Tips from my Nutritionist -I wasn't losing anymore!! EEK!!

Thought I'd share and get my $50 worth on here. When we pay it forward, it always comes back...enjoy

I hit my plateau a couple of weeks ago and was just holding! I decided to meet w/ a professional to tweek my workouts and food! Going 5 times a week, including 2-hour salsa classes, I knew something wasn't right!

-My nutritionist suggestion varying my workouts.... maybe try doing light weights and high reps. 1st and then your cardio. She showed me an example of how she would run the same course each day and her body was so use to the same 'hill', same 'building' she ran around...so she decided to run that route the opposite way...It's a form of muscle confusion!

-Try to find your target heart rate for fat burning....A formula I found was this: Take the number 220, minus your age, multipy by 70% to show your max fat burn target heart rate. Mine was 129 BPM (beat per minute)which seemed so slooowww for me , but got more out of my workouts this way. Stay in this zone for 20-30 minutes.

*Our bodies get use to our workouts and wont allow you to get the most out of them after awhile, so you have to do the 'shock factor'.
-Vary the order of workouts and maybe do 2-3 different cardio machines during your workout . Also, try 'circuit training' at the gym....good variety of weights and cardio. Your body will 'trip out' (so to speak) w/the change and will let you burn more!

-Also try to stick to higher protein in morning and eat your complex carbs (veggie and fruits) throughout the day and avoid carbs like starchy stuff (white rice, white bread, etc.) and watch sugars like grapes, pineapple and even bananas! Also avoid junk food and processed foods (high salt and extra additives).

-Eat 5 times a day, breakfast, lunch ,dinner and 2 snacks. Eat all the calories MFP suggests dn you'll be good. Keep your water up too and avoid sodas and sugary drinks.

I learned that I was doing a lot right, but the key was to vary my workouts and the order of my workouts and also stick to higher protein meals in the morning. Even though my stomach says: "I'm not awake yet" before I hit the gym. She suggested even taking half a protein shake or protein bar and after workout have my fav high protein meal (egg whites, turkey bacon and Natures Own Double Fiber Wheat bread w/sugar free jelly) .... this girl loves her carbs. But good carbs are necessary!

-Also, eat balanced 3 meals /day and 2 snacks.. keep that bodys metabolism up and it will work for you and not against you! It will become a natural furnace and burn around the clock.

*I also bought a Timex HRM (Heart rate monitor) to get an accurate calorie burn during my workouts. I was shocked how 'off' the machines at my gym! I was also able to wear during my Salsa class and got a great idea of calorie burn there too! It was about $80 , but soooo worth it! I also changed gyms that offered some fitness classes, this way I can vary my workouts--change it up!

Good luck! Hope this helps if you have peeked out!

Bless u

1. Muscle confusion isn't the issue. The issue is 95% diet and 5% workouts. Also the best thing you can do for workouts is weight resistance training lifting heavy. 3x8 which is 3 sets of 6-8 reps and go to failure. Cardio can be performed as a 5-7 minute warmup before training, and then 20 minutes post-training if you like. Don't overdo it.

2. Fat burning heart rate zone is a complete myth. I can put my heart rate in that "zone", but eat a surplus of calories and get fatter than ****.

3. This entire "shock factor" thing is not as serious and important as people make it out to be. The only thing you should do is take training breaks every 6-8 weeks. Either take an entire week off or cut the volume and/or intensity down by 50% for a week.

4. Meal timing is irrelevant. I'll say it again. MEAL TIMING DOES NOT MATTER. You can eat 3 meals a day, 10 meals a day or 1 meal a day. You can eat all of your food in the morning, and not eat anything in afternoon or at night. What matters is getting your daily calorie intake, your vitamins/minerals and your protein high enough to retain as much LBM (Lean Body Mass) as possible while dieting.

5. You don't have to eat clean. Yes it works if you do, but you don't need to. You can have whatever you want as long as you track it and don't go over your calorie intake per day AND you ensure you hit your protein macros. I'm not saying go eat junk. But I am saying that if you hit your macros and you have room leftover, have some ice cream. It's fine.

6. Your first step is finding out your TDEE (total daily energy expedenture) as accurate as you can. There are many ways to do this. If you have the money, you can buy a Bodymedia FIT or a Bodybugg and while it's not 100% (nothing is), it's pretty close.

Thanks for sharing on the message board...will take all this into consideration!

Any thoughts on Heart Rate Monitors? I got the Timex, but seems Polar would have been better option for more accurate readings. Just want to track my workouts (outside of the gym).

So, were you a trainer...or are you a trainer? Teacher!?

Thanks again,

Listen to Joe. I did and it got me this far.

there are a few guys here I would trust way more than a personal trainer. they critically read scientific research because they are passionate about knowledge and improvement. a day long course and a couple hundred dollars will get you certified. Listen to Joe, Acg, ninerbuff... these guys are constantly learning and not just regurgitating a bunch of outdated ideas.

good luck to you!

:flowerforyou:

1. Muscle confusion isn't the issue. The issue is 95% diet and 5% workouts. Also the best thing you can do for workouts is weight resistance training lifting heavy. 3x8 which is 3 sets of 6-8 reps and go to failure. Cardio can be performed as a 5-7 minute warmup before training, and then 20 minutes post-training if you like. Don't overdo it.

2. Fat burning heart rate zone is a complete myth. I can put my heart rate in that "zone", but eat a surplus of calories and get fatter than ****.

3. This entire "shock factor" thing is not as serious and important as people make it out to be. The only thing you should do is take training breaks every 6-8 weeks. Either take an entire week off or cut the volume and/or intensity down by 50% for a week.

4. Meal timing is irrelevant. I'll say it again. MEAL TIMING DOES NOT MATTER. You can eat 3 meals a day, 10 meals a day or 1 meal a day. You can eat all of your food in the morning, and not eat anything in afternoon or at night. What matters is getting your daily calorie intake, your vitamins/minerals and your protein high enough to retain as much LBM (Lean Body Mass) as possible while dieting.

5. You don't have to eat clean. Yes it works if you do, but you don't need to. You can have whatever you want as long as you track it and don't go over your calorie intake per day AND you ensure you hit your protein macros. I'm not saying go eat junk. But I am saying that if you hit your macros and you have room leftover, have some ice cream. It's fine.

6. Your first step is finding out your TDEE (total daily energy expedenture) as accurate as you can. There are many ways to do this. If you have the money, you can buy a Bodymedia FIT or a Bodybugg and while it's not 100% (nothing is), it's pretty close.