View Full Version : Weight Loss Plateau
usmcdjcs1ssy
06-23-11, 09:41 PM
Hey Y'all,
So I am a newer poolee, I have been working with my recruiter since June of last year but was d'qued and had to get a med waiver and that took almost 5 months. I am currenty 5' 9" and my weight flucuates between 169 -171, my max weight is 169 but I am 19% body fat. I started at 183lbs in October and got to 173 by January.
Since then I have lost another lb or two but am STUCK. My recruiter wants me at 165 and I just can't get my weight to budge. I workout 2hrs a day hardcore, I do sprints every day and then do excercise drills.
My diet is very clean no junk food (soda, cookies, chips, no juices, candy) and I eat about 1600 calories which is what my recruiter told me to of healthy calories and cant get down any further.
Do any of you poolees have suggestions I know a ton of yall have lost weight to get into the Marines, however I just cant get this weight off and my recruiter is getting kinda frustrated b.c of my weight.
Well you do sprints but that doesnt burn as many calories as jogging long distances or even walking long distance. Also High carb diets, sugar in certain fruits turn into fat. Staying away from bread, pasta, and drinking LOTS of water(of course eatting regularly too). A lot of people found it useful to eat 6 small meals instead of 3 regular size meals too to make your metabolism used to this. Your mind with 3 meals a day sometimes if you miss a meal gets confused and stores fat from food in case you miss a meal so it can get energy if you forget to eat so 6 small meals lets your body know food is coming regularly, granted that at boot camp its 3 meals i think once your there its no biggie. So since your working out if your doing muscle strength work outs you might gain weight due to the muscle factor. I had 6.7% body fat during football but weighed 200 lbs but i looked small compared to other 200 lb players.
Check this site out: http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-242-304-312-2193-0,00.html
has some foods for good in take for work outs but helps you lose weight. Your enemy is sugar, and carbs. Those turn into fat and get stored. If you drop the hard core work outs and just run a ton with basic push up, crunches, etc. you should lose weight.
This is the best advice I could give based off my experience. I was never over weight but I'm a runner, football player, and on a diet to get ready for boot camp.(used to love me some Whoppers but no more of that!)
-Poolee McDonald
usmcdjcs1ssy
06-24-11, 11:25 AM
Thanks. I will give this information a wirl and see what happens. I am just stuck and if I get down to 165ish my recruiter said he would get my ship date moved up.
Any other advice is very much appreciated.
MunkyVsRobot
06-24-11, 11:39 AM
There are a few ways to do some rapid weight loss if that is your concern, some of them not so healthy but if it what you want or in this case have to do then its what you have to go.
My recruiter when they were getting ready for their IST, and for their weigh in he chugged a bottle of laxitives and work out like crazy, now obviously you will get super dehydrated and it isnt the healthiest of ways to lose the weight.
You could go to Wally World and pick up a sauna suit when you work out you will sweat like crazy and you can sweat off a lot of the pounds quickly.
now the stupidest way I ever saw was on the ultimate fighter the guy lost like 30 to 50 lbs in one day he was working out in a sauna wearing a sauna suit not sure if he did the laxitives too but needless to say he cut the weight he needed to but was in no way ready to fight.
Those idea's right there will get you hurt, like munky said unhealthy and all that weight is water and will come back. Nothing good unless you need to lose it for a day weight check in. NEVER do that before a work out such as an IST or something because you can hurt your body.
usmcdjcs1ssy
06-24-11, 04:42 PM
I know I don't do the rapid weight loss things, I know several stupid ways to rapidly lose weight as I have wrestled before and we as wrestlers do stupid things to make weight.
I was looking for pointers on how to actually lose the weight. I have used the sauna before but it was only for like 30 mins and thats b.c I was like 3 lbs overweight and had to go to MEP's in the morning.
Well what I gave you is the best information I can give you. Ever since I dieted I went from 200 lbs to 180 lbs and my run time improved from 10:12 to 8:42 its all possible
SoonToBe3521
06-24-11, 07:46 PM
Hey Y'all,
So I am a newer poolee, I have been working with my recruiter since June of last year but was d'qued and had to get a med waiver and that took almost 5 months. I am currenty 5' 9" and my weight flucuates between 169 -171, my max weight is 169 but I am 19% body fat. I started at 183lbs in October and got to 173 by January.
Since then I have lost another lb or two but am STUCK. My recruiter wants me at 165 and I just can't get my weight to budge. I workout 2hrs a day hardcore, I do sprints every day and then do excercise drills.
My diet is very clean no junk food (soda, cookies, chips, no juices, candy) and I eat about 1600 calories which is what my recruiter told me to of healthy calories and cant get down any further.
Do any of you poolees have suggestions I know a ton of yall have lost weight to get into the Marines, however I just cant get this weight off and my recruiter is getting kinda frustrated b.c of my weight.
I went from 226 lbs to 140 lbs for the Marine Corps, so I definitely know how weight loss is and that it often sucks, lol. The one thing that should be good for you and will guarantee you weight loss, is the 3 Day Diet. It's a very strict diet that you do simply for three days, then eat normal the other four days that week. It's very specific on foods, it will tell you the exact foods to use, nothing more and nothing less. Guarantees you lose 7-10 lbs in a week. It sounds unhealthy, but they've yet to find anything actually unhealthy about it. It'll get you where you want to be if you follow it. Good luck! (If you Google "3 Day Diet" you'll see plenty of links to the food plan, one being from webmd.com)
usmcdjcs1ssy
06-24-11, 08:02 PM
But does the weight stay off? I've had friend do similar diets and they did lose 7-10lbs however the weight did not stay off.
Can you add any sauces to the vegestables or no? Like the brocolli etc
SoonToBe3521
06-24-11, 08:48 PM
But does the weight stay off? I've had friend do similar diets and they did lose 7-10lbs however the weight did not stay off.
Can you add any sauces to the vegestables or no? Like the brocolli etc
The weight stayed off for me and the people that joined me in it, and what I used is "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter" Spray. The spray has 0 calories, and it flavors the vegetables pretty well. The sticks of the fake butter do have calories, but somehow the spray just has none. I pretty much put it on everything nowadays, even salads in the place of dressing. Gets the job done.
ClemsonEngineer
06-24-11, 08:54 PM
I did not read the replies to your post, so I may be repeating some of their information or I may be in direct opposition to what they said. Either way, I got some input for you. Hope it helps...
Let me begin, and I'll try not to go on a rant here, by saying that concentrating on weight is rediculious. Muscle weighs more than fat. You can change DRASTICALLY and still be the same weight. However, the USMC has weight standards (Although, you can get around them by body fat percentage) and we have to meet them (Kinda.)
1) You are over training. 2 hours a day is not necessary and can actually stop you from losing weight and reverse your improvements to varying degrees. Try to follow this schedule: 3 days you train, 1 rest day, 2 days you train, 1 rest day.
On those rest days, do NOTHING! At most, some light stretching.
2) Look into the Paleo diet. In short- Eat lean meats, vegetables, some fruit, seeds and nuts. NO grains, dairy, beans/legumes, sugar, potatoes (not sweet potatoes, but just "regular" potatoes), and processed foods. Don't worry too much about counting calories at first with this. Just worry about the quality of food. Once you got that down, focus on only eating one or two fruits a day immediately after training.
The focus should be on carbs. Why are grains and dairy take out? Because of carbs and sugar. They are bad for you. Does this mean you should't eat a ton of vegetables because they are carbs? Absolutely not! You have to eat a TON of vegetables to get a significant amount of carbs. So, eat up on meat, veggies, and nuts (almonds are a good place to start)
3) Sprint work is AWESOME! Keep that up. I don't know exactly what type of "sprint" work you are doing, but sprinting is much better for you than running "long" distances.
Check out http://www.crossfitendurance.com (http://www.crossfitendurance.com/)
Do some research and read around on the website. It's a great source of information.
4) Don't be afraid to add muscle on. Many females shy away from muscle because they don't want to bulk up. Muscle burns fat and leans you out! I don't know your body type, so this may not apply to you. I will tell you this..if your body fat percentage is what you say it is (19%) you are at a very good percentage and shouldn't be worrying about weight. You should meet measurement requirements even if your weight is borderline. But, again . . . we have to meet the standards. If you aren't meeting height vs. weight requirements, and you are also not meeting the measurement requirements the I guess you don't have much of a choice but to change. That said, if you are at 19% you should be more than fine!
Hope this helps! Sorrry it's so long.
Poolee Godfrey
ClemsonEngineer
06-24-11, 08:58 PM
Also, stop training for 2 hours!! I love your dedication! That's awesome, but no need to do so much for so long. Just increase the intensity. Warm up properly (10 minutes), workout HARD for 5-30 minutes (really depends on what you are doing), and then cool down (10 minutes)
You can do two-a-days. But, wait 3+ hours if possible between sessions and listen to your body. Rest is where we improve. If your body (your body, not your mind) is telling you to rest on a certain day, then rest. If it's telling you not to do that second workout in a few hours, the don't do that second workout
Poolee Godfrey
MunkyVsRobot
06-24-11, 09:43 PM
Those idea's right there will get you hurt, like munky said unhealthy and all that weight is water and will come back. Nothing good unless you need to lose it for a day weight check in. NEVER do that before a work out such as an IST or something because you can hurt your body.
Cept the sauna suit, id get one of those. it just basically makes you sweat more but it sticks to you like crazy.
sauna suit makes you sweat. Thats water weight its only good for extreme needs like if you HAVE to lose 10 lbs for something that day other then that it really isn't healthy.
IHaveEGA843
06-24-11, 10:34 PM
Yo, I had the same problem at 1 time and it was me slacking on my diet.
I've been using this high fiber diet that I just made up myself. Its very very VERY bland but it works great, depending on how hard you train you can lose 4-5 lbs in a week.
Here's my eating plan....
0600-0630....bowl of whole grain bran flakes with skim/fat free milk and sometimes a bananna for flavor.
0900-0930....snack of grapefruit, bananna, mango, some type of fruit that I measure by 1 cup full and a fiber1 bar.
By this time you'll be ****ting and farting like hell or atleast have stomach pains from hell creating in your stomach.
1100.....lunch time which usually is just a small plain salad and a peice of lightly seasoned meat usually chicken or fresh fish......baked meat only
1400-1430.....again a fruit snack......that's it
Around 1800 my lady makes dinner which is the same thing I take for lunch.
I do this daily while drinking a gal of water before I get off and hit the gym.
It helped me drop and keep off my weight without losing muscle and it cleaned my digestive system out.
I know I eat under 1000 cals but I keep something in my stomach. Its a very strict diet and hard to stay with at times.....
That's what I do
IHaveEGA843
06-24-11, 10:35 PM
I've done th sauna suit.......waste of money unless you like collecting pools of sweat
usmcdjcs1ssy
06-25-11, 12:03 AM
Hey Y'all thanks for all of the advice. The 2hrs is seperated 1hr in the morning and 1hr in the eveing. I did 30-45 mins of cardio each time. Then I do some situps, burpies, lunges, etc.
My recruiter said to be doing 1.5 hrs a day of cardio broken up like I am doing and then do some strength excercise like I've been doing.
I will take the suggestions for the diet and change it up and see what happens. I have lost weight but have hit that brick wall and just need to break thru and then I'll be good.
Thanks again for all the help.
Well remember to long distant runs burns more calories and targets fat stored away. Running makes you lose fat and muscle and I'm sure you got muscle too. My friend came back from bootcamp pretty weak muscle wise because well all his PLT did was run alot haha
MunkyVsRobot
06-25-11, 09:12 AM
Yo, I had the same problem at 1 time and it was me slacking on my diet.
I've been using this high fiber diet that I just made up myself. Its very very VERY bland but it works great, depending on how hard you train you can lose 4-5 lbs in a week.
Here's my eating plan....
0600-0630....bowl of whole grain bran flakes with skim/fat free milk and sometimes a bananna for flavor.
0900-0930....snack of grapefruit, bananna, mango, some type of fruit that I measure by 1 cup full and a fiber1 bar.
By this time you'll be ****ting and farting like hell or atleast have stomach pains from hell creating in your stomach.
1100.....lunch time which usually is just a small plain salad and a peice of lightly seasoned meat usually chicken or fresh fish......baked meat only
1400-1430.....again a fruit snack......that's it
Around 1800 my lady makes dinner which is the same thing I take for lunch.
I do this daily while drinking a gal of water before I get off and hit the gym.
It helped me drop and keep off my weight without losing muscle and it cleaned my digestive system out.
I know I eat under 1000 cals but I keep something in my stomach. Its a very strict diet and hard to stay with at times.....
That's what I do
That isnt good could mean that you are actually working harder than you have to. If you eat under 1000 calories a day your body goes into starvation mode and saves everything you eat as fat.
You do not determine what your body turns food into, your body does.
ClemsonEngineer
06-25-11, 03:07 PM
The idea that long distance running burns more calories is irrelevant, and I'm pretty sure is incorrect. Sprint, and occasionally..go on a longer run. The longer runs are more to get use to the pace and the length of it. There is absolutely NO REASON you should be training and doing "cardio" that long every day. Short and intense. My definition of short...5-20 minutes. Occasionally throw in a longer workout where you are going over 30 minutes.
Short, intense, and go mix up the weight on stuff you do. Don't keep stuff light and don't keep it heavy. Mix it up. The sprints will increase your long distance running without the negative affects of running long distances all the time. Example:
http://sourcecrossfit.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/sprinter-vs-long-distance-runner1.jpg
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_lUxu3lCXT1A/SskGrvW5wNI/AAAAAAAAAAk/FkmMvUWv2VM/s320/sprintervsrunner.bmp
I guarantee you that sprinter can run long distances more than fast enough for anything that matters, and he can do everything else athletically. The long distance runner..not so much.
Short and intense. Rest at least twice a week.
Clemson I run long distance and trust me I look far from those skinny guys in those pictures. If you balance it right distance is better and yes it burns more calories. I'm between 190-200 lbs I go up sometimes with less run and more muscle types of work outs. and then I go down again when I start sticking to just running. I was one of the fastest on my team with the best endurance. Clemson you must have played football if your saying short and intense thats what happens in football but endurance wins in anything. Everything must be balanced
ClemsonEngineer
06-25-11, 05:19 PM
I"m a CrossFit trainer. Never played football. Played basketball and baseball in high school.
The pictures are an exaggeration to get a point across.
Muscular endurance is the key. Not necessarily running endurance. Although it is important, you can train what's needed for running endurance without running long distances, which has many cons. It is absolutely vital to anyone wanting overall fitness and athletic ability to have strength, power, quickness, speed, and endurance (running and musclar). Endurance does not win in anything. Don't get me wrong. It is important. Especially in the USMC. But, we aren't training to run marathons or even half marathons here.
If you balance it right, long distance multiple times a week is not better. Work smarter and harder, not longer and harder. If you train properly, you can drastically decrease a 3 mile run time without running 3 miles+ miles every day.
http://www.crossfitendurance.com
Great source of information. Much smarter people than myself.
ClemsonEngineer
06-25-11, 05:32 PM
I actually don't think football players (on average) have nearly enough endurance. Muscular or cardio. They are good for quick burst of power, but die out real quick.
I'm not saying that should be your goal. Not at all. You can train the way I am referring to and still have the ability to run for an hour at a good pace if you needed to.
I"m also not saying go into a gym. Lift some weights fast. The walk over to a machine and do whatever it has you do, and do it fast. Then go do some sprint and you're done in 30 minutes. Not at all.
http://www.crossfit.com
That's the kind of stuff I am referring to. Now, if someone doesn't have access to a gym where they can have someone make sure their form is proper (safe) then they should not CrossFit. BUT, you can take whatever it is you do and apply CrossFit principles.
Functional (applies to real life situations). Varied. High intensity.
I actually don't think football players (on average) have nearly enough endurance. Muscular or cardio. They are good for quick burst of power, but die out real quick
I'm one of those football players that screwed that statistic up :P
And I don't run tons of miles either I do a max of 5 miles but stick to 2.5 miles - 3.5 nothing more usually and I have been relaxing a little lately after my knees started giving me problems lol oops But I went from only on special teams to started the year after some hard work and I like to believe running alot did it but who knows. But if your a trainer I guess i messed with the wrong person :nerd: on this subject atleast...But I'm stubborn like arguing with my training about certain injuries i had but thought i didnt have! Guess i'm gona check that site out
ClemsonEngineer
06-25-11, 07:26 PM
Sounds like we actually are saying the same thing to a degree, but our definitions of long and short distance is different. 2.5-3.5 miles is perfect. A max of 5-6 miles once a week or once every two weeks is also about right. Probably good to shoot for a 60 minute run every few months just to get use to that type of activity.
When I do my run training it usually ends up being a total of 2.5-3.5 miles, but it's broken up into 200m, 400m, 800m, 1600m (or some similar variation) "sprints". My "long" day is usually anything from a fast 1.5 miles to 6.2 miles (Occasionally a 60 minute run). Also, my endurance training is the 2nd workout I do that day, except on "long" days.
Keep working hard like you are. We all got at least one of the same goals here (Become a United States' Marine). At the end of the day, doesn't matter how we get there as long as we get there.
Yessir! Can't wait, I leave in 28 days its coming soon :D
IHaveEGA843
06-25-11, 10:06 PM
That isnt good could mean that you are actually working harder than you have to. If you eat under 1000 calories a day your body goes into starvation mode and saves everything you eat as fat.
You do not determine what your body turns food into, your body does.
Well I really don't do calorie counting but I assume that's how much it is. I've lost 50 lbs an kept it off even if I fell off th diet and ate whatever I wanted. I had to tweak it a couple times to get it to where id lose weight instead of stay at the same weight