Some help please

Hi Everyone,

I'm new here and was wondering if I can get some help with my training and diet.

For the last 8 weeks I have been exercising and dieting. I have been doing 30 mins of walking and jogging (interval) in the morning and then 12, 3 minute rounds of boxing each night + ab work.

My diet has consisted of carbs in the morning, rice, lean meat and vegies. These have been small portions that I have been eating every 2 hours up until 1.30. From 3.30, 5.30 and 7.30 is just protein.

I am absolutely loving it and do it without fail, 5 or 6 days a week. My partner is a pro boxing trainer, so he has been doing it with me.

My questions is, whilst I have lost quite a bit of body fat, I have not budged at all on the scales. I know that I should not worry about the scales, and I am very proud of what I have achieved so far, but when will the scales actually start to show that I am actually losing kilos.

I would appreciate all help and advice given.

Thanks

Fiona

Hi Fiona,

Good work with your consistency so far! You'll find heaps of knowledgeable folks here that can answer your questions, I'm sure.

Now - about your question - it's not uncommon to drop fat, put on muscle, and have the scales barely change. Check out this link (first posted by Kyle, and what an eye-opener it was for me at the time!)

http://bodyspace.bodybuilding.com//...sspic/16r9vdeU7Zcr5wti3MNoEkUjnJ6VaC0921.jpeg

So the woman in the photo lost "only" 1kg between her "Before" and "After" shot. But she looks a tonne better than if she had focused her goals solely on losing weight through calorie restriction (you tend to lose muscle that way, and then you become skinny yet fat!).

So, are you sure you want to lose 10kgs? Maybe if we knew your current height and weight we'd be able to help more.

Cheers

Eek - I just noticed that was my 666th post, so I thought I'd better quickly post another one!

Re: your interval training - what kind of intervals are you doing?

Don't worry to much about the scales, just worry about your reflection in the mirror.

I can't believe from 1:30 onwards you only consume protein! I would die!

You must be feeling great Fiona! Congrats!

Like they have already told you, don't worry about the scales. I am sure you will notice the changes yourself without the little square box to say you have done well.

Thanks guys

Thanks for the link Katie, can't wait to read it.

When I say interval training, I mean bursts of more intense exercising. When I first started, I would walk in the morning very briskly but would jog a lamp post then walk a lamp post. I then increased it to walk a lamp post then jog 2 lamp posts and so and so on. Now I'm still walking briskly each lamp post but as my fitness has gotten better I am running 4 lamp posts then down to one lamp post of walking. Does that make sense?

With the boxing, for the last two weeks we have just been working on speed, so floor to ceiling ball, speed ball and pad work with short and sharp punches but still 12 rounds. I also get on the treadmill for a warm up for 15 mins before I do the boxing.

I know I am on the right track, I guess I thought I would lose more kilos. I think I have only dropped 1 kilo so far in eight weeks.

I don't mind the protein in the afternoon and night as I am sick of the carbs by the afternoon.

Will I eventually lose Kilos or could i possibly stay the same weight.

I am 5'4 and weigh 67 kilos. So I am at the top of my weight range for my height if you look at the kilo side of things. I would be happy to be sitting at 60 kilos.

Thanks again for all replies.

Fiona

Just saw the link

It certainly is amazing. It's like a whole new body!!!

Thanks for that. It made me feel a whole lot better and that I am definitely on the right track

I think Katie doesn't know how to post pictures, here it is.



Lost less than 1kg, but...

Rather than the scales, try a tape measure and mirror. For example, at the beginning of the year I was 83kg, six months later 78kg, much difference? Well, I went from 100 to 107cm chest, and 97 to 83cm waist. So I improved a lot more in appearance than you'd think from those few kilograms.

You could do the same thing, measure waist, hips and so on.

Unless you are going to compete in boxing or weightlifting or become a jockey or something, there's no reason to worry about your weight on the scales.

Incidentally, the pictured woman focused on strength training, not much cardio stuff. Build muscle, lose fat. Rather than just lose fat as most women try for

Thanks Kyle

Katie did post it correctly. I thought it was an article at first, didn't check the link before I posted.

Thanks again for your help with this.

Fiona said:

Thanks for the link Katie, can't wait to read it.

Click to expand...

Well I hope you're not disappointed when you click on it, then! Not many words there...

OK, good, I just wanted to clarify how you were doing your interval training. One thing I've learnt regarding losing fat, is that you should do your interval training (also known as HIIT - high intensity interval training) at the HIGHEST intensity possible! Keep the total workout under 20 minutes, because if you are doing it longer than this, you could've done it with more intensity.

So you are running 4 lampposts, that's great, but are you running them as fast as you can (feeling like you're about to die by the last lamppost)?

For example, lately I've been doing 1 min sprints, 1 min walk, repeat until 20 mins is up. The thing about that is, 1 min is actually a little too long to sustain a high intensity, so I started doing 30 sec sprints, 1 min cooldown. Incredibly intense...

So yeah, make sure you are working at high intensity (although if you do boxing I'm sure you know what that feeling is like)

Also, I am 5'4 as well, so I think something in the low 60kg range is great, but personally I wouldn't go lower than that (losing 10 kgs would put you at 57kg). I used to be 57kg and skinny-fat, and now I'm actually a lot healthier around that low 60kg range. But as the others say - don't focus on the weight - in fact, chuck the scale out if you can bear to do so! Just focus on how your clothes are fitting you, they're the best indicator.

Kyle Aaron said:

I think Katie doesn't know how to post pictures, here it is.

Click to expand...

Hrmph! Excuse me! I do know, but it looked kinda big on the screen (for some reason it is quite big on my computer), and I didn't want to scare Fiona off the thread!!

Josh_GTiR said:

I can't believe from 1:30 onwards you only consume protein! I would die!

Click to expand...

Hmm, I'm guessing fiona is abiding by the "no carbs after 4pm" principle or similar? I think carbs from veges are fine though (and so does Markos).

If fiona wants something to read, this is great. Markos (who wrote the newsletter) is on Ausbb too, under the name of PTC.

PTC NEWSLETTER, Issue # 37

"To recap, lifting heavy 3 times per week, 2 high effort cardio sessions per week, 6 meals a day, protein in each meal, 4gms of protein per kg of bodyweight every day, 2-3 pieces of fruit before 4.00pm, vegies during most meals, olive oil on salads, 10% less calories than we need per day, no man made carbs, no calories obtained from drinking. Sounds pretty much spot on."

It should be noted that Markos is an extremely experienced strength and conditioning coach, but he is not a dietician