diet and cardio advice please!!

[skinnyme]

Hi, recently I've been trying to cut down some fat for the summer (hoping to lose 15 lbs of fat) and I've employed a form of carb-cyling as my diet.

With all clean foods (non processed and natural), I follow "low carb" day (40 g, all from veggies and a lowcarb tortilla) at 1600-1700 cals for two days, and then I have a higher-carb day at 2000 cals (oatmeal, sugarfree yogurt, Kashi Golean Crunch, and bananas). I repeat this three-day cycle. I know diet is crucial, and I'm confident that the diet I'm leading (no processed sugar, no cake, no donuts etc together on hi-carb days, and not much dairy on all days) is pretty good. I eat every 3 hours or so, and my meals are small but numerous. I drink a LOT of water a day.

Lately, I've been doing 45 mins cardio in the morning with an empty stomach, 6-7 days a week. Later, at night I go to the gym, 3 hours after I've eaten. I do weight training for 40 minutes, followed by 30 mins of cardio, on alternating nights. On the other nights, I just do 40 mins of cardio. All of my cardio is done on the elliptical machine, I usually use the track called "Weight Loss," so there are intervals where there's more resistance.

I've been following this strict regime for maybe 2 weeks, and I'm starting to notice some changes. I read somewhere** that 2x cardio a day is very effective, however, in other places I've also read that cardio is muscle-burning and in fact, bad for wanting fat-loss.

I'm also a college student, so I run around campus all day, as well. My question is, is the amount of exercise I'm doing doing me more harm than good? Should I just stick with the cardio in the morning? It doesn't leave me more tired at night, and I'm motivated to go to the gym, so it's not a problem. But I don't want to be burning the muscle that will help me burn my fat. Thanks so much.

 

[Stryc-9]

Excellent work on the diet, you've clearly done your research. Congrats on your dedication and precision to detail.

But, yes, I would say you're overdoing it on the cardio - especially if this is not a level of fitness that you have been escalating toward (i.e., one would typically begin adding more cardio only once they have stalled at a more reasonable amount). **Cardio twice a day can certainly do wonders for someone who is no longer seeing results with less frequent amounts. But, if you are already staring off at full-tilt, you have no where to go once you plateau.

So if this is a level you have engaged without working your way up slowly - then yeh, you're doing more harm than good - regardless of any short-term results you might be seeing after two short weeks.

I would say that three 45 minute cardio sessions per week is a much healthier place to start - especially with all the walking you are already doing throughout the day!! You should also swing by the Women's Forum - some excellent and extremely wise women there.

 

[skinnyme]

I've tried every thing to lose these last 15 lbs for the past year. I came to the conclusion that my only option was to cardio 2x a day, that way I'm boosting my metabolism twice a day, keeping it at its optimum, in addition with multiple meals and weight training. Say if I do succeed in losing the weight, will I have to keep doing cardio 2x a day to maintain? I don't have a problem with cardio every morning 6x/wk, I actually feel more refreshed and have more energy throughout the day.

Also I've recently cut out cottage cheese in my diet, so at night, around 11 (I go to sleep around 1:30) I eat about 1/2 tbsp peanut butter, so to keep my stomach satiated and be able to concentrate on homework. Is that ok? It's not a protein source, but keeps me satisfied, without doing too much damage.

 

[Fantômas]

Add more unsat fats to your diet. More cardio will just burn into muscle, especially if you have 15 pounds you want to lose, not just the last 3 or 4. But without more detail on what you're actually eating it's hard to comment on specifics.
Also, 2 weeks is hardly long enough to gauge real progress. If you're confident that what you're doing is on the mark, give it a little more time.

also; peanut butter has protein and unsat fat. it's a good choice.

 

[skinnyme]

My diet is as follows:

Typical low-carb day:

B: low carb tortilla, 3/4 cup Eggbeaters, 1 slice cheese, 2 small pieces turkey sausage if I'm extra hungry (60 cals each)

L1: turkey burger w/cheese, cauliflower/green beans/broccoli unlimited, no fats added

L2: low carb tortilla wrap, 6 ounces lean chicken breast, 1 tbsp canola mayo, lettuce

S: bite peanut butter (not more than a tbsp)

D: turkey burger / lean meat, veggies

S: peanut butter 1 tbsp

** I substitute SALMON 2-3x a week for one of the L1 meals, sans cheese
-----

Typical high carb day:

B: 3/4 cup oatmeal with 1 scoop whey pp, an egg, and a carton of nonfat sugarfree yogurt.

L: 1 1/2 cup Kashi GoLean Crunch! with Lite Soy Milk and a banana

L2: either one of the choices above, or a lean meat with a healthy grain (ie, chicken and quinoa)

S: usually I'm not hungry enough for one, I'll probably snack on 1 tbsp almonds, bites of Kashi.

D: lean meat and veggies

S: peanut butter

 

[skinnyme]

Also, before I planned my diet, I gave myself a rest day, on Sunday.

However, I feel like everyday is really incomplete without going to the gym, and it feels unnatural, I know its a psychological disorder, but really, is it awful to not take a rest day?

 

[pintoca]

What are your current stats? for males, the minimum amount of cals should be 1800/day... with the amounf of training you are doing, I am sure you NEED above 2000 to keep your LBM.

As for the cardio, I did cardio 6x/week for 5 months... now I am doing it 9 times/week (Everyday in the evenings, except Sundays and Mon-Wed-Fri also in the mornings). Results are getting back to what I expect them to be...

However, this is something I plan on doing for 12 weeks ony, as I don't want my body getting used to this. Another tip: Cycle that cardio, don't do the elliptical only (I am sure you have noticed it's getting harder to raise your Hert rate where you want it?). I did basically elliptical only for 5 months and towards the end it was almost impossible to get my HR to 80+%... Solution? I switched to jogging, even a moderate pace will keep me above 80%... I now do morning jogs and evening elliptical or walking @ the threadmill with a 15% incline (kills your calves, btw).

post your stats, I really think you need to eat more. K for the research you have done so far

 

[pintoca]

Ohhhh... shit... just noticed you are a girl... well, girls should not go below 1200 so you might be OK with your current intake... anyway, please post weight and bf%

 

[skinnyme]

I currently weigh about 145, at 5'7". Bodyfat, 21%.

Also, I lied about one aspect of my diet. It's not totally clean. On my high carb days, while I try to make 2 meals of oatmeal... the other tends to be replaced with my favorite sandwich - 2 pieces multigrain bread, peanut butter, honey, and banana. Washed down with a glass of 1% milk. Is that too horrible?? =P

 

[Fantômas]

You'd do yourself a big service to actually figure out how many total calories you're getting each day. Write down everything you eat and the amount for a few days and use FitDay or the USDA website to figure out the actual content of what you'r intake is. The sandwich isn't total junk, but depending on how much of each ingredient makes it between the bread, can be rather high cal and sugar. Your BMR right now is right around 1350, so staying close to that mark or slightly above will be key in losing the weight.