Looking to get back into a routine and need some help

Icy_Fox

Hey guys!

To give you a bit of background, I found this site when I had to lose weight due to health issues and I had no idea how to do it. It taught me everything about caloric deficits, tracking what you eat, macros and micros... and I managed to lose nearly 13 pounds super fast (probably too fast since it resulted in an unfortunate injury).

Anyways, it's been almost a year since I ended the strict program I had back then (with a ton of exercise and a big caloric deficit every day) and I'd like to lose some more. The end goal is to get to a comfortable enough BF% where I can start with weight training and the results will actually be visible (I'm looking at you, abs

I actually stopped because I had gynecomastia surgery back in November. While myself and the doctor taught losing weight would help with the issue, but it didn't help at all as it was actually a problem with an enlarged gland (genetic). After the surgery, I had two months to recover so I didn't follow my diet that strictly, nor did I exercise. I lost a pound or 2 in the two months, probably because of the stress and healing in the body + a loss of appetite.

The reason I didn't go back to my workout & diet plan right after recovery was that the doctor warned me there was danger of the post-surgery results going worse if I was to lose more weight. I was afraid of that and since I was so satisfied with the results, I decided to just stick to the weight I had and not lose/gain any. The thing is, it is actually a double-edged sword. On the one hand, losing more weight would mean losing some of the fat in that area and make it look loose and hanging (it currently looks like I have a really built chest, even though I don't), while gaining weight would put more fat around the chest area and potentially make it look like it was before surgery (although not as severe since the gland was removed).

I figured I might as well go ahead with losing some more weight (though be free to disagree with me), since if it did for some reason ruin the results making it loose, I could always gain some muscle mass in that area in place of the fat and make it look much better.

So without further ado, here is my plan for the next few months:

- lose 10 - 15 pounds in the next 5 months
My first question here is: how much should I lose and is 1.1 pound / week too much? I'm currently sitting at 80KG/176 pounds and 188cm/6'2 tall...
- keep a calorie deficit anywhere from 250 cals to 550 cals a day (depending on how fast I'd like to lose the weight)
- exercise 3-4 times a week (light walking at first until my injury gets better, than running)
Would this kind of exercise be enough for my target weight loss?

As mentioned, the end goal is to start weight lifting after losing a few pounds. While I am not necessarily looking to get insanely buffed, I'd at least like to get some definition.

Any comments, opinions, questions etc. are more than welcome
If you have any questions on my surgery and are too shy to ask here, you can send me a private message.
Thanks!

middlehaitch

This is a repost of a reply I did yesterday. I hope you don't mind.

You really don't need to lose any more weight. Start lifting as soon as possible, h.

You are at a reasonable weight (BMI~22) probably just lacking muscle development, and may have less than ideal posture.

Option 1)
Eat at maintenance, lift weights, and do a recomp. Thread link below.

Option 2) (not as applicable to you, but left it in as it shows one person low on muscle at the same BMI is interested in gaining weight, while you think you may have to lose.)

Eat ~250 cals above maintenance, lift weights, and do a bulk.

The MFP macros are fine for most but if you are going to start weight lifting you may want to try for 0.8g of protein per lbs of LBM. (Somewhere around the 110-130 range, I think)

Eat back your exercise calories. You will find the strength training calorie estimate in the 'Cardio' section of the exercise tab.

You can eat whatever food you like. None are good, bad, evil, junk, healthy, or unhealthy, they are just foods and provide calories.

However, all food has a nutritional profile that includes macro and micronutrients, work on fulfilling your nutritional needs using food you enjoy.

Cheers, h.

ETA:
Choose a beginners programme from this thread. All are good so use one that suits your abilities, equipment available, and time constraints.

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10332083/which-lifting-program-is-the-best-for-you/p1

ETA 2:
The recomp thread. This would be my choice to begin with, you can always switch to a bulk once you are comfortable with what you are doing food and training wise.

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10177803/recomposition-maintaining-weight-while-losing-fat/p1

Cheers, again, h.