Hitting the wall

[RVAduffer]

On April 11, 2008 I had a physical. My blood levels were fine, there was nothing wrong with me expect my weight. 284 at 6'. Christ. Changed my life that day. Today I weighed in at 227.
I lift three days a week and do cardio five days a week. I try to eat 5-6 meals a day consisting of about 300 to 500 calories for a total of 2200 calories a day. I avoid processed foods for the most part and can't tell you the last time I had McDonald's french fries. I give myself one cheat day where I can have whatever I want.

My problem (if it even is one) is that I lost the first 40lbs in 4 months, but it's taken me almost another 4 months to take off the next 17. I'm noticing improvements in my body measurements and I'm putting on muscle as well, but damn. I want to be losing more weight. Looking for ideas to get the lbs coming off again or just some reassurance that I'll get there. Goal weight is 185 and I'd love to be there my next summer. Thanks for reading my vent.

 

[lance konami]

www.eatstopeat.com

 

[Berticus]

lance, have you actually tried that? I'm quite skeptical I've been doing a "diet' (friend who majors in exercise science and nutrition says it's more like a lifestyle), and it's been great for me. Not that I've had an issue with weight to begin with. I mean I did back in 3rd grade, but my doctor suggested I drink skim milk. I also started changing my portions and nobody could ever imagine me being fat.

 

[lance konami]

Originally Posted by Berticus

lance, have you actually tried that? I'm quite skeptical I've been doing a "diet' (friend who majors in exercise science and nutrition says it's more like a lifestyle), and it's been great for me. Not that I've had an issue with weight to begin with. I mean I did back in 3rd grade, but my doctor suggested I drink skim milk. I also started changing my portions and nobody could ever imagine me being fat.
Yup. Experimenting with it right now. I used to believe that you had to eat 6 meals a day to "speed up your metabolism" and all that, and I did it and it did work for me, but it's such a ******* pain ********** and it's just obnoxious to be so consumed with eating small meals all day long. I am always hungry when I do that and I can't stand it. This guy Brad who wrote that e-book is really changing my mind about all that stuff and intermittent fasting, metabolism, and how we think of food in general and it's all backed by scientific experiments that you can check up on if you want. The first day I fasted I thought I was going to pass out. I couldn't even make it, I broke down and ate some Carls Jr.

But I gave it another shot and it was easier, then the next time was even easier...Now I really like it. His program will decrease your weekly calorie intake by about 25-30% or so, assuming you eat normally on your eating days. You will not loose muscle as long as you are doing some resistance training, and you will not "slow down" your metabolism. Lots of positive health benefits to fasting too.

 

[why]

All these diets are the same thing. There's no real magic about them. 3 meals, 6 meals, 10 meals, 1 meal -- doesn't really matter. It basically comes down to calories and protein.

 

[Berticus]

Originally Posted by lance konami

Yup. Experimenting with it right now. I used to believe that you had to eat 6 meals a day to "speed up your metabolism" and all that, and I did it and it did work for me, but it's such a ******* pain ********** and it's just obnoxious to be so consumed with eating small meals all day long. I am always hungry when I do that and I can't stand it. This guy Brad who wrote that e-book is really changing my mind about all that stuff and intermittent fasting, metabolism, and how we think of food in general and it's all backed by scientific experiments that you can check up on if you want.

The first day I fasted I thought I was going to pass out. I couldn't even make it, I broke down and ate some Carls Jr.

But I gave it another shot and it was easier, then the next time was even easier...Now I really like it. His program will decrease your weekly calorie intake by about 25-30% or so, assuming you eat normally on your eating days. You will not loose muscle as long as you are doing some resistance training, and you will not "slow down" your metabolism. Lots of positive health benefits to fasting too.

Oh, if it's going to decrease my calorie intake, that's not cool... I don't know. I'd be scared about passing out in the gym. That almost happened once. Damn paramedics took me to the hospital when I told them not to. They said I need to increase my calorie intake. I'm actually pretty sure I also need to increase my fat intake. There are times when I get blurred vision from doing workouts. But one day I decided to drink 16 or so ounces of eggnog and I felt really good while working out.

With the 6 meal a day thing, I didn't feel hungry at all. The only time I thought it was inconvenient is when someone asks me out to lunch. Even then, it's not that bad. I never feel guilty about ditching the "diet" (been told it's more of a lifestyle than diet) because I'm in shape and workout regularly.

Originally Posted by why

All these diets are the same thing. There's no real magic about them. 3 meals, 6 meals, 10 meals, 1 meal -- doesn't really matter. It basically comes down to calories and protein.
I may have to disagree with you on that based on personal experience. Watching your metabolism certainly helps.

 

[aleeboy]

I'm 6' and used to weigh in at 97kg a few years back. What I learnt was that through intense exercise and controlled food intake, you will lose weight. I will share what I learned in the process, the first 5-7kg came off pretty quick... I think it took one month. The next 7 kilos took two months to take off. So what does this tell me, your body will try to quickly go back to your desirable body weight provided you give it the right fuel and exercise.

Since you are slowing down your weight loss, which is expected, try to change your routine. For example, I'm not a cardio guy, but I did do things like sprints, stair runs and stair climbs carrying someone on my back. This coupled with a pair of DBs and a Swiss ball was all I needed to go back to 83kg.

You can do it... keep at it and mix up your workout. This assumes you are eating clean and are consuming a protein rich diet.

Good luck

AL

 

[lance konami]

Originally Posted by Berticus

Oh, if it's going to decrease my calorie intake, that's not cool... I don't know. I'd be scared about passing out in the gym. That almost happened once. Damn paramedics took me to the hospital when I told them not to. They said I need to increase my calorie intake. I'm actually pretty sure I also need to increase my fat intake. There are times when I get blurred vision from doing workouts. But one day I decided to drink 16 or so ounces of eggnog and I felt really good while working out. With the 6 meal a day thing, I didn't feel hungry at all. The only time I thought it was inconvenient is when someone asks me out to lunch. Even then, it's not that bad. I never feel guilty about ditching the "diet" (been told it's more of a lifestyle than diet) because I'm in shape and workout regularly.
You won't pass out in the gym. Most hunger is psychological, that's one thing I've learned through doing this. You realize that we're almost conditioned to eat WAY more food than we need. We're the most overfed country in the world. It's nice to have a couple days out of the week where you don't have to worry about eating, even though you don't actually go a day without eating at least one meal. It's refreshing and rejuvenating. Plus you don't have to stress as much about eating super "clean" all the damn time. It gives you a lot of breathing room about what you do actually eat, but you do want to eat reasonably healthy. Anyway, keep it in mind. You might come back to the idea after you one day decide you are sick as hell of eating 6 times a day. I'll never go back to doing that personally.

 

[lefty]

Originally Posted by lance konami

www.eatstopeat.com

I truly hate this Ryan Lee marketing ****. Ballantyne used to be a decent enough guy, but now he's just a shill.

If you want to find out more about IF go here and get some science and check at actual results that look decent.

lefty

 

[lefty]

Originally Posted by Berticus

I may have to disagree with you on that based on personal experience. Watching your metabolism certainly helps.

Read this.

lefty

 

[lance konami]

Originally Posted by lefty

I truly hate this Ryan Lee marketing ****. Ballantyne used to be a decent enough guy, but now he's just a shill. If you want to find out more about IF go here and get some science and check at actual results that look decent. lefty
Just FYI, that is just an endorsement by Ryan Lee. The book eatstopeat was written By Brad Pilon. Looks like leangains is also advertising eatstopeat. BTW, is turbulencetraining crap? I've been meaning to check into it.

 

[lefty]

Originally Posted by lance konami

Just FYI, that is just an endorsement by Ryan Lee. The book eatstopeat was written By Brad Pilon. Looks like leangains is also advertising eatstopeat. BTW, is turbulencetraining crap? I've been meaning to check into it.
Didn't mean to **** on your suggestion. It's just that the marketing approach to these sites drives me crazy. Whether the book is decent I have no idea, but trying to navigate through that **** seems like a non-starter when I can get what I'm going to guess is better info from Martin's site for free. (I'm glad he's making some cash off of ESE. Pilon probably used a lot of his initial work.) There were a series of threads here last year about IF. And a few very long ones on BR. There are better programs out there than TT. lefty

 

[dsgNYC]

Originally Posted by RVAduffer

On April 11, 2008 I had a physical. My blood levels were fine, there was nothing wrong with me expect my weight. 284 at 6'. Christ. Changed my life that day. Today I weighed in at 227.
I lift three days a week and do cardio five days a week. I try to eat 5-6 meals a day consisting of about 300 to 500 calories for a total of 2200 calories a day. I avoid processed foods for the most part and can't tell you the last time I had McDonald's french fries. I give myself one cheat day where I can have whatever I want.

My problem (if it even is one) is that I lost the first 40lbs in 4 months, but it's taken me almost another 4 months to take off the next 17. I'm noticing improvements in my body measurements and I'm putting on muscle as well, but damn. I want to be losing more weight. Looking for ideas to get the lbs coming off again or just some reassurance that I'll get there. Goal weight is 185 and I'd love to be there my next summer. Thanks for reading my vent.

I was in the same boat about 6 years ago...lost about 60 lbs pretty fast and hit a wall around 200. The "diet" I used was EXACTLY what you're doing. Keep up your workouts and maybe try to vary your cardio. Mix in running, biking (stationary bike or a road bike if you have one) etc...just don't get stuck in a rut doing the same cardio every day (which your body will get used to and which will make your lose interest).

One suggestion I have is to start increasing the amount of time you do cardio. If you're doing 1hr every day, bump it up to 1hr15min and see how that feels. Just don't go too crazy or you might wear yourself out or injure yourself.

 

[RVAduffer]

Thanks for the advice and the encouragement dsgNYC. How long did it take you to get over the "wall?"

 

[dsgNYC]

Originally Posted by RVAduffer

Thanks for the advice and the encouragement dsgNYC. How long did it take you to get over the "wall?"

Not a problem...encouragement and focus are probably some of the most important things to have if you want to get over the wall. For me, it *********** ton of patience and work over ~3 months to drop another 10 lbs (this was, however, my last year in college and I was doing a lot of drinking), but in the end I don't think it was really worth it. While I would've liked to be 185, I was doing just fine at 200 and it was a lot more manageable. For me, breaking through the wall is all about having a goal in mind. For example, I dropped from 215 to 195 over the course of 4 months, but that was this past spring when I was training for some olympic distance triathlons. The amount of effort that goes into training is pretty draining, but it is a pretty quick means to an end, and it feels really good once you reach your goal(s).