Schedule Advice

jessrex
jessrex Posts: 41 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Monday: 40 minutes cardio. I don't phone cardio in. I work as hard as I can and get sweatier than two squirrels in a wool sock. I'm elliptical obsessed due to a toe injury and found I really like it.
Tuesday: 10 minute elliptical warm up, upper body machine circuit (bicep curl, chest press, lat pulldown, triceps, row), 10 more minutes on the elliptical if I have it in me.
Wednesday: I usually take a fun class; stripper stuff, some kind of yoga, or do 40 minutes cardio.
Thursday: 10 minutes elliptical, core class (4 moves; 40 seconds on, 20 off, 2 minute break at the end of the 4 moves; we usually go through moves 4 times), lower body machine circuit (leg curl, leg press, back extension, hip adductor/abductor)
Friday: 40 minutes cardio
Saturday: 10 minutes elliptical, full body circuit, 10 minutes elliptical.
Sunday: "the Lord's day", so I either rest or do 40 minutes cardio

Thanks for making it this far... Am I missing anything? Most nights I come home and do some lazy ab work or "butt stuff" (thrusts, squats, donkey kicks, hydrants), and will admit I need to be more regular with this. I work out at Planet Fitness, and realize they're limited, but it's what fits my budget and it's better than nothing. Currently using info from tdeecalculator.net eating the calories suggested for cutting (1,153). Any suggestions are welcome please and thank you!

Replies

  • jessrex
    jessrex Posts: 41 Member
    I love the elliptical! I'm not so in love the weight machines, but do love the progress/data aspect, so that keeps me at it. My goals are to get to a healthy BMI weight of 130lbs (37f, 5'4", currently 156lbs), then start building muscle. I guess body recomp is what they say?

    Just want to make sure that what I'm doing is going to get me where I want to be before the real work starts. The calorie deficit is set from that websites calculator's cutting level. Am I not cutting if I'm trying to lose weight? Should I eat my TDEE?
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,269 Member
    If you have 25 pounds to lose, a pound a week would be a good loss rate maximum, and that only for the first 15 pounds at most. With all that exercise, I would think your TDEE would be around 2100-2200 (based on Sailrabbit's multiformula TDEE calculator), at least. If so, that would make 1600-1700 a much more reasonable starting point, IMO. What does that website say your TDEE would be with the exercise (not sedentary)?

    Try a reasonable level for 4-6 weeks, and keep an eye on average loss rate. If you seem to be losing very fast at first and also start feeling tired or weak for otherwise unexplained reasons, then eat a little more. Otherwise - even if you don't seem to be losing at first - stick with it for the 4-6 weeks. Water weight can be really whacky at first, particularly if you're a premenopausal woman. You won't have a good handle on your average weekly loss until you've been through at least one full menstrual cycle.

    After 4-6 weeks, adjust your intake based on average weekly loss (ignore the first two weeks if they're extra-big losses) to hit the pound a week rate, using the 3500 calories = 1 pound rule of thumb.

    We all want to lose fast, but staying healthy is also a pretty nice thing. I tried 1200 at about your current size (but age 59), and it was way too low: I got weak and fatigued. I was lucky worse didn't happen. I admit, I have a high TDEE for my age, but it's in the neighborhood of what yours likely is.
  • jessrex
    jessrex Posts: 41 Member
    Not sure which level of exercise I would choose, but I usually always go with sedentary since I sit for a living.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,269 Member
    jessrex wrote: »
    Not sure which level of exercise I would choose, but I usually always go with sedentary since I sit for a living.

    If you do the schedule you describe, that sounds like moderate exercise, at least.

    If you use MFP to estimate goal calories, you'd use sedentary, but log exercise separately and eat back a fair fraction of those calories. If you want to use a TDEE calculator instead, that's fine . . . but in that case you should include your exercise in the estimate, and not log exercise separately on MFP.

    Either way, your calorie goal should account for exercise, especially if you're shooting for an aggressive weight loss rate. Cutting a large amount off pre-exercise calorie needs, then exercising a bunch on top of that without fueling it in order to lose faster: That's a recipe for fatigue, burnout, maybe binges, and much higher chances of weight loss failure through unsustainability. Slow and steady wins the weight-loss race.

    If you want to use a TDEE calculator, maybe take a look at Sailrabbit (https://www.sailrabbit.com/bmr/) which has multiple formulas and better exercise-level descriptions.

    Best wishes!
  • DancingMoosie
    DancingMoosie Posts: 8,619 Member
    You can choose sedentary as long as you log your exercise. Mfp will not go below 1200 calories. Progressive overload is the key to your weight lifting. Try an established program, like strong lifts, starting strength, thinner leaner stronger, etc.
  • deannalfisher
    deannalfisher Posts: 5,600 Member
    if you are using TDEE which factors in purposeful exercise there is no way you are sedentary - normally those calorie counts are based on number of days working out - and with 7 days a week you are at a minimum active. now if you were using MFP recommendations - you could select sedentary and then log workouts
  • Shortgirlrunning
    Shortgirlrunning Posts: 1,020 Member
    Your calories sound way too low! Generally, it’s suggested that women not go under 1200 and even then you’d only need to be that low if you are very short/sedentary (which clearly you are not). At the very least up to 1200 and eat back your exercise calories.

    On a cardio day I can usually eat 1500-1600 calories. Strength days are usually around 1300 because it’s not as heavy of a calorie burn. I’m 5’0” and 148 lbs. I still lose between 1 - 1.5 lbs a week. I set my MFP activity level to sedentary and then add in my exercise. It works really well for me and I’ve lost 50 lbs so far.

    You want to be in a calorie deficit to lose weight but you still need to fuel your body, especially with all the exercise you are doing.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    jessrex wrote: »
    Not sure which level of exercise I would choose, but I usually always go with sedentary since I sit for a living.

    Wrong! :smile:

    That might be correct setting for you when using MyFitnessPal to set your calorie goal as it adds exercise in afterwards.

    But you are using a TDEE calculator and need to answer the combined activity and exercise question accurately or all your extensive exercise schedule isn't factored in.

    sailrabbit.com has a rather better calcuator than the site you used.
  • jessrex
    jessrex Posts: 41 Member
    Thanks everyone! So I basically just need to eat more (even if I'm not hungry?). I don't have a HRM and don't necessarily trust the calories burned on the ellipticals, so I should bump my calories up to active or moderately active.

    The weight machines I'm doing now aren't really to build as much as maintain while I'm losing weight. After I hit my goal of 130 I'll be switching to recomp/building, so I'm sure I'll be back for more feedback!
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,269 Member
    jessrex wrote: »
    Thanks everyone! So I basically just need to eat more (even if I'm not hungry?). I don't have a HRM and don't necessarily trust the calories burned on the ellipticals, so I should bump my calories up to active or moderately active.

    The weight machines I'm doing now aren't really to build as much as maintain while I'm losing weight. After I hit my goal of 130 I'll be switching to recomp/building, so I'm sure I'll be back for more feedback!

    That sounds like a good plan. Stick with it for 4-6 weeks, then adjust calorie goal based on experience, to keep loss at a sensible level. You'll do fine! :flowerforyou:

    P.S. If you're not hungry occasionally, it's OK to eat a little less that day. However, persistently undereating is not a great plan. If it's a challenge to eat more, consider adding some higher-calorie but less-filling things to your day, such as full-fat yogurt (or other dairy) instead of nonfat, a little more olive oil to cook veggies or in salad dressing, peanut butter, nuts, avocado, fattier fish/meat cuts, seeds on salads or whatever, and that sort of thing. It's kind of common to see people cut fat too low when pursuing weight loss, but we need fats in order to absorb fat-soluble vitamins, and for best health for other reasons. Think about something in the vicinity of 0.35-0.45g per pound of healthy goal weight, in your case 45-59g daily. That's 405-531 calories right there. :)

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