need a bit of help!

bitterbrownie
bitterbrownie Posts: 369
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm taking netting 1350 - 1400 calories a day which includes 50-70 mins of exercise. Workouts are 4 lifting days, a weights circuit day and cardio (20-30mins and HIIT once to twice a week) 4-6 days a week. I worked out my BMR to be 1340-60 roughly and i should need about 1800-2000 calories to maintain (whether you count my exercise as light or moderate) and that's without eating exercise cals back. I burn 300-550 cals a workout

i wasn't losing at 1270 calories and pals told me to up, so i did! :)

at the end of the 1st higher week i was up 4lbs and this week i haven't lost anything again. I weigh everything and am usually over on carbs but i eat a lot.of fruit so i tend not to worry about that too much. I struggle getting a good fat intake but protein is high and consistent. I have about 18% body fat (not lower than that)

does anyone have anything to help me with? Should i up or down my calories?

by the way I'm 5 ft 5 and 119 lbs (i know I'm in the healthy weight but i just want to drop a few.more pounds to be at the leaner end of the healthy bmi.) I've been slightly under that number and my doctor said that's fine since i was fit and healthy. Struggling to get back there though!! :(

any help would be appreciated or drop me a pm, thanks!!

Replies

  • usafrmas
    usafrmas Posts: 2 Member
    measure your waist, hips, arms ect...you are lifting weights so you may actually be losing fat and gaining muscle which will weigh more. If your goal is to be more fit and lean not thinner then you are working out right- cardio and wt training but you may not notice a change on the scale. Does this make sense?
  • bitterbrownie
    bitterbrownie Posts: 369
    Losing fat maybe but gaining muscle? You need additional calories to do that...?
  • bitterbrownie
    bitterbrownie Posts: 369
    Anyone? :(
  • Phrick
    Phrick Posts: 2,765 Member
    Losing fat maybe but gaining muscle? You need additional calories to do that...?


    Yes, this is correct. You can't gain muscle if you're not eating enough extra calories to build it. some of the extra fuel / building blocks for muscle comes from your fat stores but the majority of it comes from eating more.
  • itgeekwoman
    itgeekwoman Posts: 804 Member
    I'm taking netting 1350 - 1400 calories a day which includes 50-70 mins of exercise. Workouts are 4 lifting days, a weights circuit day and cardio (20-30mins and HIIT once to twice a week) 4-6 days a week. I worked out my BMR to be 1340-60 roughly and i should need about 1800-2000 calories to maintain (whether you count my exercise as light or moderate) and that's without eating exercise cals back. I burn 300-550 cals a workout

    i wasn't losing at 1270 calories and pals told me to up, so i did! :)

    at the end of the 1st higher week i was up 4lbs and this week i haven't lost anything again. I weigh everything and am usually over on carbs but i eat a lot.of fruit so i tend not to worry about that too much. I struggle getting a good fat intake but protein is high and consistent. I have about 18% body fat (not lower than that)

    does anyone have anything to help me with? Should i up or down my calories?

    by the way I'm 5 ft 5 and 119 lbs (i know I'm in the healthy weight but i just want to drop a few.more pounds to be at the leaner end of the healthy bmi.) I've been slightly under that number and my doctor said that's fine since i was fit and healthy. Struggling to get back there though!! :(

    any help would be appreciated or drop me a pm, thanks!!

    Do you know how many calories you are actually burning? Do you wear a heart rate monitor to understand what your actual burn is? What's your BMR? I'd guess that you aren't eating enough to lose any weight due to the amount of calories you are burning during your workouts.
  • bitterbrownie
    bitterbrownie Posts: 369
    Do you know how many calories you are actually burning? Do you wear a heart rate monitor to understand what your actual burn is? What's your BMR? I'd guess that you aren't eating enough to lose any weight due to the amount of calories you are burning during your workouts.

    yeah i use a hrm and i know my v02 max too so i think it's quite accurate. My bmr is 1340-1360 i think though katch-mcardle puts it at 1303 i think.....

    so you'd up calories? I'm just worries i keep upping calories when really some loss should be taking place surely? What would you up to?
  • goodtimezzzz
    goodtimezzzz Posts: 640 Member
    its sounds Krazy but up your fat and lower your protein especially animal products..poof the weight comes off:)
    Kristian Rocco
  • bitterbrownie
    bitterbrownie Posts: 369
    its sounds Krazy but up your fat and lower your protein especially animal products..poof the weight comes off:)
    Kristian Rocco

    really? How does that work? What "fat" foods would you suggest without greatly upping calories?

    i mean, do people usually gain after upping calories and then start to lose after 3 weeks or so?
  • jdad1
    jdad1 Posts: 1,899 Member
    BMI is stupid. You are already where you need to be. Stay on track and enjoy food. It is not the enemy.
  • bitterbrownie
    bitterbrownie Posts: 369
    BMI is stupid. You are already where you need to be. Stay on track and enjoy food. It is not the enemy.

    oh believe me, i love my food! BMI doesn't bother me, I'd just like to be more comfortable with myself :)
  • goodtimezzzz
    goodtimezzzz Posts: 640 Member
    its sounds Krazy but up your fat and lower your protein especially animal products..poof the weight comes off:)
    Kristian Rocco

    really? How does that work? What "fat" foods would you suggest without greatly upping calories?

    i mean, do people usually gain after upping calories and then start to lose after 3 weeks or so?
  • goodtimezzzz
    goodtimezzzz Posts: 640 Member
    yeah the body is CONSTANTLY adapting..once you have a solid consistent plan you melt your fat off...at first when upping calories and exercising etc. it can be a shocker when you gain a little! and as for fat foods peanut butter olive oil cheese..etc. fat is not the enemy:)
  • bitterbrownie
    bitterbrownie Posts: 369
    yeah the body is CONSTANTLY adapting..once you have a solid consistent plan you melt your fat off...at first when upping calories and exercising etc. it can be a shocker when you gain a little! and as for fat foods peanut butter olive oil cheese..etc. fat is not the enemy:)

    yeah but i haven't lost anything since September....i gained from September to January and fluctuated from February to now...
  • herblackwings39
    herblackwings39 Posts: 3,930 Member
    I've been told it can take 4-6 weeks after making a change to see any real progress. I recently upped my calories by 1000 and had gains the first two weeks. I officially weigh in on Tuesday mornings so fingers crossed I might have a small loss if the number I saw this morning sticks. If you're eating between your BMR and TDEE just give it time.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,427 MFP Moderator
    So much misinformation in here.. The chances of offsetting fat loss with new lean body mass is very little. If anything fat loss is masked by water retention to repair muscles. Second, if you are keeping calories consistent, dropping protein and upping fat will do absolutely nothing. Animal protein is very healthy and good for you. If anything, drop carbs and up protein and fats. At least at this point your body will store less water weight.


    Second, if you are still unhappy with your body, it's because you are at the bottom of your weight. This means you have very little muscle mass for your height and if you want to tighten up your body, you will need to do a bulk phase to gain more muscle. A bulk phase means a surplus. A slow bulk would be to eat about 250 calories above your TDEE to gain about 1/2 lb per week. You can do a 10-20 week bulk to gain 5-10 lbs and then follow it with a cut.

    I find it very common with those who are at the lower weight of an acceptable weight to have trouble getting the body they want due to the low amount of LBM. While this is an extreme case, below is a link of what I mean.

    http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2011/07/21/meet-staci-your-new-powerlifting-super-hero/
  • bitterbrownie
    bitterbrownie Posts: 369
    Hey thanks for the post but I'm not unhappy because of lack of muscle! I've had less muscle than this before and i was still content with my body, especially as i was more able to maintain and had more energy

    thanks for the info on the bulk but as I've said in my OP I'm looking to cut, not bulk

    if you've got any tips for that then they'd be much appreciated :)
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,427 MFP Moderator
    Hey thanks for the post but I'm not unhappy because of lack of muscle! I've had less muscle than this before and i was still content with my body, especially as i was more able to maintain and had more energy

    thanks for the info on the bulk but as I've said in my OP I'm looking to cut, not bulk

    if you've got any tips for that then they'd be much appreciated :)

    A small deficit, heavy weight training and time.
  • IHTSM
    IHTSM Posts: 51 Member
    I would suggest not eating back your exercise calories - so if your calorie goal is 1500 (for example) ONLY eat that much, but continue your workouts

    This is what my doctor suggests for me
  • bitterbrownie
    bitterbrownie Posts: 369
    I would suggest not eating back your exercise calories - so if your calorie goal is 1500 (for example) ONLY eat that much, but continue your workouts

    This is what my doctor suggests for me

    why this way? surely the deficit can be created just by working out and eating back, so eating less on non-workout days...?

    it makes me workout ahhaah ;p
  • bitterbrownie
    bitterbrownie Posts: 369
    Hey thanks for the post but I'm not unhappy because of lack of muscle! I've had less muscle than this before and i was still content with my body, especially as i was more able to maintain and had more energy

    thanks for the info on the bulk but as I've said in my OP I'm looking to cut, not bulk

    if you've got any tips for that then they'd be much appreciated :)

    A small deficit, heavy weight training and time.

    thanks :) so in that context, i'd need to up my calories to create a smaller deficit...? or should i give 1400 a couple more weeks?

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