Losing those last 10 lbs

mybiketrip
mybiketrip Posts: 239
edited December 17 in Health and Weight Loss
Hey MyFitnessPal friends :)

I am a 5'10" male who has the ideal weight of 150 for the athletics I take part in; I do running and cycling. I started getting serious about my sports back in December; I weighed 178 lbs. I used this program to track my food intake and exercise to make sure I was eating a very balanced diet. I was able to get down to 158-160 (it varies) and plateaued here this last month and a half.

I go on the bike trainer 5 days a week for approx 1 hour per day; Tuesday's and Friday's are my more intense days. I usually do intervals outlined by a cycling coach - I'm not going to up the intensity of this because it's important to not do too much too early with the cycling + overtraining is a nightmare.

As for the running... I normally go at a steady comfortable pace and run 3 miles everyday at an easy pace in about 25 minutes (I'm putting on my base miles), and a longer run on sundays (5+ miles). I'm slightly uncomfortable with upping the intensity of this as well, because I am very injury prone when it comes to running and from my past experience these base miles must be run comfortably.

I also do weightlifting specific for the sports I want to excel at; I weight lift 3-4 times a week.

Okay, here's the question... I'm wondering how I can lose the last 10 lbs without losing any lean muscle? I'd like to lose the skinnyman's belly and start seeing the abs I know are there. Haha. I don't know anything about supplements and/or dieting (except what MFP has outlined for me).

Thanks, Peter

Replies

  • Silvergamma
    Silvergamma Posts: 102 Member
    Sounds like you are kicking some butt when it comes to your cardio conditioning. You are getting into that grey area where it's less about losing *weight* and more about losing *fat*. I'll preface this by saying I'm not a professional, so take my advice with a grain of salt :).

    I would recommend doping a couple of your cardio days and adding in heavy lifting. Weight training will help you not just gain strength, but power and speed for your sports. It also helps build lean muscle mass which will in turn increase your resting metabolism.

    After that, look at what you are eating. You can't out run your fork. Eat as close to your goal maintenance level as you, and eat as clean as you can.

    It's going to be slow. I've been in the same 5 pound range for the past three months. The key to staying sane is to start shifting your focus from pounds to %body fat, and to your fitness goals. If you keep pushing your body, it will eventually let go of those last reserves.
  • mybiketrip
    mybiketrip Posts: 239
    Hey! Thanks for the reply.

    I'll be increasing the weight training next week. I did some research on other health pages before I noticed a reply for this. You seemed to be spot on with what most the websites had said with that!

    I'll be sure to track my food more carefully now. I know I went slightly over some days, but not with and junk food so I wasn't too worried about it.

    I'm unsure how I can track my body fat percentage. I don't trust the online guesstimates the programs give me when compared to the few times I was able to go in and do it (2 years ago).
  • sc1572
    sc1572 Posts: 2,309 Member
    I'm with you...in my last 5 lbs, and they're tough! My advice? Stick with running, that helps slim down, and add in some strength training, which helps to tone up. :)

    I run about 4-5 days a week and do cross training on the other days. Each day, I try to do a bit of strength training or conditioning, even though I don't always use weights. I've definitely noticed results! I do simple stuff like push ups, crunches, tricep dips, etc. and then incorporate various yoga/dance stuff I've done in the past, lots of stretching, and the weight machines and dumbbells at my gym.

    I hope this helps a bit! I'm a college student as well, so I know finding time to do a lot is tough. Do the best you can! :)
  • mybiketrip
    mybiketrip Posts: 239
    Hey!

    Thanks for the advice! I will be keeping at the running. I have a goal of completing in a marathon at the end of the summer; that is, if it doesn't compromise my bike training. I will also incorporate more strength training and not be looking to lose weight but lose fat (bf%) as Silvergamma pointed out, but I'm not sure how to measure accurately.

    Also, congrats on your progress with your weight lose. It's not an easy thing to do while in college!

    Peter
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