Have the will just don’t know the way....

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So I eat pretty healthy, I go to the gym and I’ve been doing research like a mad woman (thanks COVID) on trying to figure out better workout routines or adjusting eating habits. Currently doing 4 sessions a week of weight training, on off days just a little cardio, I eat very low carb and I’m now considering cutting dairy. Thoughts or pointers?

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  • Ikeeptrying2
    Ikeeptrying2 Posts: 156 Member
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    I'm not sure I can tell from your post what you goals are.

    Are you looking the way to weight loss? If so, honest and accurate logging should be the top priority on your list.

    Cutting dairy and low carbs is not a strategy on it's own to weight loss. Burning more calories than you consume is.

    A negative calorie balance can come from exercise or it can come from eating lower calorie food. Or - a combination of both.
  • BackAlleyGabe
    BackAlleyGabe Posts: 3 Member
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    What are you trying to target? More weight loss or are you trying to shape your body into a certain way? There’s different ways of exercising for different goals so I’m curious.
  • cgrout78
    cgrout78 Posts: 1,679 Member
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    There isn't really a weight loss advantage to cutting dairy, unless you have an aversion to it. Plenty of people lose weight and keep yogurt, milk, cheese etc in their diets. As @Ikeeptrying2 said, it's an overall less calories. Some methods may have you lose weight initially faster than others, but most studies have shown that in an extended time all diets will help you lose weight as long as you're accurate.
  • mommarass88
    mommarass88 Posts: 22 Member
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    I’m looking to lose another 10lbs and work on shaping my body. I have started logging my calorie intake again. I don’t eat a lot throughout the day but I’m guessing it’s probably more then I think.
  • MidlifeCrisisFitness
    MidlifeCrisisFitness Posts: 1,106 Member
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    Saw your pic. If I may suggest dialing in your deficit and increase strength training intensity.

    Target 200 to 500 calories above your BMR. Focus on full body strength training before going after isolation exercises. Keep your schedule but make sure you have sufficient recovery as you increase intensity.
  • Chef_Barbell
    Chef_Barbell Posts: 6,644 Member
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    I’m looking to lose another 10lbs and work on shaping my body. I have started logging my calorie intake again. I don’t eat a lot throughout the day but I’m guessing it’s probably more then I think.

    Weight your food on a food scale. That's the only way you will know how much you are eating. 10 lbs to lose leaves very little wiggle room for error.
  • Dogmom1978
    Dogmom1978 Posts: 1,580 Member
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    Also, remember with so little left to lose it will be VERY slow going.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,583 Member
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    Dogmom1978 wrote: »
    Also, remember with so little left to lose it will be VERY slow going.

    And it *should* be very slow going, besides. There's only so much body fat you can metabolize daily, and the less fat you have on your body, the slower the loss should be to minimize risking loss of desirable lean mass alongside fat loss.

    Get overall excellent nutrition (especially but not exclusively protein), follow a good progressive strength training program, keep a *small* calorie deficit to lose fat while preserving lean tissue and allowing exercise energy/intensity. Cardio is good for heart/circulatory health, so it's good to keep some in the picture (it won't "burn up muscle" unless you significantly underfuel it).

    There's info here about strength programs others have found beneficial:

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10332083/which-lifting-program-is-the-best-for-you/p1

    If you have a well-designed plan from a good, qualified personal trainer, personalized to you, that can be a good thing; but vetted programs like those in the thread above will likely serve you better than DIY approaches.

    Low carb or eliminating dairy are a tangent. Unless carbs spike your appetite unhelpfully (or you have a relevant health condition that requires limiting them), they can be helpful for energy (and tend to help a strength program for many people); there's nothing wrong with dairy as long as you don't have an allergy or sensitivity to it. There aren't really good foods or bad foods (other than actual poisons or allergens) so much as there is good overall nutrition and sub-par overall nutrition.

    Frankly, there's a lot of BS in the blogosphere about special diets/eating/supplements that are supposed to have magical benefits. Mostly, they have magical benefits for the marketers, influencers, and book publishers, not for the consumer.
  • EliteFitAtl
    EliteFitAtl Posts: 3 Member
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    How long have you been following your current workout and nutrition routine?