Stickin' to it

Wow it's been a busy several days. My weight on weigh in day was 154.0 :( Nothing new to report. I was supposed to have a meeting yesterday to do body fat and orientation at my gym, and the trainer never showed up. :(

Last night was a bad meal night. I needed one and hope to stay on track now. Hope you all are doing well! I'll be back soon!
 
Hey Tasha. That sucks that trainer never showed up... Last night was kind of a bad food night for me too... Hang in there:)

-Sam
 
Here's to 140's by May 1. Thats my goal, too. I weighed 154 this morning as well. :( I completely deserved it, however. It was a bad, bad friday and saturday. I'm surprised that my weight wasn't worse. Hopefully it gets better by my weigh in on thursday.

Good luck on the c to 5k! Isn't it amazing how 25mins is actually do-able now??!!

I am very impressed by your work on the stair climber. I swear that machine was invented by the Devil himself! :D
 
Hey everybody!

So I went in today for my gym orientation. I had my body fat tested with calipers and it's higher than it should be for "my age" but it's good because I'm working on it.

I came in at 26.2% and I hope hope hope to be down within normal by the next month because I'm getting tested again. Normal for my age is 15-25%.

During the orientation, the trainer showed me 3 ab exercises and told me that my heartrate shouldn't go higher than 130 during cardio (for fat loss) unless I'm doing long distance running (which I told him I was training for a 5K). So on days for C25K, I'll do higher heart rate and days not C25K I'll do the 125-130 range except when climbing stairs because then, I'm gonna have to haul ass and there is no way to keep it down then. He also said I had a lot of strength and wasn't worried about my weight lifting, so guess I'm ok there.

My weight was up today and I'm not sure why. Scale hit 155.2 and I counted all my calories yesterday I ate 1200 give or take a few. Plus I worked out cardio and weights. Sodium was right and everything else was good. Fat was only 13G for the entire day. Hopefully it'll go back down tomorrow.

I have to head out for a volleyball game soon.
 
I'm totally not sure what's going on with my body. I'm exercising between 1.5 & 2 hours per day (sometimes more if I have volleyball game as well). I'm counting my calories and having between 1200 and 1500 and my weight went up, and is staying up. My sodium levels haven't been that bad.

2nd day in a row I'm at 155.2. I did abs, biceps, triceps, shoulders and chest for weights, I did 20 mins on the stair climber and 30 minutes on the elliptical and had a volleyball game last night. So I know I'm using up some calories somewhere. This just totally sucks.

Hope everyone else is doing well.
 
Hey Tasha,

Sorry to hear the scale isn't rewarding you with a loss for all the hard work you are doing. I kind of get the same feelings sometimes but, I am not as strict on my diet as I should be...

I'm no expert on here so I try not to offer detailed advice or anything... I do wonder if your calories might be a little low for all the exercise you are doing? I could be way way off here but, maybe you could ask Steve? He might know whats going on or what might help.

Next week my trainer is bringing me a specific diet to follow, so the shit is definitely going to hit the fan, lol :)

Have a great night and a good game,

-Sam
 
Hmmm? Well it could be a lot of factors I guess regarding your weight gain. There is so much to consider. I wish it worked the way it was supposed to - calories in calories out, right? Not!

BTW, how tall are you? I've never heard them do a body fat calculation with regards to age. But I guess they do. I say kudos to you for even having it done! I think they do it at the Y free for members, but I'm too chicken. :)

As far as the weight gain, maybe you should eat a little more than 1200? Keep it at 1400-1600 see if that helps? Sometimes more is less. :D

Good luck! Oh and don't forget to drink your water.
 
sammyboy24 said:
Hey Tasha,

Sorry to hear the scale isn't rewarding you with a loss for all the hard work you are doing. I kind of get the same feelings sometimes but, I am not as strict on my diet as I should be...

I'm no expert on here so I try not to offer detailed advice or anything... I do wonder if your calories might be a little low for all the exercise you are doing? I could be way way off here but, maybe you could ask Steve? He might know whats going on or what might help.

Next week my trainer is bringing me a specific diet to follow, so the shit is definitely going to hit the fan, lol :)

Have a great night and a good game,

-Sam
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Hey ya Sam. I also have been thinking my calories might be too low. I told hubby tonight that I was going to look at increasing to 1500-1600 per day instead. I'm hoping this does the trick. I have been trying to read some of the sticky notes around the forum as well and haven't found enough of an answer to suit me. Maybe I will ask Steve if my increase doesn't work.

When I told the trainer who I met with recently for the gym orientation that I had increased my calories to 1500-1600 because I was working out he asked me why. I informed him that I thought because I was working out so much I needed more calories but he seemed to think I was crazy for increasing my calories. Based on my BMR test in Feb I was at 1597. So at 1200 I wasn't that far below that and with working out, I am thinking I'm like 700 below per day. I dunno. I'm so lost because I'm getting conflicting information.
 
SweatPea said:
Hmmm? Well it could be a lot of factors I guess regarding your weight gain. There is so much to consider. I wish it worked the way it was supposed to - calories in calories out, right? Not!

BTW, how tall are you? I've never heard them do a body fat calculation with regards to age. But I guess they do. I say kudos to you for even having it done! I think they do it at the Y free for members, but I'm too chicken. :)

As far as the weight gain, maybe you should eat a little more than 1200? Keep it at 1400-1600 see if that helps? Sometimes more is less. :D

Good luck! Oh and don't forget to drink your water.
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Thanks Sweatpea for stopping by. I am 5'3". He did the body fat and then asked my age. I think for girls the body fat % can be lower but for women in their child birthing years it may need to be a little higher or something. I'm not sure.

I totally had thought about increasing it some and I seem to go back and forth between 1200 or so to 1500 or 1600 anyways. I'm just not sure what the whole deal is. I have been watching sodium and everything plus drinking my water too. Just really wish this whole thing were easy.

I have decided though that I am only going to weigh once per week. This way I don't get so distraught over the scales. So, from here on out, it's Thursday mornings and that's it. Dear Lord, please give me the strength to do this only on Thursdays. heheh.
 
I think trainers are just like that sometimes. I told my trainer once that I was trying to eat about 2000 cals per day. I told him I could do 1800 but I just thought 2000 seemed so much more livable and doable for me, plus with how much I was working out I thought it sounded okay. He told me to lower them to 1600 to 1800... I still havent, and don't know if I will. If I am working out like a madman I think 2000 cals per day is an excellent amount, especially for someone who is my size...

Next week he is bringing me a specific diet, like I already told you, I think. I'm a little scared to see what it consists of. He is trying to help me jumpstart my weightloss again and break thru my semi-plateau. Weighing in once per week is also a good idea because it is so easy to get caught up in what the scale says.

I'm not sure what the "good" amount for a woman's bf percentage is. I know their range is higher than the men's range because of breasts and child birthing and stuff. According to my trainer's little contraption he measured it with I'm still at 25.1% BF, which I don't think is accurate. He said the reading could be wrong due to the fact that it was first thing in the morning and I was dehydrated and hadn't eaten anything... I'm hoping and thinking mine is actually closer to 20 or 21%... Lets hope :)

-Sam
 
Thursday Morning Weigh IN- 154.4lbs

Wednesday Exercises: C25K 35 minutes treadmill 3.30 miles including 2 laps around the gym. Stair Climber: 15 minutes

Weights: Chest, Shoulders, Arms

Thursday Exercise: 1 Mile walking to/from class (I had to park far away).
Stair Climber: 30 minutes. Walking facing machine forward, walking up stairs backward, 20 floors of climbing every other step, and about 3 mins per side of walking sideways up stairs
Crosstrainer: 30 minutes on the fat burn mode and 1 lap around gym running and 2 laps around gym walking.


Today is my first day of not weighing every day. I'm having withdrawal, but I'm not going to get on the scale. I am already dressed for the day and have had cereal and some coffee. I'm really trying to weigh only once a week on Thursday's while keeping an understanding that I'm working my butt off and watching what I eat for the majority of the week so something IS going to happen. =)
 
I think you have to realize that trainers don't have all the answers either. I would ask him what his certs were too. I mean does he really have the background to be telling you what nutrients you need? I know that you shouldn't increase your cals a lot, but 1200 is not a magical number. Plus it's so close to 1000 that it's basically like eating nothing. How much do you figure you're burning per day? There are calculators online, and though they can be off, they're still a good tool to use. Maybe try one at sparkpeople? Or some other site that you "trust".

I would do what works for you. It doesn't sound like you've given the calorie thing long enough to see if it will work.

BTW, I weigh in everyday, but only count it on Fridays.
 
Ok so I just checked your bmr (online and I guess that is the calculator that does take into consideration of your age -- I used the BMR calculator at Discovery Health.) Anyway, it says that yours is a little under 1500. BTW, mine is too - just a bit more than yours. So you need to eat about 10343.9 cals to stay the same weight (per week). If you have a deficit of 3500 (the amount to lose 1 pound), then your caloric count would be 6843.9 for the week, which would be less than 1000 cals a day. So, that's why you need to account for the exercise. Because your BMR is only if you sat around all day long doing nothing at all.

There is an interactive tool on MSN it will take you thru the whole BMI, Metabolic rate, and what you need to cut out. I put in your info and you are very active, so I put in moderate exercise. I could go down to lite, and your cals would be lower, but even to lose weight your cals need to be higher than 1200. This calculator comes up with 1900 cals per day to "lose" weight. That's because it's also accounting for your activity. I would play around with a few calculators like this to come up with a good goal for yourself. Here's the one I was playing with:
 
Its such a tricky thing trying to figure out the calorie/exercise thing. There are so many places that tell you they have "the answer" but its so much more confusing than that. I've been finding that the whole 3500cal in a pound thing aggravating because sometimes it doesn't seem to take that much to boost my weight up. Its very frustrating.

Its too soon to see if you're plateauing a bit. No matter what the scale says...you're muscles are getting bigger and your cardiovascular system is improving. That in itself is HUGE. The weight has to come off it you're working out that hard. One day it'll probably drop big time.

Welcome to the Thursday Weigh-in Club. I have managed to ween myself off the daily weighing for three weeks now. I'm starting to get my sanity back. LOL.

Have a great muscle-burning week!
 
Thank you so much Sweatpea and Lucious. It has been so hard trying to keep myself off of the scale since Thursday, but I have done it. This weekend, well, it wasn't a great eating time for me. It is right before TOM and I was weak. I have been crazing pizza for a week plus now, and I had some from papa john's and it wasn't all that I wanted it to be. From here on out, it's going to be pizza made from home and that's it. No more ordering out that fatty greasy mess.

I have no idea where I am as far as weight is concerned because after my somewhat bad weekend, I haven't weighed. I will continue to strive for Thursday before I touch the scale. It will be 1 week since I weighed.

Last night I went to the gym and did C25K training. I ran the 3.1 miles in 32:50. I have started trying to increase my time too quickly I think, and haven't managed a 2nd time at completing the 25 minutes nonstop. I'm continuing to stay in week 7 though until I can get my 25 minutes finished all at once and will then move on to week 8.

Yesterday's Food:
Breakfast: Quaker Oatmeal Nutrition for women Vanilla & cinnamon Oatmeal

Lunch: Fresh salad w/7 grilled shrimp, 2% mexi cheese & light ranch dressing & croutons

Dinner: 1.5 turkey hot dogs, 1 whole wheat bun and some mustard & ketchup.

Snack: Fiber One Oats and PB bar.
 



Ok, I just went through this thing and it told me in order to lose 1lb per week, I should be consuming 2245 cals per day. And I just calculated 1700 cals for 2lbs per week. Hmmm. But it also said my BMI is 27.2 (which doesn't taken into consideration my muscle) and my BMI tested at the gym was 26.2.

I wish this whole process was much easier.
 
Scales are such bastards. I've actually been on the Thursday morning plan like you for a while, but I weigh myself several other times during the week for kicks- I just don't let it phase me when a screwy number comes up. Maybe I have a crappy scale, but my weight fluctuates dramatically throughout the week.

Apparently, I gained 4lbs once in about 3 days and then lost 5lbs over the following 4 days. Go figure! I think a lot of it may not have to do with changes in bodily fat content, but moreso to do with body water content or intestinal content (kinda nasty to think about, but that stuff counts, too). I'm a male, but I would guess menstrual cycles would have a big effect on weight fluctuations for women. I guess your logic is like mine, that your body might be closest to being on the same part of the digestion/hydration cycle if we weigh at the same time each week. That's probably the best strategy if using the scale as the primary success metric, but unfortunately not foolproof.

From your stats, I think it would be impossible to gain fat while eating <1600 cals and doing the exercise you do. The scale fluctuations just aren't giving you a good representation of whatever might be going on in your body. Keep on truckin' and the scales will catch up.
 
uyis11 said:
From your stats, I think it would be impossible to gain fat while eating <1600 cals and doing the exercise you do. The scale fluctuations just aren't giving you a good representation of whatever might be going on in your body. Keep on truckin' and the scales will catch up.
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Welcome to the WLF and thanks for stopping by and the encouragement. I'm pretty sure that I'm not gaining any additional fat, but I just wish I could see more where the scale is concerned and finally realize that I'm beginning to let the scale rule me (thus the reason I'm trying to give it a break and having withdrawal) :) At any rate, I'm noticing some small changes in body composition so something IS happening.

I have quite a bit of shoulder definition as well as more definition in other areas as well. Today was a cardio (non c25k day) and legs/back. I just finished my cardio and did 106 floors on the stair master 30 mins on Fat burner level 5. I ran on the track to the next machine, the cross trainer, and did another 30 minutes on that at a weight loss intensity trying to keep my hr 120-130 bpm.

In about an hour or so we'll go back and do our legs and back workout. This is going to be fun!
 
Wow! Look at all that cardio and weights! Your doing great.

I know what you mean about pizza not being all that... I had a piece of Papa Johns the other night that wasn't very good, and definitely wasn't worth the calories it contained...

Sorry the scale is confusing, I feel the same way most of the time. At least you are starting to really notice a difference in the composition/shape of your body, that is terrific!:)

have a great nite at the gym, work those legs lady;)

-Sam
 
sammyboy24 said:
Wow! Look at all that cardio and weights! Your doing great.

I know what you mean about pizza not being all that... I had a piece of Papa Johns the other night that wasn't very good, and definitely wasn't worth the calories it contained...

Sorry the scale is confusing, I feel the same way most of the time. At least you are starting to really notice a difference in the composition/shape of your body, that is terrific!:)

have a great nite at the gym, work those legs lady;)

-Sam
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Thanks Sam.

We actually decided to do upper body instead of legs as both of us are nursing some minor leg/hip problems. But we totally worked our Chest/Arms and Shoulders. Tonight we are supposed to do legs and some additional cardio.

I have been in the bed almost all day today with major TOM issues. And my left hip flexor is giving me problems. :( I hope I make it to the gym tonight. Tomorrow is weigh in day.
 
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