I Need Some Guidance

I am a 20 yr old female, who has been working out consistently for several years, however for the past 4 months my training has been more intensive. I work out about 4-5 days a week for about 2 hours.

My work out generally consists of a minimum of 45 minutes of continuous cardio such as running or cycling. Afterwards I always do some form of weight training. My goal is to lose weight but I have gained 8 pounds, I went from about 122 to 130! I gained 1-1/2" at the hip 1/2" at the waist and bust has remained the same. I find that after my workouts im inexplicably hungry for the rest of the day and I never get full. Im constantly eating I dont know how to control my appetite.

Although I know I dont eat uncontrollably it is definitley more than i used to before i started training intensively. Anyone have any sort of suggestions for controlling appetite?

Whats your diet like?

Unfortunately, being hungry is part of losing FAT…if you are in a deficit, of COURSE you are going to be hungry! The trick is to eat lots of whole foods(veggies, fruits, etc) to fill you up…and if you have to, you can eat every 2-3 hrs…

[quote]syepez wrote:
I am a 20 yr old female, who has been working out consistently for several years, however for the past 4 months my training has been more intensive. I work out about 4-5 days a week for about 2 hours.

My work out generally consists of a minimum of 45 minutes of continuous cardio such as running or cycling. Afterwards I always do some form of weight training. My goal is to lose weight but I have gained 8 pounds, I went from about 122 to 130! I gained 1-1/2" at the hip 1/2" at the waist and bust has remained the same. I find that after my workouts im inexplicably hungry for the rest of the day and I never get full. Im constantly eating I dont know how to control my appetite.

Although I know I dont eat uncontrollably it is definitley more than i used to before i started training intensively. Anyone have any sort of suggestions for controlling appetite?[/quote]

Sounds like you are over-trained and your body is CRYING out for some rest.

Also, remember that long duration, high intensity cardio (running, spinning) teaches your body how to BURN AND STORE body fat more efficiently… OOPS! =P That could be another problem…

What is your diet like? height? age? approx. bf%?

I thought cardio helped you lose weight… My diet isnt very particular I eat whatever I want pretty much, I try to stay away from fast foods and I have been making healthier choices. like eating almonds for snacks, buying flax bread, eating more fruits and veggies and drinking more water… I usually eat 5-6 times a day. I am about 5 4’ and I dont know what my bf% is…

Cardio does help!
But you can’t ‘out cardio,’ a diet that isn’t given very much attention…

It sounds like you are on the right track…but as to the cause of your sudden weight increase, maybe its time to step back and figure out what needs tweaking?

If you are doing as much cardio as you say then it’s gotta be the diet, imo…
Are you doing any training with weights? You say your are training intensively for 2hrs/4-5days-week…what does that involve?

Personally, I get in, train hard, and get out…takes about an hour usually…a little longer if I do some cardio after…but lately I have split that up so I can give intensity to both training and cardio equally.

The weight increase is nothing to be alarmed of. You probably packed some muscle if you train that much.

When training more, you need to eat more as your metabolism burns its fuel faster. Post your diet… a typical day of food intake. To me, it sounds like you are not eating enough.

I doubt she gained 8lbs of muscle at 5’4 in the time frame she’s likely referring to (unless the weight gain was over the course of a year or so)… And seeings inches were gained at the waist and hip (according to OP), doesn’t seem like muscle to me…

First off, I agree completely with Molly, too much long duration, HI cardio can make you efficient at burning and storing fat… then tack on another hour or so of weights afterwards and it sounds like a recipe for disaster.

Your starving because your starving. Who was it that made the analogy that you can either brush your teeth every day, or just for a really long time on sundays? Do the cardio seperate from the weight training, or at the very least, do it at the end of the weights, and make it short and intense if done at the end of training.

Have some electrolytes on double days… I know when Im skating HIIT for two hours I have some gatorade in with my water bottle AND a couple chocolate chip cookies from the deli right across from the track… anything my body can crave to gets its energy and insulin back up! Not the best choice, but Im not tyring too lose weight :wink:

When you completely over-extend yourself and your expenditure it out the roof, of course you will be starving… and not puttig on any muscle, holding on to more fat that you should be and, of course, exhausted.

wow! thanks guys for the feedback! ok so im kind of embarrased to talk about what I eat seeing as everyone seems to have it down… but here goes today for example, I had
flax seed toast with hazelnut spreat with glass of milk
some melon and mango
low fat granola bar
a piece of banana cake and a small serving of pasta
a banana
another piece of flax seed toast with hazelnut spread
a nectarine
a small portion of almonds
and thats all, I dont eat a lot of protein, is there an alternative to meat that I can consider? I dont really always have time to prepare meat…
As for my gym routine
I do about 45 mins of cycling or running and then depending on the day I will do some core workout or weight training for about 1/2 hour and then I stretch… I have somewhat toned abdominals but my area of increase is my ass and thighs… any thoughts?

wow! thanks guys for the feedback! ok so im kind of embarrased to talk about what I eat seeing as everyone seems to have it down… but here goes today for example, I had
flax seed toast with hazelnut spreat with glass of milk
some melon and mango
low fat granola bar
a piece of banana cake and a small serving of pasta
a banana
another piece of flax seed toast with hazelnut spread
a nectarine
a small portion of almonds
and thats all, I dont eat a lot of protein, is there an alternative to meat that I can consider? I dont really always have time to prepare meat…
As for my gym routine
I do about 45 mins of cycling or running and then depending on the day I will do some core workout or weight training for about 1/2 hour and then I stretch… I have somewhat toned abdominals but my area of increase is my ass and thighs… any thoughts?

wow! thanks guys for the feedback! ok so im kind of embarrased to talk about what I eat seeing as everyone seems to have it down… but here goes today for example, I had
flax seed toast with hazelnut spreat with glass of milk
some melon and mango
low fat granola bar
a piece of banana cake and a small serving of pasta
a banana
another piece of flax seed toast with hazelnut spread
a nectarine
a small portion of almonds
and thats all, I dont eat a lot of protein, is there an alternative to meat that I can consider? I dont really always have time to prepare meat…
As for my gym routine
I do about 45 mins of cycling or running and then depending on the day I will do some core workout or weight training for about 1/2 hour and then I stretch… I have somewhat toned abdominals but my area of increase is my ass and thighs… any thoughts?

[quote]syepez wrote:
wow! thanks guys for the feedback! ok so im kind of embarrased to talk about what I eat seeing as everyone seems to have it down… but here goes today for example, I had
flax seed toast with hazelnut spreat with glass of milk
some melon and mango
low fat granola bar
a piece of banana cake and a small serving of pasta
a banana
another piece of flax seed toast with hazelnut spread
a nectarine
a small portion of almonds
and thats all, I dont eat a lot of protein, is there an alternative to meat that I can consider? I dont really always have time to prepare meat…
As for my gym routine
I do about 45 mins of cycling or running and then depending on the day I will do some core workout or weight training for about 1/2 hour and then I stretch… I have somewhat toned abdominals but my area of increase is my ass and thighs… any thoughts?[/quote]

Hi,
On the subject of cardio, I found this article to be concise. If I could summarize, it says diet, diet, and then elevate your metabolism. Just burning calories by running or cycling is pretty low on the list, although not useless. If you run, do sprints. If you lift, lift heavy. It doesn’t have to take a long time, but it should be HARD for a few minutes at a time. Push yourself at intervals so that you are not having fun, then rest, then do it again.

Good luck.

Beans, tofu(1-2 servings a day should be safe) Qunioa, buckwheat…BEANS!

And egg whites are an excellent source of protein! You can also use the Metabolic Drive or Grow! Whey that Biotest sells in the online store.

fucking shenanigans.

i’d say it again but i hate repeating myself. just pretend u can see me rolling my eyes.

I can make 35 meals in an hour, when i plan correctly. an hour and a half if there’s a lot of chopping/dicing involved.

the women on here in the best overall shape do little cardio. diet is what you do for the 160+ hours you’re not in the gym every week. diet, and rest.

You need a shit-load more protein. You won’t make good gains until you do that. Get some whey protein if time is an issue, but make sure you have meat, eggs or fish at least a couple of times a day, and include red meat in your diet.
I keep mince (ground beef) in the fridge. It takes me literraly 10 minutes to turn that into a nice bolognese sauce which I have with broccoli. Add passata (tomato puree) from a bottle, garlic, herbs, spices and a bit of gravy browning and you have a meal. It’s not rocket science. Tastes pretty good, too.

Don’t be scared of dietary fat, either (unless it’s trans fat). It’s the carbs that are more of an issue, health-wise.

Cardio - what the others have been saying. Run (or bike) sprints, do kettlebell workouts or metabolic training. Far more effective than spending half an hour slaving on some cardio machine. I do run outside a couple of times a week, for the fresh air and to get away from my computer and into green surroundings - which is the only reason I’d advocate doing the same. One of those will be a longer run but one will be sprints or intervals of some sort. I would never dream of using a treadmill or stair stepper. I’m not a damn hamster, and nor should you be. Steady state cardio is not a good means of fat loss in women.

Theres lots of debates about cardio…
In my opinion, any thing you can do that doesn’t involve sitting is good! :wink:

Personally I hate intervals, so guess who didn’t do cardio(ever)? ME!

All the information out there can get confusing! But it wasn’t until I became disciplined in my eating(that sounds lame) that I started seeing results…very strict, no fruit, no cheat meals, no BLTS(bites licks tastes) no nothing! Just your basic protein, green veggies and small doses of good fats…

Should have done this a long time ago, but was scared to be so strict…and I think a lot of people feel the same way, and thats why they struggle to lose the LBs…fat loss is NOT fun.

Fat loss happens in the kitchen, not the gym. If your eating isn’t dialed in, you won’t see any body recomposition results, no matter how much cardio you do/don’t do. You want to lose fat, not weight.