Stubborn weight.

Caoimhín

Hi lads, bit of help maybe?
I have been trying to loose weight and build up some muscle for the past 6 months.
Im Male, 30 yrs, 5'11" and 12.5 stone.
I run 5 k in 25 mins every second day and i do weight training. The weight training is with a barbell and dumb ells (my physio showed me the right way to do exercises and to cover all muscle areas).

Thing is I seem to have reached a plateau, there is some stubborn fat around my waste, belly and boobs which wont seem to shift. and I'm still 12 stone (after running a distance over 3 months of 150 kilometers!!!)

I think i my diet is the main culprit as i do eat lots of fruit, veg and meat and i cut down on carbs except my beloved porridge and i only occasionally drink. I am guilty of having a treat once or twice a week with a pizza, biscuit or chocolate.

Now I do look better and my fitness is great but its the stubborn belly/man boob and spare tyre that are getting me down and have me thinking about giving up, and taking to the kebabs, Guinness and Ben and Jerry's Double Chocolate.
Can anyone suggest where I'm going wrong? am i missing something, like protein shakes (i hate the idea of those)?

BossArky

What exact exercises are you doing with the barbell and dumbbells? How heavy? Do you have access to a gym?

Looks like your diet is a problem. Put in a decent 2 months avoiding the biscuits, pizza and beer and reassess. Take measurements too. Don't give up.

edit - I know that if I run 5km on a threadmill I burn approx 400 cals. I'm sure that some pizza's will have more than 400 cals in them, so every pizza you have negates all that good work.

double edit - a pint would be approx 200 cals. Just throwing these figures out FYI.

Caoimhín

ThanksB ossArky. The dumbbell exercises i do are form this web site. http://www.building-muscle101.com/Dumbbell-Exercise-Illustrations.html

Weights are 25ks but i find these easy to i just do more and more.
I have access to a number of gyms in town but im a bit apprehensive about joining up. I am a bit of a cynic and i think all the equipment in the gym is just for show, money black-hole and full of posers.
I think i will remove all sugar and junk food and most carbs (except my porridge) for a month and see what happens.

hunter164

Put up a typical days diet and then they can asess where you're going wrong.

BossArky

I just had a quick look at the link. Make sure that you are not spending too much time on the little value add exercises.

I would concentrate on 9, 21, 22 and a bit of 3 as they will make best use of your time / use bigger muscles due to being compund exercises / burn more calories if you lift heavy enough. Make sure you are using your legs and back as these are nice big hefty muscles compared to smaller upper body muscles.

Do clean up your diet though.

Caoimhín

hunter164 wrote: »

Put up a typical days diet and then they can asess where you're going wrong.

Breakfast 6-7am
Porridge with water and milk.
2 boiled eggs with 2 slices of McCambrige brown bread.
Banana

11 am, Coffee with milk and sugar. Sometimes a doughnut, maybe 3 a week.

Lunch 1-2pm; Veg soup, 1 bowl and 1 slice of brown bread with butter. Banana and apple.

Dinner 5-6pm;
Brest of chicken/fresh cod/fillet steak (depending on the day) baked and on a spinach and pepper salad. Sometimes with a small amount of brown rice or baked spud. An apple for afters.

Sometimes, maybe once a week ill have a bowl of cornflakes with sugar about 8pm.

Note* i quit smoking 2 months ago to help the fitness. I drink a 1 litre of smoothies every 2 days!!! bad i know. I can have a bag of Tayto every few days too. (I'm beginning to See the answer myself now)
I do have my treat once a month with a 12" Apache pizza (2200 calories)
Again the dunbells exercises i do once a day.

http://www.building-muscle101.com/Dumbbell-Exercise-Illustrations.html

hunter164

First of all you need to split your day up into 5/6 equal meals. My advice would be read the stickys as that gives you a lot of info. for what you need.

Caoimhín

BossArky wrote: »

I just had a quick look at the link. Make sure that you are not spending too much time on the little value add exercises.

I would concentrate on 9, 21, 22 and a bit of 3 as they will make best use of your time / use bigger muscles due to being compund exercises / burn more calories if you lift heavy enough. Make sure you are using your legs and back as these are nice big hefty muscles compared to smaller upper body muscles.

Do clean up your diet though.

Thanks again. Now this sounds pathetic but is there any way i could really work hard on the beer belly and really remove the man boobys, these are REALLY affecting my self esteem.

hunter164

Seriously have a read of the stickys,I'm telling you that's where I've learnt most of what I know.

BossArky

I think we have guided you on a journey where you found the answer within yourself - diet

You cannot spot reduce fat. You body dosen't work that way. You just have to burn more calories each day than your body needs. As you run a calorie deficit your body will start to feed on fat stores (and muscle too if you don't eat properly). If you are eating a proper diet with an adequate amount of protein (chicken, tuna, nuts) then you'll end up burning more fat on this calorie deficit.

I doubt you need a protein shake now. That will just add further calories to an already bad diet.

Start a log, take some photos and measurements and report back in 2 months. Good luck!

Caoimhín

BossArky wrote: »

I think we have guided you on a journey where you found the answer within yourself - diet

You cannot spot reduce fat. You body dosen't work that way. You just have to burn more calories each day than your body needs. As you run a calorie deficit your body will start to feed on fat stores (and muscle too if you don't eat properly). If you are eating a proper diet with an adequate amount of protein (chicken, tuna, nuts) then you'll end up burning more fat on this calorie deficit.

I doubt you need a protein shake now. That will just add further calories to an already bad diet.

Start a log, take some photos and measurements and report back in 2 months. Good luck!

Right, last question, would it be worth my while joining a gym?

BossArky

I would say no, for the moment. Keep at your dumbbell work-out and running.

Gyms, personal trainers, protein shakes and extra bits and pieces can be added in further down the line if you are still not getting results.

A gym wouldn't harm you but I think you can see that you need to tidy up your diet a bit first.