Hi, new and would like some advice

[traffictina]

Hey, I'm Tina. Quit smoking 102 days ago! Woohoo. Now I am just plain fat. :( Anyway, I don't know my bodyfat %. I am 41, 5'8" and weigh 184. Way too fat for pics here! A buddy of mine said weight training would help me by building muscles to help burn calories. I have been doing this for a week now. I really don't know what I am doing, but I watch people at the gym to learn how to use the machines and stuff. I have also read almost this entire site! lol I eat approx 1600 calories a day. BMR is approx. 1500. I say approx cause I don't know the body fat %. Anyway, this is basically what I have been eating. Wanted to know if it is ok.

8am 1 cup Oatmeal, cooked, regular,
1 Banana, raw
2 cups Coffee with splenda
10 am Slimfast Meal bar chewy granola choc chip
12 pm 6 oz Chicken, breast,
2 Lettuce, looseleaf, raw
2 T Salad dressing, KRAFT FREE Fat Free Ranch Dress
3 pm eas soy protein powder
8 ozMilk, cow's, fluid, 1% fat
5 pm slimfast drink
1 6 ozChicken, breast,
8 pm eas soy protein powder serving 160 2 19 20
8 oz Milk, cow's, fluid, 1% fat
Cal F C P
Totals 1710 30 206 161

I just don't know what else to eat to get my calories in if I don't do the slimfast bar.

[Tech_Zilla]

drop the slimfast its all sugar.........make sure when you do cardio that you raise your heart rate so you burn fat and make sure to eat every couple of hours to keep your metabolism high.....as soon as you find a diet plan that works for you,, you will start dropping weight and you will soon find that exercise is fun and you'll wanna do it for the rest of your life ..........good luck

[MsFit]

I can't make out your exact meals. Can you list each meal, portion, and time?

[traffictina]

OK I edited the meal.

[egoatdoor]

Congratulations on giving up smoking! Glad to see that you want to improve yourself even further.

Here are my thoughts and suggestions:

:Your buddy was right. Weight training will help transform your body by building muscle and burning fat.
:Cardio is also necessary. With your current body structure, I would recommend doing cardio 3-4 times a week and weight training twice a week to start. On cardio, start with walking either outdoors or on a treadmill. As you get used to it and build up some endurance, increase the pace.
:The diet you listed is pretty good and well thought out. My one suggestion for improvement is adding some solid food to the 5 PM meal instead of the slimfast drink. Except for the chicken breast, everything after lunch is liquids. Longer term as your workouts start raising your metabolism, you may find yourself feeling hungry in the afternoons and evenings because the liquids really are not filling you up. With the chicken, add another salad instead. Add some hard boiled egg whites, canned tuna or raisins to the salad to make up for the calories from the drink. And don't be afraid of adding small amounts of cucumbers, green peppers and radishes to your salads. These have almost no calories, but will help you fill up, preventing hunger and cravings.
:The combination of the diet plan, cardio and weight training should raise your metabolism pretty quickly and you'll see the pounds falling off real soon!

[traffictina]

I was already doing way too much cardio. For about 2 months this was what I did everyday. Every once in a while I would rest on Sunday

20 min elliptical level 2 random
2 miles 4mph on treadmill at 1% incline
stationary bike 20 min at level 3 hill

This was slowly reducing the fat, but I was completely worn out since I was only taking in 800 to 1000 cal per day!

What I am doing now is

mon - legs and glutes
tues - biceps triceps
wed - cardio 20 min HIIT (changes between elliptical, treadmill and bike)
thurs - abs lower back
fri - chest upper back shoulders
sat - cardio 20 min HIIT (changes also)
sun - rest

What cha think?

:D

edit----I forgot about the water areobics I was doing on tues and thurs---1 hour. Funny thing is, this was absolutely getting me nowhere!

[Emma-Leigh]

Originally posted by traffictina

mon - legs and glutes
tues - biceps triceps
wed - cardio 20 min HIIT (changes between elliptical, treadmill and bike)
thurs - abs lower back
fri - chest upper back shoulders
sat - cardio 20 min HIIT (changes also)
sun - rest

What cha think?

:D

This looks fine - but I would probably add one more day of cardio. Maybe on your abs day?

Also important is the results you have had so far - So are you getting good results from the program? If not, look for your problem areas and see if it needs tweaking.

Otherwise - good! Definately an improvement on your last program! (Sheesh!!) :D

[ManOSteel]

Traffictina,

First off - congratulations on making the decision to change your lifestyle! Your approach looks good for now but it is critical that you read every label and refrain from added sugar entirely if possible, you will get enough from fruits. Look into the glycemic index (use Google) and choose low glycemic foods (e.g., <50).

Good luck, post often and let us know your progress.
MOS

[traffictina]

Thanks! I was wondering, I read somewhere that you shouldn't do cardio and weight training at the same time.

[egoatdoor]

Originally posted by traffictina
Thanks! I was wondering, I read somewhere that you shouldn't do cardio and weight training at the same time.

Ideally, you should do cardio seperately from the days you do weights. Of course, in the real world, we all have jobs, family obligations and other things, so we may not have time to go to the gym several days a week. If you have to do them on the same day, do weights first and then cardio so that the exertion from cardio doesn't detract from your weight workout.

If it can be done schedule wise, the absolute best time to do cardio so that it burns fat is by itself first thing in the morning on an empty stomach.