Hi! My name is Sara and I'm a 23 yr old veterinary student. I'm in my 2nd year of vet school. I spend 5-8 hours a day sitting in a classroom, and then another couple of hours sitting at my desk studying at home. The 'freshman 15' has taken 6 years to get to me but I recently put my foot down when I bought my normal size jean without trying them on only to find that they were too small ! I joined a gym and started a workout on the guidelines of a trainer, but he didn't really get the chance to address my goals specifically, or my diet, so I was going to run it by you all to see what you think I've been counting calories and trying deperately to cut the crap out of my diet (glad/sad to say I haven't eaten Burger King in 3 months - mixed feelings about that) I've been averaging ~1600-2000 kcal/day spread out into 5-8 small 'meals' I calculated my 'daily needs' from a number of formulas online to find that i need about 1600-1700kcal/day but the 'activity multiplication' factors are all over the map! Given my work out I'm not sure how much more/less I should be eating!

Mon - Chest, shoulders, triceps, 20 min light cardio (light = HR 125-135)
Wed - back, biceps, abs, 30 min light cardio
Fri - legs, 20 min light cardio
Sat or Sun 30 min 'heavy' cardio, usually interval

I was told that I should do light cardio following weight lifting so as not to send my nervous system into a panic thinking it needs to start hoarding fat... Is that true? I thought that heavier cardio can have bigger (?) benefits... But I'm not finding any time to do heavier cardio. Really I can't jog for more than a few minutes straight without dropping over - I'd like to change that. But I'm spending 1.5-2 hours at the gym each night between the lifting and 20-30 min cardio. Originally the trainer told me I shouldn't expect to spend longer than 1 hr a day but with all the lifts he gave me I just can't do them all in that amount of time (I can post the exact lifts I do but I didn't want to spam you all right off the bat)! I thought I'd speed up but that hasn't happened. My ultimate goal is to lose about 15 pounds and then tone my large flabby upper legs. It's going slowly - I've lost about 8 pounds in 3 months (but I've only been doing the weight lifting for about 1 month, before that it was 3-4 days/wk of light cardio). When do you start to add weight in muscle following a lifting routine? I feel like something is out of whack - but can't figure out which part - the kcal intake, the workout, or the expectation Any ideas?

Sara,
I would start by cutting back on the calories. You are leaving yourself a very small margin for error by consuming that many, and the number one factor in weightloss is DIET. I would make getting my diet in order the first priority. Unless I am feeling REALLY deprived my weight doesn't budge. For me: a little deprived=maintainance; Satisfied=gaining.

I diet to lose weight. I workout for the health benefits, and to improve appearance.

Keep up the good work.

Robert

H Sara! I'm a personal trainer and have never heard that theory about light cardio and your nervous system. That's a new one to me - it goes against most of what I've learned about fat loss and cardio.

I have two suggestions for you --

1. Drop your calories. I agree with Robert - you're eating too many calories for weight loss. You don't say what your current weight is now, but there aren't many of us who can lose on the amount that you're eating, especially if you're only seven pounds from goal. Forget on-line calculators! Pick a number - maybe in the 1200-1400 calorie range? - and see how that works for you. I'm all in favor of the way you're eating frequent, small meals.

2. More cardio done more intensely. You're only doing 100 minutes of cardio per week, which is not very much IMO. I'd start by aiming for at least 150 minutes -- that would average out to 30 minutes per day times five days. Perhaps you could alternate cardio days with lifting days so that you're not spending so long in the gym?

And I would definitely increase the intensity! I'll bet your nervou system can handle it. There's a thread over in the Exercise forum - Target Heart Rate - that talks about heart rate and intensity. You might want to check it out and figure your own max and target heart rates.

It sounds like you are off to a great start! Eight pounds lost is terrific, especially if you don't have much to lose. I think that just a few tweaks would help you make it to goal a little faster.

hmm dunno if i really agree with cutting back on your calories. it does depend on what you're eating during your small meals of course, but i've found that a lot can be accomplished by cutting out all the bad stuff from your diet and maybe feeling only slightly deprived. but that's just me and observations from years of trial and lots of errors...with the final caveat that it seems better for long term sanity to moderately restrict calories and work out harder. but to each their own. personally a 1200 - 1400 calorie limit for more than a week might send me into a psychotic fit but, hey, if you can do it, it certainly speeds weight loss. up to a point.

how many sets are you doing per workout and how long do you rest?

I took the BMR calculations to mean thats the amount of calories I'd need if I just sat around all day with no working out. At least that's how I calculate it for animals when I put together weight loss programs for them If they get X amount of exercise, I increase their amount of calories by a multiplication factor (like 1.2, 1.5, etc) that matches. Is it not the same in people? I've found that I CAN eat 1200 on a busy day and not bat an eyelash, but most of my extra calories are totally psychological! I'm bored therefore I eat (and if I don't eat, I think about eating, and get hungrier). Any hints on that? I'm afraid to set a number in stone, because if I do, I'll start obsessing over it and feel crappy when I go over it.

I've been lifting 3 sets starting with an 'ok' weight (not difficult, mostly so I can practice the motion properly) moving up each set to a weight that's definitely challenging (not to failure but within 2 reps of failing). I'm still working on picking the proper amount of weight, getting better at it every time I go in. I rest for probably 15-30 seconds in between sets. Occasionally I'll do a different lift in between (ie: a set of ab work in between two sets of arm work) to save time. Good/Bad idea?
I'm already spending 20-30 min in the cardio room anyways just doing light work, so should I just switch that to heavier work? I calculated my max HR, etc. Should I aim for moderate or high intensity? Or just whatever I can handle.
THANKS!!! Thanks so much for the input I really really appreciate any/all help!
(oh and to answer your question: I'm about 160 now, aiming for 145)

Personally, I would say always go for maximum effort with cardio for fat loss. Definitely works for me though some people can manage with less.

Supersetting exercises is good for time saving - doing one exercise then doing another, also good to keep rest times to a min.

SARA - Saw your post and have nothing to add since I have way more work to do that you, but DD who is 7 is totally looking forward to being a Vet. She talks about it ALL the time. We aren't sure if she is determined or what. In any case, I'll have to let her know you can calculate the calories for weight loss in animals, she will love it, anything with math is right with her.

For the eating, I know at my age I have to drop the calories to really low and it is really a matter of what I am eating so I am focusing the question of whether or not I am hungry. Then if I am I choose from appropriate food choices. I really have to have a good source of good choices or else I go off the rails.

Hi Sara,
I'm also a trainer, and agree with Meg. I've never heard of cardio messing with your nervous system.

I'd try dropping your calories to the 1300-1400 range; don't carve then number in stone, because you do want to vary it a little each day. 1200 one day followed by 1500 the next is fine..... My suggestion would be to increase the intensity of your cardio. Try doing High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)- gradually push yourself to the maximum speed/intensity that you can maintain for a minute, then drop the level back to a recovery level for a minute or two, then bring it up again. Repeat these intervals 6-8 times in a 30 minute workout. It works whether you are on a treadmill, bike, elliptical, running/walking outside. Over time you'll find that your maximum intensity increases and your recovery time decreases.

Are you an OSU student using that lovely new athletic facility?

Mel

I should clarify - by speaking of the nervous system i just meant that if you go cardio hard following lifting, you will burn less fat and more muscle (as directed by the nervous system). In my research I've found references to burning a higher PERCENTAGE of fat at lower intensity, which is I'm sure what my training was getting at. I think right now it may be more important to burn more calories and not worry so much about what % of fat is being burned. I am indeed an OSU student at the college of vet med. I don't often work out at the big rec center because it's a long walk to get there and it's too crowded ! But I do work out at a satellite one called the 'adventure rec center' that has a rock climbing wall and lots of weight lifting machines and ellipicals I live about 20 min away from campus though, so mostly I work out at the gym nearest to my apartment, which I've becom accustomed to. I keep checking the OSU schedule hoping that some of the fitness classes would fit in between my vet classes, but no luck
Thanks for all the input! Any by the way - just the good vibes you all send have worked well - I've officially lost 10 lbs now Gettin closer day by day

These are the ratios of fat/carbs/prtein burned at various heart rates that I use. The source is from Per4mance Cycling:

Zone Name Heart Rates Purpose
Recovery 50-60% Max Active Rest
Active Aerobic 60-75% Max Aerobic Development
Endurance 75-80% Max Aerobic Capacity
Threshold 80-85% Max Lactate Tolerance
Strength 85-100% Max VO2 Development, Sprinting


In Heart Rate Zone 1, your body burns 10% carbohydrates, 85% fat, and 5%protein*
In Heart Rate Zone 2, your body burns 15% carbohydrates, 80% fat, and 5 % protein*
In Heart Rate Zone 3, your body burns 55% carbohydrates, 40% fat, and 5% protein*
In Heart Rate Zone 4, your body burns 70% carbohydrates, 25% fat, and 5% protein*
In Heart Rate Zone 5, your body burns 90% carbohydrates, 5% fat, and 5% protein*


The other factor besides heart rate is how long you stay in a particular zone. There is a limited amount of easily accessible carbohydrates in your body, so doing cardio in zone 4 or 5 exclusively for extended periods of time (45-60 minutes?) might not be in your best interest. Even though you are young, you aren't going to recover very well from daily all-out sprinting!

But I think you are right to concentrate on burning calories and not worry too much about your heart rate zone. You aren't doing long enough cardio to really worry about muscle loss.

My daughter says the same thing about the new rec center. She's also a grad student at OSU.

on the poundage gone!

Mel

Wow, that is excellent info! Thanks so much!