six weeks and NOTHING!!

[ammilio]

What am I doing wrong? I posted a few weeks back about 11 weeks till my cruise I wanted to lose 15 lbs or so...and now I have 5 weeks and I have not lost a pound!! I am so depressed...I am doing cardio lifting, my diet is...ok...not perfect but I cannot believe that I couldn't lose one freakin pound? Now I am desprate!!
What can I do?? I only have 5 weeks!! I will do anything!
Obviously I am not doing something right.
I do LOTS of cardio. Is this bad??
Please help.

 

[JJFigure]

What's your diet like? Can you post up a day?

 

[ammilio]

Ugh. Well I definately dont eat 6 meals a day and eat like you guys do anymore. I try to eat just regular meals and stuff. I eat lots of salad...lean meat...try to stay away from processed carbs...I couldn't really post a day because it is always different.

So is this my problem? Should I eat strict and follow a "plan for the next five weeks? What can I expect in 5 weeks? Is this enough time to do anything?

I will do ANYTHING!!!!!!
I don't know if raising my meals to 6 will do anything beens I only have 5 weeks. I could start that when I get back...but what should I do FOR NOW????
I don't want to look all squishy on my cruise...ya know?
Thank you. Any tips are appreciated.

 

[MULE1]

DId you check your body fat before you started, if your eating more than 100 grms of carbs a day your gonna be awhile loosing weight, Has you clothing gotten any looser, I try not to focus so much on wieght but more on body fat and how clothing fitsd

 

[ammilio]

my bf% was 25 couple months ago.
my clothes have gotten tighter...not looser.
I think Im getting fatter.
Why?

 

[JJFigure]

You can train your @ss off, but if your diet isn't in order, you're not going to drop bodyfat (well, there are a few exceptionally genetically gifted people out there who can ignore their diet, but most of us can't). Diet is 80% of the fat loss process; the fact you can't post up your diet says that's probably the problem.

Start a diet log - this forces you to look up all the macronutrients and kcals of everything you eat, making you more aware of what's actually going into your body. Try to keep the carbs lower and as fibrous as possible (veggies). Stay away from the sugars, and I'd even cut the dairy products for the next 5 weeks (lactose is a form of sugar).

Without knowing your diet, it's hard to tell why you seem to be getting fatter. You may be eating too few kcals for the amount of activity your doing - or you may be eating way too many kcals because you're just not aware of what exactly you're eating. I know when I first started a diet log, I had a big eye-opener on the amount of kcals I was REALLY eating and what I thought I was eating.

 

[SouthernBell]

What JJ said.

And of course you can make some improvement in 5 weeks. I know that Atkins may not be the diet of choice on the boards but there is CKD which is similar but has a one day carb up. I would try something like this which monitors your carbs down to >20g a day except on a carb up day. I was doing the atkins mainly because I was away from the Gym for some time but since I have been back I have started the CKD and lost about 10lbs in 2 weeks time. I know most of this is water but the low carb high fat (good fats) way is working for me. There is a site that you can go to and get all the macronutrients it is called www.fitday.com. But to be able to find the problem you have to log everything. I mean everything you eat and drink. You will be amazed at what you are actually taking in or in some cases not taking in.

Cardio can be a good thing and a bad thing if you overdo it. Make sure you are taking in enough cals to support your activity.

Good luck and remeber be absoutly honest with yourself that is the only way you will succeed.


SB

 

[ammilio]

Is there anything I can do to look better in 5 weeks?
Cut carbs, cals, etc?
Lets say I cut my cals low, eat very low carb, high protien can I lose 15 lbs in 5 weeks...some being water and the rest fat?

 

[Pink Space Biscuit]

Cutting cals really low is probably the worst thing you can do.

It'll work a few days and then probably stop and screw up your metabolism more in the process, but the moment you eat something on that cruise it's gonna come back.

 

[valerie]

You really need to follow jj's advice. No there is no shortcut. If try something radical it will backfire on you. Diet is the key. You will lose water by lowering carbs and dropping refined foods. If you wont measure and monitor your diet then how can you possibly expect to lose fat? Best bet is to follow a diet plan and be happy with your results. Otherwise you'll make yourself crazy. PLenty of diets on this board and the diet board. Good luck.

 

[ammilio]

So...Im screwed?
I can low carb it...I am lifting...cut back on some cardio...*frowns*
So should I low carb every day...or have one day a week eat something high carb?????

 

[ammilio]

Oops sorry. Did not see your post.
Do a diet. See results. 5 weeks?
Thanks you guys.

What will I get in 5 weeks? 5 lbs?

 

[lucidblue]

You can train your @ss off, but if your diet isn't in order, you're not going to drop bodyfat (well, there are a few exceptionally genetically gifted people out there who can ignore their diet, but most of us can't). Diet is 80% of the fat loss process; the fact you can't post up your diet says that's probably the problem.

I think I may be genetically gifted... as far as ignoring a diet. As long as I workout I seem to have no problem eating what I want. The only thing I have changed is trying not to eat carbs during the week after 5pm. Weekends usually are a different story. Plus I drink less soda than I used to. Other than that, I've managed to drop inches and sizes and bodyfat without much dieting. I guess I'm lucky. I think if I had to diet I would write everything I ate down or use a program like Crosstrainer to keep track of what I was eating. Keeping a workout journal helps, so I imagine a diet journal would too.

 

[ammilio]

You are right!! A workout journal does help...I do not know why I thought I could get away without a food journal. Its hard to keep one of those things...I think. Does anyone else think so?

 

[JJFigure]

Initially it's hard, but it becomes second nature after a while. I actually log my meals in the morning, before I start eating (or before I go to bed, I plan the next day). That way I know I have all my food on hand and I stick to the plan. Oh sure, life interferes occasionally and you have to change your log, but that's just life.

The first week is harder because you have to look up all the numbers for the food you eat; after that, you find you tend to eat the same food most of the time, so you rarely have to crack out the USDA URL (or reference book).

BTW - here's the USDA URL you can use to look up your kcals and macronutrients:

http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/cgi-bin/nut_search.pl

And here's nutri-facts, another database that might be easier for you to use:

http://www.nutri-facts.com/

 

[ammilio]

*blushing*

I usually can tell you how many calories carbs fat, sugar, is in ANYTHING.

I just dont keep track of what I eat.
I used to. I was compulsive. Wish I could bring that side out again.

Thanks!!

 

[jenscats5]

I now keep track of everything I eat via www.fitday.com, when I didn't I thought I had a good handle on cals, fat, etc but when I started logging in what I ate I found out I was eating 2,500 cals per day & sometimes more!

Now I use fitday.com to plan my food for the next day in advance & carry a big bag to work with all of it in the bag. I eat about 1,000 cals during the day and then have 600 or 700 for dinner. Keeping a food log keeps me in check & helps me tweak my food so I get more bang for the buck.

 

[ammilio]

What ratios are you trying for?
Are you trying to lose fat?

 

[jenscats5]

I'm doing a 50/30/20 split of carbs, protein & fat. Sometimes I do 40/40/20 & my goal is 18% bodyfat. I think I'm at about 21% now but that's a guess. I need to have it checked at my gym, just haven't gotten around to it. Fitday makes it easy for me to keep my calories stable along with the ratios, cuz it charts it all for you right on the front page. It takes a bit to set up cuz I made a big giant list of customized foods based on the nutritional labels of the foods I eat most often.

 

[flexygrl]

Please don't take offense to this but:


Yesterday my sister IM'd me. She was like, "How can I lose weight in such a such a time." Just like you.

I said well, I eat 6 times a day. I have 3 regular meals, usually 3 oz of chicken, 4oz yam twice, breakfast is 3 egg whites and a bowl of oatmeal, mixed with water, then 3 protein shakes. I am very strict when I am dieting. This is what works for me(took me a long time to realize this)

Anyway, that's what I told her. She writes me back saying that she doesn't want to give up all her yummy food. So I'm like, okay well you like cheese and fatty dressings right? And she's like yeah. So I'm like, okay well why don't you try a ketogenic sort of diet(atkins). She writes me back saying how she loves her pasta too much.I told her that I can't help her then.

Now enough of my babbling. Here is the point. The ladies are telling you what will work. You can chose to follow it or not. There is no magic pill. At bare minimum if you do the RIGHT thing for 5 weeks you may see a 5 pound loss. You may see a 10 pound loss if you are lucky.

I can guarantee you something though. When you go on your cruise no one is going to run over to your with a scale and ask you to get on. So weight means nothing. This took me awhile to realize. If you eat CLEAN for 5 weeks straight, you will see results. Maybe not on the scale, but definetly in your clothes and most importantlly in the mirror.

Another thing to remember is, this is all temporary. You want to look a certain way for an event right? 5 weeks of eating clean may get you there. Then if you are happy with the results you can include a cheat meal here or there.

You have been armed with kudos of info from the most intelligent women(I'm not talking about me) on the planet. Now pick one of their suggestions and get busy!!!!

 

[Daisy_Girl]

If you eat CLEAN for 5 weeks straight, you will see results. Maybe not on the scale, but definetly in your clothes and most importantlly in the mirror.

Flexy is right.

You can drop quite a bit of weight in 5 weeks. I'd say between 5-10lbs quite easily. Eat CLEAN - lean meats, fibrous carbs, limit starchy carbs, eat good fats, and drink loads and loads of water.

Don't cheat. If you need to cheat, eat ONE cheat meal a week. Don't go crazy, keep it small and stay focused.

Definately keep a food journal - write down EVERYTHING that goes in your mouth - liquids, gum, mints, food, etc. You say you know nutriet counts of foods, but can you recognize portion sizes? Often we UNDERestimate what we are eating since our ideas of portion size is out of whack.

If you want to drop the weight for a specific event, then stop screwing around and do it right! And I am saying that in the most positive, motivating way!