Need a change asap!!

[denisha1]

Hello all...

I need some help. Not to long ago I invested in a personal trainer for about 4mos and I did not lose any weight at all. I gained more strength but that was about it. I am 29yrs old female 185lb and carry most of my weight in my lower half. I want to lose about 30lbs by the end of April for a couple of reasons. #1 I am getting ready to graduate with my Master's degree and I would love to have this goal accomplished before graduation in May and walk across that stage nice and healthy. 2nd by fall of next year I want to have a baby and go into that being healthy and fit as well. I build muscle in my lower body easily so right now if I could remove the layer of fat I would have nice quads and gluts :-)

Diet wise I am frustrated because I have tried reducing my carbs and then eating balanced and no luck. Working out I have started back working out in the morning doing at least 45min of cardio 4-5 x a week about 2wks ago. I have done about 2days weight training with legs and 2-3 upper body and abs.

My diet now consists of:

Brkfst 4 egg whites 1 piece of low carb toast
snack low carb yogurt and turkey or ham lunch meat (18g protein total)
lunch- meat and veggie and 1/3 cup of fruit
snack - 1/3 cup of nuts
dinner - meat and veggies
later that evening - low sugar cup of hot chocolate

At this point in time I don't have anytime to waste and need to get focused because it is about getting my body healthier and finally accomplishing this fitness goal that I continued to struggle with since I was a teenager.

Thanks for any help or advice!

D

[bigpump23]

D, this is a big thread but the first hting I can say is search. You really need a totaly make-over with your diet and training. Pm me if you have any specific questions,

[bscrusher]

you have a BIG advantage that will help you towards your goal if you take advantage of it correctly.

that advantage is big muscles in your legs that easily get bigger.

build your program around heavy squats and deadlifts.

the growing muscle mass of your legs, combined with the energy expenditure of the heavy lifts will burn calories and fat like crazy.

limit your lifting to compound freeweight lifts.

use a muscle mass building protocol.

do not lift 2 days in a row.

do not train 3 days in a row.

do not train more than 45 minutes at a time.

you should never be hungry.

you may not actually lose 30 lbs, because muscle weighs a lot more than fat, but you will definitely look like you have, and that is what is important, right?

[denisha1]

bscrusher...you are right I may not actually get to lose 30lbs but if the inches come off I will be jumping for joy.

Can you please clarify some of the info you said about training legs. So far I have been doing supersets. After about 45min of cardio I then give 30minutes of weights. Legs I have been using leg press, lying leg curls and leg extensions. Sometimes I will do squats on the smith machine or lunges on the smith as well.

The following is some kind of routine I had been working on perfecting :-)

Monday- cardio & legs
Tues- cardio and 2parts of upper body
Wed - cardio
Thurs - cardio & legs
Fri- cardio and 2 parts of upper body
Sat - cardio
Sun- rest

*****************
You suggest to build my routine around squats and deadlifts.

limit your lifting to compound freeweight lifts. (I know this sounds dumb put what do you mean compound freeweight?)

use a muscle mass building protocol. (??)

do not lift 2 days in a row.

do not train 3 days in a row. (Everything I have been informed of in the past even the personal trainer told me to at least get some form of cardio on 5-6 days a week to burn fat)

do not train more than 45 minutes at a time. (how can you fit in cardio + weights by training only 45min?)

you should never be hungry. (LOL!! when I train my lower body hard it sometimes seems like I am starving)

Thanks

D

[bscrusher]

Originally Posted by denisha1

bscrusher...you are right I may not actually get to lose 30lbs but if the inches come off I will be jumping for joy.

Can you please clarify some of the info you said about training legs. So far I have been doing supersets. After about 45min of cardio I then give 30minutes of weights.

DO NOT TRAIN FOR MORE THAN 45 MINUTES AT A TIME. in other words. if you train for "45min of cardio" you are not doing "30minutes of weights" until you get 24 hours of rest.

Legs I have been using leg press, lying leg curls and leg extensions. Sometimes I will do squats on the smith machine or lunges on the smith as well.

drop all that and do real barbell squats.

The following is some kind of routine I had been working on perfecting :-)

Monday- cardio & legs

do not lift 2 days in a row.

Tues- cardio and 2parts of upper body
Wed - cardio

do not train 3 days in a row.

Thurs - cardio & legs
Fri- cardio and 2 parts of upper body
Sat - cardio
Sun- rest

you need at least 3 total rest days, no lifting, no cardio, per week.

*****************

You suggest to build my routine around squats and deadlifts.

limit your lifting to compound freeweight lifts. (I know this sounds dumb put what do you mean compound freeweight?)

compound means you are bending more than one joint to do the lift, squats, deadlifts, lunges, military press, etc.

use a muscle mass building protocol. (??)

do not lift 2 days in a row.

do not train 3 days in a row. (Everything I have been informed of in the past even the personal trainer told me to at least get some form of cardio on 5-6 days a week to burn fat)

well we could go into a whole huge thing about how personal "trainers" are almost always the WORST person's to consult concerning exercise. instead i will post some links for you. the muscle mass protocol is detailed in those links.

do not train more than 45 minutes at a time. (how can you fit in cardio + weights by training only 45min?)

why couldn't you?

what possible circumstance could stop a person from doing lifting for 25 minutes and then cardio for 20 minutes, or lifting for 44 minutes and cardio for 1 minute?

in any case i am reccomending you do LIFTING ONLY for 45 minutes like every other bodybuilder on the planet does. then on a different day, if you want, do CARDIO ONLY for 45 minutes.

you should never be hungry. (LOL!! when I train my lower body hard it sometimes seems like I am starving)

Thanks

D

if you feel you are starving it is because... you are starving. this will keep your metabolism slow and your body will hang onto your fat like grim death, because it does not "know" when it will get food next, and fat is your body's survival fuel.

eat BEFORE you feel hungry.

check out what i wrote on these threads.

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=306891

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=298212

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=361213

also read a new article on the t-nation site by eric cressey entitled, "cardio confusion."