Phoenix_girl Posted October 1, 2007 Share Posted October 1, 2007 OK so here's my deal. I have never really had self-image issues. When i was in my last year of university (about 2 years ago) i started going to the gym to try and loose some weight (not a lot, jsut about 20lbs). I am already pretty muscular in most areas of my body except for my middle, and my personal trainer had me doing cardio and weight training. I ended up gaining 20 lbs (not what i wanted). Since then I havent been able to loose anything. I joined a gym in june, and i have yet to see any results. I go to the gym and do cardio a few times a week, and i eat under the recommended daily caloric intake. I am starting to get very very frustrated and I dont know what I am doing wrong. I do not look like what i weigh (most people guess about 20 - 40 lbs lighter then i am), but my doctor has started saying i should start trying to loose some weight. My lack of progress has me really down and i dont know what to do. My weight naturally fluctuates 5 - 10 lbs in a matter of days (no idea why, its always done that). What can i do??? People tell me do cardio a few times a week for 20 min and your good, but its not working. and even when i do loose weight (max i have lost is 10 lbs) i put it right back on. Any suggestions are welcome. Link to comment
Idocsteve Posted October 1, 2007 Share Posted October 1, 2007 My weight naturally fluctuates 5 - 10 lbs in a matter of days (no idea why, its always done that). That's a heck of a lot of fluctuation. I have an idea. Try another scale. Link to comment
JeckyllNHyde Posted October 1, 2007 Share Posted October 1, 2007 how much do you weight? and what is your height? i think me and you are somewhat in the same boat b/c i too (still) need to lose about 20 lbs or less, and it is coming off VERY slowly, but i am working on it. upto now i have lost about 6 lbs in 2 months. also, it doesnt only matter how many calories your eating but also how many carbs. what is your diet like? also 20 minutes of cardio isnt enough, you need about 30-45 minutes (if you can manage more) of these type of workout about 4-5 times a week if you have the time. your diet is what will affect your weight gain/loss about 80%!! what type of things are you doing for excersizE? Link to comment
Phoenix_girl Posted October 1, 2007 Author Share Posted October 1, 2007 i'm 5'2" @ 180 lbs i do average of 30 min of cardio (usually burn 200 calories or more). Typical diet: breakfast - bowl of cereal morning snack - grapes or a trailmix (nature valley) bar lunch - sandwhich snack - 3 cookies dinner - stirfry weekends i typically eat less. during the week i drink mostly water, and weekends usually juice and pepsi. Link to comment
shes2smart Posted October 1, 2007 Share Posted October 1, 2007 If you are working out with weights, you are building muscle. Muscle is denser and weighs more than fat, but a pound of muscle takes up much less space than a pound of fat. If you are putting on muscle, it's possible for you to have gained weight, but actually be smaller. How are your clothes fitting? I've heard many trainers/fitness professionals suggest going by how your clothes fit rather than what the scale says. I started working out on a (mostly) regular basis about 3 years ago. I weigh more now than I did before regular workouts but I am wearing smaller clothing sizes than I was back then...and the clothes I used to wear back then are too big for me to wear now. Link to comment
Phoenix_girl Posted October 1, 2007 Author Share Posted October 1, 2007 clothes fit the same, but my main concern is weight lose. i can't afford to put more weight on (according to my doctor). Link to comment
shes2smart Posted October 1, 2007 Share Posted October 1, 2007 What do your blood pressure, cholestrol and blood sugar readings look like? Those are better indicators of what your overall health is like than just going by your weight. Link to comment
Phoenix_girl Posted October 1, 2007 Author Share Posted October 1, 2007 chlestrol snf blood sugar and excellant, and blood pressure is on the low side of good. Link to comment
PeanutButter Posted October 1, 2007 Share Posted October 1, 2007 become a vegetarian, you will look and feel better. milk/dairy- only makes you fat and has no nutrition in it. yes its proven, except the people who sell it lie. meat makes you fat, yes it does. drink a lot of water. Link to comment
jettison Posted October 1, 2007 Share Posted October 1, 2007 That's a heck of a lot of fluctuation. I have an idea. Try another scale. That's likely water weight. People don't fluctuate in weight that much. So you're either retaining too much water because you have too much salt in your diet, or you're dehydrating yourself and not replenishing when you need to. Link to comment
annie24 Posted October 1, 2007 Share Posted October 1, 2007 I think it may be time to pay very close attention to what you are eating. If you are working out, but not consuming less calories, then of course, the weight won't come off. I knew a girl who would go swimming for an hour everyday, but then go and get a burger and fries afterwards. she wondered why she wasn't losing weight. My recommendation would be to talk to a professional and work out an eating plan. I've recently re-enrolled in weight watchers. I lost 35 pounds with them along with exercising, but then when I stopped the program and went back to my old eating ways, well... the pounds came back on. I'm now rededicating myself to WW and to making a permanent change. Journal EVERYTHING you eat so you aren't fooling yourself. Even if it is a cracker at the grocery store sample table, write it down. put it in a journal like link removed if you are eating about 1200-1400 calories a day and still aren't losing weight, then talk to your doctor, you may have a hormone problem. but definitely, journal, and eat right, otherwise going to the gym won't help you lose weight. Link to comment
annie24 Posted October 1, 2007 Share Posted October 1, 2007 PS - Portion control is vital. Pay close attention to the serving size. If you are eating chips, and the serving size is 10 chips, then take out ten, put them on your plate, and put the bag back in the cupboard. Many people don't have a good sense of what are proper portion sizes. ie, a serving of cheese is the size of a pair of dice, a serving of meat is the size of a deck of cards, the size of a cup of rice is the size of a tennis ball, etc.... when I put on salad dressing, i measure out 2 tablespoons, and that's it. same thing with peanut butter or jam. don't eyeball it. Link to comment
annie24 Posted October 1, 2007 Share Posted October 1, 2007 become a vegetarian, you will look and feel better. milk/dairy- only makes you fat and has no nutrition in it. yes its proven, except the people who sell it lie. meat makes you fat, yes it does. drink a lot of water. I'm not knocking vegetarianism at all, I was one for many years. But I think what you are saying here is incorrect. Dairy has a lot of protein and calcium which are very good for you. Meat has vital proteins and minerals. You can be perfectly healthy and be a vegetarian or be an omnivore, but it is false to say that meat makes you fat or that milk has no nutrition. Eating too much makes you fat. Link to comment
Phoenix_girl Posted October 1, 2007 Author Share Posted October 1, 2007 i dont eat a lot of meat or dairy anyway, and i dont add salt to anything. the only time i have successfully lost any actual weight was when i did the south beach diet 2 weeks of resistance - you give up all sugar (including natural) for 2 weeks - i lived on spinich and eggs and lost a hell of a lot of weight....of course i felt like crap after. im just really really frustrated. like i said, its my middle that needs to loose something - should i be doing crunches???? Link to comment
PeanutButter Posted October 1, 2007 Share Posted October 1, 2007 oh you kno that treadclimber? i heard that works wonders!! find a gym that has one or invest in it! Link to comment
annie24 Posted October 1, 2007 Share Posted October 1, 2007 i dont eat a lot of meat or dairy anyway, and i dont add salt to anything. the only time i have successfully lost any actual weight was when i did the south beach diet 2 weeks of resistance - you give up all sugar (including natural) for 2 weeks - i lived on spinich and eggs and lost a hell of a lot of weight....of course i felt like crap after. im just really really frustrated. like i said, its my middle that needs to loose something - should i be doing crunches???? I would journal EVERYTHING you eat in a week. And I mean every last thing, and pay close attention to your portions and don't lie about anything. If you are eating 1200 calories a day, and are still gaining weight, then show the journal to your doctor and get some blood tests. There are many diseases/syndromes out there that can cause weight gain or difficulties losing weight. When you say you eat a "sandwhich" for lunch, what is on your sandhich and which kind of bread are you using? some breads are quite calorie filled, depending on the ingredients and how much fiber they have, etc. And what kind of sandwhich are you having? does it have cheese on it? is it chicken salad with tons of mayo, or is it lean turkey? pile on the veggies and stick with lower calorie condiments like mustard or light mayo, instead of full fat mayo. A sandwhich can be easily turned into a high calorie disaster if you aren't careful. Foods high in fiber will keep you full longer. I also agree with avoiding high fructose corn syrup. it's amazing all the places it sneaks its way into food. The only way to really target belly fat loss is with less eating. My belly holds onto fat there also, my legs and hips are usually lean. Link to comment
JeckyllNHyde Posted October 1, 2007 Share Posted October 1, 2007 also vegetarianism (i was one for 17 years) well, basically when your a vegitarian you eat alot more carbs. rice, bread, cereal, potatoes, fruits, veggies, they all have them. i think that is why as a kid i was never so thin. i always had a bit of a tummy even thought i never even ate that much. just all the rice and potatoes and cereas. oh and fish and chicken and turkey actually are really GOOD for you to eat as much of b/c they have alot of protein and it helps keep you full longer and maintain muscles so you burn more fat. Link to comment
PeanutButter Posted October 1, 2007 Share Posted October 1, 2007 you know what you should do: eat certain types of food for two weeks, then write it down, next week something different. no fast food, cook your own. avoid foods that have bleached or white breads and such. mostly everything has corn syrup that adds weight and makes you gain more/makes you want to eat more. Link to comment
PeanutButter Posted October 1, 2007 Share Posted October 1, 2007 also vegetarianism (i was one for 17 years) well, basically when your a vegitarian you eat alot more carbs. rice, bread, cereal, potatoes, fruits, veggies, they all have them. i think that is why as a kid i was never so thin. i always had a bit of a tummy even thought i never even ate that much. just all the rice and potatoes and cereas. i been a vegan for a very long time now. i don't even eat rice or bread or cereal. thats disgusting me. theres many vegetarian/vegan dishes such as chicken, steak, burgers, nuggets etc. that you don't have to eat with potatoes or bread. Link to comment
Atticus90 Posted October 2, 2007 Share Posted October 2, 2007 Just because you eat the ammount of calories you're supposed to intake doesn't mean you'll loose the weight. The key to loosing weight is keeping your motabalism at its peak. How to do that? Well, you have to eat small meals frequently throughout the day. Preferablly 5 or 6 small meals a day. What you were probably doing was, Eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner. that's a no no. If you're still hungry after all that. Drink some water. After 10 minutes, you probably wont be hungry anymore. Link to comment
Phoenix_girl Posted October 2, 2007 Author Share Posted October 2, 2007 sandwhich typicall is a jam sandwhich on white bread (i've tried switching to whole wheat, i can't do it). with the job i do i's almost impossible for me to eat 5 - 6 times a day. Link to comment
Atticus90 Posted October 2, 2007 Share Posted October 2, 2007 You can carry a apple in your purse? Bannana? Some chewy bars ( those have like 91 calories in em ) Link to comment
Beec Posted October 2, 2007 Share Posted October 2, 2007 OK, work harder. If you see someone who walks 3 miles a day and another person who runs three miles a day, who will look better? The runner, almost always. The runner works harder. Why? Both burn pretty much the same calories each mile, but the runner continues to burn calories after the work out is over. A little weight lifting should help too. Same idea. Link to comment
annie24 Posted October 2, 2007 Share Posted October 2, 2007 ok, so sugar on more sugar. I dunno, it is also possible that you've messed up your metabolism with yo-yo dieting. if you don't eat enough, then your body will be unwilling to lose the weight. that is why in many programs, they require that you eat a bare minimum amount of calories. have you considered weight watchers? i think they are a great program and will help you learn better food choices. jam on white bread sounds like a yummy snack, but nutrionally, there's not much nutrition there. it's just sugar on sugar. i love wheat bread. You may find you develop a taste for things with more time. Link to comment
Atticus90 Posted October 2, 2007 Share Posted October 2, 2007 You shouldn't weight lift. It'll be hard to tell if you lost or gained it, because muscle ways a lot more than the usual weight Link to comment
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