Working out 3x a week but CANNOT lose the weight.

[tiki]

WTF?

 

I'm working out 3 x a week and cannot lose weight. I've been at it for like 7-8 months now.

 

I've lost inches 'supposedly', but that makes me wonder. And my body fat percentage has gone up?!?!? What - the - hell? And I've gained 4 pounds in 7-8 months.

 

I don't eat like a pig, I eat well, 2x a day and a Slimfast for breakfast. But I drink no water. Or really anything, for that matter. I drink very little. It's weird. Now I'm wondering if there's something wrong with my thyroid or if I'm just a pig.

[Barby]

You HAVE to drink water in order to lose weight! Working out could mean you're gaining muscle instead of losing weight?!!

 

If you're having no success then you need to maybe consider getting a personal trainer to help you out with your problem areas? (Just a thought).

 

 

But from your pictures you didn't look even slightly out of shape, as long as your healthy I wouldn't be too concerned..but if you are I'm sure there is always something that can be done about it.

[7on]

Maybe you're just perfect the way you are?

 

And don't need the work out? I know I don't like it when the lady I'm interested in works out - I think she's beautiful. But she thinks she needs to loose a few. Women are just crazy.

[Gunner]

Originally posted by tiki

WTF?

 

I'm working out 3 x a week and cannot lose weight. I've been at it for like 7-8 months now.

 

I've lost inches 'supposedly', but that makes me wonder. And my body fat percentage has gone up?!?!? What - the - hell? And I've gained 4 pounds in 7-8 months.

 

I don't eat like a pig, I eat well, 2x a day and a Slimfast for breakfast. But I drink no water. Or really anything, for that matter. I drink very little. It's weird. Now I'm wondering if there's something wrong with my thyroid or if I'm just a pig.

 

How long are you working out during each session? I was at my doctors office today for a routine physical. I was telling him that I had lost 30 lbs in the last ten months but now I am really plateaued and can't seem to lose any more. He told me that the body does not start burning fat until you have had your heart rate up to 120-140 for 45 minutes. He suggested that I get a heart rate monitor because if you get your heart rate up over 140 that your body burns sugar for fuel and that doesn't equate to fat loss. He said that most people can lose 10% of their body fat and then their body gets comfortable and wants to stay at that weight for 3-6 months and that I have to be patient and fight on through it and I will eventually start losing again. He also said the standard stuff such as stay away from fast food but if I have to eat it eat at Subway. No pastries, french fries these are two of the worst things. Lots of fruit and vegetables and plenty of water and fat free milk. Anyway I tend to trust him because he lost a lot of weight and now competes in triathalons. Hope this helps a little.

 

Gunner

[johan]

Your metabolism naturally goes up when you work out consistently, so you may be eating more.

 

One possibility that is never really popular: try to structure your diet so that you get all the nutrients you need from food, not supplements. I don't trust supplements. If you try to eat a diet that actually provides all the nutrients you need, it's hard to get enough calories. I've done it. I can send you a list of foods that will do it.

 

It also depends on the type of workouts you're doing. You should try to keep your heart rate up above 140 bpm (assuming your max heart rate is 200 or so), sustained for 30 minutes doing aerobic types of exercise. I never counted the first 20 minutes of an aerobic workout, because it takes about that long to warm up and your body is not operating very efficiently. The first 15 - 20 minutes should be at warm up pace.

 

Lifting weights will build muscle but won't burn much fat, even though your heart rate will get pretty high with each set. Lifting weights is more anaerobic, not as focussed on long-term energy supply, but just muscle building and adding anaerobic energy supplies. Also anaerobic waste removal becomes more efficient.

 

Vary the workouts and it may help to try to get them outside. I think aerobic workouts should be done outside. My opinion.

[jesusfist]

okay possible problems

 

1. you need more water as mentioned above without it your body cant function properly > cant burn fat properly, as water is required for almost all chemical reactions which occur within our body. try to drink 8 glasses of water a day.

 

2. remember to eat plenty of fruit and veg, fats as well but non saturated fats you dont need them but you need the others. reduce sugars as well, no candy, and dont use salt or eat salty foods. (body builders are able to drastically decrease their body fat% by reducing salts and consuming more water)

 

3. your workouts may not be intensive enough, you should be breathing heavily and your heart should feel like its about to jump out of your body.

 

4. As you stated you eat twice a day...BRRRRP! not good okay, in fact thats very bad considering that your exercising as well. not many people know this but in order to bump up your metabolism to burn more fat ( fat is the only thing you want to lose) you'll need to eat smaller meals more often throughout the day. The traditional 3 meals a day is bollocks, you should be aiming to eat about 5-6 meals a day, this makes your metabolism get seriously cranking and combined with frequent exercise is awesome for weight loss. To lose weight you'll also need to have a calorie defecite, say in my case it takes 3600 calories a day to maintain my weight of 87kg if i wanted to lose weight i would have to consume slightly less say 3300-3000 calories a day. STARVING DOES NOT WORK EVER DONT DO IT lol.

 

5. not to stamp out the fun, but those inches you may have lost may be muscle, and considering your body fat % increased and you dont eat near enough you'd be burning muscle to compensate for the lack of food. okay so check this > the more muscle you have the easier it is to lose body fat, because it is active tissue and it needs energy to work (ie calories, which is why my maintainace calorie count is so high, lots of muscle). SO LIFT WEIGHTS AND IF YOUR A WOMAN YOU WONT GET HAIRY AND LOOK CHUNKY AND MONKEY LIKE A MAN, IT JUST DOESNT HAPPEN

 

okay sorry that was alot in one go, proper nutrition, build muscle, do cardio exercise...think thats it whoo! while i mentioned alot the only thing thats probably wrong is your diet. good luck

[ThumbingMyWay]

TIKI,

 

 

follow the weight watchers eating plan.....(its not a diet)...basically eat less food with less fat....

 

and walk for at least 30 minutes everyday

 

drink lots of water everyday...

 

 

 

its that easy...(well easy to type here anyway.. )

[alphamale]

move away from ICE CREAM CITY

[alphamale]

Originally posted by johan

Lifting weights will build muscle but won't burn much fat, even though your heart rate will get pretty high with each set. Lifting weights is more anaerobic, not as focussed on long-term energy supply, but just muscle building and adding anaerobic energy supplies. Also anaerobic waste removal becomes more efficient

 

 

Dude, where are you getting your info from. You are grossly mis-informed. ANY physical activity your body does so that you burn more calories than you consume in a given period will cause you to burn fat.

 

Fat is stored up excess energy cause you are eating more calories than u expend. I don't give a damn whatever physical activity or exercise you take up...if you start expending more energy than you take in then you will burn off your stored fat.

[tiki]

Originally posted by Barby

But from your pictures you didn't look even slightly out of shape

 

Thanks Barby. I am overweight though. I'm in a size 12 and way far too much for what I should. That's why I've been doing something about it. But to no avail....

 

Thanks 7on, that made me feel better too.

 

How long are you working out during each session?

 

Thirty-two minutes on Mon, Wed and Fri., during my lunch break. Then I eat a sandwich afterwards. I rarely drink any sodas. Every once in a while I'll have a tea.

 

*My workout consists of a circuit that you round twice, spending 30 seconds on each machine and 30 seconds on the block (running in place, etc), then on to the next machine. My heartrate is about 135 bpm. It rarely dips below that.

 

Your metabolism naturally goes up when you work out consistently, so you may be eating more.

 

Johan, I really think I'm eating less.

 

As you stated you eat twice a day...BRRRRP! not good okay, in fact thats very bad considering that your exercising as well. not many people know this but in order to bump up your metabolism to burn more fat

 

Yeah, twice a day does suck, eh? They tell me where I work out, to eat 6 x a day.

 

follow the weight watchers eating plan.....(its not a diet)...basically eat less food with less fat

 

My sister has done this and has lost like 60 lbs. She's been doing it since I've been going. She's never been so skinny her whole life. I'm on a two year contract or some crap, they said I could technically leave after one year and not get into trouble for it. I pay $30 a month. And I go with the lady I work with, so that makes it very convenient.

 

your workouts may not be intensive enough, you should be breathing heavily and your heart should feel like its about to jump out of your body.

 

I noticed this yesterday. I really tried to apply myself harder. I felt a little more sore for about a minute...lol. **Should I try to do more reps or harder reps?**

 

THanks you guys for all the help and support.

[tattoomytoe]

and remember.... Muscle weighs more than fat, so i am sure you are gaining muscle mass. and the more muscle you have the better and faster you metabolize energy!

 

do you do some aerobic activities too?

[johan]

Originally posted by alphamale

 

 

 

Dude, where are you getting your info from. You are grossly mis-informed. ANY physical activity your body does so that you burn more calories than you consume in a given period will cause you to burn fat.

 

Fat is stored up excess energy cause you are eating more calories than u expend. I don't give a damn whatever physical activity or exercise you take up...if you start expending more energy than you take in then you will burn off your stored fat.

 

7 years of road bicycle racing. Included both weight training in the off-season and heavy endurance/aerobic sessions lasting several hours. Also honors level excercise physiology classes in college.

 

If you think that you'll achieve significant fat loss through weight training, you are grossly misinformed. If you'd like I can cite sources. Some fat loss will occur but it will not be noticable. I refer you to your television on Sunday afternoon.

[alphamale]

Originally posted by johan

If you think that you'll achieve significant fat loss through weight training, you are grossly misinformed. If you'd like I can cite sources. Some fat loss will occur but it will not be noticable. I refer you to your television on Sunday afternoon.

 

any physical exercise that causes you to expend more calories per day than you take in will make you lose fat. that is a constant.

 

now if you are doing any type of exericse but still eating more calories than you expend then you will not lose fat. If a football lineman weights 325 and a big oaf even if he's exercising heavily it means he is eating more calories than he is burning.

 

You could work out 4 hrs per day but if you are eating 7,000 calories per day you will not lose fat or weight.

 

go back to you honors class man and re-read the texts.

[tiki]

Originally posted by tattoomytoe

do you do some aerobic activities too?

 

Does sex count?

 

Dammit, isn't three times a week enough to work out?! What more do I need to give?!

[tattoomytoe]

Originally posted by tiki

 

 

Does sex count?

 

Dammit, isn't three times a week enough to work out?! What more do I need to give?!

 

only if you are laying him...i.e., on top or some other wierdo strenuous position!

 

and try cutting most excess sugars...like candy, soda, *gasp* beer...(but if you are good otherwise i say alcohol is fine!)

[johan]

Originally posted by alphamale

 

 

any physical exercise that causes you to expend more calories per day than you take in will make you lose fat. that is a constant.

 

now if you are doing any type of exericse but still eating more calories than you expend then you will not lose fat. If a football lineman weights 325 and a big oaf even if he's exercising heavily it means he is eating more calories than he is burning.

 

You could work out 4 hrs per day but if you are eating 7,000 calories per day you will not lose fat or weight.

 

go back to you honors class man and re-read the texts.

 

We didn't actually study that in the classes I took, because it's common knowledge.

[alphamale]

Originally posted by johan

We didn't actually study that in the classes I took, because it's common knowledge.

 

it is common knowledge. which is why your comment that weight training won't help you lose fat was dumb.

 

so you agree then that ANY physical activity that causes you to expend more calories than you take in will assist if fat loss, including weight lifting.

 

I started back in weight training 3 months ago. 3x per wk. I have not modified my diet in any way what so ever and I have lost 15 lbs since Oct 01.

[blind_otter]

Tiki,

 

I read somewhere that sometimes you will feel hungry when you are actually thirsty. Maybe you are eating to compensate for dehydration?

[tiki]

I'm sure I probably am dehydrated, no doubt. But I only eat two meals a day. I'd hate to cut out one of those, then I'd only be eating one meal a day. Um, which is what I was doing post eating d/o and pre-pregnancy. It kills me to see people like alpha lose weight since October. I've been working out since June or July. Sorry alpha.

[blind_otter]

haha I've lost like 10 lbs. in the last month since I miscarried. Of course most of it was baby weight.

 

Hey, the best weightloss plan I've ever had is "the horrible breakup weightloss plan" - eat once or twice every few days, watch the lbs. melt away. I didn't eat all weekend, or sleep well, after seeing my ex with his new girl. I came into work on Monday, everyone tells me how svelt I look.

[alphamale]

Originally posted by tiki

It kills me to see people like alpha lose weight since October. I've been working out since June or July. Sorry alpha.

 

You need to learn to count calories. Many frozen and prepared entrees have all nutrition facts on them including calories and grams of fat. You need to learn how to estimate how many calories you eat per day and then adjust accordingly.

 

You need to figure out what daily avg calorie intake will maintain your current weight at your current activity level. Once you know this it is a matter of just watching what you eat. Say your calories avg daily intake turns out to be 2,000 cals. So one day you pig out and eat 2500 but next day you adjust by eating 1500 so it all evens out to 2000 cal avg per day.

 

All you need to do is figure out this daily calories avg and then reduce it by about 200 per day and exercise regulary. It's simple man.

 

A hot dog and bun has about 300 cals

A burrito supreme from taco hell has about 580 cals

A medium apple has about 80 cals

A snickers bar has about 275 cals

A diet coke has 0 cals

A med bowl of beef barley soup has about 225 cals

A med bagel with butter has about 325 cals

A slice of med dominoes pizza wit peperoni has about 300 cals

 

just figure it out. I count calories every day, try to limit lunch to 700 and dinner to 1500, some days i am bad but i try to make up. i keep a mental calorie total in my mind every day. like yesterday i was bad and ate about 2700 cals, today i will try to keep it to 2300 cause my avg daily is around 2500.

[tiki]

That's a great idea, alpha. I've never counted calories. Do they still have those little books or is there an online reference that you know of?

 

How do I find out how many calories I need? Is 2000 just a standard?

[sophia34]

Hey, just started reading this post. Tiki, I am alarmed that you keep saying that you "only eat two meals a day." I truly believe that, not drinking enough water, not counting calories, and not exercising hard enough is causing your problems, not helping it! I agree with all the posters who noted those problems in your approach. Two meals a day, as one poster put it, is bullocks. Your metabolism slows down, rather than speeds up like you need it to in order to lose weight.

 

This is the approach that's worked for me:

 

--Eat smaller meals, five to six times a day. For me, that's oatmeal and soy milk for breakfast (350 calories), and apple w/peanut butter around 10:30 in the morning (150 calories), something like a tuna spinach wrap with a few chips and tea for lunch (400 calories), a handful of nuts or a banana around 3:00 (80 to 100 calories), a reasonable 400 calorie dinner, and a small snack of around 150 calories (small serving of low-fat ice cream, for instance). That adds up to around 1500-1600 calories. I measured things for a while and actually kept a food log so I knew EXACTLY how much I ate and how many calories it cost me.

 

--Drink more liquids. That can be water, but like you, I'm not a big water drinker. I drink glasses and glasses of unsweetened green tea every day. I like it, it doesn't have a lot of caffeine, zero calories, and I think it's even healthier than water alone.

 

--Exercise more. I know that there are pretty good programs to jump start weight loss, but I think it's limited after you've gotten going. I would heartily recommend adding two more workout sessions a week besides your program workouts (45 minute power walks, for instance).

 

--Eat really filling nutritious foods. Big salads, oatmeal, bowls of fruit, etc., are all low-calorie, high-fiber foods that fill you up fast. I often pair those with very small portions of more fattening foods (chips, chocolate, meat, etc.) That way, I get a taste of the fattening stuff, but I stay full and stick to my diet.

 

--Plan a splurge every once in a while. I still go out to restaurants. When I do, I eat very light during the day (eating only 500 calories of my daily intake) and then I have 1,000 calories to let loose at the restaurant! You can eat whatever you want. You just have to plan for it.

 

I've done the math for me, and I know that I can eat 1,500-1,600 calories a day, while exercising about 50 minutes 4 days a week (I walk-run 4 miles) and do two 45-minute strength-training routines a week. I've lost 8 pounds with 12 more to go. For me, 1,500-1,600 calories a day, minus 400-500 calories expended via aerobics (4 days) and 200 calories expended via weight training (2 days), equals a steady 1-2 pound/week weight loss for me. It's all mathematics.

 

The math may be different for you, but as many posters here have stated, if you're not losing weight, it means that you're not burning more calories than you take in (barring any medical issues such as hypothyroid). So, I'd suggest you figure out just how many calories you eat (via looking up calorie counts and measuring food for a while--it gets old, but after a while, you know what's what and can do it in your head), and figure out how many calories you can eat to lose weight (including those calories you expend through exercise). Then, redistribute your calories throughout the day so you're never hungry (screw that two-meals-a-day stuff), and exercise more to burn more calories.

 

It works, really!

[alphamale]

Originally posted by tiki

That's a great idea, alpha. I've never counted calories. Do they still have those little books or is there an online reference that you know of?

 

How do I find out how many calories I need? Is 2000 just a standard?

 

2,000 cals per day is avg for avg female and like 2500 for avg male. but who is avg? it depends on weight, height, age, activity level, many factors.

 

over time you need to figure out how many calories you are eating right now per day by estimating them. i read the nurtition labels on everyghint and over time i memorized what has how many calories and over time you'll become good at estimating in your head. then you just keep track.

 

start with the foods you love to eat that are your favs. and get estimates of how many cals are in each for avg size serving.

 

a lot of the frozen foods are pretty good, such as stouffers, lean cuisine and they have nutrition info on them. it is a good way to control your intake cause you know that one pkg of such and such froozen item has such and such calories.

[tiki]

Wow. Thank you Sophie. I guess it's pretty obvious that I need to take a totally different approach. I'm going to work on that.