[Anine]

Good morning all!

I know that the title of this post makes me sound like an exercise freak, but I'm not, I promise! My problem is that for months now I have been stuck on the wrong side of 80kg, and I'm sick of losing the same 2-3 kg from 82,5kg to 80kg over and over again. I have tried to "maintain" for weeks, thinking that maybe I'll drop below that line when I focus on something else, I've tried to eat very little (less than 1000 cals a day) and so on. It seems that I'm stuck on a plateau and nothing I do can get me down from it. Now, more out of desperation than anything else, I've decided to eat as sensible as I can, 1300-1600 cals a day, lost of fruits and veggies, no white bread and so on, and at the same time exercise _hard_ for a month or two, just to see if that will get me down to 70-something.

Mostly, I do some kind of cardio for 30 minutes in the morning before work (running or tae-bo) and strength or pilates for 30 minutes in the evening. I also try to get in lots of walking (7500-10000 steps pr day) as well as another 30-60 min of cardio (running, biking, tae bo, eliptical...) in the evening, for a total of close to 2 hours of exercise every day. If that doesn't get me below 80kg, I don't know what will... But is this smart, is it good for me to exercise twice a day 6 days pr week, and is it good for me to do this much cardio? I feel good doing it, and if that's what it takes to get below 80kg I'm willing to do it for now, as long as I don't hurt myself...

Just for the record, I'm 168cm (5'6?) with a large frame. My goal is to get down to 69 kg, and then ease slowly into maintenance, hopefully landing somewhere around 65kg eventually. I just turned 30. My goal exercise-wise for now is a marathon in October, and hopefully to get down to 75kg before then.

I really would appreciate input both on my training program and if you have some other tips that could get me past this plateau!

[2frustrated]

If you're training for a marathon, you'll be doing a lot more than 2 hrs a day!

Seriously though, if your body feels ok about it then it should be ok! Just remember to take at least 1 day off a week where you slob on the sofa and do NOTHING! (Like there's ever a chance to do that all day? )

As for the marathon training, make sure you get a proper training program and perhaps one or 2 sessions with a trainer would help work out the right pace for you.

[Anine]

Thanks for the input!

My marathon program calls for 3 short runs pr week (30-45 min, speed, hills or tempo) plus 1 long run. I do my short runs in the morning during the week, and more cardio and/or strength in the evening. On Sundays when I do my long run I'm out cold for the rest of the day, only 1 session that day please :-)

I guess you're right, as long as I feel good with the amount of workout I do I should be OK. And that weight had better go down too, since I don't know what else to try!

[Ilene]

If you are feeling fine it's ok to exercise as much, IMO... Make sure your calories are as unprocessed as possible, too many processed foods may not feed your muscles and your workouts may be sluggish too. Do you eat 5-6 small meals/day, I feel that this has helped me enormously to lose weight...

[Sushi Penguin]

See if you can join some exercise classes at a gym or the community centre (or even with a group of people just doing it in the park - I've seen that!)
I'd be looking for something different that what you're doing already to add variety to your workout, or maybe for things you know you'd like.

A friend of mine gets a good workout from her dance class, and I ice skate, which gives us both additional exercise, on top of what we're doing already. Sometimes it's hard to do the same thing for the second time in a day!