It will vary based on your diet, the intensity of the work out, and the type of work out you are doing.

You only mentioned that you exercise for 8-10 hours a week, what do you do?

I'm 5'5, 185 lbs, female.

Each session I do a minimum of 30 mins high cardio, plus circuit training or strength building exercises.

My shortest session this weeks was last night where I did 30 mins on the stair climber keeping my heart rate in the 'cardio' range.

My longest workout this week was 2 hours: 30 mins on treadmill, hour of circuit training, then 30 mins of step class.

I've increased my calories per my instructer to 1500 approx. daily and still nothing. I seem to be gaining weight only, another pound today.

Could you tell me what you eat on a typical day, and how often every day? How long has it been since you started these routines?

Small gain after beginning a workout schedule is completely normal. At first you will see a gain because your body is gaining muscle, which weighs more than fat.

What's your diet like?

I try to eat 'normal' food but in smaller portions.

Breakfast is usually a small breakfast taco or simply some bacon.
Lunch maybe a grilled chicken salad or a sandwich.
Dinner is a meat with vegetables, sometimes rice or roll.

I've been logging my food intake on another website. The last six days' my calories averaged 1200 daily, 44% fat/31% carbs/25% protein.

As far as how long I've been on this routine, I've been exercising for about a month, cutting back on calories and carbs, but I've bumped up my exercise this past week simply because of my lack of progress.

(Thanks for the feedback!)

How's your iron level?
What kind of rice and bread do you eat?

Honestly, I don't see anything wrong with a power nap. During the school year I actually plan to take a 20 minute power nap during the day time. But then again, I don't know exactly how tired you are.

What do you drink during the day?

Is 1200 calories daily enough? I thought 1200 was for BASIC functions excluding workouts...are you counting your calories Before or after your workouts..because if you consume 1200 calories but burn 400 at the gym, which can easily be done if your there for 2 hours like you say, then thats only a net of 800 calories your consuming a day...i think you should probably add a few calories to your diet, also, the fat intake is too high..if i remember correctly from nutrition class fat intake should not exceed 30% of your daily diet, i think carbs should be around 40%(HEALHTY carbs, such as whole grains)maybe you aren't eating quite enough carbs?

I believe fat intake for an adult was 25%. I would recommend lowering your carbohydrate intake. Don't eat so many simple carb products such as fruits, dairy products, etc. From the carbs you do intake, you should look for eating complex carbs. 44% fat intake is way too high, so is your carb, raise your protein intake.

Your weight may fluctuate since you just started working out, as Maddie said, muscle weighs more then fat, and it will take a while for the differences to show. Could you tell me what you do in your circuit training? Which forms of cardio do you do?

My iron is fine and I don't feel 'that' tired. Sure, if I had a chance I could lay my head down and fall asleep but I've never had trouble sleeping. I just know that it is always touted as "You'll have so much more energy" once you exercise and that is just not happening. I function fine daily but don't really feel like doing much when I get home in the evening.

I've given up all sodas and coffee drinks over a month ago. I now drink water only and rarely some watered down juice.

Well when you're feelin' lazy it's a good time to exercise, even if it's as small as taking a walk around the block.

People get tired after long days, long weeks, long whatever... Give yourself some time to just relax when you get home. Then when the time is up, do what you need to do.

maddie also brought up a great point..make sure you're drinking plenty of water throughout the day, dehydration can make you feel tired and blah..especially with all that excercise!..and its excellent that you've eliminated all caffeine...i wish I could do the same but, if i gotta have a starbucks every once in a while haha

I really don't feel like I'm consuming too much fat. Indeed if I increase my calories to 1400 - 1600, the percentage drops. My fat comes from 2 Tbls. dressing on my salad, a little mozzerella on my grilled asparagus, butter on my corn-on-the-cob, etc. Nothing crazy.

I dunno. Maybe I am eating too fatty. I've been trying to do this eating regular foods so I don't feel like I'm on a diet, but maybe I need to go with processed food programs like South Beach or something where the choices are premade.

Yeah, I think protein bars and the like are looking better and better. Take the worry out of it.

It's obvious I'm losing inches (thank goodness) so I know I'm on the right track. I guess I'm worry too much about the scale. That's a hard habit to break in and of itself.

As far as exercise, my longest session was a little over two hours. I take back-to-back classes on Mon/Wed for a total of 1.5 hours but I sometimes come in a little early to do some cardio on the treadmill. I try to keep my heartrate at 140ish. The classes consist of treadmill or stair climber warm-up, then an hour circuit training using balls or weights or elastic bands. Whatever the toy of the day is. Then a 30 min cardio class. Sometimes it's a step class, sometimes dance. It changes everytime.

On the other days of the week I go to my hubby's work and use the workout room. I do 30 mins minimum on the stair climber. It's my favorite. I'll sometimes do a bit of work on the old fashioned weight machines but those are intimidating when I'm by myself.

Also onn the circuit training, my trainer gives me a sheet every days to do. I has eight upper body exercises to target the main areas on the upper body. She has another sheet for core and lower body workout. Then she also has 'stations' set up throughout the room to do a few things with.

I'm always lazy is the problem. lol But when I do get up and do something, I make it count.

What the heck? Seriously? So much conflicting information.

Why do body builders only eat protein then? So confusing.


Thanks!


I miss my caramel macchiatos. *sniff* I admit that although I am drinking only water, I regularly forget to drink 'enough' water. I need to work on that.

I really think you're fine.

Completely giving things up is sooo unrealistic-- not to mention unenjoyable. You just sound like a normal person who's tired after a long day.

Give yourself a break, then get back into the groove for the day.

Worrywart, there is a difference between simple carbs and complex carbs. Both give you energy, however simple carbs(fruits, dairy) are short bursts because it doesn't take long to digest. Complex carbs will give more steady and long term energy because it takes longer to digest.

Diets are always conflicting. Everyone has their own way of doing things and what works for one person doesn't always work for another.

Body builders eat protein because it helps build muscle. I guess I'd have to disagree with worrywart, eating more protein paired with lifting weights will most certainly help someone gain muscle faster than someone who eats a normal amount of protein and lifts weights.

Diets depend on what you want to get out of it, so you eat different things for different goals.

I believe I found one of the source of the misconception in our little debate.

You thought fruits are complex carbohydrates. They are not.

If you remember what fructose (found in both vegetables and fruits) is... it is a simple carbohydrate because it is a monosaccharide. So is glucose, galactose, and maltose (sugar found in dairy products).

I didn't read your previous post until now and discovered the little error. Hope this will resolve things.

Edit: If things are solved, let us attempt to provide a unified answer to the client.

Thanks, you three! You guys have been great!