Here's my July routine...Help?

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Me:
Female
209 lbs
5'2"
Eating @ -30% TDEE (1600 cal/day, 40/30/30)
Goal = weightloss, strength gain (splits; upper bod/lower bod)
Fitness profile: Just completed Insanity, beginner weight lifting, distance PR (running) = 4 miles

Question: I've never created my own workout plan; usually follow a DVD schedule, so this is new to me. Do I need another rest day? Does this look like a sufficient plan for my goals?
I chose to put my pavement runs on upper body days to give my lower body additional rest time. Good idea?

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Replies

  • bonitacash08
    bonitacash08 Posts: 378 Member
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    A few questions:

    1. How often do you plan on working out?

    2. What made you choose a deficit of 30%?

    3. How much weight are you trying to lose?
  • OMG_Twinkies
    OMG_Twinkies Posts: 215 Member
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    A few questions:

    1. How often do you plan on working out?

    2. What made you choose a deficit of 30%?

    3. How much weight are you trying to lose?

    1. 6 x wk
    2. "In place of a roadmap" thread & research with a nutritionist
    3. I've lost 55 so far (in 1 year's time) and need to lose another 60 to be in a healthy weight range for my bone structure/height (per my doctor)
  • bonitacash08
    bonitacash08 Posts: 378 Member
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    All right gorgeous so here's my advice :smile:

    With all that working out, 1600 is not going to be enough food for you. It just won't be. I'm 5'4" and 160ish.. And I eat up to 1900 a day.

    With that being said, I think it's okay to start off at 1600 if that's what you want to do. You have an additional 685 calories to play with up to your TDEE. Most people suggest a more conservative deficit of 10-20%, instead of an aggressive one like yours. You'll have hungry days, blahh days, and OMG I HATE TO EAT EVERYTHING days. You can adjust your caloric intake from 1600-2285 accordingly and you'll still lose.

    You just have to keep in mind that losing fat is much more important than losing weight. If you're going to be working out 6x/week, you HAVE to fuel your body properly.

    As far as frequency of workouts, I personally wouldn't do a routine that intense. I lift 3x a week and that's it. I'm already an active person so I move around in other ways.

    All in all, you'll see what your body can handle in the next 6-8 weeks. It's all a big science experiment. At the end of the day though, remember you have almost 700 calories you can eat each day before you would gain any weight. Don't force yourself to stick to such a large deficit.

    Good luck!
  • OMG_Twinkies
    OMG_Twinkies Posts: 215 Member
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    All right gorgeous so here's my advice :smile:

    With all that working out, 1600 is not going to be enough food for you. It just won't be. I'm 5'4" and 160ish.. And I eat up to 1900 a day.

    With that being said, I think it's okay to start off at 1600 if that's what you want to do. You have an additional 685 calories to play with up to your TDEE. Most people suggest a more conservative deficit of 10-20%, instead of an aggressive one like yours. You'll have hungry days, blahh days, and OMG I HATE TO EAT EVERYTHING days. You can adjust your caloric intake from 1600-2285 accordingly and you'll still lose.

    You just have to keep in mind that losing fat is much more important than losing weight. If you're going to be working out 6x/week, you HAVE to fuel your body properly.

    As far as frequency of workouts, I personally wouldn't do a routine that intense. I lift 3x a week and that's it. I'm already an active person so I move around in other ways.

    All in all, you'll see what your body can handle in the next 6-8 weeks. It's all a big science experiment. At the end of the day though, remember you have almost 700 calories you can eat each day before you would gain any weight. Don't force yourself to stick to such a large deficit.

    Good luck!

    Hmm. Maybe I'll cut out my "long run" day and keep that as a second rest day, at least in the beginning. And 1600 IS a little low; I just recently raised it (MFP had me at 1200!) so I will most likely bump that up later, especially since I'm adding weight lifting:smile:
  • bonitacash08
    bonitacash08 Posts: 378 Member
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    Hmm. Maybe I'll cut out my "long run" day and keep that as a second rest day, at least in the beginning. And 1600 IS a little low; I just recently raised it (MFP had me at 1200!) so I will most likely bump that up later, especially since I'm adding weight lifting:smile:

    Yep as far as increasing calories, I'd do it gradually. Going from 1200 to 1600 itself is a pretty big jump.. A good way to get additional calories is protein shakes. Depending on what you add, it can be up to 300 calories.
  • mjlong
    mjlong Posts: 73 Member
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    All right gorgeous so here's my advice :smile:

    With all that working out, 1600 is not going to be enough food for you. It just won't be. I'm 5'4" and 160ish.. And I eat up to 1900 a day.

    With that being said, I think it's okay to start off at 1600 if that's what you want to do. You have an additional 685 calories to play with up to your TDEE. Most people suggest a more conservative deficit of 10-20%, instead of an aggressive one like yours. You'll have hungry days, blahh days, and OMG I HATE TO EAT EVERYTHING days. You can adjust your caloric intake from 1600-2285 accordingly and you'll still lose.

    You just have to keep in mind that losing fat is much more important than losing weight. If you're going to be working out 6x/week, you HAVE to fuel your body properly.

    As far as frequency of workouts, I personally wouldn't do a routine that intense. I lift 3x a week and that's it. I'm already an active person so I move around in other ways.

    All in all, you'll see what your body can handle in the next 6-8 weeks. It's all a big science experiment. At the end of the day though, remember you have almost 700 calories you can eat each day before you would gain any weight. Don't force yourself to stick to such a large deficit.

    Good luck!


    What she said, I also eat around 1900 and haven't gained a pound. I do weights 3x and cardio 2x. If you feel hungry you most likely are so listen to your body. Good Luck and remember it's not going to happen over night.
  • laurynwithawhy
    laurynwithawhy Posts: 385 Member
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    I'd cut out the run on upper body days to give yourself a bit more rest. What'd you calculate your TDEE at? If you do anything more than lay on the couch (besides your workouts) I'd say you're in the very active category. So you might need to eat a bit more. I'm 5'4 and 150 pounds and I burn 2000 cal/day when I do literally nothing, up to 3000 on days when I run ----> stats from my bodymedia fit. I'd say you have more room to eat, or you can keep eating at 1600 and maybe cut out a bit of cardio.
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
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    I don't have any problem with the schedule. What will matter more is how many total sets and reps you're doing and at what intensity (read: % of 1RM) you're doing the particular exercise routine. If Upper Body day is 3 sets of pushups, go run a marathon right after for all I care. But if that day is 4 sets of flat bench, 3 sets of incline, 3 sets up incline DB, 3 sets of dips, and then some plyo pushups to finish it off, plus the same for back and shoulders and arms, then we have a problem.

    Also, I'd probably go 20% under TDEE. You've got a fair amount to lose so maybe you can handle 30%, but I'd rather do 20% and not be tired as hell all the time.