Advice please! Wt loss, cardio, strngth training?

InnerFatGirl

Heya guys! It's been a while. I managed to lose 42lbs, was only 14lbs away from my goal then I fell off the wagon. Hard. Gained 17.5lbs, going from a very nice 154lbs to a depressing 171.5lbs. It's hit me hard, and I've been *this* close to giving up, but I'm terrified of going back to the place I began. To make matters worse, I now have a desk job so my calorie limits are much lower.

SO! I decided to shake things up. I am now on 1400 calories, and have started to exercise, something I didn't do before. Below is my routine, and I would like some advice if you're so kind to give it

I strength train 3-4 times a week, I also do cardio in the same session, burning around 200 calories. I eat at a deficit usually (1400 calories) but often can be in surplus (not in a good way). I'm trying to increase my protein and eat at least 62g per day. I am 5'5" and currently weigh 171.5lbs.

My question is, what's going to happen? I know you can't really build muscle on a deficit, but I am trying to lose weight so I'm wary of a surplus. Will I just lose weight and maintain my current mass, avoiding the dreaded skinny fat? Will I gain fat? Will I build some muscle? Will nothing happen at all? Lend me your thoughts.

Thank you!

P.S

Where I was:












Where I am now:

bokodasu

Thoughts:

1400 is probably too little, which could contribute to your "surplus" days. How much are you eating over when you eat over? Best thing to do is figure out your TDEE (like here: http://www.fitnessfrog.com/calculators/tdee-calculator.html), subtract 20%, and then either
* eat that same amount every day, or
* set yourself two goals, eating more on workout days and less on rest days, so that you're averaging that number over a week
whichever makes you feel less hungry. (I like the second option, personally, but other people like the consistency of the first one.)

If you didn't exercise before, you might build a little muscle and you can definitely make your muscles stronger. Assuming you're actually eating at a deficit, you definitely won't gain fat.

And it wouldn't hurt to up your protein even more than that, say around 100g/day. (I'm just totally guessing on your LBM, but 100 lbs is probably around the right range.)

InnerFatGirl

Thoughts:

1400 is probably too little, which could contribute to your "surplus" days. How much are you eating over when you eat over? Best thing to do is figure out your TDEE (like here: http://www.fitnessfrog.com/calculators/tdee-calculator.html), subtract 20%, and then either
* eat that same amount every day, or
* set yourself two goals, eating more on workout days and less on rest days, so that you're averaging that number over a week
whichever makes you feel less hungry. (I like the second option, personally, but other people like the consistency of the first one.)

If you didn't exercise before, you might build a little muscle and you can definitely make your muscles stronger. Assuming you're actually eating at a deficit, you definitely won't gain fat.

And it wouldn't hurt to up your protein even more than that, say around 100g/day. (I'm just totally guessing on your LBM, but 100 lbs is probably around the right range.)

Thank you so much for your reply.

When I was eating over before, it was really bad. I was barely logging, but I think it was about 2500-3000 calories most days. I piled on those 17.5lbs fairly quickly.

For TDEE, I chose light exercise (1-3 times a week), just to be sure. I got an answer of 2215, minus 20% which is 1772.

So, following your advice, I would eat that on rest days and 2215 on training days?

Does it sound irrational that I am scared of doing that for fear of gaining?

And thank you, I will up my protein levels. I'm a vegetarian so I don't have the option of eating a big burger to get in my protein, but nuts, quorn, beans and cheese contain enough protein to gelp me hit that goal

Thanks again for your help!

bokodasu

That TDEE is what you need, on average, every day for the activity level you picked. So you'd either eat 1770 every day, or something like 1550 on rest days and 2000 on workout days (aiming to average 1770/day over the week).

Also vegetarian, so I sympthize about the protein thing. I supplement, but I can do 100 without the shake - tempeh and nutritional yeast are good too.

imchicbad

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/937709-in-place-of-a-road-map-ver-3-0

InnerFatGirl

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/937709-in-place-of-a-road-map-ver-3-0

I had a fun time reading it, and have learnt some things, but it still doesn't quite answer my questions. Thanks though.

InnerFatGirl

That TDEE is what you need, on average, every day for the activity level you picked. So you'd either eat 1770 every day, or something like 1550 on rest days and 2000 on workout days (aiming to average 1770/day over the week).

Also vegetarian, so I sympthize about the protein thing. I supplement, but I can do 100 without the shake - tempeh and nutritional yeast are good too.

Thank you! According to Fat2Fitradio, I should eat 2000 calories a day. I think I will do the second option you gave when I feel confident enough to do it.

What does tempeh and nutritional yeast taste like?

bradbaumgarten

I have a doctor that's full time specialty is weight loss and cognitive behavioral therapy. He told me that MFP (and all the other apps as well as the cardio machines at the gym) are overestimating the amount of calories burned during exercise. He said if you were to put on a "VO2" mask and actually measure what's being burned it's going to be less. With that in mind, he said that I should ignore the "net" calories and try to stay under my daily calorie goal with what I eat. Exercise calories should be treated as a bonus, or at the very least cut in half.

So, if your diet is 1400 and MFP says you burned 600, you might not want to allow yourself to have 2000 calories that day. Take this with a grain of salt and use it as you like, but if you run into problems and it seems like you should be losing weight and you're not this could be one of the causes.

As far as your workout goes, if you're looking to lose weight you have to burn calories, and that's mostly cardio. Strength training helps tone but also helps you burn calories at rest. With that in mind I think you should probably be 60-75% cardio. I've been having a lot of success with high impact aerobics classes/bootcamp classes/circuit trainings classes. You get both strength training and cardio with these and you burn a lot of calories.

My only expertise is a lifetime of battling my weight and having seen numerous doctors/nutrionists/trainers over the years. Since starting about a week and a half ago on MFP (which I LOVE, total game changer for me), I've already lost about 13 lbs.

Hope that helps!

mimigyal

Yeah I agree you should up your protein. Try to have 1g of protein for every pound of muscle you have, which you can figure out by figuring out your body fat %. I disagree with the person who said you should do 75% cardio. That is not needed, if anything you should do 50/50 with cardio & strength too. The stronger you are the better!

bokodasu

What does tempeh and nutritional yeast taste like?

Tempeh is really good - sort of a dense umami flavor, but only if you cook it right - look for advice on Post Punk Kitchen. (Steam then fry or grill, generally, but they'll have better tips.) If you don't it can be kind of bitter or musty tasting.

Nutritional yeast is kind of a nutty cheesy flavor - PPK will have a ton of advice on using it too. My kids love it on pretty much everything - pasta, vegetables, rice, whatever. (I have caught the 3-year-old opening the jar to eat it with a spoon, but I don't really recommend that personally.)

And I wouldn't recommend a ton of cardio either - I do about 3 20-minute sessions a week and that's plenty. But I really enjoy weightlifting (which I do 5-6x/week for 30-60 minutes at a time). If you think running is superawesome funtime, then don't *not* do it. The exercise that will give you the best results is the one you'll do consistently.

InnerFatGirl

I have a doctor that's full time specialty is weight loss and cognitive behavioral therapy. He told me that MFP (and all the other apps as well as the cardio machines at the gym) are overestimating the amount of calories burned during exercise. He said if you were to put on a "VO2" mask and actually measure what's being burned it's going to be less. With that in mind, he said that I should ignore the "net" calories and try to stay under my daily calorie goal with what I eat. Exercise calories should be treated as a bonus, or at the very least cut in half.

So, if your diet is 1400 and MFP says you burned 600, you might not want to allow yourself to have 2000 calories that day. Take this with a grain of salt and use it as you like, but if you run into problems and it seems like you should be losing weight and you're not this could be one of the causes.

As far as your workout goes, if you're looking to lose weight you have to burn calories, and that's mostly cardio. Strength training helps tone but also helps you burn calories at rest. With that in mind I think you should probably be 60-75% cardio. I've been having a lot of success with high impact aerobics classes/bootcamp classes/circuit trainings classes. You get both strength training and cardio with these and you burn a lot of calories.

My only expertise is a lifetime of battling my weight and having seen numerous doctors/nutrionists/trainers over the years. Since starting about a week and a half ago on MFP (which I LOVE, total game changer for me), I've already lost about 13 lbs.

Hope that helps!

I use a heart rate monitor

Also, as I am at a deficit, I'm going to burn calories, hence why I don't focus too much on my cardio. I use it mainly for cardiovascular health.

Thank you for your comments!

InnerFatGirl

Yeah I agree you should up your protein. Try to have 1g of protein for every pound of muscle you have, which you can figure out by figuring out your body fat %. I disagree with the person who said you should do 75% cardio. That is not needed, if anything you should do 50/50 with cardio & strength too. The stronger you are the better!

Yeah, I've upped it now! Almost hit it today, got about 66g in. Will defo try and hit it tomorrow. In terms of BF, I will take my measurements tomorrow and use the calculator. I know it's not that accurate, but I can't afford BF testing and I don't want to buy calipers.

Thank you for your comments!

InnerFatGirl

What does tempeh and nutritional yeast taste like?

Tempeh is really good - sort of a dense umami flavor, but only if you cook it right - look for advice on Post Punk Kitchen. (Steam then fry or grill, generally, but they'll have better tips.) If you don't it can be kind of bitter or musty tasting.

Nutritional yeast is kind of a nutty cheesy flavor - PPK will have a ton of advice on using it too. My kids love it on pretty much everything - pasta, vegetables, rice, whatever. (I have caught the 3-year-old opening the jar to eat it with a spoon, but I don't really recommend that personally.)

And I wouldn't recommend a ton of cardio either - I do about 3 20-minute sessions a week and that's plenty. But I really enjoy weightlifting (which I do 5-6x/week for 30-60 minutes at a time). If you think running is superawesome funtime, then don't *not* do it. The exercise that will give you the best results is the one you'll do consistently.

Thank you! What does umami taste like? :laugh:

I will have to try the nutritional yeast then. I'm squeamish about it but I like nuts, and I like cheese so I'll give it a try! I need to get down to the health food shop. LMAO at your three year old!

I will def not do too much cardio. I'm not a fan of it, personally. Lifting is much more fun!