HELP! can't lose weight...lo energy

[girlno3]

hey girls, im new to this... i so need help!! i am totally overweight, 5'6", 150 lbs, with like a 37" waist!!... though i have already lost about 15lbs or so.. i try to work out everyday, but it ususally slips and i only work out now about 3 times a week, with a 5 or 10k run, and an hour of weights... the problem is i am usually so tired i can't even get in to do the workout...mostly just sleepy, and the less i eat, the more tired i get...but i know i must have a calorie deficit in order to lose the weight... ive been trying to limit my calorie intake to under 1200 cal/day... !! im worried because the fitness competitors i have been looking at seem to do cardio and lift 6 days a week!! i don't know if i have the energy for it!!

this being tired thing, it has been liek this for YEARS...i used to be super athletic and did endurance sports but then i got sick for a year, and was studying,etc... excuses, excuses... its just weird that i had a smaller appetite when i was 165lbs, but jsut kept gaining weight...ok of course it must be becasue i am so sedentary now, but i can't help it i am just so tired all of the time... i;ve beent thinking of using a fat burning supplement, according to the military bodyfat percentage calculation i did, i am 42% bodyfat!! i used to be able to put on muscle fast , especially my shoulders and arms... now it seems to happen so much more slowly now!! nothing is happening, i go workout, do like 5 sets of 20, really light, or 3 sets of 12 for a bodypart and i don't feel any burn at all!! what is going on?? i used to gain muscle so much more easily, like when i was 20, hahah... i gain weight easily on my back and abdomen, but don't gain on my lower half generally... is there a specific back and ab workout i can do to lose weight on my upper body?? but i dont want the muscles to get any bigger, im big enough with really broad shoulders... and a good diet too, how many calories should i go for?? thanks any advice would be appreciated...i am so embarassed oh my gosh, i know you guys are all totally buff and i am so in awe of how fast you can get in shape...

[MsFit]

Originally posted by girlno3

is there a specific back and ab workout i can do to lose weight on my upper body?? but i dont want the muscles to get any bigger, im big enough with really broad shoulders... and a good diet too, how many calories should i go for??

Yes, you need to be calorie deficite, but you need to fuel your body too. Twelve hundred calories is too low for your bodyweight. That's one reason you are so fatigued. That fitness competitor knows how to balance her training, cardio, and nutrition. Plus, I'm sure y'all are two different bodytypes, so don't compare yourself to her.

There's not specific exercise to burn fat, except for good diet and added cardio. Don't stress over calories right now, just start eating 5-6 small clean meals a day. Cut out all the processed, fast, and canned food items. Choose fresh or frozen meat and veggies. Start drinking at leat 16 oz of water between meals. That should get you started

[girlno3]

hey thanks ms fit, you look awesome!! wow do you compete too?? i want to look like you, or Pauline Nordin, she is the one I mentioned...

Im on this atkins type of diet right now, this hi protein thing is working though i have lost a bit of weight so far, maybe im tired becasue i am not getting enough carbs?? ugh i know under 700 calories a day and all i do is sleep... so taking some weird ephera weighloss pill isn't going to be good i think...besides i am super senstive to caffeine... is it true that the ephedra free all natural pills make you lose weight because you don't eat 3 hours before bedtime?? just checking...

the thing is i am just never hungry..ok and factor may be that i was on antidepressants for a long time.. and smoke like a chimney... so bad, i have such a long way to go...

i used to work out alot when i was young, but seriously i am getting no pump at all from my workouts, should i increase the number of sets?? and my friends do so much cardio, they are in shape though don't lift at all!! they run marathons and triathalons and rockclimb and stuff.. they are endurance atheletes and so cut!! and i know they don't use anything, no drugs...that is why i am so surprised bodybuilders seem to recommend 1 hour max in the gym and like, 1 hour cardio, but still look as buff or more cut than these people i know!! what is going on?? i know already if i lift heavy ill get really big, ... i should probably just worry about the weight loss first... my friend who marathon said i wasn't exercising enough, they run 18k on sundays, and a few 10ks and 5 k in the mornings, everysecond day... ugh 18 k is like 2 hours of running and soooo boring!! help help where to start??

[sab]

You should'nt be running on the Atkins diet you are just burning muscle, walk for an hour instead.

[sweetbecky]

...or check out the Keto forum under nutrition. You basically eat like Atkins during the week, with the exception of a post workout shake that will include dextrose.. then once or even twice a week, carb up with quality carbs. It's called cyclical ketogenic dieting. It enables you to get lean and still have energy for your workouts.

Being on Atkins (which I did for 5 years) depletes all of the stored glycogen in your muscles. Your body reaches for that first when you're expending energy. If none is there, the body is supposed to then use stored fat. The problem comes in where you're exercising for an extended period of time. Burning fat directly for energy is very inefficient for the body. It prefers to use other sources (including muscle) in case we're in a famine or freezing to death while hunting for food. Fat keeps us warm and the body will choose to hang on to it rather than muscle. Atkins is great for people who take leisurely walks on their lunch breaks for exercise. I think it's great for people who need to lose a lot of weight. I lost about 60 pounds on it. Now that I'm more in shape and looking to build muscle, it's no longer the best choice.

You would have a lot more energy if you ate more, at least 1500 calories a day, spaced out between 5-6 meals throughout the day. You'll get to where you want to be, just take it a step at a time and keep posting so we can see your progress!
Good luck!

[girlno3]

whoa, thanks, i had no idea... i just started lifting and my impression was that all bodybuilders and fitness models were on basically atkins diets because everyone eats so much protein...and they seem to work out so much, so i thought it would be ok and believed it was just my bad luck that im not athletic enough to be able to handle it... my marathon friends are actually vegetarian, they look kinda pasty and sickly and get these glazed, diabetic looks in their eyes but they have alot of energy to marathon, and they have lost alot of weight...

i've been on atkins for about 2 weeks now and am losing bodyfat but now it seems to have stopped and im gaining!! i havent been exercising anymore becasue i am just too tired everyday, though i have been eating sub 1200-1300 cals a day, though i really feel like this is too little,even though i am doing this, im not losing weight!! i used to eat way less and i was so much fatter then like 15 libs heavier and never lost the weight...

it makes no sense, i am just thinking i must be doing it wrong... i am 5'6", 148 lbs, 99lbs lean body mass which should mean i have a bmr of 1300 cals, with 647 cals for sedentary activity... though at a weight of 148, my bmr is often listed as about 1500 cals/day... so, should i be dieting 500 cals below 1300 cals a day, or 500 cal below 1500?? its so weird i just dont feel thinner either my tummy is not shrinking though maybe my butt is getting smaller first or something... im weird in that i seem to gain weight in a pattern of abdoment, upper body but usually not in my legs, which is weird for a girl i guess... its just so scary for me to actually eat more im thinking uh oh if im not losing it now, then eating more won't help, though i know you are right, i just have to work out more...

help!! should i stop the atkins, switch to the zone?? im not sure if ive lost enough weight yet i am still at 33% bodyfat... i tried the atkins before a long time ago and practically went nuts becaseu i am so addicted to carbs...i would only eat pasta for every meal, no veggies or protein at all... now for some reason the atkins isn't too hard, i have no trouble not eating bread or pasta or rice, but sometimes i break down...