MrsMiche

I'm not sure if my problem is my diet or my training, but here's the scoop.

I'm a 32yo female, 5'10", 160lbs. From Feb 2003-Sept 2003 I dropped from 188lbs to 152lbs following weight watchers and doing aerobics and light weights. I continued to follow the same program but made no additional progress. In Jan 2004 I did some research and discovered I was likely eating too little for my activity level (exercising 6days/wk for 60-90min sessions). So I upped my calories, but then consequently gained weight and am now at 160. My primary goal is to lose fat. A month ago I switched up my cardio so that now in addtion to step aerobics I also do tae bo, running, and incline treadmill walking. And I am working very hard to increase my weights as quickly as possible (prior to that I was just holding steady for far too long).

Here is my training schedule:

Sun - rest

Mon - 70mins weights (day 1 of 2 day split), 30-40mins cardio

Tues - 60mins weights (day 2 of 2 day split), 30-40mins cardio

Weds - 60mins cardio

Thurs - 70mins weights (repeat day 1), 30-40mins cardio

Fri - 60mins weights (repeat day 2), 30-40mins cardio

Sat - 60mins cardio


I eat 6 meals a day with around a 40%pro/45%carb/15%fat ratio. I eat 3 days at 1750 calories, then one day at 2250, 2 days at 1750, 1 day at 2250. Then I start over.

According to BFFM, if I figure moderate activity (3-5days/wk) then my maintenance calories should be 2360. If I figure very activie (4-7days/wk) my maintenance level should be 2626.

Soooo, I am supposedly eating less than maintenance level and yet I am ever so slowly GAINING weight. For awhile I worked under the theory that I was eating too little and therefore I ate 2400cals/day for several weeks and gained and gained and gained.

I understand that a very low calorie diet is a bad thing for numerous reasons, but now I don't know what to do. Where am I going wrong?????? I am putting a lot of time and energy into this and yet I am going in the wrong direction. Any input greatly appreciated!

(I am not just gaining lean mass - my clothes are more snug now than they were last September).

Michelle

JLB001

Can you post what your daily foods are for us? It would give us a better detail as to where the probelm may be.

"When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot in it and hang on."

MrsMiche

Here is the type of food I typically eat:

5:30: banana, low fat string cheese

8:30: oats/all bran/berries/low-carb milk/1 tblsp walnuts/whey powder

11:30: salad, tuna, whole wheat wrap

2:30: apple/pb/egg whites

5:30: chicken, sweet potato, broccoli

8:30 high protein cereal (Total Protein), low carb milk

Michelle

jstar

Hi Michelle,

First of all welcome to IM Lots of great folks here who will help you to reach your goals. My suggestion to you is to keep a journal in the online journal section. We can critique each others menus and workouts on a day to day basis and help you figure out what changes to make.

I would say your diet looks okay except try having just protein with veggies as your last meal. Meal 1 = you need to ditch the string cheese. Instead have some oats with eggwhites or a protein shake with berries. Not enough protein in that meal. Limit PB to 1 TBL day max (only because it is easy to overeat it) and if you have PB don't have nuts. Get your other fat sources from fish or flax oil (or caps).

What stands out like a sore thumb is the fact that you say you do "light weights" and lots of cardio. You should do the opposite: heavy weights (weight that is heavy for YOU) and less cardio. I am thinking 3-4 days a week 30 minutes. 1-2 of those sessions you should do intervals (HIT training). Post up your weight routine and we can adjust it for you for better results.

I know in Weight Watchers you have points/ calories alloted for each day but "quantity" of calories isn't the only thing that counts! The "quality" of your food choices plays a huge role! Ditch anything in your diet that has more than 3-4g of sugar per serving. There is a good shopping list in the sticky at the top of this forum posted by Jodi as well as tons more info in there.

Good Luck!

JLB001

Jstar..I was thinking the samething, she is doing too much cardio and lifting too light. I hate commenting on diets because mine is so different than what is the norm.

"When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot in it and hang on."

Jodi

Meal 1: I would suggest choosing a different fruit in place of the banana. Apples, peaches, pears, nectarines, berries etc. Also get rid of the cheese and have some quality protein there. Your first meal doesn't have any protein. Also, add in some EFA's and maybe some oats here instead of Meal 2.

Meal 2: Allbran, L/C Milk, walnuts, berries & whey Good meal.

Meal 3: Looks good. 1 Suggestion though. Add in some EFA's here.

Meal 4: Decent. How much PB you eating?

Meal 5: The most perfect meal you have if you just add in an EFA.

Meal 6: I would suggest having Whey & EFA or Cottage Cheese & EFA.

Essence EFA

MrsMiche

Sorry I think I posted too much at once and ended up being unclear. I meant to say that I started out doing light weights back in Feb 2003, and I increased slowly and then just stayed the same for quite awhile (dumb I know, but live and learn). NOW I am lifting heavy (for me) and increasing as quickly as I possibly can. And I'm lifting 70mins/day 2 days/wk and 60mins/day 2days wk. Should I be lifting more than that?

Michelle

MrsMiche

The reason my number 1 meal is so small is because it's RIGHT before my workout. I eat that at 5:30 and by 5:45 I'm exercising. I can easily swap the banana for a different fruit and have some egg whites or other protein instead of the cheese (I don't do the cheese every day - just an example). It would be too much to try to have a meal like number 2 right before my workout though. Does that make sense?

Michelle

MrsMiche

I measure my pb and eat exactly 2 teaspoons per day. And I eat the 1 tblsp of walnuts. Is that too much fat for a day?

Michelle

MrsMiche

Does anyone have any thoughts on the number of calories I'm eating? Is it obviously too many or too few?

Michelle

MrsMiche

Jodi, I should be having EFAs w/4 of my meals? In what form? And won't that mean decreasing the quantity of my other foods? I'm hungry! :-D

Michelle

JLB001

Its hard to figure out the calories without knowing the portion size. You might try keeping a food log for a few days. On one of Jodi's sticky's (under her adavant name thingie) she has a great source that you can get the carb count, protein count etc. from. I use that to help me figure out the amount of calories I eat in the day. Once you do that for a few days, it can be determined if you are getting the proper amounts.

"When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot in it and hang on."

MrsMiche

Oh, I meant the calories I mentioned in my OP. I'm eating 1750 5days/wk and 2250 the other 2 days. Does that seem low or high? I've been counting calories for so dang long I think I've got that part covered! :-)

Michelle

jstar

You can take fish oil caps for EFAs.

I don't think it looks like too much food but if you are trying to reduce bodyfat then keep track of your total calories, grams of protein, carbs and fats for the day.

What are you doing for weight training? 60-70 min a day doesn't tell me much. What bodyparts do you work on what days? What exercises and how many sets and reps?

MrsMiche

Mon and Thurs I do legs, back biceps, and calves. 10 exercises - 3 sets each. 8-12 reps (more for calves).

Tues and Fri I do chest, shoulders, triceps, and abs.
8 exercises - 3 sets each. 8-12 reps (80 for crunches).

Michelle

MrsMiche

Do fish oil caps have calories and/or fat?

Michelle

ncgirl21

Yes, but they are the "good" fats.

http://stephlg.proboards44.com/index.cgi#general

Jodi

Fish oil is great and only 1G fat per cap and its a healthy fat.

Avant came out with SesaThin today as well that will work great in conjunction with Fish oil

http://magazine.mindandmuscle.net/ma...234&issueID=18

Essence EFA

jstar

How long have you been doing this routine? If it's been a while I would try to split it up so that you are only working each bodypart once a week. For example:

Mon - back/biceps
Tues - chest/triceps
Wed - off
Thurs - legs/calves
Fri - shoulders
abs do anywhere - 2-3 days

Your diet/nutrition is likely the main thing holding you back from seeing results. Your calories look decent. I highly recommend starting a journal in the online journal section. Since no one eats exactly the same things every day we can help you stay on track and make tweaks as you go along.

MrsMiche

I've been doing this routine for 4wks. Prior to that I was doing full body 3x/wk. I'm assuming I should stick w/what I'm doing for now? How soon should I switch over to 1x/wk for each part????

I will look for the journal section...

Michelle

MrsMiche

Ok, I was skeptical about changing up my meal #1, but this morning I tried oats/whey/berries and then did my workout and surprising it sat better with me than anything else I've tried! :-) So is that decent for pre-workout?

And that's actually my favorite meal of the day, so would it be ok to have 2 meals of oats/whey in a day or no?

Michelle

MrsMiche

Well, I may have spoken a couple of days too soon. Today I put on a skirt that was tight 2 weeks ago and today it fits very nicely in spite of the fact that the scale has gone UP. I may just have to throw the scale in the trash. Is that even possible though or am I dreaming that I'm actually smaller in spite of gaining?

Michelle

atherjen

AWESOME Michelle!!! that is a PERFECT sign that you are gaining MUSCLE!!!
muscle weighs more than fat does, and yet it takes less space on your body (lb for lb comparison)!


as for your last post on diet. the oats/whey/berries are perfect pre workout meal.
and yes you can have this meal 2x day for sure!

" To dream anything you want to dream: That is the beauty of the human mind. To do anything you want to do: That is the strength of the human will. To trust yourself to test your limits: that is the courage to succeed."

NPC Southern Classic, June 3rd
NPC Cajun Classic, June 10th
NPC Mississippi State July 22nd

Jill

MrsMiche-me and the scale a horrible realtionship! I actually hid him in the closet and refuse to take him out. He is like a little devi !!!!!!!!!!! Its just a friggin #.....I still have a hard time dealing with that #!

Jill

Oh-just for the record muscle and fat weigh the same!

atherjen

u sillywoman. I meant a pound of muscle takes less room on your body than fat. so more muscle=weigh more but yet smaller than if you had more fat.
get me?
(maybe Im explaining it wrong.. lol )

" To dream anything you want to dream: That is the beauty of the human mind. To do anything you want to do: That is the strength of the human will. To trust yourself to test your limits: that is the courage to succeed."

NPC Southern Classic, June 3rd
NPC Cajun Classic, June 10th
NPC Mississippi State July 22nd

Jill

Im just being a bitch today , sorry sweets. I totally got it in the first place. Oh ya, my head is pounding too. Did i forget to mention I am cranky AJ?

MrsMiche

Cool, I hope this continues (clothes fitting better I mean). I just didn't expect to see a gain on the scale that quickly. Thanks! :-)

Michelle

MrsMiche

Actually, I didn't expect to see a GAIN at all - maintenance maybe...

Michelle