Hello HP'ers,
I need some advise please because the very young people dressed up as 'fitness instructors' at my hugely overpriced gym are useless.
It was uber fashionable in the 80's when I was a teenager for women to be very muscly, I overdid it and ended up with the bulky, defined arms, ripped back and six pack (I thought I looked great lol) fast forward 20 odd years and I can't get rid of it, I started back at the gym 5 weeks ago, I've put 3 stone on since Feb last year when my beloved dog died but the weight is coming off so slowly I feel so unmotivated and feel like giving up, I'm following a strict healthy eating, but balanced diet plan (not going mad just cutting out naughty stuff and reducing portion sizes) but I either lose 1lb a week or nothing at all which is hardly surprising when you see my muscles I know muscle weighs heavier than fat and that is what the problem is.
The exercises I am doing at the gym are swimming 15-20 lengths per visit, eliptical crosstrainer (half an hour = 500 cals burned) and squash, I avoid the weights for obvious reasons and while it's clear I am loosing inches I am still very fat and wobbly all over at 11 stone 2 pound I was 9 stone 1 pound when my dog died but still clearly a tad overweight as I am a teeny person of just 5 foot with a slight frame.
Any advise would be greatly appreciated.
Love
Rebecca x
I'm afraid weight loss through calorie control and calorie burning is also a 1980s concept. Many have tried and failed, but still unqualified commentators like Anne Widdecombe tell us this is the way.
In light of new concepts such as metabolic syndrome, weight gain is now thought by many to be a compensatory mechanism. In diseases where weight gain seems to be a factor (eg heart disease and diabetes), far from being the cause of health harm, it is the body's way to prevent even worse health problems. Flies are associated with cow-pats, but getting rid of flies will not rid the field of poo.
Adipose tissue is storage tissue for toxins to keep them out of the way. The first stage of detoxification is transport of waste to the kidney and bowel (also lung, skin etc) - this is normal range of physiology without need for adaptation. When the limits are reached, the second is transport to the outer layers and limbs. These changes are supposed to be temporary, until we have dealt with our nutritional or stress crisis - but life goes on unchanged. Next, dilution with water (oedema, swelling), then deep storage in connective tissue, then joints (arthritis), body cavities (around organs), then eventually growths, cysts, and finally tumours some way down the process.
Most of us hover permanently somewhere in the early adaptive stages, with love handles, restless legs, mild skin and breathing irritations, poor digestion, tiredness, stiffness, sore joints, mood changes and fuzzy thinking. Of course, when we are toxic, we suffer food cravings and make inappropriate choices, all of which adds to our toxic load. To sharpen up we need to think of dealing with toxins, hydrating, eating the purest, most nutritious diet we can, and promoting general health with the right lifestyle balance: aiming for the right amounts of exercise, rest, and elimination: dealing with our sources of stress. Then, when they can, the pounds will take care of themselves - hopefully. If not, at least we can be comforted that we are doing the right things to keep well and avoid the situation getting worse.
Be warned, however, that intensive calorie-controlled approaches certainly CAN make matters worse. The body's response to malnutrition is to release unused protein from excess muscle. Then, it will stock up at the earliest opportunity with more fat as a valuable store of calories. Hence the long-term effect of calorie-controlled dieting can be strength-loss and weight-gain. Hence making sure the problem doesn't get worse is a sensible goal, and beyond that, aiming for general health, not micromanaging specific changes.
Then of course, we should not forget medical issues, eg hormonal changes, thyroid problems etc. These may need addressing in more direct ways, but at least by approaching our general health we will not be compounding those issues, and we may go some way to helping them.
See also Dr Mercola for 'peak 8' exercise training, and other valuable health and diet info.
Hello Heinz thank you kindly for taking the time to write such a long and detailed reply, please forgive me but I do not understand a word of your post and I am struggling to understand it's relevance to my post.
I don't do 'medical issues' I don't believe in such stuff Dr's and western medice have their place (and I thank Gaia for them) if you are in a car crash or tail it down the stairs but other than that I can't think of anything they would come in handy for.
Love
Rebecca x
I am not a believer in the medical versions either. That last point was just to say that if, for instance, your thyroid is in trouble, then all the cardio exercise you can do will not help the situation. What to do about the thyroid is an even bigger subject, I'm just flagging this up to avoid overlooking such matters.
To summarise the rest:
- stop counting calories
- eat the most nutritious diet you can, consisting of mainly vegetables and mostly raw, as nature intended
- avoid faddish diets that promise a specific result other than 'health'
- go on a balanced programme of supplementation, as most bought food is low on nutrients
- get plenty of rest, lots of early nights, water, and sunshine
- avoid environmental toxins, which is easy because they are everywhere, meaning there are lots of opportunities to reduce these
- deal with any obstructions to waste removal, eg chronic constipation, poor gut flora etc
- avoid long cardio sessions and opt for intensity based routines, eg peak 8 instead, build up your routine gradually and allow for plenty of recovery
- take care of your general health, and let the weight take care of itself.
Hope that makes sense. Perhaps one of the nutritionists will flesh out some of the detail, and doubtless there will be some contrasting views.
Good luck!
Hello Heinz thank you kindly for taking the time to write such a long and detailed reply, please forgive me but I do not understand a word of your post and I am struggling to understand it's relevance to my post.
I don't do 'medical issues' I don't believe in such stuff Dr's and western medice have their place (and I thank Gaia for them) if you are in a car crash or tail it down the stairs but other than that I can't think of anything they would come in handy for.Love
Rebecca x
PMd you
Hi,
Yes I did a lot of swimming when I was younger and have strong shoulders, arms and legs etc!
I have noticed the weight creeps on even though I jog/run regularly and go to step aerobics, however I have just discovered Zumba which has finally reached our "rural metropolis" and after only a few weeks I am noticing a difference.
It is good fun and definitely an all over work out. My jeans are definitely looser 🙂
Try googling it.
Hello Gaiaholistix, Thank you for replying, the gym I am a member of do Zumba but I've not been able to have a go yet because they do 3 per week all at times I am unable to go!
I've recently met a young lady who is starting up Bollywood dance classes at the community centre near where I live I am looking forward to giving that a go but I have to admit that I will also feel a bit resentful paying such an extortionate amount for a gym membership while doing it.
Love
Rebecca x