Annelies11 Member

That does sound like a lot! You must be doing A LOT of exercise. As in several hours every day?? If so you might be totally stressing your body out. Are you sure you are not overestimating your exercise? That walk last night must have been 2 hours long to burn that many calories! Or were you speed walking ;) I used this…

Thank you for posting, this is awesome! I have recently started to lift heavy and try to eat at my TDEE. It is scary but your story helps me to stick with it!

I hear ya! Upping cals is scary! It took me a while to go from 1200 (where MFP put me) up to now 2000. I did it gradually and when I saw that I wasn't gaining weight, I would up it a little more. It will take your body a couple weeks to get used to more calories and you might not lose right away, but you need to wait a…

That is awesome! Since starting this thread I have upped my cals several times.. and am now eating 2000 on workout days (which is only lifting weights) and 1800 on rest days. So I ate 2000 calories today and it was awesome! I was also finally able to hit my protein goal, which I couldn't do before. I am even a little…

Thank you so much!! I will give it a try :)

Avocados :) They're satisfying and healthy.

Ok thanks! So if I am lifting in the mornings, eat 2000 on that day, and 1800 on rest days? Or 2200 on lift days, and 1800 on rest days? That would be taking 200 off the rest day and giving it to the lift day. I would be eating at surplus on that day but at maintenance overall.

You look amazing! I look very similar to your before pictures and have just started lifting heavier. I do a dumbbells workout at home, 3x per week for about 45 minutes. I would love to lose about 5 lbs, but really I just want to gain muscle and lose fat like you did. I went to the post where you explained how many calories…

After lots of reading and deliberating.. I am going with your initial advice HeyBales and eating at TDEE/maintenance in order to gain muscle and lose fat and see how it goes. My stats were as follows: BMR: 1493 TDEE: 2053 Bodyfat: 26% For about 2 months now, I have been eating at a deficit (1700), and doing heavy lifting,…

My dumbbells leave little metal splinters in my hands when I don't wear gloves. Must be something wrong with my dumbbells :(

I bought Harbinger ones on Amazon and I love them.

Let us know how it goes as I am really curious. My TDEE is also about 2000, I lift 3x a week and have been eating 1700 a day, but I am worried that I won't build muscle on that much deficit. So I am thinking of eating closer to 2000 on lift days. I have 26% body fat so I have quite a bit of fat to lose. But I love lifting…

Yes the couple of weeks, and only with 8lb weights. I just got my new dumbbell set this week so have only done 1 workout with heavier weight. No, I didn't do any before. I have heard that since I am a beginner, I should stick to higher reps for the first couple of weeks to get used to good form. Should I do that? Right now…

How long have you been lifting weights? It takes at least 6 months for it to really change your body visibly. I am in the same boat as you. Upped my cals to 1700 and have been lifting for 2-3 weeks. No weight loss and no visible change yet. But I have been told to focus on lifting heavy and be patient... so that is my…

I hold them up with my upper arms out straight to the sides and elbows bent 90 degrees, so they are at about the height of my ears. I'm not an expert though, but I've seen a trainer do it this way...

Awesome website!! Thank you for the link!

Bump - me too! Lifting weights with dumbells only

3 years! It was taken on my honeymoon before I gained 15lbs LOL

I used to use those machines thinking they would shrink my thighs... they didn't. I think they are a waste of time, and lifting weights has a much better result: squats and lunges with dumbells is what I do :)

Thank you thank you, i will try that!

And I don't necessarily want to lose weight. Anyone?

So I need to eat at a deficit to lose body fat, but I need to eat at a surplus to gain muscle. I want to do both at the same time. What do I do??? Should I choose the middle road and eat at maintenance? (TDEE)? Or go back and forth between deficit and surplus?

This is so encouraging, because my scale isn't moving either although I'm doing lots of strength training. Great work!

This is what I've come up with after trying a bunch of different ones: (doing 3 sets of 10 reps for each, and 1 minute rests in between) Monday (Lower) Squat with weights Lunges with weights Deadlift with weights Calf-raise with weights Wall-sit (1 min) Stand crunch w weights Wednesday (Upper) Bent-over row Shoulder Press…

Thank you! So I am dropping the HIIT, and just doing regular, more easy-going cardio. I've decided to keep weight-lifting 3x/week (2x lower body/whole body, and 1x upper body)... and squeeze cardio in there when I can, but it's not a priority. I am going to keep upping the weight every time it gets easier. And eat more :)…

Thanks! I have started lifting weights... and I love it. You are right, I want to lower my body fat%, and gain muscle if I can. I have been doing deadlifs, squats, lunges, pushups, etc. with weights. I have also upped my cals to 1700... because you can't grow muscle on too large of a deficit. 1700 is TDEE-15%. I might even…

Ok so upping to 1700 might give me better results too :)

Ok Thanks! So it's not effective doing strength and HIIT on the same days. How about doing my strength-training 2x a week, and do it for a little longer (30-40 minutes) and doing my HIIT 2x a week on different days from the strength. That way I am well rested for the HIIT and I can give it my all. I would have 3 rest…

I am curious how many calories you are eating now? I started at 1200, lost a few pounds then plateaud. Then I upped it to 1500, lost a few more pounds (like ONE!) then plateaud again for 3 months! Now I am upping to 1700. Worried that I will gain weight but I don't know what else to do. 1700 is TDEE-10%

Like someone else mentioned, make sure you are eating enough protein and healthy fats first (I have set both for 30%). I try to get my carbs as much as possible from fruits, veggies and beans and avoid the white flour. Figure out your TDEE and eat 15% below that in calories.. So I guess what I am saying is low calorie…