Wednesday, March 29, 2006

Guest Blogger, Cheri aka McMom

I thought you guys would find this as interesting as I did. It is from Cheri (a friend of a friend and fellow blogger)who has been having trouble losing weight even tho she watches her diet and exercises a whopping hour to hour and a half a day.


Insulin Resistance
Monday I went to see an Endocrinologist. He confirmed that the pituitary tumor is not returning. That is a blessing! I discussed with him my inability to loose weight, even with all the exercise I do. He is running some lab tests, but believes I have Insulin Resistance (IR), also called Metabolic Syndrome. I fit the profile,( lower blood sugar, high blood pressure and high triglycerides), and what he said makes sense. IR leads to Type 2 diabetes and possible coronary problems. My Father has Type 2 diabetes. I wonder why a Dr. did not suggest this possibility sooner. I have been fighting my wt. for 5 yrs.

Anyway I have been researching it some and found some pretty good links.

http://syndromex.stanford.edu/InsulinResistance.htm

http://www.heartlandnaturopathic.com/irdiet.htm

I have been eating close to the way the diet tells you to eat, BUT I usually give myself a" free day" or have something sweet now and then. Doing that takes me back to "square one" again.
Until I get this reversed and loose some weight I can't indulge, even a little bit. This is going to take some work and discipline, but I have to do it! I want to be healthy and avoid some of the health issues my parents are dealing with.

The Dr. also asked what my life has been like the last few years-any stress?! When I told him about the 3 moves in the last year , major surgery and a husband headed for Iraq if he does not get a civilian job soon, he said my stress level is off the charts ! Stress raises cortisol levels and keeps you from loosing weight also

19 comments:

Kristen said...

Well, I hope you can get to the bottom of this.

I hate to suggest it, but if you have been working out for long periods every day and keeping your calories ultra-low, you may have damaged your metabolism. You can repair it, but it may mean a little weight gain initially.

Four questions: what intensity are you working out at every day? What kind of weight program are you doing (you mentioned you were doing weights three days a week?)? And what's your calorie intake like? What's your ultimate goal? (5'4" and 150 lbs? or bench press your body weight? or...?)

McMom said...

Kristen- I do feel like I have some hope!

I don't think my calories have been too low, but I am sure the metabolism is messed up.

I mostly do the Precor Elliptical for 40-60 min 5 days a week at 6/12 intervals of intensity. Sometimes I ride a Star Trac recumbent bike for another 30 min.

For weights I have been doing the Natalus circut of machines. I only do one set on each machine, but I do 12-20 reps, depending on how hard it is. I keep going until I can't anymore. I can lift pretty heavy weight. (ie: on the sled , for legs, I do 12 reps at 270 lbs., 90 lbs. on peck deck for 10 -12 reps, bench press 90 lbs.)

I do not know what I want my goal wt. to be, because I know muscle plays a factor. I weigh 205 right now and have been stuck there for 5 yrs. Before my last pregnancy I was in shape ,wearing a size 12, and was about 175. I think I would like to be 160 ish. I am 5'5" and medium boned.

I don't keep track of calories really. I have been doing the Weight Watchers Core plan. But some of the allowed foods on there I can't eat if I truly have IR.

Any suggestions?

Kristen said...

Well, the Core Plan seems to be based in good nutrition (whole foods, etc.), so that's a step in the right direction. However, if you aren't counting calories (or at least generally aware of how much you eat on an average day or week), you could be eating the right foods, but too little or too much--both will stall weight loss.

With all the physical activity you are doing, it seems likely that you could be undereating (or overexercising depending on how you look at it), but you would know better than me. :)

Generally speaking, most people (with healthy metabolisms) can maintain their weight on about 15 X body weight. For you, that's nearly 3100 calories, which is a lot for a gal to eat usually. But with all the physical activity, you could possibly need even more. Say you are eating 2,000 healthy calories a day...you should be dropping weight at a rate of three pounds per week!

That said, it's a rare woman who has a healthy metabolism and who eats well all the time. And even though the "math" says it should be true, doesn't make it actually happen, does it?

You are doing the right thing to be working on gaining muscle; that will help your metabolism a lot. If I were you, I might cut down on the cardio a little and try eating more, but talk with your doctor about it. This may lead to a little weight gain initially, but if you are eating enough protein, fat and carbs, your metabolism (if you don't have IR) will eventually correct itself and you will be on the path to losing weight again.

Let me know if you have any questions.

aola said...

I do. I do???

Kristen, is it better to lift more weight or do more reps? I have been using a 10lb weight for my curls doing 60 with each arm. I was thinking about raising my weight to 15lbs but I know I wouldn't be able to do as many reps, at least for a while. So, which is better.
Thank you, Guru Kristen :)

aola said...

And... oh my gosh, Mcmom... if I ever have to kick someone's butt.. I'm calling You!!

McMom said...

Thats funny! Not bragging, but sometimes it scares me how much I can lift. Before I got PG with my last child I could bench 130 for 6 reps. I want look more toned not "buff", so I have lowered the wt. and do more reps. Hopefully that is the right way. I think they are checking my testosterone level too! LOL!!

McMom said...

Thanks for the advice Kristen!

Kristen said...

Aola,

There's kind of a myth out there that says, "More reps, lower weight for toning; fewer reps, higher weight for strength/bigger muscles." Well, that myth has been going on for thirty years, but muscles don't "tone"--they either get bigger or smaller or maintain/stay the same. End of story. :)

When you do a lot of reps with a weight that doesn't fatique you much, you are building muscle endurance. Muscle endurance is good, but not incredibly useful (how often do you lift something 50-60 times unless you are painting a wall or something like that?). Muscle strength is built by lower reps with higher weight (much more useful--helps you with carrying groceries, moving furniture, gardening, picking up kids, etc.). Make sense...kind of?

A trainer I know on a women's weight training board puts it like this: "Do not train with light weights. You'll just end up looking soft, as your muscles will not have, what is known as, good neurogenic or myogenic tone. Basically a measure of muscle hardness. Light weights while in caloric deficit will likely also result in muscle loss, as your body, while attempting to adapt to a caloric deficit will try to 'slow down' and does so via various hormonal responses (ie leptin for example) as well as eliminating metabolically active tissue - muscle. If you don't need it, you'll lose it. You're not going to be building significant amounts of muscle in a caloric deficit. You can't build a house out of sweat - you need raw materials. However, what builds muscle is what keeps muscle, and while dieting you want to keep every last ounce you have. So, quite simply don't bother with these 20 rep sets. Train heavy and try to get/stay strong."

Many people will do a variety of light, higher rep training with some medium training and some heavy training. For example, on a heavy day, you might decide to do 4 sets of 6 reps with a weight that fatigues you by the end of the set. On a medium day, you might do 3 sets of 8-10 reps with a weight that, once again, fatigues you by the end of the set. On a light day, you might do 2 sets of 12-15. That way you are building both strength and endurance, but also not overly challenging yourself. Making every day a heavy day can be really hard on your body after a while and make you lose progress. Let me know if you have any questions.

(Can you tell I love lifting weights? I feel like it does so much more for your body--figure wise--that even cardio does. Cardio is still important, especially for heart health, but I love my weights!)

Kristen said...

You're welcome, Cheri. Keep us updated on your IR stuff, okay?

McMom said...

Kristen- More great advice!! I will keep you all posted reguarding the IR. I called today to see if I could get the lab results. I am trying to keep track of calories today just to see what I do.

aola said...

Thanks Kristen,

I have learned so much from you. This is the first time I've ever worked with weights and I am really enjoying it. I was reading another article this morning that said exactly what you've been saying that as I increase my exercising that I need to also eat more than what I am eating now... that's good news to me.
This is the first time ever in my life that I have enjoyed exercising.

Thanks again for all your help.

much love

Sandra said...

Guru Kristen, I'm very interested in determining if my metabolism is messed up. I've been eating between 1500 -1700 calories and working out for 45+ minuts and haven't seen any loss at all. If my metabolism is messed up, how do I go about fixing it?
You can e-mail the responce if you would like. Thanks!

Kristen said...

The main way to fix it is to eat more. Your body may be in starvation mode, especially if you workout as hard as I think you do.

If you weighed around 195, you could probably lose weight at around 2300 calories each day. To most women that seems like a lot, but your maintenance calories are even higher than that. You may not even feel hungry, but that's part of having a depressed metabolism as well.

The plus-side: you get to eat more, and the more you eat, the harder your metabolism works. The down-side: you may see some initial weight gain (like I mentioned with Cheri) while your metabolism is normalizing.

These are some links to a board I frequent where people ask questions and some really awesome trainers and nutritionists answer questions; they might be able to help you.

http://oxygenmag.net/showthread.php?t=15397

http://oxygenmag.net/showthread.php?t=15417

One really good quote: "..Weight loss isn't just a numbers game. You are talking about an incredibly complicated metabolic/physiological process, one that is potentially different for everyone.

You have to realize that the modern concept of beauty, and even that of health, is far different than what we are 'designed' to be: We are still cavemen (and cavewomen, of course). Our bodies have very complicated mechanisms in place to ensure that it times of famine, we have the ability to maintain organ and brain functioning. Fast forward 50,000 years, and we are still programmed to do that. By starving yourself (which is what you're doing), you are causing your body to conserve energy at the expense of muscle and metabolism (your energy output), the so-called 'starvation mode.'

Losing weight requires a small caloric deficit, not a big one. It requires strict attention to detail, and a sensible, knowledgeable plan. You have to do enough to cause a difference, but not so much that your body reacts negatively to what you are trying to do.

If it was simply a numbers game, it would be easy. But you are not a number, and neither should your diet be."

I'll add one more quote, too...

Kristen said...

This is more a how-to quote from one of the best trainers on the site answering someone's question:

"Damage to one's metabolism is a very real phenomenon ... and these days extremely commmonplace. The relieving thing is that it's generally repairable. You ARE undereating, grossly undereating for your current bodyweight. This may result in initial weight loss, but you (speaking to everyone here) WILL pay the price for doing this in the long run. Guaranteed. Whether that be an inability to lose more weight or finding it very easy to gain weight (muscle), there will be a consequence. Think long term, not short term.

So yes, you need to eat more. HOWEVER, just ramping right up to an appropriate caloric intake isn't the right approach for everyone. There is more than one way to approach the repair but given your details, I'd suggest you do it in steps - systematic and regular increases. This has the benefit of one, allowing you to gradually get used to eating more food, two, potentially preventing some fat regain, and three, potentially causing fat loss. So the best approach is to take your present intake and just add 10% to it every week or two until you hit maintenance intake. Then you need to stay at maintenance for two weeks before even considering going back below that. Might you gain some weight at maintenance? Probably. Again, long term vs short term thinking. You need to correct a problem before you can move past it. Two weeks at maintenance will make further fat loss much more likely. You're going to end up just 'feeling' much, much better. I even interrupt successful progress of my clients to put them on maintenance right in the middle of their program sometimes.

With a depressed metabolism you can generally assume something like 14 x body weight (BW) is going to be around maintenance for you. The generic numbers are 14-16 x BW depending on metabolic issues. So, take the low number for yourself. Even if it's still slightly slow it's a big increase from your current intake. It's an approximation, but so are the more complicated equations.

As well, 13x BW is simply going to be too high for most people to start dieting, especially women who generally don't embark on the fat loss game with healthy metabolisms. I can't tell you how many of my female clients complain to me when they START their diet that I give them too much food. What does that tell us? That they were obviously eating even less. And yet, I still have them in a significant caloric deficit. They started with at least somewhat damaged metabolisms."

Hope that helps, Sandra! :)

Sandra said...

Thanks so much Kristen! I read through those threads and even joined the forums. I'm going to increase my calories by 10% starting this Monday. I'm a little confused by how much protien/carb/fat I should have based on a 1760 calorie diet. I'm using this weekend to make a plan. I'm prepared to gain a little weight. I hope it isn't too much though.

Kristen said...

Hey Sandra, the "general rule" is 1-1.5 g of protein per lb of body weight, 0.5-1 g of carbs and 0.25-0.5 of fat (for fat loss--I'm not sure about maintenance)...but that can be played with quite a bit.

The protein one though is a pretty good rule though; eating at least a gram per lb will help keep you from losing muscle while dieting.

Kristen said...

Oh yeah, and from what I've heard, if you go slowly and increase your cals from 10-20% each week, you may not gain much at all. Let's hope that's the case. :)

Sandra said...

Thank you so much Kristen! I'm starting today. I'm going to be using the Total Gym for my workouts. I think I'll still do Curves but it will be more of an aerobic type workout and less about strength training. The Total Gym probably isn't the best method, but it's what I have at home and I don't have anyone to spot me even if I did have a set of weights. Once David is out of school we're going to get a bench set and workout together.
Thanks again! I'll be keeping everyone posted.

Sreenivasa S said...

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