Is this enough to get me to my goal?

Marrisa188
Marrisa188 Posts: 7 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I am eating 1200 calories and eat clean, (no refined sugars, high protein, low carb). I have cheat day per month, and that's it. I am working out 5 days a week at the gym on this elliptical that says I burn 800 calories in 30 minutes, (though I know it's probably more like 400), so like 800 calories in an hour. I do light weight lifting exercises on the weekend for 30 minutes each day. I also walk my dog for at least an hour every night. I am 155 pounds right now, 5'4, my goal is to EVENTUALLY be 110. Do you guys think my plan will work? Please help?

PS. Success stories doing a similar plan would be helpful! :)

Replies

  • LoraF83
    LoraF83 Posts: 15,694 Member
    I really hope you're eating back your exercise calories! You need to NET 1200.

    Also, don't stress so much about the clean eating stuff if you don't want to. If you have a personal conviction to eat that way - that's fine. But you don't have to eat that way to lose weight.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    I think 110 at 5ft4 is rather low, and also ditch the 'light weights at weekends' for a decent strength routine & eat back your exercise cals!
  • SarahofTwins
    SarahofTwins Posts: 1,169 Member
    I think 110 at 5ft4 is rather low, and also ditch the 'light weights at weekends' for a decent strength routine & eat back your exercise cals!

    It does seem low. I'm also 5'4 and the lowest I was down was 118...it was very hard to do though. Also depending on your build size. Exercise calories are good to eat but its always been a debate on Mfp. Some do and some don't. Good luck to you:flowerforyou:
  • MikeG2
    MikeG2 Posts: 97 Member
    I really hope you're eating back your exercise calories! You need to NET 1200.

    Also, don't stress so much about the clean eating stuff if you don't want to. If you have a personal conviction to eat that way - that's fine. But you don't have to eat that way to lose weight.

    So not true! Refined foods can have ingredients that actually make you hungrier. Just look at the website www.hungryforchange.tv
  • Erykah3584
    Erykah3584 Posts: 324 Member
    I am eating 1200 calories and eat clean, (no refined sugars, high protein, low carb). I have cheat day per month, and that's it. I am working out 5 days a week at the gym on this elliptical that says I burn 800 calories in 30 minutes, (though I know it's probably more like 400), so like 800 calories in an hour. I do light weight lifting exercises on the weekend for 30 minutes each day. I also walk my dog for at least an hour every night. I am 155 pounds right now, 5'4, my goal is to EVENTUALLY be 110. Do you guys think my plan will work? Please help?

    PS. Success stories doing a similar plan would be helpful! :)
    All you can really do is try it out for a few weeks and see how it goes. Every body is different and people will have different opinions. :smile: Good luck!
  • Marrisa188
    Marrisa188 Posts: 7 Member
    Thanks for all the thoughts, guys. I try to stay away from a ton of dairy and refined sugars for health reasons as well, to be clear. Although it has aided in weight loss. I've lost 10 pounds so far, (since last month), so it seems to be working. I just want to be sure that I'm doing enough. I do want to be healthy, but also to have a flat stomach and thin arms again! I've been at 115 before which was optimal for me, but even when I was at 115 I had a little weight on my stomach I wanted to get rid of. At the time I was eating healthy, but probably between 1900-2000 calories because I was probably exercise 2 hours a day. (I was in high school). So yeah, my main concern was the elliptical. A trainer I was talking to told me it's all about burning more calories than you consume, and that the elliptical can definitely do that plus it's better for my joints. She said for my goal I should do an hour on it 5 days a week plus healthy eating, but I wanted to ask people who are actually using this site to see if anyone had any actual experience. I really appreciate all the comments!
  • jrmartinezb
    jrmartinezb Posts: 147 Member
    I think you might be trying to lose to much too quickly.

    While 110 at 5'4'' is still "normal" as per BMI (19) and BMI is just a guideline, if you are planning on gaining muscle and not just trimming down, 110 it might be a little low. Muscle is heavier than fat.

    Per your age/ht/wt/ your basal requirement is probably around 1400kcal, with the amount of activity you are describing your total requirement could be well over 2000. It seems to me that aiming to 1200kcal might be too low.
  • geekyjock76
    geekyjock76 Posts: 2,720 Member
    I don't think 110 lbs is realistic for you. I'm just going to assume, based on your height and weight, that you are about 33% body fat. That would imply your lean body mass is 103 lbs - thus getting to 110 is impossible unless you purposely try to lose a ridiculous amount of lean body mass. If you dropped down to 20% body fat, you'd get to about 128 lbs or so.

    Use this online calculator:

    http://www.weightrainer.net/losscalc.html

    Enter: 155 lbs; 33% body fat; 1 lb weekly fat loss goal; and moderately active. You'll be told how many calories to eat (1650 calories) as well as macronutrient breakdown. Regardless of which system you use, you are probably looking at an end goal of 20 to 30 lbs at most of weight loss. With that said, your weekly weight loss goal should be set at 1 lb, or a 500 calorie daily deficit.

    Lastly, opt for heavy weight-training for reps of 8-12 so that you truly struggle on the final few reps. Also, chill out on the mad cardio - doing too much will lead to excessive loss in lean body mass.

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