Intro and question

Options
Hi, I'm 43 year old woman, 5'4", 165, pretty muscular and strong from nearly 3 years of Crossfit. Been wanting to get back into the 150's. Currently, due to heat and humidity, I've been working out at home doing the Power Training program of Dos Remidios the past month. I like it a lot and have gained back some of the strength I lost at Crossfit...I had been lifting for about a year and a half prior to joining. Past 6 months my strength has been decreasing, my WOD times increasing, my scale increasing. That tells me crossfit is not currently working for me. Hence the switch to the Power Training. I also play tennis (doubles) on two different leagues, though I don't play every week, usually a private lesson weekly, clinic weekly, then hitting and playing singles with my husband (for fun, he's much better than me). I have my activity level at moderate...3-5 days of exercise.

Anyways, I've gained about 6 or 7 pounds the last 6 months or so. I had not been tracking food at all, and after a few days of IIFYM I think it's because I had not been eating anywhere near enough on a regular basis. Maybe 1000 calories, with the random eat what I want days.

I have my calories set at 1750, 130 protein, 175 g carbs, the rest fat...I think 60 grams. Wondering if I shoukd increase protein, decrease carbs. That's a lot of carbs, though maybe there will be some nice strength gains!

A couple things about me that make things more of a challenge. I lost my thyroid to cancer april 2013. My levels are optimal, however since losing it, my hormones are a mess. I take bioidentical progesterone and testosterone. However, at 43 almost 44, I am in peri menopause and it's not fun for hormones! I'm going to have a few other things tested next time I have bloodwork. I also put muscle on easily, but don't lose the fat easily.

Do you guys think a month is too long or too short to give these numbers a try? 1750 calories is A LOT of food (eating clean mostly, with room for a "treat" should I so desire one). I'm super freaked about adding more weight on to the scale. And it's so much food to have to eat. However, when I track and eat enough, I do lose a teeny bit vs staying the same or going up when I'm way under calories.

Thanks for reading my long post! And if there's any easy foods that help meet requirements, let me know. I ended up having almost 500 calories around bedtime so I had greek yogurt, chia seeds, a giant peach, chocolate almond milk, AND 2 ounces of deli turkey and a slice of pepper jack cheese!

Replies

  • tracyceurvels
    tracyceurvels Posts: 1 Member
    Options
    I also track macros and to figure out what ratios you need you need to use the IIFYM website which will calculate them based on activity level. Its vital to get them right. When I started tracking I found that my ratios were all wrong and since fixing that have lost weight and gained muscle tone. I also run and do crossfit.