My wife has a dilemna! She tries very hard to work-out and loose weight, but gets frustrated when the scales don't reflect much weight loss (2-3 pounds after 2-3 months). I, along with others recognize that she's tightened up and it appears that she's lost weight. (I know how the scale doesn't always tell the true picture).

Here are her stats:

5ft7 160-170 pounds

Here is her former training program:

3-4 times a week (treadmill)
2 times a week (dumbells)

Here is her diet:

5:30 am (protein shake/banana)
9:00 am (peanut butter crackers or protein/carb bar)
12:00 (Healthy Choice)
3:30 (protein /carb bar)
5:30 (dinner...chicken or chef salad, etc.)
9:00 (protein shake)

*Could you give us some advice? (her main goal is to loose weight) Does she need to get consultation from a professional in regards to her body type? or just visit our doctor for nutritional recommendations?

Please help...she's getting discouraged!

Thanks

I don't think your wife needs to get consultation from a doctor.

As you have said, the scale doesn't always tell the true picture. I would use a big mirror instead of the scale but if you recognize that she's tightened up, the reason for not losing so many pounds is the result of muscle gains. So you wife has probably lost much more in body fat but also gained some pounds of muscle. The result is somewhat less total weight loss but a much better appearance. This is good.

If your wife wants to get more toned up or lose some more bodyfat, I would perform more weight training, probably in a gym where more machines, dumbbells, and barbells would be available. Weight training 3 times a week in combination with cardio (treadmill, bike, steps, elliptical) could lead to even more results.

With regards to your wife's diet, I would eat more wholesome foods. I know that protein/carb bars are sometimes more convinient but I personally prefer using these products as supplements only or when they are the only possibility. Chicken, fish, lean beef, egg whites, low-fat cottage cheese are pretty good protein sources, and your wife could eat complex carbs (brown rice, oatmeal, vegetables, potato) instead of the bars. Some healthy fats (olive, flaxseed, fish) would also help. And of course a whey protein shake with dextrose tablets post-workout.

I agree 100%. Less bars, more veggies, more healthy fats. And she actually may not be eating enough which may be triggering a starvation response. Chack actual calories andmake sure she's getting at LEAST 1600 (up to ~2000 on particularly active days) a day in good, clean food. Less than that may be causing a hinderance to fat loss.

I've been doing 5 days of cardio (recumbent bike) and 3 days dumbell routine for the last 3 weeks and although I haven't seen any weight loss on the scale, I've been able to go down a size in my clothing so that's what I go by. I also agree with using a mirror, and if she hasn't done so already - taking pictures are a great way to see how her weight changes.

What kind of dumbell exercises would you recommend for my wife? Also, do you think HIIT would be good for her cardio?

*I know I will have a hard time convincing her that more (clean food) is better than less....

I do two different routines every other day to work out different parts of my body. My husband is the one who designed this for me and will be adding more exercises as I get stronger.

Workout 1 consists of: squats - 3 sets of 12, lunges - 3 sets of 12, calf raises - 2 sets of 20, dumbell press - 3 sets of 12, skull crushes - 3 sets of 12, kick back, 2 sets of 12 and triangle pushups. (I started with a 5 lb. weight then moved up to 10 lbs.)

Workout 2: Bench press - 3 sets of 12, dumbell rows - 3 sets of 12, reverse butterfly - 2 sets of 12, bicep curl - 3 sets of 12, good mornings - 2 sets of 12 and "regular ladies" pushups - 2 sets of 20. ( Sometimes I use a 20 lb. curl bar for my bench press.)

What kind of dumbell exercises would you recommend for my wife? Also, do you think HIIT would be good for her cardio?

*I know I will have a hard time convincing her that more (clean food) is better than less....

Almost every machine exercise can be performed with dumbbells. Maybe lying leg curl is very difficult to perform with dumbbells or there are some back exercises which are difficult to replace with dumbbells.

But incline/decline/flat bench press or flye, biceps curl, overheads with one/two arm(s), kickbacks, side/front lateral raise, one-arm rowing, squat, lunges, standing calves, etc. are good examples for dumbbell exercises.

Almost every machine exercise can be performed with dumbbells. Maybe lying leg curl is very difficult to perform with dumbbells or there are some back exercises which are difficult to replace with dumbbells.

But incline/decline/flat bench press or flye, biceps curl, overheads with one/two arm(s), kickbacks, side/front lateral raise, one-arm rowing, squat, lunges, standing calves, etc. are good examples for dumbbell exercises.


I'm so glad this question was asked and answered! I have been trying to add to what i can do with dumbbells at home and now i know what to start looking for. Maybe i can find some instructions on the net. Thanks

Big Neal, best of luck to your wife..can she get on the board and do some reading herself. Best thing i ever did was to start reseaching exactly what i needed to be doing and realisticly. I started simple by just eating more often, not skipping meals and eating health foods and it rolled from there.