Confused - opened up diary and would love suggestions

chachan · July 2012

After several weeks of working out consistently and logging everything, eating back some (sometimes all!) of my exercise calories, and sometimes eating junk...weight loss totally stalled. I weigh 156 most mornings but go back up to 158 often. I have checked the old thyroid, crossed my fingers that I could blame my age on this, but it's fine - just on the "low end of normal". I know I am building muscle, I can see it, but I can also see globs of fat laying on top of it and I want it gone!

I figured out my TDEE and BMR yesterday and adjusted my mfp numbers accordingly. I was horrified to see that I am at 33% body fat - even though I have lost 2 inches from my hips and 1.5 inches from my waist since I started really working out.

Here's my biggest issue - I am in a wedding in October where I will be among other bridesmaids who are fitness trainers! I accept that I am 41, have had 2 kids, work full time (NOT as a fitness instructor!), and can therefore not expect to look like these other lovely ladies. BUT, I would like to be PROUD of how I look and while I am enjoying these little victories of lost inches, I want more.

So, I have about 10 weeks to get it together. If you know a trick, a secret, a way for me to eat more or eat less, if you think it's cardio I need or weight lifting I need, if I should take a supplement, go Atkins, drink shakes, whatever you think - I'd like to know it. I think I've read so much that I'm confused about how to do this right. And, my food diary is honest - I log everytime I drink with the girls or eat garbage so it's fine to comment on that too if you think it is the reason I am stalled.

Thanks in advance all you successful and fit folks! :happy:

chachan · July 2012

Also would love to know about other women's success with NWLO4W!

curtnrod · July 2012

Are you not drinking water, or just not logging it?

chachan · July 2012

Just not logging it....I drink a lot of water, both plain and carbonated but all 0 calorie.

badgerbabs · July 2012

What about your measurements? It's been my experience that when I'm stalled out for weight, I'm losing size.

morgansmom02 · July 2012

It looks good to me! And I wouldn't think you were a day older than 30!

Judas_Queen · July 2012

Also would love to know about other women's success with NWLO4W!

I am just finishing stage 1 of NROL4W and it's fine. I get bored easy, so doing only the same 2 workouts is so boring for me that I haven't been motivated and therefore haven't done it 3 times a week.. more like twice a week!

HOWEVER... i have most definitely gotten stronger without a doubt, and my super duper quads and hamstrings look amazing

i KNOW that if i had worked harder during this stage that i would have seem some amazing results with fat loss.

Good luck with whatever you do and I'm sure you will look fabulous at the wedding!

FrugalMomsRock75 · July 2012

I am 15 also (5'3''), and I'm a mom (x5). Feel free to friend me. I have mfp set up to my BMR, and then I eat exercise calories. It's slow going, but it's going. Slow and steady wins.

I have a long way to go, but it's happening, and I'll get there. There aren't any quick fixes.

However, if you want to do something to help reshape your body kind of quickly to prep for that wedding, I recommend 30 day shred.

Other than that, a good combination of heavy lifting, some cardio, and a healthy, balanced diet...

eluv61488 · July 2012

What types of workouts do you do?

redmamacita · July 2012

i perused your food diary for the past week, and what jumps out at me immediately is your carb intake- it's a lot higher than it should be, in my opinion, for someone trying to lose fat. i would suggest curbing it to only 30% of your daily calories, and definitely amp up your protein intake! this is easily done by replacing snacks with a protein shake or a handful of almonds (which also have healthy fat in them). try dilligently for two weeks to reduce your carbs to 30% of your daily caloric intake (meaning only 30% of your cals should come from carbs), and see if it helps any. how often are you working out/what kinds of activities are you doing?

on another note, i think you're gorgeous and seriously look nowhere near 41

Hoakiebs · July 2012

Lost 36 lbs. in 10 weeks by walking 60-90 min. A day at about 4-4.5 mph.

Beatrix0810 · July 2012

I'm going through the same thing right now. I work out like a mad woman, but i'm still SO FLABBY. I'm 5 days in to laying off the alcohol for 30 days. I've been told that not drinking for a while will help your body focus on those stubborn fat deposits and allow it to burn it off while you work out. So that's my current plan. You could try that. Alcohol isn't a big deal while you're maintaining, but it works against you while you're trying to lose. Just a thought!

carmel991 · July 2012

Your eating looks great. I am by far no expert, but I would also recommend 30 day shred, Ketttlebell training (both Bob Harper and Jillian Michaels have DVDS) or the Insanity Dvd. Great fat burners to shock your body into getting toned and letting go of those last few pounds. Just my opinion. :-)

BerryH · July 2012

Honestly you look great as you are! How tall are you? You may have reached a healthy weight for you. I'm 5' 8" and your current weight is my goal!

My measurements have me at 33% fat too, but remember it's just an estimation. Unless you get fully immersed in a body composition analysis chamber, it's just a guess.

NROLFW was informative but not for me. Lifting as heavy as I could meant I wasn't fully recovered for my running training and the diet was very protein-shake heavy. I do my own weight training with dumbbells, kettlebells and Body Pump and I'm getting results.

badgerbabs · July 2012

Sorry, I missed your statement about measurements the first time through. I'd also suggest taking measurements of other body parts - you may be losing more elsewhere. I looked at your diary, and it looks like you're consistently way under for your protein, and over on carbs. Protein is essential for building muscle, and muscle burns more fat than bone or fat. If you can rebalance your major nutrient intake you may see better results. And I agree with the previous poster - you look great right now, so don't sweat the wedding!

kerry1513 · July 2012

Your diary looks good. I would suggest maybe tracking your sugar intake as well. I have recently started doing that and trying to cut back and I can tell a difference. If you aren't seeing the scale move just keep track of your measurements. That is what I have been doing since the scale really hasn't been moving, but my measurements are dropping. Hope this helps and keep up all the great work! You look great

Beatrix0810 · July 2012

i perused your food diary for the past week, and what jumps out at me immediately is your carb intake- it's a lot higher than it should be, in my opinion, for someone trying to lose fat. i would suggest curbing it to only 30% of your daily calories, and definitely amp up your protein intake! this is easily done by replacing snacks with a protein shake or a handful of almonds (which also have healthy fat in them). try dilligently for two weeks to reduce your carbs to 30% of your daily caloric intake (meaning only 30% of your cals should come from carbs), and see if it helps any. how often are you working out/what kinds of activities are you doing?

on another note, i think you're gorgeous and seriously look nowhere near 41

This is great advice too! Another thing to consider is getting your carbs strictly from veggies. You can eat more of them than breads and pastas and they do a better job of filling you up for a longer period of time. Also, try to eat every 3-4 hours. It keeps your metabolism working non-stop throughout the day. Just be sure to eat smaller snacks and smaller meals (weighing and measuring your food is a REALLY good idea).

TubbsMcGee · July 2012

Try also tracking other nutrients, like fiber and sodium -- fiber of course to help things move along, and being mindful of your sodium intake as the bloat can give you grief with the scale.

Your general intake of everything else looks good, and you seem to be eating relatively healthy. Try to focus more on the numbers on the tape measure as opposed to on the scale. Perhaps the weight is the muscle you're building from using the NROL4W program? I'd suggest calorie cycling/zig zagging, as it helped me break my plateau, but it looks like you're already naturally doing it! :flowerforyou:

80lbslost · July 2012

I would cut back on the sugary snacks and eat more protein calories during lunch and dinner!

islandnutshel · July 2012

Your diet looks pretty awsome, I would just use your 10 weeks to focus on exercise. Maybe try the Jillian Micheal's 30 day shred. It tends to add pounds but takes away inches and makes you look hot in a dress. :happy:
I would keep an eye on eating less processed cured meats, reduce salt by eating less processed foods. And in the 2 weeks before the wedding, I might try eliminating gluten and see if that prevents bloating. (Lots of people are finding the geneticaly modified wheat breads with all the extra gluten, causes bloat. The more whole grain it is the more gluten they add to the mix)
You look great by the way. You should feel proud of your self. I hope I look like that in my fortys. (I am not far away)

psuLemon · July 2012

If you want to increase fat loss, concentrate more on weight training and less on cardio. Generally, I suggest 1-2 days of HIIT and 3-4 days of weight training. If you know your TDEE, then just cut 20% of it. Another thing that might help you is if you do a Paleo type diet (lean meats, fish, veggies and fruits... no dairy, no grains, wheat, legumes). In the first week of it so far, I lost 3 lbs and my wife lost 4 lbs. This is all water weight from the reduction in glycogen store, but i love the diet. I think it's better than atkins as it allows your body to get a bunch of fiber which will make you burn more calories as your body can't process fiber.

Confused - opened up diary and would love suggestions

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