Weight Non-loss

[[old] RacerX]

This one is on behalf of my wife, who is getting very frustrated....<br /><br />About six weeks ago my wife decided to get serious about losing the last 7-8 pounds of baby weight she gained. She has been very consistent, erging 5-7 times a week for about 20 minutes, plus about 15-30 minutes of yoga and sit-ups. In all, it is much more consistent activity than she had been doing. <br /><br />She also improved her diet with more vegatables and cut out any snacks. And desserts. She hates that.<br /><br />So, for six weeks she has done more work and eaten less (and more healthy). The result is that she put on 4 pounds. <br /><br />I just don't get it. I may not know weight loss strategies, but I know a whole lot about being very fit. And more work, less calories ought to add up to less weight even with some muscle gain from the rowing. Any advice welcome. And if it makes a difference she is still breast feeding. <br /><br />Thanks<br /><br />Aaron

[[old] Neb154]

Just from a quick glance at what you said, I think two of the problems could be : <br /><br />A ) Cutting off the calories too severely and having the body go into starvation mode, in which it tries to sustain fat and keep weight on.<br /><br />or <br /><br />B ) Your wife might be cutting deserts, but the total net calories may be up. The solution would be to count the calories in each meal and too make sure that each meal was of about the same number of calories, evenly spaced out by no more then a couple hours, throughout the day.

[[old] bmoore]

<!--QuoteBegin-RacerX+Aug 29 2005, 03:05 PM--><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><div class='genmed'><b>QUOTE(RacerX @ Aug 29 2005, 03:05 PM)</b></div></td></tr><tr><td class='quote'><!--QuoteEBegin-->This one is on behalf of my wife, who is getting very frustrated....<br /><br />About six weeks ago my wife decided to get serious about losing the last 7-8 pounds of baby weight she gained.  She has been very consistent, erging 5-7 times a week for about 20 minutes, plus about 15-30 minutes of yoga and sit-ups.  In all, it is much more consistent activity than she had been doing. <br /><br />She also improved her diet with more vegatables and cut out any snacks. And desserts.  She hates that.<br /><br />So, for six weeks she has done more work and eaten less (and more healthy).  The result is that she put on 4 pounds. <br /><br />I just don't get it.  I may not know weight loss strategies, but I know a whole lot about being very fit.  And more work, less calories ought to add up to less weight even with some muscle gain from the rowing.  Any advice welcome.  And if it makes a difference she is still breast feeding.  <br /><br />Thanks<br /><br />Aaron <br /> </td></tr></table><br /><br />We're on our fourth child in 4 years, so I know what you mean. My wife likes to run half-marathons between pregnancies, and has got down to her pre baby weight each time.<br /><br />I'd recommend a body fat scale and look at pounds of fat instead of total weight. <br /><br />Also, if she's still breast feeding, the hormones are still working on her body to provide nutrition to the baby.

[[old] The Dude Abides]

It could be muscle. <br /><br />Do her clothes fit differently or anything?<br /><br />As far as diet goes, pick up this book called the Abs Diet COMPANION...there's a regular hardback book called the The Abs Diet, it's by Mens Health magazine. The companion, the sequel/supplement to the book is better because it gives you more recipes and also tells you what foods you can get at different restaurants. Like at taco bell (my favorite ) the best thing you can order is ranchero chicken taco's fresco style. It doesn't spend as much time selling you on the diet, instead it gives you more recipes (and they're good!) and tells you what to eat while you're out at popular restaurants and fast food joints. It's helped me out a lot.<br /><br />The companion will tell you this, but I'll say it anyway. Whey protein powder smoothies are great. Whey powder helps burn fat, mix it with frozen strawberries, blueberries, low fat yogurt, a spoon of peanut butter and you're good to go. <br /><br />Also drink lots of water.<br /><br />And when in doubt, the golden rule, if you take on more calories than you work off, you'll gain weight/fat<br /><br />Like I said, it could be muscle that she has put on. More muscle helps burn calories, even when you're just sitting around. <br /><br />Also, get a scale that helps measure bodyfat. I'm looking to get one, as i hear they help out a lot.<br /><br />Hope this helps!

[[old] RacerX]

<!--QuoteBegin-bmoore+Aug 29 2005, 02:16 PM--><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><div class='genmed'><b>QUOTE(bmoore @ Aug 29 2005, 02:16 PM)</b></div></td></tr><tr><td class='quote'><!--QuoteEBegin--><!--QuoteBegin-RacerX+Aug 29 2005, 03:05 PM--><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><div class='genmed'><b>QUOTE(RacerX @ Aug 29 2005, 03:05 PM)</b></div></td></tr><tr><td class='quote'><!--QuoteEBegin--><br /><br /> <br /> </td></tr></table><br /><br />We're on our fourth child in 4 years, so I know what you mean. My wife likes to run half-marathons between pregnancies, and has got down to her pre baby weight each time.<br /><br />I'd recommend a body fat scale and look at pounds of fat instead of total weight. <br /><br />Also, if she's still breast feeding, the hormones are still working on her body to provide nutrition to the baby. <br /> </td></tr></table><br /><br />Bill,<br /><br />Thanks for that. She is tracking bodyfat and that percentage has not moved either. She is a numbers person (accountant) so she wanted to see something improve quantitively. I think you are right - the hormones are fighting to keep some weight on.<br /><br />Aaron

[[old] bmoore]

<!--QuoteBegin-RacerX+Aug 29 2005, 03:23 PM--><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><div class='genmed'><b>QUOTE(RacerX @ Aug 29 2005, 03:23 PM)</b></div></td></tr><tr><td class='quote'><!--QuoteEBegin--><!--QuoteBegin-bmoore+Aug 29 2005, 02:16 PM--><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><div class='genmed'><b>QUOTE(bmoore @ Aug 29 2005, 02:16 PM)</b></div></td></tr><tr><td class='quote'><!--QuoteEBegin--><!--QuoteBegin-RacerX+Aug 29 2005, 03:05 PM--><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><div class='genmed'><b>QUOTE(RacerX @ Aug 29 2005, 03:05 PM)</b></div></td></tr><tr><td class='quote'><!--QuoteEBegin--><br /><br /> <br /> </td></tr></table><br /><br />We're on our fourth child in 4 years, so I know what you mean. My wife likes to run half-marathons between pregnancies, and has got down to her pre baby weight each time.<br /><br />I'd recommend a body fat scale and look at pounds of fat instead of total weight. <br /><br />Also, if she's still breast feeding, the hormones are still working on her body to provide nutrition to the baby. <br /> </td></tr></table><br /><br />Bill,<br /><br />Thanks for that. She is tracking bodyfat and that percentage has not moved either. She is a numbers person (accountant) so she wanted to see something improve quantitively. I think you are right - the hormones are fighting to keep some weight on.<br /><br />Aaron <br /> </td></tr></table><br /><br />Until she stops feeding the baby, there's going to be a bit of excess weight. (Enjoy the extra weight where she feeds the baby, because that will disappear pretty quickly!)<br /><br />Hey, congrats on the new baby! When was the baby born? With all of the things that can go wrong, worrying about mom's weight is a luxury that not all parents get to have. (Did you see the babies in the NICU? That's heartbreaking). We've consistently had 10# 21" babies, and have been lucky. (OK, so Dianne had them. Childbirth is an amazing thing. So are epidurals.)<br /><br />Anyway, tell your wife that she should mentally set aside the extra weight as a "pending sale from discontinued operations". Sorry for the CPA humor, but it works in this situation.

[[old] RowedandRode]

i'll bet your wife needs more protein and calcium. Breastfeeding and exercise are creating an extra demand on her system. She needs at least 1 gram of protein per lb of (desired) body weight, each day. Maybe more, since she is feeding a baby too. If you don't get enough protein, you simply lose lean tissue instead of fat.<br /><br />She's certainly on the right track by eliminating the sweets. Keep it up.<br /><br />The suggestion for your wife to monitor her calorie count and spread the food intake over at least 6 meals per day is excellent. I suggest Googling the <b>Harris Benedict equation</b> to obtain an accurate estimate of calorie requirements.<br /><br />I exercised like crazy for three years and could never seem to lose any weight. Then I gave up most of my carbs and all my sugar, and replaced the starchy stuff with protein & veggies, and dropped 17 lbs in 8 weeks. The weight just fell off me. I'm still exercising at the same duration & frequency, but have been able to increase the intensity significantly as a result of the diet change and weight loss. <br /><br />Best of luck!<br /><br />

[[old] billandmargaret]

Since numbers matter to her, I suggest your wife monitor her waistline and how well her pulse rate, speed, strength & endurance are improving to see her progress. She probably is losing girth in those places while building muscle. <br /><br />As long as she is nursing, she will retain extra weight and girth in her breasts compared to pre-baby--I speak from experience; I didn't lose that til a few years after I'd stopped nursing.<br /><br />Congratulations to her for taking care of herself as well as your baby. That's no small feat.<br /><br />Margaret