Ask me anything about fat/weight loss....

InnerFatGirl

Thank you

TinaDay1114

I'm 41, 5'5", and currently 136 lbs. I've always been very active (love working out ) but needed to lose the last 20 lbs. after having 2 kids -- I finally kicked it tracking my food on here.

I hit my goal of 132 lbs. right after New Year's, but I've been yo-yoing over the same 5 lbs. for the last 5 months.

I was eating about 1,500 calories / day + exercise calories, and then bumped it up to 1,800 (+ exercise cals) when I reached my goal because I was training for a 1/2 marathon, and I was working out 5-6 days a week, sometimes burning over 1,000 calories on longer runs. I also started incorporating 2 days of circuit training w/weights.

I recently cut back to the 1,500 + exercise cals after the bottom of my weight range kept slowly inching higher (now instead of 132, my low is usually 135 or 136). I've done a lot of the BMR / TDEE calorie calculators, and still feel like I'm struggling to find my "magic #" per day to stay at my goal weight.

Is this "magic #" just different for every person? How do you determine where your clients should be calorie wise?

I also don't wanna get too hung up on the #s...advice?

With my clients I usually start them off on a reco. For men usually 2,000, for women 1,200. From there I reevaluate at the end of every week to see how their body is responding. If they're losing too fast, I'll bump their calories up. Too slow, and I'll decrease them again or up their activity factor. I've talked earlier about how fickle the metabolism is, and how unique each of our bodies are. Usually toward the end with them I start having them incorporate weekly refeeds, and then when they are usually a month out from goal, I start increasing their calories each week to see how strong I can get their metabolism without adding back fat.

For you I would recommend the same. Take it slow and easy. Track what you're eating, and slowly start decreasing the amounts till you start losing.

THANK YOU!

justdoit_steph

Awesome thread - Thanks!

iRebel

Should I NET my BMR or eat up to it?

Elaborate. If you just ate up to your bmr everyday, you would still lose in the long run so long as your counting was spot on. Bmr assumes you're not doing ANYthing. So time you move out of bed, brush your teeth, and walk to the car, you're already ahead of it.

Well, I burn 600 calories a day. Should I stick to my BMR (1493) or eat back those 600 calories? I net at 900 if I don't eat back my calories from exercise- I don't eat them very often. THANK YOU!!:flowerforyou:

Saruman_w

Nice thread! I'll definitely be checkin' this out later

beattie1

What this site needs is a bookmark facility! It's all here, but it's getting to be a Big Read.
:flowerforyou:

xcrunnergirl13

I am a 19 year old female, 106.5 lbs, and a distance runner. Not running right now, but cross train for more than an hour a day, usually burn over 400-600 calories through moderate to intense cardio a day plus alternating days of resitance training and yoga, and a lot of walking to get around town. Most if not all of my deficit comes from exercise as opposed to bmr, and I eat back some of the calories burned, but I'm not sure how many to leave as a deficit to lose the most weight from fat and not muscle.

ejechols

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graysmom2005

I am a 32 year old 5ft6 in woman. I'm around 154 pounds. I'm also a group exercise instructor so overtraining probably pertains to me. My question is, I've been trying to lose 5-10 lbs for over 2 years and even after teaching 10 classes a week nothing really budges. I bought a BodyMedia FIT and my TDEE is around 2900 on average. Some days 2800, some over 3000. I haven't gone any higher than 2200 as a max really for a long time in fear of regaining weight. As a woman would taking 500 calories off a 2900/3100 day (23-2500 calories) be too much for me to eat? Is this what is stopping me losing weight? Would 2500 be too much food or could not eating that amount be what's keeping me from dropping? Thanks!

KellyBurton1

Bumping for later

tinksmommy2006

Ok probably a huge repeat Q. but you said anything so....Ok I am a girl...I have ALWAYS had BIG...like 15" around arms...no matter what size I have ever been.....I got them down to 14" right now by lifting weights every other day...3 to 5 pounds depending on what type of lifting I am doing...I also do 20 push ups every other day (that is sadly all I can do...and that is up from only being able to do like 5 in the beginning, don't laugh at me...lol.)...at least 30 minutes of cardio every day...except Sundays......I am starting to gain to much muscle i think...I just want them smaller d*mn it! Any suggestions?

jclengerich

How bad is diet pop for your body? I gave up drinking regular coke and began drinking diet..I drink 4-6 cans per day. Does it slow down my metablolism? Thk for your help.

RussetBrunnette

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DoingItNow2012

Wealth of info. Bumping to shares and to see all of the other answers that will be coming. I am currently experimenting to see what works for my body. My ultimate goal is to see six pack abs. Would be nice to enter a figure competition one day, but right now, just want to see six packs.

Karalopolous

Alright, I'll bite. I'm looking to lose some body fat/build some lean muscle

Tell me if I'm in line with the numbers.

27 yr old female, 170 lbs, 5'3.5 tall, work out with weights 3 days a week (45 minute sessions) and like 2 days of cardio (at about 30 minutes a session)

My BMR is 1550, TDEE is 2400
I'm eating 1900 calories a day on days that I don't strength train and adding about 200-300 extra calories on the days that I do strength train.
Macros are 40% carbs, 30% protein, and 30% fat.

Anything you would change?

I've been testing this out for about a month, but I'm always up for suggestions

Khadines

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mrau719

Fat loss question: I'm 5'7" with 23-24% bf at about 147-149 lbs. I lift weights 4-6x's a week fairly heavy. I added muscle and now I'm ready to cut. Eventually get down to around 19% bf. Is there truth behind eating more to burn fat? I'm having a hard time figuring out how much I should be eating to effectively burn fat but not deprive myself.

lucylousmummy

i do a lot of walking, at least 2.5 hours per day (15k or 9 mile) unfortunately there is no way around this as its the school run. i have my activity level set as sedentary and count the calories burnt. i also try to do at least 3 sessions of Jillian Micheals per week, jogging 3 times per week, and try to do half an hour on my exercise bike everyday, but that's because i was recommended it to strengthen my knee muscles (dodgy knee from an accident 23 years ago)

my questions are.... should i change my activity level, is this much walking counterproductive to my weight loss, and in the long run am i messing with my metabolism

im 35 and since January 2011 i have lost 79 pounds

anoroc751

Who was this guy? Like a super hero appearing out of no where to help out and than, in a flash, he's gone again.

Thanks for all the time you put into this. You are the "Main Man"!!!!!1

Mcmilligen

BUMP !

Kia148

BUMP!

FloridaJenn

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MOS3

Just started running and read that it doen't burn as much fat as walking. What's your take on that?

moe5474

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teenasbody

This thread is AMAZING you are the best for this

THANKS

TheBigBoots

Thanks for being so generous with your time and knowledge! Not only is this great info, your willingness to do it is really inspirational. Very much appreciated!

secretgirl4611

480mg of sodium bad?? cuz I had 2 slices of my chicken meat at 20 calories per slice.. But the sodium scares me now
heres the link to what i ate:
http://fosterfarms.com/products/product.asp?productcode=15003

also, um water weight I had gained about 4 pounds of it in 2 days well when I ate bad junk food..(that im gonna try to stay away from now all wk)
now the scale says I lost it after I wrapped up my stomach and sweated alot.. HOWEVER, ALL I DRINK IS WATER AND I AIM FOR 8 CUPS A DAY..
Um, am I gonna gain the water weight once I keep drinking my water again today ?

wk9t

Loving this thread and learning a lot!

Now for my question. I am a 64 year old male and when I was in my 20's & early 30's I worked out religiously and was in decent shape. For whatever reason one day I just stopped working out and really let myself go. In September 2011 I weighed 254 lbs ( I'm 5' 9" ) and was badly out of shape ... then my doctor dropped a bomb on me when she told me I was pre-diabetic. That was my wake up call. In October 2011 I found MFP and I have logged in every day since then and really kept myself on track. I've lost 55 lbs so far!

In December 2011 I joined a gym and I now workout 3 - 4 days a week.. I generally do 15 min of cardio and weight train heavily (for me) for 60 minutes. Since joining the gym I have dropped my body fat from 38% to 27%. My goal is to get to 20%. Do you feel this is a realistic goal given my age?

BTW, I had originally set my goal weight at 185 lbs. I am now at 198. As my body fat percentage drops I have noticed my weight loss has slowed, but I am still losing inches and starting to notice muscle gain. I have now realized that a certain number on the scale is not as important as the body fat percentage.

zsaoosh

What is the best way for me to loose fat and gain muscle at the same time as a woman?
Cardo - 3 hours atleast a week
Weights - 3 days a week
Cals 1350 (dont eat back but eat pretty clean)
I am 135 pounds and 5'6.5''
I lost 17 lbs and now working on muscles but still need to loose about 5 lbs of fat.
THANK YOU :bigsmile:

ladykate7

bump for later reading