so confused. can use some experts to weigh in.
LolaKarwowski
Posts: 217 Member
Okay I am 5ft 7in and was 135 lbs which is in the normal range, but my goal is to lose ten pounds. MFP had to at 1510 call intake with the stationery setting (meaning I worked at a desk job or was a couch potatoe.) Okay, all good.
Except now I lost 3 pounds (yay!) And have 7 pounds left to go. Because I workout 3-4 times a week I changed my setting to lightly active. Now it's asking me to eat 1700 ish calories a day. Idk, this just seems off. I don't log in my strength training exercises, only my cardio so it might not be too bad...but I honestly don't know. Before I start eating more calories than before I need some input.
Except now I lost 3 pounds (yay!) And have 7 pounds left to go. Because I workout 3-4 times a week I changed my setting to lightly active. Now it's asking me to eat 1700 ish calories a day. Idk, this just seems off. I don't log in my strength training exercises, only my cardio so it might not be too bad...but I honestly don't know. Before I start eating more calories than before I need some input.
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Replies
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You need to stick with something for more than a week before adjusting. Stay at 1700 and eat back half your exercise calories for at least 2-4 weeks while weighing yourself every morning. Look at the long term trend on your weight. Is it going up or down the rate you want it? If not, then adjust.0
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Yes, just stick with your original setting of 1510 cal for 2 or 3 weeks ... even a month. See how it goes.
Also, if you're an office worker, stay at sedentary. Then if you exercise, add your exercise on top of that. You can then eat back some of your exercise calories if you want.0 -
With MFP, your activity level is based on your daily life WITHOUT exercise. When you exercise, you log it. Then, you are supposed to eat those calories (though some people eat only 50-75% to account for inaccuracies).
If you use MFP as it is designed, you would leave your setting at sedentary (according to you), then log in your exercise, then eat accordingly.
If you want to account for your exercise up front, you are using the TDEE method. If you're going to do that, I would suggest you use an outside calculator and then manually change your calories in MFP. People often recommend http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/ .0 -
So you have a BMI of 21 and are aiming for a BMI of 19.5
which whilst both within the healthy range they are both low
Is this just about scale weight or is it because you have some objective for how you want your body to look
I only ask because I spent years obsessing about scale weight until I finally, torturously, worked out that it doesn't matter a jot ...what I really wanted was my body to look a certain way and that was done through musculature
As an illustration see how this girls figure has got smaller, tighter and more shapely as her scale weight increased - this is down to building muscles
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So you have a BMI of 21 and are aiming for a BMI of 19.5
which whilst both within the healthy range they are both low
Is this just about scale weight or is it because you have some objective for how you want your body to look
I only ask because I spent years obsessing about scale weight until I finally, torturously, worked out that it doesn't matter a jot ...what I really wanted was my body to look a certain way and that was done through musculature
As an illustration see how this girls figure has got smaller, tighter and more shapely as her scale weight increased - this is down to building muscles
^^This.
(I made you a present Rabbit!!)0 -
Nony_Mouse wrote: »So you have a BMI of 21 and are aiming for a BMI of 19.5
which whilst both within the healthy range they are both low
Is this just about scale weight or is it because you have some objective for how you want your body to look
I only ask because I spent years obsessing about scale weight until I finally, torturously, worked out that it doesn't matter a jot ...what I really wanted was my body to look a certain way and that was done through musculature
As an illustration see how this girls figure has got smaller, tighter and more shapely as her scale weight increased - this is down to building muscles
^^This.
(I made you a present Rabbit!!)
Ooo.....Cover me in chocolate and call me delighted
:bigsmile:0 -
So you have a BMI of 21 and are aiming for a BMI of 19.5
which whilst both within the healthy range they are both low
Is this just about scale weight or is it because you have some objective for how you want your body to look
I only ask because I spent years obsessing about scale weight until I finally, torturously, worked out that it doesn't matter a jot ...what I really wanted was my body to look a certain way and that was done through musculature
As an illustration see how this girls figure has got smaller, tighter and more shapely as her scale weight increased - this is down to building muscles
I seen that picture many times, but it kind of implies she lost fat and increased muscle at the same time. Possibly she went through cycles of cutting/bulking Idk.
But yes, right now the scale for me isn't being friendly, i got a tape measure and focus on what matters. How my physical body changes, no what the scale says, the scale doesn't matter much.
ETA: this might benefit some people. So what i have been doing now is taking the moving average of my weight, I use that. Then i use my physical measurements(from the measuring tape) to estimate my body fat. This directly correlates physical body composition to scale weight. If your body measurements are getting smaller, and your scale weight is the same or going up, it's suggest your body fat is getting lower. What most of us want.
Yes, this is pretty much what i am trying to do. I am also taking weekly pictures in case I get discouraged using the scale (which is my main tool at the moment).0 -
Quite sure 135lb for 5 ft 7 isn't in the normal range.....more like underweight. I mean I'm 5'4 and I'm 131lb and I'm quite thin.....0
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If you increased your activity level because you are exercising, then it lets you eat more calories.
If you also log the exercise, then it gives you even more.
You're taking double credit for your exercise. "Activity Level" is meant to be what you do throughout the day outside of the times your are exercising.0 -
Also, if you're an office worker, stay at sedentary. Then if you exercise, add your exercise on top of that. You can then eat back some of your exercise calories if you want.
Agreed; you should enter sedentary if you're working a desk job so that if one week, you can't exercise, you won't have to recalculate everything. Just log in the exercise you do when you do it and eat some of those cals back.0 -
I don't know about what anyone else thinks, but that middle picture looks like a man to me. I can buy the two outer pictures being of the same person maybe, but I think the middle one is a hard sell in my opinion.0
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gabrielleelliott90 wrote: »Quite sure 135lb for 5 ft 7 isn't in the normal range.....more like underweight. I mean I'm 5'4 and I'm 131lb and I'm quite thin.....
I'm 5'6" and 135 is right in the middle of the healthy BMI for me.
OP, as other have said, stick with the goals that have been working for you.0 -
5.7 and 135 is within the normal BMI range, but, as rabbit pointed out, on the lower side. For some reason, some people think that they will look and feel better if they only got to the "almost underweight" range. Chances are though that once they get there, they will still feel fat until they start lifting and seeing changes in their bodies (yes, I know I am just repeating stuff here, but it's important stuff, so it's worth repeatinggabrielleelliott90 wrote: »Quite sure 135lb for 5 ft 7 isn't in the normal range.....more like underweight. I mean I'm 5'4 and I'm 131lb and I'm quite thin.....
)
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Along with the pictures you can also track your measurements. The scale is not the only sign of progress. It's marathon, not a sprint. Give what you're doing time to work for you!
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Along with the pictures you can also track your measurements. The scale is not the only sign of progress. It's marathon, not a sprint. Give what you're doing time to work for you!
Thank you all! Trust me my goal is not to look or be overweight. I truly do want to lose body fat + gain muscle. However, I do feel like losing at least ten pounds will be good for me! I'm going to have my gym take my measurements from now on. Either that, or I'll just learn to do it myself. I lift weights way more than I do cardio exercises (one hour weights, around 20 min of cardio) so I'm not just trying to run it all off. y'all are the best and as always I have learned so much. I'm very glad I asked this question.
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Please keep in mind, everyone carries weight differently. I am 5'7" and maintain around 127-130. I am definitely not underweightgabrielleelliott90 wrote: »Quite sure 135lb for 5 ft 7 isn't in the normal range.....more like underweight. I mean I'm 5'4 and I'm 131lb and I'm quite thin.....
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So you have a BMI of 21 and are aiming for a BMI of 19.5
which whilst both within the healthy range they are both low
Is this just about scale weight or is it because you have some objective for how you want your body to look
I only ask because I spent years obsessing about scale weight until I finally, torturously, worked out that it doesn't matter a jot ...what I really wanted was my body to look a certain way and that was done through musculature
As an illustration see how this girls figure has got smaller, tighter and more shapely as her scale weight increased - this is down to building muscles
While I agree with the underlying principle you're trying to get across, those pictures aren't credible.0 -
Please keep in mind, everyone carries weight differently. I am 5'7" and maintain around 127-130. I am definitely not underweightgabrielleelliott90 wrote: »Quite sure 135lb for 5 ft 7 isn't in the normal range.....more like underweight. I mean I'm 5'4 and I'm 131lb and I'm quite thin.....
Here are some pictures (taken a few mins ago) that I hope will help. I'm truly not at all underweight.
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It seems like you just want to build some muscle as opposed to lose weight. You can input your numbers into Scooby and set the goal for "gain muscle, lose fat" and start there if you want.
http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/0 -
It seems like you just want to build some muscle as opposed to lose weight. You can input your numbers into Scooby and set the goal for "gain muscle, lose fat" and start there if you want.
http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/
@psychgrrl This site is really confusing to me for some reason. I'm a bit of a newbie, so all the numbers are overwhelming. When I have time (I'm about to go to the gym) I'll study it a little more.
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How long have you been "strength training" and what do you do for strength training?
And the activity setting in MFP is for pre exercise so put it back to sedentary...
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How long have you been "strength training" and what do you do for strength training?
And the activity setting in MFP is for pre exercise so put it back to sedentary...
I did.
I have been strength training for about two weeks now. I just lift weights depending on what part of the body I am working out that day.
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@LolaKarwowski are you doing a structured program? like Stronglifts? if not what exercises at what reps/weights/setsLolaKarwowski wrote: »How long have you been "strength training" and what do you do for strength training?
And the activity setting in MFP is for pre exercise so put it back to sedentary...
I did.
I have been strength training for about two weeks now. I just lift weights depending on what part of the body I am working out that day.
strength training is heavy weights in sets of 3-5 with reps of 3-5 and those are hard fought reps.
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So you have a BMI of 21 and are aiming for a BMI of 19.5
which whilst both within the healthy range they are both low
Is this just about scale weight or is it because you have some objective for how you want your body to look
I only ask because I spent years obsessing about scale weight until I finally, torturously, worked out that it doesn't matter a jot ...what I really wanted was my body to look a certain way and that was done through musculature
As an illustration see how this girls figure has got smaller, tighter and more shapely as her scale weight increased - this is down to building muscles
While I agree with the underlying principle you're trying to get across, those pictures aren't credible.
Don't know why you don't find them credible
What about Staci from nerdfitness
http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2011/07/21/meet-staci-your-new-powerlifting-super-hero/
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I manually set my numbers... I am sedentary M-F and pretty active on the weekend (life as a single mom with kids)... so I looked at what my cals would be if I maintain at sedentary, and what my cals would be if I maintain at lightly active and added them up (5 x sedentary + 2 x l.a), then divided by 7 to get a slightly higher daily average.
I log most of my exercise, but not all of my activity.
Just curious... what rate of loss do you have your cals set to?
With 7 pounds to go... I'm really hoping it's nothing higher than 1/2 pound a week. You're almost at goal... it's time to start shifting your view from that final number and being "done" to shifting to a "what do I do going forward".
It's like stopping at a stop sign... you don't want to be going full tilt and then slam on the brakes you get to the stop sign, but rather apply the brakes in such a way that you roll to a comfortable stop (aka "maintenance). The slower you apply the brakes, the easier the stop is on everyone.0 -
Don't know why you don't find them credible
That pic says the subject, between weight gain and recomp, put on 20 pounds of muscle, possibly more.
That is EXTREMELY hard to, especially for a female. Not credible to me without actual evidence, sorry. Others are free to make up their own minds, of course! :drinker:
Even if accurate, it is not something very many people are going to be able to do.
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Don't know why you don't find them credible
That pic says the subject, between weight gain and recomp, put on 20 pounds of muscle, possibly more.
That is EXTREMELY hard to, especially for a female. Not credible to me without actual evidence, sorry. Others are free to make up their own minds, of course! :drinker:
Even if accurate, it is not something very many people are going to be able to do.
Yeah, I see what you're saying...from what I remember there were years between each shot ...If someone could find the original blog it would be great ...0 -
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Don't know why you don't find them credible
That pic says the subject, between weight gain and recomp, put on 20 pounds of muscle, possibly more.
That is EXTREMELY hard to, especially for a female. Not credible to me without actual evidence, sorry. Others are free to make up their own minds, of course! :drinker:
Even if accurate, it is not something very many people are going to be able to do.
Yeah, I see what you're saying...from what I remember there were years between each shot ...If someone could find the original blog it would be great ...
Ah, interesting! Ok, if there were literally "years" between shots, then I'd have to temper my scepticism. 0 -
Imma be super honest now.. I just do what my husband tells me to do.
Here is what I wrote down for the week.
Saturday
Bench Press - can only do the bar about 6-7 times (3 sets)
Incline (can't remember which one this was) but I could not do the bar without my husband's help
Flies - 12 reps w/30lbs, 5 reps with 50lbs (2x)
Incline Press - 5-6 reps w/10lbs (I believe I was worn out by this point which is why he didn't have me do another rep)
Lateral Bench Press - 5 reps w/10lbs.
Sunday
Leg/Squat Press Hack Squat - 10 reps w/o weights, 5 reps w/20lbs, 3 reps w/40lbs, 6 reps w/30lbs, 3 reps w/50 bs.
Seated Leg Curl - 10 reps w/50lbs, 4 reps w/70lbs, 4 reps w/70lbs.
Leg Extension - 10 reps w/70lbs, 8 reps w/90lbs, 2 reps w/110lbs, 8 reps w/90lbs.
Leg Press - 12 reps w/warm up, 6 reps w/50lbs, 7 reps w/50lbs, 5 reps w/70lbs.
Monday
Military Press - 12 reps w/20lbs, 8 reps w/30lbs, 4 reps (barely) w/40lbs, 3 reps (w/husband's help) w/45lbs.
Barbell Upright Rows - 10 reps w/20lbs, 6 reps w/30lbs, 7 reps (w/husband's help on last rep) w/30lbs.
Lateral Raise - 7 reps w/30lbs (w/husband's help on last two), 10 reps w/30lbs (w/husband's help with 5 reps)
Hammer Shoulder Press - 7 reps w/20lbs, 8 reps w/20lbs.
Shrugs - 10 reps w/20lbs, 10 reps w/40lbs, 5 reps w/55lbs.
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