62 LBS Lost-Love of Fitness Found (pics-before and current)

leecha2014 wrote: »

Amazing results, so impressive! These are the results I want for myself. I've lost a lot of weight and am probably down to the last 20? I run 3x per week and have been heavy lifting rather inconsistently but maybe on average 1x per week? I'm so confused about calories. Mfp has me set at 1200 which I rarely achieve at 5'9", I want to lose fat and build muscle, I want to look like you ! I don't really understand bulk and cut cycled, did y do that at all? I'm not sure I'm supposed to while still losing fat? I understand that you cannot build muscle while on a calorie deficit so I'm confused as to what's happening when I lift? I believe you said you ate 1700 calories, were you weighing yourself? I really feel overwhelmed with all the info and I'm not sure how much I'm supposed to be eating, ahhhhh. So many questions, any advice is appreciated. Again kudos to you!!

Congrats on the weight loss!! What's the confusion with your calories? You said you're 5'9 and set at 1200 calories (which sounds like a low target to me if you're somewhat active which it sounds like you are) but you didn't mention your rate of loss. You said that you rarely achieve your calorie target but you didn't say how many you're actually consuming daily. I did weigh both myself and my food while I lost the weight. I'm less concerned about the number on the scale now and more so with bodyfat % but a target number was a good goal in the beginning for me.

After I hit my target weight a few months later I did one small bulk and cut cycle (about 8 lbs gained 6 lost). If you still have 20 to lose your best bet it probably just to follow a progressive lifting program (more than once a week) and eat enough protein while maintaining a calorie deficit. Once you get closer to your target weight, a bulk and cut cycle might be a better fit (this is just my opinion of course). If you're relatively new to lifting you can sometimes build muscle in a deficit but mostly you're looking to retain the muscle mass you have and minimize additional muscle loss as you lose the rest of the weight.

silkyb1 wrote: »

Wow you look awesome! I have been reading all the love everyone has been giving to you. You have accomplished something a lot of us strive to want to do. How did you finally figure out what meal plan and exercise works for you? I'm 5'6 215 pds and it's a struggle for me to find far as eating and working out what works for me cause you can work out all day everyday and if you can't get your eating right it just won't work.

Thank you!

You are absolutely right that you can work out all day everyday and if you can't get your eating right it just won't work. Diet was definitely the key to my weight loss success. I developed what works for my diet completely based on trial and error. I tracked my calories until I found my maintenance level and then set a modest deficit to average about a pound a week loss. I started tracking how different foods made me feel. I tracked things like my satiety level hours after eating or if I had high or low energy for my workouts or if food made me feel sick and bloated. From this I set my macros and then adjusted them once a month until I found the makeup that allowed the weight to come off the fastest while leaving me feeling full, healthy and energetic (high fat, moderate carb, moderate protein).

As far as figuring out exercise, it was kind of a fluke for me. I had seen Crossfit on TV and was amazed at what the women could do so when I saw a Groupon for one in my neighborhood I bought it. I knew I needed something drastic to get myself in shape. I actually waited until the very last possible day to use it because I was SO scared. I really hated Crossfit. It hurt so bad but I promised myself I would commit to at least three months and eventually I started to love it. More specifically I fell in love with Olympic Weightlifting. Then to get more mobile for lifting and crossfit I started doing yoga and realized how much I love yoga. Exercise just became part of my daily life from that point. I think the key to sticking to an exercise routine is really finding something you love.