Feeling fat and blah

[loislane]

I know I should be proud of losing 75 pounds and going from 220 to 145, but some days - like today - all I can see is the belly fat I still have and I get so depressed.

I know some percentage of the flab hanging in my middle is loose skin - I carried the majority of my weight in my belly - but I'm sure plenty of it is still fat.

I generally work out for at least 30 minutes 6 days a week - 3 jogging and 3 interval workouts like Jillian's 30 Day Shred. The working out has helped tremendously - I love my arms and my legs and I even have ab muscles - they're just under this layer of skin and fat.

What else do I have to do to get rid of it once and for all? It's so frustrating!

 

[FireDancer]

Congratulations on what you have done so far.

Do you change up your workout? If you do the same routine every week the body gets more efficient at that routine and it takes less calories to perform the same exercises. If you always do the same jogging route try a different route that has more hills. If you always do the same interval workout do a new one or at least do it in a different order.

If you don't do any workout with free-weights I would add in some of those. Using machines is a good start but they generally don't work the muscles as well as free weights. When you work out with free weights you aren't only using the muscles that are performing the movement but all the stabilizer muscles that help support those muscles. Not only are you working more muscle fibers but you are helping to prevent injury.

Another trap a lot of females fall into when working out is not increasing the weight they use. If you were doing arm curls with 3 pound weights 3 months ago you should have moved up to something heavier by now. You have to break down muscle to rebuild it and that is one of the best ways to lose fat...build muscle. The number of calories you burn while working out is a small portion of the calories you burn in a day. You burn way more just existing and the best way to increase that portion of the calories you burn is to have a higher percentage of muscle. You body burns more calories maintaining a pound of muscle than it does to maintain a pound of fat. This is one reason why just looking at weight is incomplete.

Good luck.

 

[loislane]

Thanks Frank. I do pretty much all of those things. I have several different routes I run, plus I vary things around with jog/walk intervals. Some days I'll do a whole route jogging and walking in 60/90 second intervals. The next time, I'll jog the whole thing. The next time, I may do intervals again, but use a different route.

I do use free weights - most Jillian Michael's workouts incorporate them. I vary between 3, 5 and 8 pound weights depending on the moves and my particular ability with them. There are also lots of squats, lunges, pushups, planks, jump training and other stuff in her routines. I have 5 different routines of hers that I can use for my 3 non-running days, so I always mix it up. Yesterday, I did a totally new workout with a jump rope - a lot less fun than it was jumping rope as a kid! LOL

Overall, I'm pretty satisfied with my fitness level and my muscles - I've worked hard to get things toned the way I want them to be.

It's just my middle that continues to stymie me. I wish there was a good way to tell how much of the flab is loose skin and how much is fat.

 

[4HOLIDAYS]

Well you look great. I saw the before and after in another thread and it was very motivating! I wish there was a before and after thread here on this board. Your pic from before is a bit less than where I am now so it helps to see someone who has done it!

I know what you mean about the flab. I had 2 c sections which has left a big pooch on my lower belly and as I have gained and loss over the yrs it stays proportionately the same. So my worst area never went away.

I had some serious health issues that had to be diagnosed, and gotten under control at the start of this yr. I am finally starting to feel somewhat normal again and I think healthy eating and exercize(along with meds) has really helped.

I am lookng to step it up with exercise, so I was hapy to read what you are doing. I think I am far from those levels but you give me a goal and an idea of what works for you.

You look great! Keep it up! You are helping lots of us who need to see it can be done!

 

[loislane]

Thanks 4HOLIDAYS. Both of my kids were c-sections as well. Plus I've had a hysterectomy and 4 other abdominal surgeries, so that does make my mid-section more challenging.

We both just have to keep plugging away and know that eventually we will reach our goals.

 

[ChimneysweepGeorge]

Well if your activity level is good and your overall fitness is good BUT you still have a persistent bit of weight you want to loose, then I think you have to look at your calorie intake. It's oversimplified but still essentially true that to lose fat, you need to burn more calories than you consume. If you are burning a solid amount already, that only leaves one variable.

 

[akhaloha]

You are such an inspiration! You have done amazing! Think of all that you have accomplished! Congratulations!

 

[loislane]

Well if your activity level is good and your overall fitness is good BUT you still have a persistent bit of weight you want to loose, then I think you have to look at your calorie intake. It's oversimplified but still essentially true that to lose fat, you need to burn more calories than you consume. If you are burning a solid amount already, that only leaves one variable.

I generally aim for a calorie deficit between 500 and 1,000 calories daily. Some days are better than others of course, but I generally always hit at least 500 calories for a deficit. And I work hard to be honest in tracking my calories.

I'm starting to wonder if I need to make some dietary changes aside from just watching calories. I do fairly well in terms of getting enough fat and protein, but I love my carbs too much. I do whole grains, brown rice, and all that stuff - but I definitely still love my carbs and don't want to give them up.

 

[ChimneysweepGeorge]

I generally aim for a calorie deficit between 500 and 1,000 calories daily. Some days are better than others of course, but I generally always hit at least 500 calories for a deficit. And I work hard to be honest in tracking my calories.

I'm starting to wonder if I need to make some dietary changes aside from just watching calories. I do fairly well in terms of getting enough fat and protein, but I love my carbs too much. I do whole grains, brown rice, and all that stuff - but I definitely still love my carbs and don't want to give them up.

Honestly, the way you work out, you need *more* carbs than the average person. First, you are working with a HUGE deficit for someone your size and it might actually be slowing your metabolism.

I just checked Chris Carmichael's (Lance Armstrong's trainer) book on nutrition and according to him an athlete of your size in foundation training...and make no mistake, that level of activity makes you an athlete, should be getting somewhere between 2,200-2,700 calories per day to maintain their body weight with a macronutrient mix of 65% carbs, 13% protein and 22% fat. Drop about 500 calories off of that and that should keep you feeling well fueled AND dropping around a pound a week.

I know this is goes against a lot of what all the current diet trends say but people need to realize that diets are often "one size fits all" and don't take things like very high activity levels into account. The body of an athlete works a little differently from the body of a couch potato.

 

[loislane]

I guess I don't *feel* like an athlete so I never think of myself that way. On a normal day, which includes one of my usual workouts, my calorie burn is usually in the 2300-2500 range according to my armband.

Unfortunately, I bruised my foot pretty badly last Friday so my calorie burns since then are only about 1900 because I haven't been able to run on it just yet. (Have a 5K coming up on the 25th and don't want to risk making the injury worse and not being able to run it. Hoping to get out tomorrow or Saturday, weather and foot permitting.)

At this point, I weigh 145 and don't feel the need to be any lighter. I would just like the belly fat to go away and have been struggling against it for months and months now.

 

[FireDancer]

Your body will begin to store fat if it continually has a high calorie deficit. I think having such a low calorie intake is part of why you can shed some of the fat. I'd aim for no more than 100 or 200 at most.

 

[ChimneysweepGeorge]

Always remember, spot reduction is a myth. Anyone who says different is selling something OR is trying to rationalize their own purchase.

You body doesn't know from belly fat, it just knows fat. Frank is right BTW, even a 500 deficit is fairly big at your size. That would just be the biggest I would consider.

 

[loislane]

I guess I'll keep playing around between calories and hopefully find a range that works for me.