Does this sound OK? Tips? Advice?

torrontes
torrontes Posts: 1
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm sick of being told I am 'small' but feeling soft and flabby!

A little about me:
Age: 30
Weight: 125-120lb (haven't weighed myself in a few months)
Height: 5'5"

My husband and I have been traveling for the past 6 months so we eat out for most meals. I think I am pretty good with making healthy choices and with portion size. No fast food, minimal sweets, fruits, veggies and whole grains wherever possible. I definitely eat more white carbs than I would prefer, but in a few weeks we'll be heading home and I'll be able to have more control :)

I have been logging my calories for a while but not really trying to stick to any specific limit. My diary is public if you want to check it out.

I have been doing about 20 min of body weight calisthenics most days, and I've just started doing 30-40min of yoga too. I recently started using my 7kg pack as a weight when doing squats (not sure why I didn't think of this earlier). Before our travel I did a lot of yoga and walking.

My build is small up top and heavier in my legs. I feel like I have some good muscle tone when I flex, but when I do flex my legs I can still see a pretty thick layer of fat / cellulite over the muscle. When not flexed my legs are soft and shapeless, my knees have a kind of droopiness to them which I hate :(

My stats from the Scooby calculator (rounded):
1320 - BMR
1580 - TDEE
1420 - 10% reduction
1340 - 15% reduction

Note: I put my activity level as sedentary. We work a lot as we travel (make websites) and at this point in our trip are terrible tourists, no big days of pounding the pavement sightseeing. So most of my time is spent sitting at a desk.

Anyway - my goal is to loose the fat off my legs and tone them up.

My plan is to eat at a 15% reduction of my TDE plus any exercise calories (right now, approx 200). I'll continue with yoga and 20min of calisthenics every morning and keep with using my pack as a weight for squats, lunges etc.

In January we'll finally be back home and I'll have more control over what I eat and how I exercise. I really don't see myself joining a gym and lifting heavy weights. But I think I will definitely invest in a sandbag for my interval training and start jogging a few times a week.

So does this sound like a good approach? Any thing you would change?

Thanks for reading!

Replies

  • ParkerH47
    ParkerH47 Posts: 463 Member
    Doesn't sounds like theres anything out of sorts, just make sure you do what works for you and what feels right. I say go for it!

    'Live the healthiest life you can enjoy' :)
  • wibutterflymagic
    wibutterflymagic Posts: 788 Member
    From what I've learned on MFP it sounds like you have what they call the "skinny fat" syndrome. You're thin but perhaps you have a higher body fat %. I am no expert, but using my common sense it sounds like you need to start more of a weight based exercise plan vs. cardio.
  • maryloo2011
    maryloo2011 Posts: 446
    Weights - pick them up and put 'em down! Rent or purchase "New Rules of Lifting for Women" or "Starting Strength" or "Stronglifts 5x5". If you go to a gym, take advantage of the free training sessions (most will offer 2-3 because they want you to buy a package)... and if you can swing it, buy a package so that the trainer can show you how to do some compound movements with the barbell.

    I was skinny fat and I started on the weight machines. Then lifted heavy with barbell and some dumbbell work. I currently weight 15# more than before I started lifting and am way smaller and tighter.

    Did I mention to lift a lot of weights?? :D
  • silverburk
    silverburk Posts: 61
    I think it's on Livestrong.com, but they have exercises you can do at your desk that only take 5 minutes a set. :) Good luck with your journey.
  • maryloo2011
    maryloo2011 Posts: 446
    Because you mentioned that you travel a lot, here are resources that you can do if you have a little bit of room in your house or hotel room:

    "bodyweight exercises"

    http://greatist.com/fitness/50-bodyweight-exercises-you-can-do-anywhere-030612/

    http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2012/08/23/batman-bodyweight-workout/

    http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/mahler57.htm


    Book: http://www.marklauren.com/
  • wswilliams67
    wswilliams67 Posts: 938 Member
    From what I've learned on MFP it sounds like you have what they call the "skinny fat" syndrome. You're thin but perhaps you have a higher body fat %. I am no expert, but using my common sense it sounds like you need to start more of a weight based exercise plan vs. cardio.

    ^^^ THIS ^^^
  • amonkey794
    amonkey794 Posts: 651 Member
    Eat at maintenance not a deficit and look into heavy weights. . .your future muscles(and mirror) will thank you:flowerforyou:

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