Stuck

Question
Hi Phil - I've been "dieting" and working out since March of this year. I weighed about 152 when I started and have come down to 136. I used an online suggestion and staggered my weekly calorie intake so that I was eating the same amount each week, but tricking my body each day. It seemed to really work and I dropped the weight pretty fast. This summer I kind of tapered off and stopped working out but had a physical job. I maintained a 138 until October. I went to a wedding (the reason for my weight loss) and came back to a 141 weight. No big deal, I had reached that every once in a while due to overeating, but was always able to get it back down. I started working out intensely once I came back. I spin and do tabata twice a week for an hour each, I go to yoga and modern dance for an hour once a week, and the days I don't do those activities, I do the treadmill or an elliptical for 35-45 minutes, followed by a few reps for my upper body strengthening. So in all, I work out, at most 10 times/week. I've also gotten back to my calorie staggering. I eat from 1200-1900/day. I've been getting better at drinking water, but I'm not really doing a gallon a day. I weighed myself this morning and got 144. My boyfriend says I look "skinnier", but I don't really agree. I don't see any new muscle definition, but could this be why I keep gaining? My goal is to be toned, and weigh somewhere in the 130s. Any suggestions? I'm almost to the point where nothing I read makes sense anymore. Thanks!

Answer
As far as fluctuations what you experienced is very normal my weight even on a daily basis fluctuates between 5 and 10 lbs. Then after a hard training day I can easily add 5 or more due to muscular inflammation or if I add more carbs the thing is its temporary weight and not bad weight. its intramuscular. This is yet another reason the scale is about he most useless piece of equipment one can use to gauge progress. You can easily add scale weight and lose size size at times by adding muscle as muscle is much denser then fat.

In short drop the dependence on the scale and go by what your clothes say or get a reliable body fat % test done. So yes you could be gaining muscle throw the scale out the window. Get size goals, not weight goals. If that makes sense. If you came to me I could likely get you to wear the size clothes you wish to fit in but have you weight more then you do now. Who cares what you weight look at how you progress, how you feel and how you perform and those will also lead to how you look.

I would have you add resistance training with free weights and big compound moves to your regime. Resistance training should be the base to your and any ones training then tack on some cadio activity but most of that as well would be anaerobic based like the Tabata's you do.

Learn and find forms you enjoy and look forward to and have fun with, make it and the way you eat a seamless part of your life. If the activity or the way you eat is not enjoyable change it there are to many ways to eat and train then to not look forward to it.

For more info you should join our free discussion forum, you will get lots of great advice and discussion there www.teamstaley.com start a training log. We can help with training, diet and then give advice on supplementation

Phil
www.staleytraining.com


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