Struggles with Weight Loss
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155 days
GregL81 posted 18 weeks ago.
It sounds like it's diet related... I hear people talking about this issue all the time. Here's my opinion on it.
I think you might subconsciously be underestimating the amount of calories you are eating. I'd recommend keeping a food journal to track what you are really consuming (make sure you are counting servings.... there is a huge difference between a bowl of cereal and a serving of cereal). If you are expending more calories then you are eating then you will lose weight... bottom line. Make sure you don't skimp on the pre- or post- workout meals though as these are optimal for performance and recovery.
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631 days
rjnuck posted 18 weeks ago.
During my base training I was staying even or gaining a little bit of weight. It wasn't until my recovery weeks that I would lose any weight. I think that I was overestimating how many calories I needed to take in due to my long workouts. I was also eating alot of food high in sugar (gels, bars, recovery drinks) that I think attributed to me not losing weight.
My sister went through the same thing when she rode from the Canadian border to the Mexican border. They were eating such high calorie foods all day long that she gained some weight during the trip but the week after started losing a lot of weight. Hope this all helps.
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274 days
swimmer52 posted 18 weeks ago.
I'm in the same boat as you.
5'8", 155 and have been in athletics since high school and swam in college. I currently train 10-15hrs/week and am also a very healthy eater and don't drink any soda. It's primarily water with juice in the morning, milk here and there, tea or the occasional coffee. By this I should be one lean a** kicking chick, but things aren't as lean as they should be.
My goal race weight is 145, I haven't been below 150 since college and have always hovered somewhere between 150-155 for the last 6 years. I'm great at maintaining weight but can't seem to drop any or get rid of my little softness around the waist.
The only thing that has ever worked for me is counting calories. (Eating organic doesn't seem to make a difference). Last spring I had my resting metabolic rate tested and I got a chart that mapped out how many calories I burned for different activity levels. It also mapped out how many calories to consume if I want to drop 1/2 a pound, 1 pound, or 1.5pounds a week. I have been following this and write out what I eat. The hard part is I start out well and then after 2-3 weeks I get lazy and don't want to write down stuff anymore. I'm on my 3rd week right now (finally lost the 3 easter candy pounds I sadly put on, now I'm shooting for that race weight) and as long as I stay motivated I'll stay on track. I'm currently trying to tell myself to keep riding the wheel (drafting on the road), stick to it and I'll get there, get dropped and I'm a gonner :)
Hope that helps.
"Whether you think you can or can't, you're right"
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153 days
tglavin posted 18 weeks ago.
You have started to train more so you naturally feel hungry throughout the day and therefore eat more. It probably isn't what you eat but rather portion size. Also, it is important to eat several times throughout the day instead of having 3 large meals.
Weigh loss is a pretty simple equation...burn more then you take in. The healthy way to do lose weight is to run a 500 calories deficit per day and you will lose 1 pound per week. When you start to do this you will feel hungry and, sadly, this is just part of trying to lose weight. After about a week your body will start to adjust and you won't feel as hungry running a 500 calorie daily deficit.
Here are some things to try...
-eat on smaller plates like your bread plate in order to reduce portion size.
-wait 20 minutes before getting another helping
-stop eating before you feel full. You would be suprised how little you need to curb your hunger
-drink a ton of water (it fills your stomach). Have 2 glasses before a meal and you will feel full faster.
-have 1 salad per day as a meal and go very light on the dressing. Vegis are great for you and fill your stomach. Add some nuts for protein and to curb your appetite.
A previous comment makes a very important point...don't skimp on post workout nutrition. Make sure to eat something balanced (with fat, protein, carbs) within 30 minutes of finishing and have something more 2 hrs after the workout.
Keep a log and make sure you stay 500 calories in the hole per day and you will lose weight the healthy way.
Trevor Glavin
www.trevorglavin.blogspot.com
920
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259 days
TriSooner posted 18 weeks ago.
GregL81 wrote:
Plus overestimating your calories burned while training plus overestimating how much you need to "refueul" or "recover." If you read through other diet-related threads you will see several mentions of someone putting in a moderate training session and then asking which 1,000 calorie-combination of recovery food they should eat? I'm not implying you do this, but I've read several times about people doing a 5k run and talking about how they have to recover with the intake of protein shakes or replace glycogen storage with PowerBars. Or, 'carb loading' for a 1-hour bike ride. Don't over-eat just after you've trained.
I think you might subconsciously be underestimating the amount of calories you are eating.
110
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347 days
burnman posted 18 weeks ago.
Quite typical. Your body has a learning curve to overcome before it realizes what you're trying to do. It's the same reason that people who go on fad diets usually quit within the first month. Their bodies are not yet conditioned to the new behavior and short-term results are limited. In fact, you should expect your body to become less efficient in the beginning of base training because your calorie intake typically increases while your metabolic rate lags behind.
I started base this season at 152 lb, gained around 6 lbs during the first month, then steadily dropped to 140 lb (holding steady for about 16 weeks). If you stick to your current routine, the weight will come off. Like all conditioning programs, it takes the body a little time to adapt. Keep building that aerobic base, and soon you'll be burning off fat calories by the thousands.
483
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396 days
TryScott posted 18 weeks ago.
Since you eat healthy, this probably doesn't pertain to you, but I still found it interesting. From a magazine I just got in the mail today from Lifetime Fitness:
"Wake Forest School of Medicine researcher Kylie Kavanaugh, DVM, compared two groups of monkeys, one that derived 8 percent of their daily calories from trans fats and a control group that didn't eat trans fats at all. She was looking for the impact of the trans fats on their cardiovascular health, but was surprised tofind another adverse effect: The trans fat-eating monkeys gained three times as much weight as the control group, even though both ate the same number of calories each day."
Personally, I find it bother easier, and more satifying to have performance goals than weight goals. I could stand to drop another 10 lbs, but I'd rather drop 10 sec/mile.
I used FitDay.com when I was curious what my fat/carb/protein ratios were. It's a nice site, and just like others have said, tracking what you eat holds you more accountable. Plus, if you eat healthy (like I believe I do) tracking what you eat is a way to showing off a little bit.
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158 days
cuds posted 18 weeks ago.
Interesting that everyone has mentioned overestimating calorie consumption and taking in too many calories, but no one has mentioned taking in too few calories. This has been my problem over the last few weeks. As soon as I increased my calorie intake the weight started coming off again.
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359 days
Toothless posted 18 weeks ago.
As cuds mentioned, I have read that a big calorie deficit will result in the body holding onto the weight that you have, so you might need to eat more. But if you add calories do so either early in the day (breakfast) or as post-workout recovery. Eating a bowl of ice cream at 10pm isn't going to help :-)
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212 days
randaln posted 18 weeks ago.
Timing is everything.
I have a bad habit of beer and nachos before bed-a diet killer! I think I could run a marathon every day and still gain weight on this diet alone. There are some good articles out there (runners world and I think coolrunning.com) on meal timing but most of them indicate some experimentation is necessary. I've found that the phase I'm in has a lot to do with whether I gain or lose weight during that phase.
Your body could be very responsive to weight training too, just keep the weights low and reps high.
A lot of good tips above-this is a very knowledgable group!
Good luck!
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418 days
stewarba posted 18 weeks ago.
cuds wrote:
Interesting that everyone has mentioned overestimating calorie consumption and taking in too many calories, but no one has mentioned taking in too few calories. This has been my problem over the last few weeks. As soon as I increased my calorie intake the weight started coming off again.
Very good point and a worthy distinction. The body doesn't take well to extreame adverse changes in caloric deficits. If you have drastically increased your caloric deficit every day either through exercise or diet, you may have triggered your bodies famine response. I would echo the food log sentiment and keep a careful log on how many calories you are consuming.
Goals in writing are dreams with deadlines – Brian Tracy
2008 Sprint Tri A race goals
S: 500m in 10:00 – FS Stroke only
B: 22mph avg over course
R: 5K <= 25:00
Place top 50% for my age group
483
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396 days
TryScott posted 18 weeks ago.
Wouldn't that be great news to find out that you are not losing weight because you are EATING TOO LITTLE? Over the winter I did a home fitness video and diet plan that stessed this a lot. They pretty much spelled out exactly what you should eat, so you don't end up with a calorie deficit. Lots of training, and not enough fuel can be a fine line to balance.
I have been having a lot of trouble with weight loss in my base training phase, which seems odd to me. I was hoping that maybe some of you could shed some light on my situation. I am 5’10 and 165 lbs. I wear a size 8 pants, size 6 in a skirt or dress. I played college athletics and have always been in good shape. I would like to get my weight down to between 145-150, as I feel it will improve my performance…especially in the run. Since I’ve started my base training 3 weeks ago, I’ve gained weight (not much, but I’ve gained all the same). I feel like, with the amount I am exercising (9 work outs a week/3 in each discipline/5,000 yrds swimming, 3.5 hours of cycling, and 2 hours and 8 minutes of running in week 1 plus lifting and pilates), the scale should move in the other direction. I started weight training about 6 weeks ago, which could contribute to the weight gain, but I doubt it because my cardio is so rigorous.
As far as my diet is concerned, I haven’t changed much. I’ve always been a pretty healthy eater. The one major thing I’ve done is stopped drinking pop. I haven’t had one in about a month (after a period of the shakes it wasn’t so bad☺).
Obviously, I am incredibly frustrated. My times are much much better than last year, and I am stronger and faster. Am I putting too much stock in the scale? Losing weight will be better for my joints. Ahhhhhhhh! Any suggestions? Things that have worked for you? Is there anyone experiencing something similar? Am I too buff for my own good☺? Thanks!
The harder you work, the harder it is to surrender.
-- Vince Lombardi