Fat Loss/Dairy/Grains/Cardio

[Guest guest]

I'm really mulling over this fat loss thing, too. I'm very careful with my

diet, and I've

been tracking calories just to get a feel for what I've been eating. In terms

of eating

" clean " , I DO...but I'm wondering if I'd do better to entirely cut out all

grains except

the oatmeal (i.e. no ww bread, no ww pasta, etc). Also, aside from the cottage

cheese, I'm wondering if I should cut out yogurt and string cheese...which are

the

only other dairy I eat, and not even those every day. I know I must not go too

low in

calories, and then if you don't do extra cardio, how the heck to you get the

fat loss

going? I just seem so stalled. I'm not losing weight, but I know enough not to

worry

about that. I've lost a bit of fat on top, but don't see anything on bottom

yet. I'm

struggling with that proverbial " last 15 to 20 lbs), but they are sure difficult

to move.

I've been guilty of boosting my cardio...I do the 20 minutes HIIT, but follow it

with

another 20 to 25 minutes of a moderate pace cardio. Occasionally I do 20 to 30

min.

of moderate cardio after weights, and sonetimes I do a cardio session on my free

day,

but not always. I know my intensity is strong enough, ditto the weight

workouts. I'm

just so amazed at what I do and what I eat, and when I compare this to my

previous

eating habits (I bet I sometimes ate 3000+ calories a day because of all the

chocolate

and pastries I ate), and my exercise was sporadic, but I look at what is now my

6th

really stringent week and I can't believe things haven't moved a bit more than

this. I

just don't know where to go with this....

One more thing: Here are the main problems areas, and I'm wondering if these

seemingly small things are making the difference: 1) Although I generally get

about

1400 calories, I don't always make the 6 meals. Usually 5, sometimes only 4.

2) I

don't always manage enough water, not the full 10 cups, but usually 7 or 8 and

3) I

can't seem to get more than 6 hours sleep with any regularity

Ideas?

[Guest guest]

>

>

> One more thing: Here are the main problems areas, and I'm

wondering if these

> seemingly small things are making the difference: 1) Although I

generally get about

> 1400 calories, I don't always make the 6 meals. Usually 5,

sometimes only 4. 2) I

> don't always manage enough water, not the full 10 cups, but

usually 7 or 8 and 3) I

> can't seem to get more than 6 hours sleep with any regularity

>

> Ideas?

Hi I'm pretty new to this myself but I don't always get 6 meals in

either but i do eat every two to three hours like clock work (

sometimes I'm asleep or getting ready for bed by the time the 6th

meal hits) Water is hard for me to.......but I carry a water

bottle with me everywhere ....I have dasani bottles in the fridge at

home at work and some in my car and I drink it whenever I can. As

far as your sleep goes .....is it because your doing other thing or

just don't go to bed on time or wake up a lot????

[Guest guest]

>

>

> One more thing: Here are the main problems areas, and I'm

wondering if these

> seemingly small things are making the difference: 1) Although I

generally get about

> 1400 calories, I don't always make the 6 meals. Usually 5,

sometimes only 4. 2) I

> don't always manage enough water, not the full 10 cups, but

usually 7 or 8 and 3) I

> can't seem to get more than 6 hours sleep with any regularity

>

> Ideas?

Hi I'm pretty new to this myself but I don't always get 6 meals in

either but i do eat every two to three hours like clock work (

sometimes I'm asleep or getting ready for bed by the time the 6th

meal hits) Water is hard for me to.......but I carry a water

bottle with me everywhere ....I have dasani bottles in the fridge at

home at work and some in my car and I drink it whenever I can. As

far as your sleep goes .....is it because your doing other thing or

just don't go to bed on time or wake up a lot????

[Guest guest]

Carole,

Sounds like you have a strategy in place to overcome your plateau!!!

That is great.

First, 5 meals is better than 4, and 6 is better than 5. Up it from

4 to 5. There is nothing in this world stopping you from doing so

except you. I know this for a fact because I know mothers who have 4

children, who work full time, who go to night classes, who keep

their children involved, and they still have the time to do this. It

is a question of prioritization and wanting it badly enough to take

the time to prepare. This doesn't mean you have to have 6 wholesole,

home-cooked, all-food meals. While whole foods are much better than

shakes or bars, having the occassional shake or bar is FINE to get

some calories in.

A recent study took two groups. Both groups were overfed by the same

amount of calories, same ratios of protein/fat/carbs/etc. One group

had all of their calories in a single meal, the other had it spread

out throughout the day in several meals. With the SAME EXACT

CALORIES, one group became obese and another group only gained a few

pounds. (This particular study was done on rats, and humans aren't

rats, but some general principles tend to apply across the animal

kingdom). Bodybuilders have known this for years and used it to

their advantage, and there is no reason why everyone can't take

advantage of the fact that if you eat every 2 - 4 hours, you will

raise your metabolism and utilize more of the foods you eat.

So, STRATEGY #1 - EAT 6 MEALS PER DAY

Now, on your water. I'm not a big fan of " this many " or " that many "

cups. It is highly individual. The best advice is to drink enough

water that you have clear urinations at least 2 or 3 times per day.

For some people, this means a gallon, for others, it means 8

glasses. It depends on the supplements you take, your nutrition,

your exercise, the climate, humidity, temperature, etc. You name it!

WATER AFFECTS FAT LOSS! Your body's reactions - burning fat, etc -

depend on water to take place. If you are dehydrated, your body will

not be as efficient at (a) burning fat and ( flushing out the

toxins released when fat cells are emptied.

STRATEGY #2 - DRINK MORE WATER

Now, sleep. Again, I do not believe in cookie cutter sleep. I know

people who are FINE with 4 hours of sleep, and others who require 10

or more. The key is - do you wake up on your own, or require an

alarm? This does not mean you toss the alarm. It means this: I set

my alarm for 5:00am. If my alarm wakes me up, then I go to bed a

little earlier the next day. I have found that if I get to bed by

9:00pm or 9:30pm, I wake up right before 5:00am - before the alarm

wakes me up. Therefore, I know I need, on average, 8 hours of sleep,

which is closer to the national average (sometimes I need 9 or

10when I am training heavily).

Lack of sleep will inhibit fat loss. I was at a seminar this past

weekend where a doctor was talking about the studies that show those

who sleep more lose more fat. One reason may be that lack of sleep

introduces stress. STRESS IS A HUGE FAT-LOSS BLOCKER. Any type of

stress - even " good stress " - can block fat loss and even promote

fat gains. So,

STRATEGY #3: Get the rest you NEED (if you aren't getting enough,

get more)

STRATEGY #4: Take steps to reduce stress

I believe if you follow these 4 strategies, you will see success.

Likness

http://www.naturalphysiques.com/

> I'm really mulling over this fat loss thing, too. I'm very

careful with my diet, and I've

> been tracking calories just to get a feel for what I've been

eating. In terms of eating

> " clean " , I DO...but I'm wondering if I'd do better to entirely cut

out all grains except

> the oatmeal (i.e. no ww bread, no ww pasta, etc). Also, aside

from the cottage

> cheese, I'm wondering if I should cut out yogurt and string

cheese...which are the

> only other dairy I eat, and not even those every day. I know I

must not go too low in

> calories, and then if you don't do extra cardio, how the heck to

you get the fat loss

> going? I just seem so stalled. I'm not losing weight, but I know

enough not to worry

> about that. I've lost a bit of fat on top, but don't see anything

on bottom yet. I'm

> struggling with that proverbial " last 15 to 20 lbs), but they are

sure difficult to move.

> I've been guilty of boosting my cardio...I do the 20 minutes HIIT,

but follow it with

> another 20 to 25 minutes of a moderate pace cardio. Occasionally

I do 20 to 30 min.

> of moderate cardio after weights, and sonetimes I do a cardio

session on my free day,

> but not always. I know my intensity is strong enough, ditto the

weight workouts. I'm

> just so amazed at what I do and what I eat, and when I compare

this to my previous

> eating habits (I bet I sometimes ate 3000+ calories a day because

of all the chocolate

> and pastries I ate), and my exercise was sporadic, but I look at

what is now my 6th

> really stringent week and I can't believe things haven't moved a

bit more than this. I

> just don't know where to go with this....

>

> One more thing: Here are the main problems areas, and I'm

wondering if these

> seemingly small things are making the difference: 1) Although I

generally get about

> 1400 calories, I don't always make the 6 meals. Usually 5,

sometimes only 4. 2) I

> don't always manage enough water, not the full 10 cups, but

usually 7 or 8 and 3) I

> can't seem to get more than 6 hours sleep with any regularity

>

> Ideas?

[Guest guest]

Carole,

Sounds like you have a strategy in place to overcome your plateau!!!

That is great.

First, 5 meals is better than 4, and 6 is better than 5. Up it from

4 to 5. There is nothing in this world stopping you from doing so

except you. I know this for a fact because I know mothers who have 4

children, who work full time, who go to night classes, who keep

their children involved, and they still have the time to do this. It

is a question of prioritization and wanting it badly enough to take

the time to prepare. This doesn't mean you have to have 6 wholesole,

home-cooked, all-food meals. While whole foods are much better than

shakes or bars, having the occassional shake or bar is FINE to get

some calories in.

A recent study took two groups. Both groups were overfed by the same

amount of calories, same ratios of protein/fat/carbs/etc. One group

had all of their calories in a single meal, the other had it spread

out throughout the day in several meals. With the SAME EXACT

CALORIES, one group became obese and another group only gained a few

pounds. (This particular study was done on rats, and humans aren't

rats, but some general principles tend to apply across the animal

kingdom). Bodybuilders have known this for years and used it to

their advantage, and there is no reason why everyone can't take

advantage of the fact that if you eat every 2 - 4 hours, you will

raise your metabolism and utilize more of the foods you eat.

So, STRATEGY #1 - EAT 6 MEALS PER DAY

Now, on your water. I'm not a big fan of " this many " or " that many "

cups. It is highly individual. The best advice is to drink enough

water that you have clear urinations at least 2 or 3 times per day.

For some people, this means a gallon, for others, it means 8

glasses. It depends on the supplements you take, your nutrition,

your exercise, the climate, humidity, temperature, etc. You name it!

WATER AFFECTS FAT LOSS! Your body's reactions - burning fat, etc -

depend on water to take place. If you are dehydrated, your body will

not be as efficient at (a) burning fat and ( flushing out the

toxins released when fat cells are emptied.

STRATEGY #2 - DRINK MORE WATER

Now, sleep. Again, I do not believe in cookie cutter sleep. I know

people who are FINE with 4 hours of sleep, and others who require 10

or more. The key is - do you wake up on your own, or require an

alarm? This does not mean you toss the alarm. It means this: I set

my alarm for 5:00am. If my alarm wakes me up, then I go to bed a

little earlier the next day. I have found that if I get to bed by

9:00pm or 9:30pm, I wake up right before 5:00am - before the alarm

wakes me up. Therefore, I know I need, on average, 8 hours of sleep,

which is closer to the national average (sometimes I need 9 or

10when I am training heavily).

Lack of sleep will inhibit fat loss. I was at a seminar this past

weekend where a doctor was talking about the studies that show those

who sleep more lose more fat. One reason may be that lack of sleep

introduces stress. STRESS IS A HUGE FAT-LOSS BLOCKER. Any type of

stress - even " good stress " - can block fat loss and even promote

fat gains. So,

STRATEGY #3: Get the rest you NEED (if you aren't getting enough,

get more)

STRATEGY #4: Take steps to reduce stress

I believe if you follow these 4 strategies, you will see success.

Likness

http://www.naturalphysiques.com/

> I'm really mulling over this fat loss thing, too. I'm very

careful with my diet, and I've

> been tracking calories just to get a feel for what I've been

eating. In terms of eating

> " clean " , I DO...but I'm wondering if I'd do better to entirely cut

out all grains except

> the oatmeal (i.e. no ww bread, no ww pasta, etc). Also, aside

from the cottage

> cheese, I'm wondering if I should cut out yogurt and string

cheese...which are the

> only other dairy I eat, and not even those every day. I know I

must not go too low in

> calories, and then if you don't do extra cardio, how the heck to

you get the fat loss

> going? I just seem so stalled. I'm not losing weight, but I know

enough not to worry

> about that. I've lost a bit of fat on top, but don't see anything

on bottom yet. I'm

> struggling with that proverbial " last 15 to 20 lbs), but they are

sure difficult to move.

> I've been guilty of boosting my cardio...I do the 20 minutes HIIT,

but follow it with

> another 20 to 25 minutes of a moderate pace cardio. Occasionally

I do 20 to 30 min.

> of moderate cardio after weights, and sonetimes I do a cardio

session on my free day,

> but not always. I know my intensity is strong enough, ditto the

weight workouts. I'm

> just so amazed at what I do and what I eat, and when I compare

this to my previous

> eating habits (I bet I sometimes ate 3000+ calories a day because

of all the chocolate

> and pastries I ate), and my exercise was sporadic, but I look at

what is now my 6th

> really stringent week and I can't believe things haven't moved a

bit more than this. I

> just don't know where to go with this....

>

> One more thing: Here are the main problems areas, and I'm

wondering if these

> seemingly small things are making the difference: 1) Although I

generally get about

> 1400 calories, I don't always make the 6 meals. Usually 5,

sometimes only 4. 2) I

> don't always manage enough water, not the full 10 cups, but

usually 7 or 8 and 3) I

> can't seem to get more than 6 hours sleep with any regularity

>

> Ideas?