and reps per set.

Also, your carb ratio is too high for a good leaning out.
 
I thought about the fact my calories might be too low but I have a really hard time eating more, basically because it seems when I eat more I take in too much fat. Now like I said in my last post, it's good fats but still, I have this thing that if too much of my calories are comprised of fat, the fat I have around my middle will NEVER go away. You mentioned that my carb ratio is too high? Could you tell me what you recommend for ratios??

For cardio during the summer months I was running hills and biking. Now with the job I'm on I have 2 hours of free time in the morning but unfortunatly I can't leave to go run or go to the gym so I have been taping shows on FitTV, Body sculpt with Gilad, Cathe Fredrichs, Caribean Workout, I'm not sure if you are familiar with any of these but this is where most of my cardio has been coming from. They include Kickboxing, Step, Urban Rebounding, Resistance training, stability ball, usually I add ankle and wrist weights or hold a dumbell for extra resistance.

My weight lifting consists of freeweights. I usually do a pyramid, 3 rep cycles-- 12 with light weight, 10 with moderate weight and 8 with heavy weights than work my way back up. Or I will do 3 slow sets of 8 reps, depending on my mood. My weights range from 10lbs to 40lbs, I haven't been able to go any heavier without really screwing up my form and I can feel can the burn. I do chest flys, bench presses, pullovers, double arm rows, deadlifts, rear flys, lateral raises, front raises, kick backs, overhead presses, curls, leg presses, lunges, squats, calf raises and yes, I am completely wiped out when I am done.

I have no clue where to make changes in my routines. I feel like I am spending every free minute I have working out and I watch everything that goes in my mouth but I havent lost a single pound or inch in 4 months! Any help would be greatly appreciated!
 
Eh, I'd tweak the nutrition first. You can probably bump up calories a bit (add more lean protein). How long have you been doing this particular routine? If more than 6 weeks... change it.

I'd think that eating a bit more protein is your first option. I'd follow that with a better cardio program. Those tapes/shows work well for some folks, but if you're already in shape and are trying to lose the last few pounds... you really need to focus and kick things into gear. I'd look into an interval program that takes about 20 minutes to complete.

Your strength training should be okay (from what you've posted here). As the other poster mentioned.... it is possible to lean out more, but you'll need to focus on a muscle building program and NOT a fat loss program. Building some lean muscle (eating enough calories to build muscle and lifting heavy) may be all you need.
 
Thanks Lynn, I'll try adding more protein and up my calories a bit and see how that goes diet wise.

I don't know what you mean by a cardio interval program? Could you please give me some examples? I can only get to the gym once, maybe twice a week so most of my training has to be done at home.

Thanks!!
 
Lose the tricep kickbacks, they just aren't effective. look into skullcrushers or extensions behind the head.

it does sound like you are hitting the weights hard. Too often I see women at my gym doing endless reps with 3lb dumbbells...and of course they make no progress. my wife on the other hand will break a sweat on our first exercise of the day, and isn't afraid to put full plates on the bar when squatting (and more weight after that!).

Fat doesn't make you fat. CAlories make you fat, and arguable, carbs can be the easiest to store as fat, since they are used for energy. and all carbs are not equal. you pretty much can't eat too many leafy/fiberous vegetables, but you can over do it on fruit, and its easy to overdo it with starchy carbs liek potatoes and grains.
 
An interval cardio program means that you change intensity levels throughout the course of your workout. Intervals can be done on any cardio machine or done without a machine: jogging/sprinting, biking, swimming, etc.

An example of an interval program would be as follows:

Total Cardio Workout= 25 Minutes Activity= Jogging/Running

First 5 minutes- warm up

Then jogging for 2 minutes

Followed by running for a minute

Then jogging for 2 minutes

Followed by running for a minute

... and so on until you finish 25 minutes worth of the program.
 
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