For the past 2 months I've been working out 30 to 45 mins a day 6 days a week i either do the biggest loser dvd (high intensity cardio) or the weight training dvd. I've been eating well a typical day looks like this
breakfast-multigrain cherrios with banana
midmorning-protein shake
lunch- turkey sandwich on whole wheat, fruit, veggies, and a yogurt
midafternoon- special k bar
dinner- a healthy recipe around 500 calories last night was chicken burritos on low carb wheat wraps
Now I know i do not get enough water i get half what i should and i'm going to kick that up a notch.
Also i do landscaping for a living this week is really the first week of work since the winter though so i'm on my feet bending lifting trimming all day.
The problem is since january ive only lost 8lbs so some where i've got to be missing an important link. any ideas thanks
I wouldn't say you are missing anything. Sounds to me like you have a healthy diet and exercise plan with fruits, vegetables, protein and healthy grains. Your rate of lose is pretty reasonable. I think you will need to tweak your diet to lower your calories per day IF you want to lose faster. The only thing that jumps out at me is to replace the special k bar with a large pile of vegetables.
Keep up the great work. You are doing really well.
Change something - anything. Just surprise your body. Exercise a little less, or maybe switch up your activities. Sometimes our bodies seem to need a little change in the routine to show results. Keep us posted!
I'm not sure how many calories are in all that, but I'm guessing around 1300-1400-ish?
I just went through a month long plateau. I wasn't losing ANYthing. I had been steadily losing 1-2lbs/week on diet alone, no exercise. I decided I should get my bum in gear and start working out so I hit it hard. Three 30min strength training workouts/week and six 60min cardio workouts. I also restricted my calories to 1200-1300. I wasn't necessarily hungry, but I was definitely worn out by the end of the day.
Finally, I got brave and upped my calories to 1400-1600/day. I lost 2lbs in two days. I've lost another pound over the rest of the week. My body is thanking me!
I'm not necessarily suggesting upping your calories since that isn't the solution to every stall in weight loss. However, change something up. Maybe cycle calories. 1600 one day, 1200 the next day, 1400, 1300, 1700, etc. I also highly recommend weighing every morning at the same time after you pee AND recording calories eaten strictly and approximately how many calories you're burning in exercise for ONE week. It may seem like a drag, but you'll probably learn a lot. You may find the right combo of calorie level + exercise that gives you overnight results on the scale. That's how I figured out how to bust through my plateau. I told myself I'd do it for one week only just to try to figure things out. I now continue to calorie count and weigh in daily and still find it to be helpful.
How often, if ever, are you off plan in your eating? How many days have special occasions in them? Are you really careful about not having a bite of something, or a few chips?
I am not trying to attack you--these are the questions I ask myself when my weight loss stalls.
Weight loss does not require perfection, but rapid weight loss requires one to be on plan virtually all the time. I am not really even recommending that--people that are imperfect for longer and lose the weight more gradually are more likely to keep it off, because they've been living a sustainable lifestyle.
The things that stuck out for me were the cherrios and the Special K bar. If you plan on eating cereal, make sure you have a food scale. Even something like cherrios, which doesn't have lots of calorie-raising additives like almonds still contain a ton of calories for a 50g serving (which is tiny). So you may pour yourself a big bowl thinking it's healthy and end up eating upwards of 500 calories.
For me personally, I try to make breakfast my biggest meal. Although I usually don't eat breakfast foods since they tend to be really sugary, which makes me more hungry. So maybe boil pieces of chicken and eat that for breakfast, plus some carrots and cucumbers. You can make a low calorie dip by mixing two table spoons of sour cream with lemon, minced garlic and some herbes.
Also, consider replacing the Special K bar. I don't know the calorie content but it's probably fairly high in sugar and you're already getting lots of sugar from the fruit.
You may be off balance with your carbs. I find that a high carb diet like this (even if it's within my calorie range) doesn't help me lose weight or stay full during the day. Also, you don't indicate how much you eat of these foods. The cereal and bar are starchy and sugary so be careful about those. Are you counting calories?
Ok i've calculated my average calories i do measure and stick to serving sizes on pacakages
breakfast 180
protein shake- 100
sandwich-190, apple 60, veggies spinach piled on sandwich 7 yogurt 60 total lunch 317
special k bar- 90
dinner 500
evening snack 100 (sometimes)
total day 1197 so maybe i'm not eating enough looking at this. Some days i do eat more if we are working really hard unloading 2 trailers of mulch takes a lot of energy LOL
I know everybody is different but I weigh about the same as you and I know if I eat less than 1400 calories per day when I am active, my weight loss stalls completely. I would definitely suggest eating more. Your body is probably hording calories because it feels like it is not getting enough. Try adding a couple healthy snacks into your routine and maybe eating a little more for breakfast. Don't be afraid to up your calories and see what happens. I bet you will lose quite a bit when you first try it, I know I did
Last edited by sweetnlow28; 03-19-2010 at 07:20 PM.
Yes, your calories are very low. I generally don't advocate upping calories but with that level of activity and at that starting weight you should be able to lose a solid 1.5-2 pounds a week eating closer to 1400 calories, or even 1600 (and lose a littlew more slowly). When you start so low, where do you go from there? You can't drop calories easily when you're already close to malnutrition (especially since cereal is empty, process calories).
Up your calories and up your protein. Try it for two or three weeks and see what the scale does You are your own science project!
I would increase your activity AND your calories. I think trying for closer to 60 mins of exercise and 1600 cals a day would give you impresive results. I exercise 60-90 minutes a day and cycle an average of 1650 cals a day and am losing 1-4 lbs a week, but that is me...we are all very different so experiment with it to find your sweet spot.
I would increase your activity AND your calories. I think trying for closer to 60 mins of exercise and 1600 cals a day would give you impresive results. I exercise 60-90 minutes a day and cycle an average of 1650 cals a day and am losing 1-4 lbs a week, but that is me...we are all very different so experiment with it to find your sweet spot.
I do good to do 30 mins of cardio after 7 to 10 hours of hard manual labor I dont think my activity is the problem I do landscaping for a living mulching all day with a pitch fork and push mowing grass and weedeating last week we did mulch and fertilizer with is pushing the spreader for most our yards are 1 to 3 acres.
I'll up my calroies this week and add in some more healthy foods and see what happens thanks again i'll keep ya'll updated.
What am I missing
You are your own science project!
