I've tried everything!!!

F

frustrated2

New Member
Cathy, I live on the west coast so I get up at 4:00 a.m. to do your workout, which I love. I then do 30 minutes of additional cardio, 5-6 days a week. My diet consists of mainly protein and veggies, I try and get most of my carbs from fruit and whole grains.

Here is my problem, I can't lose weight x( . I am 5'11" and I weigh 190 lbs. I keep thinking there must be something I am missing, that one magic ingredient to weight loss, but I have yet to find it.

Do you have any suggestions? I have been working out for a long time and am starting to get obsessive about weight loss, I feel like I am putting in the time and effort but am getting minimal results (cry cry cry....)

Thank you for taking to time to read this, I look forward to hearing from you. Any suggestions would be appreciated.:eek:
 
It can be terribly frustrating, can't it? Are your clothes feeling any different? Sometimes changes are happening that we're not aware of... and when it comes to fat, last hired is first fired. Have faith that the method you're using is tried and true and that you may be getting the added benefit of patience! =]

Take care and hang in there!
Liz
 
You might also talk with your doctor about this. I went through the same thing last year -- lots of exercise, clean eating, but the scale (and clothing size) would not budge. It turned out that a medication I was on (particular method of birth control) was the culprit. Little known side effect that my doc knew and I had never heard of. I changed methods, and the weight started coming off. You just never know when something else is interfering with your metabolism.

Good luck!
 
I'm not Cathe, but I'd like to pose a few suggestions:

#1: Please post here precisely what you mean when you say ". . . do your workout . . . then do 30 minutes of additional cardio 5-6 days a week". When you say "Do your workout", do you mean a mix of cardio and resistance training (weights, bands, a combination?). When you say "addtional cardio 5-6 days a week", what precisely are you doing for cardio? It could be that you are not getting in enough resistance training, that your cardio is overlong in the duration department and underchallenging in the intensity and variation department, and your body has become too efficient at it. Please list WHAT you do in terms of mode and duration here.

#2: It is quite possible that 4:00 a.m. is not the optimum time for your body to benefit from a workout. I know that finding the right time to work out, when you have an active life to live, is very very challenging, but at 4:00 a.m. your body might be more in wake-up mode than workout mode.

#3: Regarding your diet, it could be that you're not getting nearly enough healthy fats in your diet. I know that suggesting to add fats in (HEALTHY FATS, my friend) can be like abjuring God, country and flag in this post-Atkins era, but fats are a necessary part of one's nutritional program for body function AND exercise performance, especially cardiovascular work. It could also be that - again, abjuring God, country and flag here - you're not getting enough calories, and your body has gone into a quasi-starvation mode; when you're not getting enough fuel your body preserves its fat stores AND inhibits intense exertion as an additional preservation measure.

#4: Be careful about overestimating the meaning of scale weight. A better thing for you to do, as an initial health measure, is to get a PROFESSIONALLY done body composition analysis from a competent trainer using specific equipment. "Losing weight" should not be the be-all-and-end-all, if that weight is healthy muscle mass and needed water stores. You need to determine how much your body's storage fat percentage is over the healthy range, not necessarily how much you weigh on the bathroom scale.

#5: Give yourself a pat on the back for exercising consistently. Exercise is an end in itself, as well as a means to another end. You are probably deriving lasting cardiovascular/pulmonary benefits as well as musculoskeletal benefits that don't translate very well in the Weight Loss Quest. Consider that you're in a rather small minority of Americans: The Exercising Minority.

Understand this: "Everything" is a pretty big number. There are some answers for you here.

HTH - please post back here as I've suggested, and I'm sure you'll get some very savvy advice.

A-Jock
 
RE: Hey KathyS!

My beloved friend!

Alas, DH and I are, as they say, "Cable-Challenged" so I have precisely zero idea what Fit TV airs for Cathe workouts. The commercials alone are enough to keep me off that particular avenue for good.

Frustrated2 - let us know your complete and total 411 so we can give you some more pointed suggestions. Be advised - we're all going to suggest your investing in Cathe DVDs rather than be reliant on Fit TV, for a number of reasons.

A-Jock
 
Frustrated2,
Just a suggestion, but is it possible you are not eating enough to sustain your diet and exercise? In my experience (and it is vast) with weigh loss, I find that when I hit a plateau, I need to increase my calorie intake for a few days. If you are eating too little, your metabolism slows down a great deal which makes it darn difficult to lose any weight. Try increasing your calorie intake by 200 calories for a couple days and see what happens.
 
Thank you so much for your response, your awesome. When I say "do your workout" I am referring the Cathe's one hour work out on FitTV here in Southern California. Cathe mixes it up pretty good, I feel as though I am getting in enough strength training and conditioning with her workouts. I then do additional cardio after I have worked out with Cathe.

I expect results because I am putting the time in, you know what I mean? I know we all have different body types and metabolisms but when an overweight gal I work with simply cut out soda and lost 10 pounds, it can get frustrating. x(

I look forward to hearing from you. Also, can you talk a bit about what "clean" foods are?
 
Hi, Frustrated! Alas, I'm still a little clueless as to which of Cathe's workouts air in Southern Cal at that time of day. That being said, I think you should focus on getting in at least one pure interval workout per week (think Interval Max, I-Max 2 or I-max 3), one steady-state cardio workout per week of a step, hi/lo or kickbox mode (there are a ton of them, too many to list here), one circuit-style workout (Circuit Max, Cardio+Weights, Gauntlet or the Viper from the Terminator DVD, Hardcore Extreme circuit, High Step Training Advanced, High Step Challenge - there are others) for your cardio. I also think you should focus on targeted strength training using split-set techniques (The Gym Styles, the Slow and Heavy Series, Pyramid Upper / Lower Body, The Pure Strength Series) on alternate weeks with the other weeks using total body strengthening workouts such as Maximum Intensity Strength, Muscle Max, Push-Pull, Supersets, Muscle Endurance, and/or the Cross-Train Express strength segments.

Also, it could be that with your strength workouts you need to up your weight loads.

As far as "eating clean", generally that refers to eating foods that are unprocessed or minimally processed as opposed to hyper-processed foods that can have high concentrations of fats, sugars and sodium. Think apple as opposed to apple sauce, or apple sauce as opposed to apple pie. Good whole vegetables steamed as opposed to stewed; good fresh fruits as opposed to fruit-flavored swill. Think good Swiss Cheese as opposed to Cheez-Its (a subject near and dear to my heart). Good whole grain based carbs, as opposed to Wonderbread and Uncle Ben's White Rice.

It's possible that your overweight co-worker dropped that weight because she had it to drop. It also could be that your co-worker lost retained water as opposed to storage fat. Comparisons like that can be a little inaccurate. You could just have a helluva lot of muscle, and you DO NOT want to lose that.

Do consider my other suggestions (working out at a different time of day; taking stock of your food and caloric intake, body composition analysis, etc.) and let us know about that; I still think those could be factors for you.

A-Jock
 
Hey there Frustrated2:

I live in CA as well, so I happen to know that the workout that airs at 4:00 am, also re-broadcasts daily at 8:00 am. Check it out!

Hope that helps.
 
Annette, you are my new hero!! Thank you so much for your post, I will take to heart your suggestions. :7 I am anticipating great things and I will keep you up to date on how it is coming. :)

Have a fantastic weekend...
 
Hi Annette:

I am new to this forum, but I too had a problem with losing pounds. I had joined Weight Watchers and I faithfully ate within my points everyday, but the point on the scale either never moved or moved up a notch or 2... I too work out quite a bit. I exericise 6 days a week... cardio: 30 - 60 minutes..using Cathe's rotations: X-press videoes, Time Savers, Step Fusion, High Step Circuit, PUB and PLB, Slow and Heavy/triceps/biceps..this is a killer... and I have a Schwinn spinner @ home, that I exercise with videos.. which are cardio/intervals and Spinerval and Reebok have spinning intervals/weights combined on some of their DVD's... That being said, I would go to Weight Watchers and not seeing results depressed me, so I stopped going... however, I am still following the points and keeping a food journal; this to me, is key to my success in losing weight, i.e., being accountable for what I put in my mouth! Well do you know that when I stopped obsessing about my weight and the scale, I went down a pants size. So all my hard work was not done in vein, and as you stated, besides weight loss you still improve your overall health by working out. I have developed muscle and as we know, muscle weighs more than fat, so that is why I hadn't seen any movement on the scale. I have also increased my calories from 1200 to 1400 for now, because I was getting too hungry from all the exercising that I do. I feel that the scale is only one measure of progress, if your clothes are loser, your percentage of body fat is decreasing... I feel more encouraged now... There is hope beyond the scale....:7 I printed your guide lines out for myself to share with my other exercise buddies... thanks.. Dee
 
Not Cathe here. Also not as articulate as A-jock (ain't she grand?). I suggest you keep a food diary. I know I always underestimate the amount of calories I consume in a day. The suggestion made that your caloric intake may be too low is important too. And I agree that getting out the old credit card and purchasing some of Cathe's DVD's is a good idea. I don't have cable and haven't seen Fit TV, but assume there are commercial breaks....
 
Hi, Dee! Thanks for your kind words!

Yours is an important experience to relate. Although the Weight Watchers point system is to be commended because among other things it values a well-rounded consumption of macronutrients (carbs, fats, protein) in appropriate proportions, I've always had a beef with its overemphasis on . . . well, weight. Scale weight. Until the scale tells me precisely how much storage fat I have, how much lean fat-free mass I have, and how much water and other fluids I have, then the scale and me ain't gonna be in the same room too long. I almost never weigh myself, but I did so a couple of weeks ago and learned that I've put on a good six pounds in the past six years. And I'm leaner and tauter than ever, still sliding into a size zero on skirts and slacks.

Muscle is indeed denser (not heavier, as is commonly assumed, but DENSER) than fat, and more importantly, muscle is metabolically active, living tissue with motor function, something that cannot be said for fat. If I were to "lose weight" now I'd be pissed, because I know it would be hard-won muscle. And I'd go looking for it.

A-Jock
 
Robin, I was just going to post the same suggestion. I was working out pretty hard for 2 months without recording my eating habits. I didn't lose any weight at all. Once I started writing down what I ate and drank it was shocking!!! I was eating a lot of junk (baked lays, aren't they good for you? :) ). Writing down what I was actually consuming helped a lot. Along with everyone else's great suggestions here, you should be losing in no time.

Karin
 
South Beach, South Beach, South Beach...haha. I had the same problem, SB is not a restrictive diet...it is just eating healthy, but also stabilizes blood sugar in the first phase, which is a huge factor in losing weight. I was your size, maybe weighed a little more, am 40 years old, and nothing worked. I am now eating regularly, but cannot remember the last time I ate a whole meal, I don't get famished anymore, or crave sweets (well for three weeks out the the month anyway....haha) You don't have to stay on the diet, I'm not on it anymore (really, still use some of the yummier recipes)and haven't gained an ounce back.

Also, cardio cardio cardio....a whole lot of it. Lighten the weights for a month and do them at a heart pumping pace...like in Muscle Endurance DVD.

Well- that's my plan anyway....maybe it will work for you....
 
Also, to add to what has already been said, you have to vary your workouts or your body just adapts and you don't reap as many benefits. I don't recall how long you said you've been doing that workout, but if it is the same one (or even the same type of workout) varying it up could help (what A-Jock suggested was a nice varied week of different types of workouts). In addition to varying type, you can vary intensity, duration, and or frequency. Note: reducing duration or frequency could help if you are working extra intensely.

Good luck!
 
You all are so smart about all this. You are right on about Weight Watchers, I love it and think of it as my coach. The tools to track my intake and learn the value of what I eat are great and keep me accountable. You have to use your head though, as an advanced exerciser in setting your goal weight and in figuring the right balance of points to use. Luckily I find the program extremely flexible and I have been able to use it to meet my goals. I also use their on-line program because I felt so conspicuous at meetings; I didn't have a lot to lose. There are others on their boards like us, who workout a lot and are very fit, just striving for perfection (ain't it grand?). There is even a Cathe Checkin thread on their Fitness Challenge board.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Our Newsletter

Get awesome content delivered straight to your inbox.

Top