Is this diet/gym regime too intense? Opinions, please!

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  • aliciamarieUF
    aliciamarieUF Posts: 226 Member
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    Alicia, you're far from being a cow! The comments that these pictures pain you worry me. You may not be in model shape, but you're in above-average shape. I spent 1 hour, 40 minutes in the gym yesterday--I don't have a problem with long workouts, my beef's more with the calories he's allowing you and the exercise selection. I agree 20 min on abs is silly!

    MyFitnessPal gives good advice on losing weight. For a reasonable and balanced strength program I'd consider Stronglifts or New Rules of Lifting (Supercharged).

    Hey, thanks for your input. I actually downloaded the Stronglifts app on my phone after a few people suggested it. Now the next problem I'm going to face is my fear of using those machines...I have no idea how to lift!
  • CA_Underdog
    CA_Underdog Posts: 733 Member
    edited February 2015
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    Now the next problem I'm going to face is my fear of using those machines...I have no idea how to lift!

    This is a wise "fear" to have. It will probably lead you to read the Stronglifts pages carefully until you have a good idea of the form of the exercises. I would pay the most attention to your squats and deadlifts--those are trickier imho than rows, bench presses, or overhead presses.

    Modify as you need! I began with lowly box squats. :)
  • mcpostelle
    mcpostelle Posts: 418 Member
    edited February 2015
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    1200 calories is too little to be eating for more than a couple of days if you're going to be putting in a workout schedule. I would up your calories, lower cardio time, and up muscle work out time. Depends on what you like to do. If you want to get slimmer by running then do cardio and light weights, but if you want a lean and mean bod then I suggest upping those calories, doing only 5 min cardio for warm up and cool down, and hitting those weights hard for no more that 1 hour (1.5 pushing it) per day. I currently do the latter one I mentioned and it makes me not only feel good, but also firm up my body. Non work out days I eat 1800 cals and work out days I eat up to 2500 calories and still lose weight.


    Edit: If you want to build your butt then start doing squats. Start with the basic squat than build your way up to a sumo squat (hard!) then weighted squats. Also back kicks (where you get on your hands and knees and kick one leg back without bringing it down to rest) help. Any type of leg kick will help. Hip bridges help build that area too. And so on. But squats are your friend in this endeavor for a butt. ;)
  • alastria
    alastria Posts: 65 Member
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    Yeah, you're not a cow, you actually look really nice =)
    How much does your husband weigh and how tall is he? Less than 140 for a man sounds low, but I don't know him at all so what do I know.
    I do think it's a little high (the work out), but maybe just do what he mentioned every OTHER day. And cut some things out/rotate some things.
    Do only what you can maintain and keep up for the long run =)
  • abdud_CuzzzyWuzzy
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    Yeah, you can try that and end up looking like a half dead person! I'm no personal trainer or anything but little tips should help.

    Get at least 1474 calories in.
    Count your macros, 40% proteins 40%carbs and 20%fats

    Have most your carbs first half of the day

    Wake up on a empty stomach and go for a walk, minimum 45 mins.

    Workout whenever you would like for however you would like, incorporate a lot of weight lifting, it burns fat for much longer (9hours) after your workout.

    Have a protein shake before bed, to get a tiny bit of carbs to help your body transfer the goods and recover your body.

    When your body gets use to these things, adjust macros % and or time/type of cardio.

    These things will help you drop pounds but keep you feeling alive and healthy!

    Ciao xx
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
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    Yeah, you can try that and end up looking like a half dead person! I'm no personal trainer or anything but little tips should help.

    Get at least 1474 calories in.
    Count your macros, 40% proteins 40%carbs and 20%fats

    Have most your carbs first half of the day

    Wake up on a empty stomach and go for a walk, minimum 45 mins.

    Workout whenever you would like for however you would like, incorporate a lot of weight lifting, it burns fat for much longer (9hours) after your workout.

    Have a protein shake before bed, to get a tiny bit of carbs to help your body transfer the goods and recover your body.

    When your body gets use to these things, adjust macros % and or time/type of cardio.

    These things will help you drop pounds but keep you feeling alive and healthy!

    Ciao xx

    Lolz
  • hesn92
    hesn92 Posts: 5,967 Member
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    With working out 2.5 hours a day I'm sorry but you should not be eating that little. 1200 calories just simply is not enough.
  • DopeItUp
    DopeItUp Posts: 18,771 Member
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    Yeah, you can try that and end up looking like a half dead person! I'm no personal trainer or anything but little tips should help.

    Get at least 1474 calories in.
    Count your macros, 40% proteins 40%carbs and 20%fats

    Have most your carbs first half of the day

    Wake up on a empty stomach and go for a walk, minimum 45 mins.

    Workout whenever you would like for however you would like, incorporate a lot of weight lifting, it burns fat for much longer (9hours) after your workout.

    Have a protein shake before bed, to get a tiny bit of carbs to help your body transfer the goods and recover your body.

    When your body gets use to these things, adjust macros % and or time/type of cardio.

    These things will help you drop pounds but keep you feeling alive and healthy!

    Ciao xx

    *sigh*
  • DYELB
    DYELB Posts: 7,407 Member
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    The vast majority of people (myself included) underestimate their calorie intake. That "tablespoon" of cream that you added to your coffee...yeah that was 2.

    That bag of chips you thought was a single serving? Not so much.

    That chicken you eyeballed as 6 ounces? It was 9.
    The massive salad that had to be at least 600 calories, only 400.

    What people are saying here is right, eating that few calories is very likely too low for you. That being said, the thing that skews perceptions for so many folks is that they think they're eating 1200 (or 1000, or 800, or whatever) but they're really eating much more.

    Every effort you can take to be as accurate as possible with your logging is time well spent. Weighing your food, measuring everything, etc. It all helps. When you're confident in that, playing with your intake is much easier.
  • branflakes1980
    branflakes1980 Posts: 2,516 Member
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    dbmata wrote: »
    First off, this is a "trainer" from Planet Fitness.
    Meaning:
    1. Not qualified to give nutritional advice.
    2. Not qualified to give training advice.

    I'd not follow the silliness they'll throw at you.

    My thoughts exactly. "right out of high school" which means, no schooling, no certification, no nothing. This person should NOT be giving fitness advice to anyone let alone making fitness / meal plans for people. Ughhh!

  • Roxiegirl2008
    Roxiegirl2008 Posts: 756 Member
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    That seems like a lot to me for someone just starting out. When I started with my trainer I did two workouts with her and two on my own (hour each) and gradually worked my way up from there. I would be very careful with someone right out of high school that does not have training needed to properly instruct you. I know trainers with certificate and education are not always great but at least there is a foundation for nothing else but to help prevent injury. That is just my opinion.
  • mad_lifting_runner
    mad_lifting_runner Posts: 37 Member
    edited February 2015
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    dbmata wrote: »
    First off, this is a "trainer" from Planet Fitness.
    Meaning:
    1. Not qualified to give nutritional advice.
    2. Not qualified to give training advice.

    I'd not follow the silliness they'll throw at you.

    My thoughts exactly. "right out of high school" which means, no schooling, no certification, no nothing. This person should NOT be giving fitness advice to anyone let alone making fitness / meal plans for people. Ughhh!

    Absolutely. That plan is absolutely worthless.

    It's great that you're taking a look at Stronglifts - except that you won't be able to get most of it done at Planet Fitness. If I remember right they don't even have squat racks (and no, Smith Machines don't count) and some a-hole might hit the ol' LUNK ALARM on you if you try to deadlift.
  • spartan_d
    spartan_d Posts: 727 Member
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    This can not be emphasized enough. Do not trust any of the advice coming out of Planet Fitness. There's a reason why personal trainers generally consider them to be a disgrace to the industry.

    Any "trainer" who chooses to work for Planet Fitness must be either desperate or extremely unqualified. After all, no knowledgeable trainer would echo the company line that grunting serves no purpose or that bench pressing is only for bodybuilders. They certainly wouldn't discourage you from jumping rope, doing barbell rows, or performing any number of other beneficial exercises that are often prohibited at PF locations.
  • Khukhullatus
    Khukhullatus Posts: 361 Member
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    An exercise regiment is all about what is right for you, in your situation, at your level of health. If I started doing DeMarco Murray's training sessions tomorrow, it'd probably kill me, but it obviously works well for him.

    Start slow, and build it up to where it's intense, but it's still something you can see yourself doing for the long term. Way too many people try crash exercise schedules that are too much for them then burn out after two weeks. Whatever you choose for yourself, it should be a level of intensity that you are comfortable maintaining long term. Learn to listen to your body, and learn the difference between "I'm exhausted, that was a great workout" and "I'm rundown, I'm not letting my body recover."

    Books, trainers, websites, and MFP boards can help you a lot, and they are a good place to start, but eventually you are the one who is going to have to dial it in.
  • aliciamarieUF
    aliciamarieUF Posts: 226 Member
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    What gyms would you all recommend? The only other gym close to my house is Crunch...
  • MamaMollyT
    MamaMollyT Posts: 197 Member
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    Check out your local Crossfit gym if you have one. Or save the gym money a try one of the beach body workouts. I don't prefer videos but they require minimal equipment and you can choose which program appeal to you. I think they have 25 minute, 60 minute and 90 minute options. If you can't find a good, convenient trainer then an at home video can be helpful. Or advertise for a gym buddy who might be able to take you through a few workouts. Maybe there is a local workout group you can find on FB? If all else fails just grab someone at the gym who looks experienced and ask them to recommend a trainer or resources.
  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,951 Member
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    I'd be very careful about CF gyms, unless they have great coaching staff, there's a huge amount of injuries in every "box".

    Crunch would be sufficient.
  • aliciamarieUF
    aliciamarieUF Posts: 226 Member
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    I want to thank everyone who recommended the stronglifts program (and everyone who put in great advice). I've done 4 days of stronglifts and I've been doing cardio 5-6 days a week and managed to lose a pound this past week which means 27 down, 15 to go before I reach my goal weight!