HELP ME PLEASE! PLEEEEAAASE!!!

tryinmybest

Hi everyone,
I need advice and I need it quick! I'm a very active person, I run three times a week, 5k. a pretty intense spinning class, a power bar toning class and I'm an infant teacher so I DO NOT sit down all day! I sleep well,eat very healthily and still, inspite of all my hard work, I cannot lose weight! I'm 11 stone 4 punds and have bben bang on that weight for two years, no more, no less! I'm 5 foot 6 so I'm average height for a girl.I suppose I'm average build too.
What I'm wondering is why havent I toned up in any way? What does everything continue to wibble and wobble! Whay am I not strutting down a cat walk in Milan at this stage!?!
I enjoy the exercise, I feel its a real achievement. This time last year I was a smoking couch potato. Last Saturday I climbed a mountain and while reaching the top was a greatfeeling, all it took was one glance at a skinny beauty and I thought "whats the point?". I mean, I could have been in the pub with a bottle of bud watching the rugby and enjoying myself!
So I'mwondering if I'm doing something wrong. I've tried everything! I dont eat wheat or daily (intolerant) I havent had a drink in yonks. Had a skin thing that meant I had to quit all foods containing histamine so basiclly i'm on a very very healthy completely homemade diet!
So help me someone please! AT this stage I feel like throwing in the towel and opening the packet of chocolate digestives and cracking open the wine!
Please help!

Zombienosh

Whats a typical diet? Do you know how many calories you eat?

kloc

Hey, I'm not far behind you, exercise regularly, generally eat healthily, tend to fluctuate up and down a half stone 10st 4 to 10st11, I'm 5ft 7, would love to get down to 10st and stay there !! I generally know my problem, portions !!What has helped though has been switching to more protein, more "Good" fats, including omega 3's to my diet.... I know if I umphed my exercise to more interval training and added more weights I'd do better too.. But well done on how far you've come, you'll live a longer healthier life than the ones sitting in the pubs every weekend, mind you that has to be done on occassion too ;-)

tryinmybest

Typical diet would be porridge for breakfast, apple and cup of tea at 11 and a spelt roll with chicken or oat cakes with chicken for lunch. Dinner is probably more chickena nd a steak once a week at the weekend. For a snack, maybe some more fruit and if my stomach is dodgy i have a bowl of ground rice made with soya milk. I dont know what that would be in terms of calories but it cant be more than 1500

tryinmybest

Thanks kloc! Great advice. I dont have omegas in my diet at the moment. You probably get them through fish? or are you taking a supplement?

kloc

Taking a supplement as think we're all deficient but try and eat fish 2 to 3 times a week as well... Are you eating veg with your dinner ? Sounds like you need to include more veg which will give you extra fibre which will help fill you up and help feed your good bacteria in the gut which helps with weight loss too.. all good ;-)

tryinmybest

Right supplement taking will start in the morning. I'll make sure I get fish into the diet too. Considering I live over a fishmongers that shouldbe easy enough! And more veg. At the moment I'd have red pepper and celery. Suppose I could have more. Thanks Kloc for the advice. I'll put it into practice asap and report back in a week with (hopefully) a small result!

traco

First things first - figure out exactly what you are eating by using myfitnesspal or any other app or web site so you have some hard facts. Just looking at the sample day it seems low but carbs and fruit are jumping out. any of these apps should give you a breakdown of crabs, protein and fats whic is really the info you need to know.

Now for my 2c worth and I'd lean towards the Primal / Paleo thinking cos its worked for me )19kg gone and fitter, stronger and faster than I have ever been but bear in mind the comments below are just my thoughts and only an opinion.

I'd recommend calculating (see this post for details) your daily calorie needs, shift more focus onto proteins (meat, chicken, fish) and fats (olive oil, nuts, etc - good fats) as I'm guessing these may be low. Now for the bad news you need to hit the weights (real weights with proper instruction) while backing off on the cardio. Long duration cardio will slow down the benefits of the weights so keep cardio short and intense - say 8-15 mins 3 times a week but at very high intensity to maintain a level of fitness.

The weights won't make you bulky but if you put on some muscle mass things become more solid and stop wobbling. To be fair you are doing the work but maybe applying the time differently or more effectively would help achieve your goals.

Also ignore the scales as they are not your firend if you are looking at weights but focus on the mirror and measurements. There is a very good article here on that very subject along with a picture to explain why.

Best of luck and keep doing the work as thats the hard part.

IlmoNT4

Hey there
Couple of things jump out at me

1.I dont think you are eating enough. This is a pretty good tool to work out what your min calorie requirement is. I know its easy to think, eat less= weight less but when you dont eat enough your body stores weight in order to ensure that you can live through a food shortage. Plus your details into this tool and get a calorie tracker for your phone http://www.muscleandstrength.com/tools/bmr-and-daily-calorie-calculator.html .There are more details ones, that show you a break down of carbs, proteins, fats but that can be information overload at the start
2. Could you swap out your 5K runs for some weight lifting? I know weight lifting for women sounds scary....its not! if you want to have that awesome tonned body then you need to lift, and lift heavy. Dont worry theres no way you will get bulky. Aim for 3/4 times a week if you can.
3. Spinning is excellent way to get fit. Id try and do more of this and less running
4. Fats: Eat plenty of butter, oil, nuts...your body needs these to burn its stored fuel.
5. Check out the paleo or whole foods diet..... Ive been following it for a number of years and it works for me
6. Avoid anything that comes out of a box, packet, factory
7. Drink plenty of water
8. Dont weight yourself for the first month of eating more and lifting weights.... instead get someone to measure you and take some photos.

Good Luck

tryinmybest

Really can't believe how people have been so forthcoming with their advice! Thank you all very much. I have a lot of food intolerances, not the trendy fashionable type of intolerance, but the I bloat up and come out in hives type. I'm visiting my dietician again soon so I'll ask her to help me to come up with an eating plan that has more protein and lower on the carbs.

traco

tryinmybest wrote: »

Really can't believe how people have been so forthcoming with their advice! Thank you all very much. I have a lot of food intolerances, not the trendy fashionable type of intolerance, but the I bloat up and come out in hives type. I'm visiting my dietician again soon so I'll ask her to help me to come up with an eating plan that has more protein and lower on the carbs.

It will be interesting to see how your dietician views the advice given as its not your typical food pyramid type diet - more the polar opposite.

Re your food intolerances, have a search through this forum and you might find answers to many of your questions.

Also with respect to the carbs you don't want to eliminate them (many people go way too low), set a daily target and see how it works and adjust after a few weeks to get the desired results.

Also think of this as a lifestyle change and not a diet - diets seem to sell short fixes but what you want to do is change your eating habits for life and not as a short fix to hit a specific point.

Brother24

What you need to do is make out a list of what you eat every day, i guarantee you will find you eat little snacks between meals, and thus over the course of the day builds up and increases your calorie count severely. Make sure to eat something sweet after each meal as this sends a message to the brain that the meal is finished, and so you wont be craving for snacks later

tryinmybest

All of this advice is great! Have down loaded fitness pal app, going to limit carbs to 2 servings a day and up the fibre and protein in the form of fish. Spoke to a personal trainer today and told him I'm frustrated and thinking of jacking it all in, he recommended more weights, heavier than I've ever lifted! So I'll give that a go!

lubie76

Yes weights are the way to go and as the PT told you lift heavy not them little fiddly pink weights. In my experience from using them and seeing other girls in gym use them as your muscle size increase (and I don't mean bulky at all- just toned up as people often call it) your body fat decreases hence you look much better. Don't worry so much about the scales either just enjoy feeling stronger and firmer and the weight loss will come in time- providing you keep an eye on your diet too.

doctorwhogirl

Another plus one on the weights. They've improved my shape hugely since I've started. Scales haven't moved hugely but I look better in my clothes.

whitewave

lubie76 wrote: »

Yes weights are the way to go and as the PT told you lift heavy not them little fiddly pink weights. In my experience from using them and seeing other girls in gym use them as your muscle size increase (and I don't mean bulky at all- just toned up as people often call it) your body fat decreases hence you look much better. Don't worry so much about the scales either just enjoy feeling stronger and firmer and the weight loss will come in time- providing you keep an eye on your diet too.

When you say heavy weights, how heavy are you talking about? I go to a body pump class, but find I'm fairly weak, and struggle with even the baby weights! But I don't want to waste my time with them if they're not doing anything for me.What areas should you be targeting (if you want to lose a bit of weight/tone up)?

IlmoNT4

Whitewave, you need to target your entire body.... Aim for an upper and then lower body work out and try and alternate these between different days. Then add in some core work and you should be all set.

The little pink weights that they push on women are probably a waste of time. Have a look around in the gym and see how hard the guys are working to lift weights.....thats how hard you need to push yourself. You wouldn't create a toned body without pushing yourself or lifting very light weights. You dont need to do anything more than 30 minutes..... You should feel sore the next day and you should feel that your work out is hard. You may not even be able to complete it, but if you keep up the work, in a couple of weeks you'll be moving up your weights.

However you need to build up your core strengthen and your body before anything very heavy. You also need to learn how to lift without hurting yourself (this is where a few personal training sessions would pay off). Never lift anything you dont feel comfortable with...

tryinmybest

Went to power bar body tone last night. Shared my problem with the trainer there. HE also agreed I need more protein and upped my wight to 2 12 kg kettlebells rather than the one 7kg bar. I didnt last too long! But its a start! Whats it the youths say these days....ripped!

IlmoNT4

well thats awesome dude! just awesome..... You''ll be ripped in no time...

Crann na Beatha

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