Trying to lose....would love some help!
STurbs33
Posts: 134 Member
Hey SS and Sara,
I've been trying to lose weight/lower BF% since the beginning of January this year. Prior to that, I did a short bulk and I was pleased with the results. But cutting has been a different story. I'm likely just having a difficult time converting back to a calorie deficit, which has resulted in some inconsistencies with logging, so that is probably the main culprit. I really just want to know what I have to do to succeed in this because the last 6 weeks or so have been extremely frustrating. I was eating 2500+ to bulk but now I have clue what to eat to lose and I feel like I'm spinning my wheels.
1) What's your current intake of calories, on average? This is TOTAL CALORIES EATEN so this would include anything you eat for exercise calories. In other words, how much are you eating?
1850 is my goal which I just changed from 2000 about two weeks ago. This is about -20% of my TDEE so I don't eat exercise calories back.
2) What's your current average intake of protein, carbs, and fats, in grams?
P = ~120-130g, C= ~170g, F= ~60g
3) Do you use a food scale and measure everything?
I don't have a food scale. I used measuring cups and spoons for most things though.
4) Do you track all of your intake, daily? (Everything?)
This past week has not been great for that, but aside from that, I do.
5) Do you take cheat days or days off?
I take Saturday off from counting for my own sanity. I tend to go over on Saturdays because of going out to eat and/ or drinking, but trying to log all that used to make me anxious and led to binges because if I was going over anyway, then I didn't care how much over it was. I haven't binged since July and if keeping the log-free day helps with that, then I'd like to keep it. On these days off, I try to eat as I normally would, but I won't turn down certain treats if they're offered to me. As I said before, I usually drink on Saturday nights and I could probably stand to control that a bit more. I don't drink a tonne and I stick with lower calorie options (vodka, water, crystal light) but I know it still adds up. I've been offering to be the DD more often recently, and I'd be willing to do more of that to cut back on those cals.
Oh, and I did not log today. It's a holiday weekend and my boyfriend came home for the first time in a month and we did some V-day celebrations. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.
6) How much weight have you lost so far?
I started on MFP last January at 142 with a goal to lose weight. Got into heavy lifting and weight loss went nowhere. I went away last May and gained 11lbs in three weeks. By September I had lost 12lbs and was at 141...bulked from September to December up to 149lbs. For the last six weeks I've been been hovering at 147-148lbs.
7) What is your activity like, both exercise and non-exercise? (big difference between a construction worker and a desk job) and did you change that activity withing the last couple of months. If so, what changed.
I would consider myself as lightly active. I went to school MW for the last six weeks. T TH was spent at an office job, but I'm not sitting at the desk for the entirety of the day. Starting this week, I'll be student teaching at an elementary school M-F for about 7 hours/ day so I'll be on my feet a lot more. I go to the gym for lifting 3-4 times a week. I was doing a Stronglifts-like program, but may switch to an upper-lower split just because I like lifting and want to be at the gym more than 3 days a week. I also play hockey on Sundays and have been trying to add in another half hour to an hour of cardio on another day in the week.
8) How long have you eaten at your previous amount and what happened in that time frame?
I've only eaten at 1850 for the last two weeks, so it's not a good gauge of progress. However, I was maintaining 142lbs last year while eating 1750 calories six days a week, if that helps at all.
9) What's your height, current weight and if you know it, bodyfat%?
5'5" , 148.4 lbs. I don't know my BF% but I would estimate it at 25%, judging from BF calculators and picture references. I'll have to post my pics for you to assess that soon.
10) If you're stalled, for how long and is it a complete stall (zero change in weight)?
I've been jumping around 147-148 lbs for the last six weeks. This week, I actually saw a 0.4lb loss and that was with poor logging and eating too much chocolate around Valentines day.
I really just want to lower my BF%. Getting to about 18-20% would be ideal. I like what lifting has done to my body because the last time I weighed 148lbs, I was not at all pleased with my body. I like the way I look, but I'm still not where I want to be. I've been at this for a year, and I think I really need a swift kick in the *kitten* from people who know what they're talking about. I'll take any and all of your criticism. Take your time, and thanks for your help.
I've been trying to lose weight/lower BF% since the beginning of January this year. Prior to that, I did a short bulk and I was pleased with the results. But cutting has been a different story. I'm likely just having a difficult time converting back to a calorie deficit, which has resulted in some inconsistencies with logging, so that is probably the main culprit. I really just want to know what I have to do to succeed in this because the last 6 weeks or so have been extremely frustrating. I was eating 2500+ to bulk but now I have clue what to eat to lose and I feel like I'm spinning my wheels.
1) What's your current intake of calories, on average? This is TOTAL CALORIES EATEN so this would include anything you eat for exercise calories. In other words, how much are you eating?
1850 is my goal which I just changed from 2000 about two weeks ago. This is about -20% of my TDEE so I don't eat exercise calories back.
2) What's your current average intake of protein, carbs, and fats, in grams?
P = ~120-130g, C= ~170g, F= ~60g
3) Do you use a food scale and measure everything?
I don't have a food scale. I used measuring cups and spoons for most things though.
4) Do you track all of your intake, daily? (Everything?)
This past week has not been great for that, but aside from that, I do.
5) Do you take cheat days or days off?
I take Saturday off from counting for my own sanity. I tend to go over on Saturdays because of going out to eat and/ or drinking, but trying to log all that used to make me anxious and led to binges because if I was going over anyway, then I didn't care how much over it was. I haven't binged since July and if keeping the log-free day helps with that, then I'd like to keep it. On these days off, I try to eat as I normally would, but I won't turn down certain treats if they're offered to me. As I said before, I usually drink on Saturday nights and I could probably stand to control that a bit more. I don't drink a tonne and I stick with lower calorie options (vodka, water, crystal light) but I know it still adds up. I've been offering to be the DD more often recently, and I'd be willing to do more of that to cut back on those cals.
Oh, and I did not log today. It's a holiday weekend and my boyfriend came home for the first time in a month and we did some V-day celebrations. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.
6) How much weight have you lost so far?
I started on MFP last January at 142 with a goal to lose weight. Got into heavy lifting and weight loss went nowhere. I went away last May and gained 11lbs in three weeks. By September I had lost 12lbs and was at 141...bulked from September to December up to 149lbs. For the last six weeks I've been been hovering at 147-148lbs.
7) What is your activity like, both exercise and non-exercise? (big difference between a construction worker and a desk job) and did you change that activity withing the last couple of months. If so, what changed.
I would consider myself as lightly active. I went to school MW for the last six weeks. T TH was spent at an office job, but I'm not sitting at the desk for the entirety of the day. Starting this week, I'll be student teaching at an elementary school M-F for about 7 hours/ day so I'll be on my feet a lot more. I go to the gym for lifting 3-4 times a week. I was doing a Stronglifts-like program, but may switch to an upper-lower split just because I like lifting and want to be at the gym more than 3 days a week. I also play hockey on Sundays and have been trying to add in another half hour to an hour of cardio on another day in the week.
8) How long have you eaten at your previous amount and what happened in that time frame?
I've only eaten at 1850 for the last two weeks, so it's not a good gauge of progress. However, I was maintaining 142lbs last year while eating 1750 calories six days a week, if that helps at all.
9) What's your height, current weight and if you know it, bodyfat%?
5'5" , 148.4 lbs. I don't know my BF% but I would estimate it at 25%, judging from BF calculators and picture references. I'll have to post my pics for you to assess that soon.
10) If you're stalled, for how long and is it a complete stall (zero change in weight)?
I've been jumping around 147-148 lbs for the last six weeks. This week, I actually saw a 0.4lb loss and that was with poor logging and eating too much chocolate around Valentines day.
I really just want to lower my BF%. Getting to about 18-20% would be ideal. I like what lifting has done to my body because the last time I weighed 148lbs, I was not at all pleased with my body. I like the way I look, but I'm still not where I want to be. I've been at this for a year, and I think I really need a swift kick in the *kitten* from people who know what they're talking about. I'll take any and all of your criticism. Take your time, and thanks for your help.
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Replies
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Sidesteel and/or I will get back to you soon.0
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So my first suggestion is to get a food scale. It will go a long way to ensure accuracy. This is a good thread explaining the issues:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/872212-you-re-probably-eating-more-than-you-think
Your non-logging day is fine as it helps adherence and so I would not suggest changing that..but maybe you can do a mental guess at the end of the day and just put a quick add in for record keeping...not a big deal if this will also cause challenges to adherence.
It is really too early to tell whether your current intake is reasonable as you only changed your target a couple of weeks ago. I would give it a few more weeks but try to log as accurately as possible.
How many weeks did you bulk for?0 -
Thanks for getting back so soon. I figured as much about the food scale so I'll put it on my shopping list.
I bulked for 12 weeks. A little more background.... After I gained the 11 pounds in the summer, I drove myself crazy with calorie counting and my binges were becoming more frequent. I stopped counting completely until October but due to an active outdoor summer job, eating less than I needed (a normal day put me around 1500, I had estimated), and working out 5-6 days a week, I managed to lose the weight in a fairly short period of time. When I got down to 141, not only had my losses stalled, but so did my lifting. In October I started logging again and decided that I would either continue to eat a deficit and sacrifice my strength, or eat at a surplus to aid in strength and muscle gain but sacrifice weight loss. Since Thanksgiving, and Christmas were right around the corner, I chose the latter. I started the bulk at 2000, then moved to 2150, then to 2300, then finally to 2500-2800. I gained 8 lbs in that time frame.0 -
What did you average over that time? How long were you at the 2,500 - 2,800 and how much did you gain during that time?0
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I guess I averaged about 2400 over that entire period and was only at 25-2800 for the last month. According to what I tracked on here, I have 147.8lbs logged on November 27 and 149.4lbs on December 27, so just under 2 lbs in that time frame.0
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I think the goal of 1,850 is a solid one based on your data. Keep at it and it would be great if you could give us an update in a few weeks.0
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Ok, will do. Thanks for all the help!0
