Is My Body Broken and Body Beast Failed Me

[TinierTina]

Originally Posted by Kitten

I'm on xxfitness, so at least we have each other there.
Like some of the previous replies, you're probably not doing the right w/o for you. Maybe YBB or Ellen would work better for you., I got good results with YBB I just like the ones I got with power90 better.
As far as the d-word I have great success with the one named after a place in Florida.

Been there, done that; figuratively as well as literally got the T-shirt year-round living there during the 1980s (before redevelopment of that little place in Florida) ...

I lean more towards an unconscionably low-sodium variety (I've got normal blood pressure; it used to be on the low side, actually) of the American Diabetes Association prescriptions ... severe dehydration is my nemesis now ...

[Chomper]

Since I haven't seen it mentioned, I would like to suggest another alternative. Instead of giving up on heavy weights entirely, how about trying a more minimalist program with them? More muscle really is a great way to lose fat, but you don't have to use a bodybuilder program to gain muscle. In fact, I would argue that the only reason to do a bodybuilder program is if you are a bodybuilder, or just love those types of workouts so much they make you happy.

I have been using this template from Nia Shanks' website for a few months and love being done in 25-35 minutes and seeing that I'm getting stronger. Plus, that leaves more time for fun cardio and calming yoga.

http://www.niashanks.com/triple-exercise-workout/

[Aunt Famous]

Just wanted to chime in and tell you about my experience. I'll be 47 in July, and about a year ago (February 2014), I parted ways with a personal trainer I loved but who had me doing high intensity, heavy weight workouts. I burned out physically and mentally. Everything hurt all the time, and I could never get enough to eat. I dreaded our sessions, but I loved her. But the dread won out.

I started doing mat pilates and fusion workouts -- stuff I'd HATED and dismissed for years. In July I bought a studio reformer. I upped my cardio, but except for the two spin classes I teach every week, I did steady state (and a lot of dance). I also got a Fitbit and really made sure I walked as much as possible. I lost ten pounds, am about as small as I've ever been, have more muscle definition, and best of all, feel great! My health numbers are excellent.

It took me forever to get over my pride and figure out what worked for me now, at this stage of my life. But better late than never.

Good luck. And congratulations on the new baby!

AF

Check out my blog at www.typeALC.com

[bzar]

i love this thread - people, please keep posting.

the subtitle of this thread should be "Hang In There: Real VF Success Stories!"

i'm restarting, and my focus right now is lowering my cholesterol. i might lose weight in the process, but i will keep the lowering cholesterol "top of mind."

in the past, what has worked for me is:

1. consistency - about 1 hour of working out per day (can be anything, AWT, Leslie, Slim Series)
2. do lots of NEAT throughout the day
3. get enough protein
4. get enough rest

i know the above is vague, but no matter what "system," essentially, i was doing the above when you boil it down to the bottom.

[Jeanne Marie]

Originally Posted by toaster

Btw, I'm 47 two weeks from tomorrow. I hate when people--especially medical professionals!--imply that becoming less healthy/fit is just a natural part of aging.

I completely agree. What a disservice to you, implying that being 40, 50 or even 60 and older means you automatically gain weight and become less fit & healthy. It's not so. I'll be 59 this year.

[Tugger31]

I've been losing steadily by increasing strength training and decreasing cardio, but the key for me is realizing is that if I'm eating less (which I feel is a must for FAT loss, not necessarily scale WEIGHT loss) I simply cannot go as intense with my workouts. I tried that earlier in the year, became overtrained, stress/cortisol (whatever you'd like to call it) increased, recovery took longer and I stopped seeing results.

From there I read and reread many sites and really tried to pinpoint what the deal was. My conclusion was that 1. I needed to increase strength training, specifically increase something each week even if its a 1 lb increase on one rep. Muscle is metabolically active and does help with fat loss (at least for me thru a zillion trial and errors) 2. I needed to eat more protein and overall less cals but nothing too drastic and last which was probably hardest to do was to 3. cut back on my workouts, for instance when I do things like Cathe's RWH strength workouts, I'll do 2 sets instead of 3, or I'll skip the finishers. I've also cut my number of workout days to 5, taking 2 rest days. For cardio I do it maybe 1-2 times per week. My calorie burn for spending 30-40 minutes just didn't justify it. It is SO much easier, and less tiring to cut back on my cals a bit. I eat a bit less on rest days. I do cardio now just b/c I like it not because I feel I have to.

Now I've been only doing this for 3 weeks now and I've lost 4 lbs. I'm about 15-20 lbs from goal so I'm not expecting a huge loss and I've had a few high cal days here and there. I was doing high intensity workouts AND cutting cals that didn't work for me. I also tried doing less strength, things like barre and TA but for me, that didn't work, it made the scale number look nice but I lost muscle and shape and was getting the skinny fat look.

I hope you find what works for you. It really can be a totally frustrating process.

[neatski]

Tugger, I'm with you. I think too much can have detrimental effects in the short and long term (though "too much" varies per person). Cutting back on the length of the workouts was key for me, though I'm not sure if that helped in and of itself or just helped with consistency. I suspect it's both. I don't do any steady state cardio and have found it's completely unnecessary for losing weight or dropping body fat.

Also, someone else asked about breastfeeding and I think that's worth looking at, too, OP, if you are. While I was exclusively breastfeeding, I was hungry as a horse and my body definitely stubbornly held onto extra weight. That went away once DD started eating more solids.

[CatInTheHat]

Hi! Nope, stopped the b-feeding at 5 months. Well, the milk just stopped but I cheered when that event arrived I was so happy to be done.

Between my OB and my general doctor whenever I mention that I'm stuck with not losing any weight they tell me the usual eat less/exercise more, and if they only knew how much I was working out and how much I was watching my food intake. Yowsers.

I'm on my week break of detoxing today, hoping that eating to avoid inflammation will be good for me. Reading all these reviews of the Plan seem to indicate it's worth a shot.

[mspina]

Originally Posted by CatInTheHat

I had not, but as I was lifting heavier I was seeing more muscle, so I decided to amp it up with Body Beast. I'm not sure if my body sensed the strenuous workouts and just held on to the calories or what but I'm surprised I didn't lose a thing. Actually - that's not entirely true. In the first 6 weeks I lost 5 lbs, but then it all came flying back on.

LoveVA - I miss the Firms! While I wasn't losing a ton with them, at least I wasn't gaining!

I'm officially on a break. Today is Orthodox Easter, so while I'm not religious, the family is convening for a huge eating festival so I'll be partaking in that. Then tomorrow I'm going to rest for a week on the workouts and follow "The Plan" cleanse. I did all the shopping for it yesterday, I want to see if any of this is the aforementioned inflammation issues.

I also admit I got mildly derailed, I had been reading the Reddit forum xx/fitness and loving a lot of the advice there. I got lots of good info on nutrition and such, but I think that in general the women on that forum are about half my age and they have different goals - they want to get huge. More power to them, I love reading about their journeys but I guess that path isn't for me as my body doesn't react the same.

I'm loving the advice you all have given - at the very least to see that many of you have endured the same discouraging stretches of time and were able to overcome it makes me realize I'm not crazy!

Hmmmm. Did you get stronger over the last 10 weeks doing BB? 1600 calories seems quite low while doing something like BB, so I would be willing to guess you were actually undereating, which will **absolutely** hinder fat loss. And you mentioned that you lost 5lbs in the first 6 weeks, then gained it back during the last 4 weeks? Did anything change in your routine or how much you were eating (more or less?) those last 4 weeks?

It's slow going to try to build muscle and lose fat at the same time - doable for sure, but you have to eat enough and be VERY patient. It is quite possible that you gained a good deal of muscle doing BB (a VERY VERY VERY good thing!), and now you just need to maintain that muscle, and do a cut to reveal it.

[desie]

If it turns out that your body needs less stress and more relaxation to drop pounds, I would suggest walking outside and yoga. Also, if you feel constantly tired and hungry, you probably need better quality/more sleep (and less caffeine). Last, I too feel better following the 40-30-30 ratio of carb-protein-fat, it helps me avoid simple carbs, get enough protein, and eat plenty of fresh greens. Something in that contributes to feelings of energy and well-being.