15 pounds to go...What should I do?

glitterstreet

Hi guys, I'm currently 130 pounds and 5'6, and I only want to loose another 15 pounds. Since I don't want to loose muscle would it be wise if I bumped up my calories so I'd lose half a pound a week? I exercise about 5-6 times a week (a mix of cardio and strength). If I do this MFP says for me to eat 1420 calories net, so if I exercised about burnt 300 calories that'd mean I'd have to eat 1700 calories but that just seems like too much?
Any advice would be appreciated

jacksonpt

Sounds right.

IMO, not losing muscle is more about the intensity of your lifting sessions than the size of your deficit (assuming we aren't talking about some ridiculous, unhealthy and unsustainable deficit).

jennifer_417

May be slightly off topic, but 115 seems like a really low goal for 5'6", especially if you don't want to lose muscle. I'mt 5'6.5" and my goal weight is 140, which is the middle range of what is considered healthy for my height.

JessHealthKick

If you are looking at maintaining muscle, a low weight goal may be unrealistic. Better to have bf% goal such as reducing to 17% to show abs etc etc. Aiming for a small deficit a week will also help maintain muscle, as well as of course using and eating ridiculous amounts of protein.

Good luck

glitterstreet

Thanks, I'm going to start looking into getting my body fat checked. Do you guys think you a protein shake would be a good idea? I generally meet my macros but I want something to fuel my workouts but that will also help me build muscle.. I'm in between 5'5-5'6

jacksonpt

Thanks, I'm going to start looking into getting my body fat checked. Do you guys think you a protein shake would be a good idea? I generally meet my macros but I want something to fuel my workouts but that will also help me build muscle.. I'm in between 5'5-5'6

No. At least not for the reasons you listed.

1) If you meet your macros, what good would a shake do?
2) Why would it fuel your workouts any better or worse than actual food?
3) Do you want to lose those 15lbs, or do you want to build muscle? Can't do both...

harleygroomer

hhmmmmm....... Why in the world would you want to eat BACK the calories you burn?? I do NOT. Never have, never will. In fact I always leave a small deficit of calories burned to my calories ingested. Weight loss is not about maintaining-- it is about losing. Good luck

jacksonpt

hhmmmmm....... Why in the world would you want to eat BACK the calories you burn?? I do NOT. Never have, never will. In fact I always leave a small deficit of calories burned to my calories ingested. Weight loss is not about maintaining-- it is about losing. Good luck

Completely meaningless post. Thanks for wasting everyone's time.

tartsul

you should lift weights. trust me. i'm your height and started at 138. i did a lot of cardio and ate like 1350 calories and i got down to 122. i still looked soft and i didn't like it. we call it skinny fat. i did a bunch of research, i started eating more and lifting HEAVY weights. i now weigh 127 and wear a size 0-2. i have gained a ton of strength, and i'm losing inches where i wanted to lose and gaining inches where i wanted to gain. the number on the scale does NOT matter. i know this is a hard concept, and i still weigh myself, but i have been working really hard and seeing actual changes in my body and in how i feel. do you want to have the satisfaction of a number on a scale that no one else sees or do you want people to see how good you look, how confident you are, and how strong you are?

LIFT WEIGHTS!