Help, what am I doing wrong?
Discussion
Since the new year I have started eating healthy, cutting out 95% processed foods, all sweets/crips and 95% fizzy drinks.
Last week I lost 3lb, this morning jumped on the scales and i've gained 2 of those back. To say i'm gutted is an understatement. So please critique my diet/exercise so far.
I'm female (if it makes a difference) 5'9 and 13st 8lb
Meals -
Breakfast at 0630 - protein shake made with milk.
Lunch - 1200(ish) Chicken breast in tortilla wrap with half a can of pepsi max
Dinner - Either another chicken wrap (if at the gym) or chicken/steak with veg if not a gym night. Evening meal with diluted juice.
Every Friday night we will have a mealout/takeaway. Don't really want to give this up if I can help it but I will if it is causing the issues. I'm allergic to nuts so can not snack on them and really struggle to eat in the mornings hence why I have started drinking the protein shakes. Do eat fruit but trying not to due to crazy amounts of sugar in them.
Workouts - Unfortunately I can not work out in the mornings as I leave for work at 0600 and the gym opens at 0630.
Monday - 1815 - 1915 - cardio of some description either treadmill/cross trainer/rowing machine
1915 - 2015 - Yoga
Tuesday - 1800 - 1900 - Cardio on cross trainer at home
Wednesday - 1800 - 1900 - cardio at the gym as per Monday
1900 - 2000 - Fit Pilates
Thursday - 1700 - 1800 - Leg session weights 4 sets of 8 reps each exercise - including squats with 20k bar, split lunge and normal lunge both with 8k weight in each hand. Side squat/lunge with 7k medicine ball. Leg press with 57.5k calf raises at 25k.
Friday - rest day
Saturday and Sunday - About an hour eah day of lifting weights, arms/back/shoulders. Also 25mins of cardio later in the day on the cross trainer at home.
Somewhere in all of this I need to add some abs work although the Yoga and Fit pilates are very core orientated.
I also drink 2 - 3 litres of water a day .
I've given myself 3 months to lose at least 2st. This is 2lb a week for the 12 weeks to the date of my holiday, not a massively unrealistic in my view. And lets face it I have the weight to lose so I thought it would be dropping off, at least in the first few weeks.
So what am I doing wrong?
If you've got this far - Thank you
Last week I lost 3lb, this morning jumped on the scales and i've gained 2 of those back. To say i'm gutted is an understatement. So please critique my diet/exercise so far.
I'm female (if it makes a difference) 5'9 and 13st 8lb
Meals -
Breakfast at 0630 - protein shake made with milk.
Lunch - 1200(ish) Chicken breast in tortilla wrap with half a can of pepsi max
Dinner - Either another chicken wrap (if at the gym) or chicken/steak with veg if not a gym night. Evening meal with diluted juice.
Every Friday night we will have a mealout/takeaway. Don't really want to give this up if I can help it but I will if it is causing the issues. I'm allergic to nuts so can not snack on them and really struggle to eat in the mornings hence why I have started drinking the protein shakes. Do eat fruit but trying not to due to crazy amounts of sugar in them.
Workouts - Unfortunately I can not work out in the mornings as I leave for work at 0600 and the gym opens at 0630.
Monday - 1815 - 1915 - cardio of some description either treadmill/cross trainer/rowing machine
1915 - 2015 - Yoga
Tuesday - 1800 - 1900 - Cardio on cross trainer at home
Wednesday - 1800 - 1900 - cardio at the gym as per Monday
1900 - 2000 - Fit Pilates
Thursday - 1700 - 1800 - Leg session weights 4 sets of 8 reps each exercise - including squats with 20k bar, split lunge and normal lunge both with 8k weight in each hand. Side squat/lunge with 7k medicine ball. Leg press with 57.5k calf raises at 25k.
Friday - rest day
Saturday and Sunday - About an hour eah day of lifting weights, arms/back/shoulders. Also 25mins of cardio later in the day on the cross trainer at home.
Somewhere in all of this I need to add some abs work although the Yoga and Fit pilates are very core orientated.
I also drink 2 - 3 litres of water a day .
I've given myself 3 months to lose at least 2st. This is 2lb a week for the 12 weeks to the date of my holiday, not a massively unrealistic in my view. And lets face it I have the weight to lose so I thought it would be dropping off, at least in the first few weeks.
So what am I doing wrong?
If you've got this far - Thank you
Use http://www.myfitnesspal.com/ you can track your calorie intake and your exercise and there is a section where you can track your measurements, this can be modified, I would suggest, thigh, hip, natural waist, under bust, bust and top of your arm.
With regard to the takeaway, I would suspect it is very high in salt so may cause you to retain a little more water. Your menstrual cycle may also have an impact, so log that is the notes on there to give you a clearer picture of how your body behaves.
With regard to the takeaway, I would suspect it is very high in salt so may cause you to retain a little more water. Your menstrual cycle may also have an impact, so log that is the notes on there to give you a clearer picture of how your body behaves.
I think your regime is too much. You shouldn't really back to back your exercises like that as you're risking injury more and bit allowing your body to repair/grow. Moreover, you shouldn't be able to back to back if you're working yourself hard.
How ruined are you at the end of one if your sessions. My cynical side suspects your hour of cardio doesn't leave you wrecked.
How ruined are you at the end of one if your sessions. My cynical side suspects your hour of cardio doesn't leave you wrecked.
Don't get hung up on numbers in isolation, look for a longer term trend over 6 weeks or so....ie downward if you are looking to simply lose weight....looking at your routine there's no way you will have gained 2 pounds of muscle in week!
Many factors can affect weight at a particular point in time...as a lady, time of the month will affect water retention and therefore weight, having a pee/pooh will lose 2 pounds, eating a meal/litre of water will gain a couple, etc etc....look for that trend, not a number in isolation.
Many factors can affect weight at a particular point in time...as a lady, time of the month will affect water retention and therefore weight, having a pee/pooh will lose 2 pounds, eating a meal/litre of water will gain a couple, etc etc....look for that trend, not a number in isolation.
Fotic said:
I think your regime is too much. You shouldn't really back to back your exercises like that as you're risking injury more and bit allowing your body to repair/grow. Moreover, you shouldn't be able to back to back if you're working yourself hard.
How ruined are you at the end of one if your sessions. My cynical side suspects your hour of cardio doesn't leave you wrecked.
Quite wrecked! I'm asthmatic as well so cardio strength is building slowly but surely. I probably could push the cardio more but fear of an asthma attack in the gym maybe holds me back psychologically. Something I hope I'll get over the more I do.How ruined are you at the end of one if your sessions. My cynical side suspects your hour of cardio doesn't leave you wrecked.
As for the back to back's, with the weights I do different groups of muscle different days so they kind of rest in between and only so legs once a week because they never really get a proper rest. Still hurting today after Thursday's session. Two things stop me cutting back, one is that I have a time limit, after my holiday I'll look at my routine again and scale back to 4/5 days a week. Second I am finding a real love for exercise so don't want to lose that or my motivation right now. I'm stretching properly and I know my limits.
Personally i found the quickest way to drop weight was to drop carb based food/drink; so bread, wraps, potatoes, beers etc
I then went balls out on cardio work and to break into the fat stores i had; slowly but surely i started to see the weight drop.
During this time my diet consisted of meat and veg; clean and full of protein. I was also on protein shakes and lots of water.
April last year i was pushing 14.5 stone in weight, little muscle and mostly fat, after 8 months of working out and keeping off the carbs/beers/junk food, i had dropped to 11.5 stone and was feeling great.
I had a break over the Xmas period and went back on to carbs and i'm now around 12 stone. But i'm back in the gym and planning on bulking this year, so i think that i need to bring healthy carbs back into my diet.
I then went balls out on cardio work and to break into the fat stores i had; slowly but surely i started to see the weight drop.
During this time my diet consisted of meat and veg; clean and full of protein. I was also on protein shakes and lots of water.
April last year i was pushing 14.5 stone in weight, little muscle and mostly fat, after 8 months of working out and keeping off the carbs/beers/junk food, i had dropped to 11.5 stone and was feeling great.
I had a break over the Xmas period and went back on to carbs and i'm now around 12 stone. But i'm back in the gym and planning on bulking this year, so i think that i need to bring healthy carbs back into my diet.
Edited by _Deano on Monday 13th January 10:17
Here is my 10ps worth.
Firstly take the long term approach, weight can vary week to week, it it probably muscle you have been building, don't worry about it, weigh yourself fortnightly or monthly/
Secondly that is quite a training programme, seems too much, unless you are fit already. At best you will get sick of if after a few weeks, at worse you will burn yourself out. You want to choose a lifestyle instead of an exercise programme, put together a programme that you can do long term week in , week out that you enjoy. Therefore the weight will stay off long term. Instead of going flat out for a couple of months, losing loads of weight and then putting it on, like some people do.
I would ditch the weights. When you have lost the body weight you can then concentrate toning specific areas. I would concentrate on cardio to burn fat and build a good base fitness. The Pilates, yoga and cross trainer should tone your muscles sufficiently .
For me HIT type training loses the most weight for me, 3/4 sessions a week at an hour a time. Everyone is different though.
Firstly take the long term approach, weight can vary week to week, it it probably muscle you have been building, don't worry about it, weigh yourself fortnightly or monthly/
Secondly that is quite a training programme, seems too much, unless you are fit already. At best you will get sick of if after a few weeks, at worse you will burn yourself out. You want to choose a lifestyle instead of an exercise programme, put together a programme that you can do long term week in , week out that you enjoy. Therefore the weight will stay off long term. Instead of going flat out for a couple of months, losing loads of weight and then putting it on, like some people do.
I would ditch the weights. When you have lost the body weight you can then concentrate toning specific areas. I would concentrate on cardio to burn fat and build a good base fitness. The Pilates, yoga and cross trainer should tone your muscles sufficiently .
For me HIT type training loses the most weight for me, 3/4 sessions a week at an hour a time. Everyone is different though.
Sounds like you're doing the right things! Just keep at it, it may take a while. Diet wise, I'd drop the protein shake in the morning and just keep off the snacks (which it sounds like you're doing anyway). Have a bannanna in the morning or some fruit, I know fruit is quite sugar rich, but their natural sugars so not so bad. I find exercise and no snacking is the key.
I'd be tempted to argue that you're not eating enough... 700-800 calories a day is a pitiful amount. Do you know what your BMR requires? And then again for your activity rate? I agree that there needs to be some deficit on the calories which you intake - but I wouldn't think that being ~900 down immediately will benefit you!
Edited to add -
Quick maths, and making an assumption you are 25 years old, gives me a total of 1706 BMR with the information provided. Judging by your activity rate, I'd multiple that by 1.4 which gives me 2388 TEE. TEE is your total energy expenditure - so the amount you need to maintain where you currently are judging by your weight/height/age. The formula I've used overestimates slightly, as we don't know your BMI.
Happy to expand on this, but I'll stick by my point that you're not eating enough.
Edited to add -
Quick maths, and making an assumption you are 25 years old, gives me a total of 1706 BMR with the information provided. Judging by your activity rate, I'd multiple that by 1.4 which gives me 2388 TEE. TEE is your total energy expenditure - so the amount you need to maintain where you currently are judging by your weight/height/age. The formula I've used overestimates slightly, as we don't know your BMI.
Happy to expand on this, but I'll stick by my point that you're not eating enough.
Edited by MrAdaam on Monday 13th January 10:30
The wraps are my only source if carbs, I'm not eating any other apart from those found in veggies. I don't think I'll cut them out as they are quick and easy as I don't have time to get home, prepare something and then have time to let it digest before heading to the gym. These are 10 secs to prepare as I pre-cook the chicken. Knowing myself I need stuff that's easy especially at first so that I don't give up/resort to eating crap because it's easier.
In terms of doing too much training, I'm not mega unfit and I'm not feeling like it's too much at the minute but I will take it onboard what you're saying, I do like lifting weights and I've always found that a combination of strength and cardio have been best. I used to do an outdoor bootcamp which was great but too expensive long term.
For me this is a long term lifestyle change, I don't want to spend my 30's (I'm 29) struggling with yo yo weight and self image the way I have my 20's. If just like to be thinner for when I go to Vegas
so I figured go a bit mad for 3 months then tone it down and do something more sustainable.
In terms of doing too much training, I'm not mega unfit and I'm not feeling like it's too much at the minute but I will take it onboard what you're saying, I do like lifting weights and I've always found that a combination of strength and cardio have been best. I used to do an outdoor bootcamp which was great but too expensive long term.
For me this is a long term lifestyle change, I don't want to spend my 30's (I'm 29) struggling with yo yo weight and self image the way I have my 20's. If just like to be thinner for when I go to Vegas
so I figured go a bit mad for 3 months then tone it down and do something more sustainable. MrAdaam said:
I'd be tempted to argue that you're not eating enough... 700-800 calories a day is a pitiful amount. Do you know what your BMR requires? And then again for your activity rate? I agree that there needs to be some deficit on the calories which you intake - but I wouldn't think that being ~900 down immediately will benefit you!
Edited to add -
Quick maths, and making an assumption you are 25 years old, gives me a total of 1706 BMR with the information provided. Judging by your activity rate, I'd multiple that by 1.4 which gives me 2388 TEE. TEE is your total energy expenditure - so the amount you need to maintain where you currently are judging by your weight/height/age. The formula I've used overestimates slightly, as we don't know your BMI.
Happy to expand on this, but I'll stick by my point that you're not eating enough.
I would have said the same before I started, and your TDEE calcs are not far off what I've worked out myself but I don't feel hungry throughout the day anymore. I don't have any periods of tiredness or hyperactivity like I used to so I'd say my blood sugar is relatively stable and I don't want to eat just for the sake of it? Edited to add -
Quick maths, and making an assumption you are 25 years old, gives me a total of 1706 BMR with the information provided. Judging by your activity rate, I'd multiple that by 1.4 which gives me 2388 TEE. TEE is your total energy expenditure - so the amount you need to maintain where you currently are judging by your weight/height/age. The formula I've used overestimates slightly, as we don't know your BMI.
Happy to expand on this, but I'll stick by my point that you're not eating enough.
Edited by MrAdaam on Monday 13th January 10:30
I'm not familiar with the Up band, but I've found Myfitnesspal to be the most accurate in terms of calories eaten and burned, have you gone through a period of weighing all your food so you are aware of portion size?
The calories burnt seems very high to me, I'm female, but only 5ft, for me an hours Hatha Yoga would see me burn approximately 150 calories, I no longer run due to a skiing injury but I do brisk walk at around 4 mph, which sees a burn of under 300 calories an hour.
Ditch the wraps, high in salt and not a lot of nutritional value for the calories, especially as you are restricting your calories, everything you put in your mouth needs to be of good value, so I would replace with a bean salad and raw veg.
Sorry just to add, fibre is your friend, so if you feel you want carbs, then go for high fibre ones, I'd take a small portion of baked squash, skin on over a wrap.
The calories burnt seems very high to me, I'm female, but only 5ft, for me an hours Hatha Yoga would see me burn approximately 150 calories, I no longer run due to a skiing injury but I do brisk walk at around 4 mph, which sees a burn of under 300 calories an hour.
Ditch the wraps, high in salt and not a lot of nutritional value for the calories, especially as you are restricting your calories, everything you put in your mouth needs to be of good value, so I would replace with a bean salad and raw veg.
Sorry just to add, fibre is your friend, so if you feel you want carbs, then go for high fibre ones, I'd take a small portion of baked squash, skin on over a wrap.
Edited by Tumbler on Monday 13th January 10:50
Anonamoose said:
The wraps are my only source if carbs, I'm not eating any other apart from those found in veggies. I don't think I'll cut them out as they are quick and easy as I don't have time to get home, prepare something and then have time to let it digest before heading to the gym. These are 10 secs to prepare as I pre-cook the chicken. Knowing myself I need stuff that's easy especially at first so that I don't give up/resort to eating crap because it's easier.
In terms of doing too much training, I'm not mega unfit and I'm not feeling like it's too much at the minute but I will take it onboard what you're saying, I do like lifting weights and I've always found that a combination of strength and cardio have been best. I used to do an outdoor bootcamp which was great but too expensive long term.
For me this is a long term lifestyle change, I don't want to spend my 30's (I'm 29) struggling with yo yo weight and self image the way I have my 20's. If just like to be thinner for when I go to Vegas so I figured go a bit mad for 3 months then tone it down and do something more sustainable.
I don't think this is too much if I'm honest. I'll train for 2 hours+ a day 6 days a week, metabloc conditioning and heavy Strongman/compound/olympic style lifts before have a rest day. Keep up the work, make sure you eat enough for the work you are doing and worry not about the weight. In terms of doing too much training, I'm not mega unfit and I'm not feeling like it's too much at the minute but I will take it onboard what you're saying, I do like lifting weights and I've always found that a combination of strength and cardio have been best. I used to do an outdoor bootcamp which was great but too expensive long term.
For me this is a long term lifestyle change, I don't want to spend my 30's (I'm 29) struggling with yo yo weight and self image the way I have my 20's. If just like to be thinner for when I go to Vegas
so I figured go a bit mad for 3 months then tone it down and do something more sustainable. Anonamoose said:
I would have said the same before I started, and your TDEE calcs are not far off what I've worked out myself but I don't feel hungry throughout the day anymore. I don't have any periods of tiredness or hyperactivity like I used to so I'd say my blood sugar is relatively stable and I don't want to eat just for the sake of it?
It's wholly possible you're used to the portion sizes. I agree with not eating for the sake of eating, but it will benefit if you're 100% serious about it. What was the portions like before getting started at the beginning of the year? I would say a jump to 1500-1700 calories is a more realistic target if you've worked out your TEE to be similar to mine. That's still a substantial calorie deficit and will be overall better for progress in my opinion. Gassing Station | Health Matters | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff