"Not lean enough?"

Voca_Star
Voca_Star Posts: 140
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm sorry for reposting this, honestly. But I haven't gotten a lot of advice so I don't know what to do. :((

So two weeks ago when I weighed myself i was 141 pounds. Last weekend I was 138. This weekend I was 139.5.
I'm not stressing that anymore, weight fluctuates. I want to get down to about 115 - 120, hopefully by my 19th birthday, next February. By the way, I'm only 5'3". So I have a couple of questions and as many answers as possible would be greatly appreciated.....^^

First of all, I usually burn about 250 -400 with my exercise, depending on what it is. So should I eat those calories back or just stick with the 1250 that MFP recommends for me daily? I want to lose fat, so keeping a calorie deficit is a MUST. Will it still count as a calorie deficit if I eat my exercise calories back?

Second of all, for exercise I do: Sun, Tues, Thurs, Friday, I do 35 - 45 minutes of intense cardio. Depending on what I do for cardio, it burns between 250 - 400 calories. And then on Monday and Wednesday, I do a circuit routine. This is my routine:

5 minutes of rope jumping
20 crunches
25 squats
10 - 15 (all I can do...for now) push ups)
5 minutes of running in place
25 leg lifts
15 lunges on each leg
25 chest flies (ten pound weights)
*****And, repeat. About, 3 - 4 times.******

Is this a good routine for losing fat? The cardio alone will burn about 300 - 400 calories (according to MFP)

Third, with doing all of this and keeping a diet high in protein, low in sugar, and eating lots of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, fat-free dairies, and drinking lots of water, will that be a good way to get a flat stomach? I have an event next May I want to look lean for so any advice is great!

The reason for the title is basically, I told some friends of mine about this Cosplay I want to do (if you don't know what Cosplay is, to sum it up, it's dressing up in a costume of sorts) and they told me I wasn't lean enough. It made me realize I'm not as healthy as I want to be so I'm challenging myself to get as lean by next May as possible!

Replies

  • Kristy161089
    Kristy161089 Posts: 62
    I'm sorry for reposting this, honestly. But I haven't gotten a lot of advice so I don't know what to do. :((

    So two weeks ago when I weighed myself i was 141 pounds. Last weekend I was 138. This weekend I was 139.5.
    I'm not stressing that anymore, weight fluctuates. I want to get down to about 115 - 120, hopefully by my 19th birthday, next February. By the way, I'm only 5'3". So I have a couple of questions and as many answers as possible would be greatly appreciated.....^^

    First of all, I usually burn about 250 -400 with my exercise, depending on what it is. So should I eat those calories back or just stick with the 1250 that MFP recommends for me daily? I want to lose fat, so keeping a calorie deficit is a MUST. Will it still count as a calorie deficit if I eat my exercise calories back?

    Second of all, for exercise I do: Sun, Tues, Thurs, Friday, I do 35 - 45 minutes of intense cardio. Depending on what I do for cardio, it burns between 250 - 400 calories. And then on Monday and Wednesday, I do a circuit routine. This is my routine:

    5 minutes of rope jumping
    20 crunches
    25 squats
    10 - 15 (all I can do...for now) push ups)
    5 minutes of running in place
    25 leg lifts
    15 lunges on each leg
    25 chest flies (ten pound weights)
    *****And, repeat. About, 3 - 4 times.******

    Is this a good routine for losing fat? The cardio alone will burn about 300 - 400 calories (according to MFP)

    Third, with doing all of this and keeping a diet high in protein, low in sugar, and eating lots of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, fat-free dairies, and drinking lots of water, will that be a good way to get a flat stomach? I have an event next May I want to look lean for so any advice is great!

    The reason for the title is basically, I told some friends of mine about this Cosplay I want to do (if you don't know what Cosplay is, to sum it up, it's dressing up in a costume of sorts) and they told me I wasn't lean enough. It made me realize I'm not as healthy as I want to be so I'm challenging myself to get as lean by next May as possible!

    Hey hun,

    First of all, your weight for your height is fairly healthy and your goal is also fairly healthy too. If you can, get your body fat percentage measured and try on reducing that number by losing fat/ gaining muscle mass. Having more muscle will burn more fat just by existing and will help you look slimmer ( I have gained about 4kg in muscle but people keep saying I've lost weight because my dress size has decreased) To make my advice easier, I thought I'd divide it up so it's easy to read.

    CALORIES: When exercising, you need to eat back at least some of your exercise calories back, otherwise your body will start eating away at muscle due to not enough fuel. I would HIGHLY recommend eating more (it took me a long time to accept this) but you should try to eat at least your BMR (use the calculator) whether you exercise that day or not.

    EXERCISE: Your routine sounds pretty good. My only advice would be to continue cardio and strength training but in your strength sessions, try to do upper body and abs one day and lower body on the other day.

    FOOD: Protein is essential! Try to eat a serve of protein at every meal (eat smaller meals every 2-3 hours to feed your metabolism) and avoid processed foods and added sugars where possible. Get your protein from lean cuts of meat, fish, salmon, protein shakes, eggs, tofu, nuts, seeds, Greek yoghurt and natural nut butters.

    This worked for me so I hope it works for you. Send me a message if you need any clarification x
  • jheye
    jheye Posts: 36 Member
    On the whole I think your plan is good. while intense cardio burns more calories, you may actually burn more fat with low intensity like walking- look up info on Non Exercise Activity Thermoneogenesis for ways to include low intensity activities in your daily routine.
  • baabaabetsy
    baabaabetsy Posts: 49
    I'd say eat a bit more. You're burning a lot of calories and at 1250 calories... that's just too little. You need fuel! Also, as for your weight lifting routine I noticed that you're doing legs, abs and chest... only chest. What about your shoulders, triceps, biceps and back? Try to do a basic split of upper body one day and hit all those upper body muscle groups and a lower body work out another day with your squats and lunches etc. That would give you a more rounded routine and help out with definition. Just add some tricep extensions, bicep curls, rows and shoulder presses! Good luck!

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