Plateauing...what should I change???

FlashTheLeather

FlashTheLeather

Addicted to Softballfans
Current workout schedule is as follows:
Monday- 25 minutes cardio / 45 minutes arms and shoulders
Tuesday- Softball
Wednesday- 25 minutes cardio / 45 minutes legs and chest
Thursday- Softball and 45 minutes cardio
Friday- OFF
Saturday- No Cardio / 45 minutes abs and back and a few arm excercises
Sunday- Yard Work

Diet:
Monday thru Friday
  • Protein Shake for Breakfast
  • Yogurt at 10
  • Either Subway Chicken Breast sandwich for lunch OR packed lunch that includes turkey and swiss sandwich, yogurt, rice chips, and string cheese
  • Dinner is either chicken breast and brocolli with a salad or chicken breast and wheat pasta with red sauce
Saturday
  • Protein Shake for Breakfast
  • Something on the grill for lunch (chicken, hot dogs, or burgers)
  • Dinner involves a restaurant where I don't go too crazy but also don't watch that closely
Sunday
  • Nothing for breakfast
  • Either BBQ again or eat out
  • Dinner is usually like a Voila meal or something in the crock pot

From January to April, I had awesome results. May started to slow down with only losing a pound or so a week. I am 6'3" 230 lbs. and eat less than 2,000 calories a day (at least 6 days a week). January thru March I was doing cardio 6 days a week for 40 minutes in addition to lifting. I cut out two days of the week in April and dropped some cardio time simply due to my work schedule increasing. I was expecting it to slow down some, but mid-May I hit a wall and haven't lost any weight. Any recommendations on what to change up? Think I need to go back to doing more cardio? I can promise that my calories spent is greater than my calorie intake still but seem to have hit a major plateau.
 
O

Onefiver

Addicted to Softballfans
So, you reduced your energy expenditure insofar as the number of days and duration...? Did you also reduce calories as well to compensate for the reduced activity levels?
 
FlashTheLeather

FlashTheLeather

Addicted to Softballfans
Onefiver said:
So, you reduced your energy expenditure insofar as the number of days and duration...? Did you also reduce calories as well to compensate for the reduced activity levels?
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I did not reduce my calories but I have lost no weight in the last 3 weeks despite the fact I am still operating at a calorie deficit. I wasn't expecting to continue with the same results, but I have zero results at this point.
 
O

Onefiver

Addicted to Softballfans
FlashTheLeather said:
I did not reduce my calories but I have lost no weight in the last 3 weeks despite the fact I am still operating at a calorie deficit. I wasn't expecting to continue with the same results, but I have zero results at this point.
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Merely stating that you are in a deficit does not make it so. Moreover, the real world evidence does not seemingly support the claim that you are in a calorie deficit. To wit:

X activity level + Y calories = "awesome results"

Z activity level [where Z < X] + Y calories = no change in 3 weeks


Online calculators for calorie requirements and such are mere estimates that often need tweaking based on the individual (for example, you could be a chunky 230 or a LeBron James 230, etc. a chunky/fatty requires less calories). Calories in vs calories out is what causes the scale to move.

Without more info, there are all kinds of things to consider or try:

* How are you measuring your calories from things such as the turkey on your sandwich, cheese on your sandwich, pasta, etc.? Are you weighing them or just eyeballing it. If not, get a scale - you would be surprised at how you may be overestimating on certain things. For example, I was shocked at how small a true TBS of peanut butter really was - despite an honest effort of eyeballing a true TBS with a literal tablespoon, I was still getting almost twice the grams of PB by doing so - there's a single 120 cal error there and those things can add up quickly (ie if I had just three more 100-120 calorie errors in the day by eye balling it, I have an almost 500 calorie ***ulative error on the day...do that over the course of the week, and I have a 2500 calorie mistake on the week :eek:).

* Extend your weekly eating plan to one of Saturday or Sunday - you have reduced your energy output and therefore have not earned to have both days "off".

* Take a week off - don't go crazy, but get more calories during the week. GIven your weekends, I am not sure this will be helpful, but worth a try if you are desperate.

* Reduce your calories to account for reduced activity levels or bump your activity levels back up.

* If your increased work schedule is causing you to feel stress, do something to help reduce it (fish oil, green tea, Lean Xtreme, simple walks, etc). Stress response will mess you up.

That's all I got for now.
 
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F

filthdog

.....
Flash, you don't need to eat more... you need to work harder... you are at a point where you should still be seeing rapid gains bro... just work your balls off... if your not sore as hell than your not going hard enough... it might be time to switch your exercises up, but more than likely just try and up the intensity, possible the weight... honest feedback for ya... good luck... interval cardio is something that will help if you havn't been doing that...
 
daddypoe

daddypoe

Baller on a Budget
Eat more frequently and better quality foods (Subway isn't of high quality).

Eating more frequently will increase your metabolism.

Do cardio right away in the morning on an empty stomach (I eat a handful of almonds just to have something).

Switch up your workout routine, legs and chest on the same day doesn't make a whole lot of sense. If you are going to have a 3 day split I would do chest/bi, back/tri and legs/shoulders as a split.
 
F

filthdog

.....
daddypoe said:
Eat more frequently and better quality foods (Subway isn't of high quality).

Eating more frequently will increase your metabolism.

Do cardio right away in the morning on an empty stomach (I eat a handful of almonds just to have something).

Switch up your workout routine, legs and chest on the same day doesn't make a whole lot of sense. If you are going to have a 3 day split I would do chest/bi, back/tri and legs/shoulders as a split.
Click to expand...

I eat a handful of BCAA's

I would start with the more traditional chest/tri's, back/bi's to start and then switch at some point....
 
JGorms41

JGorms41

Addicted to Softballfans
change up your whole workout.....just go outside the box with things. change it up for awhile and you will feel better.....
 
FlashTheLeather

FlashTheLeather

Addicted to Softballfans
filthdog said:
Flash, you don't need to eat more... you need to work harder... you are at a point where you should still be seeing rapid gains bro... just work your balls off... if your not sore as hell than your not going hard enough... it might be time to switch your exercises up, but more than likely just try and up the intensity, possible the weight... honest feedback for ya... good luck... interval cardio is something that will help if you havn't been doing that...
Click to expand...

The bold is what I was afraid of. I started at 273 in January and dropped to 250 extremely quick. I continued through February with doing nothing but cardio (Insanity program). Come March and started to throw weights in 4 days a week while continue to do the 6 cardio days of Insanity. I know the heart monitor watches/chest straps only provide a really rough estimate of calories burned, but I was maintaining an avg. heart rate of 165+ for 1.5 hours 4 days a week, and 170+ the other days of just cardio for 45 minutes. During the 1.5 hour days I was burning over 2,000 calories (obviously rough estimate) just during the workout and that didn't include any ball or normal activities I was doing. I continued to lose fat (can tell just in definition and the way **** fits) but I have also bulked up on a muscle mass basis some. I think what I might do is cut the weights our for a month and get back to just doing excess cardio.

WarningTrakPowr said:
I dont want to assume anything so, what are your goals?
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Right now my goal is to drop fat but do it in a manageable matter.
 
W

WarningTrakPowr

amiright?
FlashTheLeather said:
The bold is what I was afraid of. I started at 273 in January and dropped to 250 extremely quick. I continued through February with doing nothing but cardio (Insanity program). Come March and started to throw weights in 4 days a week while continue to do the 6 cardio days of Insanity. I know the heart monitor watches/chest straps only provide a really rough estimate of calories burned, but I was maintaining an avg. heart rate of 165+ for 1.5 hours 4 days a week, and 170+ the other days of just cardio for 45 minutes. During the 1.5 hour days I was burning over 2,000 calories (obviously rough estimate) just during the workout and that didn't include any ball or normal activities I was doing. I continued to lose fat (can tell just in definition and the way **** fits) but I have also bulked up on a muscle mass basis some. I think what I might do is cut the weights our for a month and get back to just doing excess cardio.


Right now my goal is to drop fat but do it in a manageable matter.
Click to expand...

In my opinion, it doesnt sound like you have plateaued. What was your BF% when you started? What is it now? Give yourself until the end of June to decide if you have plateaued.
 
FlashTheLeather

FlashTheLeather

Addicted to Softballfans
WarningTrakPowr said:
In my opinion, it doesnt sound like you have plateaued. What was your BF% when you started? What is it now? Give yourself until the end of June to decide if you have plateaued.
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I did not do a legit body fat % analysis at the beginning and have not done one since I finished. If I had to guess, I went from somewhere around 28% down to 18-19%. I am not a health expert or trainer by any means, but I used to get my BF% done for HS and college so I would say the percentages are somewhat close.
 
MichelleG

MichelleG

Addicted to Softballfans
I think there are quite a few good points in the previous posts.

1. You may not be eating enough. Your body will go into "starvation" mode and try to hang onto calories if you are working very hard and not bringing in enough energy. Five or six small meals a day, (high quality food, plenty of fruits, vegis, lean meat and whole grains) Previous post was right...despite what "Jared" says...Subway doesn't cut it.

2. Change your workouts. You body will adapt to the same activities over and over and will use calories more efficiently...ie you won't burn as many. Mix up your cardio, do intervals, add a new activity, up your weight and reduce your reps on lift days. All may help.

3. Have your body fat % checked periodically. What you're not seeing is weight loss may actually be drops in body fat.

4. Try yoga. Improves performance and it's a killer workout.

Good luck!!
 
wcoastsoftball

wcoastsoftball

Moderator
WTP always deletes his best posts.

I see some places where the simple carbs can creep in, BBQ, yogurt depending on which kind. I suggest PLAIN greek. AS well as the breads from subway, Crock Pot is good depending on the recipie. Eat breakfast and also change it up a bit instead of being lazy and using shakes all the time. Eating more doesn't necessarily increase metabolism, however if it is done right, it usually means your activity level has increased. DOn't just eat more often and keep the activity the same. Do your gym workout and add another 20 minute bodyweight workout sometime else during the day, or go for a walk. Just suggestions.
 
E

Eballhero

<font color="#0000EE">SBF Fund Donor</font>
It seems to help me lose

daddypoe said:
Really? Since when did they start disproving the studies done regarding protein intake, frequency of meals and the lowering of fat loss/weight?
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when i eat smaller meals and more frequently. I dont know why but it works. Seems to be alot of debate over this subject.
 
wcoastsoftball

wcoastsoftball

Moderator
Eballhero said:
when i eat smaller meals and more frequently. I dont know why but it works. Seems to be alot of debate over this subject.
Click to expand...

There is, and everyone is different. The smaller meals has been shown to be not as effective as once thought, I think protein/fat intake is very important. Reducing simple sugars is probably the single most easy way to start reducing body wieght. Eat lots of veggies and limit fruits.
 
O

Onefiver

Addicted to Softballfans
daddypoe said:
Really? Since when did they start disproving the studies done regarding protein intake, frequency of meals and the lowering of fat loss/weight?
Click to expand...

Recent studies regarding leucine seem to indicate that more frequent is not necessarily better when it comes to protein at least.

Despite that, I pretty much graze all day long with spikes here and there because if I limit myself to just 3-4 meals, there are periods of time where I am just hungry and likely to blow my calorie target with a binge.
 
T

-TC-

Manager
Eballhero said:
when i eat smaller meals and more frequently. I dont know why but it works. Seems to be alot of debate over this subject.
Click to expand...

That may work for you, stick with what works. I used to eat that way but prefer to eat larger meals. Eating small meals I would never be satisfied



Overall though the overall calories eaten is what matters. Doesnt matter if you eat them in 3 or 6 meals.
 
wcoastsoftball

wcoastsoftball

Moderator
-TC- said:
That may work for you, stick with what works. I used to eat that way but prefer to eat larger meals. Eating small meals I would never be satisfied



Overall though the overall calories eaten is what matters. Doesnt matter if you eat them in 3 or 6 meals.
Click to expand...

Me too. I tried smaller meals, but it is a time consumer as well. Eating the traditional Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner is much easier, with the occasional grab a snack.
 
E

Eballhero

<font color="#0000EE">SBF Fund Donor</font>
I have noticed that

by eating more veggies (at least one with every meal) it keeps my energy very level all day. I duno if it is because my diet is now cleaner but I feel much better on the whole.
 
ramathorn

ramathorn

Addicted to Softballfans
1. Eat more total calories
2. Eat more frequently
3. Eat higher quality foods
4. Lift harder and heavier
5. Cut cardio to 30 min sessions
6. Start an actual program. (5x5, Starting strength, WS4SB, Wendler 5/3/1)
7. Drink a ton of water.
 
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