Losing 5-7 more pounds-advice please

AwMyLoLo

Since I started on MFP, I have lost almost 10 pounds, but still feel like I could stand to lose another 5 to 7 in the long run. I am currently 128 +/-, 5' 6.5", 23 years old (F). I have a desk job and go to the gym for 45 minutes to an hour an average of 3 times per week. My work outs are typically: jog 1 mile, stretch about 10 minutes and then weights for 30-40 minutes. I have my daily calorie goal set at 1400, which according to MFP would be .5 lb weight loss per week. I don't expect to lose that much each week but I try to keep my calories lower throughout the week because I do take in more calories on the weekend. I guess I am just wondering if this seems reasonable. I figure my TDEE is around 1900, is it okay for me to have a 500 calorie defecit for 4-5 days out of the week and then no defecit and even surplus for 2-3 days? 121 pounds seems really small for someone over 5 foot 6 inches tall, but like I said, I still have quite a bit of extra cushion. Just wanna know what you guys think!

Thanks! :drinker:

carrieberrie

Since I started on MFP, I have lost almost 10 pounds, but still feel like I could stand to lose another 5 to 7 in the long run. I am currently 128 +/-, 5' 6.5", 23 years old (F). I have a desk job and go to the gym for 45 minutes to an hour an average of 3 times per week. My work outs are typically: jog 1 mile, stretch about 10 minutes and then weights for 30-40 minutes. I have my daily calorie goal set at 1400, which according to MFP would be .5 lb weight loss per week. I don't expect to lose that much each week but I try to keep my calories lower throughout the week because I do take in more calories on the weekend. I guess I am just wondering if this seems reasonable. I figure my TDEE is around 1900, is it okay for me to have a 500 calorie defecit for 4-5 days out of the week and then no defecit and even surplus for 2-3 days? 121 pounds seems really small for someone over 5 foot 6 inches tall, but like I said, I still have quite a bit of extra cushion. Just wanna know what you guys think!

Thanks! :drinker:

In my recent issue of Womens Health it said when you go up and down on calories that will make your metabolism slow down. Your metabolism will be confused. One day its getting 1400 the next 2000. You want to stay at a consistant range.

carrieberrie

Since I started on MFP, I have lost almost 10 pounds, but still feel like I could stand to lose another 5 to 7 in the long run. I am currently 128 +/-, 5' 6.5", 23 years old (F). I have a desk job and go to the gym for 45 minutes to an hour an average of 3 times per week. My work outs are typically: jog 1 mile, stretch about 10 minutes and then weights for 30-40 minutes. I have my daily calorie goal set at 1400, which according to MFP would be .5 lb weight loss per week. I don't expect to lose that much each week but I try to keep my calories lower throughout the week because I do take in more calories on the weekend. I guess I am just wondering if this seems reasonable. I figure my TDEE is around 1900, is it okay for me to have a 500 calorie defecit for 4-5 days out of the week and then no defecit and even surplus for 2-3 days? 121 pounds seems really small for someone over 5 foot 6 inches tall, but like I said, I still have quite a bit of extra cushion. Just wanna know what you guys think!

Thanks! :drinker:

also for your height, you are at a perfect weight


In my recent issue of Womens Health it said when you go up and down on calories that will make your metabolism slow down. Your metabolism will be confused. One day its getting 1400 the next 2000. You want to stay at a consistant range.

vitabella

My opinion would be to continue eating as healthy as possible on the weekends, and avoid drinking alcohol. It might not be any fun but youll lose the weight.

melbellmead

I checked your BMI- Body Mass Index and your wieght range is -Healthy- you can still be healthy at a weight as low as 116.4 or up to 157.3, But this really depends on your bone size... now you can check your bone size simply by taking your thumb and your middle finger on one hand and reaching around the wrist of your other hand. (like making a bracelet with your fingers)
Small bone structure you should be able to overlap your thumb over middle finger.
Medium bone stucture your fingers will just touch each other.
Large bone stucture your fingers will not touch.

Then when your done with that you can divide the body mass index into the three groups. The lower end will be for small bone structure, middle for medium bone structure, and the high end will be for large bone structure. Hope this info helps...

AwMyLoLo

Since I started on MFP, I have lost almost 10 pounds, but still feel like I could stand to lose another 5 to 7 in the long run. I am currently 128 +/-, 5' 6.5", 23 years old (F). I have a desk job and go to the gym for 45 minutes to an hour an average of 3 times per week. My work outs are typically: jog 1 mile, stretch about 10 minutes and then weights for 30-40 minutes. I have my daily calorie goal set at 1400, which according to MFP would be .5 lb weight loss per week. I don't expect to lose that much each week but I try to keep my calories lower throughout the week because I do take in more calories on the weekend. I guess I am just wondering if this seems reasonable. I figure my TDEE is around 1900, is it okay for me to have a 500 calorie defecit for 4-5 days out of the week and then no defecit and even surplus for 2-3 days? 121 pounds seems really small for someone over 5 foot 6 inches tall, but like I said, I still have quite a bit of extra cushion. Just wanna know what you guys think!

Thanks! :drinker:

also for your height, you are at a perfect weight


In my recent issue of Womens Health it said when you go up and down on calories that will make your metabolism slow down. Your metabolism will be confused. One day its getting 1400 the next 2000. You want to stay at a consistant range.

That's what I was worried about is screwing with my metabolism by having a 600 calorie difference on some days. I know that some people "zigzag" their calories or eat more every now and then but I would basically be doing it consistently. I just eat more and less healthy (not horrible things really) on the weekends and drink beer to be honest!

I know that my current weight is ideal, but like I said, I still have some fat that could come off.

TheMaidOfAstolat

[/quote]

That's what I was worried about is screwing with my metabolism by having a 600 calorie difference on some days. I know that some people "zigzag" their calories or eat more every now and then but I would basically be doing it consistently. I just eat more and less healthy (not horrible things really) on the weekends and drink beer to be honest!

I know that my current weight is ideal, but like I said, I still have some fat that could come off.
[/quote]


I had a similar problem. I was only wanting to loose 5 pounds when I joined the site. I know...not much but it took me months to loose it because it was such a small amount. I now weigh 90 pounds...and that's the lower end for me...I'm only 5 feet tall and very thin framed. (I always feel that I have to explain or else I get nasty remarks from people)
It'll take time to loose that last bit since you are healthy but it can be done. I did give up alcohol for one full month and it seemed to help. But now that it's Fall...I really do enjoy having a cider (alcoholic) or a glass of mead once a week.

AwMyLoLo

That's what I was worried about is screwing with my metabolism by having a 600 calorie difference on some days. I know that some people "zigzag" their calories or eat more every now and then but I would basically be doing it consistently. I just eat more and less healthy (not horrible things really) on the weekends and drink beer to be honest!

I know that my current weight is ideal, but like I said, I still have some fat that could come off.
[/quote]


I had a similar problem. I was only wanting to loose 5 pounds when I joined the site. I know...not much but it took me months to loose it because it was such a small amount. I now weigh 90 pounds...and that's the lower end for me...I'm only 5 feet tall and very thin framed. (I always feel that I have to explain or else I get nasty remarks from people)
It'll take time to loose that last bit since you are healthy but it can be done. I did give up alcohol for one full month and it seemed to help. But now that it's Fall...I really do enjoy having a cider (alcoholic) or a glass of mead once a week.
[/quote]

Yeah, I understand what you're saying. I know I'm not going to be losing pound after pound month after month. My long-term goal would be to be around 122 pounds. Someone else mentioned frame or bone size. If I take my finger and thumb around my wrist I can put my thumb over to my first knuckle of my finger. I would say that I am small framed and carry my weight in my midsection, butt, hips, thighs. I wear a size 8 pants (loosely).

iplayoutside19

drink beer to be honest!

I found your problem.

Track what you eat on the food diary here, be honest with yourself...count the beer. And see where you really stand.

You cannot out excersise a bad diet. It's very possible you're drinking all the calories you burn at the gym.

I Love Beer, but to get where I need to be I can't be drinking it every weekend. I've busted my *kitten* too much to give it all back.

TheMaidOfAstolat

It took me 6 months to loose 5 pounds...I gained and lost during those months as well. I'm now happy with my weight...just need to get my abs back in shape...if possible (one of the lovely things about having a baby...she streched them out so much that mine actually split, ugh...only real option left is to have surgery).

AwMyLoLo

drink beer to be honest!

I found your problem.

Track what you eat on the food diary here, be honest with yourself...count the beer. And see where you really stand.

You cannot out excersise a bad diet. It's very possible you're drinking all the calories you burn at the gym.

I Love Beer, but to get where I need to be I can't be drinking it every weekend. I've busted my *kitten* too much to give it all back.

I agree with you. I guess my theory is to be very good during the week so I can be bad on the weekend. :blushing: I just need to know if that is such a bad idea? I think I still eat better on the weekends than a lot of people I know do all the time!

AwMyLoLo

Boss? Help? :flowerforyou:

Wills1816

I kind of struggled with the same thing for a bit. The easiest way to explain it is that a pound of fat takes 3500 calories to burn off. So, each week you want your calories you lose to be 3500 calories higher in outtake than what you eat (if you want to lose half a pound each week it is 1750 higher). My only advice would be make sure you put in all the beer/alcohol you drink and keep count (haha I know that's no fun). Also, you could maybe try lighter beer (MGD 64, Beck's Light, Mich Ultra, or some lower calorie mixed drinks). Another choice would be to hit the gym for an extra session to make up/cancel out the extra calories on the weekend, which made me slow down a little more on the weekends. Hope this is helpful

keiko

The alcohol really is a waste of calories. How many drinks are you having a weekend? Add up the calories and look at how much real food you could be getting for that. A drink or maybe two is ok, more than that and you really are sabatoging the work you do in the gym.

Plus jogging 1 mile three times a week isn't much for cardio. I've read that just to maintain you need 30 min of cardio, 5 days a week. That's about what I get and it works for me. When I've wanted to drop some I up that to about 45 min, 5 days a week. I try to run 3 days and walk the rest. Usually trying to take walks with the dog on the weekend too. With that keep up your strength training.

But remember your body needs nutrition and while you might make your calorie count or even go over on the weekend those alcohol calories don't count towards fuel for you body. Especially when you're cheating it out of fuel during the week.

Ripgirl

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/62997-the-alcohol-question?hl=alcohol+question#posts-767714

Alcohol does more than give you empty calories... check out this link....

AwMyLoLo

The alcohol really is a waste of calories. How many drinks are you having a weekend? Add up the calories and look at how much real food you could be getting for that. A drink or maybe two is ok, more than that and you really are sabatoging the work you do in the gym.

Plus jogging 1 mile three times a week isn't much for cardio. I've read that just to maintain you need 30 min of cardio, 5 days a week. That's about what I get and it works for me. When I've wanted to drop some I up that to about 45 min, 5 days a week. I try to run 3 days and walk the rest. Usually trying to take walks with the dog on the weekend too. With that keep up your strength training.

But remember your body needs nutrition and while you might make your calorie count or even go over on the weekend those alcohol calories don't count towards fuel for you body. Especially when you're cheating it out of fuel during the week.

What do you mean you need 30 minutes of cardio 5x a week to maintain?

Do you think I am not fueling my body enough throughout the week if I eat 1400 calories plus exercise cals? I don't drink during the week. And I don't count any alcohol as food on the weekend. I don't skip meals so I can have beer or anything like that. But that is what attributes to me taking in more calories on the weekend. I eat more (and less healthy) and drink on the weekends. For example: during the week my meals would consist of: Shredded wheat and milk for breakfast, I have milk in my coffee. Hard boiled egg for snack, leftovers or salad with tuna for lunch, triscuits and hummus or hard boiled egg for another snack, and dinner would be grilled pork chops, chicken, or ground beef with broccoli, salad, sweet potato, baked peppers with olive oil. On the weekends it's more like: Buckwheat pancake with honey or peanut butter and 1-2 pieces of bacon for breakfast, Deli sandwich and chips for lunch, Cheese and triscuits for snack or chips and salsa, then like, pizza (homemade or delivered) or smoked ribs or homemade chili or whatever if we're at a party or something. I drank 14 beers this weekend. :blushing:

The original point of my post was to find out if it is a bad idea or not to eat 1400 (500 cal defecit from my TDEE) calories net throughout the week and then have a 500 or 600 calorie surpluss for 2 days. So basically I would be cancelling out any defecit for the week. I only have a MAX of 7 pounds that I would want to lose. My goal is just to continue eating right and getting into good shape, and if I lose a few more pounds in the process, great. I know that alcohol is not helping me to do that but I have cut back from what I used to drink and actually will try harder to drink less on the weekends from now on.

keiko

:grumble: I'm having computer issues.

Sorry for being confusing on the 30 min thing. My main point with that is that if you are jogging 1 mi. that is not much cardio time. If you want to lose you will have to up the cardio. Strength training is good and will help but cardio is key to losing.

It sounds like you eat good during the week. It's the weekend and alcohol that are undoing everything you work for. Did you read the article that someone above me posted? It was eye opening for me. It talks about how alcohol stops our metabolism and that's after a couple of drinks. I think (and yes it's only my opinion) that the alcohol is what is keeping you from reaching your goal. Really it's my problem too. I like to have a glass of wine or a beer with dinner, depending on what we are having. That article really made me think about this. Now I need to make the choice. Which do I want more?

I'm selfishly glad you posted because it got me thinking.
Hope you have a good Monday:flowerforyou:

AwMyLoLo

:grumble: I'm having computer issues.

Sorry for being confusing on the 30 min thing. My main point with that is that if you are jogging 1 mi. that is not much cardio time. If you want to lose you will have to up the cardio. Strength training is good and will help but cardio is key to losing.

It sounds like you eat good during the week. It's the weekend and alcohol that are undoing everything you work for. Did you read the article that someone above me posted? It was eye opening for me. It talks about how alcohol stops our metabolism and that's after a couple of drinks. I think (and yes it's only my opinion) that the alcohol is what is keeping you from reaching your goal. Really it's my problem too. I like to have a glass of wine or a beer with dinner, depending on what we are having. That article really made me think about this. Now I need to make the choice. Which do I want more?

I'm selfishly glad you posted because it got me thinking.
Hope you have a good Monday:flowerforyou:

Thanks! I hope you have a good Monday as well.

I did read the link someone posted about how alcohol affects your metabolism. I've read some information on here about it before.

Since I'm not really trying to lose much more weight, running for me is just kind of a warm-up before weight lifting, which is why I only go for 1 mile. (Plus, I am really bad at running so more than a mile for me is not happening. I would like to start running more just as a goal to build my endurance).

Anyway, I'm still looking for the answer to my original concern. Is it okay to have a 500 calorie defecit 4-5 days out of the week and then have a surpluss 2-3 days out of the week? Basically cancelling out the defecit for the week overall? Thanks!! :flowerforyou:

ShellyLee

I checked your BMI- Body Mass Index and your wieght range is -Healthy- you can still be healthy at a weight as low as 116.4 or up to 157.3, But this really depends on your bone size... now you can check your bone size simply by taking your thumb and your middle finger on one hand and reaching around the wrist of your other hand. (like making a bracelet with your fingers)
Small bone structure you should be able to overlap your thumb over middle finger.
Medium bone stucture your fingers will just touch each other.
Large bone stucture your fingers will not touch.

Then when your done with that you can divide the body mass index into the three groups. The lower end will be for small bone structure, middle for medium bone structure, and the high end will be for large bone structure. Hope this info helps...

I don't think that really works for everyone. I, for one, have a "small" bone structure. I can very easily overlap my fingers around my wrist.. I can even overlap some using my thumb and pointer finger BUT I don't consider myself petite. If I were to get into the lower category (5'7": 123-136) I would look unhealthy . I've been 148 at a low in the past and honestly don't think I'd want to get below 140.

I would attempt to eat your allotted amount of calories per day. If your body doesn't have fuel to burn it will start to use your muscle protein to fuel the body. Make sure you're getting plenty of protein after you exercise. Also if you're body goes into starvation mode from not getting enough calories per day.. when you do "make up" those extra calories on the weekends then your body will automatically try to store them as fat. Check on this article someone posted about a person eating 700 calories a day and still weighs 185 : http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/3047-700-calories-a-day-and-not-losing

AwMyLoLo

I checked your BMI- Body Mass Index and your wieght range is -Healthy- you can still be healthy at a weight as low as 116.4 or up to 157.3, But this really depends on your bone size... now you can check your bone size simply by taking your thumb and your middle finger on one hand and reaching around the wrist of your other hand. (like making a bracelet with your fingers)
Small bone structure you should be able to overlap your thumb over middle finger.
Medium bone stucture your fingers will just touch each other.
Large bone stucture your fingers will not touch.

Then when your done with that you can divide the body mass index into the three groups. The lower end will be for small bone structure, middle for medium bone structure, and the high end will be for large bone structure. Hope this info helps...

I don't think that really works for everyone. I, for one, have a "small" bone structure. I can very easily overlap my fingers around my wrist.. I can even overlap some using my thumb and pointer finger BUT I don't consider myself petite. If I were to get into the lower category (5'7": 123-136) I would look unhealthy . I've been 148 at a low in the past and honestly don't think I'd want to get below 140.

I would attempt to eat your allotted amount of calories per day. If your body doesn't have fuel to burn it will start to use your muscle protein to fuel the body. Make sure you're getting plenty of protein after you exercise. Also if you're body goes into starvation mode from not getting enough calories per day.. when you do "make up" those extra calories on the weekends then your body will automatically try to store them as fat. Check on this article someone posted about a person eating 700 calories a day and still weighs 185 : http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/3047-700-calories-a-day-and-not-losing

I have read that before. I am eating 1400 per day plus my exercise calories thru the week and then probably around 2500 on Saturday and 2000 on Sunday including beer calories.

Would it be better for me to eat my maintenance calories every day and go over on the weekends? Obviously I know it would be best to eat my maintenance EVERY DAY, but I know that I just go over on the weekends, which is why I was thinking I could create a defecit throughout the week and end up breaking even so to speak.

thumper44

I Love Beer, but to get where I need to be I can't be drinking it every weekend. I've busted my *kitten* too much to give it all back.

X 2. The weeks where I had 1 or 2 beers on a saturday thinking it was ok. I didn't lose any weight that week.
It's been mentioned on here several times.
Doesn't matter if their 67 calorie beers or 200 calories beers. Alcohol slows down the metabolism.

The original point of my post was to find out if it is a bad idea or not to eat 1400 (500 cal defecit from my TDEE) calories net throughout the week and then have a 500 or 600 calorie surpluss for 2 days. So basically I would be cancelling out any defecit for the week.

Is that including your exercise calories? I would say it's a bad idea to just eat 1400 each day and 2400 on weekends(2 days). if your burning ~300 calories exercise per day
Net caloric intake is 1100 during week , (2100 for 2 days)? that's if you work burn 300 calories each day.
Not sure why you would want to cancel out all your hard work.
You might think your canceling your defecit, but you could be steping backwards as well.

FWIW, That's not much of zigzag. from what I read people who zigzag they go up and down each day 200-300 calories.