weight loss has slowed substantialy

[agthompson]

I started at 236 and after about 2 months of super strict dieting and cardio/weight routines I've almost hit a dead stop at 217 lbs.

I do 30 minutes of stationary bike Monday, Elliptical Wednesday, and treadmill on Friday with full body workouts tues/thurs/sat.

I've given serious consideration to upping cardio to 6 days a week and moving weight training to Mon/Wed/Fri while doing cardio after weight training.

Is this too much?

[Nokie173]

When you’re slowing down… look in to a few things before you consider adding more in to your workout. You might over train yourself and get burnt out from it.

Are you eating enough? Write down what you eat and when you eat…
(Maybe you can adjust your meals as needed)
Are your workouts intensive enough for you?
Are you pushing yourself to the limits with cardio?
Are you lifting heavy weights to the point where you feel challenge?

Good job so far with the weight loss and keep it up!!!

[Seminole]

I started at 236 and after about 2 months of super strict dieting and cardio/weight routines I've almost hit a dead stop at 217 lbs.

I do 30 minutes of stationary bike Monday, Elliptical Wednesday, and treadmill on Friday with full body workouts tues/thurs/sat.

I've given serious consideration to upping cardio to 6 days a week and moving weight training to Mon/Wed/Fri while doing cardio after weight training.

Is this too much?

I do cardio 6 days a week which worked great for me I have lost 27 LBS in 3 1/2 months I al;so do the weights. I hit a point where nothing was coming off so I started eating a little more and using 4 different cardio machines and the next thing I know 10 more came off.

[Packard]

As you lose weight your basal metabolism goes down. That is the amount of calories you use while being still.

Also you are moving less weight around an that means less calories are being used.

Also, as you approach a good body weight your body will defend itself against starvation by further slowing down your basal metabolism (and it will make you lethargic to further stave off starvation).

All of which is to say that the last few pounds are more difficult.

Also it is frequently the case that calorie counting gets more lax the longer you are on a diet.

Try to do a journal for a few days to check your caloric intake.

Note: Your caloric intake should always be above your basal metabolism requirements. There are calculators on-line to check this number out.

http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/

[wevie]

I hear you dude. I went from 225 to 190 pretty easy. I want to get to 180. I am stuck at 189-190 and have been for a few weeks.

I am doing the same cardio, eating the same, and have started weights about a month and a half ago. Also started working abs.

[Packard]

I hear you dude. I went from 225 to 190 pretty easy. I want to get to 180. I am stuck at 189-190 and have been for a few weeks.

I am doing the same cardio, eating the same, and have started weights about a month and a half ago. Also started working abs.

Note that lean muscle is more dense than fat. So if you are building muscle your waist could be getting smaller and you could still remain at the same body weight.

[wevie]

I hear you dude. I went from 225 to 190 pretty easy. I want to get to 180. I am stuck at 189-190 and have been for a few weeks.

I am doing the same cardio, eating the same, and have started weights about a month and a half ago. Also started working abs.

Note that lean muscle is more dense than fat. So if you are building muscle your waist could be getting smaller and you could still remain at the same body weight.

I did think about that at one time. I thought about getting a cloth tape and measuring waist once or twice a month.

I know it depends on a lot of things, but on average, how much muscle could a person expect to gain weight wise in say three months.

You pretty much know workout from other threads if that would help make a guess.

[Packard]

I hear you dude. I went from 225 to 190 pretty easy. I want to get to 180. I am stuck at 189-190 and have been for a few weeks.

I am doing the same cardio, eating the same, and have started weights about a month and a half ago. Also started working abs.

Note that lean muscle is more dense than fat. So if you are building muscle your waist could be getting smaller and you could still remain at the same body weight.

I did think about that at one time. I thought about getting a cloth tape and measuring waist once or twice a month.

I know it depends on a lot of things, but on average, how much muscle could a person expect to gain weight wise in say three months.

You pretty much know workout from other threads if that would help make a guess.

If you are an easy gainer, you could gain a couple of pounds of muscle a month (but you would have to keep eating to do so). It is harder to gain a lot of muscle without gaining weight at the same time. The usual modus operandi is to "bulk up" (build muscle and gain some fat weight) and then "cut up" (lose weight and hopefully not cannibalize the muscles while doing so.)

[wevie]

Note that lean muscle is more dense than fat. So if you are building muscle your waist could be getting smaller and you could still remain at the same body weight.

I did think about that at one time. I thought about getting a cloth tape and measuring waist once or twice a month.

I know it depends on a lot of things, but on average, how much muscle could a person expect to gain weight wise in say three months.

You pretty much know workout from other threads if that would help make a guess.

If you are an easy gainer, you could gain a couple of pounds of muscle a month (but you would have to keep eating to do so). It is harder to gain a lot of muscle without gaining weight at the same time. The usual modus operandi is to "bulk up" (build muscle and gain some fat weight) and then "cut up" (lose weight and hopefully not cannibalize the muscles while doing so.)

How does the cut up process work. What do you do and eat for that?

[Packard]

Here is an article on Cutting up (also a link to Bulking up).

http://www.trulyhuge.com/CuttingMuscle.html


Once I wanted to get mega arms. I gained about 40 pounds and got arms up to 20" (pumped).

I dropped about 35 of those pounds and kept the arms about 19" pumped.

This was a significant size gain for me, but the cutting up process was so arduous that I would never repeat it again.

[wevie]

Here is an article on Cutting up (also a link to Bulking up).

http://www.trulyhuge.com/CuttingMuscle.html


Once I wanted to get mega arms. I gained about 40 pounds and got arms up to 20" (pumped).

I dropped about 35 of those pounds and kept the arms about 19" pumped.

This was a significant size gain for me, but the cutting up process was so arduous that I would never repeat it again.

How big were your arms before you starting working on them? How long did the bulking and cutting process take altogether?

[Packard]

Here is an article on Cutting up (also a link to Bulking up).

http://www.trulyhuge.com/CuttingMuscle.html


Once I wanted to get mega arms. I gained about 40 pounds and got arms up to 20" (pumped).

I dropped about 35 of those pounds and kept the arms about 19" pumped.

This was a significant size gain for me, but the cutting up process was so arduous that I would never repeat it again.

How big were your arms before you starting working on them? How long did the bulking and cutting process take altogether?

Until 40s I was always an easy gainer so I don't know how well this relates to others.

The bulking phase took from the end of summer until sometime after the New Year (about 5 months). I had hoped to be trimmed down by the beginning of summer. But I did not get to ideal weight until mid July as I recall. I was hoping that the added cardio would be all I needed (riding bicycle), but I had to add some serious dieting to get the weight down.