Plateau advice needed

[amigababy]

From doing nothing I've really taken to exercise over the past year and now do this:

3 x weekly; chalean extreme (DVD using fairly heavy weights, 30-45 minutes)
2 x weekly; 55 min cardio at the gym doing intervals (bike, treadmill, x-trainer)
1 x walk/jog in the local park about 40 minutes flat track (live in a very hilly area otherwise)
usually a family hill-walk that takes 90 mins, once a week

I lost 2 and a half stone, went from 12 st 7 to 10 st and I am 5 feet 6. i would like to be 9 st 7 as I was in my 20's (now 43); I kept a food diary and ate carefully but didn't have an actual diet to follow - a set diet does my head in tbh.

Been eating a bit chaotically since October, have actually gone from 10 stone to 10 stone 7, and have got through Christmas. Want to lose that 7 pound plus another 7 pounds. My bodyfat is around 30-35% depending on who measures it (me or the gym)either way I think it's a bit high hence the weights work and the intervals. chaotic eating means starting well each day and then losing it on an evening with sugary startchy foods - not bingeing just snacky snacking.

all advice gratefully received - I know 10-7 is not a lot and I'm pleased with how it's gone so far, but I don't think I've got to where I want to be

Hi, firstly I think you need to concentrate on lowering your body fat percentage rather than the number of scales. The scales can fluctuate madly depending on water retention etc and are not actually a very good indicator of what you are achieving. If you are looking at achieving this through weights workouts (the based way imho) then your weight will probably stay the same but your body fat percentage and your meaurements will drop.

I have heard of chalean extreme but have never actually seen it, have you been doing it for long and is there some reason you do this rather than use the free weights at the gym, eg time/childcare/lack of equipment etc?

I wouldn't think you need to do more than you are doing at the moment, if you have been following the same routines for a while then you may just need to change it up a little. To keep seeing results you have to keep finding new challenges for your body.

So:
How long have you been doing chalean?!

Do you always use the same weights for each exercise or have you been increasing the weights you use?

Does your gym have a good free weights section?

What do you do for your intervals at the gym?

What you are eating will of course obviously play a part, just try and eat as clean as you can for 90% of the week, with the odd splurge, make sure you are eating enough as well, your body will need more calories on the days you have a big workout.

Hi Lostgirl, thanks for helping

I've been doing chalean extreme for just a week - before that I was using the weights machines at the gym for about 3 months, but in a mindless sets sort of way - going through the motions. I Chose chalean as it saves time travelling, she pushes you to up the weights and reach a new limit rather than staying with what's easy or comfortable. I'm already attempting heavier than I would have thought I could (can't do a push-up yet though) . Also it is a set 3 month programme which I find a good incentive as it's planned out.
the gym has good free weights.

Treadmill is 3 min walk on a 6% gradient, then 3 min jog at 8 kph on flat; repeated for 21 mins. Cycle is a hill programme for 20 mins and x-trainer is similar. I was rowing in intervals but started getting lower back pain, hence the bike.

It's hard to let go of the scales after 30 years of counting pounds - but I know what you mean. I may try to put them away for the 3 months, maybe that would help?

getting body fat % is hard to calculate without being immersed in water, from what I have found apart from calipers the other simple way to see where your body % are at is to measure your waist to height ratio

here read the whole article is interesting it is a far far better tool than BMI ever is or was.

Well done for the weight loss and keeping up with the workouts.

Being a cyclist at heart I would point you in the direction of road cycling, mtb and spin.

lower back pain - try working on your midrife groups to strengthen your core and therefore decreasing your lower back pain. I know a rower though who has said most people using the rowing machines are doing it all wrong and need good advice from someone who knows what they are doing and not always the gym staff who are apparently also clueless- I am afraid he hasn't shown me so have no tips on that.

Do make sure your bike is set up correctly for road or spin, knees only slightly bent a guide is the saddle near hip height or heel on peddle when on the bike to make straight leg - get advise so you don't damage back and knees for later life.

get a heart rate monitor for using when training to get the most out of your training and using your heart to get your body into fat burning mode - get heart rate monitor with a belt for constant reading, i just wouldn't bother with anything else.

Out of all the above I would get the HRM to use although this will cost it will be worth it for around £70 for a good monitor.

If you have only just started chalean then you should be fine for the next three months, it will be when that finishes that you will maybe need to look for something different.

With your interval training you could probably half the length of time that you do it for but really up the intensity. After a gentle warm up then try walking or a really slow easy jog for one minute, then sprint (ie run at a pace that you can maintain for slightly longer than a minute but not much) for 1 minute and alternate this for 20 minutes. With interval training it is the same as weights, to keep seeing changes and results then you need to keep increasing the intensity. If you get bored with using the treadmill/bike etc you could try doing a metabolic circuit which you could just do at home, this uses bodyweight exercises to raise your heart rate, it only takes about 30 minutes, you don't need much space and just a stopwatch or some sort or timer/clock so you know when to switch exercises. I can find you a link to an example if you are interested.

Make sure you have enough rest days as this is when your muscles recover and rebuild and it is during the rebuilding process that they actually get stronger, if you decide to drop something then try dropping one of the cardio sessions, not the weights. High protein and carb snack post workout will also help fuel your body.

Oh, and I agree with ivykaty regarding waist:hip ratio being a good assessment. If you are going to monitor body fat then stick to one way of measuring it, eg calipers or home scales, or gym equipment, for consistency as different ones will give you totally different readings.

Once you have finished chalean if you want to go back to using the gym there are some great books which have free weight workouts in them. Funcitonal training with free weights is generally a far more effective way to exercise than using the machines as they incorporate more muscle groups at one time which means you are working harder (eg squats, push ups, lunges, deadlifts which are all probably covered in chalean), rather than isolating single muscles.

Congratulations on everything you have achieved, and I hope you have a great start to this year

many many thanks to both