What am I doing wrong?

[candy_maree]

As a bodybuilder (who fell pregnant while in full competition) I can debunk some myths that are already popping up here.

Firstly, DO NOT eliminate carbs. Your brain needs carbs to function. You need to make sure that you're taking in enough fat, carbs and protein to fuel your muscles. Otherwise your body will eat muscle first as it's easier to break down than fat. My fitness pal is a good site that can help you track how much of each macro you are taking in.

Do not run yourself silly with cardio. Yes it has it's place, but the more lean muscle you build, the more cals you will burn just sitting there. I went from 30% body fat to under 10% on 3 x 20min HIIT sessions a week. But you need to keep an eye on your diet and lift weights. WEIGHTS WILL NOT MAKE YOU LOOK LIKE A MAN!!! Any girls who start to look manly are on the juice. Trust me on this one. Build your muscle up and you will lose bodyfat. And 1kg of muscle takes up 1/4 the space of 1kg fat. ALSO, it is impossible to replace fat with muscle at a high rate on women, it takes years. You will see your measurements drop as the fat comes off, but ignore the scales. Go off your measurements and how your clothes fit.

So key points, eat well, eat smart, don't drink your calories (smoothies etc are full of hidden sugar and calories) but also don't go into starvation mode, stay above 1500 smart cals a day. Drink lots of water 2.5L + per day. Lift weights and be consistent. Eventually it does move.

If you want to talk about this more, please PM me. I hate seeing people go to starvation diet, high cardio and get nowhere while metabolically damaging themselves.

[nothing2lose]

Candy Maree, it's a myth your brain needs carbs to function. Happy to publish as many peer reviewed studies as you like debunking this. Your brain can, and does, do very well in a ketogenic state. I suggest you read
The Art and Science of Low Carbohydate Living by Volek and Phinney who are scientists leading the way in the field of nutrition and metabolic study

[candy_maree]

Candy Maree, it's a myth your brain needs carbs to function. Happy to publish as many peer reviewed studies as you like debunking this. Your brain can, and does, do very well in a ketogenic state. I suggest you read
The Art and Science of Low Carbohydate Living by Volek and Phinney who are scientists leading the way in the field of nutrition and metabolic study

Dr Layne Norton also has some very interesting published works, also very respected in the field. There is a difference to low carb diets and no carb diets. Most low carbs are still getting a realistic amount of carbs through fruits and vegetables. Please note, I did say don't eliminate them. I'm more than happy to read additional works, and enjoy doing so in order to read other people's opinions.

Either way, Diet is still key. You can't out exercise a bad diet.

[Amaunet]

For me, I needed to combine formal exercise with diet/nutrition advice and tracking (I did Weight Watchers). I found if I only did one or the other (diet focus or exercise focus) then my success was limited. After my DS2 was born I finally managed both - I did a combination of Weight Watchers and Jazzercise (combines cardio and strength/toning in a 1 hour class) and FINALLY saw decent results. I realized that I always are too much (even of 'healthy' foods) when I wasn't tracking my intake. Low carb doesn't work for me, I can't stick to it, but is found a sensible low calorie diet worked really well. The calorie king website and app are really good for looking up foods and tracking intake (for free). I got to a healthy weight for the first time in over 7 years!

So my advice would be to stick with the exercise but really look at what you are eating - I know I was really surprised at how many calories (or weight watchers points) I actually consumed, without actually eating rubbishy foods iykwim.