Struggling - need some help

[cuthbertthecat]

49, about 3.5 stone overweight. Not one of natures sporty people. I have a sedentary job with long hours. Peri gives me poor sleep and very achey limbs (no hrt as I really didn't get on with it). I have also suffered from fairly disordered eating in the past.

I have been going to the gym for the last 4 months or so. I have a PT who I like a lot but she's only just qualified. We focus on resistance training mostly in my weekly session and I have a programme. I moved up from baby weights fairly rapidly but I have plateaued.

I feel like I'm a bit burnt out. I can see little to no improvement in my body shape, I have put on weight (I know that's diet but even so), I haven't seen much improvement in functional fitness, I still ache. I do still enjoy going but I get motivated by success and just am not seeing that.

My pt has mixed up my routine, she encourages me etc but I feel directionless. I do love her but overall I feel just a bit disappointed and low. Any ideas?

Get into an exercise class and make some friends. It’s nice to see the same faces, and good to mix the exercise up.
Are you on magnesium for sleep, and omega 3 for joints ?

Yes to magnesium, no to omega so will try that.

I've looked at classes but they all seem full
of very fit people. There is a yoga class I wondered about but they are all lithe 20 somethings not pudgy middle aged unfit people so it put me off tbh

It's hard to say - do you eat sufficient protein? Do you track macros? Are you eating enough calories? Do you do mobility work i.e. stretches? Do you track steps and do any cardio? Are you training to failure?

Have a look at Caroline Girvan on YouTube and start working out several times a week at home. If you can commit to this it will be life-changing.

But ultimately any weight-loss will be due to eating less - which can be done if you make smart choices. Intermittent fasting, 2 healthy meals and 1-2 non-sugary snacks a day.

Basically cut out sugar, refined carbs and UPF. Eat mostly plants and lean protein, plus small amounts of healthy fats, dairy and complex carbs.

I don't know what your routine is like but I'm surprised you see no progress. How often do you work out a week? Do you push yourself weight wise? I'm afraid for your scale weight it's mainly diet, and that might also affect whether you can see results. Otherwise look into the frequency and effort. Also good idea to up your step count each day.

You're probably not seeing results because your muscles are covered by a layer of fat. People who we see as muscly have an extremely low body fat %. That is controlled mainly by diet.
If you are not moving up in weights or reps then your pt isn't working you hard enough. If you are moving up weights and/or reps than you are building muscle and that should be your motivation.

Thank you for comments. I had a long chat with my PT today and we concluded together the issue is that I don't feel fit enough, the excess weight is an issue and that I need to refocus on what I actually need for me to feel good rather than what I think I should be achieving.

She also did point out that I was consistently improving and she could see a change in my shape even if I couldn't!

So she is going to tweak my programme to make it a bit more holistic. Put some cardio targets in to improve my fitness (she's been trying to encourage me to do this), dial down some of the weight training for a little bit - still do some work with her in our weekly session but then look to consolidate that in my solo sessions rather than constantly push. She's promised me the morning yoga class is not full of scary fit girls so I'm going along to watch with a view to starting either that or a stretch class.

She also reminded me not to run before I can walk, treat myself with respect and that things take time. Basically I had my arse handed to me by someone half my age....