Yo Yo weight not make sense - looking for advice

Hi All I am looking for some advice. I have been cranking up my cardio to the point I am burining on average 1300 calories a day in 70 min workouts. Prior to the last month or so I wa****ting the cardio about 60 min a day an burning about 800 cals a day. I do this 5-6 x a week. The issue I am seeing is my weight loss ha**** a wall and someone suggested my body may be concerned I am starving it and holding onto weight. Here are some stats Month 3 I was averaging 2.1% of my current weight per week lost. I use % of current weight rather then pounds to equalize the effect of current weight. Month 4 I average 1.7% so a drop of .4% per week and now 3 weeks into month 5 I am average 1.1%. My diet is very regular I am getting in about 1000-1200 calories a day and my protien is 65-80 grams a day using no suppliments. I have been try to ramp up the workout and keeep the cals in the same range to maximize the loss but am hitting a wall. Here is a perfect example. Sunday morning wieghed in @ 216 took the workout off of Sunday as usual but the diet was very normal and I got on the scale Monday and was 218.5. Got frustrated and did an 80 min treadmill workout Monday and burned 1500+ cals in that workout diet in check and gained another .5 lb as of Tuesday. Did an easier workout on Tuesday to test the workout too hard / starvation theory and burned 700 cals ina 65 min workout and lost 1.5 lb's as of Wednesday. Kicked up the workout on Wednesday again 70 min 1325 cals diet in check and this morning was up a pound. I know the calc is take in less then you burn and loose but that doesn't seem to be working. Should I be adding a protien shake or 2? Should I be taking in more cals? Just looking for some thoughts from you guys. Thanks, John

Been there - done that. You are not getting in enough calories for all your activity. I know this is hard to believe but it is true. You have two options. 1. Take a break on the workouts - like 3-4 times a week instead of 7 and increase your calories. Protein will help. Your body needs (for your current workout needs) about 120 grams a day. Otherwise, it is going to hold on to everything it takes in.  2. Try boosting the eating a bit and adding protein and continue with your workouts. Just be careful of burn out!  This fitness thing is a whole lot more fun that sitting on the couch, eating chips and watching TV, isn't it?? Dianne from FL Good Luck

PS: I meant your body needs 120-150 grams of protein to help sustain your physical well being.

 

Sorry for the typo.

great info thanks Lady Di. John

Hey John, You're actually doing great. There are a lot o nutritionist that would tell you that your metabolism is shutting down. You're staying on low calories for too long and your body is trying to keep itself from wasting away. One trick some bodybuilding nutritionist do is have their athletes up their calories for 1 meal (not all day) every 3 or 4 days. Some even advocate eating high sugar foods like pop tarts to trick the body into ramping up a bit. Personnally I think WLS should up the protein, especially if you're working out a lot. You can't judge bodyfat loss by bodyweight gain/loss. Your body weight will fluctuate all the time mainly do to water gain/loss. I just read an article on making weight for a powerlifting meet and the guy lost 23 pounds in 18 hours and after the weigh in gained back 25 in 12 hours. It's all water weight manipulation. What I'm saying is don't stress over your daily weigh in. Getting your bodyfat percentage checked would probably be more beneficial to you. Good Luck. Earl

Thanks Earl great info I appreciate the message! John

John, OK, a couple of things. You have lost over 100 pounds; this is amazing and I congratulate you on all your success. You have already changed your life and health for the rest of your life.  Now, to get frustrated over 2,3,4, or even 5 pound fluctuations over a couple of days is not good so lets turn this into a positive. These kinds of fluctuations can occur and do occur due to differences in the amount you sweat from day to day, the amount of water you consume from day to day, the amount of sodium you consume from day to day, when you weigh yourself during the day, etc....Most of these have to do with body water loss and gain. Don't get frustrated....its jus****er. Due to the number of calories you eat and the amount of exercise you perform, it is impossible to gain fat weight at the rate of 2 or more pounds over the course of a day. Don't even consider this; that is not what is happening. One more thing about weighing.... at 5 months post op, your weight loss is most likely not going to be as rapid as it was 3 months ago. This is normal and understandable. I know that you want to see that scale moving everyday. but my suggestion to you would be to weigh yoursefl every week now instead of everyday. Please try this and I think you will experience less frustration and greater gratification.    Judge your success by the way you look, feel and fit into your clothes. a couple of pounds here and there is no big deal.....REALLY....although you should remain aware of your past weight problem, you must start thinking like a thin, healthy, fit person instead of someone who struggles to walk 15 minutes. You are healthier. You are thinner. You are more fit. Quite frankly you could probably run circles around me on a treadmill from the sounds of it. You have changed your life. Keep it up. Jeremy Gentles, CSCS ObesityHelp Health/ Fitness Professional

Jeremy I agree with everything you said I was just tryingto figure out what I believed was a formula for success and didn't want to let the "honeymoon" period slip away.  I have been trying to ramp up the exersize as the weight came down because I knew it would be more difficult to loose.  This surgery has given me much more in 4.5 months then I could have ever imagined. I appreciate the advice and thank you for the response. John

Yeah sorry, I meant to post more earlier but I ran out of time. i do have a couple of concerns.  Your caloric expenditure is a bit too high when you take into consideration the number of calories you are able to consume. The issue here is that is it impossible for you to maintain lean tissue when you are expending this many calories. It is difficult for anyone to maintain muscle when they expend that many calories on a regular basis; even people who can take in 3000-5000 calories a day. When you expend this many calories and you are already in a calorc deficit (caloric consumption), your body will mobilize amino acids (muscle protein) to meet your energy needs.  I would suggest dropping your cardio sessions to 30-40 minutes and weight train for 20-30 minutes.  Jeremy Gentles, CSCS