[avie]

Hi everyone!

So -- I've been going (what i call) "hardcore" at this weight loss thing for approximately 3-4 months. I've had really good days, not so great days, but on the whole, I've lost about 7 pounds from a 190 starting point. I can either tell myself that "my body just loses reallly slowly", or I can wake up to the reality that I haven't quite found the right groove - my exercise & eating aren't as great as I thought they were.

So today I'm posting for one of the first times in the hopes that you all help me wake up. There are so many success stories and I am truly inspired. Even for those of you who haven't met your goal - you're on your way and you'll be that success story one day.

Just a little bit more background before we begin:
1. I work approx 80 hours a week, mostly sedentary, sometimes all 7 days. I get really stressed out from work, and come home feeling beat up and totally exhausted pretty much every day despite only exercisng my brain.
2. I also travel a lot (Europe, South America, Asia, etc.) I always choose hotels wth gyms, and I try to walk everywhere.
3. I have a gym approx. 60 seconds away from home.
4. Despite the disappointing drop in weight, I feel A HUNDRED times better than 6 months ago, my clothes fit better, I can run longer, I can push harder, etc. etc.


My eating
Breakfast - 4 out of 5 weekdays - nothing
- the 5th day - a flatbread sandwich with a slice of cheese, a slice of ham and a boiled egg.
- weekends - fruit OR oatmeal OR a slice of toast OR a boiled egg

Lunch - weekdays - almost always a nice salad w/protein (almonds, tuna or chicken), dressing on the side.

Dinner - generally quite healthy also - either a salad, or a sandwich on whole wheat bread and some soup.

Snacks - I truthfully don't snack very much. However, approx 1 day a week a slice of carrot cake with cream cheese icing which is my truest guilty pleasure sneaks its way into my office and eventually my tummy.

1 cup of coffee or tea a day, 2 more of decaf green tea.

My exercise
I work out with a trainer twice a week - our sessions are generally 100 -120 minutes long and very intense. Lots of plyometrics and fully body exercises. One of these two sessions also includes 30 minutes of cardio/kickboxing.

Other than that, my exercise is somewhat inconsistent. Recently I've been trying to add additional cardio 2x a week - sometimes successfully, othertimes not.

THE PLAN
I'd like to think I have a strong foundation in place... I just need to take it to the next step. So here is what I'm going to do:

1. Up the water - a minimum of 8 glasses every single day.
2. Cut the portions - I think that in general, I eat healthy food.. but maybe too much of it
3. Get to the gym more - even if 30 minute sessions - try to be in the gym a minimum of 4x a week.
4. eat breakfast every single day.

So what do you guys think? TIA for your opinions!! I am *so ready* to put the work in and to stop using my lifestyle as an excuse.

[Number8]

It definitely doesn't sound like your eating too much!! You may not be eating enough!
You should definitely eat breakfast every morning- even if it's just a half a cup of oatmeal or a cereal bar. It will help keep your energy up in the mornings.

Start using a calorie tracker like fitday.com - (there are a few others recommended on this site) Make sure your eating over 1200 calories a day.

It's hard to make a guess about your calories without knowing what you put on your salads- or sandwiches. Obviously a salad with just lettuce and a spoon full of tuna is a lot less then one covered in cheese tomatoes and a half cup of ranch dressing ^_^.

[JessLess]

Hi-

In some ways you sound like I was from 9/09-5/10. I was working out 2x a week with a trainer, but only doing strength training. I lost zero pounds but I felt a lot better. When I amped it up, I added 30-60 minutes of cardio to those sessions, doing intervals on the Elliptical, stopped eating lots of carbs, and watched my portion sizes. That has made a huge difference for me. I went from losing nothing in 8 months to 25 lbs. in 4 months.

I would also strongly recommend eating breakfast every day.

Good luck with your goals!

[denice81]

I agree with the others, you HAVE to eat breakfast. I would also add some healthy 200ish calorie snacks in there. You should definitely track your calories closely for a couple of weeks, just to see where you are at and you can adjust from there. Also, you are probably gaining lean muscle which is great, but you gotta get some more cardio in there. I totally understand that it is hard to work into a long work day, but maybe if you try for mornings, it will energize you for the rest of your day (works for me!). Congrats on the loss so far and keep it up!

[singforthedayx]

Wow. I would say you're overworked and underfed, actually. If you're going to be doing intense workouts with your trainer like you're doing, you need to be taking in enough calories.

I'm no expert, but I'd say the reason you're not losing so much weight is that your body is hitting the breaks and storing fat to make up for the lack of calories.

As others above me have said, find a site online where you can calculate your calorie needs based on your weight and how much exercise you do. I think you'll start losing in no time after that.

Also, for breakfast...if you don't have time to eat it, I'd suggest protein shakes or bars. I've been drinking a protein shake every morning for months and it really fills me up and keeps me going till lunch. I like Carnation Instant Breakfast. Definitely give it a shot!

[avie]

thanks everyone!!! i'll definitely incorporate all of your suggestions. i got a good cardio workout today, and went to the grocery store to buy lots of great breakfast stuff!

truly truly appreciate the advice!

[misstraveller]

Your body will go into starvation mode if you are not eating enough calories (which it looks like you are not). Breakfast is a must!! I keep oatmeal in a drawer at work in case I forget, the low sugar instant kind with protein in it.

Like you, I only lose 2 - 4 pounds a month if i'm LUCKY, and was actually stalled for a while there. Until I upped my calorie intake with snacks, including healthy protein, whole grains, and upped the intensity of my workout. Jillian Michaels says workout HARDER not LONGER. Also, weight lifting also quickly reshaped my body, burns tons of calories, is great for your bones, and will not bulk you up like it will a guy would because you don't have that kind of testosterone. I didn't start to see a difference until I started weightlifting. I don't mean the scary body builder type, but I started with the Chalean Extreme videos, and LOVED the results I got. Now I'm moving on to P90X (lord help!). Challenge your body, because an hour on the elliptical every day didn't do crap for me.