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NEED help analyzing what I'm doing wrong

Old 05-23-2011, 03:34 AM
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Default NEED help analyzing what I'm doing wrong

I've been struggling to lose weight for months now. I'm 5' 4.5" and 155lbs. I've run 3 half marathons, 3 full marathons and just recently an ultra-marathon (50 miles). YET the weight will not come off; in fact, I gained while lowering my intake.

I started back in December. I ate around 1500kcal on average -- no weight loss.
Then in mid-March I lowered my intake to 1300kcal on average -- still no weight loss.

I run at least 20 miles weekly, play competitive racquetball and soccer once a week, and joined crossfit (for the strength training and HIIT element).

I'm extremely frustrated. I'm an athlete; I want to look like one, too. Please, offer any advice on what I'm doing wrong. I've made my activity and food log public.

Thanks!

Last edited by jm88; 05-23-2011 at 04:38 PM.
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Old 05-23-2011, 03:48 AM
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Originally Posted by jm88
I've been struggling to lose weight for months now. I'm 5' 4.5" and 155lbs. I've run 3 half marathons, 3 full marathons and just recently an ultra-marathon (50 miles). YET the weight will not come off; in fact, I gained while lowering my intake.

I started back in December. I ate around 1500kcal -- no weight loss.
Then in mid-March I lowered my intake to 1300kcal -- still no weight loss.

I run at least 20 miles daily, play competitive racquetball and soccer once a week, and joined crossfit (for the strength training and HIIT element).

I'm extremely frustrated. I'm an athlete; I want to look like one, too. Please, offer any advice on what I'm doing wrong. I've made my activity and food log public.

Thanks!
You are probably burning your calorie intake by just running! Do you maybe have an underlying health issue? Have you talked to your doctor? Something doesn't sound right to me.

Post up the link to your log please.
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Old 05-23-2011, 03:59 AM
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You need to provide a link to your activity and food logs even if you have made them public in order for the rest of us to see them. (The easiest way I've found is to put the links in your signature.) A few other details would be helpful, Male/Female, age?

Do you really run 20 miles daily or should that have been weekly? Just verifying.

My first thought is that you may be overtraining. You are obviously have good cardio-vascular fitness so I would curtail the running except for the soccer and warmup exercises and then concentrate on strength training. Keep your Kcals at about 1300 daily and see what happens in two weeks.

I read somwhere that the body becomes very efficient at running when asked to perform on a consistent basis. Concentrating your fitness efforts on strength training would have the same result if the routine is not changed up regularly. Hope this helps. I'm sure others smarter than me will have other good suggestions.
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Old 05-23-2011, 04:32 PM
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Oh dear, I meant WEEKLY. Sorry for the mistake.

jm88 - free online diet and fitness journal
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Old 05-24-2011, 04:54 AM
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How do your clothes fit? Are you muscular and tight, trim, but just want to see the scale change?

You say that you eat x number of calories. Do you measure that food, using a measuring cup or a scale? Do you use a tablespoon to add oil to a pan - is someone else cooking for you and you're estimating what's in the meal, calorie-wise?

The reason I say this is not to imply that you are cheating when entering food in your log. It's just that this is always the first place to look when calories don't match up to weight loss.

Do you drink alcohol? Do you look up the calorie content of everything you eat? Have you ever tried eating prepared foods ONLY (Lean Cuisine, Jimmy Dean Low-fat breakfasts, etc.) for a few days to see what the effect is of truly only eating measured food? That's the beauty of those prepared meals (you have to do this for a few days, a week, tops, because the sodium content of these foods is their biggest drawback). Eating something that is prepared and pre-measured ONLY will point out that yes, you are eating only these calories and yet you are getting only these results.

Fitday also gives you a tool to figure out what your calories should be for your activity level. Take the activity level down a notch and see what it says for a level below what you think your activity level is. What is your calorie intake supposed to be for that new level? Then try to match that.
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Old 05-24-2011, 07:25 AM
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I have now been able to look at your logs. I saw a couple of things that you may consider changing.

Protein: It looks like you are around 20% of your calories daily from protein. Some (including myself) find keeping their protein at 30% helps them lose weight more consistently. I have read posts from Mecompco (Michael) another member here who has had great success that he tries to keep his protein at 40%.

The food thinkThin (I am guessing it is a protein/diet powder that you use for smoothies) looks to be loaded with carbs. If my assumption is correct I would suggest you look for a protein powder/mix that has a higher protein to carb ratio. The BodyFortress brand I buy at Walmart is about 24g protein and 2g of Carbs. There are others out there that have an even better ratio.

I second Kathy13118's post above about measuring everything. Get and use a scale if you don't already have one. That way you will now exactly what your eating.

I got a chuckle from your food log of May 21st when you posted 'shit' for 2700 calories. I don't know how you got past the smell, LOL!
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Old 05-24-2011, 08:56 AM
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[QUOTE=Kathy13118;47110]How do your clothes fit? The same. Are you muscular and tight, trim, but just want to see the scale change? Average.

You say that you eat x number of calories. Do you measure that food, using a measuring cup or a scale? Do you use a tablespoon to add oil to a pan - is someone else cooking for you and you're estimating what's in the meal, calorie-wise? I use both tools. I only use Pam.

The reason I say this is not to imply that you are cheating when entering food in your log. It's just that this is always the first place to look when calories don't match up to weight loss.

Do you drink alcohol? No.Do you look up the calorie content of everything you eat? Since I was 16.Have you ever tried eating prepared foods ONLY (Lean Cuisine, Jimmy Dean Low-fat breakfasts, etc.) for a few days to see what the effect is of truly only eating measured food? That's the beauty of those prepared meals (you have to do this for a few days, a week, tops, because the sodium content of these foods is their biggest drawback). No, too much sodium but sometimes I eat them but not for every meal.Eating something that is prepared and pre-measured ONLY will point out that yes, you are eating only these calories and yet you are getting only these results.

Thanks for your input!!
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Old 05-24-2011, 09:01 AM
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Originally Posted by rpmcduff
I have now been able to look at your logs. I saw a couple of things that you may consider changing.

Protein: It looks like you are around 20% of your calories daily from protein. Some (including myself) find keeping their protein at 30% helps them lose weight more consistently. I have read posts from Mecompco (Michael) another member here who has had great success that he tries to keep his protein at 40%. Hmm, what does that equate to in grams? Should I try more of an Atkins approach?

The food thinkThin (I am guessing it is a protein/diet powder that you use for smoothies) looks to be loaded with carbs. If my assumption is correct I would suggest you look for a protein powder/mix that has a higher protein to carb ratio. The BodyFortress brand I buy at Walmart is about 24g protein and 2g of Carbs. There are others out there that have an even better ratio. It's a gluten-free, sugar-free protein bar. I love it because other protein bars are loaded with sugar. And it's delish! I'll look for that product

I second Kathy13118's post above about measuring everything. Get and use a scale if you don't already have one. That way you will now exactly what your eating.

Thanks!
I got a chuckle from your food log of May 21st when you posted 'shit' for 2700 calories. I don't know how you got past the smell, LOL!
Lol, that was my cheat day. I ran an ultra-marathon the previous Sat. and decided I deserved at least one day of not counting.
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Old 05-25-2011, 03:51 AM
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On a 1300 calorie diet 30% protein would be about 97.5g. Since protein is about 4 calories per gram 4 X 97.5g = 390cal (1300 x 30% = 390). 40% protein would equate to about 130g.

Have you considered HIIT for your running? Instead of steady state running the HIIT might help you burn more calories and provide a different routine for your body to adapt to.

I am a big believer in weight training for women. I believe most women don't carry enough muscle mass (the furnace of metabolism). Take a look at Bodybuilding.com and the Transformation of the week women. There is some great information there about how others have acheived the body they want.
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Old 05-25-2011, 01:58 PM
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OK, thanks for the tip!
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