My girlfriend is a fitness instructor but can't lose weight

is she doing any strength training? Muscle is the key to increased metabolism so if she is doing all the cardio with no concern for her muscles she is actually slowing her metabolism.

Happy Training,

Coach Dan

Well, her classes include body combat and body attack which have strength training elements to them. I would suggest that her body has a good level of muscle in it (her back has excellent tone and definition) so I don't think it's that...

:?

Cheers James,

Cutting back on classes is difficult when its her livelihood, but she can certainly cut back on the extra running we've been doing as the 10k is Sunday.

I've read that actually increasing her caloric intake (as long as its the right type of foods etc), eating 5-6 small meals a day instead of 3 will also help.

I'm thinking if she combines this with some sort of resistance training and ensure she rests when she can, we might start to see some improvements in the not-to-distant?

Would you be able to explain 'catabolic state' to me?

I appreciate your time

Dave T :)

Catabolic basically means muscle breakdown, or the breaking down of lean tissue for energy consumption. Ensure protein intake is fairly high combined with some resistance work as mentioned above.

When I was managing my last corporate fitness center we only allowed our instructors to actively teach one class/day. They were alowed to instruct the other classes, but they were required to have one of their better students on the platform performing the moves. At first the instructors were a bit skeptical, but once we implemented the rule the people in the class loved haveing the instructor walking among them to give hands on teaching and correction.

Just something for her to think about...

Happy Training,

Coach Dan

I was fighting the same problem but seem to be making progress now. Was doing 16hrs + training per week but 14% body fat would not reduce. Some suggestions are:

With high levels of impact/strength training you will need high levels of protien in your diet. Eat within 30min of exercise.
Try and estimate your calorific expenditure and intake.
Don't expect immediate results - physiology changes take two weeks to kick in.
Include 2 or 3 aerobic effort sessions per week of a minimum of 30 minutes per session.
Eat enoegh Carbs to support your exercise regieme. These should be as natural as possible ie minimal refinement - no white bread.
Watch your hydration levels! Constant dehydration can have indirect dietry effects.

I agree adding muscle mass is a good method of reducing body fat.
She may need to ensure she has sufficent recovery time for her muscle to grow after resistance training if she is doing classes during the week.

How many resistance sessions and the recovery time will depend on her muscles. Some people acheive small gains quickly others acheive large gains requiring more recovery time.

I hope it goes well.

Brian

Thanks for your help everyone. One last thing. If I can summarise her weekly schedule and someone be able to tell me how that needs to change for maximum benefit I would be very grateful.

Mon - no training
Tues - 40 minute run 1pm (about 4 miles), Spin class as instructor 6-6:45pm
Wed - Body combat as instructor 7-8pm
Thurs - 1 hour run 7pm (about 6 miles)
Fri - Body combat as instructor 9:30-10-30am, Body attack as instructor 6-7pm
Sat - Spin as participant 9:30-10:15am
Sun - Body attack 11-12 noon.

Typical day of Eating

6:30am Cereal and cup of tea
10am Apple and 500ml of water
12:30 Baked beans on toast, nutri-grain bar, packet of crisps, 2 rich tea biscuits
4pm Bar of chocolate/sweets and 500ml of water
4:30pm or 9pm depending on evening acitvities jacket potato with tuna salad (but occasionally only a couple of bits of toast due to time constraints)
10pm Hot chocolate, 2 rich tea biscuits

Occasionally we will eat out or have an evening of drinking and once a week we will have a bottle of wine between us in the evening.

In addition to this she works 8-12 in retail, Mon-Thurs and has a 4 year old in school from 9-3pm Mon-Fri!

When she follows this routine, she can lose a couple of lbs in a week, but then from one day that is unhealthy, the weight immediately returns.

Ideally she would like to lose around 10lbs/decrease body fat percentage.

Having had a quick look at her daily eating habits, the first thing that strikes me is the lack of quality protein - especially due to the amount of activity she is doing.

Without wanting to go into too much detail - i see that as quite a significant factor. I would suggest having her metabolically typed to find out the correct macronutrient ratios that suit her and to help with any imbalances in the autonomic nervous system.

Cheers

James