Hey all. Like a lot of people, I'm having trouble losing the last few pounds sticking to me, and could probably use some fine tuning to my current strategy. I'm read through the FAQs on this board, and still have a few unanswered questions.
So here's what I'm doing right now to lose weight (and isn't working):
Diet:
Generally, six days a week I eat about a 2000 calorie diet. According to the BMR calculators, between about 2350 and 2400 calories daily is ideal for me to maintain my current weight, and between 1850 and 1900 is ideal for weight loss for me. Usually once or twice a week I break down and eat something pretty bad and go over my desired caloric intake (usually this happens after a day of eating healthy, leading to me having eaten about 1300 calories of healthy food, around 600 calories of alcohol and upwards of 1100 or 1200 calories of junk food).
The staples of my healthy diet are healthy proteins like baked chicken, hard boiled egg whites, canned tuna fish, peanut butter, yogurt and skim milk; relatively healthy complex carbs like flavored oatmeal, Cheerios or Special K, granola bars and whole wheat bread; simpler carbs like chick peas, grape jelly, grapes, bananas, avocado and a few others here and there; and whatever fats are associated with the above list. I also eat a good deal of relatively healthy canned soups (usually chicken noodle or something similar).
An example of what I might eat on an average day is:
Meal 1: 1 hard boiled egg, 1 bowl of cheerios
Meal 2: 1 peanut butter and jelly sandwich, a small bowl of chick peas
Meal 3: 1 granola bar, 1 banana
Meal 4: 1 can of soup, 1 bowl of oatmeal
Meal 5: 2 medium-sized pieces of baked chicken breast with barbecue sauce
Workout routine:
My routine is up in the air right now. To make it simpler to explain (both what I'm doing and what I've done in the past) here are the two most recent routines I've used:
Routine 1: Last Month
Monday: Weightlifting (arms, abs) followed by 30 minutes of cardio
Tuesday: 25 minutes of interval cardio
Wedneday: Weightlifting (legs, abs) followed by 30 minutes of cardio
Thursday: Nothing
Friday: Weightlifting (arms, abs) followed by 30 minutes of cardio
Saturday: Nothing
Sunday: 6-mile run
Routine 2: This month
Monday: 1 hour of cardio
Tuesday: 20 minutes of interval cardio
Wednesday: Nothing
Thursday: 20 minutes of interval cardio followed by 30 minutes of light cardio
Friday: 1 hour of cardio
Saturday: Nothing
Sunday: 6-mile (or more) run
In the past I've indulged in far more intensive workout strategies, the most successful of which was essentially the two strategies above on top of each other (ie, 3 weightlifting sessions, about 4 cardio workouts, 2 interval workouts and a run in any given week). I don't have time for that on top of my studies right now though
Now, here are my problems/ questions:
First, with the above system, I seem to consistently gain about a pound every week in spite of my efforts. This is probably due mostly to the weekly spurge I indulge in, and also to the fact that I don't eat enough fruits and veggies (I probably only eat an average of one piece every day or two).
I'm confused as to the best way to practice interval training. It seems unanimously agreed that it's best not to do more than about 20 minutes of interval training, but is it OK to do additional light cardio after an interval workout? Also, is it a good idea to jog lightly (or do the equivalent on an elyptical machine) on the light invertals while running on the heavy intervals, or is it better to simply walk and run alternately? Is it better to do interval workouts on the days when one lifts weights, or on the days between lifting routines?
In terms of running: It also seems unanimously agreed that doing too much cardio can be harmful. Does this apply to running as well? I've been going out on 6-mile jogs for a few months now, and since my conditioning (and my knees) are starting to improve, I can run upwards of 10 miles non-stop now (which takes me well over an hour). Should I limit my runs to a certain amount of time?
Currently I've cut out all the weightlifting from my schedule for the following reason: Because I'm limiting the number of calories I consume daily, I feel I'm not getting enough protein on a daily basis to make any true gains from my lifting (truly, I haven't gotten more than about 10% stronger in any of my lifts for months), and since my real goal right now is to lose a few pounds, I feel that would be better accomplished by simply doing more cardio and eating right to keep my metabolism burning properly. Am I wrong about this? Should I start lifting again, and if so, should I be doing a 'cutting' routine as opposed to a 'strength building' routine (maybe that's a question for the Weightlifting forum ).
Is drinking lots of diet soda or other foods with artificial sweeteners detrimental to weight loss in any way? Is drinking certain types of tea beneficial to weight loss (and if so, what kinds)? Is drinking coffee (not prior to working out) beneficial or detrimental to weight loss?
Thanks so much for any input you can offer
So here's what I'm doing right now to lose weight (and isn't working):
Diet:
Generally, six days a week I eat about a 2000 calorie diet. According to the BMR calculators, between about 2350 and 2400 calories daily is ideal for me to maintain my current weight, and between 1850 and 1900 is ideal for weight loss for me. Usually once or twice a week I break down and eat something pretty bad and go over my desired caloric intake (usually this happens after a day of eating healthy, leading to me having eaten about 1300 calories of healthy food, around 600 calories of alcohol and upwards of 1100 or 1200 calories of junk food).
The staples of my healthy diet are healthy proteins like baked chicken, hard boiled egg whites, canned tuna fish, peanut butter, yogurt and skim milk; relatively healthy complex carbs like flavored oatmeal, Cheerios or Special K, granola bars and whole wheat bread; simpler carbs like chick peas, grape jelly, grapes, bananas, avocado and a few others here and there; and whatever fats are associated with the above list. I also eat a good deal of relatively healthy canned soups (usually chicken noodle or something similar).
An example of what I might eat on an average day is:
Meal 1: 1 hard boiled egg, 1 bowl of cheerios
Meal 2: 1 peanut butter and jelly sandwich, a small bowl of chick peas
Meal 3: 1 granola bar, 1 banana
Meal 4: 1 can of soup, 1 bowl of oatmeal
Meal 5: 2 medium-sized pieces of baked chicken breast with barbecue sauce
Workout routine:
My routine is up in the air right now. To make it simpler to explain (both what I'm doing and what I've done in the past) here are the two most recent routines I've used:
Routine 1: Last Month
Monday: Weightlifting (arms, abs) followed by 30 minutes of cardio
Tuesday: 25 minutes of interval cardio
Wedneday: Weightlifting (legs, abs) followed by 30 minutes of cardio
Thursday: Nothing
Friday: Weightlifting (arms, abs) followed by 30 minutes of cardio
Saturday: Nothing
Sunday: 6-mile run
Routine 2: This month
Monday: 1 hour of cardio
Tuesday: 20 minutes of interval cardio
Wednesday: Nothing
Thursday: 20 minutes of interval cardio followed by 30 minutes of light cardio
Friday: 1 hour of cardio
Saturday: Nothing
Sunday: 6-mile (or more) run
In the past I've indulged in far more intensive workout strategies, the most successful of which was essentially the two strategies above on top of each other (ie, 3 weightlifting sessions, about 4 cardio workouts, 2 interval workouts and a run in any given week). I don't have time for that on top of my studies right now though
Now, here are my problems/ questions:
First, with the above system, I seem to consistently gain about a pound every week in spite of my efforts. This is probably due mostly to the weekly spurge I indulge in, and also to the fact that I don't eat enough fruits and veggies (I probably only eat an average of one piece every day or two).
I'm confused as to the best way to practice interval training. It seems unanimously agreed that it's best not to do more than about 20 minutes of interval training, but is it OK to do additional light cardio after an interval workout? Also, is it a good idea to jog lightly (or do the equivalent on an elyptical machine) on the light invertals while running on the heavy intervals, or is it better to simply walk and run alternately? Is it better to do interval workouts on the days when one lifts weights, or on the days between lifting routines?
In terms of running: It also seems unanimously agreed that doing too much cardio can be harmful. Does this apply to running as well? I've been going out on 6-mile jogs for a few months now, and since my conditioning (and my knees) are starting to improve, I can run upwards of 10 miles non-stop now (which takes me well over an hour). Should I limit my runs to a certain amount of time?
Currently I've cut out all the weightlifting from my schedule for the following reason: Because I'm limiting the number of calories I consume daily, I feel I'm not getting enough protein on a daily basis to make any true gains from my lifting (truly, I haven't gotten more than about 10% stronger in any of my lifts for months), and since my real goal right now is to lose a few pounds, I feel that would be better accomplished by simply doing more cardio and eating right to keep my metabolism burning properly. Am I wrong about this? Should I start lifting again, and if so, should I be doing a 'cutting' routine as opposed to a 'strength building' routine (maybe that's a question for the Weightlifting forum
).Is drinking lots of diet soda or other foods with artificial sweeteners detrimental to weight loss in any way? Is drinking certain types of tea beneficial to weight loss (and if so, what kinds)? Is drinking coffee (not prior to working out) beneficial or detrimental to weight loss?
Thanks so much for any input you can offer