Is this a good routine to lose weight?

mandapanda721

Just looking for some advice of what I should do.
My current routine that I just started is as follows:

Exercise

Monday: Weight lifting (biceps, triceps, shoulders, etc.) 3 sets, 8 - 12 reps, treadmill @5mph for 20 min.
Tuesday: Weight lifting (legs, quads, hamstrings, inner &outer thighs etc.) 3 sets, 8-12 reps, elliptical (alternating at resistance of 7, 10 and 13) for 30 min.
Wednesday: Rest & walk for 30 min, stretch.
Thursday: Arms again. Run on treadmill for 20 min at 5mph.
Friday: Rest, too busy working to make it to the gym.
Saturday: Go hiking for 1 hour or run on the treadmill similar to thursday.
Sunday: Rest/ work schedule conflicts w gym yet again.

Diet

About 1,200 calories a day. I only have coffee w cream and sugar for breakfast. Might have either a carb or a protein for lunch depending if I am going to workout after lunch or before. My post workout snack is yogurt, and pre workout I may have an apple or banana. I try to eat protein for dinner and carbs earlier in the day. On Saturdays I tend to eat about 1,800 calories.


Sooooo any suggestions on what I am doing right or wrong? Modifications? How long until you think
I will see results? I am 135 and my goal is 125. My weight has increased by 3 lbs as my muscles got sore but I was told that is muscles retaining water if not being used to a new workout. I am going to the beach soon and won't have access to weights, so I was probably going to do bodyweight exercises and then go for runs in the morning for about 30 min.

Bekahmardis

If you eat back your exercise calories, I think it's fine.....but I'm no trainer or dietician, either, so take my opinion as an opinion only!

cwolfman13

If you NET (eat back exercise calories...but don't overestimate them) to your MFP calorie goal, you will lose weight. Diet for weight loss, exercise for fitness. I lost 20 Lbs just eating to my calorie goal (which has a built in deficit of calories for weight loss), then I decided I also wanted to be fit.

Also, in RE to the lifting, you should definitely be doing it...but you should also definitely be following a tried and true program to maximize your routine and get the most benefit.

taunto

hey manda. The workouts seems fine but you may want to add a rest day in between weight lifting. If you weight lift properly (that is, as heavy weights as possible) then you would definitely need a rest day from another weight lifting sessions the next day. In which you can do some walking around. May I suggest looking into stronglifts if you're looking for a good, solid weight lifting program for starters (http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/560459-stronglifts-5x5-summary)

The calories seem very low. I would ofcourse require more stats from you but as a general rule, 1200 is fairly low for people (yes, including short women who live a very inactive lifestyle trying to loose weight). Maybe this thread can help you come up with a good number to eat: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets

With the calories thread, please keep in mind that for starters, till you get control of your calories (that is, eating a decent level but not binging often and basically staying 100 plus or minus from the goal, you can safely ignore the macros. Once you've learned to keep control of your calories, THEN venture into the macros. Purely for keeping things simple for starting out

TeaBea

Just looking for some advice of what I should do.
My current routine that I just started is as follows:

Exercise

Monday: Weight lifting (biceps, triceps, shoulders, etc.) 3 sets, 8 - 12 reps, treadmill @5mph for 20 min.
Tuesday: Weight lifting (legs, quads, hamstrings, inner &outer thighs etc.) 3 sets, 8-12 reps, elliptical (alternating at resistance of 7, 10 and 13) for 30 min.
Wednesday: Rest & walk for 30 min, stretch.
Thursday: Arms again. Run on treadmill for 20 min at 5mph.
Friday: Rest, too busy working to make it to the gym.
Saturday: Go hiking for 1 hour or run on the treadmill similar to thursday.
Sunday: Rest/ work schedule conflicts w gym yet again.

Diet

About 1,200 calories a day. I only have coffee w cream and sugar for breakfast. Might have either a carb or a protein for lunch depending if I am going to workout after lunch or before. My post workout snack is yogurt, and pre workout I may have an apple or banana. I try to eat protein for dinner and carbs earlier in the day. On Saturdays I tend to eat about 1,800 calories.


Sooooo any suggestions on what I am doing right or wrong? Modifications? How long until you think
I will see results? I am 135 and my goal is 125. My weight has increased by 3 lbs as my muscles got sore but I was told that is muscles retaining water if not being used to a new workout. I am going to the beach soon and won't have access to weights, so I was probably going to do bodyweight exercises and then go for runs in the morning for about 30 min.

How long for weight loss? People with 15 (or less) pounds to lose should try for 1/2 pound a week. A higher weight loss goal often results in muscle loss as well as fat loss.

Results? If you just started working out ........ use a tape measure. The inches are going to come off quicker than the pounds. Tape measures can be more reliable than the scale sometimes (water weight can be sodium too).

Diet (calorie deficit) is where the weight loss will come ...... exercise is mostly about how you will "look" when done with weight loss. Exercise is important to help you keep the muscle you have..... and the bonus is calories burned.

IronPlayground

Are you asking for a time frame because you have an event that you'd like to lose the weight before going?

Do you have other fitness goals other than a goal weight?

What part of that workout you posted do you enjoy? What part don't you enjoy?

Do you have MFP set to lose 1 lb or 2 lbs per week?

Too many questions need to be answered before giving you an answer.

mandapanda721

Are you asking for a time frame because you have an event that you'd like to lose the weight before going?

Do you have other fitness goals other than a goal weight?

What part of that workout you posted do you enjoy? What part don't you enjoy?

Do you have MFP set to lose 1 lb or 2 lbs per week?

Too many questions need to be answered before giving you an answer.

I would like to lose the weight by September 1st!

Fitness goals, uuhh....Well, if I'm not 125 by september I would at least like to weigh 130 but have more lean body mass so it looks like 125.

The part of the workout I enjoy is the weight lifting. And the treadmill running. I HATE the elliptical but it burns so many calories and works the whole body.

MFP is set to lose 1 lb per week. 1220 calories.

IronPlayground

I would like to lose the weight by September 1st!

Fitness goals, uuhh....Well, if I'm not 125 by september I would at least like to weigh 130 but have more lean body mass so it looks like 125.

The part of the workout I enjoy is the weight lifting. And the treadmill running. I HATE the elliptical but it burns so many calories and works the whole body.

MFP is set to lose 1 lb per week. 1220 calories.

Understand that all this is based off limited information.

I think that setting a weight loss goal when you have so little to lose might not be that best approach. I'd shoot more for a bf%.

I see a lot of isolation lifting in your routine. If you don't like the elliptical, but love that whole body workout, I'd look at incorporating more compound lifts (squats, deadlifts, bench press and overhead press) into your workout. You enjoy lifting and these will work more muscle groups. You can look into StrongLifts 5x5 to get an idea of a 3 day per week, total body workout using compound lifts. Also, those calorie counters on the elliptical machines are very inaccurate. And, anaerobic exercise, like lifting, will continue to burn calories longer after the workout is over.

With only 10 lbs to go, you might be better off setting MFP to .5/lbs per week and adjusting macros so that you are taking in around .8-1g protein per lb of LBM.

Nothing wrong with the addition of cardio to your program. Just make sure to do it after your strength training. Preferably on different days.