Help! Confused/Frustrated on everything! Diet, Cardio, Weights!

[FitNut]

Hi Cathe friends. I am getting so confused and really don't know what to do. I had a baby in late January and gained a ton of wt during pregnancy (38 lbs). I still have 10 lbs to lose to get to my pre-preggo wt and it just won't budge! Note - my pre-preggo is NOT my goal wt by any means! I want to lose approx. 30 lbs min to get to my first goal.

I was doing BFL since March and saw some good results. However, the fat is just NOT all coming off!

I am so confused as to what to do? Should I increase cardio frequency and duration? I got so brain washed w/BFL that cardio is bad in mass quantities. With BFL I was only doing 20-25 min. 3 times a week and focusing on intervals and wt training. Or should I focus on more heavy wt and continue the same cardio? ?

I increased cardio frequency (5 times wk) and duration (35-45 min)the last 2 weeks and also decreased calories by about 300-400 calories a day and saw some wt loss! I know that hussman.org always says if you are not losing wt to dECREASE calories. Yet, when I called EAS the other day they said that I am eating way too little for my wt! ugggghhhh! I think I am starting to lose inches again but am afraid if I do too much cardio I will lose muscle (what little of it I have).

I just don't know what to do. I am so tired of worrying about this wt thing. I workout on average 6 days a week and have been eating clean the past few weeks. I took a couple week break a few wks ago as I had been clean for an entire 12 wk challenge. I must be doing something wrong as with the amount I workout and the clean eating I should look a lot better by now! Maybe I am not eating clean enough? Maybe I should increase cardio and focus on it for a rotation or two? And then go back to the focus on wt training after at least a good 4-6 wks of fat burning focused cardio???

I just want to have skinny legs for once in my life again!!!!!

Help, please!!!

 

[lorihart]

Hi Fitnut,
I gave up on the skinny legs along time ago. Not happ'in here.DH says that I did it to myself b/c my legs use to be alot smaller before I started working out.Anyways.....
I think I would increase my cardio if I were you.I was chatting to a girl one day and she finally started seeing the scale move AFTER she cut out the interval training and went back to walking.I wasn't really going along with what she was saying b/c I have read to much...(I am tired of reading, it gets you confused) And I had read that Low Intensity doesn't burn more fat, but she was so determined to presuade me other wise.
Didn't Jillybean have great results with the CTX series? Why don't you give that a try? And go a little heavier with the weights. That would be managable with your busy schedule.Then you could also do some walking with your new baby in tow.
Listen to me, giving you advice.I have been sitting on 5-8 lbs I would love to lose and I am not sure what I should do about it either.I am leaning towards eating the BFL way but use the PS Series for the first 4 weeks,use CTX series for the next 4 and then use the Pyramids for the last 4.My brother is getting married in Oct so I want to feel really comfortable that day.I am not big by no means but I am getting a little uncomfortable in my clothes:-(
Good Luck, I am sure you will get more great advice.
Lori

 

[Dorothy]

First of all, I don't think 38 pounds is a "ton of weight" so stop worrying about that. It is done, you have a wonderful baby, move on.

I remember it took almost a year after my children(now 16 and 11) to really get back to a good weight and feel better about my body. It just seems after child birth, your body cannot be rushed. It took a while to grow and stretch out, it takes a while to get back. If you are breast feeding, your body may be hanging onto fat for that reason too.

You can try varying your work-outs and doing some lower intensity endurance type cardios, but I would keep a couple days of high intensity work in there too. You also might change your form of cardio as your body might be accustomed to it. Look at the variety of your diet and see if you are creeping back into more processed foods.

Good luck and be patient, this "getting into shape" thing takes time, especially after a baby.