Don't even know where to start.... :(

[Szangel]

Hi All.

So, I stumbled upon this site and have been browsing for a few days now. I started tracking my food on fitday.com and upped my water to 8 glasses per day. This is for 2 days so far. I've never really been a bad eater. This is what I'm doing so far, but I know I need a plan for weight loss of about 13 lbs.

Current weight: 138 lbs (I have not weighed myself for years until a few days ago.)
Height: 5' 6"
Naturally muscular and gain muscle easily. Losing fat is difficult for me.

Typical day lately is (about 2 wks):

Breakfast:
Mueslix Cereal 2 cups (not sure how much, but about a mug-full)
2% milk, 2 cups or less
2 cups coffee, no sweetner + 2% milk.

Lunch:
Green beans 2 cups
Tomatoes 1 cup
Tuna can or chicken breast, no skin
Balsamic vinegar
Spicy seasonings

1 cup coffee, no sweetner, + 2% milk.

Snack: Apple (or somedays nothing.)

Dinner:
V. similiar to lunch

This is just what I normally like to eat and not a planned program yet.

Exercise:
I have hardly any energy, but try for cardio 30 mins, 2x per week.

I used to work out at a gym, exercise for 6+ hours a week cardio and wt. lift a little, but at that time, 10 yrs ago, I put on a lot of muscle and didn't lose any fat. I am naturally predisposed to muscle gain.

Ok, so there is my life.... out in the open. YIKES! I am really hoping I can get some help or tips to achieve a 13-15 lbs wt. loss. Please tell me about

diet?

exercise?

adjustments to what I'm doing now...?

how long this typically takes (to reach my 13 lbs loss)?

what would the maintenance be like?

Thank you! Any help at all is appreciated!

S

[nunu713]

Firstly, I would read the stickies in the nutrition forum and the training forum and then check out hotnfit.com. Some great information in there.

Now, to lose fat, you need to be at a calorie deficit. Use online calculators to figure out what your maintanance calories should be. Then you'll want to eat under that every day. I would start slow by decreasing by maybe 200 calories a day. Then you can work up to 300 or more depending on your progress.

It's great that you're tracking your food - that's a big help. I personally like a 20/40/40 fat-carb-protein split in my calorie intake, but I know a lot of people like different splits - it all depends on what works for them. Right now, 15/35/50 is working quite well for me, but that's not for everyone.

In the gym - weight training is more important than cardio. Hit the weights anywhere from 3-5 days a week. You can find great information on this website about splits, exercises, etc. But the key is to lift as heavy as you can - that'll accelerate fat loss.

In the kitchen, stick to foods that you eat as they are found in nature - like veggies, fruits, nuts, etc. You'll want to have a good mix of fibrous carbs (veggies), starchy carbs (rice, potatos, oatmeal), healthy fats (nuts, avocados, olive oil, flaxseed oil) and lean proteins (fish, chicken, eggs). Try to eat anywhere between 5-7 times per day, every 2-3 hours.

That should get you off to a good start. Good luck!

[Szangel]

This is a good start. Thanks for the reply. I just checked and my (2 day) calorie balance tracked on FitDay looks like this:


Fat
23%
(Should be 20%)

Carbs
58%
(Should be 40%)

Protein
19%
(Should be 40%)

Ave. Calories/Day
1,045
(I don't know what this should be yet......)

I'm starting to see where it's going wrong. Then the exercising properly.

[kimm4]

This is a good start. Thanks for the reply. I just checked and my (2 day) calorie balance tracked on FitDay looks like this:


Fat
23%
(Should be 20%)

Carbs
58%
(Should be 40%)

Protein
19%
(Should be 40%)

Ave. Calories/Day
1,045
(I don't know what this should be yet......)

I'm starting to see where it's going wrong. Then the exercising properly.

Get yourself on a solid 1600 calories a day. I would switch to a macro breakdown of 40p/30c/30f. I find that cutting the carbs and tad and increasing the healthy fats will give you better energy though out your day.

Try to get in 4-5 meals a day. Each meal needs to consist of protein, a clean carb and healthy fats...it's all about getting the right balance in your meals...which your program lacks now.

Focus on a solid weight training program, this will help get you better results. No one adds muscle quickly...it's just doesn't work that way.

So diet, weight training and some form of cardio...in this order!

Good luck!

[Szangel]

This is really good info - and helpful. Thanks a lot.

[Szangel]

Ok, going a little bonkers here now. I thought veggies were tantamount. From Jun 22, 2009 - Jun 28, 2009, this has been my balance.

Ave Calories
1,190

Fat
20%

Carbs
56%

Protein
25%

Do I need to add protein shakes? Do I have to eat less vegetables and fruit?

[tiff_7_17]

Ok, going a little bonkers here now. I thought veggies were tantamount. From Jun 22, 2009 - Jun 28, 2009, this has been my balance.

Ave Calories
1,190

Fat
20%

Carbs
56%

Protein
25%

Do I need to add protein shakes? Do I have to eat less vegetables and fruit?

You still are not eating enough calories per day to be within your healthy maintenance range, I can pretty much guarantee...let alone if you want to tack training on top of that. I am somewhat new to this (although not clueless), and definitely new to this forum...and trust me, it freaked me out to think I could lose weight and actually not be starving...but when you under-eat you are doing your body a disservice by putting it into starvation mode. You simply won't see the results you want to achieve (at least not easily, at all).

Many (I might venture a guess to say most?) people on here supplement their diet with protein shakes. I'm sure it is possible to get by without them...but they solve two problems:
1. It is hard to get enough protein (as you've probably noticed) with diet alone.
2. It isn't always convenient to have a steak in your back pocket, or what have you.

And as a sidebar, protein is expensive...supplementing some of it with whey actually works out to be somewhat affordable (depending on the cost of your whey, and I guess your other proteins).

I have a shake as one of my small meals per day (I am currently following a plan where I have 6), I have a shake post-workout, and sometimes I have it right before bed as my last meal to ensure my body has energy during the fasting period otherwise known as 8 hours of sleep at night...but that's another story for another day.

Carbohydrates in the form of fruits and veggies are fine. You don't need to 'cut anything out' since you aren't eating enough in the first place. I would place more emphasis on veggies rather than fruit (sadly, I know) due to sugar content. However, they are good for you...so just add more lean protein to get yourself up to about 1600 cals like someone mentioned earlier and you should be good to go

[ozigal]

veggies are very important and the majority of carbs should come from fibrous veggies. Calories are way too low, no wonder you have no energy. You are eating below BMR which is the caloric amount needed to just sustain your bodily i.e. metabolic & enzymatic function if you were doing absolutely nothing all day (as a general rule this is never below 1200 for the average female). As Kimm said get them up to 1600. Need much more protein than that in your diet. There is no reason to consume protein shakes if you can get all your protein from natural sources (until you have a decent weights program set up in which case it's beneficial to have whey protein after your workout).

Generally one should aim for 1-1.5lb fat loss per week which means it should take roughly about 3 months; however this varies for everyone (could be faster/slower).

Protein: chicken, turkey, lean meat, eggs, fish, cottage cheese, milk
Carbs: oats, brown rice, barley, quinoa, fibrous veggies & salad greens, fruit such as bananas & berries
Fats: nuts (especially almonds), seeds, flax oil, fish oil, olive oil, avocado, egg yolks, natural peanut butter, almond butter

[tiff_7_17]

Ok, going a little bonkers here now. I thought veggies were tantamount. From Jun 22, 2009 - Jun 28, 2009, this has been my balance.

Ave Calories
1,190

Fat
20%

Carbs
56%

Protein
25%

Do I need to add protein shakes? Do I have to eat less vegetables and fruit?

Oh...and an easy way to cut your fat, or make room for other fats, or something along those lines...would be to swap out your 2% milk for skim...same calcium,protein and nutrients but with less fat and calories. More bang for your buck so to speak.

[Szangel]

You guys are awesome. Thanks SO much for these replies.

I hadn't even realized that I was essentially undereating until I started tracking with fitday.com.

Tiff, very good AND practical advice. And Ozigal thanks for the facts. I really appreciate it and will make some adjustments.

EDITED: To add, I've gained about 1.5 lbs, even though I've been drinking a ton of water too. (??) Haven't really done much working out except for some cardio and a few arm wts. Easing into it slowly..

[tiff_7_17]

No worries...we're all here to help each other out.
I have to resist weighing myself too often...i'm guilty of it too, wanting to check my progress 24/7...but its silly because I could go pee and weigh myself and be whatever and then drink a bottle of water and weigh something else...so...i'm using restraint and only weighing periodically...but it's tough.

Also, you will gain in the beginning especially if you are using weights...but don't worry, it goes away.

[Szangel]

No worries...we're all here to help each other out.
I have to resist weighing myself too often...i'm guilty of it too, wanting to check my progress 24/7...but its silly because I could go pee and weigh myself and be whatever and then drink a bottle of water and weigh something else...so...i'm using restraint and only weighing periodically...but it's tough.

Also, you will gain in the beginning especially if you are using weights...but don't worry, it goes away.

Tiff, are you sure you're not an expert? I can't believe you just started!.