help- not getting ANY results

bonjour24

i know it's fairly early days for this cutting challenge, but i've been cranking it out for ages. so, what do i need to change?

i'm literally logging everything i eat. there are no sneaky bits, and my portion control is accurate.

i'm training for a marathon, so i'm doing a ton of cardio- running about 50k minimum a week at the mo- often more.

the weights part of my training is a DVD- Jillian Michaels 30 day shred. i know it's not a proper weights program, but it focuses on my whole body. i have very weak arms and need more core work, which it seems to be targeting just fine. i'm doing that 4x a week for about 30mins at a time too. the only weights i use for that are 5lb dumbells.

i'm still quite overweight, but i only have 4kg to lose to be out of 'obese' and into 'overweight' on the BMI, and i would love to hit that before the marathon in 6 weeks time.

please can anyone give me any help? i must be able to tweak something to get it working. i haven't lost any weight for the last 6 months, despite all the running and stuff. and i haven't lost any inches either- my measurements are the same and have been for the last year. and the kg i did lose has returned. i seem to be programmed to be 79kg. however, i just don't have any more time to spend- i've got 3 kids and work shifts, so it's fairly miraculous i get this much in. and i can't afford any more equipment or memberships to things.

i'm not sensitive, so be as blunt as you like. suggestions gratefully received. thanks.

FoxyMcDeadlift

Plug your numbers into this sheet http://interzone.kicks-*kitten*.net/Calculating_calories.xls

1200 is probably too low a starting point, especially considering your running a marathon.

MinnesotaManimal

I would be really interested to hear what that spread sheet suggests for your intake compared to what you have been on. I thik Foxy is on the right track, if your religiously following a marathon training program, then your tdee is going to be plenty high.

bonjour24

i plugged in the numbers, and it's telling me i should be eating 1950 cals a day. that's sooo freaking much more than i'm doing now! like 750 more. i feel unsettled about it because the last thing i want to do before the marathon is gain. but i'll give it a go! it's worked for you guys :-)

MinnesotaManimal

the key of course is at that point your not eating back your exercise calories but instead eating that 1950 or close to that every day. I was stuck in the same rut a year ago, and now that my body settled down from actually feeding it, Im losing 1-1.5 lbs a week at 2100-2400 a day, no endurace running, just weights and sprints a few days a week.

ChasingStarlight

I have to admit that i lost most of my weight not eating back exercise cals. My bmr is 1240 so i might not have had such a deficit though. i am now trying tdee based and it is not working well so far, but has only been a few weeks. So different things work fog different people so worth trying what the boys suggest. If you like jillian DVDs, try no more trouble zones, it is really good.

The other side of it is what you eat. I looked through your diary the last week and you eat a lot of processed stuff. I know it is hard when you work, but try eating more fruit, yoghurt and meals like stir fries with meat and vegetables. You can eat more of that food for your cals and it is more nutritious. I know you are supposed to be able to eat anything provided you are under cals, but if things aren't working, this is worth considering. It makes sense to me that having so much going on and eating low cals without much nutrition might make your body hang on to cals.

FoxyMcDeadlift

She will want to eat those 1900 kcals as a base, and then eat her excercise calories on top. When i was marathoning,i was eating a base of about 3300 then excercise calories, i think i hate 6000 kcals in a day once. Bonjour, composition changes are about more than just a mirror as well, push up to those calories and see what happens

Starlight is right as well, if hungers a issue, you can eat so many fibrous vegetables for a couple of hundred calories its not funny.

MinnesotaManimal

She will want to eat those 1900 kcals as a base, and then eat her excercise calories on top. When i was marathoning,i was eating a base of about 3300 then excercise calories, i think i hate 6000 kcals in a day once. Bonjour, composition changes are about more than just a mirror as well, push up to those calories and see what happens

Starlight is right as well, if hungers a issue, you can eat so many fibrous vegetables for a couple of hundred calories its not funny.

I guess I should have looked closer at the sheet you guys were referring too, I thought it was giving a TDEE including her running. which now that I think on it 1900 would be insanely low for high mile running. anyway you look at it, she should be nailing that 1900 every day as a minimum rather than the 12-1300?

fakeplastictree

I agree you need to eat more. Before bumping up to 1900+ from 1200 though I suggest increasing gradually. Go to a net of 1500 then 1700 etc... Also, make sure you increase the calories eating with good foods not more processed and sugary stuff. Try to bunch higher carb meals/snacks around your workouts. also, stress can keep weight on as well, that and lack of sleep, drink plenty of water. all in all 1200 is simply too low for a long period of time, especially doing as much as you do.

FoxyMcDeadlift

There would be a spike in weight, yes, but thats bound to come from a sudden increase in calories, especially if theres a increase in carbs. 1900 should be the minimum, then i'd eat excercise on top of that, personally, i dont log lifting calories, but do cardio. Again, i'd stress, cutting is about more than what the scales say. Look at measurements and use the mirror, use all the tools available to do the job!

Zero2hero2013

ive been finding eating at a 750 calorie deficit 6 days a week and having a cheat day is working well, for a while i was maintaining a constant deficit but i am finding a nice pattern with the current approach in general.
this is my weight fluctuation over a 3 week period recently.

monday monring: 89kg, weds, 88kg, friday 87.5kg, cheat day at the weekend,
monday 88.7kg, weds, 87.6kg, friday, 87kg, cheat day again
monday 88.3kg, weds, 87.4kg, friday 86.8kg, todays my cheat day but know il land around 88kg monday. alittle more if i cheat sunday,

after the cheat day i gain some water, but feel great, during the week i lose the water and fat and by friday i am pretty much at the lowest. the only reason this week is not quite as much of a drop as last is because it ate a little naughty one night lol.

every one is different and you need to find what is right for you, but it all comes down to finding the right defict in one way or another.
as foxy was saying, IMO if your buring more then 3500 calorie just from exercise a week which training for a mararathon would probably be easy achieve i would eat at maintenance, personally i would try to eat most of my calorie post training each day, try to go bed on with a calorie surplus, let your body use that surplus during its 8 hour nightly fast and help you recover. it wouldnt surprise me if you gain muscle and lose fat simultaneously, but think you would lose enough fat to keep the over body weight declining,

there is so many ways to apporach this and none of them are wrong. but one of them will be perfect for your lifestyle and get you the results your after.
a clean diet will make alot more difference to appearance. i remember lean bulking during the summer and gaining 1.5kg of muscle and dropping 1kg fat within 2 months. the calories were high enough to gain muscle but the foods were clean enough that it used it all to its advantage and didnt store any, so every slight calorie deficit i was in was losing fat but every surplus wasnt replacing as my body knew it was getting everything it needed.

the only reason i stopped was due to the fact it was soo hard resistsing bad foods. im going to try it again for as long as i can after this cutting challenge, my girlfriend is on holiday for the month so i am cooking for myself only i have full control and no distractions to eat naughty foods. im hoping for that month i come out heavier but leaner if that makes sense, then it will be xmas and i know il cave but january id like to restart again and if possible get to the point where i dont need to actually cut, instead of cutting il simply clean my diet up. i am hoping this cut now will get me close enough to th abs i want so desperately that i can focus on gaining muscle while not gaining fat. its a physological thing for me, ive never been this slim in my life and im so curious to see what even leaner looks like but i know everytime i cut and dirty bulk im wasting time. the only plus i see is that im still progressing towards my end goal, i havent quit im just simply doing what i can at that point. if i obsess 24/7 i know it will consume me and i want, like the happy medium i just have to be patient. ive read that some one of my height needs to gain 220lb of weight at around 7-10% bodyfat just to make it look like he is a serious lifter or uses the gym regularly im currenly around 1860-190 lbs at 10% id guess, that another 1-3 years work and i know the fastest route there, gain as much muscle as possible and try not worry about losing the fat, but specifially try to not gain fat as i gain the muscle. if that can be achieved every month is a step closer.

Dont give in, re evaluate what your end goal is, how long it going to take and how much effort you can put in, then you will be set for the long haul just like many of us in this challenge, chris looks amazing, i ddont think that came in 6 months, or a year, im guessing thast the results of 2-4 years of consistant efort and a lot of ups and downs mentally andf physically.