The Fat Loss TroubleshootThis is your place to troubleshoot your fat loss problems from nutrition to training. This section is led by Leigh Peele, author of "The Fat Loss Troubleshoot," the ultimate fat loss manual. If your results have slowed or stalled this is the place to come for advice for all your fat loss needs.
I am starting the REPAIR program but think I only need to start at stage 3. I have taken two weeks off from working out but I've never eaten much below 1400 calories a day so I didn't see the reason in doing the lower calories. I was mostly B's on the metabolism test too. Any thoughts? I was planning on running the REPAIR then going into Metaburn to drop about 10 lbs. I'm 5'6" female, 38 yrs. old, and about 140 lbs and about 25% body fat. Looking to get more around 18-20%.
Are you sure that you actually need the REPAIR? REPAIR is designed for a specific reason, so if you don't meet those needs, then it might not be the best program for you, and it might be better to do one of the other programs (like OPT or OPT Remix). You might want to share a little more detail about why you were thinking of REPAIR.
That said, if you take REPAIR and then alter it to something different, then it's not REPAIR anymore and you can't predict as well what your outcome and/or reactions will be. Leigh has set up REPAIR the way that she has for a reason (to minimize gain and fluctuations while helping people get their calorie intake up to a more normal level and to help reset/repair metabolism). That's why the calories start so low. Many of the people doing REPAIR have a history of undereating.
Post a little more info, and I'm sure somebody (probably Leigh herself) will be able to give you some more specific answers.
__________________
"Do you choose to simply know the path, or do you choose to walk it?"
Your body keeps an accurate journal regardless of what you write down...
ok, so, I guess this is the way I am thinking. I started the P90X program over a year ago and lost some bodyfat and gained some muscle. Lost inches and the scale stayed the same. It's all good. Well, since then I have made zero progress. My weight, measurements, and bodyfat have all stayed the same. I started the P90X doubles program and ate anywhere from 1500-1800 cals a day. I think that was pretty low for the workout level and I think that's why I stalled. I've always dieted in a way. My biggest problem with my weight started after I quit smoking two years ago. So, I figured I need a little bit of a reset so I took the two weeks off of exercise and lowered my cals but didn't do any tracking but eyeballing tells me I was no more than 1400 usually. I took the metabolism quiz and I was mostly B's with a few C's and D's. So, I didn't see where 2 weeks of 1260 calories was going to help me. I thought I read somewhere that Leigh agreed if you were not a heavy dieter (ie. large deficit) that it was ok to skip that part. I don't limit carbs excessively either. I have all of Leigh's books and have read them all and feel like I did alot wrong in the last year. Mainly overtraining without breaks and real re-feeding. Soooo...that's why I wanted to do the REPAIR then drop a few pounds and get to real maintenance. I'm not sure I'd even know how to eat 2100 calories a day! But I'd love to try and not get fat!
ok, so, I guess this is the way I am thinking. I started the P90X program over a year ago and lost some bodyfat and gained some muscle. Lost inches and the scale stayed the same. It's all good. Well, since then I have made zero progress. My weight, measurements, and bodyfat have all stayed the same. I started the P90X doubles program and ate anywhere from 1500-1800 cals a day. I think that was pretty low for the workout level and I think that's why I stalled. I've always dieted in a way. My biggest problem with my weight started after I quit smoking two years ago. So, I figured I need a little bit of a reset so I took the two weeks off of exercise and lowered my cals but didn't do any tracking but eyeballing tells me I was no more than 1400 usually. I took the metabolism quiz and I was mostly B's with a few C's and D's. So, I didn't see where 2 weeks of 1260 calories was going to help me. I thought I read somewhere that Leigh agreed if you were not a heavy dieter (ie. large deficit) that it was ok to skip that part. I don't limit carbs excessively either. I have all of Leigh's books and have read them all and feel like I did alot wrong in the last year. Mainly overtraining without breaks and real re-feeding. Soooo...that's why I wanted to do the REPAIR then drop a few pounds and get to real maintenance. I'm not sure I'd even know how to eat 2100 calories a day! But I'd love to try and not get fat!
I think one of the reasons for the really low calories in the first weeks is to offset the 2100-2700 cal you'll eat in the last week or 2, so you don't gain scale weight. The weight drops fast enough once you start your deficit after you finish REPAIR.
I recommend doing a full 8 weeks. I learned a lot about myself that I didnt' expect to learn during that time. The more you do the program as it's written, the more you take your idiosyncracies out and allow for Leigh's program. The time will go fast enough.
Why not just extend whatever stage you're now in for an extra 2 weeks, so that you really do a full 8 weeks?
So you took 2 weeks of rest and lowered your calories, too? Have you tried resting and eating at maint. levels for a couple of weeks? That might be the reset that you need...
__________________
"Do you choose to simply know the path, or do you choose to walk it?"
Your body keeps an accurate journal regardless of what you write down...
ok, so, I guess this is the way I am thinking. I started the P90X program over a year ago and lost some bodyfat and gained some muscle. Lost inches and the scale stayed the same. It's all good. Well, since then I have made zero progress. My weight, measurements, and bodyfat have all stayed the same. I started the P90X doubles program and ate anywhere from 1500-1800 cals a day. I think that was pretty low for the workout level and I think that's why I stalled. I've always dieted in a way. My biggest problem with my weight started after I quit smoking two years ago. So, I figured I need a little bit of a reset so I took the two weeks off of exercise and lowered my cals but didn't do any tracking but eyeballing tells me I was no more than 1400 usually. I took the metabolism quiz and I was mostly B's with a few C's and D's. So, I didn't see where 2 weeks of 1260 calories was going to help me. I thought I read somewhere that Leigh agreed if you were not a heavy dieter (ie. large deficit) that it was ok to skip that part. I don't limit carbs excessively either. I have all of Leigh's books and have read them all and feel like I did alot wrong in the last year. Mainly overtraining without breaks and real re-feeding. Soooo...that's why I wanted to do the REPAIR then drop a few pounds and get to real maintenance. I'm not sure I'd even know how to eat 2100 calories a day! But I'd love to try and not get fat!
So us a favor and least in COMPLETE detail what you do in a day, what you eat, how you train, and basically your life story. I say this because at present I don't really have enough info to give a answer I feel confident with.
OK--I will tell you what I was doing since I have stopped that now and plan on using your programs from now on! I was doing P90X doubles which consisted of 45 min cardio--basically just aerobic type--on Mon, Wed, Fri. Coupled with that were lift programs on the same day that were the basic male type body part coupling (ie back/bis, chest/tris, legs). These lasted about 55 minutes from warm up to cool down. I usually tried to lift heavy enough to get 8-10 reps max because I thought I wanted size!! So, on M/W/F I worked out about 2 hours. I usually did the cardio in the am then the lift in the afternoon and didn't do a good job eating the right things before and after my workouts either. Tuesday was a Plyometrics day 55 mininutes, Thurs Yoga (the hard kind for 1-1/2 hours) and Sat kickboxing 55 minutes. I usually skipped the Yoga day ending up with two rest days a week. So, I did this for 12 weeks with a week break every 4 weeks that was just cardio and stretching. I tried to follow the diet program that came with the set. But, I didn't do the recovery drink until the very last few weeks so my calories ended up at 1500 usually with me stuffing crap in to try and get to 1800 some days. My rest periods never included a break from calorie control. I never ate more than 1800...OK..so now the diet part. The program starts with a low carb session for the first 4 weeks then moves to moderate carbs for the second 4 weeks, then high carbs for the last. I never got to the higher carbs. It's funny though because the first week I started the moderate carb, I felt like I looked great. But then I think I got carried away with the carbs and got soft again. So that is "then".. Now, it's a little different. I decided to take a break while reading your materials. So, I have basically done nothing for two weeks. I have watched my intake trying to keep around 1400 since I'm not working out. Now I'm trying to do your stage 2 with calories still around 1400 and ratios at your recommended levels etc. Have to say I really feel like those two weeks did something. I have not weighed or measured but I know my clothes are loser. I realize I'm not lifting so I don't have some of the water retention associated but maybe the break helped. Is this enough of the kind of detail you need?
I'm sure Leigh will step back in here, but I noticed that you said you took a week break every 4 weeks that was just cardio and stretching. Have you had a rest time that was just that--rest? Rest and maint. calories?
__________________
"Do you choose to simply know the path, or do you choose to walk it?"
Your body keeps an accurate journal regardless of what you write down...
Every once in a while I would skip 3,4 days-maybe a week in straight- of doing anything but I always "dieted". Like I said, I don't ever eat over 1800 calories and my maintenance with light activity is 1950. Right now I'm taking a true rest. Nothing but working and the normal lifestyle stuff. My eating has been controlled but I didn't start tracking again until this week. I ate pretty much the same the last two weeks, maybe a little more, and am barely hitting 1400 this week.
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