Fitness goals and mixed messages from trainers

yaelis
yaelis Posts: 8 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi all,

For some brief background before my question: I am a 28 year old female, 176lbs (HUGE shock to see that on a scale) and have gained 30lbs this year after a confluence of events led to my dropping off my exercise and healthy eating plan after really starting to show progress a year ago. I've been frustrated with myself, and decided to join a gym near work and see a trainer.

One week ago, I met with the lead trainer/manager #1 when I started the gym, and we went over my health statistics- body fat, current weight, weight loss goals- and concluded that I'd like to lose 56lbs. From this meeting, I made a plan to go to the gym 4 days a week, with a 1500 calorie/day plan- maintaining a balanced, healthy eating plan ( I choose not to say diet, because that isn't what I am doing). Given this plan and meeting, trainer #1 stated that I could reach these goals in 3 months time- to which I was and am skeptical.

Today, I met trainer #2, who gave me sort of opposite advice, but more in line with what I typically understand about fitness and weight loss. He agreed that a 4 day/week workout plan is good, but told me to try to drop calories where I could, and that I should expect to meet my goals in a year (which is what I expected)

My confusion is this: If I plan to see a trainer 2 days a week (likely burning about 700 calories/session) and go to the gym on my own 2 days a week, splitting my time for an hour with weights and varied cardio-- is a 1500 calorie/day plan accurate? And how long would it take to reach my goal of 56 lbs?

Any feedback from folks knowledgable or other trainers would be really helpful. If I missed any relevant information I am happy to provide it. Of note, I have seen a nutritionist in the past and do know how to be a healthy eater, I am good at planning balanced meals, and when on the ball, am quite healthy- the problem is listening to that knowledge and making good decisions.

Thanks so much, this is a great site for fitness support.
yaelis (I will be signing with my username for privacy reasons)

Replies

  • stormsusmc
    stormsusmc Posts: 228 Member
    Trainer one was doing basic calculations. Trainer 2 was more real world realistic. Your first 15-20 lbs should come off quick, with water weight and stuff, youll look more flat. After that you have to stick to a strict diet, keep your body guessing with workouts, and dont be afraid to lift.

    There is the healthy way to do it, and the fast way. It's up to you =)
  • yaelis
    yaelis Posts: 8 Member
    Thank you for your reply. I am certainly not trying to be unhealthy or cut corners, and fully understand that fitness is a life style goal, not a quick fix. I am just better with plans and rules- so trying to figure out what to expect and what limits to set is really helpful.

    Thanks again!
  • geekyjock76
    geekyjock76 Posts: 2,720 Member
    I'll start by stating trainer#1's goal for you is too unrealistic as its highly unlikely you'd lose 50 lbs in 3 lbs without implementing some extreme and unhealthy strategies.

    Before changing your dietary and exercise habits drastically, you could find out what your actual TDEE is by logging foods you typically eat on a regular basis along with activity. If you've been maintaining your weight for some time, chances are the energy in calories you are providing your body is your present TDEE - that's assuming your RMR and hormones are at optimal levels. Once you establish your present TDEE, then you can assume a modest deficit of 20 or 25% below TDEE.

    If you wish to trust the formulas, you'll end up following the same route of deducting 20-25% below predicted TDEE. With approximately 56 lbs of desired weight loss, you could adopt a weight loss projection of 1.25 to 1.5 lbs per week, or a 625 to 750 calorie total deficit. I'd be more inclined to lead you to a 625 calorie deficit, personally, as a start.

    There are several ways you can partition this deficit range: by diet alone, diet with just cardio, diet with just weight training or all 3. If you wish to spare as much lean body mass as possible, let the diet comprise the largest portion of the deficit and have moderate to heavy weight training be your primary exercise. If you wish to add cardio, only do so for a short duration and low intensity. Many people will add in one or two HIIT sessions to replace cardio.

    For instance, a 625 calorie deficit can be divided as such: eat 400 calories less than maintenance, 30-45 minutes of moderate to heavy weight training focusing on compound exercises which engage multiple large muscle groups such as squats, deadlifts, assisted chinups, etc. This type of training, with a few HIIT workouts, can assume the remainder of the deficit.

    As your body fat lowers, you'll eventually have to decrease the deficit by adding more calories. By the time you are within 10 to 5 lbs of your goal weight, the deficit should be reasonably close to what you'd need to maintain weight (for instance, 250 to 300 calories).

    The bottom line is its the deficit you create that leads to fat loss. Engaging in whatever activities you like is up to you and everyone here will have their opinions on what you should do. Personally, with women being able to realistically gain 1 lb of actual muscle per month, combined with the fact that maintaining LBM is optimal for sustaining a high resting metabolic rate, I think its best to limit activities which lead to unnecessary lean body mass decline.

    Edit: Women can realistically lose about 2 lbs of actual fat per month if around or slightly above average weight and body fat percentage. The leaner you become, that loss potential decreases. On the other hand, the higher body fat above average, a woman can lose more than 2 lbs - as much as 6 to 7 lbs if one weighs as much as The Biggest Loser contestants.

Categories