Girl needs help!!!

Cheeky_gal

Basically...trying to lose weight, here's my diet and daily routine!

Breakfast
-> Scrambled egg (slimline milk) with a slice of wholemeal bread
-> Green tea

Lunch
-> Sandwich (always on brown bread, normally tuna, slice of cheese etc)

Dinner
-> Chicken caesar salad (very little dressing)

Snack
-> Fruit

Then water throughout the day...

Now my exercise regime...
Well every morning I have a 25 min walk to college...
Then in the evenings I go the gym for about an hour or two
Here's what I do....
20 mins - bike
20 mins - cross trainer
20 mins - speed walk
10 mins stretches

Hows all that? Still not noticing any weight difference and it's been two weeks! Any advice would be so great, Cheers!

mack1

Give some more info - what weight & height are you now (and I guess its the same as you were when you started?)

What about the intensity of your workout?

And for the diet - where's the veg?

Also - its only been 2 weeks, give it a chance!

EileenG

It doesn't look like enough food, unless you are built like a fairy. And where's the veg and the healthy fats?

Also, where's the weight lifting? Drop some of the cardio and hit the weights hard.

Pherekydes

EileenG wrote:

It doesn't look like enough food, unless you are built like a fairy. And where's the veg and the healthy fats?

Also, where's the weight lifting? Drop some of the cardio and hit the weights hard.

If she's trying to lose weight then weightlifting won't help.

Hanley

Slow coach wrote:

If she's trying to lose weight then weightlifting won't help.

Will it not?

So an increased metabolism doesn't help in weight loss?

Pherekydes

Are you sure her metabolism will increase? She's already doing lots of cardio. She will also increase her muscle mass with weights.

Ask her to clarify: weight loss or fat loss?

If it's the latter then plenty of weights and cardio, plus a good diet.

eroo

your body is reacting to your first two weeks of training.when you first start you will gain weight as your body calls up fat reserves due to metabolism change.after at least another week or two,you'll start losing weight.make sure you fuel your body and never skip meals!!also the weights would be good for you.you wont look skinny which can happen from running but rather toned while at an ideal weight.hope this helps.

eroo

mack1

Slow coach wrote:

Ask her to clarify: weight loss or fat loss?

I don't think anyone wants to weigh less and still be fat to be fair! When people say weight loss the generally mean fat loss, to most people the terms are interchangable.
It's like that scene in American Beauty, I want to lose weight for the average person really means "I want to look good naked" or to put it another way, have a leaner physique - it's fat loss and lean muscle gain.

Weight lifting will help her achieve these goals.

Colm_OReilly

Hanley wrote:

Will it not?

So an increased metabolism doesn't help in weight loss?

It amazing the misconceptions that surround weight training.

cheeky_gal, definitely cut down the quantity you spend and increase the quality of your workouts by making them more intense and varied. If all you do is that one workout, your body will get used to doing that (very quickly too) and stop adapting.

Mix it up with weights, different lifts, different combos, different types of "cardio".

If you want help with a routine just PM me or email me: info (at) crossfit (dot) ie

Colm

lynchtp

If you are a gym member, why not use one of their personal trainers. They are usually free for members and they will be able to give you a balanced routine and help you in your goals. Unlike any advice you can get on here, which in this area is completely circumstantial.

rubadub

mack1 wrote:

I don't think anyone wants to weigh less and still be fat to be fair!

I think the question was intended to get the OP thinking about what their real goal is. Exerting less force on the ground or losing fat.

I would agree with Slow Coaches comment to a point.
"If she's trying to lose weight then weightlifting won't help."
It might or might not. i.e. I was in and around 12stone for a year, if my only measure of success was the gravitational pull of my body on a force meter then I could have been very disappointed! But my clothes were looser all the time, today I noticed I need another new notch on my belt- on the good side!

Many are ignorant about weightlifting, you only have to put in weightlifting/bodybuilding myths into google to see all the hits.

As well as weighing, take photos, measurements at various points on the body, get your body fat % measured if possible. People can fluctuate by 7lb in the course of a day very easily, it can be disheartening if you base your success on your weigh scale reading.

Also work out your calorie intake and adjust accordingly, check this...
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=50956807&postcount=4

Hanley

Slow coach wrote:

Are you sure her metabolism will increase? She's already doing lots of cardio. She will also increase her muscle mass with weights.

Ask her to clarify: weight loss or fat loss?

If it's the latter then plenty of weights and cardio, plus a good diet.

Oh right. I didn't realise we wer being so pedantic.

Dragan

Slow coach wrote:

Are you sure her metabolism will increase? She's already doing lots of cardio. She will also increase her muscle mass with weights.

Ask her to clarify: weight loss or fat loss?

If it's the latter then plenty of weights and cardio, plus a good diet.

A decent cardio session will increase your metabolism by maybe 20% for about 3 to 4 hours afterwards.

A decent Resistance Training workout will increase your metabolism by 20% for 15 to 20 hours afterwards.

As a female on a limited calorific intake the additional muscle mass will be incredibly limited.

Dudess

OP, I'm not qualified in the area but you don't seem to be eating enough. Maybe your body is in starvation mode and thus holding onto the fat reserves for extra energy? Or maybe the lack of energy caused by lack of food is causing your metabolism to slow down?
Maybe you should start the day with a more carb-fuelled meal - like organic porridge - rather than scrambled egg, and have a more substantial dinner (e.g. white fish, brown rice and LOADS of veg).
Also, get out the measuring tape - you may not see anything on the scales yet, but there might be a difference in centimetres.
Do your clothes feel any looser? What the scales says isn't always the be-all-and-end-all. For me personally, it's waist rather than weight that matters. But that's just me. For a person weighing 20 stone, what the scales says IS that bit more critical.
What weight are you OP? Maybe you don't have that much fat to lose? A little fat always seems to go a lot slower.

cowzerp

Slow coach wrote:

If she's trying to lose weight then weightlifting won't help.

You clearly dont have a clue about fitness or weight loss, weight training burms calories and boosts metabolism, also when the diet is right, its only fat that will be lost as your body will hold onto the lean muscle, meaning your metabolism stays high-Diet is always the most important part of weight loss followed by resistance training then cardio, all together is best, to the op swap the fruit and dinner around so your eating mainly protein at night and the fruit will give you energy throughout the day, swap sambos with veg and meats if your not losing weight..

Slow coach wrote:

Are you sure her metabolism will increase? She's already doing lots of cardio. She will also increase her muscle mass with weights.

Too much cardio can have a negative effect on metabolism due to muscle been lost, the same happens with lack of protein in the diet..and muscle mass does not increase without the calorie intake been high enough to let it increase-people cutting calories dont gain muscle-especially women who already struggle to gain muscle anyway..

cousin_borat

if I remember correctly Transform in one of the stickies

you can lost weight through cardio and diet
you won't change and improve your body shape without weight training

enough said

rubadub

cowzerp wrote:

You clearly dont have a clue about fitness or weight loss,.

I think he does..

Ask her to clarify: weight loss or fat loss?

Which to me inferred he recommended weights for fat loss, while you could very well remain the same weight while doing so. As I mentioned I remained 12 stone for around a year, gaining muscle and losing fat at the same rate.

Dudess

Also OP, WHEN are you weighing yourself? It seems to be agreed generally that the best time is after going for a wee first thing in the morning.
Also, do you drink lots of water? If you do, then keep it up! And if you don't, START!
But if your liquid consumption is high it can make a temporary difference to the number on the scales.

Cheeky_gal

To everyone who replied...cheers! For example here's what I had today

Breakfast
-> Bran Flakes w/warm slimline milk
-> Mocha

Lunch
-> Sesame bagel w/corned beef, gherkins and swiss cheese

Snack
-> Smoothie

Dinner
-> Lasagne

So I actually did try eating more cuz yea it did seem like I was way undereating...

Anyways to answer some questions...I don't weigh myself..too unreliable I've found and its depressing! lol

I'm 5"8 and weigh 12stone tho i carry it well so i wouldn't appear overweight!

I'm really confused with all the advice! What I'd love to know is

1) Should I be doing weights
2) Is it bad to go to the gym mon-fri every day except w/ends??
3) Are you saying that if I continue doing the same routine evry time I go my body is gonna soon become adapted and I'll be burning less calories each time!?!
And finally...When I suddenly stop going to the gym for a week or so will I pile on loads of weight cuz my body had become adapted to regular exercise and is now recieving none?

Dudess

12 stone is not huge if you are 5 foot 8 in height so I think you're being hard on yourself. I have absolutely no doubt you carry it well.
But if you've flab to lose, you've flab to lose.
Cheers for posting up what you ate today. A few points:

Maybe drop the Bran Flakes (full of sugar, as are most processed cereals - even if they masquerade as "healthy") and go for organic porridge.
I'm sorry to be spoil-sport but mochas are extremely fattening - even with low-fat milk there's all that cocoa and sugar. How about a skinny latte?
Bagels are processed and high-cal - why not have wholegrain bread instead? You'll have far more energy after it.
Is the corned beef that sliced meat stuff? Because that is highly processed with lard added. Go for chicken.
Swiss cheese - again, very fattening. Red cheddar has far less cals, cottage cheese has less again.
Lasagne - full of creamy sauce. A dinner consisting of chicken or fish, brown rice/pasta, lots of veg and your own low-fat vegetable sauce would be far better.

I'm not trying to be harsh, just giving you tips on how to achieve the results you obviously want.

Colm_OReilly

1) Should I be doing weights

Yes.

2) Is it bad to go to the gym mon-fri every day except w/ends??

No, provided you don't begin to feel constantly tired, stop looking forward to the gym and feel wrecked afterwards go for it!

3) Are you saying that if I continue doing the same routine evry time I go my body is gonna soon become adapted and I'll be burning less calories each time!?!

Yep, your body gets most of the benefit of any routine in the first few times. Plus the adaptations get highly specifiy, particulary with monstructural cardio - such as running, cycling, swimming. If all you do is twenty minutes you'll get good at twenty minutes, same distance, and less efficient at longer or shorter distances.

When I suddenly stop going to the gym for a week or so will I pile on loads of weight cuz my body had become adapted to regular exercise and is now recieving none?

You won't lose the benefits of exercising that quickly. Now if that week off is in Lanzaraote eating curries and kebabs what can you expect? But time off now and again won't destroy your progress.

Any other questions, fire away

Colm

mack1

Dudess wrote:

12 stone is not huge if you are 5 foot 8 in height so I think you're being hard on yourself. I have absolutely no doubt you carry it well.
But if you've flab to lose, you've flab to lose.
Cheers for posting up what you ate today. A few points:

Maybe drop the Bran Flakes (full of sugar, as are most processed cereals - even if they masquerade as "healthy") and go for organic porridge.
I'm sorry to be spoil-sport but mochas are extremely fattening - even with low-fat milk there's all that cocoa and sugar. How about a skinny latte?
Bagels are processed and high-cal - why not have wholegrain bread instead? You'll have far more energy after it.
Is the corned beef that sliced meat stuff? Because that is highly processed with lard added. Go for chicken.
Swiss cheese - again, very fattening. Red cheddar has far less cals, cottage cheese has less again.
Lasagne - full of creamy sauce. A dinner consisting of chicken or fish, brown rice/pasta, lots of veg and your own low-fat vegetable sauce would be far better.

I'm not trying to be harsh, just giving you tips on how to achieve the results you obviously want.

Agree with most of this - the green tea you posted originally is much better than a mocha!
Lunch - still not really getting enough protein - chicken or fish would be better.
Dinner - again - where is the veg????
Smoothie is fine every now and then, but they have a lot of sugar and little of the fibre that real fruit has - I wouldnt have one on a non-gym day.
Also - need some healthy fats - some nut oil/butter or something.

And for your questions:
1 - yes
2 - not really, but it's no harm
3 - yes
4 - no, some time off every few months is no harm - but keep the diet in check!

good luck!

cowzerp

rubadub wrote:

I think he does..



Which to me inferred he recommended weights for fat loss, while you could very well remain the same weight while doing so. As I mentioned I remained 12 stone for around a year, gaining muscle and losing fat at the same rate.

i bet you didnt, your trainer had not got the balls to tell you to cut down on your calories because they did not want to look bad, gas!! unless you've got high testosterone levels.

channaigh

get a heart rate monitor probable can borrow one from the gym put it on while you are doing your work out. your heart rate should be between 130 -150 to lose weight . by doing this you will work hard in your workout and you will burn the fat. good luck

rubadub

cowzerp wrote:

i bet you didnt, your trainer had not got the balls to tell you to cut down on your calories because they did not want to look bad, gas!! unless you've got high testosterone levels.

Not sure what you mean? You dont think I could have remained around 12 stone while gaining muscle and losing fat at the same rate?

I started out around 14stone 11-12lb (5'11''), through a better diet (not great but better) and cycling I got down to 13stone. I just sort of plateaued then. I cycled a fixed distance to work, and just out and about cycling at the weekends. The plateau made sense to me, I was cycling with less weight, was fitter, and my overall exercise length dropped, i.e. took ages to cycle at first, my time was halved by the time I was 13 stone. This was all good and gradual- i.e. no crash diets.

After 13 stone I started lifting, dropped to 12st4lb, at about 0.5lb per week. From then on I fluctuated 12-12st3lb for about a year, getting thinner and stronger all the time. I have no trainer, and was on a caloire deficit of probably average 400-500kcal during the week, eating fairly well, would eat more after a workout than on my "off days" -but at the weekends was probably on a surplus due to drinking.

For around the last year I was 12stone pretty constant, and only in the last few months have dropped slightly to 165lb.

Anyways- Cheeky_gal- you should try and calculate your calories too. People keep posting fairly vague daily menus, a "sandwich" could be 250kcal or 1000kcal+, I used to eat bowls of museli that were around 800kcal, it is very easy to do. Portion control is a lot of peoples biggest problem.

cowzerp

channaigh wrote:

your heart rate should be between 130 -150 to lose weight . by doing this you will work hard in your workout and you will burn the fat. good luck

Heart rate zones are a load of crap, the higher the heart rate the higher the calorie burn-fact. the higher the calorie burn the more fat can be lost-these fat burning zones etc,, are based on fat % and when you work out the % of calories from the fat burning amount and from the high intensity range you will find that you burn more fat and calories in the high intensity zone. when it is said that you burn more fat in the fat burning zone it is meant that you burn a higher % of fat and not more fat calories.

Reyman

cowzerp wrote:

Heart rate zones are a load of crap, the higher the heart rate the higher the calorie burn-fact. the higher the calorie burn the more fat can be lost-these fat burning zones etc,, .

Hi Cowzerp - you're sailing close to the wind with your tactful comments on the other posts here. Take it easy or the Mods will be going hard on you.

Transform

cowzerp wrote:

Heart rate zones are a load of crap, the higher the heart rate the higher the calorie burn-fact. the higher the calorie burn the more fat can be lost-these fat burning zones etc,, are based on fat % and when you work out the % of calories from the fat burning amount and from the high intensity range you will find that you burn more fat and calories in the high intensity zone. when it is said that you burn more fat in the fat burning zone it is meant that you burn a higher % of fat and not more fat calories.

Higher % of fat and NOT fat calories - in all my years of personal training i have never heard of this before please enlighten or preferably start a new post

cowzerp

Transform wrote:

Higher % of fat and NOT fat calories - in all my years of personal training i have never heard of this before please enlighten or preferably start a new post

it is well known that the % of calories burned is higher at low heart rate training but this is misleading as with higher heart rate training you burn more calories and even though the % might be less the actual fat count most likely will be more-for example-if i jog light for 20 mins and burn 200 kcals at 50% fat =100 kcals of fat! and if i ran hard for same time burning 300 kcals it would be more like 40% kcals which =120 kcals of fat..if you dont understand that you need to get a new qualification.

Cheeky_gal

Colm_OReilly wrote:

Yep, your body gets most of the benefit of any routine in the first few times. Plus the adaptations get highly specifiy, particulary with monstructural cardio - such as running, cycling, swimming. If all you do is twenty minutes you'll get good at twenty minutes, same distance, and less efficient at longer or shorter distances.

Any other questions, fire away

Colm

I can't believe that! This may sound stupid now...but what's the point in me continuing going to the gym then on a regular basis if I'm not going to be burning the amount of calories the machine tells me!?

What would you recommend personally? Going every secnd day maybe? How much less calories are we talking here?? Thanks so much...

Cheeky_gal

Dudess wrote:

12 stone is not huge if you are 5 foot 8 in height so I think you're being hard on yourself. I have absolutely no doubt you carry it well.
But if you've flab to lose, you've flab to lose.
Cheers for posting up what you ate today. A few points:

Maybe drop the Bran Flakes (full of sugar, as are most processed cereals - even if they masquerade as "healthy") and go for organic porridge.
I'm sorry to be spoil-sport but mochas are extremely fattening - even with low-fat milk there's all that cocoa and sugar. How about a skinny latte?
Bagels are processed and high-cal - why not have wholegrain bread instead? You'll have far more energy after it.
Is the corned beef that sliced meat stuff? Because that is highly processed with lard added. Go for chicken.
Swiss cheese - again, very fattening. Red cheddar has far less cals, cottage cheese has less again.
Lasagne - full of creamy sauce. A dinner consisting of chicken or fish, brown rice/pasta, lots of veg and your own low-fat vegetable sauce would be far better.

I'm not trying to be harsh, just giving you tips on how to achieve the results you obviously want.

Thanks a mil for the advice...I actually didnt look at all that detail at the time! Makes perfect sense! So is a tuna melt (brown bread, tuna, tomatoes, lettuce, red onion) from obriens a good purchase?? Thats oily fish, protein, veg...(well...) would that be ok?

g'em

Cheeky_gal wrote:

This may sound stupid now...but what's the point in me continuing going to the gym then on a regular basis if I'm not going to be burning the amount of calories the machine tells me!?

oh dear :rolleyes:

Your body is an amazingly adaptive machine. Getting fitter means you become more efficent at doing work. Best way to combat that is to work harder. Train longer, train harder, and pick up some weights once in a while, they'll do more for you than any number of endless hours on the treadmill. Do interval training instead of constant rowing/ cycling (Google HIIT or high intensity interval training: long story short, go hell for leather on the cross trainer for one minute, slow your pace to relax for two minutes. Lather, rinse, repeat x 8) Don't worry, you're not in danger of becoming immune to burning calories anytime soon

Glowing

Cheeky-gal, why not try to join a few classes? I'm doing a bodysculpt class and a yoga/pilates class every week, and since i've started cycling to work, my stomach is like iron.

The classes are great as they're varied and you'd be more inclined to go I think than being bored at the gym. Weights are a very important part of a fitness routine, don't worry about building them up - near on impossible for a woman without going on a mad protein diet.

Colm_OReilly

Cheeky gal,

You could get a great workout by mixing it up.

Here's a few workouts off the top of my head.

Row 500m
50 squats
Repeat 3 times - record your total time.

Run 800m
50 sit ups
50 back extensions
Repeat 3 times - record your total time

100 burpees for time

Row 1000m
50 lunges
Row 750m
40 lunges
Row 500m
30 lunges
Row 250m
20 lunges

Start a clock - do one push up. At the one minute mark, do two push ups. Contineu until you cannot do as many push ups as the rounds call for

Do the same for pull ups/jumping pull ups

All these are just on the fly but they're fun ways to mix it up and keep shocking your bod into development. You might want to check out Eva T's blog - she's an *******n skier who posts "no equipment necessary" workouts regularly - http://skievat.blogspot.com/

Hope this helps,
Colm

Transform

cowzerp wrote:

it is well known that the % of calories burned is higher at low heart rate training but this is misleading as with higher heart rate training you burn more calories and even though the % might be less the actual fat count most likely will be more-for example-if i jog light for 20 mins and burn 200 kcals at 50% fat =100 kcals of fat! and if i ran hard for same time burning 300 kcals it would be more like 40% kcals which =120 kcals of fat..if you dont understand that you need to get a new qualification.

I need to get a new qualification?
Oh my god thats a pity

diegowhite

Experiment to see what works for you -

How quickly you lose weight will depend a lot on your normal body type and metabolism (both of which you can change in time)

Start with a basic diet similar to what's been recommended above (you do not look to be eating enough!)
Measure your weight, body fat etc.
Start with training 3 days a week (if your new to weights) and bring it up to 5.
Definitely do at least 2 weights sessions and do HIIT interval training (i'm sure there's info on it somewhere else on this forum)
For the weights in particular, if your training for any longer than 30 minutes it's not intense enough!

Measure yourself every 2-3 weeks, if your still not seeing results; modify what your eating and maybe the training if you feel it's not intense/exciting enough. It may be slow at the start but you'll find the key and be at your goal in no-time!