Another I need help thread

rungirlrun

Hi All

Long time lurker first time poster. Looking for some advice.

Since January 1st I have completely overhauled my lifestyle. I didn't want to do a another "diet" as I always lost the weight but regained twice as much. So myself and the other half completely overhauled our lifestyles. We changed what we ate, portion sizes, got off our back sides and began exercising.

On the 1st of January I weighed 19 stone 3lbs :mad: ... I knew it was bad but didn't think it had got that bad.

Move to today and I now weigh 16 stone and 5lbs which I am chuffed with! The problem is in the last three months I have lost about 7lbs. I began attending classes in a local gym early April and 5 weeks ago signed up to a personal trainer with a friend and we do two sessions a week. I have my first weigh in and measurements next sat where ideally he wanted me to lose 2lbs a week ie 1stone over the 7 weeks. The problem is I have lost max 3 lbs.


I am looking for a bit of advice on my diet/exercise regime to see if there is something I am missing as I am starting to get disheartend with the lack of movement on the scales.I am noticing loss of inches as I have had to drop a size in workout clothes and work trousers. Below is a typical diet/exercise regime for a week


Diet:-
Breakfast 8am - Porridge made with water with skimmed milk poured over.

Snack 10.30am - handful of mixed nuts with raisins

Lunch 1.30 pm - Chicken breast/ palmful of brown pasta or rice/ lots of veg

Pre workout snack 5.30pm - 2 eggs scrambled with skimmed milk with 2 turkey rashers

Post workout snack 9pm - Greek yoghurt with mixed nuts or rice cakes and peanut butter

the days I don't workout I will have some sort of protein and veg/salad for dinner.

Exercise:-

Monday - 1 hour Kettlebells class using a 6KG kettlebell ( have upped it to 8KG this week for two arm swings but keeping it at 6kg for snatches)

Tuesday - rest day

Wednesday - 30:30 class ( 30 mins step and 30 mins kettlebells)

Thursday - 6.30am -7.30 am personal trainer session ( mix of circuits/intensity cardio/weights)

Friday - 5k jog

Saturday 11am-12am personal trainer session (same as above)

Sunday - Rest day.

Any advice would be great as I am seriously considering a trip to the doctor at this stage to get bloods tested:o ... Am i gaining muscle which is why I am loosing inches but not seeing it on the scales? ... I really dont want to be a 16 stone female body builder

Thanks in advance

rungirlrun

Bump

juneg

Please go to the doctor and get your check up done. glucose & cholesterol levels, heart rate and blood pressure checked. Whatever about the weight you need to make sure you are physically fit enough to undertake the exertion from exercise. best of luck

Stench Blossoms

Hmmm I'd leave off going to the doctor for the moment.

Do you count calories? Have you worked out how many calories you should be eating?

Use a heavier weight in the kettlebell class.

Hanley

If your PT hasn't written a diet plan with your calorie needs taken into consideration, hes not much use.

If he has done one and you're not sticking to it, that's on you!!

I don't think the quality or quantity of your exercise is THAT big of a deal next to your food consumption, which is pretty bad of you're looking to lose weight.

rungirlrun

Stench Blossoms wrote: »

Hmmm I'd leave off going to the doctor for the moment.

Do you count calories? Have you worked out how many calories you should be eating?

Use a heavier weight in the kettlebell class.

I worked out calorie wise its about 1500 on training days and 1200 on rest days. I try to eat less when im not working out.

I used the 8kg kettlebell again last night and found it tough ... dont know if id be able to just yet to go any higher

Stench Blossoms

How tall are you ? < 5'2?

rungirlrun

Hanley wrote: »

If your PT hasn't written a diet plan with your calorie needs taken into consideration, hes not much use.

If he has done one and you're not sticking to it, that's on you!!

I don't think the quality or quantity of your exercise is THAT big of a deal next to your food consumption, which is pretty bad of you're looking to lose weight.

Sorry should off said thr above diet was provided by my PT. Where in the diet do you think is bad for weight loss ?

rungirlrun

Stench Blossoms wrote: »

How tall are you ? < 5'2?

5'8

Stench Blossoms

Well then your calculations are WAY off.

What age are you?

rungirlrun

Stench Blossoms wrote: »

Well then your calculations are WAY off.

What age are you?

5"8 in height

do you mean calculations calories wise are way off?

rungirlrun

Stench Blossoms wrote: »

Well then your calculations are WAY off.

What age are you?

im 26

Stench Blossoms

Yes. 1200 is very very low.

A good way to work out your calories needs is

lbs * 12 (Hanley can correct me on that)

which would be

231 * 12 = 2772 calories.

Edit: Using the formula here

BMR:
19-30 (bw (kg) * 14.7) + 496

(104*14.7) +496 = 2024

Activity level
mostly seated or standing RMR * 1.4
regular walking or equivalent RMR * 1.7
generally physically active RMR * 2.0

I'm gonna just guess your seated all day so that would be

2024 * 1.4 = 2833

So if you're only eating 1200 on non training days then your possibly starving yourself and holding onto the fat deposits you have - hence not losing weight.

How did you come up with the 1200?

rungirlrun

Stench Blossoms wrote: »

Yes. 1200 is very very low.

A good way to work out your calories needs is

lbs * 12 (Hanley can correct me on that)

which would be

231 * 12 = 2772 calories.

So if you're only eating 1200 on non training days then your possibly starving yourself and holding onto the fat deposits you have - hence not losing weight.

How did you come up with the 1200?

porridge with skimmed milk -250 cals
nuts and raisins -250 cals
chicken breast 200 brown pasta 200 and 50 for veg
chicken/tuna/salmon for dinner roughly 200 cals and another 50 for veg/salad (use no sauces)

rungirlrun

looking at that calorie formula im way off. maybe adding in some more nuts and fresh fruit throughout the day will help.

im trying not to eat carbs after 3pm if possible wither than something light like rice cakes as. I just get really bloated.

Stench Blossoms

rungirlrun wrote: »

porridge with skimmed milk -250 cals
nuts and raisins -250 cals
chicken breast 200 brown pasta 200 and 50 for veg
chicken/tuna/salmon for dinner roughly 200 cals and another 50 for veg/salad (use no sauces)

No I meant how did you come up with that you should be eating 1200?

Also, do you weigh your food? How do you know your only eating 200calories worth of pasta etc?

Transform

plug 2-3 days of food into e.g. fitday.com and then pop back with the actual calorie intake, carb/protein/fat breakdown (grams/day or %) e.g. 1,500 calories total with 60% carbs, 30% protein, 10% fats.

rungirlrun

Stench Blossoms wrote: »

No I meant how did you come up with that you should be eating 1200?

Also, do you weigh your food? How do you know your only eating 200calories worth of pasta etc?

oops sorry .... i assumed 2000 cals a day was max i should be eating for a female so in order to lose weight eat less but i guess thats not the case.

i weighed it at the beginning and have got used to the portion sizes. I will go back to weighing today

thanks for all the advice so far

Hanley

rungirlrun wrote: »

Sorry should off said thr above diet was provided by my PT. Where in the diet do you think is bad for weight loss ?

I won't go so far as to say I think it's terrible, but I do think it's vastly sub optimal. So many carbs in there that are going to f*ck about with your blood glucose levels and have you hungry as soon as you eat.

Stench Blos is right about bodyweight in lb x 12 as a starting point for total calorie intake.

Total average kcal intake over a week is what matters. If you've 4 really good days on 1,200kcal (assuming it's ACTUALLY 1,200kcal and not a miscount), eventually you're going to end up breaking, and when you break, it'll be epic. And your kcal intake for the week is going to be insufficient for weight loss.

rungirlrun

Transform wrote: »

plug 2-3 days of food into e.g. fitday.com and then pop back with the actual calorie intake, carb/protein/fat breakdown (grams/day or %) e.g. 1,500 calories total with 60% carbs, 30% protein, 10% fats.

Hi Transform

Thanks for reccomending that site.

Put in my diet for a training day and non training day as got the below

Non training day:-
Total cals - 1357 so higher than I was calculating
35% fat, 30%carbs 35% protein

Training day :-
Total cals 1510
50% fat , 23% carbs 27% protein

Transform

rungirlrun wrote: »

Hi Transform

Thanks for reccomending that site.

Put in my diet for a training day and non training day as got the below

Non training day:-
Total cals - 1357 so higher than I was calculating
35% fat, 30%carbs 35% protein

Training day :-
Total cals 1510
50% fat , 23% carbs 27% protein

looks bang on to me - i would cut out the wheat totally in any form and are you taking any supplements e.g. fish oils, digestive enzymes etc

Might be worth throwing in a 16hr fast once a week to help things along have dinner, sleep and then eat again at about 1pm the next day.

At your current weight and activity levels you should be still dropping about 1-2lbs per week so keep at it and i have seen clients go through 1-2months with little progress and then it can all speed back up a month later.

Log your food for a full 2-3 weeks on that site just to see if you are consistent and aim to keep the gram intake of carbs to roughly 100g or less per day as a good starting point and dial back down a little if fat loss stalls.

All the best

rungirlrun

Transform wrote: »

looks bang on to me - i would cut out the wheat totally in any form and are you taking any supplements e.g. fish oils, digestive enzymes etc

Might be worth throwing in a 16hr fast once a week to help things along have dinner, sleep and then eat again at about 1pm the next day.

At your current weight and activity levels you should be still dropping about 1-2lbs per week so keep at it and i have seen clients go through 1-2months with little progress and then it can all speed back up a month later.

Log your food for a full 2-3 weeks on that site just to see if you are consistent and aim to keep the gram intake of carbs to roughly 100g or less per day as a good starting point and dial back down a little if fat loss stalls.

All the best

Thanks Transform. I am taking fish oil capsules and Geinseng before workouts.

Il cut back on the carbs as much as possible and just keep at it! It has taken 10 years to get there so it will take a long time to come off!

Thanks for all your help!

Inspector Coptoor

Does anyone else think that 1350 calories per day on non training days & 1510 on training days is too little for someone who weighs 230lbs at 5'8"?

I workout her maintenance to be 229lb x 12 so 2748kcals.

Meaning she is running a daily deficit of 1400 cals & weekly deficit of 9800 cals. Enough to lose 2.75lb per week.

I just think food & kcal intake should be slightly higher on each day type (training & rest) & aim for about 1.5-1.75lb per week as.

I'd eat 1300kcal by 12:00 most days & I weigh the exact same as her. (albeit a 6'1" male)

Stench Blossoms

Inspector Coptoor wrote: »

Does anyone else think that 1350 calories per day on non training days & 1510 on training days is too little for someone who weighs 230lbs at 5'8"?

I workout her maintenance to be 229lb x 12 so 2748kcals.

Meaning she is running a daily deficit of 1400 cals & weekly deficit of 9800 cals. Enough to lose 2.75lb per week.

I just think food & kcal intake should be slightly higher on each day type (training & rest) & aim for about 1.5-1.75lb per week as.

I'd eat 1300kcal by 12:00 most days & I weigh the exact same as her. (albeit a 6'1" male)

Yeh I agree. She's not eating enough.

Hanley

Inspector Coptoor wrote: »

Does anyone else think that 1350 calories per day on non training days & 1510 on training days is too little for someone who weighs 230lbs at 5'8"?

I workout her maintenance to be 229lb x 12 so 2748kcals.

Meaning she is running a daily deficit of 1400 cals & weekly deficit of 9800 cals. Enough to lose 2.75lb per week.

I just think food & kcal intake should be slightly higher on each day type (training & rest) & aim for about 1.5-1.75lb per week as.

I'd eat 1300kcal by 12:00 most days & I weigh the exact same as her. (albeit a 6'1" male)

Fully agree. I've 2 125lb girls dieting off around 1,400kcal and the weight's falling off them.

rungirlrun

thanks for all the replys. its obvious im not eating enough which is perhaps why im not losing weight.... body is storing fat.

so going by the calculations i would need to eat 2700 cals to maintain my current weight. so if I want to lose 2lbs a week i need a calorie reduction of 7000 (3500 cals per lb) ? so i should eat 1700 - 2200 cals on rest days and training days?

Inspector Coptoor

rungirlrun wrote: »

thanks for all the replys. its obvious im not eating enough which is perhaps why im not losing weight.... body is storing fat.

so going by the calculations i would need to eat 2700 cals to maintain my current weight. so if I want to lose 2lbs a week i need a calorie reduction of 7000 (3500 cals per lb) ? so i should eat 1700 - 2200 cals on rest days and training days?

I'd say 2000 on rest days & 2250 on training days.

The figures above only take into account day loss.

You could well lose more "weight" through glycogen & water loss.

Hanley

I don't like the idea of eating more on training days. Really think it can make it tougher than it needs to be for people... Just one dudes opinion

rungirlrun

Hanley wrote: »

I don't like the idea of eating more on training days. Really think it can make it tougher than it needs to be for people... Just one dudes opinion

i always thought that id just be burning the extra calories I had eaten that day during training but i suppose there is the additional energy side of it. i take a geinseng tablet dissolved in water before i train but it can cause me to crash afterwards

willielovesall

Hi I'm working as a personal trainer at the moment and I also have a background in science(bio-chemistry). There is a lot of conflicting advice around Ireland(especially in the media but also conventional irish wisdom) and I am actually sick of it. It's extremely hard to lose weight in this country because of all the crap conflicting advice everyone is giving everyone.

I am currently designing a free e-mail course for anyone who wants to join and I am wondering what kind of things would you want to learn about.

Things I have included include
-reasons why you should not be eating grains
-exercises and routines that result in a higher resting metabolism(so you burn more fat per hour)
-proper lifestyle changes that result in better gains(such as getting better quality sleep)
-conventional ideas that suck if you are trying to lose weight(such as eating potatoes. . .yes shock horror. . .they are not that good for you)
-and finally why calorie counting sucks and just doesn't work for the normal person(I have not many people who can count calories properly so I think we should forget about them altogether.

Is there anything else I should include in this e-mail course?(which will be completely free).

By the way it's not finished yet. I can tell the OP has some questions and the advice that followed was not up to standard. PM me and I will give you a direct answer for your questions with regards to health

Inspector Coptoor

I have a biochem background as well, and while there is some cross over, it doesn't necessarily add a huge amount of weight to what you have to say as you could have been studying the light dependent stage of photosynthesis or in my case, studying the protein ubiquitin & IGF expression in zebra fish embryos.

That said, I think that what you are trying to do is kind of worthwhile but there's nothing new in what you listed there.

Be sure to include the benefits of fish oil, particularly omega 3s & the benefits of eating full fat butter, avocados, nuts etc.

willielovesall

I studied digestion and the reaction of sugar in the body.

Actually there is a lot I can do.

First of people have massive flaws in their thinking with regards to certain things.

I am going to use fat as an example.

Lots of people look at me queer eyed when I say they should eat more fat.

People still think fat makes them fat. I actually can't understand that at all. Fat is essential for proper brain functioning. Sugar is the fecker that makes you fat.

Sugar makes people fat. Fat making you fat is such a myth and I opened up the Irish Independent the other day and it suggest Ireland cut it's fat intake and that's a national newspaper giving people the wrong info.

Fat in the diet is super important.

People seem to think that they should eat potatoes or rice or bread as a staple diet but potatoes have been strongly linked with causing inflammation on the stomach along with oats and rice.

The reality is calorie counting is worth jack **** because no one knows how to count calories.

People should be counting and eating less carbs. In fact for any person trying to lose weight they should make sure their carb intake in under 150 grams.

Also people think that if you eat starchy food, that your body will break it down slowly and that will mean you will get a steady realize of energy throughout the day. This thinking is again false.

Also if people did kno all this stuff than we wouldn't have the obesity problem in Ireland that we do.

And people definitely care. Last month there was over a 100,000 google searches from Ireland alone for the long tail word "lose belly fat"

Inspector Coptoor

You're preaching to the choir here dude.

Transform

Inspector Coptoor wrote: »

You're preaching to the choir here dude.

agreed

i'm working on it here after telling family i used coconut butter in dinner... "but it's full of fat!!! :eek: " eh yeah it sure is