Need your help. Never had a weight prob till I quit smoking last year. Gained up to 140 lb and am stuck. I am 37 y/o female, 5'6". I've tried various routines and my current is jogging 3 miles about 5-6 times a week and then circuit training 3 days a week. Have not lost a pound...look a little firmer but measurements not going down much either. My calipers say I might have lost 1% (around 19 or 20% total) bf but with a 3% margin, who knows. My diet is ok. I'm trying to vary my calories between 1500 and no more than 1800 a day with ratio of 34-40% protein, 40% carb and no more than 25% fat. I take Flax oil, CLA, multi vit, ALA, L-Carnitine., and am trying MPX Meltdown, which I am not that impressed with. So, what in the hell is keeping me from getting leaner? Especially in my stomach area. Any supp suggestions, training, diet...anything?? It's driving me crazy to work this hard and still not fit into my jeans!!!!!!!

You could switch up your routine and shock your body into something its not use to doing. Do more free weights and 3-4 days of cardio. Are you doing mostly compound movements? Might have to bump up your calories slightly and then slowly come down again. How long have you been dieting?

Have you tried bigger jeans?


Also, if you could post a pic, maybe we could better advise you.

Chris--I have not been doing this routine that long. I started back really working out in Feb. Then did P90X for a month and a half then went to more cardio based. Workouts. I read something that lighter weight/higher reps make muscles look more puffy than hard..do you agree? Maybe I can go back to the standard bodybuilder type routine of 3 sets of 8? I use Fitday to track my calories and can say I'm always dieting to some extent.
Roids--very funny! I refuse to buy bigger jeans. I'm a size 5-7 sometimes 9 and won't go up. If I can find a decent pic to upload I will. Thanks for quickly responding.

You will burn more calories lifting weights then cardio, its a simple fact. Puffy muscles? The way a muscle looks is based on body fat and water that your retaining. If your goal is to lose weight then higher reps is more what you are looking for. What works for one person doesnt always work for another. I would keep reps between 10-15 if I was you. When your circuit training what exercises are you doing? How many sets of each? I would probably try doing your cardio in the morning or right after you lift weights. If your really bored throw up a typical days diet and let us see if anything needs changing. Sometimes little changes in a diet can help a lot.

It sounds like you're doing everything you can. It may just be genetics and age. Some people would have a runner's build if they did all that cardio and followed the same diet.

Still, a 5-7 isn't too bad at all. A 9 isn't all that bad if you fill them out well. As long as you stay out of the double digits, you should be fine. Now, I'll be waiting for that pic.

I will try to post a pic..
Somewhat of a typical day of eating
breakfast: cereal or oatmeal with half banana, blueberries and skim milk
snack--protein shake w/fruit
lunch: 4-6 oz meat with pasta or brown rice or black beans, veggies
snack: protein shake, fruit
Dinner--pretty much same as lunch, sometimes no carbs.

Am I eating too much fruit/natural sugar?? The fat that looks to worst is in my belly and a little on top of my legs

If you want to be super strict then cutting out fruit all together is what to do. First meal of the day throw in some egg whites or a shake with your oatmeal and banana. Eat your complex carbs up until you workout. Then after that just eat veggies with your meals. You said you were taking flax seed oil, so add one or two tablespoons in there a day. Depending on how long you have been eating this amount of calories your metabolism may be use to it and having a cheat meal once a week might help you out too. You could try carb cycling too. I guess you just have to play with things and see how it works out for you. Tell me about your workout routine though?

You're not eating enough. More smaller meals

Thats what i was thinking too.. I didnt think that adds up to 1500-1800 a day...

Wow--thank you all for your support. I use Fitday to track my calories and I am usually between 1500-1800 a day. I checked my sheet from when I started the P90X and I had my bf at 24% now it's at 20%--is it possible to lose that much without losing pounds?? OK, so my workout is fairly simple I run Mon, Wed, Fri, then Sat, and/or Sun. 3 miles in 30 minutes and burn almost 400 calories per my heart rate monitor. Then, on Mon, Wed, and Fri. I do the Firm scultping tapes. Usually one day lower body, one day upper, then one day full body. The lower body consists mainly of lunges using a step and squats and I use 10lb dumbells--upper body is more compound movements. So, am I overtraining doing the running and circuit on the same days?
Should I change my lifting back to basic weight lifting instead of sculpting style?
Any fat burner that will really help cut off the fat around my knees and belly. Like I said, I'm trying Meltdown and I don't think I like it. Did Lipo 6 before that and think it worked a little better.
I want to be around 18% bf--that's not too much to ask. SO, how many calories should I shoot for a day?

Yeah it's possible to lose bodyfat but not lbs.

I'd suggest more HIIT, and heavier weight. HIIT burns more calories than steady state cardio (yes, it does). Steady state cardio just wastes away bone and muscle (and a little fat), so I definitely wouldn't do any more than you're currently doing--maybe even less.

From an olympic level trainer. Great read.

Muscle burns more calories than anything else. Lifting heavy objects adds muscle. I'll let you do the math. It won't make you look like a man either. If you start to look like a man, back off a little. It won't happen overnight.

Count everything with calories in it. Are you drinking any soda, fitness water, etc.?

Oh, and if all else fails, there's always Mr. Pukey.



Good luck!

I track pretty much everything that I take in. And I normally only drink coffee, water, and an occassional Fuze or gatorade G2.
I will adjust my training to do more heavy, standard lifting.
So, if I cut fruit out...what do I eat to get my calories in if I'm keeping my carbs low too. I usually work out first thing in the am..so no carbs except breakfast and am snack?

...lets see what you eat. Give a typical days worth of meals...

Let's see that pic.

Eliminate the fatty snacks and carbonated beverages, instead reach for fruit and even better would be raw vegetables, you can now buy them bagged fresh, cut and ready to eat. Drink more water and natural unprocessed fruit juices. Pass on the milk, cheese, and red meat.

it took me a few days to notice more replies to my post...here is what I try to eat everyday
breakfast: oatmeal w/ 1/2 cup milk, blueberries, protein powder, 1/2 banana or bowl of Kashi Go lean w/ milk, 1/2 banana protein shake
am snack: protein shake or protein bar w/fruit
lunch: 4-6 oz meat, mixed veggies, 1 cup brown rice or barilla plus pasta
snack: shake or bar w/ fruit or apple w/ peanut butter
pm: same as lunch usually

some days I make smoothies for a snack..but usually meals are like the above. I just started taking Hydroxycut Max and added glutamine to my supps. I am still running but have starting doing "normal" weights instead of the Firm tapes. I am due to weigh and measure Wed. We'll see. I am going to cut the carbs out of dinner this week and see if that helps and maybe also back of the fruit a little. I just have a hard time getting my calories in eating meat and veggies, you know??!! Thanks