Looking for Fat Loss

I just completed Stage 1. I am somewhat disheartened by the fact that other than strength results, I saw none. No pounds dropping off, no inches melting away... LOL!

Yet pleasingly, I am definitely stronger, and even have more energy.

I have read through a lot of the postings in this group, and it seems the consensus has been that most of the members have been "happy" with their weight, and were just looking for definition, and getting it.

I need to burn fat. My intentions for building muscle are to increase my metabolism. I have a spare tire that is covering my six-pack, which I know is in there somewhere, but even after working so very hard in Stage 1, and really minding my macronutrients, I experienced no changes.

Is there anyone who got results in their weight dropping with the program that can make suggestions about how to do it? Or even just tell me, am I doing something wrong?

I too am in the "still got fat to lose" category, and my main advice would be to have patience.  I started off weighing 155 lbs, gained a couple of pounds of water weight that stuck with me for a couple of weeks and only started seeing weight loss results at the very end of stage 1 (between the last "real" workout and the two special workouts).  I'm now halfway through stage 3 and have lost 4-5 pounds total.  (I'm hovering just over 150 lbs and really want to cross that barrier.)  For my measurements, again, I didn't see much movement until stage 2; however, I have now dropped from a 32" waist to a 31" waist (brand new low this morning!) and from 38" hips to 37.25" hips.

One thing to note is that throughout stages 1 and 2, my appetite skyrocketed from what it used to be.  Before I started the program, I was averaging 1700 cals/day; since starting, I've been averaging 2100 cals/day - and still lost those inches and pounds.  I'm now starting to get a little impatient and my body seems to be getting a little more lenient with the hunger so I'm going to cut back to 1800 cals/day on non-workout days and 2000 cals/day on workout days.  I think that'll help me finally break into the 140s.  I want to have broken into the 130s by summer.

Susiecue -  Patience is a virtue... LOL! I've never claimed to be a virtuous woman... HAHA... kidding!

I have been hungry to a point, but I think it may be more of a mental hunger... IE: wanting my "BEFORE" snacky type foods....In the past month, I have redesigned my entire food routine, much according to Lou's suggestions. In an attempt to regulate the macronutrients, the food stocks have completely changed. I have managed to get the protein and fats under control, but the carbs are still "off" a little. While they are healthy carbs, I am still phasing into even healthier foods.

In the last month, I have been targeting 1800 calories average. Which falls right in the middle of my range.

I created an excel sheet to analyze a bit. The results were eye-opening. I wish I could post the chart here, but CC chews it to shreds and spits it out on the screen.

Bottom line results were...

Daily Cal Avg: 1733
Deficit Avg: 412
Protein Avg per day: 124g
Fats Avg per day: 61g
Carbs Avg per day: 183g

I discovered also that I am eating more on my days off... I suppose those are the days that my body is regenerating, requiring more energy. However, I know I should try to do the opposite, and eat on the workout days. I just feel so uncomfortable at the gym if I eat much, and get an upset stomach from the pressure on it while straining to lift. I don't enjoy doing the jackknife feeling like I am going to toss, or walking out of the gym with indigestion. Any ideas here?

I feel mostly satiated at this level, but after completing the Stage, I did all this to see if I need to do what Lou suggested to do if you're not seeing results; cutting. It looks as if I need to cut calories. Even though I am still below my target calories (and striving to hit the target), I achieved an average below that without effort. BUT, I am a bit nervous about cutting much, because I am already below the target.

I already do HIIT 3x per week, and the only other option I can think of without cutting calories is to add more cardio. I can do that, as there are 60 minute Zumba classes on Tu and Th... my days off. OR... is this something you would not suggest?

Many of you on here report losing 2lbs, 4 lbs, 7lbs.... I need to lose 40. I will be finished with the program before I lose all that, if I go at the rates I am perceiving. Has anyone lost a considerable amount of weight with this program? How did you do it? I need details!

Have a healthgain day!
~Julie

I also ate more on my days off.  I think that's because I work out in the evening, so the time you need the most food (12-24 hours following the workout) just happens to be the next day.  I suspect that, if you work out earlier in the day, the increased calories on workout day becomes more important.

And now I must finish my scrambled eggs before my cat steals them... 

Thanks Susiecue, I appreciate your taking an interest in my question. I love kitty kats!!

Aren't there any other group members who've experienced actual fatloss with this?

Thanks in advance for replying!

Happy Healthgain!
~Julie

well from everything ive been reading about the program online, its not really a fat loss program, but it can happen for some. maybe just maybe try RFFL for a few weeks now that you have some extra strength (also designed by cosgrove & waterbury). i did it for 6 weeks before my wedding.

Octo - How much fat came off?

Original Post by nannygabber:

Octo - How much fat came off?

 um you know what i dont know. i never got my fat tested, can't find a decent tester here. but i did lose about 1 inches off my waist & maybe up to 1 inch off my hips. but i wasn't really doing much of a deficit (if any maybe), so one could probably get more. it was just before my wedding so i didn't want to jeapordize my energy levels at all.  i did notice more definition though. but i felt amazing on it. its tough & can be a little long. by week 5 i had to change it up tho, i couldn't lift heavy enough weights to match my endurance. the first 2 weeks were killer. defo worth a try, especially if you do a deficit.

I find when my nutrition is good, the fat does come off.  Also, supplementing with walking and biking helped me stay lean.  Currently my nutrition is not very good and I am finding it difficult to get the walking and biking in.  As a result, I put some fat back on.  However, the fat looks better on a more muscular body -so I still look better on the program than before I started.  I feel better too, so that is something. Goog luck.

I would be happy to lose about 8 pounds.  My whole weightloss ride has been rollercoaster ride....litterally the "I want to get off and throwup' type of ride.  In one year I have lost 5-10 pounds (my chart is the rollercoaster).  Anyway since starting this program I am feeling better about how I look and feel.  On workout days I have to force myself to eat because when I am active my body does not want any food.  On off days i do fine but still have a hard time to reach the calories I need to eat so some days I am more at a deficit then I should be.  Some of my issues are stress (teenagers).  Anyway I do not want to sabatage all this hard work by not eating a proper diet with too little calories although my lifting is going well, I am able to add to the weight.  My arms are looking defined but my jelly belly just jiggles there!!!

Octo - since you've apparently done both, the RFFL, and NROLFW, would you recommend doing them simultaneously in an effort to lose fat? ... Also, I didn't notice on the RFFL site anything about how long you're supposed to do all that. (??)

Laura -  It seems that even with great nutrition, mine isn't budging. I feel like getting out the hacksaw! 40 lbs is apparently a lot to lose with this program.

Puppykisses - If you find a way to lose it, please let me know.

Thanks to all for the feedback, much appreciated!

Hope your healthgain journey is amazing!
~Julie

I don't think it would be humanly possible - let alone advisable - to do RFFL and NROLFW at the same time.  I've read that RFFL works best when you're already down to reasonably low fat, so I'd probably do NROLFW first.

On an unrelated note, I can totally relate to the needing to lose 40 pounds thing.  When I started watching my calories and increasing my exercise back in July, I had about 40 pounds to lose.  It's taken me six months to lose 28 of them but, by doing it slowly, I really feel like I'm not doing anything I can't foresee doing forever.  (I still get to eat treats; I just don't get to sit down in front of the TV with the whole bag of Doritos and then wonder where they all went.  I still eat chocolate; I just have a few squares of dark chocolate instead of a Mars bar.  Or if I really want that Mars bar, I have a mini one like you give out at Hallowe'en.) 

I still have 10-15 pounds to go - but those first 28 pounds I lost?  All fat.  My lean mass is the same today as it was back in July.  And that makes me very very happy.  I attribute that to progressively more difficult strength training programs.  After this one, I may well go and try RFFL.  I looked at the videos, and it looks hard!

So, you may go through a few different strength training programs as you lose the weight - since losing 40 pounds in 6 months would be unusually fast.  Every time you start a new program, give it at least a month - ideally two months - before you start to be concerned about it "not working".  Because when you start a new program, your muscles will retain water for quite a while if they're really challenged.  I know it's frustrating to be at the end of stage 1 and not seeing many results - but as long as you've been sticking to the program, they should be right around the corner.  And those couple of weeks where the water weight finally all falls off and the scale drops down are a great feeling.

actually nanny, as i was in the gym, i dont want to give you advice that will lead you astray from nrolfw (& no dont do both at same time). its a good program. im finishing stage 2 & its a bit more intense so you'll get more metabolism perturbtation (i love that term). stage 3 looks even more like that.

i guess the main thing is your diet, maybe shake things up a bit, get some diet perturbation. altho im not one to ask for advice too much on that at the moment, im struggling myself. you know i think it may be a winter thing. once spring is sprung it usually gets easier to take the fat off.

edit: and the rffl is a short term plan (well compared to nrolfw). you can find ways of dragging it out tho. but week 5 was it for me, i needed a change. i always need to change up my workouts every few weeks.

Hi Julie,

I've had the same experience as Laura, when my diet is "clean" and I'm not drinking beverages with calories my inches show it. My diet has been within calorie parameters for the past few months, but I've been lazy about what those calories are and I put back on one of the inches I lost. And, like Laura, I still feel and look better than I did prior to starting NROLFW.

What I hear (read?) you saying is that you really want to lose 40lbs, or at least notice some inches lost - which seems reasonable when you're working so hard in this program. If you want to continue with NROLFW, my first question would be how clean is your diet? If it is super clean and you're not noticing anything come off, then it might be worth experimenting with a deficit. The authors of the book highly encourage creating that deficit with additional exercise, not less food, because you need a certain amount of calories to build the muscles that will help you burn the fat.

The next thing I wonder is do you wear a heart rate monitor? I've found that I burn a lot less on the cardio machines than this site and the machines themselves (especially the machines) report. Now I wear a heart rate monitor which helps have a more accurate picture of what I actually burn during a training session, HIIT session, or other non-lifting exercise. The other benefit to the heart rate monitor is it lets me know when my heart rate goes down so I can amp it up. I've started adding 30 jumping jacks between sets to keep my heart rate up and it burns another 100 calories per lifting session.

Third, if rapid fat loss is your primary goal, you might look at a program like Alwyn Cosgrove's "Afterburn" which focuses on frantic fat loss. I did NROLFW first because I didn't really have any muscle and I was super weak. I wanted to build first and then use what I build to accelerate fat loss while still being able to eat like a human being with "Afterburn" later.

Beyond that, I think it really comes down to is this program a good match for you? Do you enjoy the workouts? Do they motivate in ways that other exercises or programs don't? Are you realistic in your expectations of what this program will be able to offer you over the next five months?

Congrats to you for what you have accomplished so far and all the best for what the future holds.

-Kristen

Edit: proof-reading

I have A LOT of weight I want to lose ( 45 - 50 lbs) but also if I could just get into all those size 8's I have in the closet that would be great too-  I have learned the number on the scale can be deceiving.

I currently weigh about 190 lbs am 5'6" tall and can wear size 12 an d14's - but 4 years ago when I was this heavy I wore size 18's so I know muscle doesn't take up the same space as fat does.   So although you may not be losing any inches or weight yet -- I know if you keep at the weight lifting one day you'll begin to notice clothes fitting differently.

kmk -  Clean eating is priority to me. I keep my macronutrients on target, and I eat probably 95% unprocessed foods. (IE: I consider peanutbutter and mayo to be processed, as well as canned tuna) - I don't drink sodas of any sort, nor do I drink any beverage that contains calories. I drink water, unsweet teas, coffee, and an occasional "diet" SoBe. Hence, the frustration... I am thinking I should add more cardio. I already do (even through the entirety of Stage 1) HIIT 3x per week. Would you recommend adding two more days worth?

dbacker - I also am at 190, and I am 5-7. I can also wear 12s, some 14s. I was in size 10s in the summer of 07, and it was the smallest I've ever been (really - EVER). I got rid of all the "fat girl" clothes, and swore I'd never gain an ounce.

I did gain though, until I had absolutely nothing to wear, and I hit rock bottom in Sept 08. You can read the actual turning point here: "I don't mean to be cryin'"

I have since lost only about 10 lbs with a LOT of effort! And can fit into the 12s and 14s. BUT I wanna be a 10! WHAAA! LOL. How did I get to be a 10? I starved myself. I met Michael, and was highly motivated to impress his pants off. It was the wrong way to do it, and that's why I gained it back. (Something I have done repeatedly my entire life, I just got lucky enough to be a 10 for a short time.)

Let's do some note comparing, since we are so similar!

What Stage are you in, what results have you seen so far? What are you doing to produce better results? All that....

Thanks for responding... and Happy Healthgain!
~Julie

Original Post by nannygabber:

 I met Michael, and was highly motivated to impress his pants off.

so did you manage to get his pants off? sorry couldn't resist.

well from reading your other post i think you may need to be a bit gentler on yourself and be patient. i know, i know, i hate that word too. i think the main thing should be just to get into healthy habits that you can sustain.  

LOL - OCTO - ummmmm, actually - YES! It worked... hahah!

I will be patient. I have to, because giving up is not on the options list. See: A) Stick with it  B) Suck it up  C) That was BEFORE, this is NOW  D) All of the above. So you can see, teacher says... you have no other choices, in fact... there aren't even any other questions on the test! LMAO!

I have just started on this program 2 weeks ago so I'm still on stage 1 and only doing it 2 times a week.  I should have moved up to the lower reps higher weight last night but decided I'd take it even slower than the book suggests as I'm just not ready with those squats and deadlifts yet to move on - and forget about hose lunges OMG the pain!!!

With that said I too had lost a lot of weight in 2004/05 ( 55 lbs) and then quit smoking gaines some back but started lifting weights and was able to get smaller even though I weighed more -- then this summer I had some major stressors in my life -- lost a job facing foreclosure bankruptcy and yada yadda yadda and managed to eat myself back up 30 lbs. I also had taken 2 months off this winter from lifting which didn't help.

I don't expect to "see" results yet but I do think I am- honestly I can see my legs getting some "shape" instead of just cellulite - I mean my thighs are getting that "space" again don't jiggle as much and also my batwings aren't as jiggly either and I'm almost 50 and we old ladies tend to have bad batwings. 

I think patience is needed. Keep at it and the effort will show up soon I am sure.

Hi Julie,

I just started stage 2 and I do the workout 2 times a week so I have done A twice and B just once.  I will do B for the second time on Thursday.  I may do some cardio today when I get home from work but it is just 3.5 mph for 30 minutes while I read a book....I will stick to the interval stuff on my B days.  My ride is taking me up again...i like to weigh everyday...it is just interesting to see how my weight changes everyday.  I looked at your profile....I also have 4 kids (blended family = stess x 4) and 1 grandson and a great guy in my life (married 8 years).  I am two years older and 5 inches shorter than you.

Stage 2 is really difficult for me because of the balancing.  I have no balance....it is a family and friend joke.  That is why I hate hate hate lunges.  I was doing my lunges in a corner looking like a freaking idiot and this little cuty pie comes over by me with a swiss ball and stood on the thing and did sqauts..standing on the ball....I wanted to kick it out from under her!!!!  I did not I was very nice and told her how impressed I was as I was toppling over doing my lunges with my rear foot elevated on one little step.  I sure hope some of these pounds come off during this stage.  I have to lose just trying to balance!!! 

I am going to read the diet part of the book again.  I do want to lose the fat but also put some definition in my muscles and just be stonger!!!

puppykisses, maybe kicking her wouldve helped you work on your balance?