After years of errors... want to do it right

skinka_och_gurka
skinka_och_gurka Posts: 5
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi!

I am a girl, 21 years old, 5 ft 7 or actually 5 ft 8, around 150 pounds, want to be around 130 pounds.

Long story short: I went through all kind of eating patterns, including healthy (which is my state now for about 2-3 years). I recently realised I strived for very long time for unhealthy body image. I just was unrealistic. I have a bit muscular body (kind of, I am fit and work out) without abs or definition, just it sits well. Nobody would ever tell I am 150 pounds, they usually give me 140.

The problem is... I dont like my body 100%. I feel too heavy and would enjoy a smaller frame : such as 130 pounds. Lets be realistic: 120 pounds is MAYBE achieveble, but I wasnt that small since 7th grade in school :D

Second problem: I study law and have a bunch of things to do. The last thing I want to worry all the time is how hungry I am.

Third problem: On the 1200 calories diet I feel SO HUNGRY, like, HUUUUUUNGRY. I couldnt do it. The same with any number under 1600-1800.

But.......if I eat 1600-1800 calories I really dont see any changes in my body for the last 2 weeks. I eat mostly paleo with occasional brown rice and an espresso once a week. I exercise on good weeks 5 times a week, on bad weeks just 2.

I am very confused. I want to lose the weight forever and I dont care how long it will take, I just need someone to tell me :

It WILL COME OFF, just do it.

If I stick to a calorie limit 1800 calories maximum for a year(like the simplicity of the idea) and work out at least for minus 1500 calores a week, do you think it will make a difference?

Replies

  • I_Will_End_You
    I_Will_End_You Posts: 4,397 Member
    Yes, you will likely lose at 1800 calories a day while working out. What kind of workouts do you do? It sounds like you may need to look into a heavy lifting program. That will help you cut fat, retain lean body mass and get that "toned" look it sounds like you're going for.
  • skinka_och_gurka
    skinka_och_gurka Posts: 5
    Hi :) Thanks.

    I do mostly bodyweight trainings : cardio, circuits, etc. Heavy lifting wasnt a good idea on the long run for me. I dont really want to look cut and jacked or strongly toned, just to be lighter, because I feel heavy now. I tried heavy lifting for a year and it did nothing for the feeling of heavyness. Lets say I dont enjoy this kind of work outs, I am more into pilates and cardio. Would 1800 be too much for a "diet"?
  • cdahl383
    cdahl383 Posts: 726 Member
    What I've found has worked great for me in the past is using a basic calorie calculator to determine my TDEE. This calculates your BMR and then takes into account any physical activity you do through the week. Below is the calculator I've used in the past with great success...

    http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

    For example, my BMR is roughly 2000 calories per day. My TDEE is 3100 calories per day based on my activity level (3-5 hrs a week of light/moderate exercise). In order to lose weight at a healthy pace without starving and shocking my body, I simply subtract 20% from my TDEE and eat at that calorie level. So 3100 x 80% = 2480. I aim for about 2300-2500 calories a day and typically lose about 1 lb a week, sometimes a little more, sometimes a little less. There are also weeks where I lose nothing. But in general, the trend is downward which is what you want.

    If you stick with the numbers you should be in good shape. Numbers don't lie.

    The key is after you lose about 5 lbs, to recalculate everything. So type your stats back into the calculator and get your new calorie goal, because as you lose weight, you'll have to eat slightly less each month in order to maintain that 1lb per week weight loss. Otherwise at some point you'll level off and just start maintaining which is frustrating.

    My issue has been after I get really close to my goal weight, I become complacent, start to slack a little, start eating a little more, exercising less, and pretty soon I'm putting weight back on again. But everyone has their own faults to overcome.

    If you eat at TDEE - 20% you should lose weight at a nice healthy pace and over 3 months or so you could easily lose 15 lbs or so and within 6 months you could be very close to your goal weight of 120 lbs.

    Good luck!
  • cdahl383
    cdahl383 Posts: 726 Member
    Hi :) Thanks.

    I do mostly bodyweight trainings : cardio, circuits, etc. Heavy lifting wasnt a good idea on the long run for me. I dont really want to look cut and jacked or strongly toned, just to be lighter, because I feel heavy now. I tried heavy lifting for a year and it did nothing for the feeling of heavyness. Lets say I dont enjoy this kind of work outs, I am more into pilates and cardio. Would 1800 be too much for a "diet"?

    Lifting is a good idea. Muscle burns fat, and it also takes up less space than fat. One guy can be 5'11" and weigh 210 lbs and be a fat slob and the other guy with the same height and 210 lbs could look like a bodybuilder. They'll each weigh the same, but the other guy sure looks a lot better.

    My wife always lifts weights and she has nice muscle tone in her arms and legs whereas her sister just does cardio and while she looks good too, doesn't have that same tone to her body. You don't have to get a power cage and squat 400 lbs or bench press 300 lbs, if you just do a basic weight lifting workout it'll put some muscle on your body and help you on your quest to burn the fat off your body.
  • WBB55
    WBB55 Posts: 4,131 Member
    This is a complicated, but very interesting simulator to show what will happen to your weight and body fat% if you do different things. You have to enable java. And it's COMPLICATED. But once you get the details right, it is fun to put in different calorie and exercise settings and watch how the graph changes.

    http://www.niddk.nih.gov/research-funding/at-niddk/labs-branches/LBM/integrative-physiology-section/body-weight-simulator/Pages/body-weight-simulator.aspx
  • thepandapost
    thepandapost Posts: 117 Member
    Lifting weights will work wonders to change your body fat % and you won't get bulky.
  • skinka_och_gurka
    skinka_och_gurka Posts: 5
    Thanks for the advices:)

    Ok, so I will begin eating like 1800-1900 calories a day, I guess forever :D and the weight loss will come from the work outs. With time I calculated that my caloric needs even with the workouts will adjust to not needing to eat more than 1800-1900 calories a day. So basically this is the simplest and healthiest way of losing weight. It will take me maybe a little less than an year or actually an year, but this is not a problem for me :)

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