I have hit a wall as far as my weight loss goes. I am a 38 year old male who runs five times a week.?

Question

I eat less than 2000 calories a day, but have hit a wall in my weight loss goals. I started at 220, 45 days ago and am now stuck at 211. I am 5-11 and am looking to hit 195 as my ideal weight.

I eat 2-3 meals a day, each meal between 400-700 calories. I run an average of 16 miles per week. I am not doing any other exercise besides running.

The food I eat is pretty balanced. I try to eat chicken, or fish as the main dish and have side salads for the rest of my meals. I do have one bowl of ice cream about once a week.

I take a one a day multi vitamin and three hydroxycuts each day. I consider myself to be fairly fit for a 38 year old. My body style is one of dense muscle and 195 would be perfect for me.

Anyway, I really need to push past this wall and I am in need of some serious advice because what I am doing is not working. All advise will be greatly appreciated

Answer 1

when you eat only 2-3 times a day your body get more calories than it needs at the moment and stores them as fat also because there is too much time between now and next time its getting more calories.
find calorie/fitness calculator on the net, enter all your stats and it will tell you how many calories you need a day to maintain, take off 300-400cal off that number and thats how much you need to lose.
eat 5-6 small meals a day (eat every 2-3 hours)
5-8 servings of fruit and veggies a day
8 glasses of water
have complex carbs for breakfast - they give you energy
have lean meat (protein) for dinner - repairs muscle
cardio exercise 4-6 times a week for 30-50min, light weight training
dont consume foods that are made of white flour (white bread, cakes, past etc.), sugar loaded foods (cookies, icecream, candy etc) and nothing fried, oily.
ofcourse you can spoil yourself once in a while with a little treat:)

Answer 2

You've hit the wall. Common in weight loss. Your body has become accustomed to your routine. You need to eat 5 meals a day, 500 cal per meal, approx 2500 cal in combination with the following. You need to start running intervals (alternate sprinting and jogging...or slow jog and running. 2 min fast pace and 5 min slow). Start lifting weights. Main exercises: squats, bench press, barbell row, pull ups, leg press. Lifting weight when you are older increases testosterone levels (something that naturally decreases when you get older). More testosterone will increase energy levels, sex drive levels, overall weight loss. More muscle (especially in the larger muscle groups) burns more fat.

Stop taking the hydroxycut. Taking it in combination with the sprints/intervals is a good way to give you a heart attack. The suggested changes will be more effective for you than hydroxycut anyway. You've already moved past the point of its effectiveness.

The ice cream is fine, you need to indulge every now again or you won't stick to any plan for long. Just don't eat the whole carton at once :-) Cut out soda (or switch to diet) and any other liquid sugar. Splenda is a good substitute.

Drink more water. Also check your food labels for high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). In the States, HFCS does NOT have to be included in the calorie/suegar list. So foods containing those items are higher in sugar and calories than what it says (learned that from an Aussie copy of Mens Health).

Move beyond the salads. Everyone thinks salads are healthy, but after the dressing and everything else you put on it, you'd be better off eating a sandwich with wheat bread (no HFCS) turkey, lettuce, tomato, and a little mayo. And if you skip the mayo and go for mustard, it virtually has little or no calories. Eating just salads will make your body feel like it's starving itself...and if that happens, everything you eat will be automatically stored as fat and not burned.

If you want a snack. Try eating a handfull of almonds. With some raw veggies. Yogurt is a good snack (make sure you buy the ones that are under 100 cal or so).

Good Luck!

Answer 3

Something you could try would be to eat 5-6 smaller meals throughout the day to boost your metabolism. As for exercise, add weight lifting to your exercise routine (make sure you are doing it right though! ask for advice on proper form). Building muscle is a great way to lose weight.

As for your cardio, try switching it up a bit. Vary the intensity with interval training (1 minute of sprinting, then 3 minutes jogging, repeat). You could also run up hills if you have access. Or, you could try a different activity altogether, like swimming or kickboxing. The body needs to be challenged in new ways in order to continue losing weight. Good luck; I hope you reach your goal.

Answer 4

I think you have hit a plateau, you should change up your exercise routine. Maybe try cycling, swimming or get a hold of a membership to a local gym. I go to 24 hour fitness and there is constantly something else to do, like; kick boxing, swimming, basketball, resistance training....

But everything else seems good. You can try some protein shakes.

Answer 5

With half an hour running everyday you should lose weight after one week because you are young and your metabolism burns calories faster than an adult. In regards to building up muscles its better if you sign-up with a gym. If you are under budget, ask your friends to let you use their stuff to exercise or try crunches and lift heavy things at home.

Answer 6

I've lost 5 kilos in my first week. It's my 10th day and I have included salad with some protein (eg. egg/ lean chicken) as you suggested. After 4 years of trying, the fat is finally coming off. It truly feels like magic!

Get started today!

Answer 7

there are going to be times when you don't lose. it's very frustrating. instead of weighting yourself, take note of how your clothes fit. you can lose inches and not pounds at times. if the plateau lasts more than a couple of weeks (they can last months), try doing something different. exercise longer, not more intensely. eat at different times. eat more. you might not be taking in enough calories. drink lots of water, too.

Answer 8

add fasted cardio before breakfast

Answer 9

The mix of cardio and toning five times a week will keep metabolism humming

Answer 10

Sleep in a cold room Sleeping in a cold room is a best way to force your body to heat itself up for hours