Where did my six pack go?

nspire

nspire

Cathlete
Your response is greatly appreciated. I've been working out since I was 19 yrs old, and recently turned 42. I'm 5'7, 150lbs. Although I work out regualarly and pretty intensely I can't get to my desired weight of 138-140. I look at my body now compared to 10 yrs ago and I don't have that cut look I use to have back then. I have muscle but I see the fat especially in the abs and of course my legs aren't defined as they use to be either.

Can anyone recommend a way to shock my body w/ecise or eating. I do cardio 5-6dys a week, and 4dys of weights alternating between upper/lower.

I know one down fall has been snacking which I'm cutting out but can anyone give me some other ideas.
 
Honestly, most of the *six pack* comes from nutrition. And from what I hear from some friends (I'm not quite there yet!) it gets harder once you hit 40.

I'm still working on the abs too, but have found from eating cleaner and lifting heavier (P90X) that I'm seeing some great changes! ;-)
 
I have P90 and actually liked it, but once I started wathching Cathe, I haven't done the videos in a while.
 
Can I just say that i am 5'7 and weigh about 160 and having trouble getting down to the 150 I would like to be. And you are already there! AND (please only take this as a compliment) you are twenty years older then me! I would feel proud of just that!! Thats awesome!

Anyway, I have always been an athlete and in decent shape but never ever had a six pack. And recently snacking has been my problem too. I'm a stress-snacker. I had read that to really lose serious body-fat that low-carb, like south beach, is the way to go. However, I tried South Beach and after the first phase, which is two weeks of pretty much no carbs, I lost 8 pounds. But as soon as i started phase two, where you slowly incorporate carbs back into your diet (I has then once a day), I gain 5 back :-( . So I personally wasn't very successful on this diet. But many are so give it a try if you would like. I have recently read The Eat Clean Diet and am trying it. I physically feel better on this diet. However, I do feel like its a lot of food to eat in one day and because of the fact that I have a slower metabolism that scares me. So I'm modifying it a little.
Hope this was at all helpful!

Lauren
 
I'm 44 y.o., am 5'7" and lost 13 lbs last year (taking my wt from 153 to 140) by eating 1500/day. I just counted calories on an excel spreadsheet, using labels and various websites for nutrition info. I made sure I got 25 g of fiber each day, and at least 48 oz of water. It took me 10 weeks to reach that goal wt. For the last 3-4 lbs, I found I had to increase my protein intake to 85-95 g. per day. I did work out but not as intensely as you do! Hope this helps and good luck! (and yes, I've kept the wt off for a year and counting)

Jonahnah
Chocolate IS the answer, regardless of the question.
 
Hey Mizlauren123

Thanks for the compliment. I wonder if we are ever really satisfied or do we always take things for granted.

You mentioned the eating clean diet, what does this consists of?
 
>I'm 44 y.o., am 5'7" and lost 13 lbs last year (taking my wt
>from 153 to 140) by eating 1500/day. I just counted calories
>on an excel spreadsheet, using labels and various websites for
>nutrition info. I made sure I got 25 g of fiber each day, and
>at least 48 oz of water. It took me 10 weeks to reach that
>goal wt. For the last 3-4 lbs, I found I had to increase my
>protein intake to 85-95 g. per day. I did work out but not as
>intensely as you do! Hope this helps and good luck! (and yes,
>I've kept the wt off for a year and counting)
>
>Jonahnah
>Chocolate IS the answer, regardless of the question.

Thanks for the advise.

Can you give me an idea of what you ate for fiber on a daily basis and did you limit your carb intake or did you just stay within your 1500 cals.
 
Let's see, re: fiber: I ate whole grain most of the time, but did have white flour pasta occasionally, maybe once a week. I usually had Thomas' multigrain light english muffins (8 g fiber; <1 g. sugar, 100 cal) w/ 1 TBS peanut butter for breakfast (1 g. fiber, 95 cal) because it took me 1/3 of the way to my daily fiber goal. I liked Joseph's omega 3 pita bread for lunch sandwiches (4 g. fiber and only 60 calories) I ate a couple of fruit servings and 4 veggie servings daily which I don't think was really hard to do. One of my favorite dinners was a greek salad with 4 oz grilled chicken breast or canned tuna, 1 oz feta, 1 T vinaigretter dressing, 5 olives diced, lots of lettuce, tomatoes, red & green peppers, artichoke hearts, pepperocini, & green onion. Strawberries are a great fiber choice BTW for a healthy snack!

Jonahnah
Chocolate IS the answer, regardless of the question.
 
Being 46 years old, I know I can't eat whatever I want although I work out. In my 20s and 30s I did though.
Make sure you're getting enough of the right calories, enough sleep, enough water, and enough rest. Personally, I cut out white flour products in the past few months and I've regained defination in my core. No more cookies, pizza on occasion, and everything whole wheat and or whole grain. Yogurt has helped me tremendously too.
I have a book called,"the 101 foods that could save your life." It's not the ONLY book but it does work as a great reference to healthier living.
 
The Eat Clean Diet is a book by Tosca Reno. The diet is basically very healthy and natural. No white flour or sugar and no processed foods. Eating as close to natural as possible. I think the book if great and I feel really healthy on this diet. I don't even really see it so much as a diet but a way of life. i really recommend it!

Lauren
 
I'm impressed that you HAD a 6 pack, I've never had one. I am 5-8 as well, about 135lbs or so. Even when I was 18 & 120 lbs, in lots of sports NEVER had one.

The only time I did not have a "pouch" over my abs was when I went on a good carb only diet (South Beach Diet) after I had my last baby. I had a nice FLAT stomach, no 6 pack though!

Did I mention that I have every ab DVD ever made? Ha Ha

~Melanie~

Jadon born 11/23/05
Justin born 1/17/04
Jory born 4/9/94
 
Can I just say that not every woman genetically speaking can develop a 6 pack? I recently went on a 12 week body transformation program where I got my bodyfat down to 13.8 percent. Did I have a 6 pack? No. I do have a pretty tummy though, my serratus is defined, but I do not develop the "chunky" looking ab muscles that suggest a 6 pack. You know what I mean by "chunky" right? Not literally, just those muscles that look like blocks running across the stomach. I genetically do not build like that.
Of course diet is everything. I eat over 100 grams of protein a day, take a ton of amino acids, and limit my carbs to my breakfast and lunch.I eat fibrous carbs whenever I want...specifically veggies, no fruit.

To the above poster, I am 5'7' and weigh 147... my bodyfat is 13.8 percent, I have alot of hard earned muscle, and pretty good definition. I can say this, because I busted my arse to get here. Its hard for me to lose bodyfat without being extreme. I was doing 50 minutes of cardio in the AM, 50 in the PM, plus using short, heavy and intense weight training 4 times a week. My diet was as I described above. This lasted for 12 weeks and I reached my bodyfat goal. I am jsut trying to maintain now and have cut my cardio in half and have added one cheat day. I have done pretty well maintaining, but to get there, I really pushed myself. Not sure if this is doable for you, because not everyone can. Here is the link to the program I used and the trainer I used to get here. He is incredible, and it was worth every single penny.Now I have a workout and diet plan that I know works for my body type. My bodyfat has probably gone up a percent since completing the program, but I am still following the diet and exercise plan, minus the nighttime cardio.

http://bodybyo.com/index.asp
 
The sugars in the fruit...like I said, it was totally strict, and with only 12 weeks to work with me, fruit was one of the first things my trainer eliminated. Now, though, I can have it if I want to. :)
 
Can you give us a breakdown on what your daily menu looked like? Also, once completing the program what did you incorporate back into your diet and do you still limit the amount of fruit or starchy carbs if any.
 
Bascially the diet was 7 mini meals. The first was a protein shake, next was 4 egg whites with 4 rice cakes and some salsa. Next was a protein with 1 cup of veggies, next came another protein shake, then dinner was a protein with a large green salad, then another protein shake before bedtime. For a total of around 1,599 calories a day. I still follow this plan and have a cheat day on Sunday. I also sometimes cheat a tiny bit during the week now, but not anything too bad, I make up for it by doing a little extra cardio. So, yes, I do not really like fruit anyway so do not eat it, and I still limit the starches.
 
I use the BSN proteins or PVL all available at bodybuilding.com...I mix with water and ground flaxseed.
 
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