Frustrated about fat!
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| Mon, 07-16-2007 - 9:33pm |
Hi all,
I'm new to the group and saw how helpful some of the advice was on here and am hoping someone can give me a bit of advice.
I'm 5'2", smallish - mediumish framed, 124lbs, 38 YO and work out HARD with a trainer 2x a week on weights and 3-4 times per week with cardio (all intervals), ingest about 2000 calories per day, eat healthy (ie. Small meals, low fat, low carbs, lots of fruits & veggies)... so WHY can I not lose any fat and am watching my waist expand (don't care much about the weight, just want to get rid of the extra fat and become more lean)? BTW, I've been working out for years with occasional lapses (a few weeks a month here and there) but my body fat is about 26%, which is slightly over the recommended for my height and weight.
If anyone has similar experiences and what they did to overcome their plateau, I'd love to hear them.
Thanks!
Susan

I have no advice, but wanted to say welcome to the board! The gals here are wonderful and I am sure someone will have some helpful tips for you.
Bec
Rebecca, wonderful wife and mom to the Fabulous Four! &n
Susan, it sounds like you are working hard towards your goal - have you discussed this with your trainer?
Maybe logging your food and playing around with where those calories are coming from will help break your plateau. I know I find that sometimes lowering my fat, or increasing my protein will jolt my body off that plateau even if I then go back to my regular habits.
Perhaps you need to add some core training in place of some of your workouts. Do you use machines for your weights? Perhaps there are some ways to do your weight training while incorporating core exercise to strengthen and tone those muscles. Training on a bosu ball or while balancing can help strengthen and tone those muscles while still getting your weights in.
Let us know what you find out from the trainer! This is a wonderful board, and the advice and camaraderie are fantastic!
A doctor recommended aerobic circuit training to me a few years ago as a way to speed up weight loss. The way it works is you do one set of reps with weights and then you do one minute of cardio such as a rowing machine or bike then you do another set with weights and so on. He recommended that I do a chest exercise like brench press then cardio then a leg exercise then aerobic,and so on making sure I covered all muscle groups. You are also not spposed to rest for more than 20 seconds between exercises. I did this three times a week and it worked pretty well for me until I had to stop after an accident so I hope it helps.
Hi,
Thanks to everyone who wrote with encouragement and advice. My trainer is trying to be more creative with exercises on the Bosu or ones which incorporate different muscles at the same time. I suppose it's just up to me to STRICTLY watch what I eat. It's just frustrating not to have the metabolism of my 20s!
One interesting thing my trainer did share with me recently is that to burn existing fat, we should be exercising at 60-80% of our max heart rate for our age. Intervals are best, but it should still be kept within the 60-80% range (which is pretty low). Anything over would be working our endurance and burning whatever is already in our system (ie. Something we ate before working out). He also said if I end up STARVING after a workout that means I've not been burning the existing fat but whatever I've had in my stomach. This is kind of a revelation to me since I've been working out like a possessed woman. It might help some others as well. Thanks again!
Susan
Glad to hear your trainer is helping you find some new activities to work your core - I know I had a few sessions with a trainer who gave me quite a few exercises to do on the ball and bosu, and boy did it give me a good workout! I did find I had to lower my weights, because I didn't have the support of the benches or equipment anymore and to maintain proper posture I had to lift less. BUT it felt like a better workout!
Smile,
Deirdre