Fed Up!

[fro&g0ger]

I am really frustrated with the last few pounds and/or body fat I would like to loose. I haven't noticed anything for the past 6 months. A little back ground, over the last 2 yrs I have lost 50 pounds and kept it off. I am 5'3 and 138 lbs. I think my body fat is about 24%, but that isn't by the real accurate method. I would like my body fat to be 15-20% and/or weigh 124 lbs. I am not worried about bulking up either. I figure if I am not loosing weight, gain muscle! I want big biceps and good leg definition.....now I have seen definition, I want more! I have done the 50/30/20 eating plan on 1500cal a day....wasn't loosing, not gaining either. Then, I was doing about 1000 cal a day, eating 75max carbs a day that isn't working either. I am taking Diet Fuel too. Over the past few months I have been using free weights for about 1.5 hrs a day and 30-45 min of treadmill @ 9.5+ incline 5-6 days a week. Perhaps I am changing my eating style too much? Not eating enough? I want to gain muscle fast. I am taking MRP for breakfast, yogurt with flaxseed for mid- snack, salad with chicken for lunch, MRP after work-out and salad and fish or chicken for dinner. Am I working out too much? I think I need to shock my system but how?? I am sure I have screwed my metabolism up with the yo-yo of calorie intake too. As for carbs-I eat all the good ones. No flour or starches. Very limited.
Enough of my whining!
I would really appreciate some expert advice.
I envy all you muscley women!! Way to go!!

 

[sysopt]

Congrats to your 50 pound weight loss...that's a shitload. What does your lifting routine look like? Be sure you're working all major muscle groups: legs, glutes, back, pecs... I think you're not eating enough and you're doing too much cardio too often.

Maybe you should do something like this:

day1: push
day2: cardio
day3: pull
day4: cardio
day5: legs
day6: cardio
day7: rest

I'm pretty sure that 1000 calories isnt enough. Go back to 1500 or possibly more (maybe 1800).

 

[Sassy69]

Yes DEFINITELY ! CONGRATS on dumping 50 LBS!!!!!!!

In the big picture, its always possible you have hit a plateau of sorts and might need a big change to spur some new results. I agree that 1000 cal prob ain't enough, especially if you now want to "build musle fast". I don't know that you are going to "build muscle fast" so much as lean out and see more of the muscle you have. Its not an "overnight" process!

Have you checked out carb rotation? Do a search on "carb rotation" and "spatts" and you should find her diet and training. You are not going to "build muscle fast" by doing low cal intake, hi cardio and lifting. Too many forces working against each other.

You might also check out the Beverly International approach -- go to www.bodybuildingworld.com and read lots of stuff there. It focuses on a 7 day meal plan that keep the carbs low for one day, increase a little more the next day, and then a nice big carb up on Monday and Thurs. The carb rotation gives you some energy to hit a hard workout, probably be good to coordinate it with your leg days, and then cycle it down a little while your body thinks its still going to get more carbs but really isn't -- it will burn like it thinks its going to get the carbs. Then just before you think you are going to go comatose (ok not that bad... ) you get to carb up again. This might be what you need to "shock" your body into droppign some weight again.

Also I dont 'know if you are doing it or not, but try to not mix leg days lifting w/ cardio -- just sort of exhausts your legs too much. Give yourself a day off to recover too.

 

[SteelWeaver]

Over the past few months I have been using free weights for about 1.5 hrs a day

Good job so far. But ...

As I have very recently discovered to my shock, horror and mortification, THIS IS TOO MUCH. Cut it in half, or to less than an hour - that means CUT volume, increase intensity.

Do heavy compound moves: squat, deadlift, bench. With at least one day between weights sessions.

Eat more. You'll never gain muscle on 1000 cals a day, just burn it all away. You need to eat EXCESS (a bit) calories to build muscle.

Eat more real food, you don't need the MRP's much (unless you have problems eating a lot).

Do much less, and different cardio - you ALWAYS do treadmill? Change it - do the elliptical, ride a bike, go rollerblading, go for a hike, have sex, power-walk outdoors, do sprints, intervals ...

Eat lots, train hard, sleep lots, build muscle, then cut again

 

[fro&g0ger]

Thanks for all the great advice!!!
I have always been told to do cardio after weights?? Maybe I AM doing too much cardio!?! I do try to break up the dreaded treadmill with the stair step or elliptical machine. I used to do lots of aerobic classes, but prefer to be on my own now. I am going to forget the $$ MRP and try to eat 1500-1800 cal. and have 100% Whey Protein. I also just purchased some EAS Betagen with HMB. Hoping that will give my body a boost in the right direction. I will do some research on the carb thing. My husband thinks I am a dork for flexing to him all the time, I can't help it! It is so cool to see muscle. I have a ways to go, but it is exciting. I have also quit smoking cold turkey. It has been 2 months. It was easy, I really surprised myself. I planned to quit when I reached 30, now I am 1 year ahead of schedule. The gym is my new habbit! I am understanding how long you have all worked and how dedicated you guys are. That is really a great accomplishment You should all be so proud!!! Someday, if I feel confident enough, I would love to enter a competition. I am sure that is a whole other story to prepare for though.
Yay, I get to eat more!!! Yay, I don't have to do so much cardio!
Thanks again

 

[fro&g0ger]

One more thing, the reason I was eating so few calories is because I read in order to loose fat, you must eat less calories than you burn??

 

[Intenceman]

Definate congratulations on the 50 lbs - awesome job!.
a couple of tings may be happening here. Firstly, how long has it been since you lost the 50 lbs? 2 weeks, a month, etc. Your body may have just hit a plateau (it's sort of a survival thing) after such a big loss. It may resume losing after a period of tiem if you are still doing eveything right.
Second- you are doing too much. Try lifting 3-4 days a week-4max, 3 may be even better,and doing cardio 4-5. There will be some days you do only one, some you do both. How you set this up depends on your schedule. Keep you calories in the form of lean protein- chicken, etc, and your carbs in the form of veggies, oatmeal.
Increase your intensity as you decrease the volume to the above figures- ands you should see an improved one- figure that is.......

 

[JJFigure]

There are a couple of simple calculations you can use to get a starting point on calorie intake:

11xbodyweight = lose weight
12 - 15xbodyweight = maintain (higher number if you are leaner)

Anything over, and you'll gain weight. These aren't hard numbers, just general calcs to help you get started. For you, 11x138 = 1518 kcals/day if you want to continue to lose weight; if you want to gain muscle, you should increase it - probably gradually build up to 15x138 = 2070 and see what that does for you.

Again, these are just starting points; you have to see how your body responds and adjust accordingly.

 

[fro&g0ger]

It has been 2 yrs since I have lost 50 lbs. The frustrating part is I fluxuate between +/- 5lbs. 135 is the lowest I have gotten down to. I can't get below that! I will definately change my work-out routine. It is really funny to think back to when I started loosing the 50, I joined WW......if I followed that plan now, I would probably put the 50 back on! I never realized how much carbs and sugar are in many of those low fat WW meals. Don't get me wrong, I think it is good for the average person to learn portion control and loose pounds. I am just shooting beyond that now.