New and not really sure what I'm doing!

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jessmaus
jessmaus Posts: 28 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hey y'all I've been reading the forums for a while now and thought I'd do my first post.
I'm not new to the weight lost attempts but have never really lost any weight =(
This time though I really want to go for it, before I've got strung up when I've had bad days and given up easily but reading the posts here has really inspired me.
But I'm just not sure what to expect. I've been going to the gym at least 5 times a week (doing cardio and strength) for 40mins-1hr for 3 weeks and trying to eat better (but that definitely needs working on!), so far I've not lost any weight, but I've read that that's normal since I'm doing more exercise so I'm not too concerned for now.
I would just like to know if there are similar sized, aged, weight people and how much they lose, say, per week, or month. And how long should I expect to take to lose 20lb? How much exercise I should be doing, what sort? Any tips and tricks and advice from all you successful losers =]
I'm sorry if there's hundreds of posts like this, I get very confused by all the dieting information online.

I'm female, 20, 5'2
SW 139lb
GW 120lb

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  • dowesney
    dowesney Posts: 26 Member
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    Our stats are almost identical. I am 5' 2" (33 years old) with a starting weight of 139 and a desire to hit a least 120. Since the start of the year I have lost almost 8 pounds. My goal from here on in is to lose an average of half a pound a week, which will hopefully get me to 120 by sometime this summer. Slow and steady wins the race here.

    I have found that eating above my BMR is very helpful. When I eat too few calories I stop losing. So take the time to calculate your BMR, TDEE, and eat accordingly. Good luck!
  • jessmaus
    jessmaus Posts: 28 Member
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    Oh wow, congrats on your weight loss, that's amazing!
    I'd never even heard of BMR and TDEE so that's really helpful. Working it out as if I do no exercise I've come up with I should be taking on 1400 calories a day. So does that mean if I do 300 calories worth of exercise I should definitely eat that back? But if I do nothing all day I should just stick to 1400 calories? I thought the suggested 1200 calories by MFP seemed very low!
  • dowesney
    dowesney Posts: 26 Member
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    Here is how I do it, since my TDEE likely changes from day to day (some days I can't exercise at all, some days I exercise a lot, etc.). I make it a point to eat at least my BMR, which is somewhere between 1250 and 1300 I think. After that, I try to eat back some of my exercise calories - but not all. This creates a deficit but still gives me enough calories that a.) I am never hungry, and b.) I am not tired. If you are excessively hungry or tired then you are not eating enough! I have been averaging between 1300 and 1500 calories consumed a day. I am getting my body fat percentage professionally measured on Friday for free at work so I should be able to better calculate my BMR to a more exact figure at that point.

    You are so smart to work on the weight now while you are in your 20s. I think you will find it a little easier to lose since you have age on your side!

    By the way, for workouts I use Wii Fit and Leslie Sansone's Walk At Home videos. Both are great without being too high impact.

    Feel free to add me if you want motivation or someone to compare notes to.

    ETA, if you are very consistent with activity (i.e., always work out for 30 minutes a day) you can calculate your TDEE and subtract 20% from that for your calorie goal each day. Like I said, for me I haven't had as good of results since my activity level varies so much from day to day.

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