Help.....getting very frustrated... :(

[SusieF]

You're welcome, Lilbrownbear!

We're all in this together! It will happen if we just stay focused on how we feel after weexercise and eat healthy foods instead of obsessing about weight! I know it helps me to stay on track when I do that. I get too discouraged whenever I'm obsessing about what the scale says. It seems like the weight comes offway too slowly! So now I just weigh myself once a week and focus instead on how good I am feeling, how much more energy I have, and the fact that my clothes are gettingtoo bigon me! I get excited about that because I know I am making progress no matter what the scale says!Edited by: SusieF

[keepitlegit8]

Originally Posted by Lilbrownbear

Dan, JustOne or anyone else: This is a little more about me and maybe you or anyone else will have suggestions of what i need to do. I am 44 yrs old, 2 children 20 & 17. When I got married 21 yrs ago, i was what i call a perfect size for me. Back then I was 5'4" and 125 lbs. Then I had 2 kids and 9 yrs ago had a total hysterectomy. About 3 yrs before the hyster. I went on a weight mgt program called Advocare. It brought me back down to a size i was very happy with. Since after having the 2nd baby, i was rather plump. Then the hysterectomy, hormones & weight gain....I had tried the Advocare program at least 3 times (after the hyster)and it does nothing for me. The first time i was on the program it had ephedra. Now it has the natural forms (i guess that is what u call it). One of my ??'s is: is it possible that a persons metabolic system can go hay wire, stop working, not work correctly? I have tried and tried to get this crap off of me and i am not succeeding. I may have lost up to 10 lbs and that is it. I have had blood work and everything comes out normal, even my thyroid. I am going to try the HIIT as mentioned above, eat break, mid morning snack, lunch, afternoon snack and dinner. Of course making sure that i have protein in the AM. I drink at 64 oz. of H20 at work and then a couple of glasses either in the AM or evening. Any ideas??? thanks again for all your help!

Good morning everybody! Hysterectomies are pretty much always a weight gain sentence..... don't feel bad there lol ! However, it's still possible to overcome that gain by changing your diet... just a little harder than it would otherwise be. It is CERTAINLY possible for a person's metabolic system to "go haywire!" It is controlled by the endocrine system (hormones), and once you've messed with the body's natural balance you'll see changes. This could be both good or bad.... ex. Whether you're a man or woman, any person who begins to exercise at a proper intensity after having a sedentary lifestyle will notice some pretty rapid changes in their body: increased strength from nervous system adaptation and increased muscle mass due tomore efficient storage of glycogen; decreased fat storage, increased cardiovascular and pulmonary efficiency..... all of these changes are actually brought aboutBECAUSE of the proper stimulus of the exercise, but indirectly. It is because the exercise intensity stimulates theENDOCRINE system that it is all made possible. When a person is training correctly (and recovering correctly) they willbenefit from an increase in the primary anabolic (tissue building) and lipolytic (fat burning) hormones:GH, testosterone (yes, women produce it too lol) and the IGF hormones. They'll also incur decreases in the glucocorticoid family of hormones (including cortisol), which are catabolic (tissue destroying) and lipogenic (fat storing) in nature.

An example of the metabolism changing for the worse is when a person is dieting and cuts calories to too large of a degree. The body sees this as a stress and basically the opposite situation as that talked about above happens. The body goes into what's termed starvation mode and jettisons anything above the minimal amount of lean tissue needed for locomotion if the perceived drought goes on long enough.... all while actually PRIMING itself for rapid fat STORAGE as soon as calories in excess are introduced to the system.

I'm not familiar with Advocare; but ephedra is some dangerous stuff! I'm sure you all know tha tby now, and it's been taken off of the market for the most part. Most people try to rely on a family of supplements known as stimulants (metabolic stimulators) in order to solve their problems; but the REAL problem tends to be the CAUSE of that slower metabolism (OR the excess of calories taken in because of horrible dietary choices). In such cases a stimulant may help you lose a few pounds, but you'll gain them back in a hurry, usually with interest, if you don't address the underlying factors that caused the gain in the first place. Make sense?

Weight loss is 90% nutrition. I see your "Of course making sure that i have protein in the AM" thing in there again lol.... lean proteins are the most thermogenic foods, and when taken throughout the day with EVERY meal as the basis of them, will actually act as a metabolic stimulant of sorts. So will any green, leafy veggies. As far as supplements to take that should ALWAYS be taken (not just when trying to lose fat): Flax seed oil, Udo's Choice Oil, Fish Oil, Omega 3 Fatty Acid capsules..... these are all excellent sources of the healthy fats. I won't get into all of their benefits, but let's just say that one of them is that they encourage the body to INCREASE lipolysis (fat burning)!

Guggul Extract is one supp. that's been shown to have a positive influence on thyroid support and is very safe (and cheap) to take. You could also look into CLA, another VERY healthy (though more expensive) fat, as well as Sesamin Oil.

With the exception of Guggul Extract any of the above mentioned supps could be taken on a daily basis in order to help you along your path. However, keep in mind they are SUPPLEMENTS... things to be added to a sound and healthy diet lol! Too many people try and throw them into the mix and think they'll do the dirty work for them when they continue on with their horrible eating practices.

Gotta jet. Hope this helps though. Have a great day everyone!

-Dan

[JustOneVoice]

Dan you provide so MUCH great information
I take fish oil every day

I also take a vitamin b supplement .. I've always had a deficiency in this area

I take vitamin E b/c I'm getting old... and wrinkles

And I take Selenium

[keepitlegit8]

JustOne, thanks for the compliment. It's my passion... I could talk about all things related to bodybuilding sciences (nutrition, endocrinology, physiology, kinesiology, metabolic function....) all day every day and be happy as heck to do so lol!

FYI, any anti-oxidant will actually help in regards to slowing down the process that we know as aging. This includes not just selenium and vitamin e (which are on your list already), but also vits. a and c, lycopene, ALA (take the R- versionas it's much more bioavailable), grape seed extract, green tea extract (which is also a mild stimulant and fat loss aid), all catechins and polyphenols and bioflavanoid mixes. I'm sure there are a few I'm leaving out, but you get the picture... there're a LOT of things that can help to protect yourcells from freeradical damage lol!

Other things to keep in mind are the use of aloe as a moisturizer, as that's been shown toaid in skin health; CoQ10 (even though it's much more popular for itscardiovascular and immune-stimulating benefits, it'sstill been shown to help retard the aging process via its effects on mitochondrial output) and zinc, which is THE mineral when it comes to wound healing, immune function, testosterone support and also skin health.

Retinol and soy extracts have also been shown to enhance the youthful appearance of skin; and of course, there's no substitute for a good dose of properly intense exercise! Along with the damage done to cells by free radicals, the other (and biggest) cause of what we term aging is the natural decrease in GH levels that usually starts anywhere between the ages of20 and 25.You can induce a nice GH spike in as little as 10minutes of sufficiently intense exercise.... so add that as yet ANOTHER reason to exercise! haha

Have a great day everyone.

-Dan

[JustOneVoice]

I want Acai something ... but every time I go out I forget .... or it's not in the first two places I look AND I forget (Forgetfulness another reason to take vitamin B)

[Lilbrownbear]

Thanks Keepit & JustOne........Alot of helpful info here. I do see i need to make some changes and am really trying. I will keep you guys up to date on my progress! thanks Again!!!

[keepitlegit8]

No problem. Keep up your dedication and good work! Have a great one