Help and advice please =)

Cara75

I joined awhile back, but have just been active and consistant until January.

Im training HARD! Hard for me anyways. Work out MIN of 5 times a week, burn 500-1000cals ea train (i use a heart rate mont). Been going hard for about 6 weeks. I also started training for the roller derby team. Two hours of torture!! I havent used my heart rate mont there yet, but will monday.

I started doing a 1200 cal diet, not eating my workout cals back tho. I have since increased that to 1650ish, tho i find i am always low. I have cut back my carbs, eat a little bit but nothing like i used to (carbs are my weakness). LOTS of fresh greens, veggies, lean meat. My diary is open please feel free to check it out.

Here is my issue. I dont know if i just have my expectations out of wack, or am i doing something wrong? I started at 225lbs, dropped to 217 the first week... since then i am up and down, lowest 211 back up to 215.. up and down. I have lost inches, and i am DEF stronger, i know this is the most important. I have decided this is a life change for me, but i guess my impatience comes because i am going to Mexico early April. And i just want to feel at my best when i go. Id really like to get the most out of the time i have until then. Plan is to workout every other day while on holiday. Plus i have hiking, swimming, diving and lots of active things planned while im gone... but i dont want to feel uncomfortable in my bathing suit.

Please, anyone have some suggestions?

Ohhhh... and id like some friends that are active here as well... feel free to send forward a friend req

WBB55

Take your measurements and BF%. You might not lose weight if you're doing derby. Some people gain. There's A LOT of muscle being built. Granted, the muscle goes on in all the right spots! But the scale doesn't always move for people. After 3-6 months, you'll see all your leg muscles and glutes start to show (if they don't already). At that point, you will never care again how much you weigh, because you'll look so good.

Roller derby 101 classes burn 500-800 (or more, if there's lots of mountain climber drills!) calories per hour, depending on how much you weight and of the time you're actually skating and moving vs. standing in line waiting for your turn to do a drill. I base my calorie burn on how drenched my jersey is and how many jugs of water I went thru.

I attended a 5-hour bootcamp day and estimate my calorie burn was at least 3000. So the HRM is probably a good idea.

All of the girls on the team weigh WAY more than you'd think. Skinny, little 5' jammers still weigh 130#. Normal average girls will tell you they weigh 160-175. Tall, big girls easily weigh over 200.

Cara75

how do i measure BF%? * figured that out... my scale has a BF% reading - 37.5 =( *

Your right... my weight for the most part i dont much care about... mostly lol. But I really want to look BETTER for Mexico, mostly so im not wasting my trip feeling self conscious in my skin. I know this is a mind set... But thats what i want haa hahah. I do have Jan pics and Feb pics on my profile... think u need top be a friend to view, not sure. Pics are much different, but i think its mostly just tummy bloat loss...

I guess i am just feeling very discouraged

WBB55

Something like this can help you estimate it http://www.active.com/fitness/calculators/bodyfat . Though it may not be accurate. Physical trainers use fat calipers to pinch and test.

Skate on other days of the week and do the drills you do. If by April you've been skating for 3 months and eating only 1650 calories, trust me, you should feel better about your body. Though you might want to eat a little more. Hard for me to say without knowing more.

Tummy... that's a toughie. See... derby puts on TONS AND TONS of core muscles. Like an amazing amount. So... if you haven't happened to lose fat overall AND you have new, strong core muscles, your tummy might seem bigger. And your waist around your belly button might go up. I'm sorry I can't be more encouraging. It will be so much more solid and strong, but it might not be smaller in the belly button region.

What do you wear to practice now? Start wearing less to practice and get used to the feeling of wearing less without being self conscious.

Cara75

I figured out my BF% .... 37.5% More then im happy with obviously... but not as awful as i was expecting. i guess all in all... i just gotta keep doin what im doin. i KNOW im stronger, and im not stopping... i guess i wanted someone to tell me if i ate lima beans at 2 pm after drinking a glass of orange juice on an empty stomach ill be bikini ready by April HAA HAHAHAH ... i know, absurd right LOL ... but hey... heres for wishing

I wear a lot to practice lol... all the other girls are all in thier derby finest and i wear full length track pants and a tee... i guess i feel it has to be earned... i havent earned to do the derby look yet

WBB55

not true. wear less. It's all in your head. If you can do 25 laps in less than, say, 6 minutes, and you can get up from a knee drop without using your hands, you have every right to show off your legs, because they can do amazing things. Even if you can't do those things right now, by April you will. You're doing amazing things with your body right now. Show it off. Be proud. Every derby girl went thru a body reconfiguration. Every one of us. Talk to one of the veterans. Tell them you're self conscious. Each and every one of them will tell you their story of what their body went thru when they started out. You're not alone.

Cara75

im not able to do 25 laps in the 5 mins... but i can do more then i could yesterday Thanks for all the kind words... maybe ill break outta me shell and wear CAPRI Yogas insteads track pants... looka t me GO!! haa hahahah

tatd_820

Feel free to friend me. I started at 250 and am now at 184 Took me 365 days to lose 65lbs. Slow and steady is the healthiest way to lose weight. You can lose a lb or 2 a week if done the healthy way.....food and exercise. Add me and I can maybe help you with the foods you are consuming. Everything you said above sounds like you are on the right track! You might just need to change things up a bit.

trogalicious

Those scales are notoriously bad for BF% estimates. I use http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/ and a tape measure to get a better estimate.

...and be patient. If you've just recently started switching things up, give it 6-8 weeks to see if there is legitimate change.

Cara75

I checked out the site Trog and it was very close to the scale ... Your body fat percentage is 27.3%. im an impatient girl lol... this damn hard work and excersize takes FOREVER hee hee

Thank you TATD... i sent u a friend request ... and awesome job on ur progress!! WOW

trogalicious

I checked out the site Trog and it was very close to the scale ... Your body fat percentage is 27.3%. im an impatient girl lol... this damn hard work and excersize takes FOREVER hee hee

Measure again tomorrow when you first wake up. I've found it makes a noticed difference.

Cara75

i will!!

Thanks everyone for their input!