Need advice for diet and workouts...

Since Mary started a post about going to the gym and what ya pay... I am going to start a different tread because I am just at my wits end right now...

Here is why... I love going to the gym... I love going... I don't care what others think in how I look because at my gym there is all different size people there...

I have always loved working out... I was the kid that played 3 to 5 sports at a time...

But, I am in another major stall... if you count losing a pound breaking the last one... but I keep getting such wacky info from the nuts at barix I just don't know what to do now... one said I worked out too much another said I didn't do enough... either way I don't know what to do... I do take the yoga/pilates class and did have a trainer (I want to resign up with him but just don't have the money)... one says I'm getting too many calories another says not enough... etc...

I have no issue going 4 to 5 times a week... I have been reading Body for Life and The Beck Diet also... but I just don't know what to do... I have now spent almost between a 1/3 to a 1/2 of my weight loss journey in a stall and I know that isn't normal... I did try to see if I could get in to see doc Brader (he was to be my doc before he left barix) but my insurance isn't sure if he is on their list of docs since he has moved his practice to Lancaster... the only way I can talk to dr. boe it seems is to drive in... and I'm not going to waste my time and money on that right now to see him for 5 mins for the same talk I could get on the phone from him... I have completely given up on the nuts!! And think next fall I am going to go for my degree to be a registered dietitian that is how frustated I am...

I have kept a food journal, tried mixing things up etc... and I did realize that I was getting in one too many carbs a day... I cut it out... the next weigh in I gained 5 pounds... I added it back in... I was back down the 5 pounds...

So, those of you farther out... help!! Right now I feel like I am sinking no matter what I do... because I just can't seem to find the right mix for me... and yes my blood work is all normal/perfect...

I know my body has NEVER been normal but I'm so tired of this... I'm so frustrated at all of this... and I am feeling defeated right now... I'm not giving up... just feel like I keep getting knocked down by all of this...

Well crap Shannon, I wish I could help you.

Tell me what it is you do when you go to the gym.

That might spark a few ideas.

And there is a really good Exercise and Fitness board here on OH. It might help to seek some help there. They have some genuine freakin' experts.

This is what I am doing now...
Monday- either yoga/pilates or cardio for an hour
Tuesday- weights- stomach and legs for 30 to 45 mins (depends if I have to wait for a machine lol)
Weds- mat pilates and then 15 mins of cardio or just 30 mins of hard core cardio on the arch machine and elipitcal
Thurs- weights- stomach and back and chest
Friday- pilates and weights- just arms or just cardio- 40 mins on the bikes, arch and eliptical

Normally take Sat and Sunday off... but if things are crazy during the week I work out then and take off like Tues or Thurs...

For a while the nuts told me to only do the yoga/pilates... that didn't work... so now I am trying to do a combo of those classes and cardio and weights...

I am also trying to keep all work outs under an hour not to over do it... I also make sure I eat some protein after working out... my chriopractor doesn't want me to do the treadmill anymore because she thinks that is tossing my whole body out of aligment since now almost all my excess weight is on the front of me...

so let me know if ya want more details hehehe...

Helo,

Well, it is awesome that you are doing some good things for yourself.  I am envious.  The gym is out of the question for me at this time.  Anyway, your workouts.  It appears you are doing alot of muscle conditioning exercises which will do alot for toning.  Muscle weighs more than fat so keep that in mind.  As for burning fat, cardio aerobic exercise will do that.  So maybe adjusting your routine will help.  Most trainers are clueless to our needs and what we need to eat to stay healthy.  I wouldn't put a whole lot of stock into what they recommend.  Knowledge is key so keep studying and learning from professionals who know our needs.

Also, one thing I notice with alot of us is our focus on the scales.  I found I couldn't be.  So, I focused on inches lost and clothing sizes.  Much more exciting!

Again, I applaud you for your perserverance!!!



Paula

My trainer has worked with a lot of gastric bypass people... he had me doing an hour of lifting and then an hour of cardio 4 times a week... for a while it worked and then it stopped... it also knocked me out... aka when I got home I crashed and would have to take a nap... hard to do when you have a 2 year old toddler lol...

But, I haven't lost very many inches either during all of this... like one month it was only 2 inches... and I measure 11 to 12 different places on my body... and all of this does have my trainer stumped... he saw my food journals counted the calories there and what I should be burning off and according to him I should be dropping weight like a mad woman... so when I talked to the nuts at barix (who are completely clueless when it comes to balancing food vs exercise) all they said was to eat more... which now I never feel full now... I normally hit 1000 calories... they were telling me to up to 1200 to 1600 (if I hit that one all I would do is eat all day long... that is way too much food)... my trainer figured that I was burning off around 400 to 600 calories... if I was normal... which now we think I'm not...

Well, I think that is way too much.  Your body never gets a chance to recover.  I ooooh I'd get another opinion.  Your trainer isn't a wls professional.  Well, again, I admire your tanacity (spelling?).  I hope you find the right combination soon.


Paula

I've had issues with the nuts saying to eat more etc when they have said it to you and others.  Yes, you need proper nutrition in order to get your body healthy and fueled efficiently.  That being said there is a basic math it boils down to.  Calories "in" vs calories "out"  Meaning what you eat has to be LESS than what you are putting out.

Now - extreme cases are a different story.  Such as Spitz in the olympics.  His rigorous training and swimming and what not had him eating a ridiculous amount of calories...I wanna say something like 10,000 calories a day.  No matter how hard we believe we are working out - we are not burning off THAT much.

Now, your body may think initially (in my opinion who is not trained in any of this I might add) that you are starving and initially hold on to weight.  However, just like in the early days of surgery....when your body realized how little you were taking in....it held on and then eventually had to give in and lose the weight.

Hope you find some answers and a program that works for you.

Pam

I have had about 30 talks with the nuts about the calories eaten vs the calories burnt off and let me tell you they didn't want to give me a number... but I had the issue from 6 weeks to 3 months were I was starving myself because I was buring off too many calories from working out...

What they (the nuts) don't seem to get is nutrition and exercise... all of them seem clueless which I just don't get since all of us should be working out after surgery hehehe... so one nut said 1000 calories was fine... another said 1200... etc... till I got one nut who said 1600 (I can't eat that much)... I have a hard time most day****ting 1200 and just hitting that so often I never feel full... where before I used to so in a way I now feel like I am over eating... which is why I dropped my workouts from 2 hours to an hour...

Shannon,

I'm in the same boat with you. Slow weight loss and a work out schedule very similar to yours. I have the same questions as you and have done all the the change ups you explained with the same results....slow weight loss, long stalls, frustration.

I see Dr. Boe and the nuts on Thursday and plan to discuss these issues at length. I'll post on any new information they suggest...

Hang in there and keep working out cos it feels good, yes?

Teresa

Well I hope they tell you something different than what they have told me basically lol... but I am worried because I basically have another 100 pounds to lose and as slow as the first 100 was it is going to be even worse for the 2nd 100 now that I am a year + out...