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Another weight loss post (NSOR)
I'm a little frustrated and I know I shouldn't be because I know this stuff happens, but since last week I have gained 2 lbs. As of last week I had lost 15. If I'm being honest with myself, I weighed myself after 3-4 days of a stomach bug so the 15 probably wasn't "real weight loss" This is in 8 weeks since I re-joined the gym.
I am leaving for Costa Rica in 7 weeks. I really want to be happy with the way I look in a bikini and in pictures by then. Ideally I want to lose another 15 lbs. I know that's aggressive but I am really committed to doing this. I just don't know what to do differently.
Right now I eat like 1400 cal a day, 6 times a day. I eat right when I get up and I incorporated a lot of the suggestions from my recent healthy eating post.
I work out 5-6 days a week usually for an hour a day and I have a lot of variety in what I do and try something new almost every week. Running (HIIT), weights, kickboxing and zumba are what I do right now.
My trainer suggested that I increase my cardio and I've thought about adding a second workout at lunch every day of 30 min of cardio. I don't want to turn into a crazy exercise person though. I mean I really love working out. It's the best part of my day usually. Or maybe I should just keep doing what I am doing, and the pounds will come off. I'm just freaking out a little bit since I didn't lose anything last week and I have this self imposed "deadline" coming up soon.
Any advice appreciated
Re: Another weight loss post (NSOR)
How long have you been doing your current routine? It might be time to change it up and shock your system with some new workouts. I have recently started yoga and love it. You don't feel like you are doing that much while you're working out but you definitely feel it later.
As far as the diet, I think the small meals are good. I would avoid carbs at night and make dinner the lightest meal of the day. Something for dinner could be a chicken or steak salad, or grilled chicken with salad and veggies.
I also was reading a great article about losing weight in 30 days to get bikini ready. It was in Self magazine this month. It talked about happy calories each day and it allows 200 calories a day. you can use them on whatever you like OR you can roll them over if you know you will need them for some event or the weekend.
I can't remember, do you use Sparkpeople or some other calorie tracker?
I just started Zumba 2 wks ago and kickboxing 3 weeks ago, and I kicked up my HIIT to shorter, but faster sprints - I'm doing 7.5 MPH for 1 min, 3.5 MPH for 90 sec to recover. My friend that I work out with wants to try water aerobics this week but I'm just not sure that I'll get a good workout from that so I am hesitant to "waste" a day on that...
For tracking calories, I used sparkpeople but only like 2 days a week to keep it in check. And I "cheat" maybe 5% of the time - like last week I had ribs for dinner on Wed night and fried chicken & chips/ queso on Sunday. Maybe I am doing too many "cheat" meals?
I'll check out that Self magazine article!
I remember your last post regarding your workouts, and I don't think the problem lies there. You're doing a lot of high intensity workouts and they're all varied so I don't think you need to change anything up. You could try adding more cardio. I'd skip the water aerobics....it won't be challenging enough and you likely won't benefit from it.
My co-worker just started using My Fitness Pal to track her calories and exercise. Maybe try that? It's really easy to record what you're eating - you can even scan bar codes! And you'll get extra calories for working out. You can also track your "cheat" meals to figure out if they're the problem.
All in all, you're doing awesome and it just takes time and patience to lose weight. Keep up the hard work and you will see results!
May be too many cheat meals. I would think that one a week would be sufficient, and you don't want to go crazy with it. Remember that the less sugar you eat, the less you'll want it.
Overall though it seems like you're doing great. The scale is not the only indicator of results also. Check in with how you feel, if you notice yourself becoming more toned and also how your clothes are fitting. Muscle weighs more than fat.
I try to remember this too... I'm down a whole size which is really nice! Most of my beach clothes are the next size down so that's motivation too... I've been taking a pic of myself in a bikini every week too. I wish there was a way to lose more weight in my stomach and thighs since that's where it pretty much all is... I know they always say though that you can't "spot reduce". I am really happy that I can see a huge difference with my butt. That's probably the most improved followed by my arms. I can see loss in my stomach but still a long way to go!
I'm there with ya... I ate like crap the last few days and am up 2 lbs. I'm very annoyed!
I recommend training for triathlons! I am having a hard time keeping the weight on!
Also eat tons of veggies, veggies are your best friend. They are awesome because they have essential nutrients AND very few (if any) calories.
My snack consist of vibrantly colored veggies and in the morning, I snack on blueberries, raspberries, melons, etc...
Try to limit your intake of processed foods. Google "clean eating" and try to follow that, I think counting calories isn't very effective.
They see us rollin'...they be hatin'.
It is possible that you are putting muscle on which will make the scale go up. I would recommend tracking your progress through inches as well. Use a measuring tape (like one for fabric) and take measurements of your arms, legs, chest, hips, abdominals, etc. Do this once a week and this will tell you if you are losing fat or gaining muscle more accurately than a scale.
3/12 5 mi -- 49:22 Pace: 9:52
5/1 Half Marathon -- 2:11:22 Pace: 10:01
5/22 10k -- 56:29 Pace: 9:00
5/24 3.6 -- 29:03 Pace: 8:18
7/10 15k -- 1:44:46 injured Pace: 11:14
10/29 5k -- 28:24 Pace: 9:04
If i remember correctly, you are along my size/height which means 1400 calories a day is NOT enough for you. I PROMISE! Your body is "starving" and is holding onto everything it can bc it doesnt know when it will get enough nutrients.
My BMR is around 1630, which means i should never eat less than that a day (with 0 exercise) bc that is how much my body burns just laying in bed.
Calculate your BMR, and then follow the link to add your activity (Harris Benedict equation) to that number and it will help u with how much calories to eat.
http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/
Yea, I've done that before and it said I needed like 2300 calories! But I just can't bring myself to eat that much. It's so counter-intuitive!
Ditto Dmarie about tracking with a tape measure, too! Also, Starryfish brings up a good point...maybe try upping it to 1600 calories/day? One cheat meal a week sounds good, and there are some schools of thought that say if you are eating very few calories, a day of eating more every so often is good because it forces your body out of starvation mode...I believe the term is calorie cycling or something like that, if you want to Google it. That school of thought tends to take it to extremes, though, which I do NOT recommend.
One other thing--if your workouts are mainly kickboxing, Zumba, and running, it's all aerobics. Muscle burns more calories than fat, even at basal rates, so I would add in some weight training to try to build muscle.
I don't think you are eating enough with all the workouts. My diet and workout plan that has always worked for me is:
- Eat as much lean protein and vegetables as you want. Use spices to make it more flavorful
-Don't eat any processed food or sweets (execpt 1 coffee with sugar a day).
-Drink only water + red wine when you want to have a drink. I usually drink sparkling water with lime or room temp flat water
-Walk at least 1/2 hour a day, run 5K 2-3 times a week, do bodypump or crossfit 2-3 times a week.
It's a pretty easy plan to follow once you get into it....
My typical meals are
B- eggs with spinach + a little goat cheese, skinny latte with 1 sugar
S- sliced turkey
L- sashimi + oysters (i work within walking distance to a fresh fish market!!)
S- protein drink
D- chicken, salmon, lamb with vegetables or salad. Sometimes it's kebabs, naked burrito, just salmon + spinach, etc. If I am starving after this I eat a small amount of brown rice.
It's boring and expensive but it works.