Stuck in a plateau!!

[Lita2]

Hiya Ladies!

Well, I am down about 20 pounds from 206 to 186 since January 1. I have been eating very clean- a diet similar to spatterson's with smaller meals every three hours. FYI- BF % was 23% January 1. I haven't gotten it tested again yet.

I weight train prior to a 30 - 45 minute cardio session first thing in the morning. I weight train 4 days per week and do cardio about 6 times.

Everything was going really well, and now, the past two weeks, I have lost NOTHING.

I thought maybe I should do different types of cardio so I alternate aerobics with the machines and running. Another FYI- my stomach is my fat area.

I am planning to do a cycle of eq/anavar/t3/clen/eca in the 12 week cycle Lobo suggests, but I don't want to start it before I'm ready.

Here's my questions for you.

What are some suggestions for continued weight loss? Maybe smaller meal portions now? Or less carbs?

Also, I was thinking of doing some ECA and T3 now before my big cycle to continue the weight loss. However, I know from my searches that T3 reduces muscle. My question is, how much muscle can one expect to lose tapering it for 8 weeks, with a peak of 150 mcg's? I would like to have a bit less bulk....my leg muscle is very thick, so I could stand to lose *some* muscle.

I am just frustrated because of the plateau. I am really working my ass off here to prepare for my cycle and I was really happy with the results I was getting. Any suggestions would be great.

Thanks.

 

[Onearm]

You are not alone. Many of us have had similar experiences with weight loss during cutting or reduced calorie diets. Whats your average daily calorie intake since you started, has it bee the same over the last two weeks? Also you may want to watch your BF% as well since you total body weight can be misleading. I have had periods of no weight loss while loosing body fat.

 

[new@gettinbig]

You will not always drop in weight......keep tabs on your bodyfat...just cause u are not losing i would not add additional cardio as of yet...Can u post a sample of your diet now? What is your goal as far as bodyfat etc??

 

[Temple]

How tall are you?
What is your BF%
Is this your first cycle?
Is this the cycle Lobo specifically told you to do or one that he posted?
Are you male or female?
How long have you been at this?


Running? NO
Try changing your cardio to 60 min EOD - moderate intensity
Have you changed your split and workout structure in the last two months or do you do the same thing every time?

T3 should never ever ever never be used without an AS.

Fat on your stomach? One word - Yohimburn!!!

 

[Lita2]

Thanks for the advice so far. I'm a 5' 6" female and I need to have my BF tested again, not sured of the % since I started this new diet and workout, which was January 1 and I was 23%.

Ok, my daily caloric intake is between 1500 - 2000. I am not sure what a good number of calories is to limit myself to to lose fat, without much muscle loss in the process.

Here is a sample of what I eat everyday:

6 egg whites
1/2 c. oatmeal
2 blue sweetners

1 can tuna
2 tbls. fat free mayo
10 wheat crackers

2 grilled chicken breasts

Salad
Fat free dressing (about 3 tbls)
1 c. green beans or fried veggies (in fat free cook spray) like onions, green peppers and mushrooms

3 scoops of whey protein throughout the day

And sometimes, if I am hungry, I'll have a 1/2 c. of low fat cottage cheese or a few pretzels. Some other carbs I eat in my meals are yams or baked potatoes.

Like I said, I eat every three hours, usually a meal consisting of a carb and protein.

My overall goal is to get my BF down to about 12 - 14%. I want to look buff and tough!!

Ok, my workout. Prior to January 1, I was overtraining. I lifted weights 6 days a week, with a split of Chest/Tri on day 1, Back/Bi on day 2, Shoulders and legs on day 3. Then, I'd take 1 day off and do the whole thing again before the week was over. I also did not do nearly enough cardio- maybe 15-20 min a few times a week.

Since then, I am now on a new program, it's a 5 week routine, with the first 3 weeks being the same and the last 2 changing certain excercises and the order I do them in. And, my cardio is done much longer and with more frequecy. Also, sometimes it's intense cardio, but I know you reduce fat more doing cardio at a moderate rate, so I like to keep my heart rate at about 150.

I now lift 4 times per week and the first 3 weeks were split up like this: chest/back/abs, thighs/calves/abs, shoulders/arms/abs.

Now, in weeks 4 and 5- you do: legs/back/abs and chest/shoulders/arms.

I take a minute between sets and do 2 - 3 sets per excercise, and about 3 - 4 excercises per muscle group. Also, some sets are forced reps, some are drop sets and my arm workout is mostly compound sets.

As for AS, I have done a few cycles of DNP, 2 cycles of anavar, and clen.

This will be my first large, stacked cycle. And I don't want to waste it, which is why I am trying to get in as best shape of possible before I start it. I think I will be starting in about 6 weeks. I was going to finish the first 5 week lifting routine and then do it one more time through with some alternate excercises before beginning the AS.

So, no T3 without AS huh? You lose that much muscle???

One other question- why no running??

 

[Debu]

hmmm, I'd throw out the 10 wheat crackers and substitute your rice or potato.

Maybe even the fat free mayo, not sure what's in there?

FAT FREE salad dressing sneaks in quite a few sugar carbs depending on the brand. Try a LIte done right type with a tad of fat(olive oil) and fewer sugars.

Stick with the fat free cottage cheese, ixnay the pretzels.

You said you usually eat carbs at the meals but I don't see it regularly other than the oatmeal? Did I miss something?

Heart rate at 150 is kind of high to me to be "moderate" but maybe that's what I am doing wrong! I just know if I had it that high for 60 min I wouldn't last.

 

[Temple]

Try a 40/40/20 diet - 2000 calorie minimum to start
Add some flaxseed oil to your diet - didn't see much fat in there unless I missed something. Agree with above on the pretzels and needing more substantial carb sources. Calorie restriction for an extended period of time will halt fat loss.

You say you are training 4 times per week but the program looks like a 3 day split... there are lots of different ways to skin a cat but combining chest and back into one day is not one of my favorites as they really each need they own day to get worked properly. Are you doing deadlifts and squats? How intense is your lifting?

Cardio - if you can't carry on a conversation ( a bit of huffing and puffing) then you are pushing it too hard.

As for AS, I have done a few cycles of DNP, 2 cycles of anavar, and clen

how long have you been at this? Where did you start from as far as wt/bfp - what did you get out of the "supplements" you have done so far?

 

[Lita2]

Well, last night I had this whole post done and when I went to post it, it told me I was trying to access a members only forum. I don't know why, but it does that to me from time to time. Anybody else? Then when you go back, it erases your whole well planned post.

Anyway, here's my thoughts.

Thank you to everyone who replied so far.

Ok, I am a 5' 6" female and like I said, January 1 I was 23% BF. I haven't gotten it checked again yet- it's on my to do list.

As for the carbs in my meals, I do eat one with meals, but the only two I listed were the crackers and oatmeal because the other meals carbs change- and usually are one of the ones I listed at the end.

As for the crackers, my personal trainer told me this little fact about carbs like bread, pasta and crackers. If you take the grams of fiber in one serving and multiply it by seven, that number should be higher than the grams of carbs per serving in order for that to be considered a "good" carb. Anyone else heard this? Anyway, these particular wheat crackers fall into that category, which is why I eat them. However, today I had tuna on a baked potatoe, eliminating the crackers and fat free mayo and that was ok.

As for the lifting, it is a 3 day split, but by adding 1 more day of weight training per week, at the end of first 3 weeks, I had completed each day 4 times. I felt I wanted to lift a minimum of 4 days since I had previously been doing 6.

And now, in weeks 4 and 5 of the workout, it's a 2 day split, repeating each day twice in the week, so I am still lifting 4 days. I do not do deadlifts but I do squats. Should I do deadlifts?

Are you sure 2000 cals isn't too high? I will try it.

As for the heart rate, for my age (21), 92% of my maximum heart rate is 200 bpm. So 150 is really only about 70%, which is a moderate rate since the beginning rate for cardio is about 60%. I have found I am able to maintain normal conversation even above 160 bpm.

Now for my previous AS use. I think I mentioned it before but prior to this time in my life, I used the AS not as an aid, but as an answer so my results were what you'd expect; slim to none. I was either only lifting with no cardio or lifting with 15 minutes of cardio or doing lifting and ample cardio and eating like a hog. *Sidenote, anavar made me strong as hell. I could do 120 pounds on lat pulldowns easily!!

I think that's all the questions you guys asked. Like I said, my post yesterday was much better because I wrote down what I wanted to asnwer......anyway, thanks again and have a good week.

 

[Lita2]

Also, my intensity when lifting is pretty high. I lift as much weight as I can, especially on my forced reps. I kind of judge by a "how sore I am in the morning" basis.....if I'm not sore, then I know I need more intensity.

 

[Lita2]

I promise this is the last post. I thought I'd tell you guys that I think one of the reasons I stopped losing was because of water retention last week. You see, yesterday my "friend" who comes to visit from month to month showed up. Today, I weighed 3 pounds less! And I even had a cheat day of girl scout cookies. Go figure. Ok, I'm finished for real now.

*I take one cheat day per month.