Weight Loss & Training ? (Quasi-Log)

Background: 19 y/o female, 165 lbs. Lift heavy (for me) 4-5 x week, cardio 4-5x week for 30 minutes. I’m sorry if this is a stupid post.

I’ve been eating between 1250 and 1300 calories a day, steadily, for the past three weeks.
I typically get 120 g of protein, 80 g of fat, and another 80 g of carbs (thereabouts, those are estimations). Most carbs come early in the morning (yogurt), and post-workout. Protein is generally from fish, whey, and occasionally chicken (plus dairy, like CC). I’ve eliminated soy protein from my diet.

This is divided up into 6-7 meals/day, plus I drink a lot of water, and take a multi + fish oil + Power Drive (before workouts, occasionally). I ‘cheat’ 1 x week, usually a meal of pizza or something. It’s usually nothing enormous, and brings my daily calories up to about 1800, instead of 1250.

My goal is to lose another 20 lbs. My weight loss has dropped off steadily, to less than 1 lb/week.
Am I eating too many calories? Am I not eating enough? Should I just be more damn patient?

I’m asking because I want to make sure I’m not totally screwing something up, or that there’s something obvious I’m not overlooking.
…again, I’m sorry if this is a stupid question, I just don’t know if I might’ve forgotten something important.

I’m having my wisdom teeth out on 12/22, but I was thinking I’d post my nutritional/training log for a couple weeks or so, to get some feedback. Maybe someone can spot a ‘hole’ in my diet or training which is impacting my results.

I think I can safely say that you are NOT eating too many calories. It is possible that you are starting to add muscle mass and thus the rate at which you lose weight may be decreasing- you might want to look at your body composition, do you see it improving?

One suggestion I might make is to try a carb-cycling approach. Christian Thibaudeau wrote an article about it and I think it has helped me get a little extra leanness (I am a guy, but I don’t see any reason why it wouldn’t work for females). Basically you vary the carbs you eat based on activity level. For instance if you workout 4 days a week you would pick two of those days and make them “high-carb” (for you that might be around 120 grams), pick 2 more days and make them moderate-carb days (maybe 80 grams) and the other 3 days would be very low carbs (basically as low as possible, maybe around 30-40 grams).

hey mauser,
well if your weight loss has tapered off it could be a number of things, first off you should really start counting calories if weight loss is your primary goal. 1600 hundred calories seems low and perhaps an under estimat.

That said if you indeed are dieting so rigorously maybe a change in type of calories you are getting is necessary, for instance of you say that yogurt is main stay of carb calories in the morning, is it fruit flavored/added? odds are it has additional sugars(check the label) moreover how many of your carbohydrates are derived from grains?

honestly for fat loss the lower the better, fruit and vegetables are much better sources. as for fat intake lower your saturated fat intake, abstain from cheese and perhaps ground beef, also consider adding CLA to your diet as a higher proportion of fat calories, nutrient timing could be the key, consider consuming your carbs earlier in the day and perhaps change your workout timing to better associate carbs and necessity if at all possible.

Also take a look at some JB articles for general nutritional info and CT had a hell of a program a few years back “transformation of the beast”? or some shit where he cut a lot of weight, his caloric/distribution may give you some ideas

[quote]J.Boogie wrote:
hey mauser,
well if your weight loss has tapered off it could be a number of things, first off you should really start counting calories if weight loss is your primary goal. 1600 hundred calories seems low and perhaps an under estimat.

That said if you indeed are dieting so rigorously maybe a change in type of calories you are getting is necessary, for instance of you say that yogurt is main stay of carb calories in the morning, is it fruit flavored/added? odds are it has additional sugars(check the label) moreover how many of your carbohydrates are derived from grains? [/quote]
I usually get 8 oz of fruit yogurt in the morning; I am definitely going to start cutting that down and incorporating fresh fruit, instead (apples and bananas, mostly, I think).

[quote]
honestly for fat loss the lower the better, fruit and vegetables are much better sources. as for fat intake lower your saturated fat intake, abstain from cheese and perhaps ground beef, also consider adding CLA to your diet as a higher proportion of fat calories, nutrient timing could be the key, consider consuming your carbs earlier in the day and perhaps change your workout timing to better associate carbs and necessity if at all possible.[/quote]

I do eat a fair amount of cheese (both mozorella, some semi-soft, and cottage cheese (though the last doesn’t count for real cheese, IMHO)). Why should I cut cheese out? And beef? (I don’t eat much beef, so that’s not a problem).

Should I keep the CC in my diet, or nix that? Or simply lower it? (at most, I get 1 cup/day).

Will the CLA be beneficial, even though I’m taking fish oil? (I’ve always been a little confused about CLA’s useage).

[quote]
Also take a look at some JB articles for general nutritional info and CT had a hell of a program a few years back “transformation of the beast”? or some shit where he cut a lot of weight, his caloric/distribution may give you some ideas[/quote]

Definitely will-do. I’ve been brushing up on my nutritional (instead of just training) reading.

Also, PS -
I’m 5’6". My body comp has definitely changed, because even though I’m not losing ‘weight,’ the fit of my clothes has changed considerably. I’m going to try to get my body fat % taken while on winter holiday from school.

Sunday, 18 Dec 05

Workout:
Bench, 5x5, 95 lbs
Deadlifts, 5x5, 125 lbs
Lat Pull, 5x5, 100 lbs
Asst. Dips, 5x5, 60 lbs (assistance)

30 min run/walk intervals (5 min run/5 min walk)


  1. 1/2 cup cottage cheese
    pria protein bar

  2. 4 oz chicken
    1 cup frozen spinach

  3. MRP shake (post-workout)

  4. tuna steak (2.5 oz)
    1 oz cheese

  5. 2 oz jerky

  6. 1/2 cup cottage cheese (before bed) – have this in two hours or so -

Cals were low for the day, which I know … I slept really late (until 2p), and ate every 2-3 hours (which is standard).

Fitday is at
http://fitday.com/WebFit/PublicJournals.html?Owner=konstine

OK I MUST just hit and disagree on the above statement. Also say that it contridicts itself. Cut beef and Add CLA. HMM??? Beef is High in CLA as well as being packed in very high quality protein, fats, vitamins & minerals, etc. I dont think it should EVER be cut from a diet cutting bulking etc. Just opt for lean(er) cut and eat it along with other varied sources of protein.

Also same with the Cheese. Only reason to cut dairy is if you are one of those whom have an intolereance for it.

Just my take hope that help,
Phill

OK aside from my last post I looked at you Fitday log. I must say you are VERY misguided and need to fix some things before you no only halt fat loss etc but cause REAL damage. The way you are going you are set up to KILL that metabolism.

the two things that jump out right off are the LOW total intake, and then the VERY low fat intake. Niether of these are doing you a Favor AT ALL.

Oh and that Pria bar is JUNK!!!

May I suggest that you check out http://www.f-heit.com/

There you will get more than enough info. help, and support from others with like goal.

Aside from that ask for help here. Id be glad to help with my opinions if you want them as I am sure others will as well.

Hope that helps,
Phill

The reason you’re not losing any weight is b/c your calories are way too low (1000-1200 calories??). Your metabolism is slowing down to compensate for starving yourself. I easily eat twice what you eat in a day, and 3 times the fat! Your protein intake could also be increased closer to 160g (1g per lb bodyweight).

According to one website I just looked up, you should be eating 10-12x your bodyweight for weight loss (so 1680-2000 calories). But don’t suddenly start eating more - slowly increase your calorie intake over a few weeks to “normal” levels.

This website has a lot of good nutrition articles too, obviously.

[quote]Phill wrote:
…as for fat intake lower your saturated fat intake, abstain from cheese and perhaps ground beef, also consider adding CLA to your diet…

OK I MUST just hit and disagree on the above statement. Also say that it contridicts itself. Cut beef and Add CLA. HMM??? Beef is High in CLA as well as being packed in very high quality protein, fats, vitamins & minerals, etc.

I dont think it should EVER be cut from a diet cutting bulking etc. Just opt for lean(er) cut and eat it along with other varied sources of protein.

Also same with the Cheese. Only reason to cut dairy is if you are one of those whom have an intolereance for it.

Just my take hope that help,
Phill

[/quote]

I agree

Definitely, to all of the above.

Thanks, all fo you, for your valuable input.
While I’m home over holiday, I’ll have more beef/fresh veggies at my disposal (I tend to eat frozen veggies and chicken/fish at school, because I can just heat n’ eat).

I’ve started lifting ‘seriously’ for about a month and a half now, and have increased my daily calories from about 1000 to 1250-1300.

I’m working on getting it up to about 1550 - 1600/day, and keep stacking on the heavier weights. My cardio’s been kept the same; body comp’s definitely changed, but weight is being stubborn …
definitely attributed to ‘starvation.’

I’m gonna stick at 1300 kCal/day for a couple weeks, and then check my weight/comp. As it stands, I think I’m around 27% body fat.

There are a couple more questions, though:

  1. How long (generally) will it take for my metabolism to unf*ck itself?

  2. What rate of loss per week (I ‘check’ myself every two weeks) should I be expecting, in terms of weight? …I’m guessing 1-2 lbs/week. (objective is, of course, to minimise muscle loss)

  3. Should I - or not - be supplementing with CLA?

  4. Are there any other supps I should be looking at?
    …I take the regular vitamins and all that, plus fish oil. I was thinking when I got closer to my ‘goal’ (maybe 10-15 lbs away), I’d take a cycle of HOT-ROX.

Lastly -
5. What should my macro breakdown look like? – specifically, how much fat? … since that was brought up a few times, I want to do the best I can to incorporate these suggestions into my diet … I have lots of time to work on my diet/training, and can - and do- devote myself to it.

I just want to make sure I’m doing what’s right.

[quote]
There are a couple more questions, though:

  1. How long (generally) will it take for my metabolism to unf*ck itself? [/quote]

No telling take it slow and try and up the intake over two week intervals like you have eluded to. Up 250 or so at a time. You may get a Small initial gain but it will steady and begin losing again. The metabolism chases intake. Another note. When I wrecked mine I actually used a Bottle of HOT-ROX I had won from here and it helped correct my metabolism FAST My maintenance intake went up nearly 1000k/cals in one month and didn?t rebound when I stopped the use. That was my first experience with HOT-ROX needless to say Im sold and have used it since. Might be worth a shot.

[quote]
2. What rate of loss per week (I ‘check’ myself every two weeks) should I be expecting, in terms of weight? …I’m guessing 1-2 lbs/week. (objective is, of course, to minimise muscle loss) [/quote]

You guessed right 1-2 lbs for someone who is NOT very over fat is the safest.

[quote]
3. Should I - or not - be supplementing with CLA? [/quote]

Id say no I would supplement with Fish oils etc before I would CLA. Just try and get it and other GOOD fats from your intake. That?s just my opinion

[quote]
4. Are there any other supps I should be looking at?
…I take the regular vitamins and all that, plus fish oil. I was thinking when I got closer to my ‘goal’ (maybe 10-15 lbs away), I’d take a cycle of HOT-ROX. [/quote]

Well how much fish oils are you using??? Other than that see above and make sure you are getting PLENTY of water the more the merrier and green tea is good as well.

[quote]
Lastly -
5. What should my macro breakdown look like? – specifically, how much fat? … since that was brought up a few times, I want to do the best I can to incorporate these suggestions into my diet … I have lots of time to work on my diet/training, and can - and do- devote myself to it. [/quote]

Fat I say between .4g - .6g per lb of body weight I make it easy and aim for .5 which would for example be 100g for a 200lb person. Protein 1g per lb of bodyweight. So same person would be 200g then make up the rest of your intake with carbs. To meet caloric level. Roughly that seems to be a good cookie cutter starting point and then adjust to the individual.

Hope that helps,
Phill