A Woman's Opinion

Training
1

Hi! I have been working out for a long time now on and off. I have started a new workout routine and diet plan about 3 weeks ago, but it seems like I haven’t been loosing any weight or body fat. My husband suggested me come here and ask the women of T-Nation what I might be doing wrong. Any constructive critisizm is welcome!

I’ve been on my diet for a little less than a month now. It’s supposed to be a low glycemic diet, but after workouts, eating foods high on the glycemic index. I’m pretty strict, but I will cheat sometimes, especially on the weekend.

My diet includes:

Morning

1 omega 3 egg
1 small bowl of bran cereal

Snack

1 hard boiled omega 3 egg

Lunch

A can of tuna with a little mustard and non fat sour cream
Leafy green vegtables
1 non fat yogurt

Snack

12 almonds
Low sodium V-8

Before workout meal

Banana (or another fruit)
Whey protein shake

Dinner

Varies, usually something high in carbs for after workout meal.

Snack

Handfull of almonds or a whey protein shake.

My workout routine I have gotten out of The Body Sculpting Bible For Woman. It’s a weight training routine, where I do weight training one day, then the next cardio.

I go to the gym atleast 3 times a week, usually 4 or 5 though.

I’m not a big person, I’m about 5ft 4.75, and fluxuate between 130-136 lbs, but I would like to get down to the weight I was before I stopped smoking 2 years ago, 120, and I want to go down in body fat as well. I’m working really hard, but so far have not seen a lot in regards to results. My muscle tone has gotten a little better, but I would just like to see what else I could be doing, or what I could be doing better.

Thank you for your time and input!

2

At first glance your diet looks pretty low in both protein and calories. Is there a specific number you are trying to hit?

I don’t feel that 1 egg and a bowl of cereal or 1 hardboiled egg really constitute meals.

Do you know what your BMR is? I would suggest that you try to implement the following:

Make sure you are getting at least 120g of protein each day.

Vary your calories from day to day (try to set up 2-3 slightly different levels) so you make sure your body doesn’t adapt and stagnate.

Are you drinking enough water?

If you are keeping your cals low in an attempt to lose fat it’s important to have a refeed once every one to two weeks. Otherwise your body may adjust and stop losing fat because it thinks you are starving it. Dropping the calories lower isn’t going to fix the problem, it will just make your metabolism stall out even faster.

Can you be a little more specific about your training? Total body? Upper/lower split? Bodypart split? What are your set and rep ranges? What is your cardio like? Do you do HIIT, steady state or a mixture of both?

3

Also you have to give it more time…three weeks isn’t enough time to really see dramatic results…
whatever you do, just be consistent…all the positive changes will eventually add up!

Figuring out what works best for your body is the hard part! Stick with it!

4

This is my boyfriends user name but I always like to read articles he saves…
I am not commenting on the diet, however, in regards to your fat loss you should read this…
http://www.elitefts.com/documents/aerobic_fallacy.htm

All the best,
Belinda.

5

Eat real food…ESPECIALLY cut out sugar but if you can, replace all simple carbs (even your bran cereal) with carbs from vegetables. Also, try cutting out the non-fat yogurt - check the sugar content - and sour cream/milk. Hormones in dairy can get kinda freaky with your need for fat loss.

Here’s an example of someone eating real food on a budget: mypaleokitchen.blogspot.com

Eat your biggest meal either post workout or at the beginning of the day. Begin to pay attention to portion size/caloric value (i.e. why fry your chicken in lots of olive oil if you can stew it in tomatoes for lots less calories? why fry your fish when you can poach it?) Eat clean for at least two weeks (yes - this means on the weekends) and see what this does for your fat loss. Lean people can cheat more often than not lean.

Supplement with fish oil.

Check out www.crossfit.com (for workouts and check the boards over there for details on Zone/Paleo diet). You need to basically learn how to do compound movements (squat, deadlift, single-leg movements, pullup, pushup, row, press).

Feel free to PM me for more help. You can also check out my blog for an idea of how all this looks on a daily basis: www.evofitsj.blogspot.com

Good luck!

6

Initially looking at your diet I thought you seemed hungry… :stuck_out_tongue:
I don’t have much to add to what everyone else said, they are all giving you good advice. I personally think cereal is evil, I would go with oatmeal instead. Yogurts tend to be full of sugar. Cottage cheese is a good source of protien though mixed with a little fruit.
Good luck with your goals.

7

as everyone said eat more, but more of the good stuff. i am far from being an expert but i know what works for me for fat lost/ lean body mass increase ful bode work out and hiit cardio works for me. a little more details on your work out would be great

8

Hey Jinakitty,

I would say 2 things to do is

1 Count your calories (weigh your food) anal I know, but if your not sure exactly how much your getting then you don’t know

2 Try to figure out how many calories you are burning in a day, I am not sure if there is a place to check that here but I use this BMR Calculator to figure out my BMR and this to figure out my activity level Harris Benedict Equation .

I just started my program and log at FigureAthlete 11 days ago and I’m down 5.3 pounds. I am doing the Fat Loss Troubleshoot Program ( http://www.fatlosstroubleshoot.com ) by Leigh Peele she is an Author here (latest article http://www.figureathlete.com/article/diet_and_nutrition/eat_more_food_lose_more_fat ) You should read the article.

Good luck and I hope that helps!

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