wife's dilemma

[mrluckyboy]

My wife (5'3", currently between 150 to 148.5 lbs.) is having trouble losing weight. She is currently around 1300-1500 calories (quality) a day, well-balanced in terms of nutrients and is exercising 6 days a week (cardio - interval for 1 hour) and strength training 2-3 times a week. I know in the past her diet has been the problem (cheat meals, etc) and that her level of cardio hasn't been as intense as it could be, but I really feel like she is making her best effort right now.

She realizes that a pound a week is a reasonable expectation, but it isn't happening. She started at 150 and this will complete her 4th week. I don't think she'd hit an exercise plateau in 4 weeks, but if she did, we would have seen some progress come to a stop, no?

Does anyone out there have any advice or possible reasons why an individual who follows a consistent, strenuous exercise plan and watches what they eat won't lose weight? Does she need to up her caloric intake (quality, of course)? I started her on FitDay, so that may help her track her calories better.

Any help?

[Lady C]

Give us detail of her eating and workout. Then maybe we can give here exact feedback.

[mrluckyboy]

OK

Breakfast - special k, 1% milk, 1/2 cup cantalope, apple juice

Lunch - 1/2 PBJ (natural PB), 12 grain bread, salad with tomato, lite dressing, piece of fruit, H2O

Snack - string cheese, apple

Dinner - salad, 1/2 portion grilled salmon or chicken breast, steamed broccoli or similar, brown rice, H2O

Workout usually interval on elliptical or combo elliptical/treadmill...averaging 500 cal per session (around 10-11 cal per minute) -6 days a week

3x a week - resistance training (DB squat, lunge, calves, DB tricep kick back, DB curl) and abs

I think 2 things 1) more calories (quality) and 2)perhaps heavier, multijoint training?

I know you all say not to look at the scale, but it IS a means to quantify one's work.


Feedback? Thank you Lady C

[Doc2029]

Originally Posted by mrluckyboy

OK

Breakfast - special k, 1% milk, 1/2 cup cantalope, apple juice

Lunch - 1/2 PBJ (natural PB), 12 grain bread, salad with tomato, lite dressing, piece of fruit, H2O

Snack - string cheese, apple

Dinner - salad, 1/2 portion grilled salmon or chicken breast, steamed broccoli or similar, brown rice, H2O

Workout usually interval on elliptical or combo elliptical/treadmill...averaging 500 cal per session (around 10-11 cal per minute) -6 days a week

3x a week - resistance training (DB squat, lunge, calves, DB tricep kick back, DB curl) and abs

I think 2 things 1) more calories (quality) and 2)perhaps heavier, multijoint training?

I know you all say not to look at the scale, but it IS a means to quantify one's work.


Feedback? Thank you Lady C

It looks like she needs more protein. The breakfast needs work. Special K isn't all that great. Try oat meal, eggs or egg beaters, loose the apple juice have an apple. Try some veggies with breakfast.

Lunch - looks weak as well for proteins peanut butter isn't that great of a source. how much "lite" dressing is she eating? Add more veggies and eat more protein.

Snack - I guess cheese and an apple pre-workout is o.k.

Dinner - Dinner is ok.

The weight lifting needs work. Try having her do more compound movements. Bench press, dead lifts, clean n' jerk with dumbbells. Have her try squats with a barbell.

Try having her eat 20%F 40%C 40%P to start and adjust some to see how her body reacts.

[Lady C]

I agree with the doc - she needs more protein. I have no issues with the cereal but she needs a quality protein source in each meal

Originally Posted by mrluckyboy

Breakfast - special k, 1% milk, 1/2 cup cantalope, apple juice. add in small protein shake using that juice.

Lunch - 1/2 PBJ (natural PB), 12 grain bread, salad with tomato, lite dressing, piece of fruit, H2O Add in quality protein source. PB is not enough. Skip the fruit, add in more veggies

Snack - string cheese, apple OK for a snack but she needs more carbs pre-workout on resistance training days.

Dinner - salad, 1/2 portion grilled salmon or chicken breast, steamed broccoli or similar, brown rice, H2O This is an excellent meal

I would add in a post-workout shake of whey and a banana in water. This is critical for building muscles. I assumed she worked out between the snack and the dinner meals. This extra meal might be enough calorie increase to put her over the hump. Try to add in veggis more, if possible, they are your friend while cutting!

Originally Posted by mrluckyboy

Workout usually interval on elliptical or combo elliptical/treadmill...averaging 500 cal per session (around 10-11 cal per minute) -6 days a week
3x a week - resistance training (DB squat, lunge, calves, DB tricep kick back, DB curl) and abs

I think 2 things 1) more calories (quality) and 2)perhaps heavier, multijoint training?

yep - time for a new routine. More combination, heavier resistance training. Add in one long cardio session with those HIIT sessions per week. Make sure she is listening to her body and rests when it has not fully recovered.

Originally Posted by mrluckyboy

I know you all say not to look at the scale, but it IS a means to quantify one's work.

Start looking at the scale AND taking measurements 1x per week. Same day, same time. This is encouragement for someone at a plateau to show some progress somewhere.

[mrluckyboy]

Thank you so much for your replies.

1)How is this for lunch - mixed green salad w/ tomato, red peppers, dressing (she dips her fork in dressing, so this is not our confounding X-factor) and a sliced grilled chicken breast, H2O

2)pre workout...can she add a granola bar or modified oatmeal cookie (recipe from this site) to what she's eating.

3)Great advice, but clean and jerks for an inexperienced lifter?

4)You mention protein is the key for building muscle...she will be reading this and, what you mean is adding lean body mass, not bulky muscle. Correct?

5) What would you suggest for a evening snack (before 8:00pm) to stoke the metabolism? She doesn't like cottage cheese, by the way.

Thanks. Thanks. Thanks.

[LiftGirl]

Originally Posted by mrluckyboy

4)You mention protein is the key for building muscle...she will be reading this and, what you mean is adding lean body mass, not bulky muscle. Correct?

Lean body mass is anything that is not fat, such as muscle, bone, water, etc. But when people talk about adding lean mass, they usually mean building muscle. But you don't need to worry about her getting bulky. Women just don't have the necessary hormones to do it. I hope you have not been discouraging her from using heavy weights (whatever is heavy for her) and compound exercises because you fear her becoming "bulky."

She needs to do resistance exercises that hit the whole body. Try something like deadlifts, squats, rows, bench, and over head press.

I would substitute two of the cardio sessions per week for 20 minute HIIT ones. I know you mention she is doing interval training, but if she can go for an hour, it's not intense enough.

I think adding some intensity to the workouts will get her over the plateau.

[mrluckyboy]

No, I actually asked in my last post so that my wife can see that the bulking is not going to happen. I agree that more intense, higher weight resistance training is in order and have not discouraged that at all.

Regarding HIIT, should she expect the same number of burned calories in the shorter amount of time? I'm thinking no...am I correct?

I will show her these posts tonight and see what we can work out. Thanks.

[Lady C]

Originally Posted by mrluckyboy

1)How is this for lunch - mixed green salad w/ tomato, red peppers, dressing (she dips her fork in dressing, so this is not our confounding X-factor) and a sliced grilled chicken breast, H2O

It depends on how big the salad is. She needs approx 1/5 of her daily calories in each meal (if eating 5 meals per day).

Originally Posted by mrluckyboy

2)pre workout...can she add a granola bar or modified oatmeal cookie (recipe from this site) to what she's eating.

That is OK.

Originally Posted by mrluckyboy

3)Great advice, but clean and jerks for an inexperienced lifter?

she has to start somewhere. Start light - with a broom stick - and work your way up.

Originally Posted by mrluckyboy

4)You mention protein is the key for building muscle...she will be reading this and, what you mean is adding lean body mass, not bulky muscle. Correct?

Toning means building muscle. The more she adds muscle the firmer she will look. I don't know what you mean by bulky. Look at my pics (or gymgirl) and see if I fit the bulky category. This it what she can expect. I lift heavy most of the time and I'm older and take longer to recover than a 24yo.

Originally Posted by mrluckyboy

5) What would you suggest for a evening snack (before 8:00pm) to stoke the metabolism?

Fats in general are good for late night snacks but be sure to include some protein too. Fats take a long time to digest. Nuts, PB shake, etc. Some have done some protein puddings with sugar substitutes.

Originally Posted by mrluckyboy

Regarding HIIT, should she expect the same number of burned calories in the shorter amount of time? I'm thinking no...am I correct?

Actually, she may burn more calories depending on her intensity. If she can perform more than 6-8 rounds of 20 seconds max, 10 seconds light then she needs to increase the intensity. High-intensity is an individual thing. It can be a 4 for someone or a 12 for another person and they can still get the same benefit from the same workout. As you get more fit, the intensity level ability will increase.

[LiftGirl]

Originally Posted by mrluckyboy

Regarding HIIT, should she expect the same number of burned calories in the shorter amount of time? I'm thinking no...am I correct?

HIIT stokes the metabolism even after exercise. It's not so much about how many cals or burned during the exercise session, but more about how many are burned throughout the day.

[sooner_ed]

I see this is an older thread but I'd like to throw my two cents worth in just in case Mrluckyboy reads it.

Most, if not all, people will disagree with me on this but that's ok. We all have different viewpoints on things. I am drawing from my own personal experience.

The two things I see here are information overload and overthinking.

From reading the original post, it appears the goal is losing weight. And we are using the scales as a way to guage our progress. I have absolutely no problem with that because I am a scale watcher myself.

Scale watchers tend to get frustrated when they don't lose weight on the scales when they are doing both cardio and lifting weights. The culprit is always gaining muscle and losing fat since muscle weighs more than fat. That's why everyone says throw away the scales and judge your progress based upon your appearance. This is very sound advice. However, it is still very important for some scale watchers to see a certain number on the scales. And if that is still the driving factor here, then we need to change the way we do things.

Sometimes we get so caught up in what we eat that things start to become rather confusing, even to the point where we just want to throw up our hands and walk away. Personally, I advocate a common sense approach to eating. We need to see the big picture and stop worrying about measuring this and measuring that.

First of all, we all know we need good lean protein, complex carbs, and healthy fats. It's the timing of all this that is most important. Just remember that after every workout, you need to replenish your muscles with protein and complex carbs, regardless of the time of day you work out. If you know the foods you like to eat and which category each food falls under, it makes things a lot easier.

This morning, I am going to go on a 16 mile run so I knew I needed to eat light but have certain things for breakfast, so I had a bowl of oatmeal, a bowl of Special K with fat free milk, a banana, and two slices of whole wheat toast with peanut butter. I added a cup of coffee for the caffeine. After I run, it will be time for lunch which will consist of a good lean protein source, a complex carb, and veggies.

My personal belief is that if you are eating healthy foods, you can eat until you're full and still lose weight. That doesn't mean have 10 ounces of chicken and three baked pototoes. Just use some common sense to portion sizes. You can always eat all the veggies and salad you want. It's very easy to get tired of them quickly so if there's a way to keep variety in that, it helps.

The key to all of this is eating healthy and working your butt off.

Here's what I would recommend for cardio. You say she does interval cardio for one hour. In my opinion, therein lies the problem. For me, the more cardio I do (I'm a runner), the more I eat. It stands to reason. The more your body works, the more nutrition it needs and hunger is your body's way of telling you what it needs. The farther I run, the bigger the appetite I have. If your wife runs, I would recommend a two mile run six days a week. Last summer I needed to lose some weight so I decided to focus on speedwork. I have a track on the way home from work I would run on. The first day I would run two miles at a comfortable pace. Each day after that, the goal was to run the same two miles faster than the day before. Rest on the seventh day and start all over again the next week. The point is to minimize the time spent doing cardio while maximizing the intensity. It works. I lost about 20 pounds in around three months. And I promise you I did not go hungry. In fact, there would always be those days I would pig out. No big deal. You just get back on the wagon the next day.

Day after day, I watch people come on this forum discouraged because they work their butts off trying to lose weight with no results. Some have really crappy diets that they think are good. Others simply overthink things. When you don't see results, you have some options:

1. Eat less, exercise more
2. Eat the same, exercise more
3. Eat more, exercise more

Exercising more can simply mean changing your workouts and intensity of those workouts. Just make sure you have fun with your workouts.

Another key to all of this, and I apologize for writing a book here, is to simply keep busy. I remember when I lost 63 pounds four years ago, I changed my complete lifestyle. I started cleaning house almost every day. When it was time to cut grass, I would tell my kids to leave me some to cut and I would grab the push mower instead of getting on the riding mower. If you can plant a garden, plant a small one. You will need to go out and hoe the weeds quite often, which works your obliques very well. The point is to find things you enjoy doing and staying busy. The busier you are, the less time you have to eat. And of course, the more calories you burn.

Not to mention the fact that it's just harder to lose weight during the winter. Many factors involved there. As the days get longer and hotter, I'm sure your wife will find it much easier to lose weight.

So in a nutshell, I would recommend stop counting calories and measuring food. Just use a common sense approach to eating. I'm sure she knows what is healthy and what is not. Just eat until you're not hungry or even stop just a little short of that. Veggies and salad (even though you can tire of them quickly) are perfect fillers. I would also have shorter, more intense cardio sessions six days a week. If she can find time to work out twice a day, that is very optimal. She can lift weights for 30 minutes and do cardio for 20-30 minutes a day. That's still one hour or less. I personally lift in the mornings before work and run right after work. Any way you look at it, you get both in in just an hour a day, where she is doing cardio for an hour a day now. I think she can save time and get better results that way. Just me though.

Sorry for the book.

[LiftGirl]

Another great post by ed! I love the common sense, rational approach you bring here.