Weight-loss help!!

[flatmama]

Wahaika, maybe you can give me hand here...

So here's the story, I've been struggling to lose weight every since my last child was born 2.5 years ago. In 2 weeks after she was born I lost 20 lbs! Not of purpose...just did, and felt great. My weight didn't budge after that...even with workingout and breastfeeding. I was able to lose 5 lbs at one point but it came right back. Now I am heavier than I was when my daughter was 1 month old! I am not fat by any means, 140lbs at 5'10" which is good according to doctors. However, I do not feel good! I'm exhausted, always tired, and the weight won't budge. My heaviest before having kids was only 118lbs(not on purpose it really just took me that long to get up to weighing that much..and I eat, ALOT)...I have always been a very slender person. Even after my first child I went back down to 118 (I have 2 kids). I by no means want to get back down to 118 but I really don't like carrying the extra 20 lbs around.

I have had everything checked, blood sugar, thyroid, you name it. Everything has come back "normal". I have been working out regularly,almost a month now, at least 4 times a week of cardio and at least 3 times a week of strength training. I watch what I eat but don't count calories, just make smarter choices. I don't believe in diets. I have not been able to get the scale or the measuring tape to budge! I crave carbs like a crazy person. I get light-headed if I don't eat frequently and if I fast for a day....well, it's like the gates of Hell broke open. I am a very unpleasant person to be around. Diabetes runs in my family and I really don't want to join them with it.

I have been down this workout road several times. I do really well, working hard, eating better and everything for awhile...usually a few months. But I have no changes in weight or measurements and I get VERY discouraged so I stop for awhile. It's very hard.

I'm not taking herbs for BE now...just on Birthcontrol. I massage when I don't fall asleep first.

I started a multi-vitamin about a week ago. I also take flaxseed oil caps (2000mg) a day, magnesium, B6 (because it was the only b vitamin not in the multi) and have started chromium picolinate because I've been having light-headedness and dizzy spells frequently since starting working out. I took it a few years ago to help with my blood sugar levels and had good success.

I know it's not terribly accurate but according to a bodyfat scale I have 19-20% body fat (I know, not bad) and am planning on getting this number checked up against a BodPod (I have access to use one for free) Most of my fat is in my stomach area.

Anyways, so what I'm asking is, Any ideas on what might help me out here? I'm not looking for a miracle, lose 10 lbs in a week, sort of thing. I'm just looking to find something that will actually start making a difference. I'm looking at long-term health here, not just fitting into a bikini come summer.

Thanks

[Wahaika]

Hello FlatMama,

I need to know your stats again. Can you point me to the page or just update them here?

Age:
Height:
Weight:

What BC are you on?

What exact brand of multivitamin?

What did you have to eat today, how much, and when?
Same question - for each meal and snacks this week?
You are eating like a horse? - but are you hungry all the time?

Are you taking any protein powder or bars? If so, whey or soy? What brand?

How much sleep are you getting each night?

Are you under any stress?

What BC are you on?

What kind and how much cardio do you do? Be specific.
What kind of strength training do you do? How long do you work out? Do you break a sweat? For how long? Be specific.
Do you work out alone, with a partner, or with a trainer?

That ought to do it.

Wahaika

[flatmama]

Wow, that's a lot- I'll do my best to answer. I'm going to look like a big mess here, but I know that just contributes to the problem.

Age:27
Height: 5'10"
Weight: 140lbs
BC-OrthoCyclen (was on Yasmin until end of september...started ortho in november)
One-a-day Women's Multi

*Today I didn't have much to eat....eggs (2) with some cheese around 10:30am and then nothing until almost 4 when I just had some chocolate milk (yeah i know, lame) Some beef jerky around 7 because I was ready to pass out and ver nauseous and then french bread pizza for dinner. Drank a glass of orange juice today, the rest water. Kool-aid with dinner.
This isn't a typical day.

*Meal and snacks this week-
Okay, so this last week it's been dinners like (everything is home cooked, from scratch)CheeseBurgers, Chicken and rice, Homemade sweet & Sour vegetable stir-fry (homemade sauce), Spaghetti with meat sauce, Tacos, Sub Sandwiches (I had BLT w/ turkey bacon...don't eat the real stuff) Macaroni and Cheese. I only buy the leanest ground beef that I can find. I'm very picky about my meat.

*Lunch is usually left overs or a sandwich of some kind....PB& honey. I buy wheat bread too.

*Breakfast has been mostly cereal...I try not to have the sugary kinds unless that's all that is left in the house.
Or I'll have a breakfast drink mix (I think the carnation ones) and a bagel with jam.

*Snack has been carrots, grapes, strawberries, pretzels one day, yogurt and sometimes a string cheese. It depends on what is in the house that day.

*Not eating like a horse anymore...used to until the last couple of years. I do get hungry alot though. I used to have a very fast metabolism....not sure what it's like now.

*No protein powder or bars.

*Not sure about sleep...maybe 6 hours if I'm lucky. I wake up several times in the night unless I take something to help me sleep.

*Stress...yes, very stressed. I have 2 young kids, I am a stay-at-home mom. Along with other marriage stressed that we are trying very hard to work out...or seems like me alone alot of times. Recently told I have TMJ and need to get massages by my dentist....too tense.

*Cardio-Treadmill 30-50 minutes. High-inclined, fast walking with running bursts for at least a minute. Was doing 300 steps walking, 200 running. Now am doing 6 minutes walking 1 minute running at 6mph. Next week it will be 5 walk/2 run, then 4 walk/3 run....building up endurance for a 3 mile run. Always break a sweat in the first 5 minutes and keep it....treadmill says burning 300-600 calories, depending on time on there. Also working up slowly because of bad knees that take me out for a week if I run more than 1/2 mile right now.


*Strength Training-we actually have a total gym. Switch off between lighter and heavier weights. On level 3 or 4 which is 20lbs on level 3 and 25 on level 4. I do arms, chest, back and abs on those weights...usually about 15 minutes of that. (Bicep curls, butterflies, rows, seated bench press, and others I don't know the names for) Then about 10-15 minutes of legs (single legs squats on the TG, toe raises and others with the leg pulley...don't know how to describe them) and more abs, inclined situps (can only do about 10-15 right now), stuff like that. I do what I can in one set ( about 15-20 of everything) or split it into 2 or 3 sets of 6-10 depending on the exercise.

*Cardio is alone, strength training is with my husband. We take turns...the times are about what I spend doing it. We spend about an hour together lifting, switching off.

Think I got it all.

[Wahaika]

Hello FM,

20% of 140 is 28 lbs of fat.

You want to be at about 16% body fat which is going to be at around 130 lbs 16% of 130 is 21.58 lbs of fat.
An olympic athlete would be at around 8% of their body weight as fat.

This means that (approximately) if you lose ten pounds you should feel much better, and should be in the neighborhood of 16% bodyfat. But you need to do both. An increase in muscle mass will also take down the fat percentage, but it will also keep you from getting the pounds down on the scale. As far as the measuring tape goes, you would see a shift of inches from the stomach to the arms, for example, but for someone doing heavy duty situps, for example, the loss of body fat and the increase of muscle mass, both on the stomach, would make one feel better, but the scale may not show any difference, there would be visual differences but no differences on the measuring tape.

So, I think that 130 lbs is a good target to start with and when you get there you make an evaluation as to if it is where you want to be or to go a little further. But don't think that you have to get back to the weight that you were when you were 16. Not that it couldn't be done, but your body has made changes since then and you may find that you would look (and feel) emaciated with today's body trying to distribute fat from that time in life. Fat is necessary and healthy at certain levels. Go too far down and an unhealthy condition occurs. Another thing to remember is to get the fat off and keep it off while early in life, or further down the line when skin loses its ability to snap back there will be a lot of sagging problems. There are a lot of variables to this. You are in the good zone by at least 10 years, so nothing to worry about now.

>>"I watch what I eat but don't count calories, just make smarter choices. I don't believe in diets. ... "I have been down this workout road several times."

You do believe in diets, just not the ones that fail - or you wouldn't make "smarter choices." No diet is a diet. Any eating habit (or lack thereof) is a diet. It's the fad diets and extreme diets that should be avoided unless there is an extreme condition that warrants the specific use of one. Exercise is part of eating but people tend to leave it out. What you really want to do is have some rules to follow as part of an eating habit rather than something so specific like "a diet."

>>"I have not been able to get the scale or the measuring tape to budge! I crave carbs like a crazy person. I get light-headed if I don't eat frequently and if I fast for a day....well, it's like the gates of Hell broke open. I am a very unpleasant person to be around."

Based on that description it looks like you are not getting enough protein. It could also be that you still have baby fat, or estrogenic fat, rather than fat from sugar storage from insulin.

>>"*Today I didn't have much to eat....eggs (2) with some cheese around 10:30am and then nothing until almost 4 when I just had some chocolate milk (yeah i know, lame) Some beef jerky around 7 because I was ready to pass out and ver nauseous and then french bread pizza for dinner. Drank a glass of orange juice today, the rest water. Kool-aid with dinner.
This isn't a typical day."

WOW, I hope not! : ) Besides the obvious problems of what you ate, the infrequency of meals is what is telling your body to hold on to its bodyfat.

The multi has got to be one of the weakest I have seen. You are working out. This, by definition, makes you an athlete - whether you are competing or not is irrelevant. You are perpetually in training. That you eat like a horse and are always hungary is you body telling you that it needs something it is not getting, the infrequency of eating is you telling your body "I don't know when my next meal is." So, I am going to use what you wrote, but switch it around and change a few things, then I'll explain it at the end.

oneaday.com/womens.html
shop.hihealth.com/Ultra_Plan_Ultimate-Plus_for_P3530.cfm (click on the image that says "supplement facts."

The one on the left is One a Day for Women, the one on the right is Ultra Plan.


*Meal and snacks this week-
Three main meals with snacks in between, all at the approximate same time each day. This keeps insulin levels at stable levels rather than like a roller coaster, and keeps the body out of a stress mode where it thinks that is has to hold on to fat because it does not know when the next meal is.

Avoid starchy carbs and simple sugars: Potatoes, breads, pastas, tortillas, corn, donuts, bagels, fruit juices, koolaid, candy, soda pop, etc.
You can deviate one day per week to keep your sanity. Once at your target weight and are feeling good, reintroduce these things back in gradually in a controlled way and watch how they afffect you including your weight. Know your limitations and stick to them.

*Avoid cereal for breakfast. Have protein from eggs or cottage cheese, and some fruit. This keeps energy levels up all morning. Avoid simple sugars such as jams/jellies and juices. Rather than have juice, eat the whole fruit. In this way, the sugars from the juice are digested at a rate where the sugars cannot be extracted too quickly, thus avoiding the spiking of insulin levels.

*Snack: Carrots, grapes, strawberries, pretzels one day, yogurt and sometimes a string cheese. Also have 1/2 of your favorite WHEY protein bar.

*Lunch is usually left overs or a sandwich of some kind....PB& honey on wheat bread. Chicken and a salad would be better.

*Snack - same as after breakfast.

*Dinner - Protein such as a chicken breast (or beef or whatever) and lots of vegetables, especially dark leafy greens but not iceberg lettuce. Fresh raw spinach leaves is very good.

*Snack - Same as others. This snack is always three hours before bedtime because insulin inhibits growth hormone. Since almost everything eventually metabolizes to carbs, make sure that insulin does not conflict with growth hormone - which is at its peak production levels 90 minutes into sleep.

If you need to just eat something, do it but don't stress about it. Just keep those occurances at a minimum and keep on course.

Stress and sleep - Get plenty of sleep. The earlier the better. If you are stressed then cortisol levels will be high which is another thing that will tell your body to keep the weight on. Definitely manage stress and sleep. Get time alone and with husband alone, but don't stay up so late that it gets in the way of sleep - for both of you. You may find that as long as both of you are well fed and well rested that you can pretty much handle anything that is thrown at you without stressing out about it.

TMJ - Some chiropractors can fix this through manipulation rather than massage.

>>"*Cardio is alone, strength training is with my husband. We take turns...the times are about what I spend doing it. We spend about an hour together lifting, switching off."

Exercise - Go all out (reasonably) but do not exercise for more than 30 minutes or your body will think that it needs to hold onto the weight. I would say keep it an 30 minutes. But do your workout first, then your husband does his workout (Total of 1 hour). Do not alternate parts of a workout for a total of one hour. You do yours with him as your trainer for 30 minutes and get through your workout fast, then switch. You can't build up the pace if you are constantly resting too long between sets.

Total Gym: That is OK for some things, but it does have its drawbacks. Some people blow out their shoulders with Total Gyms. Get a flat/incline/decline bench and some dumbels. Also get two sets of chest springs! Something like this: www.amazon.com/Amber-Spring-Chest-Expander/dp/B000J42H8U That is a much better way to go and the exercises will be at correct angles. Not possible with a Total Gym for many exercises (like bench press or flyes for example).

Suppliments: You need to have a good whey protein powder to replace the amino acids that your body NEEDS within about an hour after a workout. Here is a good one:
www.amazon.com/Wellements-Pro-Blend-Chocolate-Fudge/dp/B000EALGM2
You also need the multivitamin such as the one suggested above, at least once per day, maybe as much as two or three times. shop.hihealth.com/Ultra_Plan_Ultimate-Plus_for_P3530.cfm
Calcium, Magnesium at about 1000mg per day of each,
L-Carnatine CAPSULES (from tartrate) at 500mg three times per day. This is a good one: www.vitasprings.com/l-carnitine-250mg-90-capsules-twinlab.html
Omega-3 fish oils at 1000mg three times per day, or flaxseed oil.

Record what you weigh and how you feel every week.

Wahaika

[flatmama]

okay, let me start with WOW, that's alot!!

Most of the diet stuff sounds alot like the leptin boost diet my GYN recommended. I had a hard time sticking to it 1)cuz of carb cravings...didn't help much with that 2) $$$ eating that way can get expensive.

However, I will do my best to incorperate as much as I can into my diet.

With the multi, I'll switch when these run out. Would taking more than one one-a-day be okay?

As far as more protein, will the protein powder help take care of that?? I'm not much of a chicken eater either.

I'll increase the cardio as best as I can. I can push through the pain but I've pushed to the point where I couldn't walk anymore cuz of my knees. Not the smartest

I do have to say tho...I have lost a pound, finally!! I know weight fluctuates...this is one pound loss from my lowest fluctuations for the last month. The chromium has KILLED my sugar/carb cravings. My husband got me icecream yesterday.....after 4 bites, it didn't taste good anymore! It was my favorite too. Kind of sad but really happy at the same time to be free of that "need". : )


As I said, I'll do my best to stick with everything as close as I can. Might take some time but I know I can gradually add more and more especially with the sugar cravings bye bye!

Thanks!

[flatmama]

Been horrible at following the eating plan and my exercise plan....really just had other things that have taken priority.......and the fact that I can barely stand up straight right now isn't helping...need to get into the chiropractor soon.

However....I have lost another pound....so 2 lbs....not much but a celebration in my book! Not very good at taking my vitamins....but almost everyday. When I take more chromium on some days, it really seems to mess with my moods...my hormones seem off. Could be good, could be bad....hard to say, just know that I have still been ovulating while taking this BCP for the last 3 months....very unusual for me...but it's helping with cramps and AF so...oh well. (We use a back up anyways)

[flatmama]

lost 2 more pounds since last post....yeah, seriously. Not following eating plan. Really strange. Never lost weight like this before.

[thabai]

how do you know so much about everything! Hmm I didn't realise cereal wasn't good for energy levels though

[Wahaika]

You could fill volumes with what I don't know. Cereal does have it's occasional place, but those who eat a bowl of cereal, some toast and juice and then think that they ate a healthy breakfast are a bit off. There needs to be a balance of protein, and the carbs need to be slower digesting - like eating whole fruit instead of fruit juice from concentrate, for example.

[thabai]

yeah blending fruit into juice releases the sugars as well? Hmm I have bran flakes or muesli for breakfast... what could I have with that to make it healthier or give me more energy because I find when it gets to about 10ish I go tired

[annielizstan]

Hi,
Eat healthy, balanced diet.
Do regular exercise.
Avoid Rice.
Honey is an excellent food for increasing fat metabolism and reduce excess weight.
Avoid fried and Oily foods.
Eat soya beans.
It is best supplements helps to reduce weight in your body.
You will help your weight loss.
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