stopping point

redfirebirdowner · 05-27-2007, 04:17 PM

I need some help for my wife she is trying to lose fat and tone. She has been doing really good maybe losing too fast but she is doing cardio every night and eating very healthy but her body has came to a stopping point. She lost seven pounds in two weeks and around 6 inches all over (in different spots)over a month period
but for the last week the scale has not changed. I told her that this would happen I just don't know what to do help her start it back up i was thinking she should change up her cardio a little and also she trained 10 days straight before taking a break is this bad for the losing process (time for the body to catch up) any input is much appreciated

Gymking · 05-28-2007, 02:56 PM

hey im a personal trainer and i think she has done very well so far, so keep motivating and complimenting her to the max ok.
remember diet is 75 percent of the battle and exercise just needs to be varied to keep it interesting.
try some interval training, its more intense but its also more fun and burns crazy calories

redfirebirdowner · 05-28-2007, 03:18 PM

thanks gymking i have been on a constant motivation trip she has to know she is doing good to continue with it do you think her 10 days on and one off is good or bad for her

**Freak** · 05-28-2007, 03:49 PM

Her weight loss will not be linear (neither will weight gain) Have her keep doing cardio and a solid diet. At some point she will have to decrease the calories more. I would say give her another week and assess her progress. Is she tracking her bf? Weight is just a number and does not tell the whole truth. Tracking bf will ensure that she is moving toward her goal of losing fat and not just water, glycogen, and muscle.

If she does not have a bf goal she needs to set one.

redfirebirdowner · 05-28-2007, 03:54 PM

thanks the freak no she does not have a goal set but i will suggest that to her. she is i believe taking in right around 1400 cals a day if not a little less than that .

**Freak** · 05-28-2007, 03:59 PM

She definitely needs to set a certain goal. Otherwise she WILL fail or at the very best just be really inefficient. Is she doesn't set a goal she will be aimlessly working and never feel satisfaction even when she is making progress.

This is very important. Make it realistic though.

redfirebirdowner · 05-28-2007, 04:06 PM

she has a weight loss goal but not a bf goal

**Freak** · 05-28-2007, 04:32 PM

I would dispose of the bodyweight goal and ONLY use body fat. Here is the thing.. she saw someone else or for whatever reason has an ideal number in mind thinking that if she reaches that bodyweight number she will look like the other person that weighs X amount of weight. This is not true and she WILL be disappointed. Go with bf.

redfirebirdowner · 05-28-2007, 04:40 PM

thanks freak i called and told her that and it made a lot of sense to her what is a good bf to be at i looked it up and an average lean woman is around 17-22 % is that a goal to strive for or lower

**Freak** · 05-28-2007, 05:41 PM

It depends on what she is at now. Even dropping 1% can be a lot depending on what she weighs.

redfirebirdowner · 05-28-2007, 06:02 PM

ok ill tell her and thanks for all the help freak i knew you'd know

compulut · 05-28-2007, 10:11 PM

To add to that, how does she look (to herself) in her clothes. She is probably noticing positive improvements based on these numbers. Also, muscle weighs more than fat, so while her weight appears to stagnate, she may still be chipping away at the BF.

It's probably a little early for her (and everybody on here is going to slam/flame/kill me) but I'm going to suggest eating a candy bar to get past the sticking point.

I know, I know, the air pressure just dropped as everybody gasped at that read, but I'm telling you, I've done it & I've seen it work. (I think it has to do with drastic calorie dropping actually slowing metabolism - I'm sure Freak could say).

I had seadily lost about 1-1.5 lbs / week, 8 weeks solid once (while dropping bF) when I stagnated. For like 2 weeks - no change in either. I actually ate the candy bar out of frustration (and it doesn't have to be a candy bar, any high colorie nutrient devoid comfort type of food - cake - ice cream, whatever she has been depriving herself of). Believe it or not, it was like 'greasing' the wheels. Maybe because of tricking the metabolism, maybe just the guilt of eating it & how hard I trained after - who knows (or cares). The result was, that very week, I began to loose both weight & BF again. My losses were at a lower rate than before, (but obviously much higher than the two weeks with no loss).

It may not work for everyone, but it surely did work for me.