Plateu and Gain

[mcintire6]

Can someone please help me? I have been working so hard. I eat right and I exercise. Recently I have stopped losing and have even gained 3 pounds. I havent changed anything I am doing. I am completely lost. Please help!

[Boss Man]

Waht do you eat and what times do you eat?

[mcintire6]

I eat 5 times a day. I usually have oatmeal and a protein shake or egg whites for breakfast around 7 or 8. Snack around 10 is usually greek yogurt. Lunch sometime around 12-1 is grilled chicken salad or a chicken wrap. Another snack at 3 is usually some fruit like an apple and a string cheese. For dinner i usually have fish or chicken with a spinach salad or veggies. Thanks

[Boss Man]

I usually have oatmeal and a protein shake or egg whites for breakfast around 7 or 8.

(Assuming you mean the Egg Whites and Oatmeal, instead of protein shake and Oatmeal, not the Egg Whites as an alternative on their own, then the Oatmeal and either a shake or Egg Whites as well is fine.)

Snack around 10 is usually greek yogurt.

(Have some more Protein like Ham, Turkey, Chicken etc)

Lunch sometime around 12-1 is grilled chicken salad or a chicken wrap.

(Fine)

Another snack at 3 is usually some fruit like an apple and a string cheese.

(More Protein. String cheese is a bit low on Protein and Calories. Try Low Fat Cheese instead.

Give the Fruit about 10-15 minutes to digest, so it's not impeded too much by the Cheese.)

For dinner i usually have fish or chicken with a spinach salad or veggies.

(That's fine)

(You could have another meal about 2 hours after this, like Mushrooms with grilled Cheese on, Beans on Toast, a sizeable portion of Peanuts etc.)

[mcintire6]

So basically I need to add some more protein and calories. Thankyou so much!

[Boss Man]

Yep pretty much.

[mcintire6]

One more question. Should I add more cardio? I try to get it in 4-6 days a week. I usually hit the treadmill for about 30 minutes but sometimes I do a DVD. Is that enough? Thanks

[Boss Man]

I'd limit the Cardio to 5 days max, so you get a couple of days off.

So you could do it like this.

3 days on, 1 off, 2 days on, 1 off.

[mcintire6]

Ok that helps alot but what about strengh training? I alternate upper and lower body 4-6 days a week also. Should I limit it to 5 days?

[Boss Man]

In that case then do an upper lower split. for 4 days. Two uppers, 2 lowers keeping the training the same for the uppers and the lowers.

So basically 2 different workouts done 2x a week each, if that makes sense .

[mcintire6]

Yes, that makes perfect sense. You've been a big help! Thanks so much Boss Man.

[Boss Man]

I neglected to mention to split the workouts; so you would do something like this.

Day 1. Upper

Day 2. Lower

Day 3. Day off

Day 4. Upper

Day 5. Day off

Day 6.Lower

Day 7. Day off

I've done it like that so you're not getting two back to back rest days. You could alter it slightly if needs be, by switching days 5 and 6 around, bearing in mind you'll then get two back to back rest days.

[SarahJ86]

I know it must be hard for you, but don't feel discouraged, everyone has ups and downs.
Here's a few tips from my own personal experience. Always award yourself a little gift after each week of dieting. It could be your favorite piece of pie (a small piece of course), or a book, a bracelet, a little something to put a smile upon your face.

Stop weighting yourself too often, because you'll end up obsessing over a number, and that's not good. Use a quantum scale (you should be able to find one online), it does not display your weight it simply records it and lets you know when your weight starts changing again.

Exercising is very important, but if you don't turn it into something fun, chances are you'll lose motivation. Find the right activity for you, it could be swimming, jogging, even dancing classes and ask some friends to join you.

Good luck!