Hi everyone,

I'm sad to say that I'm slowly losing inspiration to keep on this diet/ weight loss regimen.

Here is alittle background on what I do and what I've done.

About a year ago I weighed in at 335+. Through hard work I dropped 20 or so lbs by myself, without knowing much about nutrition and exercise. Then around November 2007 I started working with a really good (but really expensive) personal trainer at a gym. With his help I managed to drop down to 275(ish)lbs within 3(ish) months.

I have been hovering at the same weight since January, but I have stepped up my workouts and diet.

Currently I am working with my personal trainer 3-4 times a week doing strenght training, where I have been "his strongest client". For instance, I have matched the lifting weight that he uses for back rows (120 lb dumbells per side) and many more exercises. Aside from that I do 1-3 days of extreme cardio (45min to 1 hour) per week. I am not trying to brag or anything, just giving you all background.

As far as foods go, I am a healthy eater. I try to stay within 1400 calories per day. i take multivitamins and suppliments for easy digestion. I drink 3 protein shakes per day totaling 120g protein for just the shakes. I only eat grilled chicken and turkey as far as meat goes. I have veggies for lunch in my salad which i use salad spritzers (15 calories and very low sodium) as the dressing. I stay away from all foods that have white ingredients (white bread, sugar, rice etc...). My diet is very low sugar, low saturated fat, low sodium and normally within 1400 cals daily.

Aside from all that, I get colonics weekly to bi weekly. Dont worry I make sure to re-establish all the natural bacteria and material in my intestines throughtout the week with suppliments and lite and fit yogurt.

Blood work is fine. I dont have thyroid problems, bad choleserol, high blood sugar or blood pressure.

What the heck is wrong here?

I have gone up in the weight I lift at the gym by crazy ammounts (and in a small amount of time) in all my exercises. I am spending more tmie with cardio. I am even more strict on my diet..... I need help and quick. I'm going down.

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Joe Buzz

do the 1400 calories a day include the calories in the protein shakes?

if they don't that's entirely too low for your current size...

How are you tracking your calories? and what does your fiber look like? as well as other nutrients?


have your measurements changed any? though with calories that low I wouldn't expect any muscle growth...

If I were you i'd spend some time reading teh stickied threads in nutrition, on topic and exercise... I'm not sure you're making best use of what you're doing.

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yea the shakes are included within the 1400. Im tracking by the nutrition facts on the back of packages. When that is not available i over estimate. Generally speaking I am fairly close to what I estimate the calories to be. Fiber is around 40g give or take daily. Other nutrients, sat fat 10-12g, carbs 70-80% (barely any sugar). Protein has to be close to 160g daily. Sodium 40-50% sometimes more.

That may be my mistake, I havnt been taking full mesurements. I've dropped to a loose 42" waist. I'm getting more toned, and losing a bit of fat, but my stomach and hips still have a bunch.

I will post an embarrasing video displaying the little progress ive had over the 6 months later. Its 3 seperate videos spaced every 2 months of me shirtless.

Ive read them mal. I tried calculating my calories for the day. It was a ridiculous number. I must have done it wrong. I think the number of calories it told me i should intake is 3300 or something like that.

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Joe Buzz

nope 3300 is about right - to maintain your current weight...

2700 you should be able to lose weight...

Since you say you're plateaued - the standard suggestion around the forum is to up your calories and eat closer to maintenance for a while -then cut back your calories again...

I'd do some work to improve your diet -so you don't have to rely on colonics to keep you regular.. fiber isn't tough to come by... and is far better for you than artifical means...

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Hey,

I told my trainer about this post and he agrees with you. I should shock my system for a bit with more calories... when the weight starts coming off again then drop it down to my 1400-1600 diet. I will be eating roughly 200-2300 for the next few weeks....


I dont even know what to eat to do that.. so off i go to plan.

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Joe Buzz

I've been trying to lose 20 pounds for about 10 months now. I lost the first 10 fairly quickly, but since January I've been losing and gaining the same 5 pounds over and over again. I'm finally realizing that I'm not really making any progress. So something needs to change in what I'm doing. I know I need to add more protein to my diet. Is dairy an okay source? I also need to teach myself to spread out my calories over the course of the day. I'm going to try to stay between 1200 and 1400 calories a day (1450 is maintenance). I'm going to focus on those three things for a couple weeks, and see if anything starts to change. If not, I'll try again. If things are changing, I'll keep at it. I'm going to post my plan here. I would love to get any feedback that anyone has that might help me start losing again.

Monday: breakfast- 2 egg whites, 10 grapes and 10 strawberries with 1 C. yogurt
lunch- salad with peppers, cucumber, carrots, tomatoes, chicken
dinner- 1/2 C. brown rice, 6 oz. orange roughy, corn on the cob
snack- 1 C. watermelon, 1 C. yogurt
exercise- 90 min. cardio, 30 min. strength

Tuesday: breakfast- 1 soft boiled egg with toast, banana
snack- 1 C. yogurt
lunch- salad with chicken
snack- cole slaw
dinner- meat lasagna, corn
exercise- 90 min. cardio, 30 min. strength

Wednesday: breakfast- soft boiled egg with toast
lunch- steamed summer squash and zucchini, meat lasagna
snack- peach, 10 strawberries
dinner- salad, 2 egg whites, corn
snack- cole slaw
exercise- 60 min. cardio broken in half, 30 min. strength

Thursday: breakfast- 3 egg whites scrambled with mushrooms and onion, peach
snack- 1 C. yogurt
lunch- salad with chicken
snack- 1 C. yogurt, 10 strawberries
dinner- corn, 2 egg whites
snack- 1 C. watermelon

Friday, Saturday, Sunday: I'm going home to visit my boyfriend which means eating out, and no formal exercise. I'm just going to try to be sensible as far as eating goes. For exercise, we go on lots of walks, but thats about it.

I'll add the second week later.

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is 1450 your bmr or maintenace calories? the number seems awfully low with what you're oding for exercise

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perhaps, you might need to try some new exercises so that new muscles work out.

I do switch it up when I do cardio. I alternate between the bike, arc trainer, treadmill, and sometimes elliptical. Is that enough or is there something else I should be doing?

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Oh, 1450 must be my BMR. How do I figure out how much I need to eat considering the exercising I am doing? I often have trouble eating much more than that, unless I go crazy and eat 3000+ calories in a day, which happens more often than it should.

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today has gone exactly as planned, although I didn't quite make it to 90 minutes of cardio, but thats normal. I did 10 minutes on the arc trainer, 15 minutes on the bike, and 40 minutes on the treadmill (walk 5, run 5 X 3, and then walk 10). Is that okay for cardio or is there something different I should be doing? As far as food goes, I wasn't too hungry all day. A little, but I think thats okay. I ate my planned watermelon after dinner, but didn't have the corn, so I just switch them, and have the corn later. I'm trying to cut out nuts just for this week because I eat way to many of them, but its hard. My idea is to add them back in slowly next week.
I'm not going to weigh or measure myself until Friday, but I'm really hoping to see at least a pound loss. Last I measured I was 135.5 pounds, 20% body fat, 35.5 in. hip, and 28 in. waist. Think its doable if I keep this up?

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I've hit weight loss plateaus...or walls I would call them that lasted for months as well and I wonder now after reading your post if I wasn't eating too restricted at the time as well. I'm hoping this works for you so keep us posted on how it goes

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IMO you are doing a good job with the cardio. Maybe you should try some weight training (use the weight lifting machines or free weights). Doing that type of exercise burns a bunch of calories too.

I noticed you want to eat watermelon. I think you should cut that out as it has a ton of sugar in it. You should aim more for the citrus fruits and apples. Melons just tend to have a lot of sugar.

Nuts are good for you. If you eat alot of them you are in good shape. Almonds are one of the most healthy snacks (raw or oven roasted... NO SALT). They have protein, fiber and good fats (poly and mono fats).

Just make sure to count your calories as precisly as you can. Also please keep in mind sodium and sugar are both bad.

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Joe Buzz

Joebuzz, Thanks for your advice. I used to use the weight machines, and I really liked it. I don't know why I stopped doing that. I'll have to start again. And you're right about nuts. I love almonds, walnuts, cashews, and pecans. The problem is eating too many once I get started, but I know they're good for me, and I should try to include them. Maybe I'll portion them out in bags of how much I want to eat. I've never tried that so maybe it will help.

I did not stay on plan today with eating, but I did all my cardio and strength training. I did well all day, but then after dinner I had two pieces of bread with butter, yogurt, a handful of pecans, a peach and some strawberries, and a granola bar. Oh my gosh, its so much now that I have to type it. Oh, and a banana too. So probably an extra thousand calories. I have to realize that the reason I made this plan was to try to figure out what I need to do to start losing weight again. If anything, I will use this as a learning experience that this is NOT the way to lose weight. I also have to remember that if I don't stick to it, I won't know if it works or not. And I really want to find out, so I better keep with it. Tomorrow is an easier day cardio-wise, so its a good place to get back on track.

Also, I'm not going home this weekend, so although I will miss getting to see my boyfriend, it will be good to be able to keep eating according to my plan, and to be able to exercise. I hope to get a lot accomplished to make staying worthwhile.

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Joe I ahope this short vid inspires you if not just entertains you.
YouTube - Pork and Beans Weezer and Weight Loss-The Mustang Chef