Am I doing this right? fitness/nutrition advice

Lpeterson189

Just so I'm not shooting myself in the foot by doing something wrong with my diet and exercise plan, I hope someone here can take a look at my diary and my exercise weekly and let me know if I'm doing the right things. I am 5'3", 29, female, currently 176lbs. Looking to be down to 140.

I'm on 1100 calories or less a day. LOW low carbs, proteins and fruits/veggies.
Normal day looks like Monday this week in my food diary.

Exercise is normally:
Mon - couch-to-5k run/walk 20mins morning
Tues - zumba or spinning (3omin) and strength training (20min)
Weds - couch-to-5k 20mins morning and kickboxing 30mins evening
Thurs - zumba or other crossfit class (30-45min) and strength training (20min)
Fri - couch-to-5k 20mins
Weekend - some kind of activity - hike, horseback riding, kayaking.

Can anyone give me tips to get better results?
Thank you!

ladynocturne

Hi.

Your estimated BMR is: 1,492 calories/day This is what you would need to eat if you were in a coma, just for your body to run.

Your TDEE on sedentary is 1890 calories/day, this is what you need to eat to maintain your current weight with zero exercise.

It is not recommended to eat below your BMR while losing weight because it increases the amount of lean muscle mass lost.

While this would only leave you with a deficit of 398 calories a day, it is a more steady pace to lose weight and will prevent you from plateauing later. Because you are more petite, losing weight is just going to take longer, I know it's unfair.

Please consider eating at least 1492 + exercise calories to maintain this safe deficit.

3dogsrunning

Eat more.

1100 calories is too low to support that type of activity especially being low carb.

I did the huge amount of exercise and low calorie thing. I lost weight, looked great but I wrecked my metabolism in the process and struggled to keep it off.

I strongly strongly suggest you follow MFP with a weigh loss per week goal of 1lb a week, no more than 1.5 per week, log your exec use and eat at least a portion of them back.
Of use a TDEE calculator. If done right they both end up in the same spot.

Starving yourself and doing tons of cardio is not the best way to lose weight, keep it off and be healthy.

Bekahmardis

I'm 42, 5'3" and reached my goal weight of 110 in June. *I* eat more than that each day and I have a sedentary job! You MUST eat at least your BMR to lose weight. I know it sounds counter-productive, but your body will slow down its metabolism and, as you were afraid of, you will end up shooting yourself in the foot.

Eat at LEAST your BMR plus half your exercise calories. Go read "In Place of a Road Map" (https://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/975025-in-place-of-a-road-map-short-n-sweet) and it may shed a bit more light on the subject for you? Best of luck!!!

bokodasu

1) Eat more
2) Move less

For serious. You had less that 850 calories on Monday. NOT COOL.

And all that cardio is fine if you like it, but you did ask for tips for better results so I'm going to say replace 2-3 of those days with real weights and just do 20-30 minutes of whichever cardio is your favorite on the other days.

For reference, I'm 5'4", 133 lbs, and I eat a minimum of 1550 calories every day - more on workout days. Now, that's more recomp/maintenance, but I am still losing weight. When I weighed 165, I was losing a pound a week at 1800 calories. Eat the food. Yes, your body CAN function on just its fat stores, but not optimally and definitely not to the extent you're pushing it.

Lpeterson189

Thanks guys!
I'm really a newbie at all this, so your advice means a lot.

I do have a very sedentary job, the only activity I have is when I do my work outs (ie I sit at a desk 8+ hours every day)

So even with that I should be eating more around 1400+ calories a day?

Sorry for all the questions but I dont know the lingo: BMR? TDEE? What do these mean?

ladynocturne

BMR= Basal Metabolic Rate - What you burn being alive in a coma

TDEE= Total Daily Energy Expenditure - What you burn existing doing normal daily activities like... brushing your hair, standing in the kitchen preparing a meal, getting up and walking to the bathroom ect.

Yes 1400+ 80%-90% of what you burn during exercise

So if you walk for 30 mins and burn 150 calories you would need to eat closer to 1550 calories.

You would have to eat more than 1890 calories a day to gain weight.

kimberlyhicks1989

I am also starting a fitness.nutrition plan, so your post was one that I relate to. I found this explanation of BMR and TDEE from another member on here and it helped me understand those concepts.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/931670-bmr-and-tdee-explained-for-those-needing-a-guide

Good luck on your journey!!

Lpeterson189

Thanks everyone! You've been a huge help. I'm going to up my calorie intake - with healthy foods! I'll check back in here in about a week or so and tell you how its going.
Great advice thanks so much!

tryclyn

Give it at least a month. A week is nothing.

Jett_05

Maybe replace one of those exercise days with some nice slow paced yoga or a massage! :-D I'm all for self-care. You'll exercise and be more motivated on your other days if your body feels pain free and mobile.

geekette411

I'm 5'4", currently 180, looking to go down to 130-135 and I had to raise my cals from 1200 to 1300 to keep losing. I also sit at a desk all day and I eat back 90% of my exercise cals.

latinpr

I am also starting a fitness.nutrition plan, so your post was one that I relate to. I found this explanation of BMR and TDEE from another member on here and it helped me understand those concepts.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/931670-bmr-and-tdee-explained-for-those-needing-a-guide

Good luck on your journey!!

I did this and as a 35 male 5 10 180 lbs my BMR is 1844 and my sedentary TDEE is 2213. If I set my goal in MFP to lose 1 lb a week with sedentary activity it sets my calorie intake to 1713, which is a little lower than my BMR. I always eat my exercise calories back.

Is this an issue that my weight loss goal intake is a little lower than my BMR? Is my weight lose goal set too high?

Lpeterson189

I did my BMR and TDEE calculations, for me it comes out that I should be eating over 2000 calories a day!! Just cant wrap my head around that one...plus I really dont think I can even _force_ myself to eat that much. I was hard for me today to just get above 1400 :noway:

How is this even real? I mean, everyone hears about, dieting, and eat less and better to lose, not eat more! Just cant get my head around this whole thing. I want to do the weight loss/get fit right and all, but it just goes against everything I've ever read or done before.

Thoughts? Suggestions?

Also, can anyone suggest specific exercises or such to help _slim_ down and tone upper arms? they're my problem area - softball player and pitcher most of my teenage-early 20's so I got some big guns.

thanks!

xxghost

1100 is not enough at all. I know it might seem like a lot more food, but try investing in food that is bit heavier calorie/protein/fat-wise. If all you're eating is lettuce or something, 1500 will seem like a ton of calories!

And finally, after you take the wonderful advice that these lovely people have given you, give yourself some time! Weight loss is not instant, as much as I wish it was. It will take months, maybe even years, until you're where you want to be. I've been at this for 6 months! Just have patience. If you work hard, the results will come!

Good luck!