Am I on the right track?

pinknekophiliac

Hello!

Okay so, I'm not the best at explaining things but here I go:

I'm a 27 y/o female, 5'3, and 150 lbs. My ultimate goal is to get to a weight of around ~135 and nicely tone (not six pack or anything, just nice definition). I'm aiming to lose at least 1 pound a week, and MFP has estimated that I should be eating 1200 calories a day to do so.

At my heaviest a few years ago I was 190 because of a medication I was on that made me balloon up, so I've already lost a significant amount of weight, but it was predominantly from ceasing the medication and cutting out some junk food. This is the first time I've REALLY committed to diet + exercise and completely changed my lifestyle. Up until this point, I was a massive couch potato who spent all day on her computer.

Anyway,

Despite this being my first time committing, I'm not a *huge* novice, I'm incredibly OCD and I've done countless amounts of research, spoken to nutritionist/fitness instructors and what not over the years, not to mention I'm obsessed with The Biggest Loser and Extreme Weight Loss. But I know everyone is different.

I've been eating healthier for awhile but I started really working out a little over 1 month ago. I work out 5 days a week for a minimum of 30 minutes (because thanks to research I know anything more than 45 minutes is just a waste of time since your body has a limit) by doing circuit training and some yoga. I have a couple of DVD's that I mix up so my body doesn't get used to just one kind of exercise (Double Pump by Shpresa and 30 day shred by Jillian Michaels). I tend to work out before I've had breakfast (but I do make sure to have either a glass of lowfat 1% lactose free chocolate milk or a banana and some orange juice or something so my body has some energy to expend) so that I can really be burning calories as I continue to eat throughout the rest of the day.

My daily meals typically consist of;

• Breakfast: I have either a 2 egg omelette with some peppers and onions or a couple pieces of whole wheat toast with some lowfat flavored cream cheese and some banana slices or strawberry slices

• Lunch: depending how hungry I am, I may have some more pieces of toast with the same spread or I will have a turkey or ham sandwich on whole wheat with sprouts, lowfat mayo, ketchup, and mustard

• Dinner I might have some steamed vegetables and some ground beef and rice or some chicken (some sort of meat dish). And for snacks I'll tend to munch on some fruit (banana, tangerines, whatever) or drink another glass of the lowfat chocolate milk. I also try to drink green tea or chamomile or kava tea from time to time.

I'm totally OCD so I WILL input every little tiny thing that my body intakes no matter how small it may be or insignificant. I'll input a pinch of salt if I had it just to make sure my diary is as accurate as possible.

Anyway,

I don't always meet my caloric goal though... My net is always hovering around 1200, but not quite there. Many days I'll be under by a couple hundred calories, and some days I might overeat by just that much (so, for example; today, as I'm getting ready for bed, I'm at a total of 826 calories... not by choice I just wasn't hungry! But yesterday, I was at 1302). I've read that it's okay to overeat by just a couple of hundred calories since these apps already calculate your TDEE and what not, and I do try to eat back my calories expended during work outs so that my net matches, but I still can't help but freak out a little bit that this is hindering my weight loss...

So like I said, I've been doing this all for a month. Before I started I was 153 pounds. The first couple of weeks I lost 5 pounds, but then around the 3rd week I gained back 2 pounds putting me now at 150. Now, I'm FULLY aware that this is probably muscle, especially considering how much of a couch potato I was before... (at least it better be or I'm gonna be sad lol). I DEFINITELY have a ton more strength than I ever had, and I do appear less swollen and the backfat I used to have is gone... but I've not lost any weight SINCE week 3 (though neither have I gained). It's now week.. 5 or 6 I think... and I feel as though in regards to toning, I'm not really seeing a difference other than the loss of back fat. I guess I have more of an indentation in my waist and I look less swollen, but I feel like my arms, tummy, and butt all look the same. I do do triceps exercises to get rid of that jiggly arm thing but it doesn't seem to be budging...

So bottom line I guess what I'm asking is, with all that background information, am I on track? Am I just being impatient or am I doing something wrong? At what point should I expect my arms, tummy, and butt to really start to show a difference tone wise? And at what point will my muscle building slow down and fat loss really show on the scale?

Like I said, I'm not *completely* un-knolwedgable (I know that's not a word, lol), but this is the first time I've really dedicated to something like this so... hoping to get some input!

Sorry for the long post but just trying to give out as much info as I can so replies can be well informed!

Thanks!

katznkt

Eat more. Try to never net less than 1200, but I'd shoot for more like 1500.
And bodies don't gain muscle that fast. More likely time of month, water retention, food in digestion etc. Maybe some water retention if your muscles were sore. Either way it should come off.

Then just be patient.

katznkt

Oh, and they say one month to notice change yourself.

aqualeo1

Maybe you're overestimating your exercise calories? For example a 30min jillian michaels DVD only burns about 150 calories (according to her) but if you log 30min circuit training it's like double that.

Also you are not building 2lbs a week in muscle. It's totally impossible for a woman to do that. (Try researching that subject)
You might be retaining water in your muscles though. That's totally possible and would go away as your body adjusts to your new routine.

You will lose weight if you are in a calorie deficit and you will see "tone" when you lose enough body fat to reveal some muscle.
Also are you using a food scale? It's a must for any OCD food logger. If not you're probably underestimating your intake because if you're really netting that low you would have lost significant weight after 6 weeks.

Good luck:)

pinknekophiliac

Maybe you're overestimating your exercise calories? For example a 30min jillian michaels DVD only burns about 150 calories (according to her) but if you log 30min circuit training it's like double that.

Also you are not building 2lbs a week in muscle. It's totally impossible for a woman to do that. (Try researching that subject)
You might be retaining water in your muscles though. That's totally possible and would go away as your body adjusts to your new routine.

You will lose weight if you are in a calorie deficit and you will see "tone" when you lose enough body fat to reveal some muscle.
Also are you using a food scale? It's a must for any OCD food logger. If not you're probably underestimating your intake because if you're really netting that low you would have lost significant weight after 6 weeks.

Good luck:)

Ahhhhhh the dreaded water retention! Yeah I didn't mean to say I thought I'd gained 2 pounds of muscle, I meant to say I know some of it was probably muscle, but not all of it. I am PMSing (sorry for the TMI for any male who may be reading this lol) so... hopefully that's all it is. I didn't know that a scale was so integral, so I'll definitely look into buying one! I didn't realize that some digital scales will estimate the calories in what you're weighing (duh) so I'll definitely get one!

I should also have mentioned that I have lost 2 inches off my waist since starting this and 1 inch off my hips. I really have no idea how many inches I should be losing at what rate... so if anyone can answer that question too I'd greatly appreciate it!

beautifulwarrior18

Eat around 1400-1500 calories a day, weigh and track everything. Do cardio at least 3x a week and weight lift 2-3x a week and you'll be on track. It's really that simple.