Advice on cutting weight

BlaZeN13x · September 2013

I just posted this but I think I posted it in the wrong section so I'm going to post it here as this section seems more appropriate. Sorry if you come upon the other post aswell, just ignore it.

I have been trying to lose weight on and off for years, sometimes I get a few results but then always seem to end up back at square one.

My main problem is not knowing what diet plan to take and what exercise plan to follow. I've had personal trainers before and been given plans by them but they never seem to work, I always feel like they are telling me to eat too much food.

I am very determined to stick to a plan and lose the weight this time and I was googling to see if I could find any information when I came upon this site.

I saw a thread and read a few things which kept being repeated but i've always thought they would counter act loosing weight.

Since I started dieting and going to the gym daily again since about 1.5/2 months ago i've managed to lose about 20/25lbs but for the last few weeks i've just been stuck around my current weight and can't seem to see any progress.

I've been on very low calories and cut out carbs almost completely. My average day consists of fruit for breakfast, salad or beans for lunch, maybe chicken for dinner and some fruit. I also go to the gym and do about 45 minutes of cardio (cycling) and burn average of 600/650 calories. I would have thought doing this would have seen much better results then I have seen but I haven't.

When I was reading through a thread earlier I was seeing people saying that you should be eating carbs (50% of your ideal weight in grams), eating back the calories you burn and doing heavy weight resistance training with occasional cardio.

I signed up and put my details into the MFP app and it has given me a daily calorie intake of 1550 calories. To me this seems high, and if I am not mistaken this isn't including the calories I will eat back from burning them off with exercise?

To sum up, what I am asking really is what should I do?

Will sticking to the daily calorie intake of 1550 allow me lose weight?
Will including carbs in my diet not slow down weight loss?
What kind of meals should I be having?
What kind of exercise plan should I be following?

Any sort of advice would be much appreciated, thanks.

p4ulmiller · September 2013

There are a couple of points that ring alarm bells for me:

My main problem is not knowing what diet plan to take and what exercise plan to follow. I've had personal trainers before and been given plans by them but they never seem to work, I always feel like they are telling me to eat too much food.

<...>

I've been on very low calories and cut out carbs almost completely. My average day consists of fruit for breakfast, salad or beans for lunch, maybe chicken for dinner and some fruit.

All diets come down to one thing. Calories in must be less than calories out. If they are, then you will lose weight.

However:

Since I started dieting and going to the gym daily again since about 1.5/2 months ago i've managed to lose about 20/25lbs but for the last few weeks i've just been stuck around my current weight and can't seem to see any progress.

You've done nothing more than hit a plateau. It's a common reaction from your body, and unfortunately, you just need to keep working through it.

I don't know how many calories you should have, but MFP is usually fairly accurate. Most people eat 50% of their exercise calories back; that's up to you, but dont leave yourself short.

You've made great progress. Keep up the good work

BlaZeN13x · September 2013

Thanks for the response.

My MFP is telling me to have 1550 calories a day. I'm going to start tracking tomorrow and introducing carbs into my diet and weight resistance into my training and see if I make any progress.

igotabulletproofheart · September 2013

Will sticking to the daily calorie intake of 1550 allow me lose weight?
Yes, if you stick to it.

Will including carbs in my diet not slow down weight loss?
Consuming the right carbs (no refined!) will help you, not hinder you. Carbs are necessary for your body to function. Don't neglect them.

What kind of meals should I be having?
Healthy balanced ones. Balanced in terms of macronutrients. Google "IIFYM".

What kind of exercise plan should I be following?
One you can stick to.
If you want to increase your muscle mass, go for strength training. If you want to increase your calorie deficit, go for cardio.

There's no right answer to any of this, it all comes down to doing what you can stick to and what works best for you.

Francl27 · September 2013

If you really burn 500-600 calories a day from exercise, you're eating 1000 or less calories NET. That's not enough. MFP is designed so that you eat your exercise calories back, or at least part of them.

needtoloseafewpounds · September 2013

Don't give up! I've been through a plateau and I just kept going. What helped me was to take it slower and easy for 2 weeks. I didn't go and binge, but I did relax and rest. After that, I resumed my normal weight loss schedule and the weight shedded off

I know this is different for everyone as our bodies are all different but I'm sure you'll find a way past your plateau~ Good luck! ^^

BlaZeN13x · September 2013

Does the 1550 calories that MFP suggests include the calories burned? Or will I also need to eat another 500/600 on top?

needtoloseafewpounds · September 2013

Does the 1550 calories that MFP suggests include the calories burned? Or will I also need to eat another 500/600 on top?

I would eat about half of the calories back depending on what workouts you are doing. I just figured this out recently and figured I'd share this with you

http://www.shapesense.com/fitness-exercise/calculators/net-versus-gross-calorie-burn-conversion-calculator.aspx

You log in your total calories burned, the amount of time spent on the workout, age, weight, and gender. This will help determine how many extra calories you actually burned additional to your TDEE.

Advice on cutting weight

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