desperate....

lalareb05 · 19-May-05, 04:05 PM

I'm so upset and aggrivated right now. I am 5'2, 130 lbs and for the past month and 1/2 i've been eating healthy and exercising and HAVEN'T LOST A SINGLE POUND OR A SINGLE INCH! I honestly feel like my diet is good. I eat 4-6 small meals each day, i lift weights, and i run 3-6 miles 5-6 days a week. I have a history of not eating to lose weight and i KNOW this isn't the right way to lose weight but for me it seems like the only thing that works. And don't tell me this is my body's set point cuz that's NOT acceptable AT ALL! I don't fit into my clothes and i feel terrible. I just really don't know what to do. If there is anyone out there with similar stats will they please tell me how they lost weight? I'm at a loss and i'm about to give up.

Thanks

**cursor** · 19-May-05, 05:03 PM

What are you eating in a single day?
Lay out your exercise program for a week.
Are you male or female?

**Gooseneck** · 19-May-05, 05:18 PM

Remember, a month and a half is not a long time, stay persisitent and changes will happen. In your mind right now you have gotten nowhere, but in reality you have. Stay off the scales and use the mirror as a tool for measuring your progress. Muscle weighs more than fat does, and you have been weight training in conjuction with fat burning cardio. What do I mean by this ?? Your percentage of bodyfat decreases simultaniously as your lean muscle mass increases. Scales dont acount for this. Post your daily dietary intake and let one of the gurus' like Cursor get you lined up right.

lalareb05 · 19-May-05, 05:48 PM

oh sorry...i'm female

Well as far as exercise goes....
Well while i'm home (i'm home for 2 weeks before I start summer school) I try to run 3-5 miles 4-6 days a week. At school, I use the treadmill at the gym. Usually on the treadmill I try to do HIIT. I run at 6 rpm for 1 minute, and 7.5 rpm for 1 minute, and so on. I do this for 30 minutes or so. I lift 8-10 pound weights and do numerous arm exercises. 3 or 4 sets of 12 reps usually. I also do crunches and other ab exercises. The only leg exercises I do is...well i'm not sure what the machine is. You lay on your stomach and lift the weight bending your legs toward your butt...sorry that's a horrible description. Basically it works the back of your thighs and butt I think.

And diet:

Well i've decided to try to be more low carb. I've been eating a turkey or tuna sandwich for lunch, but i'm gonna cut all bread out. This is what i plan on doing:

breakfast (if i get up early enough): eggs or turkey roll-ups or something (it will probably vary since i get sick of eggs easily)

possible snack: I will have classes from 8-12 during june...maybe i can sneak a snack in. anyone have any good "on the go" snacks?

lunch: salad with chicken, ranch dressing on the side.

snack: string cheese/turkey roll-up/stuffed eggs/avacado...I wont eat ALL these, but these will most likely be my choices

dinner: Some sort of lean meat with veggies.

Again, this is what I plan on eating. I guess maybe these past couple of weeks my diet could have been better. I think maybe I was eating too much bread and every now and then i would sneak in some candy. I think now i realize that i need to just crack down and be strict. So how does all this look? Thanks for the help!

candyass · 19-May-05, 06:19 PM

Some of the problem has to rest on your workout. I'm sorry, but at this stage of fitness, doing arm exercises isn't going to do a dman thing. Especially if you do them with 8-10 lbs. The key to exercises for weight loss is to be able to create muscle which has a higher caloric maintance level then fat. In order to do that you will have to work as many muscle fibers at the same time as possible; this translates into big movements. Throw out the arm vanity exercises and replace them with deadlifts, squats (or leg presses), some form of bench press and rows. You can forgot about the 8-10lb dumbells too; the whole point of lifting is to challenge your body, so use some heavier weight on these exercises. An example would be dumbell bench press with 20lb dumbells, or deadlifts with 105lbs.

**cursor** · 19-May-05, 06:23 PM

Do you have access to heavier weights?

lalareb05 · 20-May-05, 12:34 PM

I don't right now but I will when i'm at school in a week and a half. I'm just really intimidated by the big machines and the big guys. Are there any exercises i can do with heavier free weights?

candyass · 20-May-05, 12:49 PM

You could try the ones I listed above.

**cursor** · 20-May-05, 01:16 PM

Look at the exercises in this listing. When you click on a muscle group (Chest | General, for example), you'll see links to exercises involving specific equipment (including free-weights). Take a few minutes and browse around.

vegan · 24-May-05, 08:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lalareb05

oh sorry...i'm female

And diet:

Well i've decided to try to be more low carb. I've been eating a turkey or tuna sandwich for lunch, but i'm gonna cut all bread out. This is what i plan on doing:

breakfast (if i get up early enough): eggs or turkey roll-ups or something (it will probably vary since i get sick of eggs easily)

possible snack: I will have classes from 8-12 during june...maybe i can sneak a snack in. anyone have any good "on the go" snacks?

lunch: salad with chicken, ranch dressing on the side.

snack: string cheese/turkey roll-up/stuffed eggs/avacado...I wont eat ALL these, but these will most likely be my choices

dinner: Some sort of lean meat with veggies.

Again, this is what I plan on eating. I guess maybe these past couple of weeks my diet could have been better. I think maybe I was eating too much bread and every now and then i would sneak in some candy. I think now i realize that i need to just crack down and be strict. So how does all this look? Thanks for the help!

You're eating a lot of fat and cholesterol. Even lean meat has a high percentage of calories from fat. Do not go by weight, i.e., '90% lean meat' - that actually has 50% of calories from fat. The cheese is 66% fat. The ranch dressing is virtually 100% fat. Eat a lot of whole foods - fresh and cooked veggies prepared in broth - not oil. Have fresh, whole fruit for dessert - not the sugary stuff from cans. Increase the amount of whole grains and leafy greens in your diet - fiber works wonders. Weigh yourself every day and compare 'fat' and 'no fat' days and track the results.

**threenorns** · 25-May-05, 01:21 PM

<sigh> do NOT weigh yourself every day - any fluctuations on a day-to-day basis are solely due to water weight and anything left undigested in your stomach and thus, are meaningless.

don't weigh yourself at all, in fact. throw the damned scales out. get a pair of pants or a skirt or a dress you really, really like but that's just a wee bit too small. try it on every three weeks until until it fits, then get another one. a much nicer way to track progress and one that's self-rewarding.

no need to be intimidated by the machines and heavier weights - i'm the same height as you and i LOVE them! i don't fit a lot of them, but i compensate and have a great training partner who helps hand me stuff or break the stack to get me going.

candyass · 26-May-05, 07:58 PM

I'm not an expert on this, but it seems to me that weighing yourself every day is a great way to end up in therapy. Especially if you're selfconcious about your body to being with.

vegan · 26-May-05, 10:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by candyass

I'm not an expert on this, but it seems to me that weighing yourself every day is a great way to end up in therapy. Especially if you're selfconcious about your body to being with.

The idea is to start measuring activities and results. See how a change in diet and exercise impacts weight. Of course, when you get on the scale, it is what it is. You can't wish it to be something different. But you can change the frequency, duration and intensity of exercise. You can also change the quality and quantity of food that you consume. Both of these can be easily tracked. Checking weight daily provides immediate feedback on the results of changes in diet and exercise, especially if it is done consistently at the same time each day (6 am before eating breakfast, for example).

With this information you can avoid behaviors that lead to weight gains and re-enforce behaviors that lead to weight loss. Of course, there will be temporary fluctuations due to the amount of water consumed, etc. However, after doing this for 18 months, I find that weight gain and loss is very predictable and that the immediate feedback is very useful.

**threenorns** · 26-May-05, 10:56 PM

sorry, but it still doesn't work like that.

you simply cannot get "immediate" feedback on a day's activities and intake - these are things that can only be tracked over time. the only way one would actually lose a pound in one day would be if one were to manage to burn off all calories eaten PLUS another 3,500.

you won't know if an exercise program is working until you've been at it for a good six weeks (three weeks will give you an idea, but six tells the tale).

really, there's only one sensible option: increase the metabolic demand by increasing your cardio a bit and using heavier weights.

and throw the scales out the damned window.

Octagon · 26-May-05, 11:41 PM

Well, you're both right...

Scale weight can definitely be useful feedback but that feedback is far from immediate.