Do I drop my calories down?

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tmaksparkie
tmaksparkie Posts: 279
in Health and Weight Loss
ok I am on a 12 week weight lifting program. I am currently on week 6 and I have not lost anything I haves stayed the same weight. I am at 1690 cals a day and I am at the gym 3 x a week for weights and 45 min of cardio each of those days on days I am not at the gym I do a 30 min video like 30 day shred, biggest loser cardio, Jillian kettle bell those type videos. I am gaining muscle I am stronger and can see the difference in my shoulders for muscle but I need to lose the extra fat around my middle what am I doing wrong. I also don't eat a lot of junk mostly protein veg and fruit. Thanks

Replies

  • aippolito1
    aippolito1 Posts: 4,894 Member
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    You need more cardio. It sounds like your'e not doing hardly any cardio. Do you run, walk, bike... at ALL? You should get at least 30 mins cardio everyday and I think you'll see a difference... I think you could drop everything your'e doing at home now and trade it for 30 minutes on the treadmill or elliptical or stationary bike or just a walk around the neighborhood and you'd see a decrease. Yes, muscle helps you burn fat but you also need cardio.
  • laddyboy
    laddyboy Posts: 1,565 Member
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    What week are you on?
    I say go either direction 100-150 calories and see what that does. Track bodyfat, not scale weight if you really want to see what's happening.
  • cupcakelover103
    cupcakelover103 Posts: 197 Member
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    Are you taking measurements or only relying on the scale? You're likely to be gaining muscle and losing fat.
  • krr246
    krr246 Posts: 7 Member
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    i would try dropping your calories to 1400 anyway.. your getting plenty of excercise..
  • allisoncook87
    allisoncook87 Posts: 160 Member
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    I'm in the same boat working out 6 days a week and eating low carb low cal diet at 1650 calories and 100 carbs. I also try not to eat grains. Help! I'm doing 4 hours cardio and 1.5 hours weights
  • tmaksparkie
    tmaksparkie Posts: 279
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    I do cardio 5x a week 3x for 45 min and 2x for 30 min.
  • Liatush
    Liatush Posts: 627 Member
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    It sounds like you are getting enough exercise. I would say, drop down your calories to 1300 and eat another 3-400 of your exercise calories a couple of times a week. Drink plenty of water.

    Without seeing your diary, its hard to say if your eating habits are preventing you from losing.
  • laddyboy
    laddyboy Posts: 1,565 Member
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    I do cardio 5x a week 3x for 45 min and 2x for 30 min.
    Ok, what about strength training? How much of that do you do? I would not drop my calories with all that exercise.

    Let's figure where you should be at.

    Give you my age, weight and height. I'll run some numbers
  • pyro13g
    pyro13g Posts: 1,127 Member
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    I do cardio 5x a week 3x for 45 min and 2x for 30 min.

    http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm use 5 x a week intense. you could really go either direction is my guess. Strength training if you are not doing it.

    If you were just weights I'd say try 1200. Considering the cardio, I think a bump upwards is what I'd try first. 100 a day more. Expect a bounce slightly up initially in weight. I'd bet it starts to drop again in too weeks. You seem right where you need to be yet stuck. Means it's time to change calories. I like up 100 a couple weeks first to see what happens. Nothing, subtract 200 from your new load or 100 from the old load.

    Regarding weights. Lifting some weight is one thing but at a calorie deficit your heart rate should be close to 80% max.
  • usmcpatience
    usmcpatience Posts: 168
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    You need more cardio. It sounds like your'e not doing hardly any cardio. Do you run, walk, bike... at ALL? You should get at least 30 mins cardio everyday and I think you'll see a difference... I think you could drop everything your'e doing at home now and trade it for 30 minutes on the treadmill or elliptical or stationary bike or just a walk around the neighborhood and you'd see a decrease. Yes, muscle helps you burn fat but you also need cardio.

    I'd give some extra cardio workouts a try before cutting yourself shy of some calories.
  • Nailrep
    Nailrep Posts: 966 Member
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    * Do 40-50 minutes of cardio at least 4 times a week.

    * Drop your caloric intake by 200 a day.

    That should get you into a deficit of about 500 additional calories a day = 1 pound per week loss.
  • furrina
    furrina Posts: 148 Member
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    Based on your ticker it looks like you should recalculate/drop your calories to continue at your desired calorie deficit. You burn fewer calories at the lower weight than you did at your higher one, so you want to calculate from your current weight to your goal weight to find out how many calories a day you should be consuming (as @nailrep said). Sounds like you get enough exercise, which is great, but it's that net calorie # that counts for weight loss. Note also that at lower weights you lose a bit more slowly, but the more patient you are (don't try to lose too fast, no more than 1 lb./week) the more likely you'll keep the weight off. Also re the weight training, muscle weighs more than fat as you probably know, but at that point the scale doesn't matter because measurements etc. will show all the great changes that take place.
  • tmaksparkie
    tmaksparkie Posts: 279
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    I do cardio 5x a week 3x for 45 min and 2x for 30 min.
    Ok, what about strength training? How much of that do you do? I would not drop my calories with all that exercise.

    Let's figure where you should be at.

    Give you my age, weight and height. I'll run some numbers

    I am 31, 5'4" and 156lbs I am doing weight training 3x a week. Thanks for the help.
  • pyro13g
    pyro13g Posts: 1,127 Member
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    I do cardio 5x a week 3x for 45 min and 2x for 30 min.
    Ok, what about strength training? How much of that do you do? I would not drop my calories with all that exercise.

    Let's figure where you should be at.

    Give you my age, weight and height. I'll run some numbers

    I am 31, 5'4" and 156lbs I am doing weight training 3x a week. Thanks for the help.

    Maintenance:
    2184 Calories/day
    Fat Loss:
    1747 Calories/day


    Go up 100 first. cuz of the cardio which I included in my calc. I'd like to know how many calories are coming from Protein/Carbs/Fat
  • tmaksparkie
    tmaksparkie Posts: 279
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    I do cardio 5x a week 3x for 45 min and 2x for 30 min.
    Ok, what about strength training? How much of that do you do? I would not drop my calories with all that exercise.

    Let's figure where you should be at.

    Give you my age, weight and height. I'll run some numbers

    I do a 40/30/30 protein/carbs/fat

    I am 31, 5'4" and 156lbs I am doing weight training 3x a week. Thanks for the help.

    Maintenance:
    2184 Calories/day
    Fat Loss:
    1747 Calories/day


    Go up 100 first. cuz of the cardio which I included in my calc. I'd like to know how many calories are coming from Protein/Carbs/Fat
  • laddyboy
    laddyboy Posts: 1,565 Member
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    I do cardio 5x a week 3x for 45 min and 2x for 30 min.
    Ok, what about strength training? How much of that do you do? I would not drop my calories with all that exercise.

    Let's figure where you should be at.

    Give you my age, weight and height. I'll run some numbers

    I am 31, 5'4" and 156lbs I am doing weight training 3x a week. Thanks for the help.

    Ok, your Basal Metabolic rate is 1410 and with normal daily activity we add 282 to that which give you a maintenance calories
    of 1692. Now you create a deficit with eating less or doing exercise. My next question is how many calories a day are you burning with exercise. You could be on the edge of starvation mode. We don't want to go there.
  • pyro13g
    pyro13g Posts: 1,127 Member
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    :wink: I calculated Intense x 5 per week.
  • theresalizotte
    theresalizotte Posts: 29
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    You need to remember to see what you are burning for calories. When you excercise you need to refuel your body. You have your regular calories and then your net calories so be sure to watch that closely. If your net calories aren't at least 1200 at the minimum your putting your body into starvation mode and your body will start to store fat. Also review what you are eating make sure it is healthy. Check your sodium as wello as your fat intake.... I hope this is somewhat helpful....
  • laddyboy
    laddyboy Posts: 1,565 Member
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    :wink: I calculated Intense x 5 per week.

    We are going the same place just different roads.
  • laddyboy
    laddyboy Posts: 1,565 Member
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    Also make your diary viewable so I can see what you're eating.

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