Am I doing this right?

wmoomoo
wmoomoo Posts: 159 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I am 32 female 5'3" and 134 lbs. I have started MFP awhile ago but never really did it seriously until now. I am ready to make changes and want to do it right. I have been doing cardio at least 3x/week for 30 minutes and doing weight/resistance training for 15 minutes following the cardio for the past two weeks. According to fat2fit calculator, I should be taking in ~1890 calories/day to maintain current weight. But since I want to lose some weight, I have dropped about 20% of the calories intake from my daily diet which mean I should be eating ~1500/day. My goal is to have a BF of ~22-24%, I am currently at 29%. My questions are:
1) Am I eating enough?
2) Should I up my weight/resistance training time/sets? (I am doing about 3 sets of 12 reps. Lifting at 8-10 lbs/arm for upper body.....I don't know what kind of resistance training i shoukd do for lower body. :()
3) I am mixing cardios (treadmill, elliptical, aerobics), should I up the time for those too?

Thanks for the help.

Replies

  • doowa
    doowa Posts: 23 Member
    bump for you
  • goncalvesca1
    goncalvesca1 Posts: 13
    Hi! I can't answer all of your questions but I can help with lower body resistance training.

    Think of bodyweight exercises first: squats, lunges, steps/stairs, calf raises. These are very basic moves, and of course there are lots of variations of them. Start with bodyweight only (two sets of fifteen squats, for example). As you progress, add weight. You just hold a couple of hand weights as you perform the exercise. It adds resistance. Trust me, your own body weight will be enough as you begin. If you're like me you will be sore!

    PS we have similar stats, add me if you like!
  • billsica
    billsica Posts: 4,741 Member
    Put your info in mfp goals. What is it giving you for daily calories?

    I'd do resistance before cardio. (Or or different days) If I cant get that last 1/2 mile out running, oh well. If you can't get though that last rep of a bench press you are in a bad situation.

    How are you measuring your body fat? Is it accurate?

    Up your weight, look at the strong lifts or other program.
  • sunsnstatheart
    sunsnstatheart Posts: 2,544 Member
    That's a very good start. Keep doing what you're doing but start adding a little bit to your resistance training each week. If you're looking for overall fitness level then slowly up your cardio in addition to the resistance training. The cardio is not a necessary part of losing weight but it certainly helps and adds to your overall fitness. Get to the point where you're doing an hour of cardio 3x a week and an hour of resistance training 3x a week (not necessarily on the same days). Then its time to adjust your routine and your goals.

    Your food intake seems fine but if you're using the MFP calculation you will need to eat back your burned calories. Think of this as a long term plan, for life. There is no rush to lose.
  • wmoomoo
    wmoomoo Posts: 159 Member
    Put your info in mfp goals. What is it giving you for daily calories?

    I'd do resistance before cardio. (Or or different days) If I cant get that last 1/2 mile out running, oh well. If you can't get though that last rep of a bench press you are in a bad situation.

    How are you measuring your body fat? Is it accurate?

    Up your weight, look at the strong lifts or other program.

    I am using fat2fit for the BF measurement. And I am measuring the smaller part of the waist and biggest part of the hip. Just wondering why do resistance before cardio? MFP goal is 1730 calories/day with normal activities.
  • wmoomoo
    wmoomoo Posts: 159 Member
    That's a very good start. Keep doing what you're doing but start adding a little bit to your resistance training each week. If you're looking for overall fitness level then slowly up your cardio in addition to the resistance training. The cardio is not a necessary part of losing weight but it certainly helps and adds to your overall fitness. Get to the point where you're doing an hour of cardio 3x a week and an hour of resistance training 3x a week (not necessarily on the same days). Then its time to adjust your routine and your goals.

    Your food intake seems fine but if you're using the MFP calculation you will need to eat back your burned calories. Think of this as a long term plan, for life. There is no rush to lose.

    Wow.... 6 hrs/week. I can do it! Thanks for the advise. I am trying to eat back my burned calories but at the same time, I am trying not to over eat. So I am watching that carefully right now. Thanks again

Categories