question about losing weight?

[mtns]

I have been vegan for quite a while and I love to workout and have always worked out at least 6 days a week. Just recently the end of December, I started lifting heavy weights with my husband. I do 40-45 min. of heavy lifting and then 30-40 min. of cardio intervals on the days I lift and then 50 min. interval cardios when I am not lifting( which is two days a week). I have been trying to lose this last 10 lbs. for quite a while and it is frustrating me. I want to know if anyone that is losing weight or has lost weight to post some ideas of their menus for a day so that I could get an idea how to lose weight. I was staying steady with my weight, until recently when I gained two lbs. and I don't know where is came from. This is what I ate today:
B: 1/4 c. oatmeal with 1/2 banana ( some mornings it is 1/2 c. pumpkin pie oatmeal)

2 B: green smoothie with sun warrior protein powder ( sometimes I have this as a snack instead and do without a second breakfast)

L veggie soup, hashbrowns ( sometimes it is salad with garbanzo beans and leftover vegan dish from the night before)

S: apple/ maybe a rice cake with a little pb- sometimes it is a green smoothie with protein powder

D: tonight it is stirfry veggies over brown rice with tofu

S: 1/4-1/2 c. oatmeal- depending on how hungry I am.
I would love some help. Thanks, Kathy

[blinki]

If you have just started lifting weights then it's sort of hard not to gain muscle which is probably where your weight gain has come from. You seem to be eating healthy and you don't seem to be eat that much (though whether you are or not is relative to how much you weigh/want to weigh) so I wouldn't worry about it. Assuming you mean you want to loose fat by that last 10lbs then I'd suggest you focus on how you look rather than weight. Or start recording body fat percent if you must.

[JP]

have you noticed any changes in your body composition since starting to lift weights?

dont only look at the scales - have a look at the mirror too, maybe you are putting on a touch of muscle which weighs more than fat?

[JP]

such a good advice it needed to be said twice?

[Fallen_Horse]

such a good advice it needed to be said twice?

Probably three times!

MIRROR > SCALE

[mtns]

It is really hard not to look at the scale. I have lived my life looking at the scale. I know I need to focus on my body composition. I seem to be gaining some muscle in my legs and arms, but am still having problems with my stomach and my clothes don't really fit differntly. I am a 5'7 female and weight 146lbs. I am looking to weigh 135 lbs. My last body fat measurement was 23 %. Thanks for your help, maybe I will just keep on and track my body fat and put the scale away for now.
Do you all eat similar in your meals?
Kathy

[Fallen_Horse]

Not sure how many calories you are getting, how much protein, etc. Have you ever monitored that? It seems like you eat fairly little for how much you exercise....

[Promesas]

The leaner that you get, the less likely your body is going to give up that last little bit of body fat it is holding onto. Our bodies are always looking for fat stores, which it retains to use as energy in the event of famine. So the leaner that you get, the harder it is to lose body fat.

Also mix up your cardio routines. Do a good mix of Interval cardio and steady state cardio. Alternatate 1 week HIIT, 1 week with a 3-5km jog. Our bodies adapt to the stress we put on it so if we continually do the same circuit every day, we get used to it and don't burn as many calories. Case in point.

At my heaviest, I weighed in at a whopping 120kg. In a short span of 4 weeks through daily jogging and a vegan wholefood diet, i dropped 20kg.

It then took me 12-15 weeks with the same routine(daily jogs of between 5-10km, 1hr resistance training and a vegan wholefood diet) to get to 90kg

Going from 90-80kg took the better part of 9 month.

I'm not sitting at 79kg and wish to get to 75kg. I've been training hard for 6-8 weeks and rarely see any change in the scale, however I have increased my muscle defintion dramatically and regained my lost health and appearance. Keep going for it. Never ever give up.

"No one ever told me that it would be easy, only that it would be worth it"

[Catt Queen]

Not sure how many calories you are getting, how much protein, etc. Have you ever monitored that? It seems like you eat fairly little for how much you exercise....

+1

Seems like way too much exercise to me... more like self torture while not eating enough to nourish the body and facilitate recovery.

Have a look at http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/mahler62.htm