Really Confused

IBCruznSoon · 10-22-2008, 06:57 PM

Help please. It seems the more I read, the more confused I get. I think it's the conflicting information that is out on the web.

I am 5'5 female, current weight 189. My goal is to get down to 140 lbs. I KNOW I can do it, but it's figuring out the best way to get there.

I joined the gym about a month ago and am seeing some slow results both in pounds as well as inches.

My confusion is regarding the cardio portion of my workout. The trainer has told me to go as hard as I can. When I told him that the machines tell me my HR is low 170's, I know this is beyond the target zone of where I should be. His comment was that it meant I had a really healthy heart. (Huh?). Tonight when I did eliptical, I maintained my HR at approx 160. That was fabulous, but I didn't feel like I was working at my maximum capacity.

The question is....if you workout at the highest HR that you feel you can tolerate, is it ultimately a waste of energy? Where should I be targeting to get the most 'bang for my sweat'?

In addition, my caloric intake is low. I'm taking in probably anywhere from 1,000 - 1,300. I think that may be partly causing a relatively slow weight loss process. I'm shooting for 1,500 a day, but struggling. I work out Mon - Fri and do 40-50 min a cardio, and 20-30 min of weight cycle.

Thanks SO much for any pointers.

HatesFat · 10-22-2008, 07:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by IBCruznSoon

Help please. It seems the more I read, the more confused I get. I think it's the conflicting information that is out on the web.

I am 5'5 female, current weight 189. My goal is to get down to 140 lbs. I KNOW I can do it, but it's figuring out the best way to get there.

I joined the gym about a month ago and am seeing some slow results both in pounds as well as inches.

My confusion is regarding the cardio portion of my workout. The trainer has told me to go as hard as I can. When I told him that the machines tell me my HR is low 170's, I know this is beyond the target zone of where I should be. His comment was that it meant I had a really healthy heart. (Huh?). Tonight when I did eliptical, I maintained my HR at approx 160. That was fabulous, but I didn't feel like I was working at my maximum capacity.

The question is....if you workout at the highest HR that you feel you can tolerate, is it ultimately a waste of energy? Where should I be targeting to get the most 'bang for my sweat'?

In addition, my caloric intake is low. I'm taking in probably anywhere from 1,000 - 1,300. I think that may be partly causing a relatively slow weight loss process. I'm shooting for 1,500 a day, but struggling. I work out Mon - Fri and do 40-50 min a cardio, and 20-30 min of weight cycle.

Thanks SO much for any pointers.

If you're gonna be doing cardio for 40-50 min, you should not be at your max capacity. Just based on what I've read.

If you're doing Hight intensity intervals, then it's COMPLETELY MAX BALLS TO THE WALL for a bit, and then totallly relaxed speed for a bit (intervals).

I don't know of any non-interval cardio program that recommends 100% intensity.

Generally speaking you should be good to down about 1300-1400 calories, that should make you lose about 1.5-2lbs per week. Anything less than that is a health risk.

IBCruznSoon · 10-23-2008, 04:47 PM

Thanks for the response.

I don't know if it is considered high intensity, but when I do the Eliptical or Arc trainer, I do utilize the fat burning module which tends to fluctuate the resistance. This tends to get my HR running between 158-170 for the entire workout mode.

Last night my HR monitor showed that I burned 1,000 cals for a 90 min workout. Seeing that my intake was about 1,300 yesterday, it seems to be a pretty high rate of burning off calories, compared to intake.

I am losing on avg 1 pound /week (but it comes in spurts of 3 lbs, and then just .2 or something for a few weeks).

Just trying to figure out if I am doing the right thing.

Eileen · 10-23-2008, 05:19 PM

You are not wasting energy. Go as hard as you can and you will see better results. There is a lot of stupid stuff talked about "fat burning zones" but the truth is that the harder you work, the better your results will be. If you can maintain a high heart rate for a long time and it returns to a low level when you stop, it is a sign of good hearth health.

You can't maintain 100% for long, but 85-90% is certainly possible. I do it for 10 miles on my bike when I'm late for school pick-up!

Uneven weight loss is absolutely normal, particularly for women. It's annoying, but normal.

Base your calorie intake on your lean mass (total weigh minus bodyfat). Around 13 - 14 cals per pound of lean mass is a good cutting level. If you have a lot of bodyfat, then 1300 might be the right level for you. It's pretty much impossible to lose weight if you are force-feeding yourself. You shouldn't be starving, but you shouldn't be stuffed either.

Ignore the calorie burn numbers on the cardio machines. They just make those up to encourage people to use the machines. They can't possibly take into account your muscle mass, individual fitness, efficiency of movement etc.

IBCruznSoon · 10-24-2008, 05:02 AM

Eileen thanks for your response, that was really helpful (and encouraging).

One stupid question.....what's the best way to determine what my body fat is?

KingWill · 10-24-2008, 06:12 AM

There are numerous ways. Calipers, hand held devices, and scales - however I have always been uncertain of how accurate those are. IMO the only way to get a precise reading is submersion. Right now your weight and mirror can be a good judge - as long as you are eating adequate protein and not starving your self, you are most likely losing fat and not muscle. Good Luck.

duffman18 · 10-24-2008, 06:33 AM

High intensity cardio makes you lose about as much fat as low intensity cardio, so if anything it'll save you some time. The thing is, it also preserves more muscle than low intensity cardio, so in the long run it means you'll keep the fat off

turtle_soup · 10-24-2008, 07:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by IBCruznSoon

Thanks for the response.

I am losing on avg 1 pound /week (but it comes in spurts of 3 lbs, and then just .2 or something for a few weeks).

Just trying to figure out if I am doing the right thing.

Just wanted to chime in here and say - don't worry about this. I'm the same way - and i chalk it up to the female hormones! Just keep plugging away and you'll get to your goal weight.
Results come with time. a 1200-1500 calorie diet is optimal for the basic weight loss with excercise.
Keep up the good work!

backlikethewind · 10-24-2008, 07:31 AM

220 - age = Y

Y x 0.65 = 65% hr
Y x 0.75 = 75% hr
Y x 0.85 = 85% hr

so : 220-42 = 178

178 x 0.65 = 115.7 bpm
178 x 0.75 = 133.5 bpm
178 x 0.85 = 151.3 bpm

Being that you are at 170 bpm is way over what your heartrate should be during exercise. The older a person is, the lower the AVG HR will be, the younger, the higher. Try to keep it within these limits. Although going a bit over your 85% HR is not a bad thing in itself but you are overpumping your heart.

If you do weight training, I would suggest that you keep your energy for your weight training first, then finish off with your cardio. If you go the other way around, you will feel like you do not have the strenght to do your weight training, depending how heavy you go or how hard you go at it. To each their own on this though, you do what works for you but I firmly believe that for optimal results doing weights first is the best :-)

EDIT: Try not go to below 1200/1300 calories and even 1500 at the minimum. This may sound weird but the less you eat, you are making your body "starve" itself and it will definitely slow down your metabolism, thus not much weight/fat loss and muscle loss too if you go too low.

As for your bodyfat %, most ways are not 100% accurate. The water immersion procedure is a bit costly and still not 100% accurate. I do prefer calipers although they have a 2-4% average discrepency with the % the person gives you but you have a pretty good idea with them. Have a trainer at the gym use calipers to determine your bf%. Don't get caught up in the numbers too much, they can play tricks in ur mind sometimes. Solution ? go with how you feel in your clothes and not just with the scale number. That doesnt mean much at times.

duffman18 · 10-24-2008, 07:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by backlikethewind

Being that you are at 170 bpm is way over what your heartrate should be during exercise. The older a person is, the lower the AVG HR will be, the younger, the higher. Try to keep it within these limits. Although going a bit over your 85% HR is not a bad thing in itself but you are overpumping your heart.

There's no such thing as a fat burning zone. Doing more intense cardio is better for your heart and for fitness

backlikethewind · 10-24-2008, 07:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by duffman18

There's no such thing as a fat burning zone. Doing more intense cardio is better for your heart and for fitness

I never talked about FAT BURNING ZONE. I ONLY talked about what your AVH HR should be ! She will lose fat, yes, no matter how high/low her HR is. I mearly mentioned her HR for her age is 20 bpm OVER her 85% target HR, which is the anaerobic state !

duffman18 · 10-24-2008, 08:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by backlikethewind

I never talked about FAT BURNING ZONE. I ONLY talked about what your AVH HR should be ! She will lose fat, yes, no matter how high/low her HR is. I mearly mentioned her HR for her age is 20 bpm OVER her 85% target HR, which is the anaerobic state !

But she shouldn't have a target heartrate. And she wants to be anaerobic.

backlikethewind · 10-24-2008, 08:40 AM

My point is that her HR being at 170 bpm is TOO HIGH, she is in the anaerobic state at her 85% hr anyways.

178 bpm is her 100% max .. which NOBODY should go for EVER (% wise) so her HR being at 170 is way too high ! 170 is ruffly 95-96% of her max HR.

Eileen · 10-24-2008, 09:23 AM

Anyway that 220-age = max heart rate is only a guide. If you are fit, you can go a lot higher than that.

I'm 47, so my max should be 173. But I can easily hit 180 when I'm cycling uphill, and that is not going at maximum intensity. For me, 180 is hard work, but doesn't cause distress or require recovery. I'd say it's probably about 90% of my real maximum.

*Domino* · 10-24-2008, 01:04 PM

When you say you lose weight in spurts, make sure you weigh yourself at the same time of day. The best time is in the morning before you eat & drink anything. That is the most consistent number. Don't get too caught up in weight though. I usually only weigh myself once per week or every other week.

As far as loosing up to two pounds per week, it's do'able, just be careful. The people on TV shows are loosing lots of weight because they have been taken out of their real life, and they have 24 hours per day to focus on losing weight.

So even though people want to see results as soon as possible, the best way to go is steady. Change one thing at a time, don't bash yourself when you backtrack a little and always stick with the program. If you fall off the wagon, get right back to it.

IBCruznSoon · 10-25-2008, 09:31 AM

Thank you everyone for the feedback and the suggestions.

Looks like harder is better, and maintaining that level.

I guess it's the 'patience' that I am lacking at the moment. haha. I'll need to work on that. I am sure I'll see the results, but like everyone else, if I equate my perceived level of effort so far, I feel like I should have lost about 50 pounds by now. :-)

crupiea · 10-25-2008, 10:24 AM

If you are working out hard 5 days in a row and eating that little calories then your weight loss will be slow.

I have experimented with this on myself and I deal with this issue everyday with clients.

Your body can only process so much. You are stressing it a lot with little energy intake and over expenditure.

Although you wost probably believe it, you will see better progress by only doing cardio every other day and lifting weights on the other days.

Your body has to have recovery time to process everything correctly.

If you are currently frustrated with your amount of loss then something is close but not where it needs to be.

There are only 2 main parts

1- diet

2- workout

If you want to eat at that level then you have to control your workouts to your advantage.

More is not always better.

You dont need to kill yourself everytime out either. Just go until you are having a bit of a tough time talking. This will out you at a good hard level that you can do for a longer period of time.

Hope this helps.