More Carbs, Less Protein, More Reps, Less Weight

[*Bunny*]

I posted this on the on Diet & Bodybuilding board. Guess I should have went with my gut and posted it here .
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This is really starting to bother me....

At my gym, three of the trainers have told me as a female, I need more carbs in my diet than protein. Also, I need to lay off the heavier weights and focus on more reps with lighter weights in order to "tone" and not bulk. ! ! When I said, "There is no such term as 'tone', " they looked at me like I was just another uninformed female overdoing cardio.

Side bar - My goals: (1) Lose fat (2) Healthy diet (3) Build muscle
I am trying a new approach to working out by doing HIIT on the Precor 3-4x a week for 40 minutes (5 min warm up, 1 minute high intensity, 2-3 minutes moderate intensity for 30 min., then 5 min cool down). Instead of lifting lighter weights for 15 reps like I used to (i.e. Upper Body), I increased the weight, focus on form and go 8-10 reps for 4 sets. Still need some tweaking with weight training and diet (signed up for FitDay to get started), but you get the idea of how I changed things up.

MY QUESTION: Am I approaching this all wrong? I am open to advice, but I cannot get over the feeling these trainers are leading me in the wrong direction.

 

[ashley2212]

You know what they say about a woman's intuition... it's never wrong.

Everyone can be a "trainer"... it doesn't necessarily mean that they know anything. It sounds like you're a very intelligent woman who knows what she wants and does her research... HUGE ROUND OF APPLAUSE FOR YOU!!!

The only person who can help you is you... you're on the right track

 

[*Bunny*]

You know what they say about a woman's intuition... it's never wrong.

Everyone can be a "trainer"... it doesn't necessarily mean that they know anything. It sounds like you're a very intelligent woman who knows what she wants and does her research... HUGE ROUND OF APPLAUSE FOR YOU!!!

The only person who can help you is you... you're on the right track

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!! I got a reply! ...and a Good one too.

(thank you)

 

[ashley2212]

lol... well, consider it a good sign... usually people are more likely to jump in if your diet/exercise is waaay out of whack... since you're on the right track and you're a smart person, there is less to respond to!
Keep up the research and go with your gut (or hopefully without it, soon enough )

 

[superqt4u2nv]

Most trainers want you to keep buying sessions if you make lots of progress are you going to keep buying sessions? Or take what you have learned and apply it on your own? Don't get me wrong not all trainers are like this but I would say a majority are.

 

[*Bunny*]

Most trainers want you to keep buying sessions if you make lots of progress are you going to keep buying sessions? Or take what you have learned and apply it on your own? Don't get me wrong not all trainers are like this but I would say a majority are.

One of the PT's is my neighbor and the other is an old friend from High School. The 3rd is some random voicing his opinion when I told a lady he must have been training to try HIIT instead of just doing an hour on the Precor at the same speed. Whether or not he had her doing that much cardio like that, my lack of experience was 'corrected' by #3.

My PT neighbor told me, "It will take a YEAR to lose the weight you gained from Cancer/Chemo (basically 40 lbs) the right way." Also how I "need to break free of my stubborn thinking regarding fitness." I took my money, found this site & signed up as a Platinum member for Elite.

Like I said before, I am not looking for a quick fix, just a new healthy way of eating and training I can apply to my every day life.

 

[velvett]

My PT neighbor told me, "It will take a YEAR to lose the weight you gained from Cancer/Chemo (basically 40 lbs) the right way." Also how I "need to break free of my stubborn thinking regarding fitness." I took my money, found this site & signed up as a Platinum member for Elite.
.

I totally disagree with your neighbor.

But, WELCOME TO EF!

 

[*Bunny*]

I totally disagree with your neighbor. But, WELCOME TO EF!

As do I! And thanks for warm welcome!

OK, I will post some more info about myself in this thread so you helpful ladies can offer me some advice:
Weight: 180-185
Height: 5'8 3/4
Body fat: 25%

MAIN GOAL: To lose the 40-45 lbs I gained from Steroid therapy/Chemo/Fatigue over the last 8 months, in a decent amount of time (6-8 months?).

DIET: This is completely a ‘rough’ breakdown of what I eat during the day:
Breakfast – Protein Shake from Gym, Slimfast Meal Replacement Bar or Low/Non Fat
Strawberry Yogurt or 1 Yolk 4 egg whites sprinkled w/ Low moisture
Cheddar Cheese, Fruit ½ Glass OJ
Snack – Usually Fruit - Small apple, grapes, Banana
Lunch – Chicken & Broccoli, maybe brown rice / or Grilled Ckn Salad w/ Low/No Fat
Ranch or Italian
Snack – ½ Muscle Tech Strawberry Cheesecake Protein Bar or Steamed Veggies (Broc, Zuc, Carrots, Green Beans, and Squash mix)
Dinner - Chicken & Broccoli, maybe brown rice, salad / or Grilled Ckn Salad w/ Low/No Fat Ranch or Italian / or Steak, Broccoli, small Baked Potato, salad
Snack - Other ½ Muscle Tech Strawberry Cheesecake Protein Bar or Shake from gym

I am currently trying to find an eating program I can stick with. At this time, I do not have much time to prepare meals before work, so I was planning to use the bars for a month or so until I can MAKE more time prepare meals, & get used to eating 5-6 times a day. Suggestions are welcome to address my picky eating habits and offer some alternatives to fish, oatmeal, and protein shakes (the ones that are runny like choc, strawberry or vanilla milk make me ). I can cut carbs if need be, but only thing Doc wants me to do is keep vitamins and minerals I get from fruits and veggies in my diet. I’ve been reading to avoid those protein bars (cooked) and not too sure what the breakdown of soy milk base/real fruit is going into the shakes. They taste too good to be healthy.

WEIGHT TRAINING: Trying to figure out a routine to work for me, have increased weights at lower reps, which is new. I have no structured reps, sets, upper, lower, back, etc. just yet. Have been trying to adjust to the weights to see where I should start and now I’m ready to move on. I was always concerned with 'bulking' since I hold muscle very well, so not too worried about losing muscle, covered up by lots of fat right now. (Did that make any sense?)

CARDIO: Since my main goal right now is Fat Loss, should I do cardio every day? Mornings on empty stomach? I have no problem with doing cardio every day, with 3 of the days HIIT. On off days from HIIT I usually play basketball or tennis & jump rope in between sets when weight training (usually with upper body only).

I am still trying to figure out some good exercises for each body part, but for starters this is what I found:

MON - Chest, tri, Cardio
TUES - HIIT Cardio
WED - Shoulders, Back, Bi, Cardio
THURS - HIIT Cardio
FRI - Legs, Cardio
SAT - HIIT Cardio
SUN - Rest, maybe some outdoor activity

Ok, now you go....

 

[superqt4u2nv]

Way to much cardio! Just do the 3 HIT workouts.
As for diet check out the 5 diets Daisy has posted all excellent for fat loss.

 

[*Bunny*]

Way to much cardio! Just do the 3 HIT workouts.
As for diet check out the 5 diets Daisy has posted all excellent for fat loss.

Thank you for the great links, I must have missed a couple of those diets.

I hear where you are coming from with the cardio. I think it's probably important for me to stress that I have the hardest time NOT being active. On my hiatus from working out, I pretty much went crazy not being able to relieve all the added stress I was going through. Not that my life is so much harder than the next person, but it's either find a way to relieve this stress or pop Rxns every day to hide it. Been there done that, through with it.

Activity (such as cardio) is mainly for my Mental health - if I don't do something everyday to get 'it' out I get stressed, have a short temper and feel like shit. It doesn’t have to be full blown 40 min. high intensity running (like it used to be), I’ve cut it back to simply tennis, basketball, walking on the treadmill, walking my dog, etc on my off HIIT days. It's just something I cannot give up right now.

When I 1st joined EF, I took the time to read & take notes from the 8 or 9 page post from Daisy_Girl’s transformation. At this time in my life right now, I am on the same page with her “strictly trying to lose fat, not concerned about maintaining or gaining muscle…naturally hold onto muscle easily….” When the fat comes off, that’s when I may have a change of heart in building some more muscle.

Some more things I cannot eat: Yams, Sweet Potato, Oatmeal, Cream of Wheat, Fish, Canned Protein Shakes, Cottage Cheese

Hope this helps with my incomplete routine posted before.