Hi,
I've been doing a total body workout for about seven weeks. I started out with 5 lb hand weights, then moved to just the bar (14 lbs), added two 5 lbers on the bar, 24 lbs. Then changed to 7.5 lbers on the bar, for 29. Yesterday I put on two 10 lb. weights, for a total of 34 lbs. I know this doesn't seem like much to some of you, but I'm trying not to get hurt. I've begun lifting thanks to earlier advice gained here on the forum, b/c I hurt my foot (plantar fasciitis) on the treadmill. I've gone from 148 to 142 in the past 4 weeks. I can actually see a big difference in my belly, hips, legs, and my clothes are loose. But the fat on my arms doesn't seem to decrease. I can see a little muscle definition, but when will the fat go??? Eeek, I hate it. I'm 5'5" and my scale says I'm still 34% BF. Am I not lifting enough? I log my meals in fitday and I'm having trouble getting more than 1100 calories. I'm just not hungry enough. All advice is welcomed!
Pam

There is considerable debate as to "how much to lift" for both weight and repetitions. However, my personal opinion applies to both men and women. I prefer to pick a weight that by the 6th repetition it's very heavy and hard to move. By the 8th almost impossible. By the 10th, you should need help from a spotter. Then do this for a total of 3 sets.

That is my personal opinion. Women won't explode with huge muscles--I've heard the "bulk myth and fears" a lot. Women will gain strength and some mass, but won't explode. In my opinion there's no such thing as "toning" by lifting lower weights with more reps. The only way to lift is by using heavy weights with a medium number of reps. When bulking, you eat more. When cutting, you eat less, which burns fat. In turn, you look more cut. That is the proper way to go about things. Lifting should always be the same and you should only change your diet.

Hi,
I've been doing a total body workout for about seven weeks. I started out with 5 lb hand weights, then moved to just the bar (14 lbs), added two 5 lbers on the bar, 24 lbs. Then changed to 7.5 lbers on the bar, for 29. Yesterday I put on two 10 lb. weights, for a total of 34 lbs. I know this doesn't seem like much to some of you, but I'm trying not to get hurt. I've begun lifting thanks to earlier advice gained here on the forum, b/c I hurt my foot (plantar fasciitis) on the treadmill. I've gone from 148 to 142 in the past 4 weeks. I can actually see a big difference in my belly, hips, legs, and my clothes are loose. But the fat on my arms doesn't seem to decrease. I can see a little muscle definition, but when will the fat go??? Eeek, I hate it. I'm 5'5" and my scale says I'm still 34% BF. Am I not lifting enough? I log my meals in fitday and I'm having trouble getting more than 1100 calories. I'm just not hungry enough. All advice is welcomed!


Pam

First, I'd like to say congratulations on your progress so far! But there's no reason why lifting heavier weights should increase your risk of injury. There's not one single rep and set scheme that's appropriate, but you should be challenging yourself. You need to be lifting a weight that brings you to failure or near failure. For beginners, I recommend HIT. Basically it's one set to failure (can't do a another rep) per exercise, 1-2 exercises per bodypart, and a rep range of 8-12. When you fail at 12 reps, it's time to up the weight. See under rtestes sigil for detailed information. As time goes on, I recommend transitioning to a lower rep range (which naturally means heavier weights) and training to near failure for multiple sets. But the bottom line is, lifting light weights for endless reps won't do much beyond making you better at lifting light weights for endless reps. It won't help you make appreciable changes in body composition. You also need to be always striving to progress. To get firmer, you must get stronger! 1100 calories is also probably too low. Your metabolism has most likely slowed down eating at that amount. Try bumping it up to 1300. Post a sample of your diet either here on this thread or in another forum for some help with it. Good luck!

Thanks for the encouragement. I think I have been progressing, and I may not be near failure, but on the 8th rep, I can feel myself making some unattractive facial gestures just to complete the rep!! Here is a sample of my meals:
Breakfast
old fashioned oatmeal, with a few craisins and walnuts mixed in and herbalife protein sirred in
green tea

Snack
fat free yogurt
water

Lunch
cottage cheese, with mandarin oranges or pineapple pieces
a small bunch of grapes
water

Snack
AES Carb Control Bar
green tea

Dinner
Sauteed Chicken Breast
small side dish of angel hair pasta with diced tomatoes
broccoli pieces

Snack
more cottage cheese

It doesn't change. Sometimes I have a hardboiled egg for a snack, or a can of tuna for lunch.

Anyway, thanks for replying. I'll keep at it. Now that I've seen changes, it would be hard to stop!
Pam

from pminn
I'm 5'5" and my scale says I'm still 34% BF. Am I not lifting enough? I log my meals in fitday and I'm having trouble getting more than 1100 calories

My opinion echoes jsbrook, I think you need to up your calories. I was eating a 1400 cal plan with no success. I read the weight loss sticky by marcus and increased my calories to 2000 and low and behold the weight started coming off. Go figure! I figured it couldn't hurt cause what I was doing wasn't workin' anyway. It was tough to increase and yes I had to figure out what to eat and when (I also use fitday). At first I was always under the 2000 cal because of trying to eat 5 equal cal meals in a day I always missed an entire meal. Now I eat a 400 cal meal every 2.5 hours and I get the 5 meals in throughout the day. :gl:

Thanks Phillygirl. I know I need to eat more, but it's frustrating trying to come up with more food ideas. The most I ate one day was 1600 calories. I can't imagine 2000! Unless it included cheesecake, fudge brownies, etc! I'll have to google for some food ideas.
P.

add some almonds, flaxseed oil, maybe a protein shake here and there.
What percent of micronitriens are you aiming for?

I feel your pain though...I'm going through a plateaou myself right now

add some almonds, flaxseed oil, maybe a protein shake here and there.



I completely agree. Grab a handful of almonds and have a whey shake with dextrose after working out. This will bump your calories into the optimal range without drastically altering your meal plans.

Thanks Phillygirl. I know I need to eat more, but it's frustrating trying to come up with more food ideas. The most I ate one day was 1600 calories. I can't imagine 2000! Unless it included cheesecake, fudge brownies, etc! I'll have to google for some food ideas.
P.

HAha-I know, but no cheesecake, etc. I put just about everything I buy into fitday using the package the food actually comes in and creating my own custom foods list. The defaults in fitday are off base most times. My meals are made up of foods that I like and give me satisfaction. Here are some of my meals. Again my meals are approx. 400 calories. Everything is weighed cause my idea of a serving size and the manufacturers is TOTALLY DIFFERENT! Also, I try to get in dairy everyday.

4 oz ground turkey breast (white meat) or 4 oz baked chicken breast
1/2 cup chunky spaghetti sauce
2 oz angel hair pasta (this is by barilla and it's their new plus brand it has added protein)

2 oz beef steak
3 large egg whites
1 thomas' whole wheat or multi-grain english muffin
1.5 tsp smart balance spread (not exactly healthy but I need something)

my fav shake
8 oz 1% milk
1 scoop OnWhey Double Choc Protein powder
1 tbs peanut butter (no other nuts on days when I make this)
1 med apple

7oz bottle Light n fit smoothie (i like raspberry, strawberry or mixed berry - I'm not a yogurt fan but I like this dannon smoothie)
1 scoop OnWhey Vanilla Ice Cream Protein powder (i dissolve in a little water to thin out the smoothie a little)
1 Hershey Smart Zone protein bar (gotta have my chocolate!)

So, put together stuff that you like. After you figure out your daily calorie need, plug your food in fitday to come up with various meals. :tu:

Thanks for the meal suggestions, the shake sounds great. I never thought of adding pb to a shake! I do the same thing you do as far as creating custom foods in fitday. One day I dragged a bunch of food packages (pasta sauce, tomato juice, eas bars, soy milk, ff cottage cheese, I had food everywhere!) over to my computer, grabbed my glasses so I could read the nutritional labels, and started adding all the stuff I like. I'm glad no one was at home, I must have looked nuts! Anyway, thanks for the ideas. Just out of curiosity, if you don't mind saying, how much weight are you lifting? I'm beginning to feel a little wimpy, b/c of the small amount I'm lifting, but I will work up to a more admirable number!!
Thanks!

Thanks Phillygirl. I know I need to eat more, but it's frustrating trying to come up with more food ideas. The most I ate one day was 1600 calories. I can't imagine 2000! Unless it included cheesecake, fudge brownies, etc! I'll have to google for some food ideas.
P.

Well, it should be easier than you think. Why? Because you're not eating any healthy fats. Healthy fats include nuts of all types, peanut butter, olive oil, canola oil, avocado, fat from fish, fish oil pills, etc... You'd be surprised how you could easily add calories to your diet with some servings of nuts, peanut butter, and olive or canola-oil based salad dressings without feeling too stuff. Fat is also very important for healthy body functioning too. Fish oil, in particular, is an excellant fat-good for heart health, anti-inflammatory, evidence that it helps with body composition, etc... Also, don't be excessively afraid of saturated fat. The body needs some for proper hormone functioning. Having some red meat in you diet will NOT make you fat nor will it hurt your health. Just don't go overboard.

Just out of curiosity, if you don't mind saying, how much weight are you lifting? I'm beginning to feel a little wimpy, b/c of the small amount I'm lifting, but I will work up to a more admirable number!!
Thanks!

:bb: I'm not going to give you an answer, it's for your own good :D There's no way gauge yourself by what others are lifting. Not sure why you think 34 pounds is wimpy. If 34 pounds is workin' for you at the moment than so be it. Give yourself some time with this weight if it's challenging you.

Thanks for the meal suggestions, the shake sounds great. I never thought of adding pb to a shake! I do the same thing you do as far as creating custom foods in fitday. One day I dragged a bunch of food packages (pasta sauce, tomato juice, eas bars, soy milk, ff cottage cheese, I had food everywhere!) over to my computer, grabbed my glasses so I could read the nutritional labels, and started adding all the stuff I like. I'm glad no one was at home, I must have looked nuts! Anyway, thanks for the ideas. Just out of curiosity, if you don't mind saying, how much weight are you lifting? I'm beginning to feel a little wimpy, b/c of the small amount I'm lifting, but I will work up to a more admirable number!!
Thanks!

Haha...i can totally relate.
I went overseas to visit my mom and when she saw me adding all the new food to my FidDay, she thought I'm loosing my marbles ..and I'm stretching it way too far LOL
Oh well, it helped me loose 13 lb and look whole lot better...so its worth it for me!

Thanks to all of you for your replies. I'm going grocery shopping!! Hey, I love nuts, especially almonds.
I'll keep you posted!
Pam

Thanks Phillygirl. I know I need to eat more, but it's frustrating trying to come up with more food ideas. The most I ate one day was 1600 calories. I can't imagine 2000! Unless it included cheesecake, fudge brownies, etc! I'll have to google for some food ideas.
P.

I hear you!!! I can barely eat my 1200-1300 callories and now I have to add even more :eek: Not so bad news though... I LOVE energy bars! :D