Please help!

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MariiiahBrianne
MariiiahBrianne Posts: 7 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I have no idea what I'm doing when it comes to eating healthy & fitness. 3 years ago I used to cheer and tumble all the time so I was solid muscle everywhere. Since graduating high school and being in college I've gained weight and lost a lot of my muscle. I would like to loose weight, get healthy and really take inches off my stomach. My stomach is so flabby and I don't know if what I'm doing is correct. I'm trying to cut my bread intake by a lot (I love bread and used to eat so much of it) I'm doing mainly cardio with a little bit of light weight lifting.. Any tips or suggestions to help with fat & weight loss & also muscle gain? I don't really want to be bulky, just toned. Thanks in advance :)

Replies

  • PShizle
    PShizle Posts: 48 Member
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    Hi MariiiahB - how dedicated are you to the cause? Also, how much time do you have as a college student? What control do you have over the types of foods you eat? Finally, I'll need some stats to compute your TDEE and BMR. (Age, height, weight, etc). Welcome to MFP and to a lifestyle change verses a "diet."
  • KHatfield3115
    KHatfield3115 Posts: 5 Member
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    It would take a lot to get "bulky" you would have to go out of your way. When you lift weights it builds muscle and you get toned. As for just cutting bread, I would look at your macros on here and just watch your intake of carbs for a while, don't cut them out completely cause they aren't necessarily bad. Everything has carbs even fruit and vegetables. My doctor told me to keep it to 40% a day and if my weight doesn't change in a month to try and lower it another 10%. A great place to help you learn more, like it helped me was actually on Tumblr. It you look up a bunch of successful Fitblrs they will answer a lot of your questions and help you. I'm a newer Fitblr. You should always get your heart rate up for 5 - 10 minutes before lifting weights and then after weights do cardio for 30 min to an hour at a specific heart rate that will help you burn fat. A trainer can help you with that like they helped me. After the gym always have a good source of protein and drink lots of water to help your muscles repair. Don't be sad if you gain weight because the soreness you feel is your muscles, which is holding water. Then it just takes time. Also when working specific muscle groups make sure you wait a day after before working them out again. They need time to heal and build or else you'll just keep "ripping" them. Like legs and abs then arms and back then something else, ect. :)
  • blankiefinder
    blankiefinder Posts: 3,599 Member
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    It really doesn't matter if you eat bread. What matters is that you eat in a calorie deficit, to lose fat, and that you incorporate some weights so you don't end up skinny fat like I did.

    Here is my MFP how to:

    Buy a food scale, weigh and log everything.

    Do cardio if you want, and if you do, only eat back 50% of your calories (if you are losing faster than expected after logging for a few weeks, then up the % you eat back). Lift weights and hit your protein goal to help maintain muscle mass while losing.

    Cheat meals that take you over maintenance will sabotage your efforts. Log the cheat meals too (falls under the 'log everything' rule).

    Eat anything you want in moderation, keeping in mind that your diet will be easier to stick with if you chose foods that make it easier to stay under your calories without feeling hungry.

    Also it would be a good idea to read some of the best forum posts such as:
    Calorie Counting 101
    Logging Accuracy, Consistency, & You're Probably Eating More Than You Think
    A Guide To Get You Started on Your Path To Sexy Pants
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
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    blankiefinder wrote: »
    It really doesn't matter if you eat bread. What matters is that you eat in a calorie deficit, to lose fat, and that you incorporate some weights so you don't end up skinny fat like I did.

    Here is my MFP how to:

    Buy a food scale, weigh and log everything.

    Do cardio if you want, and if you do, only eat back 50% of your calories (if you are losing faster than expected after logging for a few weeks, then up the % you eat back). Lift weights and hit your protein goal to help maintain muscle mass while losing.

    Cheat meals that take you over maintenance will sabotage your efforts. Log the cheat meals too (falls under the 'log everything' rule).

    Eat anything you want in moderation, keeping in mind that your diet will be easier to stick with if you chose foods that make it easier to stay under your calories without feeling hungry.

    Also it would be a good idea to read some of the best forum posts such as:
    Calorie Counting 101
    Logging Accuracy, Consistency, & You're Probably Eating More Than You Think
    A Guide To Get You Started on Your Path To Sexy Pants

    so much this

    so very much
  • LKArgh
    LKArgh Posts: 5,179 Member
    Options
    It does not matter if you eat bread or not. You gained weight because you probably reduced exercise a lot and did not not decrease calories at the same time. As long as you start eating less than you burn (or burn more than you eat, you can look at it this way too) you will lose weight.
  • MariiiahBrianne
    MariiiahBrianne Posts: 7 Member
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    slong4u wrote: »
    Hi MariiiahB - how dedicated are you to the cause? Also, how much time do you have as a college student? What control do you have over the types of foods you eat? Finally, I'll need some stats to compute your TDEE and BMR. (Age, height, weight, etc). Welcome to MFP and to a lifestyle change verses a "diet."

    I let myself slack off so I'm dedicated now. I'm actually on summer break right now so I have some free time but I do have a part time job. As of right now I have complete control over the foods I eat, I'm just so confused on what foods I should be eating. I'm 20 years old, 5'5" & 160
  • MariiiahBrianne
    MariiiahBrianne Posts: 7 Member
    Options
    KHatfield3115 wrote: »
    It would take a lot to get "bulky" you would have to go out of your way. When you lift weights it builds muscle and you get toned. As for just cutting bread, I would look at your macros on here and just watch your intake of carbs for a while, don't cut them out completely cause they aren't necessarily bad. Everything has carbs even fruit and vegetables. My doctor told me to keep it to 40% a day and if my weight doesn't change in a month to try and lower it another 10%. A great place to help you learn more, like it helped me was actually on Tumblr. It you look up a bunch of successful Fitblrs they will answer a lot of your questions and help you. I'm a newer Fitblr. You should always get your heart rate up for 5 - 10 minutes before lifting weights and then after weights do cardio for 30 min to an hour at a specific heart rate that will help you burn fat. A trainer can help you with that like they helped me. After the gym always have a good source of protein and drink lots of water to help your muscles repair. Don't be sad if you gain weight because the soreness you feel is your muscles, which is holding water. Then it just takes time. Also when working specific muscle groups make sure you wait a day after before working them out again. They need time to heal and build or else you'll just keep "ripping" them. Like legs and abs then arms and back then something else, ect. :)

    Thank you so much!! & this may be a stupid question but what are macros & what kinds of foods have them?
  • blankiefinder
    blankiefinder Posts: 3,599 Member
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    MariiiahBrianne wrote: »
    slong4u wrote: »
    Hi MariiiahB - how dedicated are you to the cause? Also, how much time do you have as a college student? What control do you have over the types of foods you eat? Finally, I'll need some stats to compute your TDEE and BMR. (Age, height, weight, etc). Welcome to MFP and to a lifestyle change verses a "diet."

    I let myself slack off so I'm dedicated now. I'm actually on summer break right now so I have some free time but I do have a part time job. As of right now I have complete control over the foods I eat, I'm just so confused on what foods I should be eating. I'm 20 years old, 5'5" & 160

    You should be eating foods that allow you to hit your calorie target that MFP sets, and a balanced diet for good health. So you can have the occasional or possibly daily treat, just make it work by making smart choices.

  • MariiiahBrianne
    MariiiahBrianne Posts: 7 Member
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    Okay! I try really hard to stay under my calorie goal on here & I can't believe how much I used to eat. When I log everything I go back & look when the day is over & think oh my goodness that's probably only half of what I used to eat in a day which is crazy! Also, is there any protein shakes or anything like that you recommend for after I work out?
  • juggernaut1974
    juggernaut1974 Posts: 6,212 Member
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    Only if you're not otherwise getting enough protein in your daily diet. If you are, they aren't needed.
  • blankiefinder
    blankiefinder Posts: 3,599 Member
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    Protein shakes won't help you lose weight, they will only help you to hit your protein macros. I only drink one if my protein is low for the day. I also eat things like greek yogurt and cottage cheese which are both high in protein.
  • jacklfc88
    jacklfc88 Posts: 247 Member
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    MariiiahBrianne wrote: »
    KHatfield3115 wrote: »
    It would take a lot to get "bulky" you would have to go out of your way. When you lift weights it builds muscle and you get toned. As for just cutting bread, I would look at your macros on here and just watch your intake of carbs for a while, don't cut them out completely cause they aren't necessarily bad. Everything has carbs even fruit and vegetables. My doctor told me to keep it to 40% a day and if my weight doesn't change in a month to try and lower it another 10%. A great place to help you learn more, like it helped me was actually on Tumblr. It you look up a bunch of successful Fitblrs they will answer a lot of your questions and help you. I'm a newer Fitblr. You should always get your heart rate up for 5 - 10 minutes before lifting weights and then after weights do cardio for 30 min to an hour at a specific heart rate that will help you burn fat. A trainer can help you with that like they helped me. After the gym always have a good source of protein and drink lots of water to help your muscles repair. Don't be sad if you gain weight because the soreness you feel is your muscles, which is holding water. Then it just takes time. Also when working specific muscle groups make sure you wait a day after before working them out again. They need time to heal and build or else you'll just keep "ripping" them. Like legs and abs then arms and back then something else, ect. :)

    Thank you so much!! & this may be a stupid question but what are macros & what kinds of foods have them?

    macros are carbs, fat, protein i.e. the 3 main macronutrients you find in food.
  • jacklfc88
    jacklfc88 Posts: 247 Member
    Options
    MariiiahBrianne wrote: »
    Okay! I try really hard to stay under my calorie goal on here & I can't believe how much I used to eat. When I log everything I go back & look when the day is over & think oh my goodness that's probably only half of what I used to eat in a day which is crazy! Also, is there any protein shakes or anything like that you recommend for after I work out?

    only have shakes if you're not getting enough protein from your food. don't use as a replacement meal use in addition to a balanced meal plan :)
  • madhatter2013
    madhatter2013 Posts: 1,547 Member
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    Macros are the different grams or percentages of each nutrient you eat. Macros encompass all your nutrients like protein, fat and carbs. This probably isn't the best site but it'll give you the basic definition to help you understand.

    http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/from-here-to-macros-4-steps-to-better-nutrition.html
  • MariiiahBrianne
    MariiiahBrianne Posts: 7 Member
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    Okay thanks everyone so much for the help! :)
  • PShizle
    PShizle Posts: 48 Member
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    Mariiah - using a simple TDEE calculator, I've inputed your stats and came up with the following... assuming you're working out three days a week, your TDEE is 1500 calories a day and your BMR is 1900. Assuming you would like to lose .5 lbs - 1lb weight loss a week, you would want to eat around 1500 - 1600 a day. Being younger makes your body more active than an old guy like me! HA! :) so, try eating 1600 a day for two weeks straight using the MFP standard calorie distribution. In addition to the great advice above, do these three things: 1) glass of water before and after a meal. 2) avoid sweets. 3) No more going to restaurants 4) Exercise should consist of 70% iron and 30% cardio. 5) stay under 2000mg sodium a day. After two weeks, measure all areas of the body, and weigh in as soon as you get up in the morning, after you've used the bathroom, before you've had anything to eat or drink. One last thing - I know the temptation will be to get into incredible shape before going back to school in the fall; however, you really should think along the lines of a lifestyle change verses a quick diet. As many have posted on these boards, diets do not last, but good eating/exercising habits do! Good luck!
  • juggernaut1974
    juggernaut1974 Posts: 6,212 Member
    edited June 2015
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    slong4u wrote: »
    Mariiah - using a simple TDEE calculator, I've inputed your stats and came up with the following... assuming you're working out three days a week, your TDEE is 1500 calories a day and your BMR is 1900.

    If your calculator gives TDEE's that are less than BMR's, I'd suggest finding a new calculator. (I hope you just interchanged the amounts).

    slong4u wrote: »
    1) glass of water before and after a meal. 2) avoid sweets. 3) No more going to restaurants 4) Exercise should consist of 70% iron and 30% cardio. 5) stay under 2000mg sodium a day.

    Absolutely none of that is necessary...other than maybe suggesting more weightlifting, less cardio (though I wouldn't put hard and fast percentages on them).
  • blankiefinder
    blankiefinder Posts: 3,599 Member
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    slong4u wrote: »
    Mariiah - using a simple TDEE calculator, I've inputed your stats and came up with the following... assuming you're working out three days a week, your TDEE is 1500 calories a day and your BMR is 1900. Assuming you would like to lose .5 lbs - 1lb weight loss a week, you would want to eat around 1500 - 1600 a day. Being younger makes your body more active than an old guy like me! HA! :) so, try eating 1600 a day for two weeks straight using the MFP standard calorie distribution. In addition to the great advice above, do these three things: 1) glass of water before and after a meal. 2) avoid sweets. 3) No more going to restaurants 4) Exercise should consist of 70% iron and 30% cardio. 5) stay under 2000mg sodium a day. After two weeks, measure all areas of the body, and weigh in as soon as you get up in the morning, after you've used the bathroom, before you've had anything to eat or drink. One last thing - I know the temptation will be to get into incredible shape before going back to school in the fall; however, you really should think along the lines of a lifestyle change verses a quick diet. As many have posted on these boards, diets do not last, but good eating/exercising habits do! Good luck!

    This is wrong, your TDEE is always higher than your BMR. Your BMR is what you need to survive. Just start with the MFP method as I posted above, and learn to log accurately. That would be a great first step. In our house we follow the KISS rule... Keep It Simple, Stu.... ;)
  • PShizle
    PShizle Posts: 48 Member
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    That was an inadvertent switch of the numbers - please excuse my humanness. :) Mariiah - the same information applies regardless of the numbers for TDEE or BMR being switched :)

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