need moral support/advice..lifting or cardio?

veggiesandsw

well i began my battle about a year ago when I was at a low point in life. I ate very very little and exercised a lot, lost 25 pounds in about two months. Then i plateaued and continued depriving my body. I started gaining weight even though i was eating too little but more than before. That's when i started lifting weights, no change. Of course you can't gain muscle without nutrtion.

so I realized I needed to eat adequately, which i guess i have been trying to do for about a month. I've been eating anywhere from 1100 to 1500 calories, most days closer to 1200. I'm working out a lot more than I used to. I do weights about three times a week and intervals or other cardio three days a week. I try to rest one day but I don't always.

My problem is I think I'm gaining weight (fat). If I were gaining muscle my measurements would be decreasing and they are not. and I have put on actual weight. I don't even know if I'm eating enough considering how much I exercise, but I'm very nervous to eat more.
I LIKE lifting weights, but I don't want to gain fat and I think I am. My problems with food and my body are mostly emotional. I dont' want to give up trying to be healthy but I think I'm on the verge of going back to my old ways..even though I know that is futile in the long run.

havingitall

You may need to up your calories a little more and eat 5 - 6 small meals in the day.

azwildcatfan94

Disclaimer* the source for a lot of my response comes from listening to Jillian Michael's radio show and from reading various books including "You on a Diet", "Younger Next Year" and stuff like that. If I get anything wrong, it's my fault and not theirs... You might want to do your own homework on this stuff*

OK, in my OPINION, take a deep breath and let your body adjust to the new eating plan. Per Jillian, the female Biggest Loser contestants gain at most 10 pounds over the 7 months they are on "the Ranch" working out 6 - 8 hours a day, every day. So, it is likely that you are not gaining a lot of muscle. BUT, that doesn't mean it is all fat either. Some of it is probably a reaction to eating too few calories before. Your body is probably trying to store extra fat in case there is another famine like the one you just put yourself through. Depending on what you are now eating, you could also be retaining water. Make sure you don't eat too much sodium. Also, if you work out a lot, that could cause you to retain fluid. So, make sure you drink plenty of water to keep your body flushed out and include a good source of potassium.

Eventually, if you are eating around 1200 calories a day, you should start burning fat again. I don't recommend going under 1200. And, depending on your current weight, the amount of activity you do in the day, and how much you have to lose, 1200 could still be too low. You might want to check out the bmr calculator in the tools section of this website. Heck, I would even suggest you use the tools on this site to determine the right calories for you for a 1 - 2 pound a week weight loss and stick with that. My reason? Research shows that those folks who lose weight slowly tend to be more successful in the long run with getting to their desired weight and staying there afterwards.

As far as lifting or cardio... First, do whichever you enjoy the most. If you are not a professional athelete, or really buff weightlifter, then the calorie burn from weightlifting is mostly from the fact you are moving vs. building muscle. Toning is great for your overall health. Especially as you age. So, even if you don't like it, you probably still should do some lifting. Cardio is where you burn calories most effeciently. The more intense the activity, the more calories you burn. And if you are trying to burn as much calories as possible, aim for a 5 - 10 minute warm up, then however long you want/can do at 85% of your max heart rate and then a 5 - 10 minute cool down, slowly getting your heart rate down to around 100 bpm. You probably don't want to do more than 2 hours per session if you can go that long (I can't and feel pretty good about my fitness level). However, you can still burn calories just by taking a nice walk. You just have to do it for longer to burn the same number of calories. Same thing with the weights... If you do circuts and keep your heart rate up between sets, you will burn more calories than if you lift the exact same amount of weight, the same number of sets and reps, but take breaks and do them at a more leisurly pace. In the end, it is up to you to determine your pace. I only suggest that you do it in whatever style keeps you going to the gym consistently. If you want to be losing weight as fast as you can, then definitly up the intensity. But, again, that has the risk of burning you out so you stop going...

In the end, any extreme is bad for you. Try to stay along the middle way.

wkualum

You may need to up your calories a little more and eat 5 - 6 small meals in the day.

That's what I was thinking. I don't think 1200 calories while being a heavy exerciser is enough. Not sure if you're male or female or what your weight is, but 1200 calories doesn't seem to be enough.

I'm not the expert of the boards so I'll defer to them

azwildcatfan94

correction:

Per Jillian, the female Biggest Loser contestants gain at most 10 pounds over the 7 months they are on "the Ranch" working out 6 - 8 hours a day, every day.

Should be: Per Jillian, the female Biggest Loser contestants gain at most 10 pounds OF MUSCLE over the 7 months they are on "the Ranch" working out 6 - 8 hours a day, every day.