No Change after 30 days

[Tanith Lee]

I have followed the ED for 30 days and lost 1-2lbs. I feel really bloated all the time, too much veg? I love the clean diet and i do not get any bad cravings anymore. I am a fitness instructor who teaches an average 12 -15 classes per week (weights, spin and aero). I have gained body fat over the last year and want to get back to my 'fighting weight'. I weigh 67kg (10.7 st), 28% body fat and 172cm tall (5'8"). I am disappointed with the results as i was hoping to lose 5-6 lbs. I do not have a huge amount to lose so i expected the loss to be slow moving. I am still doing the ED, too scared to add any foods back in!!
Does anyone have any suggestions? I guess the answer is less food more exercise!!
thanks

[Paula]

Hi Tanith

I am glad to see I am not the only one who is disappointed with the results from ED i thought I was doing something wrong. Like you I wanted to lose 5-6lbs I am weighing in at 61kg and 25% body fat (5ft 4") tall. I also was expecting to see slow results but I lost a couple of pounds in the first few days but now at day 21 i am the same weight as i was at day one. I know how you are feeling its really very disappointing. I even bought Dax cookbook to make sure I was doing everything correctly but It hasn't worked for me.

Sorry to hear your hard work hasn't paid off either!!

Paula

[birigik]

Spinning and Aerobics are proven to make ideal body composition difficult for women. I know it's hard to do anything about this if you are an instructor (i have this problem too), but bear it in mind, as it can sabotage your attempts at fat loss, and calorie-cutting with all that endurance work can get you into further trouble.
In your situation I think using rotation methods like carb cycling and playing around with different ratios of protein/carbs can be the answer.
Check this article where the disatrous effects of Spinning on a woman's body composition are also discussed rather humorously:
http://www.figureathlete.com/free_online_article/figure_competition...
I am also an instructor with 15 years working experience. I've never seen a female Spinning teacher with a hot body :( If you must, then RPM is much better since it uses better intervals, but if you're teaching then you can't control the intervals anyway.

[gavin smith]

Hi Tanith

Very sorry to hear your hard work hasn't yet yielded the results you're looking for, but glad to hear that you haven't given up and also that your cravings are under control which is a major positive in its self.

You mention feeling bloated a lot of the time and that you think it may be due to too much veg. You can experiment through making adjustments to your ratios of fat, protein and starchy, non starch carbs. Start with reducing carbs slightly and see how that goes, any adjustment that leads to a decrease in bloating and an increase in energy is a positive step. Through this process you can customize your diet to find what's right for you.

More/ harder exercise may not be the answer either as you are doing 12-15 classes per week, I assume that all of these classes are an hour or more and all done at a high intensity. So much high intensity long duration work may be pushing your body into an over trained state which could be a big part of the reason your body is reluctant to part with those 5-6lbs of fat you're trying to lose.

Although I love exercise and highly recommend it, too much at too high an intensity puts a lot of stress on the body, and the body reacts to stress as it does to starvation, by decreasing fat burning hormones and enzymes whilst increasing fat storing hormones and enzymes. Fat is the bodies most precious nutrient and the body will often cling to it in times of stress as a survival mechanism.

If teaching fewer classes isn't an option (we've all got to make a living) then you can off set the stress on your body by doing relaxation and breathing exercises partaking in gentle yoga or tai chi classes and looking for ways to reduce stress in other areas of your life and most importantly make sure your're getting to bed at a good time (ideally by 10:30) and getting good quality sleep. Rest and recovery is a vital part of any programme and could well be what's missing from your own

I'm sure Dax will give his input on this very soon also.

Yours in good health

Gavin

Gavin is a Level 3 coach at Dax Moy Personal Training Studios,
Potters Bar, where he works with clients to achieve rapid fitness results.

To find out more or to contact Gavin with questions related to
this post, email [e-mail] or call 01707 661 888

[Colin Bartlett]

I did the ED twice, 1st time lost weight steadily, the 2nd time, not so fast. Weight loss was negligible, but body shape was. (chest became larger, so its now 43 inches waist still 42).

The only difference I can positively say is water I consumed. In the 1st it was as written in ED, (4.2 litres a day), the 2nd time I found it difficult to drink that much, maybe nearer to 3 litres).

[birigik]

Gavin, could I for once and for all get some clarification if organic crackers and such like are allowed on the ED/ if the ingredients are just rice or quinoa and salt. I'd think they are, but some other forum member suggested that eating them was not following the ED strict enough. However since grains are allowed, even things in packages like rice milk and rye bread, I have to assume it's OK. Also, I've totally cut out sunflower oil for years but the rice milk here has a tiny amount of COLD PRESSED sunflower oil. I wonder if that is OK? After all, it's the refining process we are worrying about and my omega 6-9 balance is perfect (had it checked).

gavin smith said:

Hi Tanith

Very sorry to hear your hard work hasn't yet yielded the results you're looking for, but glad to hear that you haven't given up and also that your cravings are under control which is a major positive in its self.

You mention feeling bloated a lot of the time and that you think it may be due to too much veg. You can experiment through making adjustments to your ratios of fat, protein and starchy, non starch carbs. Start with reducing carbs slightly and see how that goes, any adjustment that leads to a decrease in bloating and an increase in energy is a positive step. Through this process you can customize your diet to find what's right for you.

More/ harder exercise may not be the answer either as you are doing 12-15 classes per week, I assume that all of these classes are an hour or more and all done at a high intensity. So much high intensity long duration work may be pushing your body into an over trained state which could be a big part of the reason your body is reluctant to part with those 5-6lbs of fat you're trying to lose.

Although I love exercise and highly recommend it, too much at too high an intensity puts a lot of stress on the body, and the body reacts to stress as it does to starvation, by decreasing fat burning hormones and enzymes whilst increasing fat storing hormones and enzymes. Fat is the bodies most precious nutrient and the body will often cling to it in times of stress as a survival mechanism.

If teaching fewer classes isn't an option (we've all got to make a living) then you can off set the stress on your body by doing relaxation and breathing exercises partaking in gentle yoga or tai chi classes and looking for ways to reduce stress in other areas of your life and most importantly make sure your're getting to bed at a good time (ideally by 10:30) and getting good quality sleep. Rest and recovery is a vital part of any programme and could well be what's missing from your own

I'm sure Dax will give his input on this very soon also.

Yours in good health

Gavin

Gavin is a Level 3 coach at Dax Moy Personal Training Studios,
Potters Bar, where he works with clients to achieve rapid fitness results.

To find out more or to contact Gavin with questions related to
this post, email [e-mail] or call 01707 661 888

[Colin Bartlett]

Only thing I had to look for is what 'salt' was used. I use only rock salt or prefer Sea Salt crystals, (grind my own salt and pepper).

You have to watch for processed salts in food I found. High levels in some cases.

[Tanith Lee]

thanks for this. Food for thought...

Where can i find out more about carb cycling? I think i need to give my training a boost. My body has become accustomed to all the cardio I do. I need to start lifting heavy weights again. I have also realised that it's not very often my body has 24hrs to rest. It's not easy getting the balance right eh?

[Austin Lawrence]

Tanith Lee said:

thanks for this. Food for thought...

Where can i find out more about carb cycling? I think i need to give my training a boost. My body has become accustomed to all the cardio I do. I need to start lifting heavy weights again. I have also realised that it's not very often my body has 24hrs to rest. It's not easy getting the balance right eh?

You don't need over complicate your carb cycling like bodybuilders and figure competitors, remember they're trying top get ridiculously lean ie 3% bodyfat just for the day of the show/competition.

Eat very low carb (only vegetables), protein and fat for 3 days. Then 1 day where you consume 'clean' carbs freely ie quinoa, brown rice, rye etc
Then repeat-simple : )

Austin

[birigik]

Thanks for the tip! You are quite right. If it says Sea Salt I guess it's OK?

Colin Bartlett said:

Only thing I had to look for is what 'salt' was used. I use only rock salt or prefer Sea Salt crystals, (grind my own salt and pepper).

You have to watch for processed salts in food I found. High levels in some cases.

[birigik]

T-Nation.com has many articles about this. But watch out, teaching lots of aerobics classes on low carbs will set you up for Adrenal Fatigue, it happened to me. Eat less carbs on the days you don't train.
It is really hard with your job. I think getting recovery days is esential (though I don't follow my own advice either!). The problem is that people who don't have our job often don't realise that our requirements are different than of a normal person. A normal diet doesn't work for us since our bodies are so accustomed to continuous activity without periodisation. When my trainer took on the challenge to get me to 15% bodyfat from around 19% and put me on The Velocity Diet (with heavy stimulants and extra training outside my 20 classes per week) I hardly lost any fat but I stopped sleeping, my periods stopped and I felt like I was dying. This is why I came to the Elimination Diet eventually, to try to reset my system. I'm also trying to find the answer to how such an active woman can lose bodyfat healthfully. I think we need to realise how extremely adaptative women are, and how prone to plateauing, and to really mix things up as much as possible. If you get any answers let me know!

Tanith Lee said:

thanks for this. Food for thought...

Where can i find out more about carb cycling? I think i need to give my training a boost. My body has become accustomed to all the cardio I do. I need to start lifting heavy weights again. I have also realised that it's not very often my body has 24hrs to rest. It's not easy getting the balance right eh?

[Dax Moy]

Hey Tanith (and paula)

Sorry to hear you guys haven't achieved what you'd hoped to.

I think there are many factors that could be at play here but most noticeably, you're definitely doing too much cardio based work. Unfortunately, this is your job and so, unless you quit, it's unlikely to change.

So, look here's what I'd do if you were a client of mine.

1. Make sure that you're following the ED to a 'T'. Many people think they are but aren't aware of banned foods that are hidden in may foodstuffs.

If you're sure that you're ok on that front...

2. Cut back on your carb intake. Try my wave diet protocol where you reduce/remove all carbs except green cruciferous veg for 3 days whilst eating freely from fats and proteins. On the 4th day, eat freely from starches (no sugar!) and then return to 3 days low carb.

This is a great and powerful plateau buster when combined with ED.

3. Sleep! You are undoubtedly overtrained if you're doing 12-15 hours a week of cardio. Your cortisol levels must be through the roof!

Cortisol will command your body to hold fat, as you know.

If you can't or won't cut back your classes then you MUST get to bed by 10pm at least 4-5 nights a week otherwise you'll not be able to counter the cortisol.

3. Consume more fat - If you're doing all those classes and not consuming enough fat esp. fish oils then you're asking fro adrenal fatigue... which can make you fatter : )


Hope this helps!

Dax

[birigik]

Great and to the point! I will try it and let you know! Hard to sleep when your last class ends at 9pm and your first one starts at 7am, but I'm really going to give this a try!

Dax Moy said:

Hey Tanith (and paula)

Sorry to hear you guys haven't achieved what you'd hoped to.

I think there are many factors that could be at play here but most noticeably, you're definitely doing too much cardio based work. Unfortunately, this is your job and so, unless you quit, it's unlikely to change.

So, look here's what I'd do if you were a client of mine.

1. Make sure that you're following the ED to a 'T'. Many people think they are but aren't aware of banned foods that are hidden in may foodstuffs.

If you're sure that you're ok on that front...

2. Cut back on your carb intake. Try my wave diet protocol where you reduce/remove all carbs except green cruciferous veg for 3 days whilst eating freely from fats and proteins. On the 4th day, eat freely from starches (no sugar!) and then return to 3 days low carb.

This is a great and powerful plateau buster when combined with ED.

3. Sleep! You are undoubtedly overtrained if you're doing 12-15 hours a week of cardio. Your cortisol levels must be through the roof!

Cortisol will command your body to hold fat, as you know.

If you can't or won't cut back your classes then you MUST get to bed by 10pm at least 4-5 nights a week otherwise you'll not be able to counter the cortisol.

3. Consume more fat - If you're doing all those classes and not consuming enough fat esp. fish oils then you're asking fro adrenal fatigue... which can make you fatter : )


Hope this helps!

Dax