extreme beginner. can someone check my decisions?

freehblee90

so i after my 'click' moment i quit leisure substances all together and started to exercise. 30 min of fasted cardio/cycle everyday (260-300 kcal/heart rate consistent around 65-70%) and followed beginner lifting schedule 3 times a week. probably ate about 1200-1000 kcal a day without any macro check and lost 15 lbs within the first week.
i was so happy. but in the back of my mind i knew it was the initial bloated gunk weight and this rate could not be healthy. also my strength was noticably getting weaker.

after the first week, the loss rate slowed down and now losing about 1lb a week.

after doing more research, so far this is what i have decided to follow.

175cm
93 kg
average 75 min of workout
at least 6 times a week
moderate intensity
iifym/tdee calculation - need to take about 2100 kcal a day for 20% deficit

fixed myfitnesspal goal to
1900 kcal
50% protein
30% carb
20% fat

eat 3 times a day
1hr of cycling (500-600 kcal) during the rest days (no more fasted cardio)
30 min of cycling (250-300 kcal) + 1hr~ of weights x3
no carb after 6-7 pm

is this too much? did i mess up again?

quiksylver296

One pound loss per week is perfect. Your protein % is pretty high, but if you like the way you are eating, that's your preference.

hjsparker

One pound per week is a great goal. Keeps the progress positive and allows you plenty of energy to maintain the exercise. I agree with quiksylver that this is a lot of protein. If you want low carb, I would tend towards higher fat, something like 30% carb, 40% protein 30% fat but if these ratios work for you long term then go for it! Ensure you are taking adequate time to rest from your intense workout schedule to allow muscle repair and reduce inflammation. The stress in your body will mean that your body fights to maintain its current levels of fat and will burn muscle. Adequate rest allows muscles to repair and grow and reassures your body that eating away fat stores won't result in death.

Keep up the positive work!

Francl27

1) fasted cardio is completely unnecessary anyway. Just do what works best for you.
2) 50% protein is also completely unnecessary.
3) eat when you're hungry. Meals, small meals, snacks... all come to personal preference. Meal timing doesn't matter, it's just about overall calories
4) is your cycling on a stationary bike? I found that stationary bike calories are much lower than you would expect (ok, I'm smaller than you, but it really only works your legs, and on a good day I could burn maybe 300 calories an hour on a stationary bike.. never in a million years would I burn 600 calories)
5) one pound per week is perfect, IMO.

deannalfisher

agree with the others - protein definitely seems a bit high - I would calculate for .8-1g per goal weight (or goal lean muscle mass)

also no carbs after 6pm - when you eat your carbs has no effect on weight - I eat a bowl of cereal (right now its fruit loops), every night right before bed and I'm down 11ish lbs

Francl27

deannalfisher wrote: »

agree with the others - protein definitely seems a bit high - I would calculate for .8-1g per goal weight (or goal lean muscle mass)

also no carbs after 6pm - when you eat your carbs has no effect on weight - I eat a bowl of cereal (right now its fruit loops), every night right before bed and I'm down 11ish lbs

I totally missed the no carb after 6pm thing too. Total myth.

Xymheia

Overall it looks pretty good to me, but try to stay close to 20 % below TDEE, do not go much lower because it can make you feel hungry and become deficient in nutrients, and be careful with introducing exercise. Don't do too much too soon or you'll burn yourself out. Whenever you'd like to vary your cardio routine, rowing, the elliptical machine and swimming are also good low impact cardio exercises. Also, you need to factor in your exercise when calculating your TDEE to prevent eating too little; as long as you're losing max 2 kg per month it's fine.

The overall deficit is more important for losing weight than what and when you eat, 50 % protein is a bit excessive. Maybe a macro of 30/40/30 or 35/40/25 is a bit more suitable. Make sure that most of your fats come from healthy sources like nuts, fish and oils rather than red meat and animal products, and that you aim to eat mostly fresh foods (dried bulk foods like wholegrain pasta, beans, lentils, peas, etc. are fine though), which are high in nutrients. You do not need to leave any food group out (except highly processed food) unless you have a medical reason to do so. It's also fine to have a cheat meal or dessert on rare occasion and I recommend to create healthy meals and snacks that you actually enjoy, this helps prevent feeling deprived.

The no carb after 6-7 rule is not necessary as long as you're eating the right amount of food in total, but if it helps you stick to your maximum intake, that's fine.

loulouowens

Sounds complicated!

Just eat what you want, when you want, stop when you run out of calories?

TimothyFish

If it works for you, go for it.

The question was raised as to whether you could actually burn 600 calories per hour. That's a good question and the answer is that it depends on your fitness level. On a good day, I have burned as much as 900 calories in an hour on a stationary bicycle. Professional cyclists can burn about 1,400 calories per hour. So, 600 calories per hour sounds doable, but that is about a 170 Watt average over the hour. Wikipedia tells me that the average person produces between 50 and 150 Watts for an hour of vigorous exercise. That translates into 180 to 540 calories per hour. So the 300 calories @Francl27 mentioned may not be far off. In time, you should be able to work up to 600 calories per hour, but that may not be what you are able to burn right now.