advice please on weight-loss plateau?

[bzbnmom]

I’m looking for any advice. I’ve reached a weight-loss plateau and have almost no fitness knowledge to know what to do about it.

History: Age 44, 5 feet tall, 148 lbs. Endo/meso? (My weight gain was gradual over 20 years.) I started exercising 4 months ago-Jan 09. I began with Leslie Sansone Walk DVDs and started Cathe DVDs 2 months ago. My weight was 168 in Jan. I’ve lost 20, 16 of that was in the first 8 weeks. I have not lost any weight in the last 6 weeks since starting Cathe. My goal is to lose about 40 more.

I’ve been doing a variety of Cathe’s DVDs, both cardio and total body strength, 5-7 days a week, about an hour a day. I LOVE IT! And I eat fairly clean. I’m feeling stronger but not dropping in clothes size or weight lately. I want to make some serious fat-loss progress. I’m reading a bunch of articles (online/magazines) and getting so confused. I had no idea it was so complicated! I feel like I don’t know what I am doing.

I guess I’m not sure what to focus on right now. Help?

Should I work more on cardio or strength training? Or longer? Maybe twice a day?
Would doing the weight training splits help, instead of total body? I’d like to move on to Gym Styles...
Do I need to count calories and watch the carb/protein/fat ratios? I have no idea how to do this. (I really don’t think I’m overeating.) Where do I start – {book, website}.

Oh, what should I do? I’m so motivated!! And I want to make some fat-loss progress, even if it is slow progress.

Are there some really good books I can read? I’ve “looked” at a few, but they seem to say different things. Now if Cathe or Debbie (Fitness Freak) wrote a book that would be the one for me ; )
Or would you recommend a specific Rotation?

Any specific or general advice would be so much appreciated! Just point me in the right direction.

Thanks,
Mary

 

[orphylea]

Hey Mary! My advice is to look at your diet. Yes, I think you should count calories because that is the only way you're going to get a complete picture of what you're eating. My favorite is www.myfitnesspal.com. Log your food for a couple of days and see where you are in terms of calories.

When you say that you are doing Cathe 5-7 days a week, what types of workouts? I really don't think anyone needs to do more than one hour of exercise a day for 5-7 days per week, especially if it is intense like Cathe workouts. You might be doing too much cardio. Or if you are doing 3 total body weight workouts a week, you might switch it up by trying a 3 day split. Your idea about wanting to try Gym Styles is a great one! Aside from STS, it is my favorite Cathe strength series. Unfortunately, what works for one person in the exercise department won't work for another so it's hard to pick a rotation for you. I think you should pick a rotation that appeals to you and try it- maybe one of Cathe or Debbie's fat loss rotations. Take measurements before and after the rotation. After 4 weeks, you'll know whether it worked for you or if you should try something else (like a strength rotation).

Good luck!

 

[MadnNatsmom]

>>>>And I eat fairly clean.

Hi Mary! Our stats are very similar! I will be 43 in July and I'm about 5'3" on a tall day.

Are you counting your calories? I mean, really, really counting them? How many calories are you eating? Do you know how many you SHOULD be eating to lose?

Register at Fitday.com or TheDailyPlate.com and track your calories. GET A FOOD SCALE and measure you food! I kid you not. Weighing my food has been a HUGE eye-opener for me. So much so that I want to tell everyone who is trying to lose fat.

There is no perfect exercise, diet, pills, whatever that will help you lose weight. It's all about calories in vs. calories out. That's it. I don't care what books, articles, blah blah blah say. People buy diet books hoping that it will tell them something different/magical that they've never heard before, including me. But, it's just not there. If it works it's because the bottom line is, your body is in a caloric deficit.

Just eat less than what your body needs to function every day so that your body uses its fat stores for energy.

Unfortunately, women of our size do not use a whole lot of calories. I can eat 1600 calories to maintain, but I can only eat 1300 calories to lose and burn off another 200 calories with exercise to total a 500 calorie deficit per day. That 500 calorie DEFICIT in 7 days will result in a 1 lb loss of fat (500 X 7 = 3500).

If I was a betting woman, I'd bet that you were eating more than you think you are. And, intense workout DOES make you hungry (although there is no physiological basis, as far as I know) which counteracts those intense workouts.

You may even want to cut back on intense exercise, concentrate more on eating quality foods within your caloric budget for a week or two. It is also important to take a rest both from intense exercise and calorie restriction.

 

[bzbnmom]

Patti, thanks for the link. I will try it. I guess I was hoping I wouldn't have to take the time to count calories, but I will.

Mostly, I have been alternating the cardio and the total body weight workouts. For total body I have Power Hour, Max Intensity Strength, and Cardio & Weights. I also have Low Max, Kick Max, Low Impact Circ, Body Max and have just started IMax 2 (interval premixes).

I like the idea of taking the before/after measurements. I will have to do that.

Thanks so much,
Mary

 

[morningstar]

I'm about 5'3" on a tall day.

Unfortunately, women of our size do not use a whole lot of calories.

You may even want to cut back on intense exercise

I'm sorry, MadNatsmom, that's the second time I've heard you say that, and I just have to call you on it. I am 5'2", shorter than you, and my BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate- the calories I burn just lying in bed all day and breathing) is always over 1500 calories/day. My maintenance level is somewhere around 2700. I do cardio for an hour 5-6 days a week (currently mostly running intervals) and heavy lifting splits 3-4 days a week. It's not your height that counts, it's your muscles and activity level.

If you lower your calories a little bit (zig zagging helps too) and up your activity level a lot, you will have a much more sustainable plan for the long term that will leave you with a healthy body. If you lower your calories substantially, your body's starvation response kicks in very quickly and you won't lose a darn thing! Chronic dieters often assume the solution is just to keep eating less and less until they disappear. Our bodies are too smart for that, and evolution has ensured that we can survive almost any famine that is thrown at us. Survive- not thrive. Healthy exercise builds our bodies not just for now, but for our old age. Lowering your calories without intense exercise prepares us for, well, not much.