Why you're NOT seeing results
onenmilgirl
Posts: 4
Hello everyone, I had a trainer last year who rocked and I lost a ton of fat % and inches doing his boot camp and I am still on his newsletter list. Anyways he recently posted a blog on this very topic and I know alot of us get discouraged or need a reminder of what we need to do to accomplish our goals. He pretty much laid it out perfectly..read and enjoy! I hope it helps I am using it myself..:
There’s this dreaded word that’s incorporated with any health and fitness program that NOBODY ever wants to experience.
It’s called a PLATEAU.
It’s what happens when you exercise and/or go on a diet, start seeing results for a little while, then suddenly STOP seeing results.
Most people who try and go at it by themselves reach this at some point, and usually give up some time later.
Because anyone can exercise when you can see results. But when you keep working out, keep eating clean, and see ZERO changes, well who the heck wants to spin their wheels and do all that work for nothing?
Well if you’re not seeing the results you want, it could be due to one or more of these reasons:
1. You’re not training hard enough. Remember, the entire point of training is to create a METABOLIC DISTURBANCE in your body. That means you have to always keep the intensity HIGH so that you don’t plateau and continue seeing results because the human body is VERY GOOD at adapting to physical change and stress. That means heavier weights, more repetitions, higher levels of progression. No matter how much stronger you get, you want to always be pushing yourself to your own personal limits. Everyone has “off” days, but you want to walk into training as often as possible with the mentality that you’re going to get the best workout of your life.
If you’re not sure how to workout and don’t want to avoid the typical pitfalls that 99% of people make, then read this FREE report here.
2. You’re not eating often enough. This is the number one thing you need to focus on if you’re getting 3 or LESS meals in per day. At the very least, you should be getting in your 3 basic meals, and at least 1 snack. If you’re getting 3 or less meals, start by bringing a snack with you to work/school and focus on getting in an extra snack each day for 14 days straight.
3. You’re not eating ENOUGH.Sounds crazy, but a problem I often see is clients not eating ENOUGH calories. Everyone seems to think that 1200 calories is the magic weight loss number, when in reality is complete starvation mode unless you’re a small person to begin with.
What 1200 calories of junk food looks like
For example, one of my client who is seeing amazing results is Lisa. Since starting, Lisa has lost over 15 pounds and 5% body fat. And without revealing too much of Lisa’s stats, let’s just say that Lisa is now under 135 pounds and is in trouble of having her wedding dress fit TOO LOOSELY for her wedding in August. Here’s the catch though…Lisa eats 1400-1600/day calories which is ideal for her weight because she’s taking in enough to fuel her body with all the intense training she does, which fires up her metabolism and burns away fat. I can assure you that if she were eating 1200 calories, her results would suffer. Now if you’re 150-200+ lbs trying to keep to 1200 calories, what are you doing eating like a 130 pounder?
HERE’S WHAT TO DO:
1. Figure out your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate: The number of calories your body burns even if you do nothing) by entering in your info here: BMR Calculator
2. At any given day, you should be eating within 200 calories of this number. It’s become a very popular misconception that if you want to lose 1lb. of fat a week, you eat 500 calories/day LESS than your BMR, thus decreasing you caloric intake by 3500 calories/week, which equals 1lb of fat loss. Sounds great in theory, but for people who are doing intense training, is SLOOOOWING down your results and metabolism and virtually negating the effects of exercise. Think of it this way…you do intense training above normal to raise your metabolism right? So why are you reducing calories BELOW normal to slow your metabolism down?
Moral of the story?
Eat within maintenance calories to fuel your body, and let the training take care of the fat and calorie burning.
*AND NOTE: IF YOU’RE EATING 1200 OR LESS CALORIES EACH DAY AND LOSING WEIGHT, THEN I GUARANTEE THAT YOUR BODY IS EATING AWAY AT YOUR MUSCLES, SLOWING DOWN YOUR METABOLISM, AND PUTTING YOURSELF ON TRACK FOR AN EARLY GRAVE*
Which leads to the next thing you’re probably doing wrong…
4) You’re not eating enough PROTEIN. Let’s say based on what we just discussed (your BMR), you’re supposed to eat 1800 calories/day. Well, calories can only come from protein, carbs, or fats. Ideally, you want about 30% of those calories to come from protein. So 30% of 1800 is 600 calories, or 150 grams of protein (there are 4 calories/1 gram of protein). 150 grams of protein divided by 5 meals/snacks is 30 grams/meal. This is equivelant to eating a small chicken breast 5x/day.
If this sounds like a lot, that’s because it is. BUT, anything less and you’re starving your body and forcing it to eat away at your hard-earned muscles, thus slowing down your metabolism. So if eating 5 chicken breasts/day isn’t do-able, then I highly recommend supplementing with a high-quality whey protein which you can add in to your snacks. Click here to check out the protein supplement that I recommend. If whey protein shakes isn’t for you, then you’ll want to get in some high-protein foods like eggs, fish, nuts, beans, lentils, or greek yogurt.
I hope this gives you a little insight as to how you can continue to see better, faster results.
LEAVE A COMMENT BELOW!
Mark Lopez
Fitness Revolution New Tampa
There’s this dreaded word that’s incorporated with any health and fitness program that NOBODY ever wants to experience.
It’s called a PLATEAU.
It’s what happens when you exercise and/or go on a diet, start seeing results for a little while, then suddenly STOP seeing results.
Most people who try and go at it by themselves reach this at some point, and usually give up some time later.
Because anyone can exercise when you can see results. But when you keep working out, keep eating clean, and see ZERO changes, well who the heck wants to spin their wheels and do all that work for nothing?
Well if you’re not seeing the results you want, it could be due to one or more of these reasons:
1. You’re not training hard enough. Remember, the entire point of training is to create a METABOLIC DISTURBANCE in your body. That means you have to always keep the intensity HIGH so that you don’t plateau and continue seeing results because the human body is VERY GOOD at adapting to physical change and stress. That means heavier weights, more repetitions, higher levels of progression. No matter how much stronger you get, you want to always be pushing yourself to your own personal limits. Everyone has “off” days, but you want to walk into training as often as possible with the mentality that you’re going to get the best workout of your life.
If you’re not sure how to workout and don’t want to avoid the typical pitfalls that 99% of people make, then read this FREE report here.
2. You’re not eating often enough. This is the number one thing you need to focus on if you’re getting 3 or LESS meals in per day. At the very least, you should be getting in your 3 basic meals, and at least 1 snack. If you’re getting 3 or less meals, start by bringing a snack with you to work/school and focus on getting in an extra snack each day for 14 days straight.
3. You’re not eating ENOUGH.Sounds crazy, but a problem I often see is clients not eating ENOUGH calories. Everyone seems to think that 1200 calories is the magic weight loss number, when in reality is complete starvation mode unless you’re a small person to begin with.
What 1200 calories of junk food looks like
For example, one of my client who is seeing amazing results is Lisa. Since starting, Lisa has lost over 15 pounds and 5% body fat. And without revealing too much of Lisa’s stats, let’s just say that Lisa is now under 135 pounds and is in trouble of having her wedding dress fit TOO LOOSELY for her wedding in August. Here’s the catch though…Lisa eats 1400-1600/day calories which is ideal for her weight because she’s taking in enough to fuel her body with all the intense training she does, which fires up her metabolism and burns away fat. I can assure you that if she were eating 1200 calories, her results would suffer. Now if you’re 150-200+ lbs trying to keep to 1200 calories, what are you doing eating like a 130 pounder?
HERE’S WHAT TO DO:
1. Figure out your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate: The number of calories your body burns even if you do nothing) by entering in your info here: BMR Calculator
2. At any given day, you should be eating within 200 calories of this number. It’s become a very popular misconception that if you want to lose 1lb. of fat a week, you eat 500 calories/day LESS than your BMR, thus decreasing you caloric intake by 3500 calories/week, which equals 1lb of fat loss. Sounds great in theory, but for people who are doing intense training, is SLOOOOWING down your results and metabolism and virtually negating the effects of exercise. Think of it this way…you do intense training above normal to raise your metabolism right? So why are you reducing calories BELOW normal to slow your metabolism down?
Moral of the story?
Eat within maintenance calories to fuel your body, and let the training take care of the fat and calorie burning.
*AND NOTE: IF YOU’RE EATING 1200 OR LESS CALORIES EACH DAY AND LOSING WEIGHT, THEN I GUARANTEE THAT YOUR BODY IS EATING AWAY AT YOUR MUSCLES, SLOWING DOWN YOUR METABOLISM, AND PUTTING YOURSELF ON TRACK FOR AN EARLY GRAVE*
Which leads to the next thing you’re probably doing wrong…
4) You’re not eating enough PROTEIN. Let’s say based on what we just discussed (your BMR), you’re supposed to eat 1800 calories/day. Well, calories can only come from protein, carbs, or fats. Ideally, you want about 30% of those calories to come from protein. So 30% of 1800 is 600 calories, or 150 grams of protein (there are 4 calories/1 gram of protein). 150 grams of protein divided by 5 meals/snacks is 30 grams/meal. This is equivelant to eating a small chicken breast 5x/day.
If this sounds like a lot, that’s because it is. BUT, anything less and you’re starving your body and forcing it to eat away at your hard-earned muscles, thus slowing down your metabolism. So if eating 5 chicken breasts/day isn’t do-able, then I highly recommend supplementing with a high-quality whey protein which you can add in to your snacks. Click here to check out the protein supplement that I recommend. If whey protein shakes isn’t for you, then you’ll want to get in some high-protein foods like eggs, fish, nuts, beans, lentils, or greek yogurt.
I hope this gives you a little insight as to how you can continue to see better, faster results.
LEAVE A COMMENT BELOW!
Mark Lopez
Fitness Revolution New Tampa
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Replies
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Interesting... thanks for the information!0
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Exactly.0
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so if you stay around your bmr and exercise, would you eat back your exercise as well? that is
BMR: 1500
Calories burned from exercise: 500
total cals you should eat: 2000 (?)
or do you stay within the 1500-1700 range?
but good post (: really insightful and helpful. Thanks!0 -
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bump for later0
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Thanks for posting this. I will read it, read it and then reread it again!0
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Good points, except for this:
2. You’re not eating often enough. This is the number one thing you need to focus on if you’re getting 3 or LESS meals in per day. At the very least, you should be getting in your 3 basic meals, and at least 1 snack. If you’re getting 3 or less meals, start by bringing a snack with you to work/school and focus on getting in an extra snack each day for 14 days straight.
Eating more vs less frequently has basically no effect on metabolism. Doesn't matter if you get your cals in one huge meal or twelve tiny ones, as long as you get them. One advantage more frequent, smaller meals might have is if you tend to overdo it and eat way too much in one or two meals, so snacking through the day keeps you more satiated. In terms of actual metabolic rate, though, it's irrelevant.0 -
GREAT info!!
)) thanks. sounds much like teh advice given in nrol4w 0 -
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Makes complete sense.. thanks for sharing!0
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Thanks so much for sharing. I have been trying to stay below 1200 calories and I am now 214 pounds. I guess I need to increase my calorie intake :happy:0
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I don't know if meal frequency really has any metabolic consequences, but for me, if I eat more frequently, I am more controlled and less likely to over eat because I am never ravenous. So, I do think it's a good thing, even if it isn't really mandatory.0
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Love it! Thanks for sharing!0
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Thanks0
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so if you stay around your bmr and exercise, would you eat back your exercise as well? that is
BMR: 1500
Calories burned from exercise: 500
total cals you should eat: 2000 (?)
or do you stay within the 1500-1700 range?
but good post (: really insightful and helpful. Thanks!
It's net, so you would eat back your exercise calories so that your total net is 1500.0 -
I think the main benefit (for me anyway) of eating smaller more frequent meals (5 a day) means I don't end up feeling starving....when I am really hungry I get grumpy and grumpy me isn't a fun person to be around. :noway:
I think this post is right on the money. Too many people are trying to do both, exercise and restrict their calories too low. If you are exercising like the Energiser Bunny then you should be fueling yourself.
I know this from experience. MFP had me on 1400cal to reach my goal weight. I am 5'8. I have since upped my cals to 1800 and I have lost weight! And I am not alone in this.
Great post, thanks for sharing0 -
so if you stay around your bmr and exercise, would you eat back your exercise as well? that is
BMR: 1500
Calories burned from exercise: 500
total cals you should eat: 2000 (?)
or do you stay within the 1500-1700 range?
but good post (: really insightful and helpful. Thanks!
He didn't say stay at BMR. He said stay at maintenance and let the exercise take care of the fat loss. For you that'd be around 1800 to 2000 likely.0 -
Thanks for sharing really helpful advice! 0
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so if you stay around your bmr and exercise, would you eat back your exercise as well? that is
BMR: 1500
Calories burned from exercise: 500
total cals you should eat: 2000 (?)
or do you stay within the 1500-1700 range?
but good post (: really insightful and helpful. Thanks!
It sounds to me like he is saying to eat the calories calculated from the BMR, and the exercising will take care of burning the calories in order to lose. So, I have to disagree with the guy who said eat your calories back
...according to the above post, that is! So if your BMR says to eat 1500, then that's what you eat. 0 -
[/quote]
Click here to check out the protein supplement that I recommend. If whey protein shakes isn’t for you, then you’ll want to get in some high-protein foods like eggs, fish, nuts, beans, lentils, or greek yogurt.
I hope this gives you a little insight as to how you can continue to see better, faster results.
LEAVE A COMMENT BELOW!
Mark Lopez
Fitness Revolution New Tampa
[/quote]
Can you post what protein shake he recommends??
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Good reading. Thanks for sharing0
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the confusing thing is that is not how this site works.This site gives you the 500 calorie deficit for 1 pound a week and people are losing weight so you can do it either way!0
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I just used the BMR calculator and it's right above 1500, so to lose 1lb a week I should be eating 1000?? Then if I do Zumba which burns 600 I need to eat only 1600?? Wow that's way less than the MFP calculators no wonder I stopped losing and gained a lb even..I've been at a "gain" for over a week and am netting 1200-1300 a week after excersise. MFP calculators had me some days at 2K0
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BMR and Maintenance level calories - TWO very different things.
Don't overcomplicate. Eat at maintenance, let the exercise take care of the caloric deficit.
Is basically what I do .. basically . Lift heavy, tiny bit of cardio - and I EAT.0 -
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He forgot 3 important factors:
1) You don't count your calories intake accurately enough
2) You don't count your calories burn accurately enough
3) You cheat or binge (eg. "it's okay, one bite here and there won't make much of a difference" or you actually binge or overeat)
1, 2 and 3 above = neutral energy balance = plateau.0
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