Been steadily losing 1 or 2 lbs a week since new year and trying to get down to 11 stone (154 lbs), but been stuck around the 159-161lb range for over a month now.

How do you lose these last 5 or 6 lbs once you have plateaued?

I have been lifting a lot of weights and upped my protein intake (whey powder) over the last month, which I thought would boost my weight loss, but perhaps I am putting on a lot of muscle?

So short of a dose of picolax, how can I shift these last few lbs?

Are you completely ripped?

My tip is carb depleted cardio.

Those pesky local bikes shops!

weights plus protein should equal muscle growth which will increase your metabolism, but will also increase your weight as muscle is denser (sp?) than fat…. maybe cut the whey protein and see what happens?

+1 on carb depleted cardio, can you exercise first thing in the morning before eating brekky?

Are you completely ripped?

nope, but most of the last weight I need to lose is belly fat.
i cant see that i can physcially do any more excercise than i currently am without overttraining or exhausting myself. I dont eat many carbs at all, chicken/tuna/salmon salad at lunchtimes, and following weight watchers with the mrs for most evening meals (with the odd carb treat at weekends).

I was reading that (not sure what you call it) cardio worksouts with weights/dumbells were good, like the gillian michaels shred?

i cant see that i can physcially do any more excercise than i currently am without overttraining or exhausting myself.

Firstly that’s BS. You just build up to it.
Secondly. It’s not about not eating carbs. It’s about training when your stomach is rumbling first thing in the morning.
Fifthly. Taking protein supplements when you want to lose weight is stoopid. Get your calories from proper food.

It’s about training when your stomach is rumbling first thing in the morning.

Don’t you get those awful low blood sugar shakes (I don’t mean the drinks!) when you do that?

Not anymore… I just get on and do it. I am a moody fecker when my blood sugar is low though.

I am a moody fecker when my blood sugar is low though.

I didn’t realise you always had low blood sugar, explains a lot 😛

Your body may have got used to the exercise you are doing so mix it up.

+1 for ditching the whey protein. Sugar and stress (for me) are cause to put on weigh/not lose it from my tummy.

Any alcohol intake? If so cut it out completely and eat nothing processed.

Some insightful comments from TSY.
And I believe that he is quite lean.

Stubborn stomach fat is predisposed to be more difficult to remove than fat on other parts of the body.

iDave once posted that 6 packs are made in the kitchen, not the gym.
Where as he is probably correct, I’m thinking you’d need to work in both the kitchen and the gym.

Any alcohol intake? If so cut it out completely and eat nothing processed.

Burls72.
I like a drink now and again.
So I’m interested in your comment.
Is what you’ve posted born of personal experience ?.
Just askling like.
🙂

Firstly that’s BS. You just build up to it.
Secondly. It’s not about not eating carbs. It’s about training when your stomach is rumbling first thing in the morning.
Fifthly. Taking protein supplements when you want to lose weight is stoopid. Get your calories from proper food.

Firstly, it sounds like he is doing quite a lot of exercise already, so over reaching is quite possible.

Secondly there is no evidence training on an empty stomach first thing in the morning actually makes you lose fat any quicker.

Thirdly, if he is doing weights there is nothing at all wrong with a higher protein diet, or getting it from a good quality protein shake.

OP, if you are doing more weights there is every chance you are putting on muscle at the same time as losing fat so your scale weight will stay roughly the same. The only definitive way to measure it is by using skin fold calipers. The more muscle you have, the more fat you will burn so keep it up.

For losing the last bit of fat (if it is that) try carb cycling. Have a read about it, its what bodybuilders do to get their body fat as low as 3%, I am pretty sure it will help you but you have to be very strict with your diet.

Have a read of these links, there is plenty more on his site about fat loss, fitness, and bodybuilding, and is probably the best of its kind on the net.

Gain Muscle and Lose Fat At The Same Time!

Advanced Fat Loss Carb Cycling

Ummm – I agree with the alcohol bit, actually. Habitually drinking half a bottle of red is pleasurable but it’s calories you can do without.

If you’re drinking beer, or white wine or anything else… defintitely stop.

I’ve dropped half a stone of a pretty lean base in less than a month. I think that the deep stretching of yoga may also help.

The only definitive way to measure it is by using skin fold calipers.

Or look in a mirror… Can you see the veins in your forearms, what about on your chest? Can you see all your abs? Do you wear size small cycling gear?

For losing the last bit of fat (if it is that) try carb cycling. Have a read about it, its what bodybuilders do to get their body fat as low as 3%, so I am 100% sure it will help you.

I’ve read that carb-refeeding is only applicable to indivduals who are already ~10 percent BF or less.

However, I must admit to being confused by the entire process.

If anyone has a link to a “carb – refeeding for dummies” I’d be interested to take a look.

You’re right you do have to have 10% BF or less before carb cycling, in which case use his other techniques till you get to that stage.

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWgwJfbeCeU[/video]

(stolen from JAmie)

Carb cycling is pretty much the iDiet but with a less dramatic cheat day every 3rd day instead of every 7th.

So am i doing too much or too little?

Monday to friday, commute 4 miles each way to work, 40 miles a week.
monday to friday, 100 sit ups before I leave.

Monday evening, 1 hour of badminton, when that isnt on 5k run.
Tuesday 5k run, upper body weight training, 100 sit ups, 1/2 hour punchbag workout.
wednesday: 1.5 hours of karate, varying levels or intensity.
thursday: leg and back work out, 100 sit ups.
friday: REST + 2-3 beers.
saturday 2-3 hours karate, + 3-4 beers.
Sunday: rest, sometimes bike ride, sometimes 5k run.

So are the beers doing me in then?

Personally I’d say you can do more, but I’m probably alone on that.

Why all the sit-ups? Do you superset your weights?

Where’s the HIIT workouts?

beers aren’t gunna help, whats supersetting yeti?

Other than losing belly fat, what are your goals? Do you squat and deadlift?

I would say too much, by quite a lot. You should have at least two rest days per week where you are doing nothing. More is definitely not better when it comes to exercising.

If you are pretty serious about wights, have a read through this site and maybe start following one if his training programs which include cardio too.

There is no need to do all them sit ups either. For one sit ups are nowhere near as good as crunches, and two if you think doing them will help the fat loss around your waist, think again.

3 (or more) different exercises done straight after each other. Rest for 60 secs then repeat.

So this morning because the pool was chocker…

I did..

3 sets of

10 chin-ups
30 press-ups feet on bench
30 crunches
15 each side sideways crunches.
Rest for 60secs
Repeat

Then similar sets with kettlebell exercises and some leg stuff.

Organic – to save me disagreeing with Skywalker… are you trying to get big like a bodybuilder, or ripped like a fighter?

I’d say you need more intensity thrown into the mix. I’d imagine the commute and running will be done at a good, but consistent pace.

Try interval training to vary the tempo of the runs, e.g. 4 * 4 minutes with 2 minutes recovery after 10 minutes of warm up.

Burls72.
I like a drink now and again.
So I’m interested in your comment.
Is what you’ve posted born of personal experience ?.
Just askling like.

Yes it is. From when I was at my heaviest weight to the lightest, I lost 7 stone. I’ve put 1 to 1.5 stone (don’t have scales) back on because at 6’6″ 13 stone isn’t a good look!

The op is having between 5 and 7 beers a week which is a lot of calories which can easily be lost. I’ve also found that any alcohol intake slows weight loss down. I think i’m correct in saying that the body uses the alcohol calories first so any useful food you’ve digested is stored as fat and your running on empty calories. It also gives you a bloated look.

Bagsard, yes, squat and deadlift on Thursday’s, but reached my limit for squats until I can get a squat rack, as I can’t snatch/press the bar with the amount of weight I need now.

3 (or more) different exercises done straight after each other. Rest for 60 secs then repeat.

So this morning because the pool was chocker…

I did..

3 sets of

10 chin-ups
30 press-ups feet on bench
30 crunches
15 each side sideways crunches.
Rest for 60secs
Repeat

Thats not a super set, thats a circuit.

A super set is done with the same muscle group, like bench press followed immediately by flys, and is usually no more that 2 exercises together.

In supersetting you have a variety of options, you can either superset within the same body part or you can train two different body parts. For the reason that each body part gets a little rest between sets is that you are constantly moving.

That’s from BodyBuilding.com

I add more exercises as I want endurance not size.

TSY: ripped like fighter.

A worthwhile investment methinks, especially if try to add size and strength. If I were you I would do deadlifts twice at different ends of the week.

What are you mixing your protein with? Although it tastes much better with milk, you will stay leaner using water.

‘Ripped like a fighter’ As in Mayweather or Haye?

i’m interested in this carb cycling…. i appear to be already doing extreme carb cycling; loosely foloowing the iDiet principles but messing up 5 days out of seven. my body never knows what to expect!

Then don’t start reading bodybuilding stuff.
You want functional fast moving muscles. Not vanity driven bulk.

Do supersets of your exercises. Reducing rest to a minimum. Throw in skipping between weight sets to keep your HR going some.

Hatton used to do 3 mins on the bag straight into 3 mins of high vaults then into 3 mins of something else that I forget (probably skipping) when he was trying to shed his weight.

Oh, if we’re reccomending other exercises not just for weight loss… have a look at fighter pull-ups.

Ripped like an MMA fighter, not a heavyweight boxer!!

watch WARRIOR. all you need an an ex alcoholic father and to see your whole unit be destroyed by friendly fire.

You really need to be more specific, just google MMA fighters and see a vast array of physiques. Just remember you cannot rip what you don’t have, that just means skinny!

There are actually some great exercises being done in that film.

One of my fav’s is the press-ups with one hand raised on a sand bag, explosively push up so that you leave the ground and land with the opposite hand on the bag.

when you said ‘ripped like fighter’ I thought you meant this fella:

who I think wasn’t that big but obviously a bit fat free…

Other than for endurance can’t see 100 sit ups helping much, remember they’re like just any other muscle, I mean you wouldn’t do 100 bicep curls