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retropitcher7
New Member
| Joined: | 2 September 2008 |
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| Posts: | 6 |
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Posted: 2 September 2008 01:50 pm |
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Just wanted to say hey and ask a few questions!
I have always been overweight. I started excercising everyday and eating healthy. I lost a considerable amount of weight. I was forced to even buy new clothes and everything. Started getting more attention from girls and everything.
For some reason it seems like my weight loss has slowed down. I still find time to go to the gym everyday and eat fairly healthy (I should probably eat more, but don't know how to eat more and stay healthy). I normally eat a small lunch and a "satisfying" dinner, all of which are normally healthy.
My excercise routine consists of 30 minutes on an elliptical and about 20 minutes of weight training (mostly arms).
Any suggestions? Should I try some kind of supplement? Maybe instead of eating 1.5 meals a day i should eat 2 or 3 healthy ones? Different excercise routine?
Nice to meet you and thanks in advance!
Last edited on 2 September 2008 01:52 pm by retropitcher7
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Hellrazor
New Member
| Joined: | 6 July 2008 |
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| Posts: | 292 |
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Posted: 2 September 2008 02:06 pm |
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First off are you male or female? second what is your weight and height?. Also are you counting calories cause that is huge thing in the process. Those will be helpfull for people to give you advice around here
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retropitcher7
New Member
| Joined: | 2 September 2008 |
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| Posts: | 6 |
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Posted: 2 September 2008 02:39 pm |
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| I am a 20 year old male, about 230 pounds. I guess I should start watching how many calories I take in. Whats a good number to focus on?
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Hellrazor
New Member
| Joined: | 6 July 2008 |
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| Posts: | 292 |
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Posted: 2 September 2008 03:55 pm |
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Well don't know your height but I punched in 5-10 based on that between 1600-2200 calories
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retropitcher7
New Member
| Joined: | 2 September 2008 |
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| Posts: | 6 |
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Posted: 2 September 2008 04:08 pm |
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| That doesn't really answer my question. I can use the calculators on the site. I am wondering why my weight loss has seemed to drastically slow down. What can I change to keep the ball rolling. (IE excercise routine, diet, supplements?)
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nevarine
New Member
| Joined: | 28 August 2008 |
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| Posts: | 5 |
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Posted: 2 September 2008 06:46 pm |
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Hey Retropitcher,
It's very natural that the weight loss process slows down after a bit. It happens to everyone.
My best suggestion would be not to take supplements (I think they're recommended only to those that can't take anything else!)
If you're really stressed about the remaining pounds, I think you can slowly jack up your training routine to 40-50 minutes, and also work on legs and chest in your weight training (these are major muscles which means they burn lots of calories!)
Hope this helps and good luck
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CrimsonAnimus
Moderator
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Posted: 2 September 2008 07:26 pm |
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Welcome to  , retropitcher!
First, your diet:
For a good starting point, I recommend you use the calculator here to determine your unadjusted RMR, before any activity factors. This is generally the minimum number of calories that you should eat per day. At 230 pounds, you can probably go a little lower than this number for a while (no more than 75%), but as you get closer to your goal, you really should work on increasing it until you are at least back to your unadjusted RMR.
As far as how to eat more and stay healthy, there are plenty of ways to do so. Do you get enough fruit? There are a lot of healthy fruits out there that are calorie dense, such as grapes, pineapple, and bananas.
Do you eat enough good fats? Your body needs both monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fat to function optimally, and to help flush fat out of your body. Fat is a little over twice as calorie dense as carbs and protein. Sources of good fat include nuts, fish, and healthy oils, such as canola, olive, and soybean.
I'd definitely recommend you eat at least 3 times a day. Many people would recommend 5-6 or so a day. I'm less likely to overeat if I'm satisfied at each session, so 3-4 works for me. Metabolism is an important factor to consider, and if you go that long without eating, and you're hungry, you're doing your body more harm than good.
As far as supplements go, I don't recommend any except a daily multivitamin.
Now, let's talk about your exercise:
Is the elliptical the only cardio exercise that you do? If that's the case, your body has probably adjusted. When I started exercising, I did only the treadmill. Then, I stopped that for a while, and did only the bike. I've seen the best results, though, since I started doing both of them again. Also, keep trying to improve yourself. If you're not experiencing the same burn you used to, it's probably time to increase the intensity.
As far as your weight training goes, I recommend you work more than just your arms. Strength training all of your muscle groups will not only greatly affect your appearance and increase your natural muscle mass, but it will also increase your metabolism, which influences how many calories you will burn naturally throughout the day. For the most optimal results for your metabolism, you should strength train several times a week, but make sure not to work the same muscle group two days in a row. Abs are the exception to this rule and can be worked every day.
Also, you might want to consider increasing the duration of your cardio workouts. In addition to your 30 minutes on the elliptical, you could do 30 minutes on another piece of equipment, or go for a 30 minute walk. Make sure you stay hydrated, and drink 8 fluid ounces before, after, and for every 15 minutes of exercise.
Good luck! 
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retropitcher7
New Member
| Joined: | 2 September 2008 |
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| Posts: | 6 |
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Posted: 2 September 2008 08:00 pm |
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| What about mon, wed, fri, do 30 min. of cardio and 30 min. of lifting and then on tues, thurs, sat do 1 hour of cardio?
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CrimsonAnimus
Moderator
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Posted: 2 September 2008 08:24 pm |
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Assuming you are taking Sunday off, sounds like a good plan to me!
Make sure to watch your body's signals, though, and don't overdo it. Exercise doesn't have to severely drain you to be beneficial.
Good luck, bud. Keep us updated! 
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cportwine
Senior Member
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Posted: 2 September 2008 09:31 pm |
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I would really recommend eating more times a day. I know it's hard to get use to, but that might help you.
Also, not knowing how many calories you are taking in can be a disadvantage. Cause if your not taking in enough calories that could slow your progress.
I do allot of yo yo thing with my calories. High on a couple of days, then low on a couple of days. But, I am more or less maintaining now. So, that would not probably help you any.
Good Luck, hope it all goes well for you.
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OnceUpon-A-ThinGirl
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 2 September 2008 09:51 pm |
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| I have to agree with cport, when I get stuck I zigzag a little. I have some maintenance days and low calorie days. If I still can't seem to break it I will go over my maintenance calories for one or two days (not by a lot maybe two or three hundred calories). This seems to shake things up a little and get the scale moving again.
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CrimsonAnimus
Moderator
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Posted: 2 September 2008 09:54 pm |
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Yes, I second that...er, third that. 
I eat just a wee bit more than 75% of my unadjusted RMR on most days, but I still take at least one day a week to spike my calories past 100%. Keep your body guessing - it will have to work harder that way!
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Hellrazor
New Member
| Joined: | 6 July 2008 |
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| Posts: | 292 |
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Posted: 2 September 2008 11:59 pm |
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Well you asked for help and I gave you my answer. What you need to do is switch your cardio everytime you do it. Never do the same thing at any point you do it and I am willing to bet you will see weight drop off. I was doing 6 days a week 3 days weights and 3 days cardio. Not to mention walks in the morning and at night and it fell off. I is real easy to eat healthy and eat 2000 calories it is when you get up to where I'm at is when it gets hard. On days I work out now I'm eating around 3500 calories just to maintain. Sometimes that is more depending if I go for a bike ride also. Like tomorrow riding 25- 30 miles and I will end up eating around 4500-5000 calories. I was at your weight in Dec 07 and I'm now at 165 ! So keep your head in the game and it will happen
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retropitcher7
New Member
| Joined: | 2 September 2008 |
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| Posts: | 6 |
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Posted: 8 September 2008 04:32 pm |
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| How does your body get used to cardio? Are you saying that even if I increase the slope and resistance everytime i'm wasting time?
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Hellrazor
New Member
| Joined: | 6 July 2008 |
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| Posts: | 292 |
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Posted: 8 September 2008 05:19 pm |
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NO you are not wasting your time but you will have to work harder at it to burn what you are burning now. Switching it up won't give your body time to get used any certain type of excersise. It worked wonders for me
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retropitcher7
New Member
| Joined: | 2 September 2008 |
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| Posts: | 6 |
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Posted: 8 September 2008 06:07 pm |
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| I just dont understand why my body would react different too 30 min. of strenuous activity on an elliptical or on a treadmill running for 30 min. Either way my heart rate is up and im kicking my own butt.
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Hellrazor
New Member
| Joined: | 6 July 2008 |
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| Posts: | 292 |
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Posted: 8 September 2008 08:32 pm |
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You build up strength and endurance and it will take more energy to burn the same amount. Why not confuse your body by trying something else all the time. So it has to work hard all the time. Trust me thats what I did and it worked wonders!! Out of the 7 months I was trying to loose weight I hit 1 plateau for a couple weeks then snaped out of it by switching my cardio all the time
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CrimsonAnimus
Moderator
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Posted: 8 September 2008 10:25 pm |
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Retropitcher, your body gets adjusted to the same exercises for two main reasons:
1.) As you work a muscle group, it gets stronger. As it gets stronger, it doesn't have to work as hard to accomplish the same tasks. The more efficiently your muscles operate, the less energy they have to expend, which translates to a lower calorie burn. However, if you continue to improve the intensity of your workouts, you can help to offset this effect.
2.) Different exercises use different muscles to varying degrees. This difference helps to keep your body "guessing" as to what you will do next, thereby forcing it to work a bit harder. This is why steady state cardio is not as beneficial as interval cardio. If you get on the treadmill and walk at 4 MPH for a while, you will still burn calories, but not as many, because your body will adapt to 4 MPH after a time. However, if you alternate intensity, going up to 5 MPH, down to 3 MPH, up to 4 MPH, and keep switching it around, you can still average 4 MPH overall, but you will get a better workout.
One final note - heart rate is only one factor of calorie burn, and not a terribly significant one at that. It can be a good indicator of how hard your body is actually working, but don't rely too heavily on it.
Good luck!
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