Gone too far...time for a change... need advice

capriqueen

I am a graduate student in my first year, and thanks to a combination of stress, a rather tumultuous 2014, and my inner foodie, I'm now pushing 27 BMI. But now I really want to lose this, more for my health than anything else, but also since graduation is in May and I want to look good in a dress.

Now I'm more concerned about body fat percentage than weight... I'm at 34.5% body fat right now and I want to get down to 24-25% by May. Is that an ambitious goal? Also, what would be a good carbs:protein:fat? I'm 5'6.5 and 167 pounds, and I plan on working out for an hour for 5 days a week, and do 2-3 days of strength training per week.

I'm so concerned about the macros because I once visited one of those weight loss clinics where they put me on a "diet". Basically I was supposed to eat less than 60g of carbs per day. I did this for 3 weeks and I got a little smaller, but I hated my diet. I couldn't eat anything, and I always knew this diet would be a recipe for disaster, but it was my desperation for quick results. Now I want to take a more rational approach so I don't have to lose weight for the rest of my life.

Pointers appreciated!!!!!

Liftng4Lis

All that is necessary for weight loss, is a caloric deficit. Start there and work your way into macros later. You can eat anything, you're just doing this in moderation. Good luck.

Kalikel

See your doctor, have him oversee your weight loss journey.

Eat healthy: http://cdn1.sph.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2013/04/HEPApr2013.jpg

Do whatever exercise you enjoy and lift some weights. Eat back half of the extra calories MFP adds when you log your exercise.

dbmata

Take it slow. Keep in mind that you get overfat over a long period of time. It may take a similar if not longer period to correct it.

Tim_Simons

If you are really determined to lose weight, then eat healthy, and have a regular exercise. If you want to see best results, then follow what the instructor tells you. Good luck!

capriqueen

Thanks all,.... but what's a good estimate for carbs? Also, does carb-cycling help as effectively as it is made out to be?

dbmata

The first best step is just to get intake in check and get loss going. Then start majoring in the minor by playing with carb-cycling.

It will work, provided you have everything else in check first.

capriqueen

dbmata wrote: »

The first best step is just to get intake in check and get loss going. Then start majoring in the minor by playing with carb-cycling.

It will work, provided you have everything else in check first.

Thanks, I understand that. Could you suggest a good site for checking macros? I've lost weight before, but I was eating a lot of carbohydrates, since I was in India back then, and I was hungry all the time. What's a good ratio to start, or where can I plug in my stats to see my macros?

dbmata

MFP is a good place to start. Determine what your daily caloric need is, and then work backwards from there. Personally, I follow what current research suggests that an intake of protein in a range of .8 to 1.4gram per kilo is good for maintaining lean body mass while losing weight, then I increase it a little, and try to make it around 1gr per pound of lean body mass. For me that's about 170gr daily, which I routinely get close to. I then determine carbs and fat from there, and I think I try to limit my carbs to around 170gr as well, just because I really don't need to be eating them, personally.

There are good calculators to find your daily caloric need. Like at: http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

Just be reasonable with goals and expectations.

capriqueen

dbmata wrote: »

MFP is a good place to start. Determine what your daily caloric need is, and then work backwards from there. Personally, I follow what current research suggests that an intake of protein in a range of .8 to 1.4gram per kilo is good for maintaining lean body mass while losing weight, then I increase it a little, and try to make it around 1gr per pound of lean body mass. For me that's about 170gr daily, which I routinely get close to. I then determine carbs and fat from there, and I think I try to limit my carbs to around 170gr as well, just because I really don't need to be eating them, personally.

There are good calculators to find your daily caloric need. Like at: http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

Just be reasonable with goals and expectations.

Thank you so much! I will try these. Like I said, my goal is around 24-25% body fat, but even if I can get to 26%, I would be happy. I've never worn a dress before because of my pear shape, and I want to look good enough to wear one. But that's just a soft target, more importantly I want to get strong and healthy.
Thanks again!

dbmata

Strong and healthy is ambiguous, but a good start for a goal.

Just be reasonable with expectations.

BikiniBride20

I have pretty similar stats and goals (24% by May for a wedding) Feel free to add me and maybe we cna encourage each other in the New Year (when I intend to start properly)

Sued0nim

Liftng4Lis wrote: »

All that is necessary for weight loss, is a caloric deficit. Start there and work your way into macros later. You can eat anything, you're just doing this in moderation. Good luck.

This worked for me ...In fact the only thing that has ever worked for me has been throwing out everything I thought I knew about dieting, every restriction, rule, gimmick, fad and focusing on calories

I'm still not looking at my macros though

TavistockToad

40/30/30 carbs/fat/protein isnt a bad place to start.