Weight won't budge, please help!

Hi Folks, sorry but this is going to be a somewhat long post since I want it to be detailed enough so that I can figure out what's wrong asap.

I am 29 years old, 5' 8 1/2" tall and my usual weight is a fit 185lbs - Since I was 24, about once a year I would put on 10lbs over a month or so just to take a break from always eating so clean. Once I hit the 10lb mark I would go back on my diet which is essentially, low fat, no sugar and no fried foods, so like, sandwiches, salads, steak and veggies etc. Along with going back to my normal eating habits I hit the gym monday, wednesday and friday for cardio circuit training where I burn 800 - 900 calories in an hour - 3 weeks and the 10lbs would be gone. In late 2009 I made the mistake of extending my diet break and wound up gaining 25lbs... This time when I went to lose the weight my usually way, instead of losing 2.5lbs a week, I was dropping at a rate of about 1lb each week with weight fluctuations that would make you want to rip your hair out... It took me from October 2009 to about may 2010 to get back down to 185 (187 actually). So then late 2010 rolls around and my usual 10lb gain became 15lbs (****ed up again, but that was the last time!) and now I'm busting my ass training harder then I ever have and eating excellently but the weight just won't budge... it's moving even slow then the last time! I've dropped 4lbs in 6 weeks!

Now, I've got a 2 week trip to Florida coming in 6 weeks and I NEED to drop this weight before then but nothing seems to be doing the trick... Here is what a general day of meals are for me...

WAKEUP: 10:30AM

MEAL 1: 11:00AM
Large bowl of All-Bran w/ skim milk
Coffee w/ skim milk
Couple of Egg whites from a carton
Banana or piece of fruit

MEAL 2: 2:30PM
Piece of fruit or Turkey sandwich on whole wheat (depending on how hungry I am)

MEAL 3: 6:30PM
Boneless, skinless BBQ chicken breast
Cup of brown Rice
Cup or so of steamed veggies

MEAL 4: 9:00PM
2 little cups of fat free, no added sugar yogurt

MEAL 5: 11:30PM
Boneless, skinless BBQ chicken breast
Cup of Steamed baby potatoes
Cup or so of steamed veggies

MEAL 6: 1:30AM
Sliced up apple, sometimes two.

BEDTIME: 2:30AM

I consider myself pretty knowledgeable with training and nutrition after training 3 days a week for a few years with a personal trainer and nutritionist, but for some reason I cannot seem to get this weight moving at a decent rate.

I go to the gym usually 4 days a week right now for an hour burning 800-900 calories an hour, with an average heartrate of around 155 and a max heartrate of about 185 - Here is a general day from the program I follow...

2 Minute Sprint @ 6.8mph
1 Arm Dmbl Bench Press (50 x 12)
Chin Ups (BW x 7-9)
Body Weight Squats (BW x 25)
*Repeat 3 times (Including sprint)

2 Minute Sprint @ 6.8mph
Bent Over Dmbl Flys (20 x 15)
Seated Dmbl Shoulder Press (50 x 10-12)
Lunge w/ Dumbbell Curls (BW+15's x 16)
*Repeat 3 times (Including sprint)

Takes about 10 minutes p/circuit, total of 60 mins

I usually get out for a walk in the afternoon most days for 1-2 hours and burn about 300 calories p/hour when doing so (I love heart rate monitors), and work from 6PM to Midnight working in an office at a desk.

My water intake isn't the greatest but I drink a liter of water at the gym and usually another 1 - 1.5 liters throughout the day so on gym days I get in 2-2.5L and on non gym days I get in 1-1.5L.

Oh, I also wanted to pass along that I drink light to moderately on the weekends... But I only drink water mixed with vodka, or white wine, as well I weigh myself every morning and this is the log of my weight movement for the last few weeks while eating as specified above and training 4 days a week as specified above...

(bounce means the scale bounced between two weights before settling on the one to the left)

MAR 31: 203.0
APR 01: 202.5
APR 02: 203.5

GOAL 202

APR 03: 202.5
APR 04: n/a (didn't weigh myself)
APR 05: 205.0
APR 06: 202.0
APR 07: 202.0 / 201.5
APR 08: 201.5 / 201.0 (bounce)
APR 09: 200.5 / 201.0 (bounce)

GOAL 200

APR 10: 202.0
APR 11: n/a (didn't weigh myself)
APR 12: 203.0 (202.5 bounce)
APR 13: 201.0 (201.5 bounce)
APR 14: 201.0
APR 15: 201.0 (201.5 bounce)
APR 16: 201.5

GOAL 198

APR 17: 202.5
APR 18: 201.5
APR 19: 201.0
APR 20: 200.0
APR 21: 200.0
APR 22: 200.0
APR 23:

GOAL 196

If someone can help me pinpoint what exactly is causing my weight to come off so slowly then I promise you I will never gain more then 5lbs at a time for the rest of my life! I'm getting really worries that I wont be able to get down any more then another 5lbs in the 6 weeks I have remaining, please help, it's really getting me down and making me depressed day to day :(

Sorry for the long post, but like I said I wanted to give as much detail as possible... Thank you to anyone who has read this far and has some useful advice to pass along!
 
Hi Nick,

I can see you are really invested. I can see a few things in your choice of food that could need improving(not a bad choice of diet though :) ). One thing that could be slowing your weight loss is your starchy carb intake from potatoes, rice and banana. I suggest that you substitute these with more complex carbs such leafy greens. I'm also a believer of raw vegies rather than steamed. Skinless, boneless chicken is reliably fat free but you might benefit better if you incorporated some lean red meats as these have greater iron source and will fuel your workout better(also good to have variety :) ). I think a high protein breakfast would serve you better(I prefer the yellow of the eggs :) ). And, just my opinion but cut back/cut out milk. Replace the milk in cereal with fruit juice or better still combine cereal or muesli with fruit.

As for your routine, its a nice base but for weight loss in particular 2 min sprints are not enough (sorry). You see, your metabolic rate has to be conditioned by extended cardio exercises. There are many options. the simple one being just jogging(or cycling, doesn't have to be jogging all the time) for a good 20-30 mins 3x a week(depending on your level of fitness and stamina). Another option is to use interval training if your a fan of sprints. It goes; 10 secs sprint/20 sec jogging pace and repeat this 10-20 times. Theres also something called HIIT which similar but i'm not clear on it(you'll find plenty of reference to it in this forum). And then there is the tabata but that more for muscle growth.

I hope this has been helpful. Remember, fitness and exercise is more of a process than an outcome. I hope that you enjoy your workouts regardless of outcome. :)

all the best
 
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