Desperately Seeking Diet & Exercise Advice

[hellewise]

Hello Ladies.

I am in desperate need of advice. I was referred to this site by a wonderful guy friend who thought your expertise could be of some assistance to me.

A little about myself: I am a 29yr old female who has been obese most of her adult life. Over the last 18 months I have managed to lose 80lbs through diet and exercise. I know what an incredible achievement this is, but still have much further to go. I currently exercise 4 days a week for a minimum of an hour each day. I do both cardio and weights and routinely change my workout regime to keep things fresh. However, for the last 4 months I have hit a wall and have not lost a single pound. I am hoping to lose another 40lbs to be at a healthy weight. I have no aspirations to be a swimsuit model and am realistic about my body. My goals are first and foremost to improve my health and fitness.

I have changed my diet to include more protein by replacing one meal per day with a whey protein shake. My friend recommended adding another shake on workout days which I do as well. I have added more vegetables and fruit to my diet as well and try to get in my healthy food guidelines each day.

Here is a sample menu for a typical day:

Breakfast Protein Shake
Snack - Special K Bar
Lunch - Lean Cuisine or Subway type sandwich (usually lean meat, veggies, no dressing)
Dinner - Chicken breast, Veggies or Salad, Fruit
Snack - Fruit or Additional Protein Shake on workout days

My calories are on target for my weight loss goals as my BMR is 1700.

I have also recently begun the DermaTherm Stack (just 2 days ago) in hopes that it will provide me with some added benefit.

My BMI is still high at 30. I am hoping to get it down to 23. I am 5'8 (average to tall for a girl) and built with broad shoulders and wide hips. Even at my thinnest (high school) and a healthy weight, I was never tiny. My goal is to get down to 160 and a size 8-10.

I will admit that I am not perfect and have days where my diet slips up. But it is usually never so bad that the next day a solid workout at the gym doesnt get me feeling right back to where I should be. I am a high school teacher and my daily schedule is fairly hectic, so any meal suggestions need to be easy and simple, although I can prepare food the night before. Also, I am deathly allergic to seafood, so I can not have any meals that include fish of any kind.

If anyone has any advice for a workout routine or diet changes, I could use the help. I am rapidly losing faith in myself and need help getting back on track with my goals.

Thanks so much!

 

[Tatyana]

Hello Ladies.

I am in desperate need of advice. I was referred to this site by a wonderful guy friend who thought your expertise could be of some assistance to me.

A little about myself: I am a 29yr old female who has been obese most of her adult life. Over the last 18 months I have managed to lose 80lbs through diet and exercise. I know what an incredible achievement this is, but still have much further to go. I currently exercise 4 days a week for a minimum of an hour each day. I do both cardio and weights and routinely change my workout regime to keep things fresh. However, for the last 4 months I have hit a wall and have not lost a single pound. I am hoping to lose another 40lbs to be at a healthy weight. I have no aspirations to be a swimsuit model and am realistic about my body. My goals are first and foremost to improve my health and fitness.

I have changed my diet to include more protein by replacing one meal per day with a whey protein shake. My friend recommended adding another shake on workout days which I do as well. I have added more vegetables and fruit to my diet as well and try to get in my healthy food guidelines each day.

Here is a sample menu for a typical day:

Breakfast Protein Shake
Add 30 g of oatmeal
Snack - Special K Bar
Fruit or nuts is preferable, these are junk food really, or make your own granola bars or protein bars.
Lunch - Lean Cuisine or Subway type sandwich (usually lean meat, veggies, no dressing)
Again, you are going to have to start eating whole natural foods, I would repeat your dinner here, or have something like a baked potatoe with cottage cheese and a salad.
Dinner - Chicken breast, Veggies or Salad, Fruit
Snack - Fruit or Additional Protein Shake on workout days
You need a small meal after training.

My calories are on target for my weight loss goals as my BMR is 1700.

Are you calories 1700 kcals/day? Your BMR is what your body needs just to keep your heart beating, nerves firing, it doesn't include any exercise.

If you are continually eating at your BMR,your metabolism will slow and fat loss wil also slow down.

I have also recently begun the DermaTherm Stack (just 2 days ago) in hopes that it will provide me with some added benefit.

My BMI is still high at 30. I am hoping to get it down to 23. I am 5'8 (average to tall for a girl) and built with broad shoulders and wide hips. Even at my thinnest (high school) and a healthy weight, I was never tiny. My goal is to get down to 160 and a size 8-10.

I will admit that I am not perfect and have days where my diet slips up. But it is usually never so bad that the next day a solid workout at the gym doesnt get me feeling right back to where I should be. I am a high school teacher and my daily schedule is fairly hectic, so any meal suggestions need to be easy and simple, although I can prepare food the night before. Also, I am deathly allergic to seafood, so I can not have any meals that include fish of any kind.

If anyone has any advice for a workout routine or diet changes, I could use the help. I am rapidly losing faith in myself and need help getting back on track with my goals.

Thanks so much!

Congrats on your weight loss so far.

This is the issue, your body can tolerate more of a calorie deficit when your bodyfat is higher.

When your bodyfat starts to drop, there are hormonal systems in the body (leptin and gherelin) that signal the hypothalamus to slow the metabolism and to EAT MORE.

Also the whole liquid calorie thing - it is though our bodies don't really recongnise them, so they are not really going to satisfy hunger.

A couple of other things you may want to consider, cardio is great, but if you are doing the same sort of cardio or cardio at the same sort of intensity, then it becomes less effective.

A heart rate monitor is a great little toy to see if your cardio is effective.

The other thing that is often missing for women is lifting weights with intensity. This is really hard for some people to get, it does involve seriously pushing yourself, and it does hurt.

For example, using 2.5 lb dumbells for bench flys may be a bit difficult at first for some ladies, but if you don't increase the weight and keep doing the standard three sets of 12+ reps, there is little benefit beyond endurance training.

No GH release, no increased metabolism, no muscle hypertrophy, no extra fat burning capacity with training this way.

Also, what is your sleep pattern like?

 

[nikkita]

You can increase your metabolism by having your meals with 3 hours intervals for each, and add protein to each meal.

Some extra suggestions and ideas...

1/
>Breakfast Protein Shake
Or... 3-4 egg whites in omelet with mushrooms or spinach
>Add 30 g of oatmeal

2/
>Snack - Special K Bar
>Fruit or nuts is preferable, these are junk food really, or
>make your own granola bars or protein bars.

Here you could add whey protein, and grapefruit or melon.

3/
>Lunch - Lean Cuisine or Subway type sandwich (usually lean >meat, veggies, no dressing)

Chicken or Turkey breast, with veggies and brown rice or yam.
If you eat your sandwich have it with whole grain bread.
It would be better if you prepare you own sandwich, because subway type meat has lots of conservatives. Go always for natural.

4/Mid-evening
Snack - Fruit and protein Shake

5/
>Dinner - Chicken breast, Veggies or Salad

This one looks ok but refrain your fruit up to 6 pm.

By the way... how much water are you drinking??

About your cardio, what are you doing and at what intensity??

 

[hellewise]

My calories for the day are usually between 1400 and 1500. I was told that to drop weight you need to lower your calories from your BMR. Is that wrong?

According to the cardio machines I use, I am burning 600 calories each time I do cardio (which is 4 days a week). I also do weights 2 times a week, but have been using much heavier weights... 20 lbs on average. Is this too much? I use these with squats and lunges. Then (on varied days) I use the leg press, inner/outer thighs, triceps, biceps, and ab machines. My cardio is usually either the elliptical or the treadmill. I do a solid 45-50 minutes of the cardio all 4 days, then hit the machines. Sometimes i'll do 30 minutes cardio, 25 minutes machines, 20 minutes cardio to end my workout. I get bored easily so I have to change things up.

My workout partner kicks my butt pretty hard most of the time. He doesn't let me get away with doing "girlie" exercise of, well, any kind. I don't do 50 lbs weights, that's for sure, but 20-25 lb bells in each hand on average. Also, when I do the machines, he has me do the weight at a tolerance where I can do 20 reps evenly (though not easily), then move on to another machine with little rest in between, so it is almost like an additional cardio workout with the machines - gets my heart rate going.

Does anyone have any easy to prepare meals that will hold well for several hours in my classroom? I have access to a microwave, but that is all.

I tend to sleep poorly, but am in bed for a solid 7 hours each night. I have never been a good sleeper, but I lie down at about 10:30 Sun-Thurs and am up at 6am. Friday and Saturday night vary depending on my plans (as I'm sure they do for most people with a social life).

I have also recently started to add powdered fiber (benefiber) to my protein shakes. As for the water, I am terrible at getting enough. Mostly because I have to be extremely careful about how much liquid I take in, as I can't take a bathroom break whenever I want. I am stuck in the classroom for a full 4 hour stretch before I get a break (from 8am until 12 Noon everyday). This shouldn't be an excuse for not drinking enough water, I know, but I really have to be careful about the liquid I drink during the day. I very well could add more water in the afternoon and evening. I tend to drink a lot of iced tea, fruit juices (like V8), and crystal light.

Thanks for the advice ladies... keep it coming!

 

[ironwings]

Just to add to Tats nutrition advice: the reason you want to stay away from packaged meals or fast food (even subway) is the sodium content (and sometimes ever sugar) that is used to preserve the food. Start looking closely at the sodium on your food labels. By preparing meals over the weekend with whole foods you can prepare your own Lean Cuisine and subway meals - without the sodium! Put some chicken in the crock pot with some water and cook all day - divide it out in to go containers for the week (you can add veggies etc..) This is always the biggest struggle for everyone. They want to eat healthy but can't get into a routine of fixing and preparing healthy meals to have through the week. I know it is tough - I struggle too! I have a similar schedule with no breaks sometimes for 6 or 7 hours at a time! But know that nutrition is such a HUGE part of your success. It has to be on key 90% of the time (those are my silly rules).

Congrats on your weight loss - keep it coming!

 

[Tatyana]

My calories for the day are usually between 1400 and 1500. I was told that to drop weight you need to lower your calories from your BMR. Is that wrong?

You are missing a bit of the equation hun.


This is from the diet sticky at the top of the forum

To calculate your BMR based on your total body weight (Harris-Benedict Formula)

BMR= basal metabolic rate

BMR (women) = 665 + (9.6 x weight in Kg) + (1.8 x height in cm) - (4.7 x age in years)

BMR (men) = 66 + (13.7 x weight in Kg) + (5 x height in cm) - (6.8 x age in years)

To calculate your BMR based on lean body weight (Katch-McArdle Formula)

BMR (both sexes) = 370 + (21.6 x lean mass in kg)

THis will give you what your body requires for all of your basic biological processes, such as digestion, nerve transmission, respiration etc, or your basal metabolic rate.

NEVER DROP YOUR CALORIES BELOW THIS LEVEL!!!!!

To figure out how many calories you need for the day multiply your BMR by your activity levels
Sedentary BMR x 1.2 no exercise/desk job
Lightly active BMR x 1.375 light exercise/sports 1-3 days/week
Moderately active BMR x 1.55 moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/week
Very active BMR x 1.725 hard exercise/sports 6-7 days/week
Extremely active BMR x 1.9 hard daily training/physical job or training 2x/day

To lose weight/fat, obviously, you do need to burn more calories than you need!!
So, take about 10-20 % off of your total calorie requirements

To put on weight/muscle, you need more calories than your basic daily needs so ADD about 10-20% to your total calorie daily requirements.

If you change your calorie intake too drastically, your body may not do what you want it to do.

'Starvation' diets (very low calorie) only work on about 5% of the population, and too low calories or rapid 'weight' loss will probably be muscle and water, rather than the fat you want.

Similarily if you go from a 2500 kcal/day average to 4000 kcals, you are more likely putting on FAT and water rather than muscle.


According to the cardio machines I use, I am burning 600 calories each time I do cardio (which is 4 days a week).

They are not accurate unless you program in your weight and if it tracks your heart rate the entire time.

I found that the cardio machine grossly over estimated how many calories I was burning when I wore my own heart rate monitor, sometimes by as much as 50%.

I would only burn 600 kcals in an hour when I was cycling the 13 miles to work, or if I ran at a very fast pace.

I also do weights 2 times a week, but have been using much heavier weights... 20 lbs on average. Is this too much? I use these with squats and lunges.

20 lbs is not heavy enough hun, I am sure you have carried more weigh home after shoe shopping. Especially for training legs.

If you have good form on squats and lunges, I would recommend you increase the weight.

I move A LOT of weight, but I am currently squatting over 200 lbs, and leg pressing close to 500 lbs.

It took me awhile to get there, but in all honesty, if you stick to the really light thing, really, you are wasting your time.

Then (on varied days) I use the leg press, inner/outer thighs, triceps, biceps, and ab machines. My cardio is usually either the elliptical or the treadmill. I do a solid 45-50 minutes of the cardio all 4 days, then hit the machines. Sometimes i'll do 30 minutes cardio, 25 minutes machines, 20 minutes cardio to end my workout. I get bored easily so I have to change things up.

Machines are good to start with, but I found I made far better progress with free weight, free squats, smith machine lunges.

I personally think that the inner and outer thigh machines are ineffective. Purely a psychological exercise.

My workout partner kicks my butt pretty hard most of the time. He doesn't let me get away with doing "girlie" exercise of, well, any kind. I don't do 50 lbs weights, that's for sure, but 20-25 lb bells in each hand on average. Also, when I do the machines, he has me do the weight at a tolerance where I can do 20 reps evenly (though not easily), then move on to another machine with little rest in between, so it is almost like an additional cardio workout with the machines - gets my heart rate going.

Does anyone have any easy to prepare meals that will hold well for several hours in my classroom? I have access to a microwave, but that is all.

Get a cool bag, there are so many now that are really pretty and look a lot like handbags. Prepare larger meals in advance, things like homemade chilis and stews are great as they also freeze really well and double as cool packs.

I tend to sleep poorly, but am in bed for a solid 7 hours each night. I have never been a good sleeper, but I lie down at about 10:30 Sun-Thurs and am up at 6am. Friday and Saturday night vary depending on my plans (as I'm sure they do for most people with a social life).

I have also recently started to add powdered fiber (benefiber) to my protein shakes. As for the water, I am terrible at getting enough. Mostly because I have to be extremely careful about how much liquid I take in, as I can't take a bathroom break whenever I want. I am stuck in the classroom for a full 4 hour stretch before I get a break (from 8am until 12 Noon everyday). This shouldn't be an excuse for not drinking enough water, I know, but I really have to be careful about the liquid I drink during the day. I very well could add more water in the afternoon and evening. I tend to drink a lot of iced tea, fruit juices (like V8), and crystal light.

Thanks for the advice ladies... keep it coming!

..................................................

 

[nikkita]

My opinion is that sometimes a person can get the idea that the only way of reducing weight is by reducing calories... even if sometimes reducing them can help, you really need to understand the whole equation for fat loss.

By what you wrote I can tell you, due to my experience, that is not exercise what is getting you in a plateau, sure there can be some modifications.

The successful equation elements for achieving your goals is: food (diet + water), rest (sleep + reduced stress), exercise.

You need to take a deep look into your food habits:

1/ Fiber
If you add fiber, instead of powdered have a big tupperware with a vegetable salad that you can eat with your meals during the day. You can include spinach, broccoli, carrot, red or yellow pepper, tomato, cucumber.

This will give you more natural fiber and give your body vitamins and minerals.

2/ Water consumption.
I will put it simple, if you don't drink water you will not see any progress. Why? because water aids your body to process the food you eat, hidrate you and boost your metabolism.

If you want to see more progress instead of thinking about reducing more calories from your diet, start by including 2-3 liters of water per day (at least) when you take them is up to you.

If you drink ice tea or crystal light... calculate if the quantity adds up to the 2-3 liters of water you need per day.

3/ Meals
You don't need to complicate yourself to prepare very elaborate meals. In this regard I can just tell you to find a way to simplify what you already eat, with or without microwave.

4/ Rest
It will be good if you could get solid 8 hour sleep.

 

[hellewise]

Tatyana,

Based on the calculations above my BMR rose to 1800. Multiply this by the exercise rate of 1.375 (as I am guessing what I do would not be considered by you to be moderate exercise) and I get a new calorie intake of 2475. This seems outrageously high for a daily caloric intake. If I drop this by 20% to lose weight, I am still taking in 1980 calories per day. Did I miscalculate? Or am I just grossly undereating?

Also, is that caloric intake only for the days I exercise and I then drop back down to 1800 - 20% (or 1440) for non-exercise days?

On days that I work out (I go to the gym in the early evening - 5 or 6pm) is it better to eat my main dinner before or after I go?

I went to the store today and picked up lean turkey meats, 12 grain bread, a ton of vegetables, fruit, natural oatmeal, natural granola, plain, unsalted almonds, and fixings for veggie and bean chili. I plan to start making my lunch everyday rather than relying on the Lean Cuisine meals. You ladies are right. I should be eating less "packaged and prepared" meals. I am a terrible cook though, so i will have to see how well I do. Turkey sandwiches and chicken salads are easy though, so I can work those in without problem as well as preparing salad and cut vegetables the night before.

Can you recommend a workout routine for me that will help rip the weight off? The most important thing for me is that I need to be able to do it in 1 hr to 1 hr 15 mins. I go to a 24hr fitness Sport Gym, 4 times a week, usually SU/M and W/Th. My leg strength is decent, but I am pathetically weak in upper body. My leg press is 300. Keep in mind, I have really only been working out regularly for about 3-4 months now. My cardio tolerence has built up quite quickly though and I have noticed that I am hardly winded or sweating after 45 minutes at maximum height and resistance on the elliptical, whereas 2 months ago I thought I was going to die after 30 minutes of easy cardio. I do have bad knees though and find running nearly impossible.

I am willing to try anything, but you have to basically spell it out for me. I am a complete beginner when it comes to the gym and fitness routines. Areas I really need to focus on are Upper Arms, Stomach, and Thighs. These three places are where I carry most of my weight.

Lastly, what is your take on caffeine? How does it affect weightloss? For instance, if I drink 2 cans of diet soda a day... ? I know I am addicted as I get terrible headaches if I don't have some form... but how bad is it really?

Again, Thank you so much for the advice. You have no idea how much I appreciate it!

 

[Tatyana]

Tatyana,

Based on the calculations above my BMR rose to 1800. Multiply this by the exercise rate of 1.375 (as I am guessing what I do would not be considered by you to be moderate exercise) and I get a new calorie intake of 2475. This seems outrageously high for a daily caloric intake. If I drop this by 20% to lose weight, I am still taking in 1980 calories per day. Did I miscalculate? Or am I just grossly undereating?

You have been grossly undereating, which is the good news.

Think about it, would you have preferred to hear that you have to eat less?


Most food packets in the UK list the daily required calories for women as 2000 kcals/day. It is not an outrageous amount of calories at all.

I wouldn't jump to that immediately if you have been starving yourself, I would bump your calories up slowly, so to something like 1700/day for a week or two, then up to 2000.


Also, is that caloric intake only for the days I exercise and I then drop back down to 1800 - 20% (or 1440) for non-exercise days?

On days that I work out (I go to the gym in the early evening - 5 or 6pm) is it better to eat my main dinner before or after I go?

I went to the store today and picked up lean turkey meats, 12 grain bread, a ton of vegetables, fruit, natural oatmeal, natural granola, plain, unsalted almonds, and fixings for veggie and bean chili. I plan to start making my lunch everyday rather than relying on the Lean Cuisine meals. You ladies are right. I should be eating less "packaged and prepared" meals. I am a terrible cook though, so i will have to see how well I do. Turkey sandwiches and chicken salads are easy though, so I can work those in without problem as well as preparing salad and cut vegetables the night before.

Can you recommend a workout routine for me that will help rip the weight off? The most important thing for me is that I need to be able to do it in 1 hr to 1 hr 15 mins. I go to a 24hr fitness Sport Gym, 4 times a week, usually SU/M and W/Th. My leg strength is decent, but I am pathetically weak in upper body. My leg press is 300. Keep in mind, I have really only been working out regularly for about 3-4 months now. My cardio tolerence has built up quite quickly though and I have noticed that I am hardly winded or sweating after 45 minutes at maximum height and resistance on the elliptical, whereas 2 months ago I thought I was going to die after 30 minutes of easy cardio. I do have bad knees though and find running nearly impossible.

Cardio is great for creating a calorie deficit and for cardiovascular health, but I think that weight training is far superior way of getting the body that most women want.

The amount of time you have is fine, you can do your weights in 30-45 min, then do 30-45 min of cardio afterwards.

As far as workouts go, I think that I will find more beginning workouts and post them in the training sticky. This is one of the most difficult bits for women, working out how to train with weights.



I am willing to try anything, but you have to basically spell it out for me. I am a complete beginner when it comes to the gym and fitness routines. Areas I really need to focus on are Upper Arms, Stomach, and Thighs. These three places are where I carry most of my weight.

Lastly, what is your take on caffeine? How does it affect weightloss? For instance, if I drink 2 cans of diet soda a day... ? I know I am addicted as I get terrible headaches if I don't have some form... but how bad is it really?

Caffeine isn't bad in small doses, in fact, as it is quite high in anti-oxidants, it has been found to be a lot better than most people had previously thought.


Again, Thank you so much for the advice. You have no idea how much I appreciate it!

No problem hun.

A lot of this will be individual,and you have to figure out what works for you.

It is an entire learning process,it is not going to change in a day, a week or even a month.

I am still learning things about dieting and training and how my body responds to it, and as I put on more muscle, it also changes.

Learning to cook will be the best thing you can do for yourself.

With regards to training, there are several ways you can go about it, either a four day split, where you more or less train a different body part each day, an alternating upper body, lower body.

I have posted several full workouts, but I realise we are missing beginner ones.

Have you tried using any of the free weights, or are you more comfortable with machines?

Are the machines you are using based on stacks of plates with a pin to change the weight, or machines you actually load free weight plates onto them?

Do you have this sort of equipment in your gym?

 

[Bikini Mod]

Kudos to you for all of your hard work. I here you on the whole plateau issue and it really sucks, but it seems that you are really really motivated to remain proactive. In other words I can see that you are doing all the effort (both physical and mental) that is needed to continue to change your body.

The ladies before me have given excellent advice I only have one small question at this time. You say you belong to 24 hour fitness. I know that some of them have pools. Does your facility have a pool?