Fat skinny chick

cherie515
cherie515 Posts: 37 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I just started MFP today with the goal of "losing weight". I am 5'4" and 126lbs. When I signed up I set my goal to 119lbs and calories went to 1200 for the day. I have a jiggly bottom and thighs and figured that would take care of my problem areas. Problem solved right???
Well the more I started reading on the threads the more I realized I don't want to lose weight. What? Sounds ridiculous but
I just saw an inspiring thread from barbellerella (in the success stories) and THAT IS MY GOAL :-) I don't necessarily care about my weight as I look thin but I am not muscular.

Not sure what goals to set to get started off on the right foot. Being a girl really sucks, ha! I do have a problem with diet coke and sugar...so big surprise on the cellulite.

Replies

  • BarackMeLikeAHurricane
    BarackMeLikeAHurricane Posts: 3,400 Member
    Start lifting. I recommend 5/3/1.
  • likitisplit
    likitisplit Posts: 9,420 Member
    My three year old has cellulite. She also has biceps. I really wouldn't worry about that. It is what it is.

    What you want to do to add muscle is maintenance calories + eat back the ones you burn through exercise. And you need to exercise.

    Lifting is a good start. Do you have access to a gym? They can probably get you started with a simple routine. A personal trainer might be a good investment if you have the budget for it. Otherwise, you can pick up great routines through magazines like Shape. There are also apps to help guide you. I like "You Are Your Own Gym" as you can do it anywhere, at any time, and need almost no equipment.

    Also, I was at my fittest when I rode my bike everywhere and worked out (using a weight circuit training) three days a week.
  • tracywaz
    tracywaz Posts: 53 Member
    Hello from another fat skinny chick! Sucks to be us because everyone is always like "you don't NEED to lose weight." Ummmm, yeah, have you seen me naked? ;)

    Do you own calipers or a scale that measures body fat? That is probably the first step. Last I checked, I was borderline obese!!! No one in their right mind, including me, thought I was that bad. It was a wakeup call. I was slightly overweight for my height, but am now down into the healthy range. I'll find out my body fat on Saturday (I'm doing a boot camp type program and we measure every 5 weeks). I'm sure I'm a little further from obese these days. :)

    Don't forget about cardio! Lifting weights alone isn't going to burn that fat.
  • JeneticTraining
    JeneticTraining Posts: 663 Member
    That's great. I realized the same thing. I recommend you to strength train and cardio 3x/week.
  • kiiks52
    kiiks52 Posts: 21
    I am in a similar situation. I'm 5'7" and 124 lb. I would like to increase muscle, particularly in my abs since I obviously can't/shouldn't lose weight anymore, but I still feel like I have a "belly." And I suppose I'd like to firm my butt up as well. :)

    I have been eating really healthy for the past two months but I don't have enough knowledge on how to make this work to gain muscle. I remember that several years ago, my family went to eating *extremely* healthy over one summer (lots and lots of veggies, cutting back on grains, only having sugary snacks in moderation and on rare occasion) and I was doing something as simple as a handful of Wii Fit strength exercises daily and my body was really firm. Maybe I will look into doing this again.

    I don't have access to a gym, and I really don't have any experience at all with lifting weights. I will check out apps for "guided routines" to do at home.

    I'm curious if anyone has any tips on how to use MFP for this. I really love using it, and it has motivated me to do cardio about 3 times a week (as often recommended). I love seeing more calories available for me to eat! What should we set our calories goals, weight goals, and nutritional goals to? What will an exercise schedule for a week look like? So lost.
  • hsnider29
    hsnider29 Posts: 394 Member
    I recommend the Stronglifts 5x5 program. You can find all the info for it online. If you do cardio I would make sure you eat back your exercise calories.
  • kiiks52
    kiiks52 Posts: 21
    So we should set weight goals in MFP to "maintain my current weight?"
    We should eat back exercise calories that come from cardio workouts?
    And for MFP activity level, we should still choose an accurate activity level that describes average activity levels excluding official exercise?
  • ShannonB06
    ShannonB06 Posts: 9
    kiiks52 I feel like I am in a similar situation. My weight is borderline low, but I am trying to flatten the belly and generally get more fit, toned, and healthy :) Cardio 3 times a week is a great place to start. I have been doing more resistance training (hooked on P90X!) to build muscle. My abs are definitely coming out! I am keeping up the cardio and monitoring my diet to battle bloat too. I use MFP to make sure I eat enough calories! I have it set to Maintain weight, with Active activity level. I feel this accounts for my daily official exercise plus a retail job where I am on my feet all day. If I work out extra I take that into account too. I referred to other calorie requirement guides to set my daily calorie needs including exercise. There are lots available online and I know a lot of people on here have their preferred method, I am still learning on that aspect but I can share a couple formulas I used if you want :)

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