I must be doing something wrong. Advice?
Flufferoon
Posts: 14
Hello, I am a 19 year old female at 5'3'' and between 110 and 113 lbs.
- I am a vegetarian
- I work between 23 and 28 hours a week, on my feet and walking around (retail job), but nothing too serious or intense at all.
- I get to the gym about 3 to 4 days a week although I'd like to be going more often.
- At the gym I focus on fast-paced walking on the treadmill (4.0 mph between 12.5 and 15 incline until I burn a certain amount of calories)
- I also focus on planks, leg lifts (on the floor), leg adduction and abduction, lat pull-down, and a small amount of chest press.
- I do not get much protein.
- I eat mostly fruits and vegetables, but included in breakfast I'll have some Cheerio's Multigrain cereal or Bagel Thins.
- I've been attending the gym since the beginning week of January (it is now late February) and have not seen sufficient results.
- I believe I take in around 1000 calories a day but I might be taking in 100 or 200 extra, since I have a bit of a problem with grazing on small bits of fruit like strawberries, melon, or grapes or a handful of cereal or one or two crackers.
- I would like to tone, but I don't want to become thicker or bulkier, I would like to slim down and get to between 90lbs and 100lbs.
- At the beginning of January at the gym, they told me I was at 27% body fat.
- Apparently, when I arrived at the gym and they took measurements, I was 108lbs, Lean Body Mass: 78.8 lbs, Fat Mass: 29.2 lbs, and BMR 1120. BMI was 19.1.
So, I'm not very sure what to do. I have a very busy schedule between school and work, and that doesn't leave much time anymore for the gym, unfortunately.
-I get hungry often, and the worst time is in the morning and around dinner time. I always crave a snack after dinner, and I always crave fruit.
-I'm afraid that all this fruit is too much sugar for me.
-Generally, I have about 3 servings of fruit per day, containing 2 cups of melon and 1 cup of strawberries, or an apple.
-I do eat frozen vegetables, mainly from Green Giant, Birds Eye, or Pict Sweet.
-I think I have a problem with night snacking.
What should I do? Do i need to give more info on everything?
- I am a vegetarian
- I work between 23 and 28 hours a week, on my feet and walking around (retail job), but nothing too serious or intense at all.
- I get to the gym about 3 to 4 days a week although I'd like to be going more often.
- At the gym I focus on fast-paced walking on the treadmill (4.0 mph between 12.5 and 15 incline until I burn a certain amount of calories)
- I also focus on planks, leg lifts (on the floor), leg adduction and abduction, lat pull-down, and a small amount of chest press.
- I do not get much protein.
- I eat mostly fruits and vegetables, but included in breakfast I'll have some Cheerio's Multigrain cereal or Bagel Thins.
- I've been attending the gym since the beginning week of January (it is now late February) and have not seen sufficient results.
- I believe I take in around 1000 calories a day but I might be taking in 100 or 200 extra, since I have a bit of a problem with grazing on small bits of fruit like strawberries, melon, or grapes or a handful of cereal or one or two crackers.
- I would like to tone, but I don't want to become thicker or bulkier, I would like to slim down and get to between 90lbs and 100lbs.
- At the beginning of January at the gym, they told me I was at 27% body fat.
- Apparently, when I arrived at the gym and they took measurements, I was 108lbs, Lean Body Mass: 78.8 lbs, Fat Mass: 29.2 lbs, and BMR 1120. BMI was 19.1.
So, I'm not very sure what to do. I have a very busy schedule between school and work, and that doesn't leave much time anymore for the gym, unfortunately.
-I get hungry often, and the worst time is in the morning and around dinner time. I always crave a snack after dinner, and I always crave fruit.
-I'm afraid that all this fruit is too much sugar for me.
-Generally, I have about 3 servings of fruit per day, containing 2 cups of melon and 1 cup of strawberries, or an apple.
-I do eat frozen vegetables, mainly from Green Giant, Birds Eye, or Pict Sweet.
-I think I have a problem with night snacking.
What should I do? Do i need to give more info on everything?
0
Replies
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You need to eat more calories, especially on your exercise days... 1000 calories isnt enough for anyone0
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110-113 Is a perfect weight for you! 99-100 is a huge no-no!! You just need to focus on being healthy. Continue working out and get yourself a good diet that you can stick to. I am 19 as well and I weigh 172, i have work to do and weight to lose, you do not need to.0
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You do not need to worry about losing weight. It would be much healthier for you to fix the body fat % by making more of your body into muscle.
To make muscle, you will need more protein: nuts, beans ad yogurt.
Lift heavy things, take a body sculpt class, or get resistance bands (cheapest option)0 -
You are eating too little..
Period.
As a vegetarian you need to increase your protein intake, as well as your overall calorie intake. I was a ****ty vegetarian for years, i know how it is..
You work a on your feet job you are constantly moving around, you need more calories to sustain yourself, as you say yourself you are very hungry.. that means you need to eat..
Do research.
Find out what your BMR is and what your TDEE is.. If you enter these terms in the search bar on the forums you will get lots of hits and great advice.0 -
Let me get this straight: You're 5'3" and you weigh between 110-113 pounds, but you want to weigh between 90-100 pounds?
ETA: Perhaps you meant to say that you are 3'5"?0 -
Who in their right mind would want to go under 100 pounds with 5"3'?! You need to turn off Fashion TV, eat at least 1800 calories and focus on your studies and career and future instead of trying to get an eating disorder. Sorry.0
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Let me get this straight: You're 5'3" and you weigh between 110-113 pounds, but you want to weigh between 90-100 pounds?
ETA: Perhaps you meant to say that you are 3'5"?
Perhaps she meant to say she has a thinly disguised eating disorder?0 -
You do not need to worry about losing weight. It would be much healthier for you to fix the body fat % by making more of your body into muscle.
To make muscle, you will need more protein: nuts, beans ad yogurt.
Lift heavy things, take a body sculpt class, or get resistance bands (cheapest option)
I am not happy with how my body is. I believe that if I cut down 10lbs or so and increase muscle mass, I'll be happier with the results. I don't want to have the same amount of fat on my body now, I would rather slim down and then tone up. Weight lifting makes me nervous because I don't want to become thicker, I want to become leaner.
You are eating too little..
Period.As a vegetarian you need to increase your protein intake, as well as your overall calorie intake. I was a ****ty vegetarian for years, i know how it is..
You work a on your feet job you are constantly moving around, you need more calories to sustain yourself, as you say yourself you are very hungry.. that means you need to eat..
From what I've researched, I need the caloric deficit. I believe that if I increase my calorie intake any more, i will gain weight from it. My job is retail, so I'm just strolling through the isles most of the time and then standing the rest of the time, so.. Not too intense.0 -
You do not need to worry about losing weight. It would be much healthier for you to fix the body fat % by making more of your body into muscle.
To make muscle, you will need more protein: nuts, beans ad yogurt.
Lift heavy things, take a body sculpt class, or get resistance bands (cheapest option)
^^^^^^This all day long0 -
Let me get this straight: You're 5'3" and you weigh between 110-113 pounds, but you want to weigh between 90-100 pounds?
ETA: Perhaps you meant to say that you are 3'5"?
Perhaps she meant to say she has a thinly disguised eating disorder?
The disguise wasn't as thin as she'd like to be. I picked up on it right away.0 -
I don't want to sound dismissive, but girl you sound like you are super healthy as it is. You also have a healthy BMI and getting down to 100 lbs is underweight. If you want to be more toned, lifting weights is a great way to do it. When lifting, use a weight that you can only complete 5-7 reps. If you can do anymore than that, you likely need more weight. I read recently that when women lift weights, even weights that are considered "heavy," their arms and legs tend to NOT increase in circumference but become more defined and "cut." Increasing protein and minimizing the sugars could help, but I wouldn't cut anymore calories, just change where you get them.
Self love is a powerful thing, and loving the gifts that your body gives you is super important. Good luck to you!
Created by MyFitnessPal.com - Nutrition Facts For Foods0 -
I'm not really sure I understand what you are trying to achieve? You're 5'3", 110-113 pounds, sounds like you are in excellent health. I do agree with one poster, you aren't eating enough calories. I fell victim to this myself, and found I was under-eating by nearly 1,000 calories per day (900+)
You should be be eating back 3/4's or so of the calories you burn from exercise, so that you are feeding your body the nutrition it needs.
I would recommend, if you can, faithfully and exactly logging your foods, and, if you can, consider getting a FitBit, which I have found a very very valuable tool for ACCURATELY recording physical activity...Based on the walking you're doing, you probably are burning hundreds of calories per work-out, and not eating those, on top of not eating enough to begin with.
-BootJockey0 -
Let me get this straight: You're 5'3" and you weigh between 110-113 pounds, but you want to weigh between 90-100 pounds?
ETA: Perhaps you meant to say that you are 3'5"?
Uh. it's actually not that unrealistic, seeing as how I have quite a bit of fat percentage that I would like to get rid of and get a more reasonable percentage such as between 12% and 17%, to have a leaner and more toned look.Who in their right mind would want to go under 100 pounds with 5"3'?! You need to turn off Fashion TV, eat at least 1800 calories and focus on your studies and career and future instead of trying to get an eating disorder. Sorry.
- I don't watch fashion tv.
- 1800 calories is actually, technically, above my BMR and would cause me to gain fat.
- I focus on my school work and goals for my career just fine, thanks.
- I'm pretty sure I don't have an eating disorder, since last time I checked I'm eating 5 meals a day and just trying to find a better way, like everyone else on here, to reach my goal for a better body.0 -
Eat more protein, eat more in general, start lifting, maybe start some hiit0
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Hi I think you have some numbers wrong too. Your BMR should be higher than that based on your age? I would think it would be 1300+.
What you need to do is to keep a SMALL deficit whilst doing everything you can to hang onto your lean muscle mass. You need to eat more protein and use those muscles. Reduce the treadmill/cardio and do more resistance/weight exercises. If you eat below your BMR you will not be doing yourself any favours. Your body will try to hang onto the fat stores.
You will NOT bulk up if you put on more muscle. You can't diet your way to a toned body.0 -
You do not need to worry about losing weight. It would be much healthier for you to fix the body fat % by making more of your body into muscle.
To make muscle, you will need more protein: nuts, beans ad yogurt.
Lift heavy things, take a body sculpt class, or get resistance bands (cheapest option)
^^^^^This. This. A thousand times: THIS.0 -
- I don't watch fashion tv.
- 1800 calories is actually, technically, above my BMR and would cause me to gain fat.
- I focus on my school work and goals for my career just fine, thanks.
- I'm pretty sure I don't have an eating disorder, since last time I checked I'm eating 5 meals a day and just trying to find a better way, like everyone else on here, to reach my goal for a better body.
Well it sure looks like that is where your idea of ideal body weight comes from. About the ED thing, several of us associated to that immediately. You know if it walks like a duck...
Everyone else here is trying to achieve a NORMAL BMI and great health. And not, a 17 or 18 or some underweight BMI (calling it "toned" won't help the facts) that you are.
EDIT: and you don't seem to get the concept. Eating below BMR makes you ill. Eating between BMR and TDEE makes you lose weight. Eating above TDEE makes you gain weight. Go figure where 1000 calories belong here.0 -
You do not need to worry about losing weight. It would be much healthier for you to fix the body fat % by making more of your body into muscle.
To make muscle, you will need more protein: nuts, beans ad yogurt.
Lift heavy things, take a body sculpt class, or get resistance bands (cheapest option)
I am not happy with how my body is. I believe that if I cut down 10lbs or so and increase muscle mass, I'll be happier with the results. I don't want to have the same amount of fat on my body now, I would rather slim down and then tone up. Weight lifting makes me nervous because I don't want to become thicker, I want to become leaner.
You are eating too little..
Period.As a vegetarian you need to increase your protein intake, as well as your overall calorie intake. I was a ****ty vegetarian for years, i know how it is..
You work a on your feet job you are constantly moving around, you need more calories to sustain yourself, as you say yourself you are very hungry.. that means you need to eat..
From what I've researched, I need the caloric deficit. I believe that if I increase my calorie intake any more, i will gain weight from it. My job is retail, so I'm just strolling through the isles most of the time and then standing the rest of the time, so.. Not too intense.
^^^ What you just said is so wrong. You're starving yourself. At your height, 90 -100 lbs is borderline underweight. I'm agreeing with everyone else BUILD SOME MUSCLE it will actually lift and hold whatever fat you have so that it is not flabby, and make you firmer, more defined. It would take YEARS of heavy - heavy lifting to make you look bulky, you'd also have to be eating in the 3000+ calorie range. So stop starving yourself, eat at least 1500 cals, get some lean protien, like spinach, alfalfa, edamame, etc. and work those muscles!0 -
Let me get this straight: You're 5'3" and you weigh between 110-113 pounds, but you want to weigh between 90-100 pounds?
ETA: Perhaps you meant to say that you are 3'5"?
Uh. it's actually not that unrealistic, seeing as how I have quite a bit of fat percentage that I would like to get rid of and get a more reasonable percentage such as between 12% and 17%, to have a leaner and more toned look.Who in their right mind would want to go under 100 pounds with 5"3'?! You need to turn off Fashion TV, eat at least 1800 calories and focus on your studies and career and future instead of trying to get an eating disorder. Sorry.
- I don't watch fashion tv.
- 1800 calories is actually, technically, above my BMR and would cause me to gain fat.
- I focus on my school work and goals for my career just fine, thanks.
- I'm pretty sure I don't have an eating disorder, since last time I checked I'm eating 5 meals a day and just trying to find a better way, like everyone else on here, to reach my goal for a better body.
It is your TDEE you need to worry about, not your BMR. You should net your BMR every day, and even more. At your current weight, you should eat at maintenance (TDEE), and lift weights. You will like the results more.0 -
Hi I think you have some numbers wrong too. Your BMR should be higher than that based on your age? I would think it would be 1300+.
What you need to do is to keep a SMALL deficit whilst doing everything you can to hang onto your lean muscle mass. You need to eat more protein and use those muscles. Reduce the treadmill/cardio and do more resistance/weight exercises. If you eat below your BMR you will not be doing yourself any favours. Your body will try to hang onto the fat stores.
You will NOT bulk up if you put on more muscle. You can't diet your way to a toned body.
THIS. I think you don't understand this nutrition thing. Besides the fact that 90lbs at 5'3 would be underweight, according to every measurement, you can't diet your way to the body you want. You need to eat close to maintenance and lift heavy. You won't get bulky, but you will shape your body. "Tone" is a meaningless term used by the health industry to fool women into buying meaningless exercise equipment. Look up Stronglifts, do a lot of squats, deadlifts, presses, bench presses and eat a lot of protein.0 -
Eat at maintenance (whatever MFP says) and eat more protein. Eat enough healthy fat. Keep working out, doing some form of strength training. You'll feel so much better with more protein, and you'll probably realize you don't need to lose more fat as you'll be happier with your results.0
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Let me get this straight: You're 5'3" and you weigh between 110-113 pounds, but you want to weigh between 90-100 pounds?
ETA: Perhaps you meant to say that you are 3'5"?
Uh. it's actually not that unrealistic, seeing as how I have quite a bit of fat percentage that I would like to get rid of and get a more reasonable percentage such as between 12% and 17%, to have a leaner and more toned look.
I didn't say it was "unrealistic." I had an old roommate who weighed 65 pounds (she was 5'5").
And you could get a "leaner and more toned look" without sinking down to below 100 pounds.0 -
I myself am 5'3" and being under 100 lbs would certainly be completely unrealistic. And 1000 calories/day isn't enough. I know from personal experience. I was eating around 1200 cal/day and lost nothing (with working out 4-6x/week). After researching and talking to people I upped my calorie intake (to around 1600/day, sometimes more) and have started losing weight. I am actually no longer 'counting' calories, and just eat ever 3 hours or so. Its working pretty well. But to be healthier, its better to just focus on dropping 'fat' and upping muscle mass. You CAN increase muscle mass without increasing bulk/looking thicker. Best option is eat some slow burning carbs an hour or so before a workout (like oatmeal, natural, not instant with added sugar) so it can sustain you throughout a workout... and within 30 minutes after a workout eat a protein... my preferred choice is a 100% whey protein (chocolate flavored) made with almond milk and some strawberries. The whey is best becuase it gets to your muscles quicker to replenish them, and the fruit adds some quick carbs to re-energize. But at the weight you are, you shouldn't concern yourself with the weight loss number, but rather being overall healthier which can be done by increasing muscle strength. You can actually GAIN weight, but look like you've lost 10 lbs because 1lb of muscle is much smaller, and takes up less space than 1lb of fat.0
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what method did you use to come up with your body fat? calipers? hand hold or scale?0
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Eat more.0
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Even the most conservative calculator I can find says that your BMR is about 1200. Eating under that really isn't healthy. Moreover, eating over your BMR won't cause you to gain weight - eating over your total daily energy expenditure (TDEE) will.
Use this calculator: http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/bmr/ to find out your TDEE. To lose weight (which you really should do in combination with weight training, so as to keep from losing lean body mass), you should eat about at your TDEE - 20%. And, again, the most conservative calculation I can find for that (using sedentary lifestyle, which you don't have, since you're on your feet a lot) says that you should be eating about 1286 calories. More realistically, given your lifestyle, you should have about 1474 calories a day. Doing this will also help you keep muscle on, which will allow you to healthily reduce your body fat percentage if you are that concerned about it. Eating too little will cause your body to cannibalize muscle, which will not give you the look you want.
Also, please keep in mind that 12% body fat is very low for a woman - like, low to the point that it's generally only attained for bodybuilding competitions.0 -
Hi I think you have some numbers wrong too. Your BMR should be higher than that based on your age? I would think it would be 1300+.
What you need to do is to keep a SMALL deficit whilst doing everything you can to hang onto your lean muscle mass. You need to eat more protein and use those muscles. Reduce the treadmill/cardio and do more resistance/weight exercises. If you eat below your BMR you will not be doing yourself any favours. Your body will try to hang onto the fat stores.
You will NOT bulk up if you put on more muscle. You can't diet your way to a toned body.
At the gym, when they were taking measurements and such, I was at a lower weight and technically 18 years old, because my birthday was at the end of the month, so I'm not sure if it would have changed much by now. It seems as though even if I believe for the most part I am taking in enough calories, It seems as though I just tend to gain more weight throughout the week. I feel like if I eat more than what I'm eating now, i'll just be setting myself back further because at the end of the day, each day, i feel like... thick, and like, it's a weird feeling but I don't think eating MORE would help me much.
What kind of resistance and weight training exercises would you recommend? I am most concerned with my stomach and thighs and butt.0 -
eat more protein and lift weights if you don't like what your body looks like0
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Uh. it's actually not that unrealistic, seeing as how I have quite a bit of fat percentage that I would like to get rid of and get a more reasonable percentage such as between 12% and 17%, to have a leaner and more toned look.
I had to recheck the original post to make sure you were female. A true 12-17% for a female is very low. I don't think any doctors would recommend this low. Although I understand that there are some vegetarian communities who want to be extremely underweight, I can't agree with this at all.
I would suggest you research the term "skinny fat" -- a problem that most people have is they have roughly normal body fat but almost no muscle mass. This means that they can continue to lose body fat, get into an unhealthy range, yet still look "fat" because there is no muscle to give their body shape. When you have more muscle, your skin and normal fat will sit better and make you look better and feel better.
Don't worry about getting "big" or "thick." if gaining muscle was so easy for a woman, imagine how every guy would hit the gym for 1 week and get huge! This doesn't happen. In fact most people get almost no results due to a lack of proper information and consistent effort.
Increase your protein intake, slowly increase your food intake (that's what this site is so great for), and do more weights. Maybe take some group classes or ask a good personal trainer at your gym.0 -
I'm 5'2" and currently weight 122, lost 3 pounds in three weeks. Even though I'm not a vegetarian, I think that you should be eating no more than 1320 calories a day, unless on the days that you exercise MFP will increase your calorie intake, you definitely don't want to eat less than 1200 calories a day or your body will use whatever food you eat and store fat from it, and make weight loss a lot harder. You do need to eat more protein if you want to see defenition, you could have cottage cheese, string cheese, greek yogurt, I also have these protein bars that keep you full they are called "Met-Rx Protein Plus Creamy Cookie Crisp" I usually have them as a snack on the days that I exercise, which is 4-5 times a day, just mix up your snacks. I will also suggest to start running instead of power walking or just walk. I'm sure about the treadmill you use, but the one I use has a workout called "interval", that gives you an incline variation, speed remains the same. Of course lots of water!!
This is an example that has been working for me:
Gym: setting treadmill for interval for 60min, at 5.5mph and gives an incline variation of 1.0, 3.5 , 5.5 and 6.0, then it'll give you an extra 5min of cool down. Overall, you loose between 490 and 520 calories.
Breakfast: Three egg whites (very good source of protein, which is good for muscles), with cooked onions, tomatoes and basil and a bit of salt. With a strawberry shake, 1 cup of 1% milk and 5 strawberries.
Snack: A fuji apple and orange.
Lunch: Grilled meat or chicken, or boiled chicken with butternut squash and veggies or brown rice.
Snack: String cheese or protein bar or whatever else you want that has protein.
Dinner: or usually when I get home, which around 9pm, I have a fruit salad for a week and the next I would mix it up with a home made chicken soup and veggies.
And that is pretty much what I have. You are more than welcome to check out my food log
I'm not an expert, but I'm glad to say that this has been working for me.0
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