How does this plan look...suggestions???

lalalannie
lalalannie Posts: 6
in Health and Weight Loss
So I really want to start my journey tomorrow and have come up with some guidelines that I'd like to follow. I am looking to lose about 15-20 pounds at 2 pounds per week by September. Here's what I've got:

*Caloric in take of 1200 calories per day
*60-90 minutes of exercise per day
-Main form being an eliptical machine
*Always maintaining intake of at least 64 oz of H2O per day

Any suggestions? Ideas? Anyone else who has had success with similar goals? All feedback is appreciated!!!! :)

Replies

  • LadyGhostDuchess
    LadyGhostDuchess Posts: 894 Member
    I bottomed out on this.
    I dropped weight good...but it put my brain into "NO MORE"

    Are you planning on eating back your calories? And and you planning on taking break days?
  • Anayalata
    Anayalata Posts: 391 Member
    What's you current weight?

    How tall are you? Old?

    1200 a day is generally waaaaay too low for people, especially if they have only 20 pounds to lose.

    60-90 min of exercise a day is great, but make sure you're eating back ALL the calories from those exercises, especially if you still decide to go ahead and eat 1200 NET calories a day.

    Nothing wrong with 8 cups of water. Make sure you're getting the proper nutrients in there as well.
  • GabrielMaestas
    GabrielMaestas Posts: 88 Member
    Good plan yo :) I suggest making sure resistance training constitutes AT LEAST 30 minutes of your workout (i.e. weight training, swimming, stuff like that). Also wanna keep in mind 1200 cals is the absolute lowest you should ever go so it might be difficult starting that low (the body matches your caloric intake with its metabolic rate) so eating maybe 1350 cals is a safer start.
  • jc86
    jc86 Posts: 151
    id add in strength training
  • Rayman79
    Rayman79 Posts: 2,009 Member
    The numbers MFP spit out for you should tell you how much you need based on you activity levels etc. Make sure that is your NET amount of calories (that is be sure to eat the extra calories you earn through exercise - or at least a good portion of them).

    Make sure you get a decent balance of macronutrients in your calorie allowance too. Just have most of your diet made up of unprocessed foods, meat, fish, fruit & veg, nuts & seeds etc. Be sure to get a decent amount of protein in there too, don't be afraid to go well over what MFP sets for protein.

    As for the exercise, everyone should try to include some resistance exercise in their program, body weight exercises like pushups etc are fine. Just try to vary your exercises every now and again too. The body is very good at adapting and this will make your workouts less effective over time if you are always doing the same thing.

    Feel free to hit me up if you have any questions.
  • Bobby_Clerici
    Bobby_Clerici Posts: 1,828 Member
    Plug in your info and try following the MFP recommendations first.
    Give that a good 6 months before re-inventing the wheel.
    Whatever you decide, good luck!
  • emhargs
    emhargs Posts: 63
    resistance training baby!! and lift heavy! if it feels easy then it won't be doing much for you. if you can't get to a gym then stuff like: squats, pushups, chin ups, ab crunches, lunges etc. Good luck!
  • pundas
    pundas Posts: 165 Member
    I was in your boat. I was doing around 90 minutes of cardio 6 days a week and had an intake of 1200 calories a day. I only ate back about 200 of my exercise calories. I felt AWFUL. I lost weight at first and then didn't lose anything for a few weeks. I came across the group Eat More To Weigh Less on here, and let me tell you it saved me! I upped my calories to 1600 and now do cardio for 30 minutes 4-5 days a week and 30 minutes of strength training 3-4 days a week. I usually eat back my exercise calories. The first few weeks I didn't lose anything, but I lose a lot of inches. Then the weight started coming off and I feel great! I am no longer worried about the numbers on the scale but rather how I look. I gained a lot more muscle and am so happy with what I can do now. Good luck!
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    What's you current weight?

    How tall are you? Old?

    1200 a day is generally waaaaay too low for people, especially if they have only 20 pounds to lose.

    60-90 min of exercise a day is great, but make sure you're eating back ALL the calories from those exercises, especially if you still decide to go ahead and eat 1200 NET calories a day.

    Nothing wrong with 8 cups of water. Make sure you're getting the proper nutrients in there as well.
    This. What are your current stats, including height, weight, age.
  • caswell806
    caswell806 Posts: 42 Member
    I've done the same workout and found out that i hit a plateau a few weeks in until a friend suggested i add plenty of core work in with it. I do variations of planks. I hope this helps. Good luck and be well
  • stupidloser
    stupidloser Posts: 300 Member
    So I really want to start my journey tomorrow and have come up with some guidelines that I'd like to follow. I am looking to lose about 15-20 pounds at 2 pounds per week by September. Here's what I've got:

    *Caloric in take of 1200 calories per day
    *60-90 minutes of exercise per day
    -Main form being an eliptical machine
    *Always maintaining intake of at least 64 oz of H2O per day

    Any suggestions? Ideas? Anyone else who has had success with similar goals? All feedback is appreciated!!!! :)

    What ever u decide to do, it has to equate to a caloric defecit of appr. 750 cal per day for the next 12 weeks.
  • lalalannie
    lalalannie Posts: 6
    My stats are as follows:

    Weight: 135 pounds
    Goal Weight: 115
    Height: 5' 4"
    Age: 17

    ***So possible addition of calories, strength training, and rest days***

    Thanks for all the advice, additional would be great too :)
  • pundas
    pundas Posts: 165 Member
    What ever u decide to do, it has to equate to a caloric defecit of appr. 750 cal per day for the next 12 weeks.
    [/quote]

    May I ask where you got this information from? Never heard of this before.....

    I suggest eating 15-20% less than what your TDEE is and you should be fine
  • lalalannie
    lalalannie Posts: 6
    What ever u decide to do, it has to equate to a caloric defecit of appr. 750 cal per day for the next 12 weeks.

    May I ask where you got this information from? Never heard of this before.....

    I suggest eating 15-20% less than what your TDEE is and you should be fine

    The calorie amount came from MFP and then I added in the amount and type of exercise according to what I thought was doable for myself. The water thing was just extra that a family member had suggested before any weight loss just for general health. What's TDEE?
  • Anayalata
    Anayalata Posts: 391 Member
    I'd focus on strength training like these guys said. Substitute 30min of cardio time with strength training.

    Since you're already at a low weight, losing 2 pounds a week will probably start to make you feel like crap after a while.

    1 pound a week is perfectly sufficient, and I'd even go so far as to say losing half a pound would end up working out better.

    TDEE is Total Daily Energy Expenditure. BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate (the calories your body would burn if you laid in bed all day for 24 hours)) + calories burned in daily activity. MFP calculates this when you enter your weight, age, height and activity level.
  • AntWrig
    AntWrig Posts: 2,273 Member
    Increase calories.
    Weight train 3x a week full-body
    Do cardio for 30 minutes after each weight training session.

    Check your weight in two weeks. If you don't drop, add another 15 minutes PER week or 5 minutes per cardio session. Track weight every two weeks, if you don't drop add another 5 minutes per session until you reach 45 minutes MAX. There is no point in spending all your time in the gym. People do way too much and wonder why they make NO progress.

    Weight loss is like peeling an onion. You take one layer off at a time.
  • sumeetn
    sumeetn Posts: 56
    add some strength / resistance training
  • hippietofugirl
    hippietofugirl Posts: 430
    DEFINITELY increase your calories. That's wayyy too low. Your metabolism will slow down and hinder your weight loss. Not to mention if your doing THAT much exercise every day, your net calories will end up being below 900 - 1000. You also will need to eat back your exercise calories.
  • hippietofugirl
    hippietofugirl Posts: 430
    What ever u decide to do, it has to equate to a caloric defecit of appr. 750 cal per day for the next 12 weeks.

    May I ask where you got this information from? Never heard of this before.....

    I suggest eating 15-20% less than what your TDEE is and you should be fine

    The calorie amount came from MFP and then I added in the amount and type of exercise according to what I thought was doable for myself. The water thing was just extra that a family member had suggested before any weight loss just for general health. What's TDEE?


    Your TDEE is your Total Daily Energy Expenditure. You can calculate it here:

    http://www.fitnessfrog.com/calculators/tdee-calculator.html

    That is how many calories you burn through out the day, including calories you burn while you're sleeping. Your best bet is to decrease your TDEE by 15% and THAT is what you should be eating on a daily basis. In that case, you will not need to eat back your calories from exercise because it will already be accounted for

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