Hi,

I am new to this board and am looking for help. A couple of years ago I met my goal at WW. I was injured playing coed indoor soccer. A (200 lb man) goalie jumped into my knee during a game. I tore my mcl completely, acl partially and also tore my meniscus(cartailage in between tibia and femur). I had some problems with scar tissue and had 3 surgeries in 5 months. I was pretty much sedentary for about 9 months while I was recovering.

I am back at the gym now (3 months). I have been doing 30 minutes of cardio and just have bumped it up to 40. I also have been doing a weight routine. At the beginning of this month I had a few personal training sessions and am now doing a upper body/lower body split routine 4 days a week. I also do another day of cardio and abs.

I do watch what I eat and do eat my 5 a day, drink lots of water and watch my calories . I do not eat junk food ever. I am at a loss to what my problem is and why I cannot drop weight. I have seen a nutritionist ( which says my eating is fine). I even gave my trainer my food journal. She took it and said I was eating really good and balanced. She said she thought I was getting enough calories.

Anybody have any ideas what my problem could be? Any suggestions? Meanwhile I will continue pressing on toward my goal. I have noticed the work out the trainer gave me is much tougher. I am sweating big time from my cardio through the workout to abs.

Thanks

Christina

Hi Christina
How about posting your food for a few days and let some of the food veterans take a look? Also, how much time TOTAL are you spending in the gym in 1 session? Are you doing 30-40 minutes of cardio, then weights and abs, all in 1 session? How much weight do you have to lose?

Sorry I have no answers but just a lot of questions for you
Keep posting and we'll see if we can come up with something.

Mel

Hi Christina and Welcome We LUVS newbies here and I see that's your first post!!

From my UNprofessional opinion you seem to be doing everything very well... Congrats for that!!

If you are building muscle with a good program like you have, the fat is melting, the muscles are building and scale barely moving.... Instead of using the scale have you measured yourself and taken BF% , or even the pant-o-meter, maybe these would give you a better indication of your progress ...

Have you seen this pic of Fat vs. Muscle... http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/atta...chmentid=17582

Great example of the diffirences...

Also are you working intensely reaching your 10s in your cardio and when you are lifting... KWIM?

Feel free to join us on the main thread ... TTFN...

Hi Guys!

Thanks for the welcome!

Mel,
I am spending about an hour and a half at the gym 4 times a week now. The fifth day just cardio and abs. Before this month I was spending about an hour. Yes, the 4 times a week I do either upper or lower body, abs and cardio. My knee is getting stronger and stronger and does not hurt as much. I just started to be able to run a little on the treadmill. I have 20 lbs to lose to get to my goal weight of 140 but would like to get to 130. I am 5 feet 4 inches tall.

Lanaii1,

The pantometer has changed some but am not able to fit into my jeans still. I think I have lost some inches in my back, lats and arms though. The trainer measured my fat (boy was that fun) before we started and it was at 23 which she said was really good. I am staying in the heart rate she told me to stay in which is 128-155. I try to stay on the upside of that (145-155). I am drenched when I am done with my cardio. I also do my workout fast with not much resting until I am done. My hair is totally wet underneath when I am done.

I just started the Fit day record keeping today. I am trying to figure out how many grams of protein carbs and fat I should be having. The nutritionist said I should be eating 12-1400 calories and be having 40 grams of fat. All this seems like so much work!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you for Your responses

Hi Pressin

-- Yea, it does seem like alot of work doens't it? But a lot of us here do it and for me it's well worth it... I try to have my ratio at 40%P, 40%C and 20%F, but on average it comes out to 30,30,30, and when I stick with that my weight goes down...

It's nice to se another shorty here I'm 5'3"... I weigh on average 150-155 wear a size 8 now, but am trying to get down to a 6, and I really don't care much if the scale moves as long as the clothing in the appropriate size fits well...

Karen or Mrs. Jim , is on the shorty side too, 5'3 or 4" weighs I think 150
(please correct me if I'm wrong Karen) and wears a size 4!! That's what I'm aiming for...

TTFN...

Hi Lanaii,

Thanks for sharing the weight deal. That does make me feel better. I am 160 now and my size 8 jeans are not working with me. If you know what I mean Do you follow the BFL way of eating? Is eating clean mean that you do not eat things that are processed and are all natural? I did look at BFL before and I think I remember being scared of eating too much and gaining weight.

If I can figure out how to link my Fitday journal to this posting I will give you all a look see. Please keep in mind I had no veggies in the house and today is payday. I do normally eat fruit or veggies with every meal. Anyway, please keep looking at it for at least a week so you can get a feel for how I eat.

http://www.fitday.com/WebFit/DayFoodsTab.asp

Thank you fellow shortie!

Christina

Christina,
It really does sound like you are doing everything right I personally would break up the weights and cardio sessions, but that's not logistically possible for most people. I also log every bit of food that goes into my mouth on fitday. I'm 5'3", 135 pounds right now, though I like to get back to 130. I wear a tight size 4 or a loose size 6. My calories are around 1400 per day and I've been aiming for 4-5 days cardio and 4 days weights. That's pretty much MAINTENANCE for me. Age and hormones have a lot to do with it, too. I have plenty of the former, a few of the later ( I'm closing in on 50.)

So what's the answer? Have you had your bf% checked since you started? Since you are coming back from a major injury, I bet you are regaining a lot of muscle. I had major surgery 11 weeks ago, my weight dropped to 127 two weeks after the surgery. I was thrilled! As soon as I started heavy lifting again, it shot right back up to the 134-136 range, where I've been for the last 2 1/2 years.

We all have different nutrition ratios that either we just like best, or work best for us. Maybe you need to try some tweaks to see how your body reacts. I try to keep mine at 50P/25C/25F. And LOTS of water.

Mel

Hi Christina, , yes, I do "basically" follow BFL. 5-6 meals/day with carbs at almost every meal... Maybe no carbs for supper and no meal before bed unless I'm really famished... I TRY to eat as clean and unprocessed as possible, but ya know life gets in the way sometimes but I do my darndess!

Just a question. What foods are high in protein, low in carbs and fat? How about snack foods? Any of that fit those criteria?

I am still trying to figure out how to have the right balance. I know I need to eat more protein (meat, chicken and fish). I am trying to come up with an eating plan that isnt boring. I am not one for cooking elaborate recipes though.

Thanks

Christina

Hi Christine,

I'm so gald you keep coming back to ask questions... I'm not an elaborate cook either, as a matter of fact I am quite boooooring! My main protein staples are eggwhites usually for breakfasts, sometimes lunch, chicken, salmon and beef... For snacks I supplement my protein with a whey protein powder with an apple, I mix cottage cheese and yogurt with a few strawberries, or make a shake with whey protein powder and frozen fruits... I've discovered a zillion ways it seems to make something with cottage cheese ...

If you work, you MUST plan, plan, and plan some more... Many of us here plan a day in advance our menus...

HTH...TTFN...

Do you think it is important that I eat all of the 1400 calories every day? How about fat is it important to have at least 40 grams? Can it hurt you not to have enough fat? Do you eat lowfat or nonfat yogurt and cottage cheese? Where can you get the Whey powder?

Thank you for all your help

Christina

Do you think it is important that I eat all of the 1400 calories every day?

Yes, I think it's very important to at least eat 1400 everyday... you can play around with it and see what works best for you but I wouldn't go under 1200, because I think your body would go into starvation mode...... Meg, Mel and I log our food at www.fitday.com I think L2L does now too... My sig has a link to my journal chek it out if you want...

How about fat is it important to have at least 40 grams?

I think it's VERY important... I find for myself if I don't have enough fat I get cravings....

Can it hurt you not to have enough fat?

I've heard that too little fat may make you loose your hair. That's never happened to me because I know take in enough fats...BUT keep to the good fats... I use extra virgin olive oil, I also take Udo's , here's a link with a great explanation of that oil ... http://www9.netrition.com/udos_choice_page.html

Do you eat lowfat or nonfat yogurt and cottage cheese?

Yes...

Where can you get the Whey powder?

I get mine at GNC, It's plainly called 100% Whey, You can order whey protein poweders on line too... Some of the gals here do... I'm sure they'd be happy to let you know where they get their protein...

Hope this helps...

Do I still need to eat the 1400 calories on my off days from the gym?

Are you doing Body for Life by Bill Phillips, by any chance? If so he says to have a "Free Day" once/week...I personally have a free meal or a treat on Saturday or Sunday... Because a Free FULL day can screw up a week of being clean....If I don't go to the gym on a certain day and it's not a treat day I stick to my regular eating as clean as possible. But I do find that when I do NOT exercise I tend to eat MORE and when I DO exercise I eat LESS, this is just me tho... I guess it's my body telling me : "Hey, you've exercised, now be good to your body and give it some healthy food!" They work hand in hand...IMO...

Hope this helps...

Oh and I forgot to mention ... In order to make your FitDay journal public you have to go to the "HOME" tab on the site and scroll down and from there you click "Make my Journal Public"

HTH...