My girlfriend has been trying all kinds of diets and workouts in the past few years but cant seem to lose anything. She has currently been doing insanity workout for about 45 days now and following weight watchers and has maybe lost one pound its crazy. Ive never seen anything like it. Meanwhile the past month ive been eating everything and lost 8 pounds and my strength has gone up a ton. Does anyone have any ideas?
Chances are she's not eating enough - that will stop progress for sure. Not only that, but "diets" are "quick fixes" and not anything sensible, able to be maintained. How about she starts following a LIFESTYLE nutrition plan - this is what diet is and should be, IMO, and too many people use the term "diet" incorrectly, giving it negative connotations - with the only thing she changes is the amount of calories consumed, depending on her goal at the time. If she's been on and off diets for the past few years, then chances are she's slowed her metabolism down, or done something that is detrimental to her body. What she has done is definitely not what I would have recommended, and IMO, if you want to do something, you should do it right from the start.
If she doesn't eat enough she won't make progress. Ensure she knows what her current Maintenance calories are, and for fat loss, consuming up to ~500 calories less than that most days (start out at ~200 calories less and go from there) - not all, because always being below Maintenance is not the best, IMO. There is an Estimating Energy Expenditure calculation
here that she can use to estimate her Maintenance - as with anything though, once she has a baseline to go from, adjust her nutrition on a weekly basis to ensure constant progress.
As far as weight loss - that itself is EASY, done simply by manipulating water intake, nutrition, and training; seriously, I can gain and lose 10-15 pounds in only a few days. Get her to STOP concentrating on scale weight since it is IRrelevant and have her focus on BODY COMPOSITION - it's far better to lose BODYFAT than just body mass. Also, just a note about your comments on her weight - if she's lost bodyfat, but gained lean mass over the past few years, her scale weight may not change at all, or little.
If she doesn't already have a trainer, then I recommend that she gets one who can and will individualize her nutrition and training specific for her for her goals and needs. If she's not willing to get a trainer, then I suggest that she starts researching and learning about correct nutrition and training for herself - there is plenty of accurate information out there on it.
One place I recommend she starts, regardless of whether or not she gets a trainer, is with downloading and reading
The 3 Keys to Fat Loss - it contains comprehensive advice and information on nutrition, supplementation (she only needs the basics - NOTHING else!), and training (includes a sample resistance training programmes) for effective and successful fat loss. If nothing else, have her follow the principles in this article, and she should see progress and results - if she doesn't, then she's not doing something right.
~Rosie~
