Help! I want to keep my muscles

kirianna55
kirianna55 Posts: 459 Member
edited January 11 in Health and Weight Loss
First off I want to say that i have been doing this off and on for a while. I have a problem where I lose weight and then hit a plateau and no matter how much I try, I cant get the scale to change. At one point I was in a plateau for 9 months. I gave up after a while. Now that I am back I want to make sure I am doing this right. I want to lose fat and see my weight drop but keep my muscle. I am currently eating 45% carbs, 25% protein, and 30% fat. I work out 4-6 days a week. 3 days I walk a mile and do weight circuits with my boyfriend. On the other days I walk a 2 mile walk. Sundays I rest because I dont feel like doing it after being forced to go to church. Eventually I want to be able to do longer distances without worrying. I would also love to increase my speed. At the moment I am not running because I gave myself really bad shin splints.

Also I am getting mixed messages about BMR. Some people say to lose weight you need to eat below to lose weight. Others say you have to eat between BMR and TDEE to lose weight. What is the actual correct answer?

Replies

  • jppd47
    jppd47 Posts: 737 Member
    The correct answer is what works best for you. Try different things. TDEE-20% seems to be a going rate. Dont worry about resting one day, Thats good for ya. Make sure you get plenty of sleep during the week. What are you doing for weights, exercises, weight and reps?
  • bathsheba_c
    bathsheba_c Posts: 1,873 Member
    Above BMR but below TDEE. BMR is the number of calories your body uses to keep itself alive. TDEE is how many calories you use on an average day. So you need to be over BMR to stay healthy, but under TDEE to lose weight.
  • kirianna55
    kirianna55 Posts: 459 Member
    The correct answer is what works best for you. Try different things. TDEE-20% seems to be a going rate. Dont worry about resting one day, Thats good for ya. Make sure you get plenty of sleep during the week. What are you doing for weights, exercises, weight and reps?

    I took strength training exercises from Jillian Michaels exercise videos and put them together in a way that fits my needs. I normally do 3.3 pounds but since I started working out with my boyfriend, I upgraded to 6.6 pound weights. He didnt want to use the 1 pound weights to start off. I have a time limit for each exercise rather than a certain number of reps. I use workout trainer and it times my exercises and tells me to switch exercises. I normally do two sets of each exercise but since I doubled my weight, I dropped it down to one set. I plan on increasing in a week or so.


    The list of exercises:
    Squats with an overhead press
    Anterior raise with side lunges.
    Lunge with bicep curls
    Kneeling push-ups
    Dumbbell fly
    Lying superman
    Side leg raises
    Butt lifts (bridges?)
    Crunches
    Reverse crunches
    Oblique crunches
  • jppd47
    jppd47 Posts: 737 Member
    Increasing the weight you use over time will help. Work from kneeling push ups to regular. theres nothing special I can tell ya. If you can find a way to get a barbell and some weights, that will help with your muscles. Dont force the the running, take it slow and it will come to you. A lot of people like the couch to 5k website

    Sounds like your doing good. keep it up
  • kirianna55
    kirianna55 Posts: 459 Member
    Apparently my BMR is 2,055. My TDEE is 2484
  • xidia
    xidia Posts: 606 Member
    If you're planning to keep increasing weights, make sure you get enough protein.
  • CaffeinatedConfectionist
    CaffeinatedConfectionist Posts: 1,046 Member
    I am currently eating 45% carbs, 25% protein, and 30% fat.

    I'm not an expert, but I'd consider upping your the percentages on your protein macro. It seems like the general recommended macro distribution is 40/30/30. A higher protein intake will help keep you feeling more full, and will also help you retain your muscle mass.

    If you haven't read this, please do: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

    In addition to all of the helpful information on BMR/TDEE, there is also a brief chunk about macro distribution near the end.
  • Cait_Sidhe
    Cait_Sidhe Posts: 3,150 Member
    Lift heavy, make sure you keep your protein intake fairly high, eat at a moderate deficit.
  • kirianna55
    kirianna55 Posts: 459 Member
    Right now my deficit to lose weight is 1.5 pounds a week makes my calorie allotment 1830 a day. I hope to move it up to 2 pounds a week soon. I try to eat back half my exercise calories. That makes it so I eat between 1900-2200 calories on those days. I try to fit it into my macros as much as possible.
  • shorty35565
    shorty35565 Posts: 1,425 Member
    I am currently eating 45% carbs, 25% protein, and 30% fat.

    I'm not an expert, but I'd consider upping your the percentages on your protein macro. It seems like the general recommended macro distribution is 40/30/30. A higher protein intake will help keep you feeling more full, and will also help you retain your muscle mass.

    If you haven't read this, please do: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

    In addition to all of the helpful information on BMR/TDEE, there is also a brief chunk about macro distribution near the end.

    I agree with this
  • Cait_Sidhe
    Cait_Sidhe Posts: 3,150 Member
    Right now my deficit to lose weight is 1.5 pounds a week makes my calorie allotment 1830 a day. I hope to move it up to 2 pounds a week soon. I try to eat back half my exercise calories. That makes it so I eat between 1900-2200 calories on those days. I try to fit it into my macros as much as possible.
    The problem with rapid weight loss (1.5-2lb/week) is that you'll also lose lean body mass. Slow is the way to go. 0.5lb/week is usually recommended or 20% off your TDEE. The road map link offered is a great guideline.
  • kirianna55
    kirianna55 Posts: 459 Member
    I have 100+ pounds to lose. My body fat is close to 40%. -20% of my TDEE is 1988 calories. I eat that easily and regularly. It isnt uncommon for me to eat over 2000 calories, especially on days I have exercised. After exercising and eating back some of my calories I net between 1500-1800 a day, depending on the day.


    I upped my calories via MFP to lose 1 pound a week and it put me just over my BMR. I will try this for a while and see what happens. I would honestly love to lose body fat rather than just weight. I would love to see the scale drop but body fat is more important. I want to to from my 40% down to around 20% and reevaluate things.
  • kirianna55
    kirianna55 Posts: 459 Member
    bump
  • auddii
    auddii Posts: 15,357 Member
    The problem with rapid weight loss (1.5-2lb/week) is that you'll also lose lean body mass. Slow is the way to go. 0.5lb/week is usually recommended or 20% off your TDEE. The road map link offered is a great guideline.

    With over 100lbs to lose, the OP can tolerate a larger deficit. I've been using the IPOARM spreadsheet, and it has me at TDEE-30% (I have 75 still to lose). Here's a link to the spreadsheet post (it allows me to be more lazy and it just tells me what to do):

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/717858-spreadsheet-bmr-tdee-and-deficit-calcs-macros-hrm
  • kirianna55
    kirianna55 Posts: 459 Member
    The problem with rapid weight loss (1.5-2lb/week) is that you'll also lose lean body mass. Slow is the way to go. 0.5lb/week is usually recommended or 20% off your TDEE. The road map link offered is a great guideline.

    With over 100lbs to lose, the OP can tolerate a larger deficit. I've been using the IPOARM spreadsheet, and it has me at TDEE-30% (I have 75 still to lose). Here's a link to the spreadsheet post (it allows me to be more lazy and it just tells me what to do):

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/717858-spreadsheet-bmr-tdee-and-deficit-calcs-macros-hrm


    THanks
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