Help! weights & when to cut?
ChristineDiet
Posts: 719 Member
Hey. I joined MFP Jan 2012, lost 22lbs in a year calorie counting and cardio (I then had family deaths/christmas etc and I gained about 10lbs back!) so I vowed to start afresh this year on 7th Jan and decided to start lifting.
I am doing Body Revolution (Jillian Michaels) (I have dumbbells and I lift 5kg/10lbs - this is real heavy for me, and I have issues with my wrists so can't really lift any heavier), which I sometimes do her weight workouts back to back on Mon & Thurs to ensure I get them in, as I work full time and have 3 children. If/when I have additional time I go for long walks, workout on the elliptical/bike.
I'm currently at 203lbs as of this morning (I started this year at 205.2 and after 1 month I went down to 201.8), my weight is constantly going up and down. In month 1 I lost 4.5" total of my body. I'm 5ft8 and 41 years old.
this month I just see the scale going up and up and it never seems to go down. I eat around 1700 calories and with my exercise it balances out around 1500 calories a day on average!
I've upped my protein and try to the hit the red. I just don't know where I'm going wrong. Am I eating too much/not enough? Should I be eating more to bulk up and then cut? I hear people talking about this but don't really understand when or what your suppose to do. I'm new to weights. Any advice would be great. Thank you. x
I am doing Body Revolution (Jillian Michaels) (I have dumbbells and I lift 5kg/10lbs - this is real heavy for me, and I have issues with my wrists so can't really lift any heavier), which I sometimes do her weight workouts back to back on Mon & Thurs to ensure I get them in, as I work full time and have 3 children. If/when I have additional time I go for long walks, workout on the elliptical/bike.
I'm currently at 203lbs as of this morning (I started this year at 205.2 and after 1 month I went down to 201.8), my weight is constantly going up and down. In month 1 I lost 4.5" total of my body. I'm 5ft8 and 41 years old.
this month I just see the scale going up and up and it never seems to go down. I eat around 1700 calories and with my exercise it balances out around 1500 calories a day on average!
I've upped my protein and try to the hit the red. I just don't know where I'm going wrong. Am I eating too much/not enough? Should I be eating more to bulk up and then cut? I hear people talking about this but don't really understand when or what your suppose to do. I'm new to weights. Any advice would be great. Thank you. x
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Replies
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Firstly, I think you are eating far too little. You goal settings appear to be set up via MFPs standard settings, in which case you should be eating all your exercise calories back (i.e. eat your 1500 goal PLUS any additional calories earned from exercise). You should be aiming to NET at least your BMR every day.
Alternatively, as most people in this group do, calculate your TDEE here: http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/ including your exercise activity in your calculation. Then take a maximum of a 20% cut to lose fat.
Increasing your calories will not mean you are bulking up. It means you are eating appropriately for your exercise level.
Secondly, you say your weight has gone up and up this month, however you've still lost 2lbs since the start of the year. You're also losing inches so it sounds as though you are heading in the right direction.
If in future you do want to do a bulk to build more muscle, you need to be following an specifically designed hypertrophy program aimed at muscle building in order to see any actual muscle gains (usually working muscles to failure in the 8 to 12 rep range). Jillian Michaels programs are not designed this way, they are more cardio and endurance based using weights.0 -
thanks for your response. I am eating around 1700, did the scooby calculator a while back and it said 1991, so with 20% off that it comes in around 1500, if I eat 1700, then after exercise it balances out on average at 1500ish a day cals. My BMR comes in at 1592, so I think I'm eaten about the right amount?
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I think you calculations are a little off. I would put you at moderate activity level as you workout regularly and work full time as well as being a busy Mom!
So at 5'8'', age 41 and weight 203 lbs, Scooby gives the following
BMR: 1659
TDEE: 2571
TDEE -20%: 2057
So according to this you can eat 2057 every day and lose around 1lb fat per week. You do not need to eat any additional exercise cals as they are already factored into your calculation.0 -
I think you calculations are a little off. I would put you at moderate activity level as you workout regularly and work full time as well as being a busy Mom!
So at 5'8'', age 41 and weight 203 lbs, Scooby gives the following
BMR: 1659
TDEE: 2571
TDEE -20%: 2057
So according to this you can eat 2057 every day and lose around 1lb fat per week. You do not need to eat any additional exercise cals as they are already factored into your calculation.
Thank you so much, I've been messing about with the numbers all day and this is what I ended up with, so I'm gonna start on Friday and do it for a month and fingers crossed it makes some difference. Not stepping on the scale for a month though. Boy that will be a tough one. Thanks again. Xx0
