Long break from exercise and eating badly.. Eek!!

_loveinmytummy

So instead of explaining my whole story which would take ages and you'd all get totally bored reading it.. Ill give you the very short version!!
1. Lost 35 pounds since last April.
2. Still want to lose about 10 more and tone up
3. For 6 months I didn't even allow myself a day off from the gym. Everyday for 2-3 hours and was a total cardio junkie
4. My weight loss has come to a total standstill. I'm planning on doing less cardio nd lifting heavier weights as a lot of people say this is when they started to notice significant results
5. Haven't been to the gym in 8 days now and my diet this week has been appalling to say the least (various reasons. Genuinely have been sick but have no excuse for the bad diet. Think after so long of being so good my body has just gone crazy and I've unfortunately submitted to it)
So as you can imagine I am now really mad a myself. However I just read something and loads of people have said how they have taken long periods away from the gym and eaten quite a bit more than they usually would and actually started to see BETTER results once they got back into the gym. I'm really scared that a lot of my hard work has gone to waist. I'm getting so frustrated by the fact the my weight loss has plateaud despite my rigorous exercise and healthy eating. I think this whole week I've just hd a total "feelin sorry for myself" week and lost a bit of hope. If I get straight back I'm the gym on Monday and get back to my healthy eating should I be ok? I'm just really starting to feel like a lost caus and am genuinely quite worried I'm gonna be one of those yoyo types who loses loads then gains it all back etc etc.. URH! Any advice would be so appreciated. Oh and I should add a lot I people tell me I don't eat enough considering m exercise. Often m "net" calories will be under 1000. This is making me more nervous as I have eaten so much more this week will my body just have clung to all those extra calories and turned them straight into fat?

AmyRhubarb

Sounds like you've been on a classic case of over training and under eating, and would explain why your weight loss stalled. Great article about this here: http://www.shapefit.com/overtraining-exercising-too-much.html

Your body needs rest days - 2-3 hours a day, every day, never gives your body a chance to recover. Then you're only netting 1000 cals, so you're barely giving it any fuel. Why would it want to drop any fat? You're over working it and barely feeding it.

The week off while you've been sick is no big deal - probably a bonus for your body because you got some rest, despite being sick, and you ate more, which is good. The body needs fuel when you're sick, too. You definitely didn't undo any progress you've made so far in just one week's time.

I would definitely recommend cutting back on the cardio, taking at least one rest day per week, and adding some weights to your workouts, three days a week or so. You should also figure out how much you need to be eating - I've found this topic to be very helpful for fat loss - great info and links to tools to help you figure out your numbers and get it all set up: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

I've been eating according to that plan for about a year, with great results. And I still eat foods I love, pizza, fish & chips, beer, burgers, desserts, etc - not every day, but often. I've had the best success with this plan over the past year, and it's something I can stick to forever, no going back.

My workouts are 5-6 days a week, usually about 50-60 minutes a day. I do three days of strength/weights for 30 minutes, followed by 20 minutes of kickboxing or walking my dogs, and the other three days I run, average of about 4 miles.

Read the links I posted - great info in both, and I think you will find the answers you need. Good luck!

mareeee1234

^ awesome response!

yes - too much cardio and undereating will make you stall !!! Lift, do less cardio (approx twice a week!), and figure out your correct food intake using the roadmap.. best of luck!

cwolfman13

Sounds like you've been on a classic case of over training and under eating, and would explain why your weight loss stalled. Great article about this here: http://www.shapefit.com/overtraining-exercising-too-much.html

Your body needs rest days - 2-3 hours a day, every day, never gives your body a chance to recover. Then you're only netting 1000 cals, so you're barely giving it any fuel. Why would it want to drop any fat? You're over working it and barely feeding it.

The week off while you've been sick is no big deal - probably a bonus for your body because you got some rest, despite being sick, and you ate more, which is good. The body needs fuel when you're sick, too. You definitely didn't undo any progress you've made so far in just one week's time.

I would definitely recommend cutting back on the cardio, taking at least one rest day per week, and adding some weights to your workouts, three days a week or so. You should also figure out how much you need to be eating - I've found this topic to be very helpful for fat loss - great info and links to tools to help you figure out your numbers and get it all set up: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

I've been eating according to that plan for about a year, with great results. And I still eat foods I love, pizza, fish & chips, beer, burgers, desserts, etc - not every day, but often. I've had the best success with this plan over the past year, and it's something I can stick to forever, no going back.

My workouts are 5-6 days a week, usually about 50-60 minutes a day. I do three days of strength/weights for 30 minutes, followed by 20 minutes of kickboxing or walking my dogs, and the other three days I run, average of about 4 miles.

Read the links I posted - great info in both, and I think you will find the answers you need. Good luck!

^^^This is awesome and probably the best advice you're gonna get OP. The only thing I'd add is that with 10 Lbs to go, you should dial the calorie deficit back to about 1/2 Lb per week or so...you will get much better results in the end doing that combined with your weight training.