Dave's Not Here

Plateau Busting – What next?

by on Oct.23, 2009, under Dave's Rants, Workout Logs

As anyone I’m friends with, tweet with, or facebook acquaintances with knows, I’ve been a bit obsessed about losing weight lately.  I know plenty of you are annoyed by it.  But, honestly, I don’t care.  I’m working toward a goal, and, I’ve hit a brick . . . urm . . . plateau.

I then started going through the five stages of grief (Kübler-Ross is rolling over right now), where I considered things like Low-Carb shocks to the system, etc.  I have gotten many suggestions, from personal training to going raw.  I’ve gotten re-evaluated at my Gym (They want me to start personal training — go figure!), and I’ve read WAY too much.

The evaluation at the gym did point out many things that I need. They noted my horrible flexibility and recommended yoga 2x a week, instead of one. They also said that I needed to stop splitting upper and lower body, and focus on the whole body, especially my core. And, they mentioned eating raw. I’ve heard that many times this week.

To make my decision, I thought it would be best to list out all the possibilities, and then try to pick my best path.

Diet Suggestion Pros Cons
Go low carb, or other extreme diet to kick my metabolism in the short and stubbies. I’m fairly certain this will work, and is a short term “hack” Not good for me. Working out, I need carbs. Keytones are bad. Hard on kidneys. Hard to eat with family.
Eat Raw Very good for me. Makes me feel good. I love meat & veggies Hard to eat with family. Lunches will be tougher, since I’m used to a 4min nuked meal
Raise / Drop Caloric Intake Might work? Don’t know if it will work. Shot in the dark.
Workout Suggestion Pros Cons
Personal Training 2x/week Would kick my ass. I should be at goal weight in 3 months. Nice accountability. $632/month
Personal Training 1x/week Some accountability. Probably not as effective as 2x/week, still costs $316/month
Start doing running schedule I got from my full workup at gym Should raise VO2 max. Will burn calories. Is free. May not have time for this + strength. I want to be built, not just thin
Switch current strength workouts to core oriented Would eliminate the need for the personal training I have no idea how. W/O the personal trainer pushing, don’t know if I would push as hard

So — what next? I really don’t want to pay for personal training. I’m sure Tammy would agree — vehemently. I really like the idea of raw. And, I liked the workout today with the trainer. I’m leaning toward the following, but I don’t know how disruptive it would be to my family, and my routine:

  • Go raw. Drop Diet Cokes and suppliments other than my multivitamin & fish oil. Only eat from the outside of the grocery store. Basically Yogurt (only processed item), Meats, Vegetables, Fruits, and whole grains. The impact to the family would be that I would have to make dinner, and I’d have to fine a shortcut for lunch. I’m thinking tuna salad or chicken salad for lunches. I’ll use protein shakes and fruits for snacks and sometimes for breakfasts.
  • Start doing running routine. IIRC, it was a 30 minute / day plan, so, I could do that at the gym, ON TOP OF other, strength oriented routines.
  • Try to do yoga twice a week — this is tough. It’s only offered in the morning once a week. And on Saturday.
  • Add core to strength workout — not sure how to do this. And, I’d need it twice a week. This is going to require a lot more research on my part, to find routines (circuits).
  • Somehow keep heavy workouts as well. While it does not burn fat, it is important to me.

Ideas? Comments? Am I destined to fail?


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