Would it help if I added more exercise? Please read

stephaniecaine82

Hi, I have been at this for over a year. Have done pretty good. Lost about 42 pounds. I was seeing a trainer and that came to an end a few months ago. She put me on the calorie count that I am on now. My loss is not going down like it use to and I was wondering if anyone could give me tips.
I will open my diary for everyone to see as well.
I work out about 5 days a week. (try to get in 6 but with summer here, that hasnt worked) Weight train 3 and cardio 2. I eat pretty well during the week and of course my down fall is on the weekends. Beer and cocktails typically send me over my calories.
I work 10-11 hours a day, then go to the gym, then home....dinner, dishes, laundry and family. Then bed. I tried getting up this morning at 4:30 to squeeze in a little jog/walk so I can add even more calorie burn to my day, but not sure how long this will last.

Should I continue to do this? Is 60 minutes a day with 600-800 calorie burn not enough?
I am going to measure tonight to see if I lost any inches from last month. I know the scale isnt always the way to go, but it sure screws with your head!
Oh and I am now at 197 and I am 5'7" or so.
Please let me know if you have any advice. Thanks!

sweetpea03b

In my opinion... I think you're working out plenty. Do you have the same workout routine every week? Maybe you need to try to change it up a bit. Our bodies are smart... they get used to it if we do the same thing all the time and adapt... hence not losing.

You're not tracking sodium so i can't see if you go over there.. but I would look at that and make sure you're getting plenty of water..... I know if I have a hard workout week and I don't drink a minimum of 10glasses/day I'll retain water.

Have you calculated your TDEE and BMR? make sure you're eating above BMR at the least.

Greenrun99

Depends really.. your diet and eating is probably what is messing you up and not your exercise.. Your set at 1880.. so you burn about 500 calories probably in an hour of intense cardio so your probably hitting your BMR those days.. Now depending how much you go over on the weekends could be you need more exercise on the weekends to get more calories so you can drink more.

You lost 42 lbs, which is great.. but during your year have you taken any breaks from logging and exercising? Maybe its time for a break, or a workout routine switch.. Or maybe even time to eat at your estimated TDEE for a week.

Now if you were losing 1.5 lb + a week, stop expecting that.. expect 1 lb lose a week IF that. also you mentioned its not going down like it used to, does that mean your still losing weight? If so Don't Change anything.

chasetwins

Depends really.. your diet and eating is probably what is messing you up and not your exercise.. Your set at 1880.. so you burn about 500 calories probably in an hour of intense cardio so your probably hitting your BMR those days.. Now depending how much you go over on the weekends could be you need more exercise on the weekends to get more calories so you can drink more.

You lost 42 lbs, which is great.. but during your year have you taken any breaks from logging and exercising? Maybe its time for a break, or a workout routine switch.. Or maybe even time to eat at your estimated TDEE for a week.

Now if you were losing 1.5 lb + a week, stop expecting that.. expect 1 lb lose a week IF that. also you mentioned its not going down like it used to, does that mean your still losing weight? If so Don't Change anything.

I totally agree with this!! ^

stephaniecaine82

Well I am actually set at 1540 pr day. And I drink about 75-100 ounces of water a day.
Yeah, I know it wont be the 1.5 any more. But I do think the weekends I need to get more exercise, just cause I eat and drink more then. But jeez, I am completely exausted by then!!
I do a different routine pretty much. I do the same muscle groups but different exercises. Then jogging or some cardio machines on cardio day. But I do change it up!
I think my body just wants to be fat!

erikkmcvay

From a dietary view point I'd say first glance suggests not enough fiber in your diet (you need about 25g's daily -- women) and a lot of refined sugars/processed foods and such. I noticed one day you had 5 TBS of Ranch Dressing which is a lot of calories (about 500 I think) for something that won't make you feel very full much less has much benefit dietary. I try to restrict my dressing to a low cal type that I only have 2 TBS of with salad.

Also looks like you're all over the place on diet which is probably common. For me I try to stick to a certain base diet that I can do daily with limitted variation (not everyone can do this) so my base foods are rolled oats, whole grain rice and/or quinoa and leafy green salad with light dressing.

My biggest differences tend to come at dinner because we eat what we want to eat but I limit that calorie wise.

I also use protein bars and drinks as my snacks which helps me keep my protein up when I workout (more cardio then gym time).

So, you could add more exercise but I don't think it will make that much of a difference without more discipline in your daily diet.

Just my 2c

MzManiak

It's really hard to tell what you're averaging in a week. Most days you're only netting about 1000 calories... some days you don't log, and some you go over.

Your calorie goal is fine, if you actually stuck to it. Your exercise is great, if those are accurate calorie burns. I think the problem is the inconsistent logging. Your BMR is 1681... you should be netting at least that amount.

I'm not sure what your goal weight is, but I assumed you still wanted to lose more than 20 pounds since you're not wanting to slow down at all.... So I went ahead and plugged it in to Fat2FitRadio.com to give you an idea. You can change the numbers as you see fit. I used a goal weight of 150.

Sedentary (little or no exercise, desk job) 1772
Lightly Active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/wk) 2031
Moderately Active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/wk) 2289
Very Active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days/wk) 2548
Extremely Active (hard daily exercise/sports & physical job or 2X day training, i.e marathon, contest etc.) 2806

You would be moderately active with the amount of exercising you do, so you could eat up to 2289 (including exercise calories- you would not eat extra using this method) and still lose the weight at a steady pace.

Hope that helps!

erikkmcvay

Well I am actually set at 1540 pr day. And I drink about 75-100 ounces of water a day.
Yeah, I know it wont be the 1.5 any more. But I do think the weekends I need to get more exercise, just cause I eat and drink more then. But jeez, I am completely exausted by then!!
I do a different routine pretty much. I do the same muscle groups but different exercises. Then jogging or some cardio machines on cardio day. But I do change it up!
I think my body just wants to be fat!

Nonsense. You body DOES NOT want to be fat but your diet isn't the best and as such it will fight you all the way.

stephaniecaine82

It's really hard to tell what you're averaging in a week. Most days you're only netting about 1000 calories... some days you don't log, and some you go over.

Your calorie goal is fine, if you actually stuck to it. Your exercise is great, if those are accurate calorie burns. I think the problem is the inconsistent logging. Your BMR is 1681... you should be netting at least that amount.

I'm not sure what your goal weight is, but I assumed you still wanted to lose more than 20 pounds since you're not wanting to slow down at all.... So I went ahead and plugged it in to Fat2FitRadio.com to give you an idea. You can change the numbers as you see fit. I used a goal weight of 150.

Sedentary (little or no exercise, desk job) 1772
Lightly Active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/wk) 2031
Moderately Active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/wk) 2289
Very Active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days/wk) 2548
Extremely Active (hard daily exercise/sports & physical job or 2X day training, i.e marathon, contest etc.) 2806

You would be moderately active with the amount of exercising you do, so you could eat up to 2289 (including exercise calories- you would not eat extra using this method) and still lose the weight at a steady pace.

Hope that helps!

This is ALOT of calories!!

lilcassers

Interval training is key. I love that as a lady, you realize that weight training is just as important if not, more important than cardio. I think your routine is great. If you're looking for drastic results, that is why nutrition will come into play.

stephaniecaine82

Well I am actually set at 1540 pr day. And I drink about 75-100 ounces of water a day.
Yeah, I know it wont be the 1.5 any more. But I do think the weekends I need to get more exercise, just cause I eat and drink more then. But jeez, I am completely exausted by then!!
I do a different routine pretty much. I do the same muscle groups but different exercises. Then jogging or some cardio machines on cardio day. But I do change it up!
I think my body just wants to be fat!

Nonsense. You body DOES NOT want to be fat but your diet isn't the best and as such it will fight you all the way.

I know, I put that last sentence in there cause I knew it fire someone up on here!
I agree with your thoughts on my diet, maybe I havent looked at my diary lately as an overview, but I thought I did pretty good and thought I was pretty consistant through out the weeks. I dont each much processed food, except ranch when I go to one salad bar. But normally I try for a vinegarette. I will look at my diary and see how inconsistant I have been and try to go from there. I dont eat the same thing every day, cause then I do feel like I am on a diet. I try and eat eggs quite a few times for breakfast and that seems to repititve some days. I need to keep open minded and that is tough!
Thank you for your input! I do appreciate it!

erikkmcvay

Perhaps something to consider is your fiber intake and sodium. Check those and work to improve them with your changing diet (might even help me to change mine more often! lol).

I think that the key is to avoid 'white death': white rice, white flour products, may/mireacle whip, full fat white dressings, potatoes, white sugar etc and to keep sodium down to 2500mg's or less (unless you are balancing your electrolytes) and dietary fiber up to 25g's a day (or at least 25g's when you eat your daily caloric needs).

I didn't go that far back in your diary so just went with the last week or so and that might not have been fair.

Hey, with 42lbs lost now you must be feeling great!

stephaniecaine82

Perhaps something to consider is your fiber intake and sodium. Check those and work to improve them with your changing diet (might even help me to change mine more often! lol).

I think that the key is to avoid 'white death': white rice, white flour products, may/mireacle whip, full fat white dressings, potatoes, white sugar etc and to keep sodium down to 2500mg's or less (unless you are balancing your electrolytes) and dietary fiber up to 25g's a day (or at least 25g's when you eat your daily caloric needs).

I didn't go that far back in your diary so just went with the last week or so and that might not have been fair.

Hey, with 42lbs lost now you must be feeling great!

Yes, I do feel great! But I am kind of hard on myself and think I should of lost more by now!
Good point in the sodium and fiber. I dont watch sodium and I KNOW it is high. I love salt!
Fiber, I need more for other things too! There is just so many things we have to keep track of and those two were not high on my list! I will try and watch them now! I ate mashed potatoes last night....and my goodness they were tasty! But I have avoided them in the evenings at least. I will continue trying and we will see if I can keep this extra exercise going in the morning.
I am dying now and it is only 11:30!

stephaniecaine82

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erikkmcvay

We used to eat a lot of potatoes (we love them mashes with garlic seasoning and butter) but since have switched to whole grains like whole grain long and short brown rice, black rice, quinoa, wild rice, farro, wheat etc.

stephaniecaine82

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stephaniecaine82

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stephaniecaine82

Any other responses?

erikkmcvay

When is the last time you took a week off?

When i was body building (years ago -- in fact DECADES ago! lol) we used to try to take a week off every few months. Sometimes the body just needs some time to rest and heal.

If you do take a week off be religious on your food intake and don't get on the scale. After a full week of keeping the calories down (and if you're like me then a week of hunger) I suspect you'll see some movement.

Hardest part of weight loss, to me, is the commitment to change. Sure every one of us that's lost more then 30 or 40 pounds has had to make changes but once you get set into a routine do you change it? Sometimes this helps.

stephaniecaine82

Well I did take about a week off in May, but did terrible with food too. I will keep going and then maybe take a week or so off like you said......I have a vacation planned in Sept for two weeks, so the gym will be unavailable then. We will see. I also need to stick with the splurging only one day a week and not two. I am working on that.

erikkmcvay

Well I did take about a week off in May, but did terrible with food too. I will keep going and then maybe take a week or so off like you said......I have a vacation planned in Sept for two weeks, so the gym will be unavailable then. We will see. I also need to stick with the splurging only one day a week and not two. I am working on that.

Or don't splurge at all

I only splurge if I do enough cardio to burn off more calories then I splurge! lol

stephaniecaine82

Got ya! Thank you again!