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TiffaLynn

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My best friend and I workout together. Our goals are completely different. She wants to loose 50 pounds. I want to tone up. We are going on 8 weeks of working out 5-6 days a week. The 1st 6 weeks, my friend was doing about 5 days of 45 min interval cardio, and 1 day of strength training. Her diet was healthy and calorie intake was normal. Eating 5-6 small meals a day. She should have been loosing 2 pounds per week. But, nothing! Absolutely nothing. So we changed her routine. Found this personal trainer who insisted that fat loss can be obtained through more weight training, less cardio. So for the past 2 weeks we've been doing 4 days of strength for 45 mins, followed by 15 mins of med intensity cardio...the other 2 days we do 25 mins of high intensity interval cardio. Still, no pounds shed. We've gotten the advice of other PT's, they say stop doing strength so much and go cardio crazy (but didn't work the 1st time around!!) Whats goin on? I workout with her, she works hard, her form is good..Im with her all day cause we work in the same building as well, she eats healthy and keeps her metabolism up, doesnt eat 3 hrs before bed. Everything is in line, she should be loosing 1-3 pounds a week, she should be down 15 pounds by now. But she's exactly the same. (???)

And with me, Ive been working out for months and months trying to tone up and loose some fat around my mid section. My upper body is toning, but my mid section is not flattening. I eat healthy as well. It just doesnt make sense. Ive done tons of research on this, we should be accomplishing our goals.

Can you help Cathe? Or any other personal trainer?
Thank you for your time.
 
Are you guys counting your calories?

The reason I ask is that I thought I knew how much I was eating and what a "normal" portion looked like until I actually started figuring out the numbers.

I would keep up the strength training/cardio but really, really watch what you guys eat. It sounds like you just started with weight training for 4 days/2 days cardio only, so give it some time.

After you get your calories figured, wait and see what happens. Then you can up your cardio time if you feel it's necessary.

I'm sure others will chime in with great advice. :)
 
When it comes to calories, I get really confused. How do I know how many calories I am suppose to eat to achieve my goals? I am 5'7, 130 pounds, and my goal is to tone up, especially my mid section. I included a picture of myself (hope everyone can see it??), I want to get rid of that pooch under my belly button. I get confused with calories. Calorie calculators say to MAINTAIN my current weight I need to eat like 2000-2300 calories, which doesnt make sense cause I know I dont eat that much anyway. And since I am trying to gain muscle, Ive heard that I need to eat MORE. Can anyone help with that?

PS. The box of candy in the picture is NOT mine!! :9


 
I'm 5'7" and 130 too. Judging from your picture, you look fantastic!

Figuring out one's daily caloric intake is a huge pain in the butt as far as I'm concerned. Online calculators can give you different numbers, and there are formulas that differ. It's annoying. Plus, like you said, you want to eat enough to gain muscle but not gain fat.

Add age and hormonal factors in there...just to confuse things even more.

I read in one book that there is no sure-fire number out there for every person, and we need to experiment to find what works for us. The most common number of calories seem to range from 1400-1800, so that's what I'm playing with now. I started with 1400 and dropped pounds, but I'm not sure if that's what led to the weight loss OR the fact that I started working out with Cathe's DVDs. Had I been thinking, I would have started the DVDs without changing my calories at first.

Right now I'm lifting as heavy as I can and trying 1500-1600. My weight isn't moving (more importantly, the inches aren't creeping on), which is good, but we'll see if I make any muscle gains. I don't anticipate ever moving into the 1800 range, but who knows. After logging my food for the last 2 months, I'm not sure I could eat 1800 calories.

Bottom line: You just gotta play with different numbers and routines, and keep an eye on how your body reacts.
 
Tiffany,

I would kill to have a stomach that looks like yours you are being way to critical of your body. You look amazing.
 
IMO, you look close to your ideal weight and just need a bit of tweaking to 'exchange' a bit of fat for muscle.

If you want to lOse some fat and gain some muscle, here's what I recommend:
Tweak your diet a bit. Eat more fresh greens and veggies. If you drink sodas of any kind, replace them with water.

I'd emphasize weight training over cardio, to make use of the calories you are consuming for muscle building (toning).

I think a program like Cathe's 4DS would be a good match for you, at least for 4 weeks or so. Then go on to anothe split routine, with weight training 3-4 days a week, and cardio 3-4 days (some of the cardio days can be shorter workouts---about 20 minutes--used as extended warm-ups for weight work.

As for a flat abdominal region: some people will never have flat abs unless they drop to a body fat percentage that is too low for the rest of their body to look good. It's just an area where some of us tend to store any supplementary fat. You may find that this is the case for you. If so, be happy with being strong and healthy.

For your friend, she needs to tweak her diet a bit more: cutting out processed foods, and otherwise doing what I suggested for you above.

For her, I'd recommend interval cardio 2 non-consecutive days a week (three at the very most: it should not be done on consecutive days, as it is very stressful for the body---one reason for not lOsing weight can be overtraining--the body holds on to its fat stores for dear life when it thinks its being threatened), and a full-body weight workout 2-3 days a week (non-consecutive days). She needs to work the large muscle groups (legs, back and chest) every time she works out, as these are the ones that help most with metabolism and calorie burning.

For the interval workouts, I highly recommend Cardio Coach (which she can use while on the treadmill or other equipment)but only if the gym doesn't have a time limit: most CC are over 30 minutes long.

HTH!
 
Tiffany,

You look fantastic.

Continue exercising and eating right and quit worrying.

I feel reaally bad that someone like you who should be proud of herself and on top of the world about how she looks should be less than satisifed.

~* Vrinda *~
 
Thank you for your help everyone! I just wanted to make it clear that I AM very grateful to be thin. Ive been thin all my life, I dont know any other. But we are our own worst critic as well, and I believe its ok to have goals of improvement. I just want to take my body to the next level, thats all. I want my body to stop storing fat in my mid section, before it gets worse. That is what I am trying to fix here, it doesnt mean I am unsatisfied or ungrateful. :)
 
I am also thin and had a little pooch around my belly button and I do notice that it gets really fluffy when I eat the wrong stuff. P.S. you look fine to me but you are correct we are our own worst critics Good Luck!
 
are you kidding me? You look GREEAATTT!!! I had baby#2 13 months ago and still am working on losing the post pregnancy pooch, so don't be so hard on yourself!!!I'd give ALOT to look like you!

BestICan
 
I also wanted to share, my best friend (who I spoke about earlier) lost 4 pounds last week..with our new routine of more weights!!! Awesome huh?? I just hope its consistent.
 
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