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2003/06/13, 04:26 PM
I have lost 60lbs since joining Freetrainers and I only have 25-30lbs to go! But I have reached the dreaded PLATEAU. I am currently weight training four days/wk along with cardio 5 days/wk.
I have changed my training to reflect more of a challenge and was hoping to get some dietary advice as this is where I feel I need the help.
I eat very well, but have slumped into a dietary routine - I really need to shake things up a bit in this area.
Any advice would greatly be appreciated.
Many thanks,
Sidney
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2003/06/13, 06:37 PM
sidney, I am not real sure what to tell you on the dietary part but when I hit a plateaum I up my cardio and droppped a 100 to 200 caloried from my diet. It takes a little bit but it gets me over the hump. By the way congrats to you on your 60lbs weight loss, I truly know what you went through to get there. It is not an easy thing to do. Keep it up and you will get there it is just a matter of time and patients. Also great motivation for those trying to get there. Hats off to you:) and raise our protien drinks with toast to sidney!!!!!!
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I will lift my own weight someday!!!!!
THE NATURAL WAY IS THE ONLY TRUE PATH TO SUCCESS, PRIDE, JOY, HAPPINESS, LONG TERM FULFILLMENT AND SELF-ESTEEM!
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2003/06/13, 08:12 PM
First off, I would ask what type of cardio do you do? If standard cardio, you may need to incorporate some HIIT cardio. When reaching a plateau of any sort, something needs to change to break you past it. If you have been for example doing the same cardio regimine, even doing it 5 days per week, this needs to change. See, your body will actually adapt to cardio, and learn to actually STORE fat! The bodies primary goal is survival and not losing fat. YOur body will actually produce hormones(cortisol) to counteract this in a desperate attempt to save fat! Typical long duration of repetitive exercise goes hand in hand with starvation states to the body. So, I would change things up, do 2-3 HIIT type cardio sessions, and 2 or so standard type to keep the body guessing. Cut your calories by 250 per week till the weight loss starts again, then stay there till the weight loss stops. Resume the calorie cutting, and mixing up of exercises.
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As far as genetics go, the skies the limit. You are limited only by your mental perception of it.
Ron
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2003/06/13, 10:12 PM
Thank you both for the great advice, I was certainly looking for ideas and to also find out what others have done in this situation. I know it's fairly normal to reach a plateau, but enough is enough. I was walking for 60mins on the treadmill, but I have just started to run a couple of weeks ago. I walk for 20mins, run 30mins, walk 10mins. The next day I may walk 20mins, run 25mins, walk 15mins.
Please forgive my ignorance bb1fit, but what is HIIT cardio? I will probably look it up and see what type of information I can find, but if possible please offer an explanation.
I feel fantastic, and I look great, so I'm cetainly not about to give up reaching my goal. I may not need to lose 30lbs, as I will evaluate my body when I lose 20lbs. Still it feels great to say all of this. It has been a year since I started and I have kept it off and more.
So thank you both for the encouragement and advice.
Sidney
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2003/06/13, 10:16 PM
Oh I forgot to include that on Sunday I workout at my mates gym which has a cross trainer. I tend to also use this for 60mins. Sunday is my free day so I do cardio and lots-o-stretching.
Cheers,
Sidney
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2003/06/13, 10:25 PM
60 mins. is way too long for cardio. This is exactly what I was reffering to in my post. See, typically long durations of repetitive exercise goes hand in hand with starvations states such as being stuck in theick jungles or endless deserts. You are forced to walk or run long distances in these situations and the body must slow fat loss to a grinding halt by raising stress hormones to preserve life.
HIIT cardio is a very intense, 12-18 minute or so cardio blast. Start out for example at a warmup pace on the bike, level 1. Do 2 minutes of warmup, crank it up to 6, do 1 minute all out there, drop it back to 2, active rest for a minute, crank it back up to 7 for 1 minute or 2, then back down to 3, active rest for a minute, then crank it up to 8, etc. 15 minutes of this and you are burning more calories for the entire day than a standard cardio session of long duration. It is both an anerobic and aerobic workout, and revs the metabolism so it last for much longer. Standard cardio raises metabolism while doing it, but when stopping, it stops. Hope this helps.
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As far as genetics go, the skies the limit. You are limited only by your mental perception of it.
Ron
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2003/06/14, 02:39 AM
I realize I'm probably going against the grain here but I would actually reccomend increasing calories for a short period of 3-4 days & not by just a little either. According to scientific research our bodies develope a tolerence to our diets & therefore unless we counter this the continued reduction of calories required to lose fat will quickly get out of hand. In addition there is alot of real world evidence that shows a dramatic temporary increase in calories stimulates the natural hormones responsible for transfering fat stores into the bloodstream where they can be used as energy. Now I'm not implying that you go nuts but by increasing calories by about 1000 cals per day for 3-4 days should be sufficient to get your metabolism going again, then get back on the diet & see what happens. In addition remember that it takes 3500 calories to make 1 lb of fat so considering your body will probably use the majority of the extra calories for lean tissue production the chances of gaining any weight from this will be very minimal. I've lost about 60 lbs of pure fat while adding about 10 lbs of muscle in the last year using this method & I swear by it!
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\\"Knowledge & persistence is all one needs to succeed\"\
---Patrick L.
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2003/06/14, 12:16 PM
plfitness, you make a very sound point, and in my estimation it is not at all "against the grain". After I finished my discussion with her about cardio, the next thing in line of course is diet. Increasing her calories may be in order, but it is probably increasing/changing her calorie ratio along with this that will greatly aid her. The shakeup of the macronutrients could be just what the doctor ordered.
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As far as genetics go, the skies the limit. You are limited only by your mental perception of it.
Ron
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2003/06/14, 05:00 PM
Have just read article on HIIT training, should've prior to posting. Nevertheless I am armed with a new challenge as well a a shorter cardio workout which I'm looking forward to actually.
Thanks so much, I'll keep you all posted!
Sidney
xxx
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