Need a little help..new to this!

burbanum

Hi everyone, I have dieted and lost and gained 15 lbs or more SO many times and am ready for something new. My stats: 5 ft 7.5 in. weight 173-175. My job is 4 days a week massage therapist (somewhat active job). I exercise 4 to 5 days a week on average. High intensity cardio 30-45 minutes 3 or 4 days, weights ( trying to focus on heavier...not sure i am doing it right htough) 45 minutes 2 to 3 times per week. I have always since a small child been bigger and athletic. I am so frustrated with trying to lose 15 more pounds which i think would be a healthy weight for me. I have played with changing up macros and calories, but think overall i have done a lot of low cal followed by a few high cal days when i am so hungry i cannot take it anymore. Mostly i was averaging around 1400 calories a day when low cal eating-although sometimes 1200 and some days 1600....with my workouts i feel tired and hungry and after 3 months of this again i am only down 3.5 lbs...VERY frustrating! I want to do emtwl but am not certain how best to calculate my tdee and activity level etc...not to mention cut? Is anyone able to walk me through this a little...sorry for so many questions. Also, i am trying to focus on more protein...what are the macro ratios you recommend..i have been trying to do 25/40/35 c/p/f not sure if this is right eitehr....HELP and thanks.
Brittany

tangiesharp

Brittany,

First, welcome to the group. You'll find lots of information on some of the stickies at the top of the message board that address your questions, so please make sure you read those.

I'm not clear from your note whether your calories are 1200-1600 total or net after exercise calories. Either way, I would say for your height and weight, you are not eating enough. You could use the scooby TDEE calculator (http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/) to figure out your daily calories at the moderately active level and a 15% calorie reduction. I'm sure the number will seem unreasonably high, but its what your body needs to function. Remember you've already included exercise in your calculation, so you only need to eat back exercise calories if your net calories are under your BMR.

As far as macros, I've been doing 40/30/30 (carbs/protein/fat) and trying to keep my sodium under 2500/day. The most important macro to hit is protein, and I have to use a couple of protein shakes a day to reach my goal.

Please be sure to read the sticky at the top of the board on what to expect when upping your calories. You might want to stay away from the scale for a while so you don't freak out. (I had to do it because I lost my mind the first couple of weeks.) But, you should see changes in your body composition even if the scale goes up.

Good luck.

fiveohmike

Hey Welcome to the group!

So I ran your numbers through the scooby calc.

I guess an age of 30

What I come up with is:

BRM - 1542
TDEE - 2390

and your TDEE -20% cut target of: 1912

I set this as you are active (although you may be very active, as you are borderline strenout (5-6 hrs a week)).

So for starters, I would eat at 1912 calories a day for 6 weeks. Remember this is a lifestyle change and not a fad diet.

Second, toss the scale, and bust out the tape measure. Measure yourself on day 1, and then bi-weekly aftewards. that is where you will see the difference. If the inches are going away who cares about the scale?

At the end of 6 weeks is when would make changes to the program (99% of the time adding in more calories).

As for macro's, most of us shoot for 40% protein, 30%fat, 30% carbs.

Mike

burbanum

Thanks for the help. I am 33 so great guess I will also look at the scooby calculator..was not sure what activity level to pick so thanks for the advice on that too. I will have to toss the scale so I am not frustrated the 1200-1600 was total calories eaten whether i excercised or not actually so pretty low on high burn days...some days i do insanity which burns A LOT of calories but i am actually trying to shift to a little less cardio and more weights...seeing amazing results here from many of you!

I know to gain a little in the beginning is normal but does everybody seem to lose it back after 6 weeks or so of doing this? hoping so I will change my macros to to 40/30/30 and i am getting way better with protein myself and do protein shakes too i appreciate all the advice! THanks ladies

Brittany

burbanum

oops said thanks ladies and didn't realize that it was also gentlemen!! thank you nonetheless!

fiveohmike

I lost mine after 4 weeks, and have been losing about a lb a week since (2 weeks lol)