HELP!!

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itsmeagain31
itsmeagain31 Posts: 4 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Ok guys, I just started my journey and I need some HELP! My current weight is 221 (this sucks) but, I've been working out like crazy and staying between 1,000 and 1,200 calories per day. My dilema is my shape, I am top heavy (bigger boobs and mid section) and my bottom half is smaller. So to combat this during my work outs I am targeting exercises that builds muscles in the bottom half of my body (squats, lounges, and varies machines that target the thighs, and glutes) as well as 45 mins, to 1 hour of cardio daily to help lose fat. My question is, will this work? Or, do I need to just concentrate on getting my weight down at this point? Oh, and since I've started I haven't lost ANY weight! I actually gained but, I'm hoping that this is just muscle. Thanks guys.

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  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    Where did you get your calorie goal? Eating 1,000-1,200 AND working out sounds very low.

    How are you measuring your intake? Measuring cups? Food scale?

    When did you start? You won't gain muscle eating at a deficit, but your muscles could be retaining water from the new workout routine.
  • Sarasmaintaining
    Sarasmaintaining Posts: 1,027 Member
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    janejellyroll wrote: »
    Where did you get your calorie goal? Eating 1,000-1,200 AND working out sounds very low.

    How are you measuring your intake? Measuring cups? Food scale?

    When did you start? You won't gain muscle eating at a deficit, but your muscles could be retaining water from the new workout routine.

    This.
  • TiJoGa
    TiJoGa Posts: 545 Member
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    It sounds like you recently greatly increased your exercise level. Sometimes your muscles retain water when they're repairing the breakdown from working out. I wouldn't worry about the small loss if you're doing all the right things.

    Be careful of burning out though. You're eating the lowest amount of calories that you should be (some might even say too few calories) and exercising frequently (not bad a bad thing, just an observation) this high energy is common when you're just starting out but it's also common to see people get so exhausted and hungry from going so extreme so fast that they give up. Love your body and give it time, this is a journey, not a race.

    Also you can try to focus on one area of your body to tone but you're going to find it doesn't really work like that. It's best to just work on all areas of your body. You'll feel great all around, give the bottom half of your body time to recover and you'll find your top half isn't going to bulk up like you think if you give it some attention.

    Good luck on your journey
  • itsmeagain31
    itsmeagain31 Posts: 4 Member
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    My fitness pal gave me a calorie goal of 1,526 (I think) but, that was to lose 1 pound a week. I have a sedentary job so I'm not active during the day. 1,000-1,200 projects 2 lbs lost per week.. Even though that sounds very low I eat a lot of vegetables and fruit!!! I am using measuring cups and I have a small food scale that I use to weigh meat. I just don't know if I'm going about this the right way. Obviously not, since I haven't lost any weight lol! but, I refuse to give up.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    itsmeagain31 wrote: »
    My fitness pal gave me a calorie goal of 1,526 (I think) but, that was to lose 1 pound a week. I have a sedentary job so I'm not active during the day. 1,000-1,200 projects 2 lbs lost per week.. Even though that sounds very low I eat a lot of vegetables and fruit!!! I am using measuring cups and I have a small food scale that I use to weigh meat. I just don't know if I'm going about this the right way. Obviously not, since I haven't lost any weight lol! but, I refuse to give up.

    If MFP gave you 1,000-1,200 to lose 2 pounds a week, 2 pounds a week may be too aggressive a goal for you. Even if you are sedentary, you are burning calories just by living. And you're exercising on top of that and (sounds like) not eating any exercise calories back. This could be putting your net calories very low.

    Are you using the food scale to weight your fruits and vegetables too?

    How long have you been doing this plan?
  • itsmeagain31
    itsmeagain31 Posts: 4 Member
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    No, not the fruits and veggies just the meats since MFP usually gives you the option to choose (1 banana= 100 cals) Should I weight the fruits and veggies?? I've been doing this about 20 days.. I know that's not long at all but, I though that by now I would've lost at least 1 pound! I pretty much have cut out breads, sweets, and starches. Not forever but, just for now because I tend to over indulge in these things.
  • DemoraFairy
    DemoraFairy Posts: 1,806 Member
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    itsmeagain31 wrote: »
    My fitness pal gave me a calorie goal of 1,526 (I think) but, that was to lose 1 pound a week. I have a sedentary job so I'm not active during the day. 1,000-1,200 projects 2 lbs lost per week.. Even though that sounds very low I eat a lot of vegetables and fruit!!! I am using measuring cups and I have a small food scale that I use to weigh meat. I just don't know if I'm going about this the right way. Obviously not, since I haven't lost any weight lol! but, I refuse to give up.

    You should be using the food scale for everything, not just meat. Also it doesn't matter how much fruit and veg you eat, if you're eating too little you're eating too little! You may be better off aiming for 1lb or maybe 1.5lbs/week.
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,268 Member
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    You want to lose 61lbs...1lb a week or maybe 1.5lb a week is a good goal...2lbs is quite aggressive.

    As well MFP, unless it's a bug, will not give you under 1200.

    With your diary closed it's hard to really tell what is going on...

    You say you only weigh meat...some veggies and fruit have a lot of calories. What about bread? pasta? rice etc.

    Are you eating back exercise calories?
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    itsmeagain31 wrote: »
    No, not the fruits and veggies just the meats since MFP usually gives you the option to choose (1 banana= 100 cals) Should I weight the fruits and veggies?? I've been doing this about 20 days.. I know that's not long at all but, I though that by now I would've lost at least 1 pound! I pretty much have cut out breads, sweets, and starches. Not forever but, just for now because I tend to over indulge in these things.

    Yes, you should weight the fruits and vegetables. The banana, for example, could be smaller or larger than the banana the database entry is based on. Fruits should have the option to enter weight by grams. When I began weighing fruits and vegetables, I found that I was under-estimating my consumption -- sometimes by as much as a few hundred calories per day.

    With a new workout routine, your muscles are probably holding on to some water. You may also be eating more than you think you are. I would begin weighing all my solid food and logging by weight. You should strongly consider a goal of at least 1,200 calories so that you have the energy to fuel your workouts and daily life. In fact, I would encourage you to go with MFP's goal for one pound a week (the 1,500 you mentioned) and focus on logging as accurately as possible.
  • toadg53
    toadg53 Posts: 302 Member
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    Re: weighing all your foods with the food scale: when I first started on MFP, I saw that people were constantly saying "weigh everything in grams, not cups/spoons". Finally I went ahead and bought a scale. When you start weighing I guarantee you will be shocked. The mfg says a serving of peanut butter is 2 tbs. I don't use that much. BUT 1 tbs serving would be 16 grams. I measured 1 tbs. It actually weighed in at 24 grams. So I tried grated cheese. 1 serving per mfg is 1/4 cup or 26 grams. Well, 1/4 cup measures out at closer to 37 grams. So for both of these items, to use the measuring cups/spoons, you will get actually 1 1/2 servings rather than 1 serving. And for each that is 50 to 100 extra calories for each item. If you have 4 items per meal plus a snack twice a day, (14 items per day) and you over-estimate on half of those, you could easily have under measured 6-700 calories each day. THAT is HUGE !! So, by all means. Use your scale to measure everything, and measure in grams for everything you possibly can. OK ... End of Rant !!
  • itsmeagain31
    itsmeagain31 Posts: 4 Member
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    Thanks guy this is really helpful.. I will open my food diary (If I can figure out how) so you guys can take a gander... If there are any suggestions or corrections by all means let me know! I am not new to MFP but, I do have a new attitude towards my health and my weight and I'm not ashamed any more to say I need HELP so thanks for all the comments and suggestions they are greatly appreciated.

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