Anyone else attempting to stick to a regimen right now?

[PedroPero (PETER)]

Big ol cup of coffee before your workout, always did the trick for me.

[Phoenikia]

Peanut butter or almond butter with apple might be a good snack before whatever you have to do. Or 28 grams hard cheese with a piece of fruit.

I’m trying to eat a bit of protein any time I have something with refined or complex carbs.

[honkman]

@medgirl

but my body fat and muscle percentages have stayed pretty much the same.

I wouldn’t take those measurements too serious. Those instruments are known to be quite inaccurate (we also were considering buying such instruments but the more we read the more doubts we had how useful they are) - here is just one example

Accuracy of the Omron HBF-500 Body Composition Monitor in Male and Female...

[Meekah]

My trainer at the hospital cardiac rehab told me that the only accurate body composition measurements had to be done in a total submersion tank. Mine came back from my PCP as being obese, even though my weight was very low for my height. Meh.

[ipsedixit]

@medgirl

I’m finding the personal training very hard going. I try and go once a fortnight depending on my work schedule and my trainer’s schedule (she teaches watersports all over the world, so is away a lot). Today she stopped my session early because I was feeling unwell - completely exhausted and nauseous. I had eaten properly before the session but I think I was feeling the effects of recent hectic night shifts and not getting enough rest. I tried to splash my face with cold water in the bathroom and start the session again but after a few sets I felt like I was going to throw up so my trainer said I should stop. My husband is away for work so she offered to drive me home. I let her drive me to the train station as I already had a ticket home. This has never happened before. I came home, lay down for a couple of hours and then got up and ate a light meal. Feeling OK now. But a bit down. I kind of feel like I should be finding the sessions easier by now, not harder.

The problem isn’t you.

It’s your trainer.

You need to find a new one.

[Babette (Andrea)]

@medgirl

my body fat and muscle percentages have stayed pretty much the same. I think I will need to be working out at a gym a few times a week to see any difference in those parameters.

Strength/resistance training 2x a week plus 2.5 hours moderate cardio (walking counts) is what I feel like is the current recommendation. It’s hard to dedicate your time, and trainers can be expensive, so do what you can. I’m terrible about cardio in the winter bc I work a lot and the weather sucks but other times I keep a tally on my calendar, aiming for 40 x 15 minute increments or 10 hours/mo. Try to stay ahead of the date and get at least 30

@medgirl

a few tablespoons of rice with some vegetables around 4 hours before the session.

That’s not a lot of fuel for a body. Try something a little more substantial 2 hours before, so it’s settled but not already spent.

[medgirl]

Thanks for linking to this paper. I was aware of the limitations of using a home monitor when I bought it. But it was more to establish a trend rather than accurate readings. My teenage son uses it alongside me and you can tell from the differences in our readings that it should be possible to see some change if it is significant. We only use it every 6-8 weeks.

My main goal is to avoid becoming like my mother - I am built very much in the mould of her (tiny Asian lady, strong family history of Type 2 diabetes and coronary heart disease). From her 50s onwards, she has been on a stack of meds, has zero exercise tolerance and has broken a bone with minor falls several times. I want to have some strength and endurance and adequate bone density. That’s the only reason I’ve taken up my fitness program - I don’t need to look good, I just don’t want to be saddled with avoidable health problems.

[medgirl]

@ipsedixit

The problem isn’t you.

It’s your trainer.

In all fairness I think the real problem is my job.

[medgirl]

Thanks @Babette and everyone else for the advice and support! I’ll have some time to rethink and reset in June and July, to figure out what I can manage consistently around the constraints of my working pattern. When you work in the NHS, there is no light at the end of the tunnel - things just seem to be getting darker and darker as time goes on!

[linguafood (Natascha)]

Thank you for what you do

[ipsedixit]

Perhaps, and if it’s your job, then your trainer needs to take that into account.

A personal trainer needs to tailor their program to the individual client they are working with at that moment.

There is no one size fits all program.

If you are clinically obese you will require a program that is very different from someone who is 60 years old and trying to maintain mobility and strength.

A client who works 80 hours will require a very different program than a full time student.

Again, your job isn’t the problem. The problem is that your trainer is not taking into account your job.

[kaleokahu (Kaleo)]

@medgirl

more to establish a trend rather than accurate readings.

Bingo.

[Phoenikia]

Tools in that tool belt.

[kaleokahu (Kaleo)]

Today I weigh 209 pounds–down from 270. I’ve got another 10 or so pounds to go. This has been since the first of the year. The needle stuck at 214 pounds for quite a while.

This time, I am trying to maintain what (little) muscle mass I have. I’m in the gym for weights MWF, and on the treadmill for 45 minutes TTh.

You can do it.

[Saregama]

Suggest you ask your trainer what she recommends for a pre- and post-snack, since you’re paying for her expertise anyway.

There are things you can eat if you plan ahead, but also things you can eat if you didn’t (eg: banana). But she can give you more specific advice for the kinds of workouts she’s doing with you.

[Phoenikia]

Bravo!

[ZivBnd (Ziv)]

That is outstanding, both for the determination and for the achievement! Congratulations!

[mts]

They always say, ‘check with your physician…’, you don’t want to ignore something you have no idea that may be creeping up. Be safe!