Losing that last 10 pounds

[sooner_ed]

Hello everyone. I'm new to this site. I've been researching trying to find some answers to my questions but it seems everywhere I look, there's a different answer. So far this year, I've lost 60 pounds. I would like to lose another 10-15 but it refuses to come off. Since March 1st, I have lifted weights in the morning and ran in the evenings. I'm trying to figure out if I need to eat something before my weightlifting and/or running. I have to get up very early in the morning to lift before I go to work. I've heard some people say they get up EARLY and eat, then go back to bed before working out to give them that hour between eating and working out. Is it ok to lift in a fasted state? I've cut back the amount of weights I was using and focusing more on cardio in an attempt to lose the last 10 pounds. Since I both run and lift, when is the best time? Lift in the mornings or evenings? Run in the mornings or evenings? Anyone have any suggestions? I would appreciate anyone's input.

[hlcn8]

switch things up and run in the morning if you can. personally it works best for me, though i've heard both arguments go both ways. but in theory it'll force your body to burn fat because your muscles will be depleted of glycogen from your night-time fasting. other than that I can't say much, nor i'm guessing can others, without knowing your stats, current diet etc...
btw, congrats on losing 60 pounds, that's an accomplishment and by no means should you be discouraged by the last 10 being stubborn. there are some smart mofo's on here who'll give you the advice you need once they get a little more information.

[sooner_ed]

Thanks for the input. I stand 5'6". I started out at 221 and am down to the 160 range. I was diagnosed with type II diabetes back in January so I'm following a diabetes diet if you will. I just eat the right things now. Lean meat, baked potatoes, beans, greens...replaced salt with "no salt" salt alternative, butter with no fat spray and fat free margarine, sugar with splenda, and vegetable oil with olive oil. Eat a lot of oatmeal, cheerios...and now use soy milk. I'm dying not being able to get this last 10 off!!!

[hlcn8]

damn... the diabetic thing has thrown me off something fierce, diet wise i can honestly say I have no idea what would be safe to recommend to you with this new information, though it sounds as though you're doing everything correctly anyways. I would find a licensed nutritionist for advice on that unless someone else here has some experience with that. as far as stable blood sugar levels go, eating more frequent smaller meals throughout the day may help as well as increase your metabolism.
exercise wise, try out the cardio in the morning, some people swear by that, but I would take something sugary w/ you and watch the blood glucose levels. additionally some interval training might be beneficial, alternating periods of extreme intensity with short periods of rest in between. some studies have shown this is more effective in burning fat, but really anything to increase the intensity may help. What kind of rep range for weights are you using? The cardio might burn more calories now, but burn away muscle as well. Try higher reps and ensure you're using compound movements, i.e. squats, dead-lifts, and bench presses. Regardless, the last 10 pounds are the slowest, it's like that last ten minutes of school when you're a kid and the clock hand can't move any slower without stopping.
anyone else wanna weight in and/or call my advice retarded?

[sooner_ed]

The interval training sounds like a good idea. In an effort to lose this last 10, I have cut back on lifting. I was doing two sets of eight with moderate weights. Because I have added more cardio, I am now doing one set of ten 7-second reps with lighter weights. I'm following a Frank Zane workout so I lift six days a week. I think I need to rethink my eating. Because I've been doing a 10K run training program in the evenings, I have tried to eat things that I thought I should after my running, such as oatmeal. I think I need to be very careful what I eat after I run in the evenings. Just make that meal lean meat and a low carb vegetable. When I get a sweet tooth, I will after sugar-free jello after dinner. Think that hurts too much? I wouldn't think so since it's just water pretty much.

[hlcn8]

after a run your body needs that sugar though to replace the depleted glycogen from your muscles. while the cardio helps you lose weight right now, the more muscle mass you have the higher your resting metabolic rate is, and you'll burn more calories on a regular basis, even sleeping. if you don't replace the energy stores in your body it may very well result in catabolism. i wouldn't worry about sugar free jello in the least, are you incorporating a cheat day into your meal plan? that actually aids in preventing your metabolism from slowing down too much during dieting. you can't go wrong with oatmeal bro, i personally hate the stuff but it's a great complex carb. let us know how things turn out!

[sooner_ed]

Ok, I'm going to show my ignorance here. I've never been truly serious about working about before so there are some terms I don't understand. What is catabolism and what are the negative effects?

[hlcn8]

catabolism is when your body breaks down its own muscle as fuel for its activities. muscle in and of itself requires calories to maintain, so if you add 10 pounds of muscle, that's more calories in a day you will burn. inversely, if you lose ten pounds of muscle your metabolism will slow down, and fat loss will be harder to maintain. to figure out how many calories you need in any given day use the search button and type in "BMR" without the quotation marks, you want your resting metabolic rate which depends on age, level of activity, weight etc...