in dire need of diet help

[georgie]

hi
i need help in cutting diet. i have hit diet wall for over a month or two. I currently cycle 3 days low carb/calorie to 1 day higher carb/calorie. my calories are1150 low dats 1400 high days. i am not losing any weight. i have thrown in one or two sessions of sprinting per week and lift 4 days. any help on change in diet/workout or supplement suggestions are welcome. i have a contest in sept. i am only 5'1" and don't require mega calories. i currently weigh119lb and need to drop 10lbs of fat...109lbs by show.
some expert advice is needed.
georgie in pa.

 

[MS]

Stop dieting!

Seriously, you're show is not until September and you've already been dieting several months...you don't have that much to lose. Seems to me you could benefit a lot from taking a break from dieting, and when you start again consider throwing in some proper high cal/high carb refeeds (a lot more than 1400 cals).

 

[JJFigure]

MS is right - September is a long way out to be dieting right now. Take a break for a little while and get your metabolism back on track, then try again.

 

[georgie]

you guys may be right about this. but the truth is I'm not sure exactly how to do that. sounds stupid but true. my educated guess would be to still eat clean but up the calories.....200?maybe up carbs for a few weeks..4 to 6wks? does that sound good?

 

[Puddles]

I recently upped my fat intake and after being stuck for a while, I lost a few lbs. Sometimes just a little change is whatcha need. Take a break, then go at it again. Always keep the body guessing.

 

[JJFigure]

Georgie - If you want to be conservative, just increase your kcals 100-200 kcals/day each week until you feel like you're adding more fat than muscle. I'd use skinfolds to help monitor this, but if you don't have access to calipers, go by measurement. For example, I tend to put fat back on my upper thighs more noticeably than other places, so I monitor my upper thigh measurements every week when I'm adding kcals back into my diet. If they increase in measurement too much, I back off a little.

It's pretty easy to add kcals back in; you can always just add a tablespoon of PB into your oatmeal or add another small meal. I use a cyclical low carb diet when I cut, so when I go "off diet", I start eating carbs (usually a bowl of oatmeal and more dairy) every day, so my body isn't always in a low carb state. That way, when you go back to cycling carbs, I think you'll find it more effective.

 

[georgie]

thanks jj

 

[THeMaCHinE]

Georgie - If you want to be conservative, just increase your kcals 100-200 kcals/day each week until you feel like you're adding more fat than muscle. I'd use skinfolds to help monitor this, but if you don't have access to calipers, go by measurement. For example, I tend to put fat back on my upper thighs more noticeably than other places, so I monitor my upper thigh measurements every week when I'm adding kcals back into my diet. If they increase in measurement too much, I back off a little.

It's pretty easy to add kcals back in; you can always just add a tablespoon of PB into your oatmeal or add another small meal. I use a cyclical low carb diet when I cut, so when I go "off diet", I start eating carbs (usually a bowl of oatmeal and more dairy) every day, so my body isn't always in a low carb state. That way, when you go back to cycling carbs, I think you'll find it more effective.

Sorry if this is redundant, but do you have a detailed description of your diet posted anywhere?

 

[georgie]

hi
i don't know if you meant my diet but here are some details.
i am currently on a three day low carb and (lower calorie) and one day higher carb/calorie cycle. on low carb/calorie day my diet consists of: 156 g protein, 98.8 g carb 14.6 g fat....54%protein,34%carb,and11%fat...for around1140calories. on high dayit goes up to 49%carb, 41%protien, 10%fat..for around 1350 calories. I do take supplements and if you need to know what I will tell you.

 

[THeMaCHinE]

georgie,

It also appears to me that you are undereating by at least several hundred calories -- which in turn slows your metabolism. Don't forget, our bodies excrete some of the calories we take in, so you're really not getting as many as you think. It also appears that you could shift some of the carbs out in favor of healthy fats. These are very general (and admittedly vague) observations. I defer to the diet guru gals around here.