HELLLLlo ladies!! All the men are directing me here!!

sxygmini · 03-18-2003, 10:31 AM

Ok ladies. All the men are directing me here. I need some help on diet and lowering body fat from the gals!! Basically where I am is still in the "beginning"-"intermediate" stages of weight lifting and fitness. I have been doing cardio (swimming/running) for most of my life but I just started weight lifting about 6 months ago. What I have noticed is that I have gained muscle and size but I can't get rid of the fat covering the muscle. I have JUST started to do research on diet and nutrition within these past few months and I think that I NOW have a good handle on the RIGHT foods to eat. BUT I don't exactly know how to put the right diet together. I have been doing the low carbs/low fat, high protein diet.....I have been focusing a lot on cardio in order to burn away the body fat but it just hasn't really been working. I run 45 min 4 days a week and I am in the gym 4 days a week for about an hour each doing the weights. So with the running and the weights, what is the proper amount of carbs and protein and when do I eat each of them?? I have heard that I need more carbs for running but then I hear that I need more protien to build the muscle. I've also heard that thing about eating most of your carbs in the morning blabla bla....Can you guys help clarify this for me and steer me in the right direction??

MsFit · 03-18-2003, 12:08 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by sxygmini
I have been doing the low carbs/low fat, high protein diet.....I have been focusing a lot on cardio in order to burn away the body fat but it just hasn't really been working. I run 45 min 4 days a week and I am in the gym 4 days a week for about an hour each doing the weights. So with the running and the weights, what is the proper amount of carbs and protein and when do I eat each of them?? I have heard that I need more carbs for running but then I hear that I need more protien to build the muscle. I've also heard that thing about eating most of your carbs in the morning blabla bla....Can you guys help clarify this for me and steer me in the right direction??

Low carbs will definatley burn fat, and the added cardio might be burning muscle. So, you may have your body in a starvation defense mode, eventhough you are eating. I think you either need to say on that same diet and lower the cardio, or add carbs and keep the cardio. Many people start their weight loss efforts backwards, using the ending point as a starting point. You might want to add some carbs and shock the body a bit. Establish a base diet first, then start dedcuting from there.

icequeen · 03-18-2003, 03:06 PM

There is quite a lot of really good information on this site that will get you headed in the right direction.
Here are a few starters:

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/newrep...hreadid=108761

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/woods4.htm

Also, BigCat has a series that is good--ICE training.

You may also find some really good stuff on femal************.

While there is a ton of nutritional information available, not everything will work for you, depending on your bodytype and the intensity at which you work, so don't get frustrated. For most of us, diet is by far the hardest part to get and keep in line.

Personally, I can eat a whole lot of carbs and still stay very lean, but other people can bloat from a piece of toast. Keep a food journal and note how you feel in relation to the amount of carbs you take in. That being said, 40/40/20 is usually a good place to start your tinkering.

Eat frequently, eat enough calories, drink lots of water. Eat your carbs in your first 3-4 meals and just take in vegetable ones in the last 2-3 meals.
I eat a few more carbs before leg day, but that is the only real adjustment I make.

Good luck!

sxygmini · 03-18-2003, 04:04 PM

Hey Ms. Fit and Icequeen! Thanks for your advice! THis is definitely along the lines of what I was looking for. It's hard to know where to start with all the nutritional info out there but you both have started me in the right direction. I am definitely going to give the 40/40/20 approach a try and log what happens down in my journal. In trying all of these new diet plans out- how long would you all recommend me trying each variation out for? In other words, how long should I try out a new approach or diet? Is a week or two long enough to see results or should I give it a month or what??

In order to achieve that very cut/defined/toned look that I am looking for would you ladies recommend- more weights and less cardio or a balance of both? I have a pretty slow metabolism so that's why I pack in the cardio.....

Ms. Fit- thanks for the advice on starvation mode. I have read about that before and was wondering if it could be something that I was experiencing......that is definitely something to take a look at and try different amounts of carbs in my diet.....

Thanks again for the help ladies. I have a lot of work to do but all the advice is really pushing me in a more focused direction!

icequeen · 03-18-2003, 04:38 PM

I would give the diet at least 2 weeks unless you are feeling very weak or ill and then some changes need to be made immediately. Remember, most people can only lose about 2# per week without cutting into their muscle.

In terms of more weights or more cardio, only you can decide that. The best way to take off fat is through a healthy mix of both cardio and weight training (and of course a clean diet), but the mix is up to you to determine based on what your body can handle--don't get yourself into overtraining/exhaustion.
If you have a slow metabolism you can probably do more cardio, but why don't you (if possible) split it into 2 sessions a day--one first thing in the morning and one in the afternoon--that will really jump start your metabolism

If you have plenty of muscle, then try keeping the weights at a level that will maintain what you have built and then increase the cardio for a week or two. Really it depends on what you have to work with. What is your BF%? That is a good place to start.

Again--best of luck!

sxygmini · 03-24-2003, 03:38 PM

Ok something went wrong here!!! After 2 weeks of low carb, low fat and high protein- I gained 7 pounds. Aside from my diet- I changed up my weight lifting workouts a little bit and I saw some good results from that and I also cut one day of cardio. My weight has never fluctuated more than one or two pounds and this increase is freaking me out. I know it's not all muscle weight either because I can't even fit into my pants anymore! What happened? I was following many of the daily meal plans that you ladies have all posted and I don't think that I could gain all that flab from INCREASING my exercise intensity and changing it up a little bit. My butt and stomach literally exploded like nothing I have ever experienced before. SO- after dieting and exercising like crazy AND gaining 7 pounds in two weeks- I decided to go back to the way I was eating before. Now I am almost back to the "normal" me but now I am more frusterated than ever! It seems like I am busting my butt in the gym and I am really trying to get this diet thing down and look what happens. Without writing out my full meal plans, can you guys suggest or recommend anything??
Before I started the higher protein, low fat/carbs diet, I was still eating healthily but I had more carbs and more fat in my diet. Can you ladies suggest anything? I am scared to try new meals and "diets" after these results!!!

icequeen · 03-24-2003, 03:54 PM

You could have been experiencing some water retention since you would really have had to add some calories to have gained 7# in two weeks.

Are you measuring out your food and counting up the caloies/protein/carbs/fats? Don't guess.
Try www.fitday.com to help you. Fitday will also help you accurately count up your caloric needs and expenditure.

Relax. Getting the diet down is the toughest part and pretty much all of us "fall off the wagon" now and then.