Newbee who is stalling

[Costaju]

I started logging my work outs and switching to Paleo eating about two months ago. I am 46 years old work at a desk and have three children, a 22 year old daughter, 19 year old son and 17 year old daughter who all live at home. My 22 year old daughter told me to check out this sight. I started tracking my work outs on Fitocracy (which has gotten me to try a lot of new thing, I recently deadlift 121 lbs, I weigh 118 and am 5' 2") so she and I could help each other get into shape. She is starting the academy for detention deputy in September and she got me to start running. I HATE to run. We have completed two 5k's in two months the 1st we did in 33 minutes. Sunday we (both girls and I) completed the Iron Girl 5K in 31 minutes. My times are improving but my belly fat just won't go away. Because I have a desk job my daughter and I started a challenge to do something every hour on the hour for the eight hours I work. Monday and Wednesdays I do weights so on those days I alternate between push ups and dips every hour, Tuesday and Thursdays are running days so I have been doing planks (which are kicking my butt!) I know diet is a big factor. HELP!

Breakfast is 2 eggs bacon and coffee with almond milk and truvia

Lunch is a protein shake with fruit and olive oil

snack if I get hungry is a handful of nuts and raisins

Dinner is Meat and veggies and sometimes a small glass of red wine. (My husband cooks and he's not doing the Paleo) I eat a lot of salads and meat. He has been trying to help.

around 9 usually chamomile tea with honey. On a bad day frozen yogurt.

My daughter and I are planning a 5k on May 18th. Any helpful hints on how not to HATE to run and reduce my belly? I would love to run it in under 30 minutes but I have no training. I just go out and run. It all started with a fitocracy quest where I would get 300points for running 2 miles so I did it because greedy me wanted the extra points to get to the next level.

[Bean]

I posted a similar query on losing the love handles. The good news is that they do eventually go away - but they will probably be the last things to go. Do the photo test and see if the rest of you looks better - if so, you know you are doing it right and you will just need to be patient. Unfortunately, there is no way to tell your body where to lose its fat - and the last place it goes away is generally the one you want to lose first.

I can't comment on your diet - I will leave that to the Paleo experts - but make sure you are getting enough calories for the amount of energy you are consuming in your workouts. If you are getting too little, your body will go into preservation mode and store everything you feed it which may significantly hinder your ability to weight loss.

My thoughts on running - if you don't like it, rather find something you do like. No point beating yourself up about it - some people are runners, others are cyclists and others like to lift weights (hence the need for the different guilds in NF!) I personally don't enjoy running either, but I love swimming, so I do that instead. Maybe try something else to see if you enjoy it more.

Most importantly - stick with the eating plan and the exercise and you will see the benefits and the weightloss. I have gone from 24% BF down to 18% BF and I can finally see an outline of my abs - it does happen.

[Josh_C]

...but make sure you are getting enough calories for the amount of energy you are consuming in your workouts. If you are getting too little, your body will go into preservation mode and store everything you feed it which may significantly hinder your ability to weight loss.

My thoughts on running - if you don't like it, rather find something you do like. No point beating yourself up about it - some people are runners, others are cyclists and others like to lift weights (hence the need for the different guilds in NF!) I personally don't enjoy running either, but I love swimming, so I do that instead. Maybe try something else to see if you enjoy it more.

+1 This. First of all, it sounds like you aren't getting that many calories. You may be getting too few. Have you been tracking your weight or other measurements? How have they been progressing?

As for running, I agree. Although there is a balancing act. I know everyone says "if you don't like it don't do it" but I think there are different opinions about when to decide you don't like it. Running can take a while to enjoy. It took me several months to start enjoying it. I was doing a couch to 5k program. After I finished my second marathon last November, my mom reminded me that after that first 5K I said "Geez, some of these people are pros. They've got moisture wicking clothes and everything. I don't see the point of running more than 4 miles." Ha! So, sometimes it can be a slow burn. But now I have a very strong love/hate relationship with running. What I'm getting at here is don't give up too easily on this specific activity, but don't drive yourself crazy either.

[tigersheart]

Hi newbie

everyone is different, so this is just my advice that may or may not work for you.

By the way, I am similar, I am 46, have a desk job as well, and my wife does not eat paleo, but she does support me. I have been eating this way for 2 years and love the results.

Now as for the diet, it sounds fine, but I do agree with the others to make sure you are eating enough. If you are eating primal/paleo, you can actually eat a lot more than you would think. One thing I will suggest though is to make sure you are not drinking your fruits...eat them, don't drink bottles of fruit juice. Also stay away from any foods/drinks that have high fructose corn syrup in them, this means sodas, diet sodas, etc. Once in a while(meaning rare) is fine to have them, but if you consume foods/drinks with them on a regular basis it can hamper weight loss.

Now as for the workouts, I truly suggest to add a huge element of PLAY to them if you are not doing it already. I personally hate regimented work outs, though I do make myself do a small number of them, but that is just me. Make your work-outs fun, and make them semi-random, meaning do not focus on doing the exact same thing on certain days....like every Tuesday I do 'this certain work out'.

One example of paleo/primal work outs is sprinting...I am not much of a runner and get bored at it, but I do have a dog that is a lifelong puppy and he LOVES to play chase with me, so I will go out in the yard and sprint all over trying to catch him, or him not trying so hard to catch me. I get a good run in, but the whole time it felt more like playing.

Maybe make up some running games with your girls that are just not the plodding long distance runs?

As for work, see if you can get them to get you a standing workstation, or maybe allow you to make your own. You don't have to actually build a desk, you can just stack books/boxes or something similar on your desk and put your monitor/keyboard on them, or something to write on.

just some thoughts, hope it all goes well for you and good luck!

[Costaju]

Thanks for the encouragement Tigersheart! I blend my whole fruit into a whey protein smoothy with no sugar added almond milk and yogurt. I sometimes add 1/2 a pack of frozen spinach. I like the advice about the work out. It does tend to get monotonous. I love the dog running. I love the 5k races and my Saturday early morning runs. I will limit my running to that because I love to walk. I will continue to run regularly until my oldest enters the academy to keep her motivated and focused.

[Costaju]

You are right Bean and Josh c I have seen a change in my body. My arms, back and lower legs are toner and the muscles are more defined. Thanks for the ata girl. I will keep continue to read the articles and alternate my work outs. How do I measure my body fat? I know the scale is not the best way to keep track of progress. Honestly I tend to stay between 114 and 118 which is not bad for my height I just want the midsection to look great in a bikini. I live in Florida and spend most of the summer on the water in a bathing suit.

[Pat G]

Hey Costaju welcome.

Bodyfat %, the easiest way apart from using the scales with the lasers and the magnets and the whatever other tech they use to calculate it would be Calipers, grab them online for cheap and just pinch away, use an online calculator like this one. I'm assumign they have a calculator with females in mind as well.

Mind you, if you're using only 1 type of method to measure your BF%, i don't think it would be too bad to use the scales if they were constant in their results.

[js290]

http://www.bodybyscience.net/home.html/?page_id=301

[weirdpanther]

@Pat G:

Hey there, I'm the eldest daughter. We just picked up one of those fancy scales that tracks things like body fat percentage, water weight, bone density, etc. I think being able to see a set, accurate reading per day should help with motivation.

@js290:

Your article was definitely worth the read. I like the conclusions it drew.

So to any woman out there who is fed up with trying the same thing over and over, I offer this suggestion, instead of getting back on the treadmill “one more time,” try this: Alter your diet so that you eat no grain-based carbohydrate: no flour, no sugar, no bread, no pasta, and no high fructose corn syrup. Then go to the gym and perform a workout of leg press, pulldown, chest press, row and overhead press. Lift slowly and smoothly but with as much effort as possible. Go to complete fatigue, or as close to it as you can tolerate. Work out once, or at most, twice a week. Make sure your workouts last no longer than 20 minutes. Then sit back and watch what happens.