Frustrated....Need Help!! (Body Fat)

[Stacy]

Any body-fat-loss success stories???? Background...I'm 5'1", almost 40, a classic pear-shaped endomorph. I do have muscle but it's under a 2 inch layer of fat! I look in the mirror and see one of those football players that are big and you can tell they are muscular but they're fat...not a good look for a petite woman! My dilemma is that I have knees issues so running and HIIT workouts leave my hobbling in pain after about a week of doing them. I'm also no sure what type of calorie range I should be eating or if I should be low-carbing??

Seems like I've tried to lose "the last 10 lbs" for about 10 years and in the process I've gained another 10 lb. (I'm currently at 130 lbs but at one point in time was 110 lbs and that is my goal)

Any help would be immensely appreciated!

 

[morningstar]

What cardio do you currently do? There are a million choices out there. Do you strength train? What is your nutritional plan? You may want to give a lot more information to get specific suggestions, I think.

 

[ksg68]

I know exactly how you feel. I was in the same boat, 20 lbs. too heavy. I thought I was doing everything right, eating clean and working out but no matter what, my weight didn't budge. The problem was plain and simple: I was eating too much, even if it was clean. I joined WW and now, I'm happily at my goal weight. My advice: Focus on your diet first. Find a program/system that works for you. If you don't want to do that, write down what you eat for one week. Then, start reducing the calories until the weight comes off.

Someone once told me you can't out-work a poor diet. Focus on what you put in your mouth and you'll be amazed at what happens. It worked for me!

 

[Stacy]

I've kept a food journal many times before, used fitday etc. Calculated my cals, my ratios, read every book know to mankind, done Protein Power, have done Intermittent Fasting, have done the "eat only when you're hungry", have gone vegetarian. I do lose at first if I cut my cals down to 1300 or so but then it stalls. I've tried eating more to rev things up and I gain weight, I've tried then eating less and I'm just starving all the time. I've tried upping the intensity of my workouts either by increasing the impact or the duration and I get sore knees. I do a variety of cardio. I have all of Cathe's, I walk, I have a recumbent bike, a treadmill, kickboxing, yoga. The only thing I avoid now is floor aerobics b/c that's the worst on my knees. I did High Step Training the other days and my knees were sore for 2 days afterward due to the jumping jacks. I've been exerising since age 16 so working out is nothing new to me. I also do Jillian Michaels, KCM, Amy Bento, and the original Bootcamp series. I workout on average 4-5 days a week for about 45-60 minutes depending on my work schedule.

 

[ksg68]

I've kept a food journal many times before, used fitday etc. Calculated my cals, my ratios, read every book know to mankind, done Protein Power, have done Intermittent Fasting, have done the "eat only when you're hungry", have gone vegetarian. I do lose at first if I cut my cals down to 1300 or so but then it stalls. I've tried eating more to rev things up and I gain weight, I've tried then eating less and I'm just starving all the time. I've tried upping the intensity of my workouts either by increasing the impact or the duration and I get sore knees. I do a variety of cardio. I have all of Cathe's, I walk, I have a recumbent bike, a treadmill, kickboxing, yoga. The only thing I avoid now is floor aerobics b/c that's the worst on my knees. I did High Step Training the other days and my knees were sore for 2 days afterward due to the jumping jacks. I've been exerising since age 16 so working out is nothing new to me. I also do Jillian Michaels, KCM, Amy Bento, and the original Bootcamp series. I workout on average 4-5 days a week for about 45-60 minutes depending on my work schedule.

It sounds like you've got your workouts down so I doubt it's that. When I was losing weight, I was hungry ALL THE TIME. Maybe that's what you have to endure in order for your scale to move. Someone told me that when the scale plateaus, it's usually not your body, but your efforts. I know it's a pain writing everything down, measuring/weighing the food, but in all reality that's the only way the scale moved for me.

 

[Janis]

It is a unique journey for each person, isn't it!? What Terri said is important, and so is her signature line - consistency consistency consistency.

Tracking what you are eating will reveal the answer to this puzzle, but I would recommend keeping track for a lot longer than a week. When you make adjustments make small adjustments. The fitness process has an ebb and flow - the trick is to stay with it even when your energy, attention, and scale weight are ebbing, we tend to only look for the quick response - the immediate outcome - the true secret is to stay with it during the ebb and the flow.

From what information you shared your BMR is 1319. Do not go below 1319 and do not go above 1813, which is your bmr multiplied by a basic level activity factor of 1.375 (light exercise/sedentary job-lifestyle). Eat 1360 calories a couple of days, (which is 1813 minus a 25% calorie deficit) then eat 1450 calories for a couple of days (1813 minus 20% calorie deficit), then ONE day of 1800, then go back down to 1360 for three days - then repeat this staggering cycle. If you start to lose weight too rapidly or feel white knuckle hunger - stay around 1400 calories and stagger up from there, however if the scale is not budging after a week or two, make a small adjustment downward or increase your activity level.

To prevent injury or knee fatigue, create a rotation pattern with your cardio - alternate running, biking, and cardio drills. I would also lift weights. Weight training has enabled me to rehabilitate my knee issues just by creating more strength, it has also increased my endurance so I can put more effort into my cardio workouts.

I hope this helps - here is a quote I put in a post the other day - I really like it a lot. "Patience, persistence and perspiration make an unbeatable combination for success." Napoleon Hill

 

[Govtgirl]

..... I workout on average 4-5 days a week for about 45-60 minutes depending on my work schedule.

How active are you on the days you DON'T workout? Once I got a GWF (GoWearFit), I realized that I wasn't nearly as active as I thought, like taking the elevator instead of the stairs thinking "I've worked out this week so it's ok". Nope. Even on the days you don't work out, you need to be just as active, taking the stairs, walking, getting in your 10,000 steps a day, etc.

Once I got one, I realized that working out wasn't enough....watching the calories and adjusting normal daily activity was the key. I lost 5 pounds, not through "working out", but through being mindful of what I ate, most especially on the days I DIDN'T work out!

By the way, right now I am 130 and eating 1900 cals a day keeps me there. I want to be 122 again, and it will take either 1700-1800 cals a day, or upping my exercise to get and stay there. It may mean that to maintain 110, you may only be able to eat 1400-1500 cals a day, max. I used to be 110, but I had to starve myself to stay there. Not worth it.