Ive been currently losing weight for the past 4 months, about 50lbs in 4 months. My routine is going to the gym, cardio and eating less. I know im doing all the right stuff, but i currently hit a plateau where i just dont think i can knock it. I changed up my cardio a bit, doing 15min tread and 45min bike sessions everyday. I dont know what to do... The weight just wont come off anymore in any kind of consistency. I dont know how to eat any better then i already am since i am going to school 3 nights a week and work those same days. I am eating a lot of chicken, turkey breast sandwiches from subway (on wheat), i have eggs in the morning with protein shake/milk in my 1cup cereal. The trainer i have told me to stop eating carbs at night, but i dont know how to do that.. everything i eat seems to have some carbs associated with it. I dont think i can only eat chicken for dinner and still eat the same amount of calories to keep my intake at a good level. Any suggestions on a diet that wont seem like a diet? I dont wanna do any kind of atkins because i dont wanna be on a diet that will make me want to quit. I need help... im getting very aggravated...

yep, need specific info on you, and your daily diet, including what time of day, portion sizes, etc.

But I think I can help.

1. Don't eat anything past 6 PM
2. Drink alot of water
3. Start doing yoga, that helps ALOT
4. Don't eat high sugar foods. Eat just enough for the day.
5. Every thought about becoming a vegan? Studies have shown that the the vast majority of vegans have a normal BMI, low body fat percentages and live longer lives than non-vegans. At the same time they do this and get all the nutrients they need from nuts, plants and soy products.

That's all I can spit out for now. Knowing your current height, weight, goal, and diet plan would help alot though.

Please explain why she should not eat after 6 PM.

Yes, why not eat after 6? How will yoga help ALOT? And also, the vast majority of people who are not vegans do not know how to eat right, eating McD's all day. Eating the right foods will change everything, on the other hand.

Well, im 5'7 and weigh somewhere between 188 and 190, ive been on a plateau for 3 weeks now so the weight isnt coming off. Right now my trainer wants me on a pretty specific diet of mainly protein for muscle gain. I am going to the gym 3x a week, lifting medium weight. I started doing cardio 5-7 days a week, i do treadmill first for 15mins, mainly i warm up for a couple mins then run at 5mph for as long as i can.. then slow it down for a couple.. and go at 5mph for another portion (3mins usually) until 15mins is up. Then i get on the bike for 45mins at a 4 or 5 resistnce.

As for my diet.. since i goto work all day and school at nights 3 days of the week its kinda tough to eat really healthy, but i do the best with what i have available.

Breakfast (same every day) (around 9-10am)
3 egg whites - 1 yolk
1 cup of corn flakes
milk with protein powder mixed in (in cereal)

Lunch - (around 12-1pm) (usually depends if im at work or not)
couple options...
subway turkey sub on wheat - lettuce tomato and vinegar
Chicken Kitchen - grilled chicken breast over yellow rice with lettuce/tomato
or a sandwich from home - turkey or tuna on wheat

Dinner (if at school around 6-6:30pm) (if at home maybe a lil later)
either the subway or chicken kitchen (never twice in a day though)
If at home, depends on the night, usually some kind of grilled chicken or fish
salad with low cal low fat dressing.. (the new spray bottle stuff)
Sweet potato
Dinners usually vary, but never anything to bad (no fried stuff, no cheeses... etc)

As for snacks...
I try to eat every 3hrs or as close to it as i can,

only snacks ive been eating are beef jerky for the protein or
apple sauce or pineapples for fruit


So, thats pretty much my routine... not sure if im doin somethin wrong or not, but its getting pretty frustrating not losing the weight when ive dropped 50lbs in 4 months.. i was hoping it would keep going since i need to drop about 30more. any suggestions will be greatly appreciated...

Your trainer is a retard if that is what he said. I would stop wasting your money. First and foremost.... if you are eating a calorie deficit diet, there is not going to be in a muscle gain! Fat loss is mostly a function of energy balance. Resistance training is important while dieting down with a calorie deficit diet because it aids in muslce retention. Muscle is a metabolically active tissue, and with that said, it is obvious that you don't want to lose a lot of it. Any time you restrict calories you are going to lose fat and muscle. The goal is to make most of the loss fat and minimize the fat loss.

I did not have time to analyze your diet at the moment.... but it sounds like your calories are too low and that caused the plateau. I will come back to you and analyze it unless someone beats me to it.

And stop doing so much freaking cardio. Steady state cardio for hours on end is great if you are training to be a marathon runner. But if your priority is fat loss right now.... work out your nutrition since that is the primary variable, do a few sessions of HIIT each week, and lift heavy compound movements. What are you doing in the weight room?

For my work outs...

I can only go 3 days a week since im in school the other 3 days and i have 1 day of nothing (cardio only) my trainer likes to jump around but ill list the possible machines/exercises we do...

Day 1 - upper body - bicep curls, triceps, pullups, dips, chest press, pushups, shoulder fly's,seated rows, lat pull downs... (he likes to jump between these, we usually do 6 exercises a session)

Day 2 - lower body - leg extensions, squats, incline squats, outer thigh machine, laying hamstring, lunges... (same as upper body, we usually jump around and do about 6 per session)

Day 3 - repeat day 1

I am doing medium weight for ~15 reps per exercise 3 sets, sometimes more depends. He likes to throw in muscle endurance training so for instance, after a chest machine set 1 he will have me do 15 pushups.. then set 2 chest.. another 15 pushups... etc He also has me on a routine for abs everyday (ill admit i havent done them everyday) its 3 different crunches (no resistance) 15 of each.. i jumped it to 20 each so i could feel it more. Ive started doing them daily, but need to wait to see results.

Dude, how much are you paying for this trainer? He is God awful. Everything he is teaching you is incorrect.

what is the correct way then? when i started i had never been working out before... so what he tells me i just go along with, im looking to lose weight and get lean muscle to help burn fat... please help

People tend to be less physical as nightfall comes in. Eating and not doing anything to burn those calories will force those calories to be stored as fat. Perhaps 6PM is to early?

It really doesn't matter when you eat. What matters is how active you are when you eat. I was just going by the assumption that post-6pm is when most people end their day. Perhaps 6pm is too early? What's important is that you not eat if you're not going to do anything to get rid of the calories. See what I'm saying.

Yoga does help your figure alot. I've seen it do wonders.

If you are eating 5 pieces of bread before you sleep, then yes, that would probably not be a good decision, because most will turn to fat. Yet having some slow digesting protein in you, such as cottage cheese, will allow your body to not go through catabolism as you sleep and help the recovery of muscle tissue.

As far as your diet and workout routine goes, you need to be getting in 5-6 meals a day, bro. Be sure that you are getting in more protein per pound of bodyweight throughout the day, with a moderate amount of good fats and carbs.

I would suggest a full-body routine, this allows your muscles to be worked 3 times a week to ensure that they are always getting hit and growing. Something like the T-Nation Full-Body Workout would suit you just fine.

Just because his methods don't go hand in hand with yours, doesn't make him retarded.

Oh God, I have tried to remain civil with you. I suggest you do some research before handing out any more advice. You are one of those trainers. I am sure anyone who knows the anything will back me up on this. You are one of those trainers... like the trainer in this post.

I am all for different techniques for improving body composition and meeting fitness goals. However, that being said, there are some physiological rules and variables that remain constant (outside of disease and metabolic deficiencies) that remain constant for everyone.