Body comp not changing: What am I missing?

[Subject2Change]

Hi,
I've been reading this forum for a couple of months and have picked up a lot of good info. I'm hoping somebody here can give me some good advice about my particular situation.

I started exercising again religiously about two months ago. I go to the gym 6 days a week (5 days: weights + cardio, 6th day: cardio only) and I have cleaned up my diet (no more fast food, pizza, ice cream, etc.). But I've only lost 3 pounds in nine weeks and I have only lost two inches from my waist.

In the past six weeks I've upped the intensity of my workouts, (lifting heavier weights, incorporating mountain climbers, jumping jacks between sets, using a heart rate monitor, etc.), but my weight and body composition have not significantly changed.

I'm not sure if I'm doing something wrong or if my internal body chemistry is just out of whack or if what I'm experiencing is OK but just on the very low end of progress. It is frustrating not seeing much of a change after nine weeks of being committed.

Here are my stats:
Age/gender: 41, female
Height: 5'2"
Current weight: 157
Weight two months ago: 160

Waist: 33 (down from 35)
Hips: 40 (down from 41)
Chest: 38 (down from 39)

A typical day's menu for me has looked like this:

Meal 1: 1/2 cup cottage cheese, 1/2 cup blueberries, a wedge of fresh cut pineapple

Meal 2: Plain old-fashioned oatmeal with a tablespoon of brown sugar, dash of cinnamon, 1/2 cup blueberries, a little pineapple

Meal 3: Whey protein shake made with 8 oz. soy milk with 1/2 banana (Taken 30 mins before workout)

Meal 4: Whey protein shake made with soy milk and 1/2 banana (Taken w/in 60 mins of workout.)

Meal 5: Baked chicken (4 oz.) spinach, baby carrots, no dressing. 6 oz. of nonfat peach greek yogurt

Meal 6: Casein protein shake made with water


To me it looks like a clean diet but am I missing something? I've been drinking plenty of water too. However, I've only lost three pounds since July 15, 2009, which is the day that I started going again regularly to the gym.

Any suggestions? Thanks in advance!

[hvivona]

How many calories is that? What are your macros? Just from looking at what you have I can tell you need to add more green veggies and cut some of your fruit. There are lots of sugars in pinapple and banana and also carrots. For fruit stick with apples and berries and limit the high sugar stuff. I'd also add some lean protein to your second meal.

[kfisherx]

Hi,
I've been reading this forum for a couple of months and have picked up a lot of good info. I'm hoping somebody here can give me some good advice about my particular situation.
.....

To me it looks like a clean diet but am I missing something? I've been drinking plenty of water too. However, I've only lost three pounds since July 15, 2009, which is the day that I started going again regularly to the gym.

Any suggestions? Thanks in advance!

Not meaning to be rude but if you have been reading for the past months, how did you miss that body recomp = CALORIES first and foremost NOT about clean eating. You have not listed what your calorie consumption is every day. Do you even know?

[Tiffany_P]

Questions:

1. How many calories is that, and do you have any cheat meals/days? Do you ever deviate?

2. Are you comparing your weight from the same time of your menstrual cycle?

[Subject2Change]

Thank you all for responding.

The day's menu I posted in the original post is approximately 1630 cals. I've been staying within a 1500 to 1700 cal range. I calculate I've been eating anywhere roughly 120 grams a protein a day, sometimes as much as 140 grams of protein, if I have wind up having 3 shakes in one day. The amount of carbs, I'm less certain about, but perhaps between 140 to 160 grams. Fats, I really don't know exactly, perhaps around 40 grams? I was taking 2 tablespoons of flaxseed oil each day, but I wasn't used to the taste so I've been taking fish oil capsules instead in the last two weeks or so. I have been baking the chicken and cooking egg whites with virgin olive oil.

I had a terrible sweet tooth before starting this so I think that's probably why I'm so drawn to the fruit. I see what you're saying about the veggies. I need to up those.

Regarding cheat meals, for the first seven weeks I was a model student. For first 3 weeks I was participating in one of those prepared home-delivery diet meal programs that was slated at around 1400 to 1600 calories daily. That was getting expensive so I decided to just go it alone and prepare my own food. I did that for about 4 weeks. I was eating the same stuff every day in three-to-four hour intervals up until last week when I took my measurements and realized I didn't have much to show for my effort. In the past week I've started to relax my discipline a little (adding dressing to the salad, having a cookie instead of yogurt for dessert, having a whole wheat English muffin with the egg white omelette.) I haven't slid back into my old ways (Pizza Hut, ice cream, chocolate, etc.) but I'll be honest, I'm feeling frustrated and that's why I figured I better ask this forum for some help.

Regarding my menstrual cycle, yes, I do get a little bloated around that time of the month. I tend not to step on the scale daily, but last month before my period my weight fluctuated up a little (like up 2 lbs) and then went down a little after it was over. I assumed that was water weight.

My takeaway at this point is to up the protein intake, up the green veggies, reduce the fruit intake and get a more precise handle on the healthy fat intake? Does that sound about right?

Thanks in advance.

[kfisherx]

Thank you all for responding.

....My takeaway at this point is to up the protein intake, up the green veggies, reduce the fruit intake and get a more precise handle on the healthy fat intake? Does that sound about right?

Thanks in advance.

No this sounds completely bass akawards. You are stating roughly this and roughly that when you talk about caloric intake and yet you want to manipulate macros and start reducing fruit???!!!! How about you figure out EXACTLY what you eat including cheat meals. Figure out EXACTLY what you burn and adjust calories accordingly? The more EXACT you are the more you will be able to understand what to adjust and how when you hit a plateau.

Calories in have to be less than calories out if you want fat loss. If you don't get this, nothing else matters.

If you don't want to get more precise in your measurements than take what you are doing and eat less by your measuring system.

Calories before macro manipulation. I don't disagree that you should eat veges, etc but that has absolutely ZERO to do with you not losing weight.

[sweeth4796]

first off 2" is ALOT to lose in your waist regardless of how long it took! BRAVO FOR THAT!

How many minutes of cardio are you doing per day? Do you have enough energy to get through your workouts AND your daily activities?

Waist: 33 (down from 35)
Hips: 40 (down from 41)
Chest: 38 (down from 39)

CONGRATS! You lost 3" and your chest is up meaning you GAINED some muscle there! So your total fat loss is more than you think :-)



Meal 1: 1/2 cup cottage cheese, 1/2 cup blueberries, a wedge of fresh cut pineapple

****a nice typical breakfast would be 1/2 cup oatmeal, 6 eggwhites, 1/2 cup blueberries...ditch the pineapple and you need more protein period!****

Meal 2: Plain old-fashioned oatmeal with a tablespoon of brown sugar, dash of cinnamon, 1/2 cup blueberries, a little pineapple


***again this meal (if it is not pre or post workout shouldnt really have carbs or a small amount of them...I would do like 3 oz chicken breast and 1/2 oz cheese or almonds
Meal 3: Whey protein shake made with 8 oz. soy milk with 1/2 banana (Taken 30 mins before workout)

Meal 4: Whey protein shake made with soy milk and 1/2 banana (Taken w/in 60 mins of workout.)

***post workout this sounds great! you need fast digesting carbs pwo..maybe even eat 1 whole banana****

Meal 5: Baked chicken (4 oz.) spinach, baby carrots, no dressing. 6 oz. of nonfat peach greek yogurt

***sounds fine but you may want to have a little bit of olive oil and ditch the peach yogurt..lotta sugar in that...flavored yogurts alwasy do. You should eat a bunch of veggies, mod healthy fats and mod protein in this meal.

Meal 6: Casein protein shake made with water

There you go..thats my suggestion.......you might wanna keep the cals at about 1600 maybe do like 3 days cardio x 30 min (if your overtraining) keep 4 days weights and have 1 cheat meal a week.......