In February I bought a book called <i>The Testosterone Advantage Plan</i> from <i>Men's Health</i> magazine and immediately jumped into the plan. It called for a diet broken down into one-third fat, one-third carb, and one-third protein (based on my body type and goals) and a weight-lifting routine. I started out like gangbusters, losing 35 pounds in five months and noticed significant improvements in strength. My weight dropped from 280 to 245 and I increased my maximum bench press by 50 pounds. I'm also able to do many more pushups than ever before.

Unfortunately I failed to measure myself before I started, so I have no idea what my body fat was/is or how many inches I've lost. I only know how many pounds I've lost. Regardless, I stopped losing weight in late June despite increasing the intensity of my workouts by adding some cardio to my lifting and maintaining my diet. I work out three times a week , 45 minutes at a time (I use a gym at work and workout during my lunch hour). I combine weight lifting and cardio by alternating between my lifts and a treadmill that's set on 4.6 MPH. I start by benching 175 pounds (1 set, 8 to 10 reps), then jumping on the treadmill for a minute. I go back to the bench and lift another set of 8 to 10, then back to the treadmill . I repeat this one more time, then move onto my next lift (bent over rows) and repeat. By the time my workout has ended I've alternated six different lifts with the treadmill for an intense 45 minute workout. After my workout I eat a turkey or tuna sandwich per the diet plan.

When I started the plan, I concentrated strictly on weight lifting and it worked like a charm. When I plateaued, I decided to introduce cardio into my workouts, thinking it would restoke my fat-burning furnace, but I haven't enjoyed any weight loss in close to six weeks. I've tried different lifts, alternating the order in which I lift, etc., but I'm stuck. I also started taking Creatine recently, but I don't know if that has anything to do with my sudden inability to drop weight.

If anyone has any suggestions I'm all ears.

That's quite the intense regime, seamhead. Have you taken any time off since February? You could be suffering from overtraining.

Another thought is that since you've increased your exercise have you also compensated with more calories, in particular more protein? It's possible you're not eating enough to sustain fat loss.

Nat

No, I haven't taken any time off. In fact, I went on vacation recently with my wife and took two 25 pound dumbbells with me in order to continue working out. I also considered reducing my caloric intake, but it sounds like you're recommending the opposite. How many calories should I be consuming (is there an easy way to calculate it) and how much of it should be proteins? Thanks for the great response.

Seam, I did a little search and pulled up some info on overtraining, you can read it here - from personal experience I can tell you that if you are indeed dealing with this then when you take some time off you should notice a drop in fat.

It's a good idea to take a week off from working out every 3 months or so. No cardio, no lifting. Let the body have a 'time-out' and then get back at it. You'll find your workouts more intense and that you're stronger after such a break. A couple of indicators that you have been overtraining include:

• raised resting heart rate
• lack of progress (including increases in stregth and endurance and stalls in body fat loss and lean muscle gains)
• loss of motivation

Calorie wise you should be consuming between 10-12x your current body weight a day in calories. This number will satisfy your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) and keep your body from thinking "diet" or "starvation" - for a while. Eventually it catches on, which is why a rest is a good idea. Dan has some good advice on calories in this post. Protein wise, the intensity of your workouts indicate you should aim for at least 1g of protein per lb of current body weight. High intensity, anaerobic exercise can be muscle wasting - keeping protein ratios up will help to counter this. There are a few more tips on how to preserve lean mass in this post.

All in all, some time off and ensuring adequate calories (and protein) should set you back on track. The notion that we need to cut calories to further lose fat is hard to break - but it's this very idea that makes people overweight. Think of your body as a machine; it needs to be fueled to function

HTH
Nat

Nat,

Well it sounds like I'm overtraining. I've been feeling more fatigued than normal lately and have been having a hell of a time getting a good night's sleep. I also feel as if my progress has slipped a little in the weight room and that my stamina isn't as good as it has been in the past. It looks like I need to take about a week off, double check my caloric intake and adjust my daily intake of protein to equal my weight and see if that helps.

Thanks for all your help!

You're welcome, Toots Rest up and let us know how things go!

Nat