Advice Needed Please (On Behalf)

[Sariyah]

Hi all,

I am hoping other members maybe able to share their knowledge with me as I have run out of ideas into how to help my sister reach a healthy weight for her size, I have helped create plans for her and she has lost a good amount of weight this far, unfortunately not as much as she wanted though. Below is some background information on her situation:

Stats:
4'11 (same as me)
25 year old Female(again same as me)
Currently weighing in at 78.8kgs as of today
Short Term Goal: 65kg
Long Term Goal: 55Kg

She started in January this year at 94kgs, so we have taken a small chunk off her weight which is good but I think she is a tad disappointed that it hasn't come off faster as she is working out 5 - 6 times a week, I also have her doing the same weight training routine as me at the moment which is 4 x a week of compound workouts with a reasonable weight. I have passed on to her all my experience within weight loss but I can't seem to find the balance for her for better results. She is tracking her food intake on MFP also.

I have a suspicion that she isn't eating enough to support her body, her TDEE is showing 2412 (based on 3 - 5 workouts a week as per fitnessfrog.com calculator / 1552 Cals BMR) and on average her net calories range from 1100 - 1200 after she completes cardio for the day, so I think due to this low calorie intake for some time it may have lead her metabolism to slow down, therefore creating poor weight loss results. Has anyone had experience in this area at all? If so, what is the best way to increase her metabolism long term?

I had suggested to her last week that she try's "zig zagging" her calorie intake, and I think maybe over the last month she has tried to take up interval training on the Cross trainer aswel, it doesn't appear that these have made much of a difference in her situation, so my question is, should I create a different weight training routine for her and minimize cardio? I think on average she WAS doing 300 cals a day on the crosstrainer (tracked on a HR watch & strap), I've suggested she brings that down for the mean time as her calorie intake is pretty low. She is also making use of protein powder and trying to ensure her carb intake is not crazy high.

Unfortunately I am no personal trainer, so all my suggestions are based on experiences I have had in my own weight loss journey over the last 3 years and the information I am finding on the internet/BB.com, so any further help would be greatly appreciated by us both

[Sariyah]

Bump - Any words of wisdom?

[KLMARB]

What is her diet? What macros are she following? Losing fat is fairly easy once you understand the biochemistry...

[Sariyah]

What is her diet? What macros are she following? Losing fat is fairly easy once you understand the biochemistry...

Hi there,

Sorry for the very late reply - I kinda gave up hope I might get a response lol

I think if I recall correctly she is trying to keep her carbs low, not insanely low though. I think she struggles to meet high calorie goals when she is doing her cardio so my thought was that she wasn't eating enough to support her cardio session which in turn was providing unsatisfactory results. I know that for her breakfast she always has 2 poached eggs on 1 or 2 pieces of toast, then for lunch I think she'll have a small can of Tuna(flavoured) with rice. Looks like lately her net calories at the end of a day after cardio are averaging around the 1200 mark, but realistically she should be able to eat more going by her TDEE? (unless I'm wrong), so I'm at a loss into why the weight isn't falling off with the low calorie intake. I don't know the % for her macros unfortunately, but we are aiming for high protein

Thanks for your comment

[KLMARB]

For her, losing fat is really an issue of understanding the specific conditions that enable lipolysis. Since she has been chronically lipogenic for so long, she has a high degree of anorexigenic hormonal resistance, which works to perpetuate her lipogeneic state by creating adverse resistance withdrawl reactions whenever she drifts towards hypoglycemia.

In a nutshell, she needs to follow a macronutrient intake pattern that sustains lipolysis and enables her to "adapt out" of her chronic lipogenesis. Here is the easiest way:

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=36497

The one thing I'd like to add is that in her case she should NOT do these two things:

1. Restrict calories during the first two or three weeks. Due to her current condition the focus should be on adaptation, rather than restriction. This avoids true orexigenic (starved state) hormonal secretions while her anorexigenic hormonal resistance levels are dropping.

2. No carb-ups (glycogen recompensation) during that same period. Again, facillitating adaptation is the goal.

She is probably going to feel terrible for a few days when she becomes hypoglycemic, but you need to convince here that this is merely part of the process as her body switches over to burning fat as her primary energy source. She just needs to take it easy for a few days and eat plenty of protein and fats to mitigate the negative reactions. Minor stimulants, tea, coffee, etc. would help as well. Eventually, hypoglycemia will no longer trigger a negative reaction, and at that point you can consider her hormones to be fairly balanced.

Over a year, losing between 50 and 100lbs. is very doable. I've lost well over 200lbs. myself, and never gained any of it back. Feel free to PM me with questions..

[Sariyah]

For her, losing fat is really an issue of understanding the specific conditions that enable lipolysis. Since she has been chronically lipogenic for so long, she has a high degree of anorexigenic hormonal resistance, which works to perpetuate her lipogeneic state by creating adverse resistance withdrawl reactions whenever she drifts towards hypoglycemia.

In a nutshell, she needs to follow a macronutrient intake pattern that sustains lipolysis and enables her to "adapt out" of her chronic lipogenesis. Here is the easiest way:

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=36497

The one thing I'd like to add is that in her case she should NOT do these two things:

1. Restrict calories during the first two or three weeks. Due to her current condition the focus should be on adaptation, rather than restriction. This avoids true orexigenic (starved state) hormonal secretions while her anorexigenic hormonal resistance levels are dropping.

2. No carb-ups (glycogen recompensation) during that same period. Again, facillitating adaptation is the goal.

She is probably going to feel terrible for a few days when she becomes hypoglycemic, but you need to convince here that this is merely part of the process as her body switches over to burning fat as her primary energy source. She just needs to take it easy for a few days and eat plenty of protein and fats to mitigate the negative reactions. Minor stimulants, tea, coffee, etc. would help as well. Eventually, hypoglycemia will no longer trigger a negative reaction, and at that point you can consider her hormones to be fairly balanced.

Over a year, losing between 50 and 100lbs. is very doable. I've lost well over 200lbs. myself, and never gained any of it back. Feel free to PM me with questions..

Thanks so much for your awesome reply I'm about to head off to work but I will have a very good read of the information you've provided when I'm home, thanks again