Weight Loss / Exercise Balance

I have been struggling to lose weight he last 4 months.  I've been at a very bad plateau even though I work out a lot.  I was losing weight consistently when I reduced calorie intake and did light exercise (3 mile walks, 4 times a week).  

Now I do the following 6 days a week

1) 45 minutes of spinning class
2) 20 minutes of weight lifting
3) 30 minutes bike ride

I am not finding the right balance of how much to eat before my body crashes and keeping blood sugar regulated.  It dips too low and I pig out.  

I feel like if I go back to just walking and low calorie diet I can continue to lose.  Actually with light exercise it was just much easier to control my diet.  Now it's all over the place.  

Should I go back to just walking and give up the spinning/lifting?  What's the right thing to do.  I've obviously lost the battle with this new routine.

FYI, I lost 120 lbs when I was just controlling my diet and only walking, no straneous exercise 

Yes, your diet is crucial for weight loss. With the added exercise you should be able to eat more than before. Try eating more calories before your workout, or a quick snack (like a bananna) between spinning and weights. This will likely help prevent the post-workout crash, and will make it easier to stop pigging out afterwards. The key for me is to eat when I'm hungry, but not wait until I'm absolutely starving (because then I tend to overeat, and make unhealthy food choices). 

So should I reduce the number of days I do these routines?  

I only binge late at night after 11 pm.  Even if all I have is salad during the day with these workout, I typically don't feel the need to binge till late at night which is another thing I don't get.  

What's the right balance?  I feel guilty reducing my workout days but f that's the right thing to do it's fine.

Original Post by mikhaeel03:

I only binge late at night after 11 pm.  Even if all I have is salad during the day with these workout, I typically don't feel the need to binge till late at night which is another thing I don't get.  

 

Not sure if this applies in your case but thought I'd put it out there.

http://www.weightlossresources.co.uk/eating_d isorders/night-time-binge-eating-disorder.htm

I've had some periods of my life where late night eating was an issue. For me making sure I'm in bed early, and being careful about my sleep routine helps. Using melatonin at night has made a huge difference, as has working hard at thought stopping and mindfulness of positives throughout the day. It all seems to keep me in a good space so that night eating isn't triggered.

Hope this was useful.

I think the thing you have to figure out is if the late night binges are because you are truly hungry, or if you are eating for emotional reasons (comfort, reduce boredom or stress etc.)

If it's the former, it's easy to fix. Eat more throughout the day. Going from walking to more intense exercise you are burning more calories, and should be eating more. If you have eaten nothing but a salad all day, it's no wonder you are binge eating at night. You must be starving. If you begin to eat appropriate amounts before you are ravenously hungry you will probably be able to stop when you are full, and make better food choices, instead of letting it lead to binge eating.

If the binge eating is for other reasons, it's a bit tougher to advise. It's time for some soul-searching on your part to figure out what's wrong and why you're turning to food to fix it. Some strategies you might try are: not eating after a certain time (say 8pm), eating only fruits and veggies outside of meals, removing all junk food from the house, going to bed earlier, taking a walk instead of eating, wait ~20 minutes before eating to asses if you are truly hungry, etc. Find what works for you.

That goes for exercise too. If 6 days a week seems like to much, try 5. If doing all 3 things every day is too much try 2. How much is too much depends on your health and fitness level, and what else is going on in your life. But, you may find eating more calories gives you the energy you need to maintain your current exercise schedule.