HELP! ~ To All The Fitness/Exercise Gurus Out There!

meredithashton

So I am generally savvy in the nutrition and exercise department (read: not a total newbie), but I have never REALLY gotten the results I've wanted. I am looking for some people who have some serious insight into my problem or maybe could recommend some great internet resources? I will appreciate any and all help!!


HERE'S THE PROBLEM: I want to shed a significant amount of body fat (I currently weight 132lbs and could stand to lose 10lbs of body fat)....in addition, I want to build muscle (slim figure with functional strength - look toned but not too bulky). In the past, I have achieved the strength aspect and minor fat loss through heavy weight training (4-day split workouts with 5 exercises/day, 3 sets of 12 reps where I would typically reach failure between 10-12). The problem is that I will gain muscle and not shed as muscle fat as I'd like and end up just looking fatter. I am not concerned with the number on the scale, more so how I look and FEEL....but so far haven't been able to figure out hot to look and FEEL like I want. I feel like I CAN accomplish this without a personal trainer, but I am starting to get discouraged!


I was hoping to find someone who has garnered success with a mission similar to mine and would be willing to share there insight/tips/tricks/recommendations.


SOME INFO ABOUT ME: I recently started using MyFitnessPal again after a long hiatus and I am trying to start a new diet plan. I have been doing a caloric cycling method of 2 high calorie days (13 x my weight = 1690 cals/day on Tuesday and Thursday) and low calorie days every other day (10 x my weight = 1320 cals/day on all other days). If I exercise, I have been allowing myself to eat back my calories (trying to limit refined carbs) as long as I am under those goals in total. I don't want to starve myself - haven't found this very successful as I end up binging. I have been doing a significant amount of cardio daily 300-700 cals burned/day. I have also been doing strength training 2-3x/week....


THE QUESTION: How can I optimize my workout plan? Light weights and more reps? All cardio for a few months until I lose all the body fat I want and then start to build muscle? Continue heavy weight training and significantly reduce calorie intake? Also, any advice on diet/exercise would be GREATLY appreciated. I would love to learn from your successes!

ALSO, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO ADD ME AS A FRIEND! I have been gone for a while and am looking for motivated accountabilibuddies!

Thank you ~ Thank you ~ Thank you!

AJ_G

It has nothing to do with your workout and everything to do with your diet. You say you want to gain muscle and shed fat. You can't effectively do them both at the time so you have to pick one. Once you pick one, you need to either eat at a deficit to lose weight and cut fat, or eat at a surplus to gain weight and build muscle. Once you've done one, switch gears and do the other. If you try and do both at the same time you'll just end up spinning your wheels and never get anywhere. If you slowly gain 10 lbs while lifting heavy and consuming enough protein, then slowly lose 10 lbs while lifting heavy and consuming enough protein, you'd end up at the same weight you are now, but with more muscle and less fat.

arditarose

I did not read your whole OP. You just have to set the right goal and then eat and train to get it. You gained muscle AND fat because you were in a surplus. That's what happens. You're not going to gain a significant amount of muscle unless you're in a surplus, and you're not going to lose fat unless you're in a deficit. You can recomp, eating at maintenance-gaining a little muscle, and losing a little fat.

AJ_G

arditarose wrote: »

You can recomp, eating at maintenance-gaining a little muscle, and losing a little fat.

Yea, but that sucks lol. Painfully painfully slow

arditarose

AJ_G wrote: »

arditarose wrote: »

You can recomp, eating at maintenance-gaining a little muscle, and losing a little fat.

Yea, but that sucks lol. Painfully painfully slow

I also dislike lol. Gave up on mine. Some people are on the recomp train and like it though.

lcuconley

AJ_G wrote: »

It has nothing to do with your workout and everything to do with your diet. You say you want to gain muscle and shed fat. You can't effectively do them both at the time so you have to pick one. Once you pick one, you need to either eat at a deficit to lose weight and cut fat, or eat at a surplus to gain weight and build muscle. Once you've done one, switch gears and do the other. If you try and do both at the same time you'll just end up spinning your wheels and never get anywhere. If you slowly gain 10 lbs while lifting heavy and consuming enough protein, then slowly lose 10 lbs while lifting heavy and consuming enough protein, you'd end up at the same weight you are now, but with more muscle and less fat.

agree with this post, but to say it another way, you will not "get bulky" if you are eating at a deficit. I don't think that light weights or just cardio will be as effective as the heavy lifting. I agree that too big a deficit backfires for me as well.

meredithashton

Thanks for your posts. I am thinking about just sticking with straight cardio for now. Eating approx 1600 calories/day and getting to my goal weight and THEN lifting heavy and increase my calories. Has that worked for others? I was hoping there was a super secret way to do them simultaneously, but it has never worked for me before lol.

That being said....any recommendations for macros during the WEIGHT LOSS phase? I am currently doing (trying to do) a 40/30/30 ratio (protein/carbs/fats). Not sure if there is a calculator out there for ideal total calories while trying to lose....I hear a lot about starvation mode, etc. etc. and don't want to screw up my metabolism.

Thanks again!

arditarose

meredithashton wrote: »

Thanks for your posts. I am thinking about just sticking with straight cardio for now. Eating approx 1600 calories/day and getting to my goal weight and THEN lifting heavy and increase my calories. Has that worked for others? I was hoping there was a super secret way to do them simultaneously, but it has never worked for me before lol.

That being said....any recommendations for macros during the WEIGHT LOSS phase? I am currently doing (trying to do) a 40/30/30 ratio (protein/carbs/fats). Not sure if there is a calculator out there for ideal total calories while trying to lose....I hear a lot about starvation mode, etc. etc. and don't want to screw up my metabolism.

Thanks again!

No, what you want to do is lift heavy NOW-while you are in a deficit. What this does is allow you to save muscle as you lose, giving you the look you are after. When we lose weight we lose fat and muscle, the more muscle you save, the more defined you will look and your body fat % and composition will be better.

AJ_G

arditarose wrote: »

meredithashton wrote: »

Thanks for your posts. I am thinking about just sticking with straight cardio for now. Eating approx 1600 calories/day and getting to my goal weight and THEN lifting heavy and increase my calories. Has that worked for others? I was hoping there was a super secret way to do them simultaneously, but it has never worked for me before lol.

That being said....any recommendations for macros during the WEIGHT LOSS phase? I am currently doing (trying to do) a 40/30/30 ratio (protein/carbs/fats). Not sure if there is a calculator out there for ideal total calories while trying to lose....I hear a lot about starvation mode, etc. etc. and don't want to screw up my metabolism.

Thanks again!

No, what you want to do is lift heavy NOW-while you are in a deficit. What this does is allow you to save muscle as you lose, giving you the look you are after. When we lose weight we lose fat and muscle, the more muscle you save, the more defined you will look and your body fat % and composition will be better.

This! This a thousand times! Lifting heavy while you lose weight is just as important as lifting heavy while you're gaining weight. You want to preserve the muscle you have. Always lift

arditarose

meredithashton wrote: »

That being said....any recommendations for macros during the WEIGHT LOSS phase? I am currently doing (trying to do) a 40/30/30 ratio (protein/carbs/fats). Not sure if there is a calculator out there for ideal total calories while trying to lose....I hear a lot about starvation mode, etc. etc. and don't want to screw up my metabolism.

Thanks again!

And to address this, if you are only looking to lose 10 lbs (and you might not need to lose that much if you lift and are saving lean body mass)-simply find your TDEE, subtract 250 calories per day to lose .5 lbs per week. Set your macros by gram. .8grams per pound of body mass protein, .3-.4g per lb for fat, rest in carbs.

arditarose

And to address your lifting routine, I recommend not doing a 4 day split. 3 day, full body, strength training. SL 5x5, Starting Strength, or New Rules of Lifting for Women (which I haven't read in awhile but there might be a 4 day split option in that program). Heavy compound lifts in a deficit, in the strength range of 3-5 reps are king.

AJ_G

arditarose wrote: »

And to address your lifting routine, I recommend not doing a 4 day split. 3 day, full body, strength training. SL 5x5, Starting Strength, or New Rules of Lifting for Women (which I haven't read in awhile but there might be a 4 day split option in that program). Heavy compound lifts in a deficit, in the strength range of 3-5 reps are king.

Why recommend a strength oriented program when her goal is clearly hypertrophy based?