Hi!! New to this group!!

Lasmartchika

Hi everybody! After using MFP for 2 months, even tho I did lose 15 lbs, I always felt hungry following its recommendation of 1240 calories. (I did choose 1lb/week) I think it also had to do with not truly understanding the whole net calories thing, eating them back... Last week I got tired and just ate like I normally did and no exercise.

Then I started trying understand this whole BMR, TDEE stuff and I found this group and all the videos and info here. I think I understand what my numbers are.

I'm 35, 5ft 3in, 160lbs, I do about 4 hrs of cardio a week.

Using Scooby I got a TDEE - 20% of 1830 calories... am I supposed to eat all those calories even on days I don't exercise or do I just make sure I eat at my BMR of 1476? And how long will it take to start seeing some results? Like how many pounds will I be losing a week? Boy I hope this EMWL really works...

mymodernbabylon

Hi! Yup, eat those calories throughout the week as the exercise/activity calories are spread throughout the week.

Do note that its normally suggested to eat TDEE-15% rather than 20% so as to preserve your muscle as much as possible. That would be about 1945 calories per day & a possible .7lb per week loss which is a good loss. Or, you could do between the two of them and eat between 1880-1900 calories.

This isn't about fast weight loss but slow and steady - it's taken me since November to lose 20 lbs but I also have kept a lot of muscle. Are you weight lifting? That will help too!

I'm currently trying to find my true TDEE - a lot of time it's higher than we think. And I've even begun to lose weight eating more (around 2100 right now)...it's a great process to be able to eat, feel healthy & do the workouts well!

Lasmartchika

I have never lifted weights, I wouldn't even know where start, what to do. I don't have a gym membership and I don't own weights. I do Zumba videos from YouTube, some workouts do use very light weights and I use filled up water bottles as my weights. Lol! :blushing:

Jennbecca33

^^^^Great advice already given. One thing I might add is that the activity level that you choose on Scooby should also include your daily activity - for example, are you up and walking around a lot or do you work a sedentary job? So try to best take into consideration your daily activity as well when choosing the activity level. With 4 hours of cardio alone, you are already in the 3-5 hour moderate level, but unless you are completely sedentary otherwise, you would more than likely need to choose a higher activity level. It's so important to choose the correct activity level, or we are still under eating by quite a bit. And since you don't have too much weight to lose, a smaller deficit will work to your advantage, so I would stick with 15% deficit, rather than 20%. Too large of a deficit really does work against fat loss.

Also, 4 hours of cardio is quite a bit of cardio. Do you strength train at all? If not and you are interested in strength training, it would be great for you to incorporate some of that into your workout in place of some of the cardio you are doing. Sometimes easing up on some of the cardio can have a positive effect as well because too much cardio can really stress the body, especially if you're not eating enough to support the activity. Hope this helps!

Lasmartchika

What kind of strength training do you recommend for someone like me that has never done that? I have no arm strength... I say this cuz I can't do a pull up or a pushup.

And the 4 hrs isn't too much, it's usually about an average of 45-50 minutes of Zumba per day M-F only...

heybales

Well, that comment was in regards to 4 hrs of cardio with no strength training. Cardio does nothing to help retain muscle mass in the face of a diet. Well, unless it's like a hard workout for specific muscles, but the ones least used will be gone first.
And after a while doing most cardio, there is no need for more strength, but more endurance to do it longer or slightly harder.
Like eventually with Zumba, swinging your arms and legs to the beat of the music - how fast can that beat get and you still accomplish the moves? Eventually it'll be very easy for you, the level of muscle needed to do the moves is strong enough. With a bad enough diet, some muscle could disappear and it would never effect your workout.

Basically any resistance training can help retain, especially with a reasonable deficit.
But starting out, especially if weak already, the progressive full body compound move lifting has the rare opportunity to actually build some muscle mass as you lose fat. Now, only talking 1 lb gain in 6-8 weeks if all done correctly, but that's actually better then you would get later on attempting it.

Starting out there are many body weight exercises that you may be able to do in the rep range of 8-15 for 2-5 sets and it'll be like weight lifting for awhile.

With access to gym even more options, even a range of dumbbells at home could last a long time.

mymodernbabylon

I started with a bodyweight workout on Nerdfitness which was tough.
http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2009/12/09/beginner-body-weight-workout-burn-fat-build-muscle/

If you are looking for a weight lifting programme, Starting Strength and Stronglifts are two that people seem to like (I do Stronglifts as it's free & has an app). You can also head to the Bodybuilding.com site: http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/beginner_weight_training.htm.

I have to say that I've grown to love weight training and it shows so much in my body composition - it's become tighter and it's helped me become better at my cardio of choice, field hockey.

Good luck!

Jennbecca33

I work out from my basement and when I first started weight training, I used DVD's that only needed barbells and I could just increase barbell weight as I needed. I used Kelly Coffey-Meyer DVD's - 30 Minutes to Fitness: Weights and 30 Minutes to Fitness: Muscle Up. They were great for beginner and I just added weight as I progressed. I still use them.

You can get both on her website at www.coffeyfit.com

Lasmartchika

All right!! Thanks for all the suggestions!! :bigsmile:

Jennbecca33

Oh wow...I just caught that. I meant to say dumbbells, not barbells - in my last post. I started out with dumbbells of course.