advice??
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daynaxxanne
Posts: 77 Member
so i'm 5'5" and about 140lbs, I go to the gym about 5 days a week, have a job where i'm on my feet for 5+ hours and eat fairly healthy. However, my weight is not going up or down, nor am I seeing any difference in muscle definition. Does any one have any advice on how to change that? I understand I'm at a healthy weight but I used to hover between 110-120lbs for the past 5 years or so and gained all the weight very quickly (gained it all between November and December 2015).
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I feel for you. Kind of stuck in the same boat. What do you do at the gym? Only thing I can think of is to lift heavier, eat more protein, drink more water, get more sleep. Try cycling calories maybe.0
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Are you weighing your food and accurately tracking all your meals? If you are not weighing everything, you could be taking in more calories than you think.
Invest in a food scale. It makes it much easier to accurately track your calories!0 -
daynaxxanne wrote: »so i'm 5'5" and about 140lbs, I go to the gym about 5 days a week, have a job where i'm on my feet for 5+ hours and eat fairly healthy. However, my weight is not going up or down, nor am I seeing any difference in muscle definition. Does any one have any advice on how to change that? I understand I'm at a healthy weight but I used to hover between 110-120lbs for the past 5 years or so and gained all the weight very quickly (gained it all between November and December 2015).
I had this exact same issue when I was working as a production supervisor. I was on my feet for 8 hours, 10,000 steps just at work and wasn't losing weight. Your body gets used to the same old routine. It's smart like that. What exactly are you doing at the gym? Weights? Cardio? For how long? Also, how much of a calorie deficit are you working with now? 1200/1500/1800/2000?
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I do weights and cardio, I increase weights often and never do things in the same order. As for cardio I often switch up machines and I try to get to a pool every now and then. My workouts usually range from an hour to 3 hours. I take drop in classes at my gym when I can too but my work schedule does not allow for that often. And I frequently go for walks when the weather allows. I live in Canada and right now my winter has been pretty up and down. I consume about 1200-1500 calories a day and am usually burning off about 500 just at the gym alone.0
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How long have you been on this plateau? I'll also say to take a look at exactly what you are eating, because calories are one thing but nutrients (and the right ones) are another. If you aren't getting all the nutrients your body needs it'll have a hard time repairing and creating muscle, and if you are working out that much without the right kind of calories your body may trigger a "distress" signal to cause weight loss to stop. Stress may be another factor. Try to sleep more and perhaps find ways to relax. Hopefully these things help!0
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PenguinGirl1234 wrote: »How long have you been on this plateau? I'll also say to take a look at exactly what you are eating, because calories are one thing but nutrients (and the right ones) are another. If you aren't getting all the nutrients your body needs it'll have a hard time repairing and creating muscle, and if you are working out that much without the right kind of calories your body may trigger a "distress" signal to cause weight loss to stop. Stress may be another factor. Try to sleep more and perhaps find ways to relax. Hopefully these things help!
I'm pretty good about what I eat, even when I go out I'm watching my intake, and I make sure my meals are balanced. I don't snack much and when I do its on fruits and veggies usually or trail mix. And I'm constantly drinking water. I've been plateaued since December and I'm finding it really hard to gauge how much of the weight is muscle vs fat because the number isn't changing at all but my legs are pure muscle and my weights are increasing every week or every two weeks but I just don't see it physically especially in my stomach. I've also been doing a lot of extra cardio lately as I have stamina issues and i'm hoping to run a 5k this summer.0 -
I think the stomach is the last place to go. Take measurements and go by body fat %. You are probably gaining lean mass and losing fat. I can't seem to get rid of the last few pounds of fat around my stomach and upper thighs either.
Your workouts seem to be excessively long. Too long and you can trigger hormonal imbalances that make it harder to lose weight. Research I've read says you should not go over 45 minutes.0 -
Get at least 8 hours of sleep every night. Any sleep you don't get at night, make up for it with naps in the day time. Stop all soda pop, diet and regular. Quit drinking all fruit juice. Too many calories and concentrated sugar. Quit drinking smoothies. Way too high in calories, the vast majority of them. My rule is that I just don't drink anything that has a sweet taste. I stick with plain water, black coffee, and unsweetened tea. That is all safe. I allow myself one small sweet snack during the day, and one regular sized, sweet dessert at dinner. And I track both of these in my calorie tracker. Do a form exercise, that you love, almost every day. And I'm the type that I must be in love with my exercise, or, I simply won't do it. Period. That's why I refuse to put myself through hell exercising. So, I do hatha yoga, and I'm learning to play an instrument, and I take the stairs at a running pace. Good enough exercise for me.0
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I just joined today because I was looking for a way to track my calories - I am in a similar situation. I have been working out since November and aside from seeing a few defined muscles in my legs, there has been little if any progress in measurements even while doing a calorie deficit. I'm wondering if maybe a low carb protein shake may help me? I don't know, but great to know I'm not the only one!0
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simlovgin960831 wrote: »Get at least 8 hours of sleep every night. Any sleep you don't get at night, make up for it with naps in the day time. Stop all soda pop, diet and regular. Quit drinking all fruit juice. Too many calories and concentrated sugar. Quit drinking smoothies. Way too high in calories, the vast majority of them. My rule is that I just don't drink anything that has a sweet taste. I stick with plain water, black coffee, and unsweetened tea. That is all safe. I allow myself one small sweet snack during the day, and one regular sized, sweet dessert at dinner. And I track both of these in my calorie tracker. Do a form exercise, that you love, almost every day. And I'm the type that I must be in love with my exercise, or, I simply won't do it. Period. That's why I refuse to put myself through hell exercising. So, I do hatha yoga, and I'm learning to play an instrument, and I take the stairs at a running pace. Good enough exercise for me.
I'm someone who gets 8-10 hours of sleep or I don't function so that's not too much of a problem. As for drinks I only drink water, tea, and smoothies occasionally. But when I drink smoothies I'm adding yogurt and using coconut milk instead of juice and it's typically in replacement of a meal or with small meals such as eggs. I've never been one for sweets and I don't cook with salt except for minimal amounts in things like soup and whatnot, so I don't snack much on things like chips or anything. If I do I make popcorn using an air popper. As for phisical activity I used to swim and dance for years and actually rather enjoy weight lifting. Unfortunately I cannot afford dance anymore as my schooling is expensive but I have been trying to get into swimming again, I'm just having a hell of a time finding a swim suit long enough for my body.
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mom23mangos wrote: »I think the stomach is the last place to go. Take measurements and go by body fat %. You are probably gaining lean mass and losing fat. I can't seem to get rid of the last few pounds of fat around my stomach and upper thighs either.
Your workouts seem to be excessively long. Too long and you can trigger hormonal imbalances that make it harder to lose weight. Research I've read says you should not go over 45 minutes.
I understand not over working my body. But my workout times are 2-3 hours total including a 20-30 minute stretch/foam rolling, alternating sets with a partner and my cardio so I'm not actually doing 3 hours of constant workouts and some days my cardio and weight sessions are hours apart. I've always been very active and 45 minutes of exercise feels like nothing to me as practices and dance classes very often run longer. And I'm definitely taking rest days.0 -
Oh no! That sounds frustrating.
I'm no expert on this but here's a thought: so you seem to be able to increase the weights you lift every week or two. That probably means you're gaining muscles. But in order to build up muscles, one needs a calorie surplus, and it seems almost impossible that all of the extra calories translate directly into muscle mass. (I am not entirely sure this claim is true but according to my best knowledge, it is.)
So maybe it might be good to focus on getting a calorie deficit for a while. That is, continue challenging your muscles so you don't lose them, but try to not build more muscle mass. That way, you should be able to lose some body fat but not the muscles.
Once you've got rid of a bit of flab, you can create a calorie surplus again to build more muscles, should you like to.
Do you think that sounds reasonable at all?0
