Odd weight loss pattern - Personal Trainer Community - Forum

[kellieh]

Hello there! I'm new to PT and to the forum - well, new to posting, but have enjoyed the expertise shared here! So I'm just going to jump right in... I'm hoping I can get some feedback here.

Here are my client's stats:

54-year old female
Weight 205
Cardio: 60 minutes walking x 5 days per week (heart rate above 65%, monitored by heart rate monitor)
Strength: She is new to this, 2 times per week
Food: She eats well - veg/fruit/lean protein/good fats and tracks calories. She has been inching downward to 1200, but her target range is 1350-1500. It seems that when she hits the top of her target range she has better weight loss but is very much in the restriction mindset.
Body Fat and Circumference Measurements are taken monthly with good progress.

She is VERY consistent with exercise and diet. But she will go every other week with no weight loss, then she'll lose 3-4 pounds. Sometime it's 2 weeks no loss, but it has been consistently on and off like that for months. Is this just a plateau or could there be other factors at play here - hormonal perhaps? She's had a full hysterectomy and estrogen is her only HRT.

She is discouraged despite my reassurance that her average weight loss is good and her BF and measurements are going down. So I wanted some outside input.

Thanks for any insight!

[Dinah]

Hi there -- and congrats on your first post to the Fitness Think Tank! Glad it's been helpful to you in the past.

Hoping that more people will jump in to help you try and identify some of the barriers to increased weight loss, but I'll go ahead and give my two cents.

First off, I definitely think that being in the menopausal phase of her life has something to do with her difficulties with weight loss. Her metabolism is slowing and she's losing muscle mass.

It's not clear from your original posting how long she's been doing the 60 minutes / 5 days per week aerobic activity or strength training. If she's been in this routine for the last several months, it could be a plateau issue. It might be time to change up the routine and start incorporating interval or circuit training on the days that you actually work with her. Without knowing what type of strength training you're having her do, I would make sure that it's challenging enough that you're fatiguing her muscles and properly progressing with incremental weight (load) increases. IMO, I think that focusing on her strength training program will be key because of the loss of muscle mass. One option you can consider is throwing in a bunch of compound exercises that work different muscle groups at the same time while elevating the heart rate. One of my clients always says it's like getting a two-for-one!

As far as her eating is concerned, it sounds like her body needs the additional calories (vs the restriction) to literally feed itself the proper nutritional balance and see a healthy weight loss.

The last thing I'll offer is a bit of a reality check: you say she is VERY consistent with diet and exercise but the weight loss is inconsistent from month to month. Unless there is something medically wrong, it usually comes down to the good 'ol "calorie in/calorie out" equation. Since you're not with your client 24 hours a day, you can't be too sure she's not inflating her efforts when she's not with you. Not to say she's intentionally lying, but she may be "coloring the truth" without even thinking about it. Perhaps she doesn't want to let you down and this is her mechanism for doing that. You may have to have a frank conversation with her about it at some point. Unless she is completely honest with herself and you -- she won't see the results she's looking for.

I hope this helps and good luck with your client. Let us know how it goes!


Dinah

[kellieh]

Dinah,

Thanks so much for your insight. You've raised many great points. I did recently put her on intervals. For strength, she could certainly benefit from more intense training and I'll look at that with her. This week was a good week. I think dehydration was also a factor. I will let you know how we progress!

Thanks again!

[bowen]

Important thing is to maintain your weight on ideal body.
odd weight lose patren does not work properly and right direction.
so chose plan fitness exercise.

[Baird]

I am totally agree with you dear......