advice, not criticism, needed please

weewdy

Ok so i started my weight loss journey on 6th january this year and very quick lost 55lbs. For the last 3/4 i have fluctuated around the same weight. So i have enrolled in a gym and i am going to try to do 1hr 3 times a week (my partners shifts change and i have childcare problems). My first question is what is an ideal workout? For the last 2 days i have done -

5 mins rowing
15 mins treadmill
Leg presses 3x8reps
Chest presses 3x8reps
5 mins crosstrainer
Leg presses 3x8 reps
Chest presses 3x8reps
15 crunches
10 mins rowing

Does that sound enough?

My next question is regarding my calorie allowance, some usefull stats are

Sw - 256
Cw - 201
Gw - 180 (just now anyway)
Height - 5ft 5
Sedentary

Mfp has me at 1200, i eat anywhere between 1050 and 1200 in a day. Do i eat more on only the days i exercise?

I really want to kick start my weight loss.

db34fit69

LifeItself

Kudos to you for juggling weight loss, regular exercise, and a family! :drinker:

I'm no expert on exercise, but I hope you're proud of the job you've already done so far and you get the advice you need to keep up the good work!

echofm1

Ok so i started my weight loss journey on 6th january this year and very quick lost 55lbs. For the last 3/4 i have fluctuated around the same weight. So i have enrolled in a gym and i am going to try to do 1hr 3 times a week (my partners shifts change and i have childcare problems). My first question is what is an ideal workout?

Does that sound enough?

There is no ideal workout. Just do what you like to do. Lots of people will suggest a good mix of cardio AND strength training, which it sounds like you're doing. How much and at what intensity depends on the person and their capabilities though. You don't need to exercise to lose weight. You just need to be in a caloric deficit, which is easier to do with exercise because you can eat more food.

Mfp has me at 1200, i eat anywhere between 1050 and 1200 in a day. Do i eat more on only the days i exercise?

I really want to kick start my weight loss.

If MFP has you at 1200, your goal to lose is too aggressive. Scale it back to a pound a week, maybe even half a pound. Also, yes, you should be eating back calories burned from exercise. You need to fuel your body for all the work you're making it do.

budobo

When you're exercising, you're (A) burning more calories, and (B) you are breaking down a lot of muscle that needs to be rebuilt.

(A) I personally eat back my exercise diet so as to not starve my body from its needs. 1200 calories is already at the very bottom of what you should consume in a diet.

(B) Be sure that you're taking in enough protein to account for muscle breakdown that occurs in exercise. When I work out, I initially lose weight and then put a portion of that back on in muscle.

For exercise, well, you want to do a routine that pushes you. If 15 crunches is very difficult to do right now, then that is enough for you; however, you will eventually want to push yourself to do 2 sets of 15, or perhaps a different style of crunch (I personally do pilates style core workouts, where I do holds) in addition to what you're doing now.

What are you doing on the treadmill? If you're doing 15 minutes of running, I applaud you! If you're doing 15 minutes of leisurely walking, be sure that you're pushing yourself to get your heart rate up. Once you feel comfortable at that pace, push yourself! Increase the incline, or increase your speed slightly.

I personally never work all muscle groups in a single workout like you have marked below. Monday I'll do light cardio and work legs/back, Tuesday I'll work Chest/Arms/Core, and Friday I'll focus all cardio. That sort of thing.

My best advice to you is adjust depending on how your body feels after the workout and the following day.

collingmommy

Your going to want to eat more, go to fat2fitradio.com and do the following, b.m.r calculator, use your weight as your goal and current weight, scroll to the bottom of the page, and find the one that meats your criteria of "sedentary" / or which one you choose.. then subtract 20 percent from that number and use that as your goal calories. ( best way to do it, imo) then you don't have to lug your exercise calories on mfp.. yay! And you won't eat back your calories burned from exercise, as they are already incorporated in the calorie assistance, then, as for the gym... hit the stronglifts 5x5 group and look at that.. you can add cardio if you choose to, though it's not recommended for a beginner. This will equal FAT LOSS, not necessarily WEIGHT loss, so take measurements. Amy questions, feel free to message me.

Aaron_K123

Couple things. At 200 pounds you definitely need to eat more than 1000-1200 calories per day regardless of exercise. If you exercise as well you need to eat substantially more than 1200 calories per day, closer to 1900 I'd think.

Next if you lift for strength training for one muscle group you should at somepoint also work the opposite muscle group. I notice for example that you include chest exercises but nothing for your upper back which is its antagonist.

Also if you work your quads with leg presses you probably also want to work your hamstrings for the same reason.

Crunches are your rectus abdominus, so you should also include something for your erector spinae.

budobo

Couple things. At 200 pounds you definitely need to eat more than 1000-1200 calories per day regardless of exercise. If you exercise as well you need to eat substantially more than 1200 calories per day, closer to 1900 I'd think.

Next if you lift for strength training for one muscle group you should at somepoint also work the opposite muscle group. I notice for example that you include chest exercises but nothing for your upper back which is its antagonist.

This too ^

I injured myself recently from muscle imbalance.

tesha_chandler

Great job on the weight loss! You need to eat at least 1200+ calories a day and eat back at least part of the calories that you burn. I would say the work out that you are doing is ok, just make sure you're really pushing yourself.

kemval74

Sw - 256
Cw - 201
Gw - 180 (just now anyway)
Height - 5ft 5
Sedentary

If you are going to be doing your routine 3 x/week you need to change your activity level. I would also suggest increasing # reps to 12-15 and ensuring that you do at least 30 min cardio ( I think yours added up to 30 min exactly). Just curious was your initial weight loss from a calorie defict only?

AshleyArleneNP

Are you doing any cardio? Even if you jump rope at home or walk with the children, you need cardio. When I got stuck, my trainer recommended zig-zag calorie counting. You can google it. It has worked for me.

starsandowls

Going from zero activity to sixty minutes in your first session is a recipe for injury. I would suggest starting off a little more gently, possibly just walking to start off, and when that starts to feel like it's nothing, then begin to work in all this cross training you're suggesting.

Your calorie goal isn't an upper limit. It's a goal. On the days you exercise, you put in the exercise, and the number of calories you have left in the day will change, and you aim for that number. Some people only eat back some fraction of their exercise calories. That doesn't work for me, personally.

It's all about finding your balance, in your body, and a bunch of strangers on the internet don't know your medical conditions or strength level, so we can't tell you, "Yes! That is a great plan and will work perfectly for you!" or "No! That is a terrible plan!" Calculators can't tell you the right number of calories, either. It's about finding the number where you lose fat (not just weight), and that might be predicted by a calculator or it might not.

My advice, aim to get NET calories of 1150-1250 a day, start with walking, then add things in as you get more fit. Give it a month before you give up on that idea, because you'll retain water when you start exercising, and as you gain muscle, you'll lose inches instead of pounds some weeks.

rebeccalee1986

I would personally eat more I'm no expert not even close but I couldn't survive in 1000-1200 calories a day. I have around 1400-1500

enchantedgardener

Great job with your progress so far! Starting a fitness program will definitely improve your overall health and will help with losing those last stubborn pounds.

I'm no expert on creating workout plans, so do take that in consideration. I think what you've outlined is a great starting point, but you'll need to change it up to include more moves that target all your major muscle groups.
I've recently bought a book called The Body Sculpting Bible for Women. It's got photos and descriptions of over a hundred moves for targeting specific muscles and muscle groups, as well as lots of weight lifting workout routines. I'm doing a beginner one now, and will progress to others later. Perhaps a similar book might be useful to you. I'm sure this information is also available on the internet for free. I personally prefer having a hard copy I can drag to the gym with me and refer to as needed.

As far as calorie intake goes, you will need to increase if you want to continue to lose weight. I know this sounds counter-intuitive, but you will need to increase your calorie intake so that you will have the energy to workout effectively and for your body to build and repair lean muscle. If you don't increase your calorie intake you will find exercise exhausting and you won't be building the muscle you need. Increasing lean muscle mass will make you look slimmer, feel stronger, and it increases your resting metabolism. All good things!

I'd start by calculating your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) and subtracting 10%. You'll still be eating at a caloric deficit, but you'll have much more energy for your body to go about the process of reshaping itself.

Good luck!

weewdy

Thanks everyone.

The treadmill was set for a fast walk and then jog. My initial weight loss was all down to diet and increased walking but only around 6000 steps a day (pedometer on phone so not hugely accurate.

I did work both leg muscles but wasnt sure what they were called and same for by chest/back.

I have a womens circuit training class tomorrow.

I will lower my 2lb per week loss down to 1lb as recommended. Also my macros are set as standard but i have always ate around 50carbs 20 fat and 30 protein, is this wrong?

Aaron_K123

Thanks everyone.

The treadmill was set for a fast walk and then jog. My initial weight loss was all down to diet and increased walking but only around 6000 steps a day (pedometer on phone so not hugely accurate.

I did work both leg muscles but wasnt sure what they were called and same for by chest/back.

I have a womens circuit training class tomorrow.

I will lower my 2lb per week loss down to 1lb as recommended. Also my macros are set as standard but i have always ate around 50carbs 20 fat and 30 protein, is this wrong?

50/20/30 seems reasonable. For macros basically you want to get about 0.8g of protein per pound of lean mass (so I'm guessing probably like 100g of protein) and you want to get at least the essential amount of fat in your diet and then on top of that just carbs. I think you can do that with 50/20/30. I'd still emphasize you should eat more than 1200 a day though.

As for your workout routine if you aren't including all the exercises you are doing I cannot really comment on it. If you are a total novice I'd suggest doing full body lifting 3 times a week with 2 days rest in between. One exercise per muscle group with 3 sets for each. Vary from day to day which lifts you do for each muscle group for variety.

Muscle groups would be:

Chest, Shoulders, Upper Back, Lower Back, biceps, triceps, Rectus Abdominus, Obliques, Quads, Hamstrings, Calves. Can also include compound lifts that hit groups of muscles such as squats and deadlifts.

weewdy

Thanks everyone.

The treadmill was set for a fast walk and then jog. My initial weight loss was all down to diet and increased walking but only around 6000 steps a day (pedometer on phone so not hugely accurate.

I did work both leg muscles but wasnt sure what they were called and same for by chest/back.

I have a womens circuit training class tomorrow.

I will lower my 2lb per week loss down to 1lb as recommended. Also my macros are set as standard but i have always ate around 50carbs 20 fat and 30 protein, is this wrong?

50/20/30 seems reasonable. For macros basically you want to get about 0.8g of protein per pound of lean mass (so I'm guessing probably like 100g of protein) and you want to get at least the essential amount of fat in your diet and then on top of that just carbs. I think you can do that with 50/20/30. I'd still emphasize you should eat more than 1200 a day though.

As for your workout routine if you aren't including all the exercises you are doing I cannot really comment on it. If you are a total novice I'd suggest doing full body lifting 3 times a week with 2 days rest in between. One exercise per muscle group with 3 sets for each. Vary from day to day which lifts you do for each muscle group for variety.

Yes i have just increased my calories to 1550. I really dont know what the exercises were called, i will have a google see if i can find the correct names. Thanks

rebeccalee1986

I don't know if this is the case for you but in my gym they do little cards a workout on them depending on your goal so you have strength, weight loss, health etc but you have to return them after the workout to the stand. Maybe see if your gym has this?

KingRat79

just to comment on your exercise routine, the lifting looks very limited and you are only doing chest and leg exercises, doing this you run the risk of ending up with musculoskeletal imbalances. think strong chest and week back. you really should be doing a full body work out that works out each major muscle group equally.