Anyone certified trainers/nutritionist willing to help?

jamie31 · July 2011

So here's the DL..... From some of my other posts ( if anyone has read them) i have been experiencing a steady weight gain over the course of a year. Was at 195lbs in august of 2010 ... now i am at 211lbs!!!! My eating habits have stayed the same ( some variations but will explain later) and I have been VERY consistent in my exercising. Bare with me this explanantion may get long... I would love to be able to go see a dietitian/nutritionist but unfortunately my insurance does not cover that and I cannot afford to pay out of pocket ( these school loans are killing me ! lol) Anyways i will break up my eating habits/trends and workouts below

EATING

I normally eat about 6 times a day - Breakfast , snack, lunch, snack , pre workout snack and dinner. My calories on a daily basis vary but I am normally under 2000 a day. I have tried changing things around and tried doing low carb, low sugar, high protein, upping my fat, well basically i have pretty much tried adjusting just about everything. The low carb worked for a couple weeks but since i workout so much it just wasnt possible to stay under 100g of carbs a day and still have energy. I do not eat fast food and only eat out at restaurants once or twice daily.

EXERCISING

Ok, i guess i am a lil crazy about this. I normally burn between 1000 to 1500 (sometimes more!) a day in my workouts. I have a Polar FT7 HRM so this number should be pretty accurate.

The workouts i do pretty much consist of the following - Insanity, Insanity Asylum, Turbo Fire, Running (4-6 miles), Biking, weight training, and some other odds and ends workout DVDs such as Amy Bento's workouts and the Biggest Loser workouts. I have done P90x but did not lose weight nor did i lose inches on this, and the cardio was just too easy for me

My exercise and food diaries are viewable if you would like to take a peak

Now onto the weight gain... I loved how I was starting to look last summer but I have been noticing that I am gaining most of the weight in my stomach and thighs. My arms are a tad more defined but as for the rest, yuck, I have that "soft" look. Since I am lifting people have been telling me that its muscle weight, but i know that is not true because my inches are going up not down as they would if i was replacing fat with muscle.

I have done lots of research on the suggestion that I am in "starvation mode" and feel that this could very well be the problem... Most suggestions have been to start eating more and after an initial gain of a few pounds I would start losing again. This is not the case. I have tried eating more ( for about a month or more) and just kept gaining.

I would very much appreciate if someone who is educated in nutrition could give me an idea of how I can fix my problem. Like how many calories should I really eat, what should the breakdown be ( i.e % of protein, carbs, fat ect) , how much I should be working out ( am I doing too much) , how many days of week i should workout ( I currently workout 6 days a week) ... Basically anything ideas, or programs that you feel could help.

PS I normally do not log in on the weekends because I do not have access to a computer but Saturdays and Sundays are pretty much like any other day.

Thanks in advance for your help and sorry this was sooooo long. lol

UnderCoverShyGirl · July 2011

I'm no nutritionist or expert, so sorry for the post - but you mentioned eating out in restaurants once or twice daily - i'm assuming you meant weekly, but if you really did mean daily, well, this "might" have something to do with things - given the horribly unreliable nutrition data, i find that eating out at all can pretty much mess me up, even when i make careful choices. I have no idea how veggies and chicken breast or something simliar can go crazy at a restaurant, but i really think it does :-(. Just thought i'd mention it.

aj_rock · July 2011

Starvation mode only prevents you from losing weight; it won't make you gain persay.

As it is, I think you should splurge on seeing an actual nutritionist and/or a doctor. I see no good reason to be GAINING weight right now, so you might have other problems going on.

jamie31 · July 2011

I'm no nutritionist or expert, so sorry for the post - but you mentioned eating out in restaurants once or twice daily - i'm assuming you meant weekly, but if you really did mean daily, well, this "might" have something to do with things - given the horribly unreliable nutrition data, i find that eating out at all can pretty much mess me up, even when i make careful choices. I have no idea how veggies and chicken breast or something simliar can go crazy at a restaurant, but i really think it does :-(. Just thought i'd mention it.

Yes i did mean WEEKLY!!! sorry about that

jamie31 · July 2011

Also I have seen my family doctor and had just about every blood test known to man done. He was unable to find anything wrong. Cortisol levels are fine, sugar is fine, thyroids are fine, cholesterol is fine, well you get the idea

James_1954 · July 2011

... I would love to be able to go see a dietitian/nutritionist but unfortunately my insurance does not cover that and I cannot afford to pay out of pocket ( these school loans are killing me ! lol)

Don't know what nutritionists charge in your area (and where I live is cheaper than most places for most things), but I see a nutritionist, and I'm unrich. My insurance also doesn't cover it. She charged me $60 for the first visit, which lasted well over an hour and was pretty intense in content, and she charges $30 for shorter followups, of which she doesn't seem to push for many. It's cheaper than a Weight Watchers membership, and cheaper than a lot of other things that I'd be willing to forego to get solid professional advice. Be sure to check with one or two before deciding it's too expensive ... it may be more reasonable than you'd think.

vennie · July 2011

I am not a certified anything.......however can relate to your issues.
I have been on WW for almost 2 months, haven't lost a lb, I was spinning up to 4 times a week, walking intensley, and eating in my range.... no budging. I then was reading and looking around, and found out, that I was probably eating too many fruits, so I cut it down, and also probably too much excersize, so I have also cut that down. Now i also have another issue, I am hypo thyroid. Which means it takes a whole lot longer for me to loose anything, my thyroid is so sluggish. I am also 53 years old, MENOPAUSE blah!.

So this past week, I took time to sleep, I took afternoon naps, ate the same pretty much, went to spin only 2xs, and I never walked. Low and behold I was down 3 lbs on Tues.

So on I go, I went to spin Tue, walked yesterday, not so intense, but did the hills and did it for 90 minutes, wore my HRM so I know I am challenging myself, just not killing myself. and this am I did spin again.
I am taking it easy, listening to my body. Sleeping when I feel I need to. Easy for me, I work from home....
I follow the WW points system. And make sure I stay within my points, and if I don't, I don't beat myself up over it. I'll see how it all translates next week..........

I have lost inches, I can see the difference in my arms and legs, I just wish my belly and boobs would budge ;-)
Good luck, I hope you can find your answer. BTW WW is only $55 per month, you can use online and go into meetings, if that is too expensive, just do the online one, its about $7 a week.

sambustem · July 2011

I'm not certified or anything, but have taken classes through ISSA and PFIT on training and a nutrition course through ACE (I just never took the tests). However, if I had it figured out, I obviously wouldn't be looking to lose so much myself! So, with that said, I had the same kind of problems about 10 years ago. I couldn't understand gaining weight when I was following, what seemed to be, perfect nutrition and a killer work out schedule. What helped me - and this was JUST ME (oh, I also had all the tests run and all of that was negative) was I stopped cardio, lifted extremely heavy and forgot my diet for about 2 weeks. I went up a few lbs, but then when back to my normal ways, I dropped all of those and was back on track. It was just the monotony that my body got used to, I guess.
Good luck! I know how frustrating it is and I hope you find the help you're looking for!!

shonniegrl · July 2011

Ok, this is going to sound really weird, but here goes.... Maybe you should cut down on the exercise a little. Let me explain... I was doing the exact same thing. Working out HARD for 6 days a week and logging my food and eating back exercise cal etc. And the scale wouldn't budge! I was trying not to get frustrated because I felt really good about my workouts (I would burn an average of 900 calories in one session). But, I really was tired of not seeing that scale move. I talked to my nutritionist and she looked at my food diary and said I wasn't eating BAD, but I was eating a little too much and too much processed food. She told me to cut down my workouts to 3x's a week. She cleaned up my eating. For Breakfast I eat 2 eggs and a fruit or low sugar oatmeal and a fruit For lunch I eat tuna on whole wheat with light mayo and a piece of fruit or low sodium soup and whole grain crackers and a piece of fruit. For dinner I have a lean protein, salad and a vegetable. Then as a snack, I can have anything I want as long as it is around 100 calories (I like something sweet at night).
Once I did this, I FINALLY saw the scale move and now I am 5 lbs lighter (it has been about 3 weeks of me doing this).

I hope this helps in some way.

ksutte · July 2011

I'm taking a class through our park district, $35 about nutrition, given by a certified nutritionist. might be a starting place for you. Also, they have a web site if you are interested in looking a little closer into it. www.nutritioncoachnetwork.com

eating4balance · July 2011

I am not a nutritionist, so you can totally disregard my advice, but...

Looking at your food diary, you are eating a lot of "added sugars" and a lot of carbs. Even though most days you are in your range for carbs, that is only because of your exercise calories (which also add in extra carbs).

Try staying within your fat, protein and carb limits BEFORE you input your exercise calories.

As always, limit processed sugars like cereal, yogurt and baked goods. Eat healthy fats, and get tons of fiber.

Another comment I just thought of: You may be one of those people that do better when you eat your exercise calories back, as long as your calories burned is accurate.

Hope this helps!

chantel111184 · July 2011

I'm no expert just my opinion from what i read.

Do you eat your exercise calories? this is a subject that is debated about alot but just thought i would ask as you didn't say in your post.

Maybe your not eating enough as you said you eat about 2000 cal a day but then you burn 1000-1500 cal through exercise.
So maybe up your calories and eat your exercise calories or do less exercise and only burn 500 cal.

jamie31 · July 2011

I'm no expert just my opinion from what i read.

Do you eat your exercise calories? this is a subject that is debated about alot but just thought i would ask as you didn't say in your post.

Maybe your not eating enough as you said you eat about 2000 cal a day but then you burn 1000-1500 cal through exercise.
So maybe up your calories and eat your exercise calories or do less exercise and only burn 500 cal.

I normally do not eat much of my exercise calories.... you can check out my diary to see the exact numbers

candiigraham · July 2011

I wish I had some advice, but this sounds like me except I'm not gaining just stalled for the last month. I have been working out 5-6 days a week. And this week I have been doing 2 a-days since I am on vacay. Hmmmm, gonna sit out for today and tomorrow, and aim for 3 workouts next week and see what happens. GL and I will be watching this post to see what others have to say.

korygilliam · July 2011

I had 2 friends that had issues w/ weight because of processed and whole wheat products (specifically called gluten). They both cut out gluten products for months and it the weight just ran off of them (one started eating gluten again after 6 months...another slowly introduced it after a couple of years because of it being an 'allergy', but they can now eat gluten in moderation w/o any issues.

And getting rid of gluten doesn't mean no carbs...it just means no wheat products. Can still have honey/corn/etc...

CJunell · August 2011

Hi Jamie,

I am sorry to hear you are having troubles. I am a certified personal trainer and certified lifestyle and weight management coach along with other activity specific certifications.

Here is the general disclaimer, I am not a medical doctor or a licensed nutritionist so please understand I can give you my advice but the best advice could probably come from a licensed nutritionist.

I experienced something similar to what you are going through towards the end of 09. Here are the highlights of what I discovered:
1. Low Fat does not equal nutritious or healthy. Shocker for me was the first ingredient in a weight watchers protein bar was sugar. they are not the only ones, there are billions to be made in the diet industry and most of it is a marketing scam. Problem here is that you eat something low fat that is "empty of nutrition" and your body goes, "what am I supposed to do with this? I can't digest it so I will just store it on your thighs and stomach while I send more hunger signals hoping to get some real fuel."
2. Insulin is a big factor, remember your body can not tell the difference from processes sweeteners from sugar. Here is the article I found very informative. http://weightoftheevidence.blogspot.com/2005/09/insulin-fat-storage-fat-use-for-energy.html
3. Starvation mode is real. I was working out like crazy but wasn't losing anything. I took two weeks off and I lost weight during both of those weeks.
4. Stress has a big influence on your weight. Cortisol does mess the system up and lead to weight retention/gain.
5. You really are what you eat so you need to eat as clean as possible. I see you have kids so that makes things difficult but eating frozen or canned meals is not healthy. Your body does not know what to do with all the additives and EXTRA sodium.
6. If the label looks like a chemistry lesson, get rid of it or don't buy it. Again, your body doesn't know what to do with all those chemicals. BTW-don't throw anything out that can go to a food pantry or something like that.

Good luck! It takes time and permanent behavioral/eating changes for real sustainable success. You can do it!

Countrymade · August 2011

So here's the DL..... From some of my other posts ( if anyone has read them) i have been experiencing a steady weight gain over the course of a year. Was at 195lbs in august of 2010 ... now i am at 211lbs!!!! My eating habits have stayed the same ( some variations but will explain later) and I have been VERY consistent in my exercising. Bare with me this explanantion may get long... I would love to be able to go see a dietitian/nutritionist but unfortunately my insurance does not cover that and I cannot afford to pay out of pocket ( these school loans are killing me ! lol) Anyways i will break up my eating habits/trends and workouts below

EATING

I normally eat about 6 times a day - Breakfast , snack, lunch, snack , pre workout snack and dinner. My calories on a daily basis vary but I am normally under 2000 a day. I have tried changing things around and tried doing low carb, low sugar, high protein, upping my fat, well basically i have pretty much tried adjusting just about everything. The low carb worked for a couple weeks but since i workout so much it just wasnt possible to stay under 100g of carbs a day and still have energy. I do not eat fast food and only eat out at restaurants once or twice daily.

EXERCISING

Ok, i guess i am a lil crazy about this. I normally burn between 1000 to 1500 (sometimes more!) a day in my workouts. I have a Polar FT7 HRM so this number should be pretty accurate.

The workouts i do pretty much consist of the following - Insanity, Insanity Asylum, Turbo Fire, Running (4-6 miles), Biking, weight training, and some other odds and ends workout DVDs such as Amy Bento's workouts and the Biggest Loser workouts. I have done P90x but did not lose weight nor did i lose inches on this, and the cardio was just too easy for me

My exercise and food diaries are viewable if you would like to take a peak

Now onto the weight gain... I loved how I was starting to look last summer but I have been noticing that I am gaining most of the weight in my stomach and thighs. My arms are a tad more defined but as for the rest, yuck, I have that "soft" look. Since I am lifting people have been telling me that its muscle weight, but i know that is not true because my inches are going up not down as they would if i was replacing fat with muscle.

I have done lots of research on the suggestion that I am in "starvation mode" and feel that this could very well be the problem... Most suggestions have been to start eating more and after an initial gain of a few pounds I would start losing again. This is not the case. I have tried eating more ( for about a month or more) and just kept gaining.

I would very much appreciate if someone who is educated in nutrition could give me an idea of how I can fix my problem. Like how many calories should I really eat, what should the breakdown be ( i.e % of protein, carbs, fat ect) , how much I should be working out ( am I doing too much) , how many days of week i should workout ( I currently workout 6 days a week) ... Basically anything ideas, or programs that you feel could help.

PS I normally do not log in on the weekends because I do not have access to a computer but Saturdays and Sundays are pretty much like any other day.

Thanks in advance for your help and sorry this was sooooo long. lol

Sometimes a nutritionist is covered by insurance depending on the diagnosis. Reason I know is because i just checked into it.
Sometimes your doctors office works with a nutritionist/dietiician and you have to go through them. I believe 2 of the dxs would be diabetes or morbid obesety. I would check with your insurance and doctors office. It is worth a phone call. Good Luck.

Skinny_Mocha · August 2011

Hi Jamie31, how are you (and everyone else) doing with this?

I've had a similar issue, in which I swear I'm doing everything right, but am not getting anywhere. I wish I could offer some help, but I haven't figured out my problem yet. Have you had any luck?

darrcn5 · August 2011

I was looking at your diary, and some days your net calories are in the negative! Your body is not going to let you lose weight if you don't give it fuel. Either cut back on the exercise or eat more. You can't burn 2536 calories from exercise alone and only eat 1500 calories!

ladyhawk00 · August 2011

I'm no expert just my opinion from what i read.

Do you eat your exercise calories? this is a subject that is debated about alot but just thought i would ask as you didn't say in your post.

Maybe your not eating enough as you said you eat about 2000 cal a day but then you burn 1000-1500 cal through exercise.
So maybe up your calories and eat your exercise calories or do less exercise and only burn 500 cal.

I normally do not eat much of my exercise calories.... you can check out my diary to see the exact numbers

So, you're burning an extra 1000-1500 per day, and not refueling? That means about a 6000-9000 cal deficit ON TOP of whatever your loss per week goal deficit is (and, just a guess, but you may already have your loss per week goal too high.) Of course your body would be rebelling. Creating huge deficits rarely works unless you're morbidly obese (and carries a LOT of risks for permanent damage.)

What I would recommend is taking at least a week off, preferably two. Completely off. Eat at maintenance, no exercise whatsoever. Then, start again at an appropriate deficit (probably around 1 to 1.5 lb per week = 500-750 deficit per day, eating back exercise cals), with MODERATE exercise of 30-60 min 3-4 times per week. Betting you'll see things moving in the right direction then.

TipMcE · August 2011

I am not a nutritionist, so I am just offering my uneducated opinion. I think that perhaps even the 1 or 2 restaurant outings per week could derail your efforts. Not just because of calorie counts but because of sodium and added sugar. I know we are all different and what works for one person might not work for another. My heart goes out to you and I hope you can find a solution.

I know someone suggested checking with your doc and insurance to see if there is a medical condition that would allow for coverage to see a nutritionist. But if that doesn't work, perhaps you can contact the colleges in your area that have nutrition degree programs to see if their students provide low cost/free services as part of their coursework.

Take care and good luck!

Anyone certified trainers/nutritionist willing to help?

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