Not gaining and not losing

K

kimyenchu

Cathlete
Hello,

I've been doing Cathe workouts for years now and I must admit that I am not a success story. I have not lost a single pound since forever!! And I am rather frustrated.

I exercise maybe 4-5 times per week and I've been doing heavier weights using PS, Pyramids these past few weeks. I am lifting a couple pounds heavier than I did in the past, and I find it quite exhausting - it feels so heavy. I am wondering if going heavy is the answer. Yesterday I IMAX 3 followed by PS Back and Biceps and this is what I lifted:

About 40lbs for bent over row
About 25lbs for one arm row
About 35lbs for barbell bicep curl
About 12lbs for seated one arm curl

Is this too heavy? And was it too much to do IMAX 3 as well? I don't feel so sore today but I do feel a little tired. I was going to do PS Legs but decided not to. I will do that tomorrow instead. I've been doing this for about a month now and wondering if this is too soon to see changes.

I enjoy heavier weight training and am thinking of purchasing heavier dumbbells and pre-ordering STS.

I'm 5ft and 110lbs. I would like to lose about 12lbs, but it's taking forever and the scale won't budge. I must admit my diet is not great, but I don't think that I eat alot. I eat until I am full otherwise I don't have the energy to workout.

I guess I don't mind not losing weight if I can look like Cathe & crew, but I don't see definition either.

Please don't say diet, diet, diet, it's such a dreaded word and I really dislike following a regime.

Yen
 
Ok, I won't say diet. I'll use the word nutrition. Food/nutrients creates the inner climate for your body composition to change.
That old saying, "You are what you eat".....is 100% dead on.
You have to create the environment.
You can't out exercise poor nutrition.
 
Yen,

You must clean up your diet in order to drop the weight. Cardio and weight training are great but diet has a larger impact to weight loss. I used to work out 6 days per week at very advanced levels and couldn't lose a pound. Then, I learned how to eat properly (and clean) and the 40 pounds dropped off me. I still work out consistently (well, when my crazy schedule allows me, that is) but do maintain a clean eating lifestyle.

Hope this helps.
Lorrayne
 
Ok, Yen, let's compromise. I'm not going to say "diet" as in "you must go ON a diet", but you DO need to WATCH your diet--as in the food and nutrients you consume. You don't have to follow on strict regimen, you just have to eat well. Think of your body as a machine. You want to FUEL it. And fuel it properly. You can exercise all day, every day, but you've got to eat well to fuel yourself and your workouts.

Allison

http://www.picturetrail.com/allisonj90
 
I really don't think I eat that badly. I always have small bowl of cereal or yoghurt and fruit for breakfast, bread and soup for lunch, and rice with meat & vegetables for dinner. I know my family diet is healthy because everyone else in the family is slightly under weight, and no one has ever put on weight. I think for it's a case of quantity over quality. I also eat out occasionally with 1-2 glasses of wine.

I think it's a matter of learning to push myself further with the exercise as well, like doing mish moshes (those are tough!!!) so I am working at my anaerobic capacity and lifting heavy. I had a personal training session with a trainer in a gym and he got me lifting 1.5 times my body weight for squats and nearly 80lbs bench press. Boy, I really felt it afterwards. Working out at home I am not doing it consistently enough and not heavy enough.

Don't you think it's a little bit hard though to diet AND exercise? It's hard to work flat out in the gym, which sometimes I just do not like and then deprive yourself of something you enjoy? We should be able to do one or the other but not both. Life is too short.

Yen
 
I have to agree with all the rest - you have to clean up your diet. That does NOT mean giving up everything you like. Make small changes that add up to calories saved that you won't even miss.
 
fit44,

That's how I eat!! Just like this guy, herbal tea every morning. I NEVER drink tea of coffee, rarely eat bagels, muffins, brownies. I don't have sandwiches but I have bread and soup for lunch at work, or bring in something from home.

I think my problem is not enough exercise. I need to work harder!! Sigh



Yen
 
Yen - Have you ever logged your calories in Sparkpeople or fitday, just too see how much (or how little) you are eating? When I read what workouts you do, and how much you are eating, I immediately thought that you were eating too FEW calories, which is also a problem. Weight loss is always more a product of diet than exercise. Sign up for www.sparkpeople.com and do the quiz that will help determine how many calories you need based on your workout load, then enter your calories to see if you are hitting that number. If you are, and have been doing so faithfully, have a check up with your doctor.
 
With what you have posted, it looks like you are not getting enough protein. How much healthy fat are you eating everyday?
You may want to try eating your starchy carbs within a 3 hour window of your workouts. It helps when you are trying to drop bodyfat.
When I'm cutting for swim season. I take my starchy carbs down to one serving of Oatmeal for breakfast only. The rest of my carb sources come from raw fruit and green veggies. LOTS and lots of green veggies!
 
You said you are 5ft and 110lbs. Twelve pounds are going to come off slow. I'm also 5ft and 115 is as low as I can go without over doing it (I'm not at that right now). Now your body type might be alot different than mine but to weigh 98lbs is really low and if you are lifting heavy you are going to make more muscle.

I'm not going to say diet. I think you are being really hard on yourself. I'm trying to get back down to 115 I've got 10lbs to go and I know this is going to be the hardest.

Farrah
 
>I must admit my diet
>is not great, but I don't think that I eat alot. I eat until I
>am full otherwise I don't have the energy to workout. ...
>Please don't say diet, diet, diet, it's such a dreaded word
>and I really dislike following a regime.

"Diet" doesn't just mean "restrictive, regimented way of eating to lose weight," it means "how one fuels oneself." Everyone is following a "diet," whether they like to think of it that way or not.

I agree that diet is about 80% of losing weight/fat (exercise is more important for shaping what's there, and for overall health).

You say you don't eat a lot, and just eat until you are full. Actually, that doesn't say much, because more important than HOW MUCH you eat is WHAT you eat. You can fill up on X amount of calorie-dense food, or the same amount of nutrient-dense, low-to-moderate-calorie food : the difference between the two is great. One factor in satiety (the body's feeling that "I've eaten enough," is just the quantity of food: 200 calories of veggies fills up the stomach much more than 200 calories of a brownie, so with the latter, you'll often want more. (There's a book called "Picture-Perfect Weight Loss" that gives a wonderful visual comparison of eating options: facing pages have photos of food with the same calorie count, one with nutrient-dense but calorie-low foods, the other with calorie-dense foods. It's a great visual aid to help 'get' that idea. It also doesn't push any 'diet', but helps you learn to make better choices: it's all up to you).

Another factor in satiety is nutrient density of foods. I'm convinced (though my reading and personal experience) that many people are deficient in minerals and other nutrients from whole foods. If your body is lacking micronutrients (vitamins, minerals, antioxidant), even if it is getting plenty of macronutrients (protein. carbs and fat), it will feel the need to eat more, in the quest for nutrient satisfaction. (Dr. Fuhrman talks about this somewhat in his works).

If you are filling up on huge green salads and veggies (which contain lots of vitamins and minerals), and whole, natural foods with their naturally-occuring fiber, then appetite, and eating until you are full, can be a good guide to how much to eat (many people who eat this way don't worry about counting calories or 'dieting' because their natural appetite will usually guide them in the right direction).

If you are filling up on bread, processed foods, low-fiber, high-fat foods, and 'treats,' you won't feel full until you eat more calories.

So, yes, what you eat is important, whether you want to call it "diet" or "nutrition" or "fueling" or "Bob"!}(
 
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