I want to lose weight and get lean

raqueldf89
raqueldf89 Posts: 1 Member
in Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
Hi am lucky enough to have weights work out bench bike and boxing but to be honest I've not got a clue what to do or eat I was on medication which made me gain weight I've come off it now so I want to get back to me. Really appreciate your advice thank you x

Replies

  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,013 Member
    raqueldf89 wrote: »
    Hi am lucky enough to have weights work out bench bike and boxing but to be honest I've not got a clue what to do or eat I was on medication which made me gain weight I've come off it now so I want to get back to me. Really appreciate your advice thank you x

    What are your goals?
  • GaryRuns
    GaryRuns Posts: 508 Member
    Losing weight and getting lean comes down to eating fewer calories than you burn. The place to start with that goal is to get an estimate of how many calories you burn in a day. One way to accomplish that is by using a TDEE calculator like https://tdeecalculator.net/ to get that estimate. Now you need to get the best estimate you can of how many calories you're eating. To accomplish that you need to log your food here on MFP, which includes using a food scale to weigh everything you consume.

    All of that gives you a starting point but there are lots of variables in there so you have to weigh yourself regularly to determine if you're losing weight. You can't base that on daily weigh-ins because your weight can vary quite a bit day to day based on things like water retention, food digestion, etc. You need to use an average weight over a longer period of time as a basis of your progress. There are plenty of smart-phone apps that can help with that and if you have certain scales (Withings and, I think, Fitbit), or don't mind entering your weight manually on the Fitbit site, you can use what I use, https://trendweight.com. As an example, if my goal is to lose weight and my trend in trendweight says my weight is going up then I know I need to reduce my calorie intake. Typically I'll adjust by a 100-200 calories a day and then see what my trend looks like after 5-7 days and adjust again as necessary.

    You mention exercise too but realize that losing weight can be accomplished sitting on your couch watching TV. It's all about what you eat. That said, many people find that exercise can help. In some cases it helps curb your appetite so you eat less, and in some cases it allows you to burn a couple of hundred extra calories a day so you can have that snack to, again, help with appetite control.

    And lifting weights doesn't typically burn a lot of calories, but if you use a good progressive lifting program then you can increase your muscle mass. More muscle mass means more calories being burned. Also, a lot of people are happier with their appearance when they increase their lean mass. If you decide to do resistance training to increase your lean mass then make sure you pick a good program. There's a really good list of available programs in the following thread:

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

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