not improving getting worse

Hello,

I'm looking for suggestions or ideas on what is going on.

It doesn't feel like I'm getting any stronger or gaining any endurance on my runs.

1.  I know it's not a competition, but I'm being out lifted by scrawny girls and old men.  I don't seem to be regaining any of the strenght I had before surgery.  If it's possible, I'm getting weaker.
Today I dropped a 40 pound dumbell on my chest, that felt good.  But the worse part was the embarassment of dropping such a light weight.

2.  My labs are all o.k., nothing is out of whack there.

3.  I'm getting plenty of sleep 6-8 hours a night

4.  I'm not gaining any endurance on my runs either.  Actually it seems to be getting harder and harder to put together any kind of mileage at all.

5.  what my workout looks like.  20 minutes on the bike, 40 minutes of weights, rotating through 10 sets of 10, which is rotated between 2-3 other guys, so there is rest time between sets.
Then I try for 20 minutes on the treadmill.

Suggestions?

Are you working with a nutritionist?  Maybe you need to adjust your meal plans to accommodate your workouts. 

Good luck!!

I tried that, their answer was that if I wanted to continue to lose weight, I needed to eat less.  My Dr's Nut is worthless.  She wouldn't even discuss my calorie intake output and the level of training I wanted to attain. 

Right now 9 months out I am eating between 800-1000 calories a day.

Scott

That sucks - I am lucky enough to have a good nut - I still see her periodically, even though I am almost 3 years out.

I think you may need to up your calorie intake, but do it with lean proteins.  I think if you added maybe 200 calories you would still lose weight, but have the energy for your workouts.  I don't know if you track your food, but maybe give it a try, add a little more protein, and see what happens.  

 

I'm trying to get my PCP Dr. to refer me to another Nut.  I have also asked him about getting a more comprehensive set of lab work done.  Hopefully he will be able to give me the help that I am not getting from the surgeons Nut.

Thanks

Scott

Nutrition is key.  Your not eating enough to sustain the workouts you are doing.
I run about 3x a week, do 2x a week lighter cardio and train with a trainer 2x a week.
With that schedule I am eating 2300 calories a day.  When I was only eating 1000 my weight stalled and workouts were not working well! =) 

I would increase your calories if you can.

Kim Mueller is an EXCELLENT nutritionist in the San Diego area. I think she writes for inside tri and competitor magazine. I have gotten a lot of free advice from her via email. She's really awesome.

You need to fuel to exercise. Anything outside of exercise you need to watch.

Also-are you overtrained? Many times when I'm on my recovery weeks I suck.

You might be getting beat by scrawny girlz and old men b/c they're really light. Weight adds a lot of stress and will slow you down. I get beat by 8 year olds in 5ks. I think it's awesome!

I got an appointment with another Nut, and I have an appt with a Psych that specializes in eating related issues.  My doc also moved up my next scheduled set of labs and included a few more tests. 

I am being more dilligent in documenting my food and exercise intake.

So hopefully between all of these, I can find an answer to why I'm struggling recently.
I would have thought that the further out and the more successes I experience that it would get easier, but that hasn't been the case.

Scott

Maybe you've over worked yourself and need a short break to recover. Just my 2cents... Good luck.

I am SO new to this whole thing and certainly not an expert.  But I read that you need to give yourself a break and time for your body to recover or you can hit a rut very easily. 

I find that if I take a day or two off, my endurance always increases.