Advice on 18 y/o Female's Fat Loss Diet/Workout Plan

[clairefl]

Hello- I just registered on the forum, but I've been reading a lot of posts on here for the past few weeks, and I'd like to receive your advice on my fat loss diet and workout plans.

My Stats:
- age: 18
- height: 5'4.5"
- weight: 138-140 lbs.
- bodyfat: approx. 22.5% (I got this from several different military method calculations I've found online)

Background:
I was always a very competitive athlete in my pre-teen to early teen years. When I was around 14 years old, I developed hypothyroidism, resulting in a sudden weight gain of 60+ pounds. Simultaneously, I developed chronic lower back/shoulder pain, and was forced to quit all physical activity.

Luckily, after many years of searching for good doctors, I've found a great endocrinologist, orthopedic doctor, and a physical therapist that have gotten me back on my feet again... and, here I am today. So, now that my back/shoulder pain is tolerable, I've decided now is the time for me to achieve my goals of getting back into shape, fit for sports, and to lose fat.

My Diet Plan: (began 03/12/10)
- daily calorie intake: 1,000
(I was previously eating 1,300-1,500/day without any weight loss, therefore I decided on 1,000 in order to have a 500 calorie deficit)
- protein: 30-40g
- 1-2 servings of fruit
- 2-3 serving of veggies
- 1-2 liters of water
- eating 6x/day
- btw, i'm vegan

Current Workout Routine:
Everyday: 10-min stretching (prescribed by my physical therapist)
2x/week: upper and lower body exercises (prescribed by my physical therapist)
3x/week: 60-min of intervals on elliptical trainer
3x/week: 60-min spinning class

Tentative Workout Plan:
Everyday: 10-min stretching (prescribed by my physical therapist)
Sun: rest
Mon: 60-min spinning class in the morning
Tue: upper and lower body exercises (prescribed by my physical therapist), 60-min spinning class afterward in the afternoon
Wed: 60-min spinning class in the morning
Thu: upper and lower body exercises (prescribed by my physical therapist), 60-min spinning class afterward in the afternoon
Fri: 60-min spinning class in the morning
Sat: abs and leg exercises, 60-min spinning class afterward mid-day

My Goals:
Become fit for sports, lose fat and drop down two jean sizes.
Bodyfat: 14%
Weight: 115-120 (this isn't a firm goal, as I understand muscle weighs more than fat)

Thank you in advance for your assistance and advice.

[th3pwn3r]

My Diet Plan: (began 03/12/10)
- daily calorie intake: 1,000
(I was previously eating 1,300-1,500/day without any weight loss, therefore I decided on 1,000 in order to have a 500 calorie deficit)
- protein: 30-40g
- 1-2 servings of fruit
- 2-3 serving of veggies
- 1-2 liters of water
- eating 6x/day
- btw, i'm vegan

Thank you in advance for your assistance and advice.

Your diet plan is horrible. You need a lot more protein than that and fruit can be done away with, you also don't need to eat 6 times a day.

[clairefl]

Your diet plan is horrible. You need a lot more protein than that and fruit can be done away with, you also don't need to eat 6 times a day.

How would you recommend that I improve?
What source should I get more protein from and how much more protein do I need?
No fruit at all? Is it because of the natural sugar?
Should I eat 4x/day?
Thanks!

[th3pwn3r]

How would you recommend that I improve?
What source should I get more protein from and how much more protein do I need?
No fruit at all? Is it because of the natural sugar?
Should I eat 4x/day?
Thanks!

Look into boca burgers, veggie hot dogs(these taste horrid to me personally) or soy protein for your protein needs, I can actually give my opinion on how it goes down(tastes) tomorrow near the afternoon because I've never tried it but just got a shipment of it. I think something like 100-120 grams of protein is more in the range you should shoot for. Also, replacing fruits with veggies would probably be better to help curb hunger but you can keep your fruit if you'd like. Do you have a ball park idea of how many calories you're consuming? If so and you're getting results then stick with it, if your results aren't coming you're going to need to skim calories from somewhere in your diet or increase activity or even do a combination of the two but most people here will tell you that you need to increase your protein intake to preserve your muscle mass.

[th3pwn3r]

fruit is one of the best things u can eat

are u retarded?

OP ur diet is fine, I would increase protein by about 20-30 grams, otherwise its fine

Why is fruit one of the best things you can eat? Yes, I am retarded, u mad and/or psychic??

[th3pwn3r]

uh its natural sugar, full of vitamins and minerals and generally awesome stuff your body needs. This is common sense, the fact that I have to explain it is ridiculous

furthermore ur comments about needing very high levels of protein to preserve muscle mass are ridiculous


I'm a 230 lb male, and I can preserve my muscle mass on 60-70 grams of protein a day (srs). Stop buying into this mass media brainwashed bro science nonsense derived by supplement companies about needing 1 g of protein per lb of bodyweight... there is no benefit to our body of having more than .5 to .8 grams of protein per lb of bodyweight (look up any real study) and u can do perfectly fine with much less than that

Uh natural sugar?! That most be the best thing since BEFORE sliced bread right? I'd rather get my nutrition through vitamins and miss out on all the useless calories. Fruit isn't going to help me personally for my fat loss goals and plenty of other people will say the same. No actually, I can't. The only time I've lost plenty of muscle mass was on a diet with low amounts of protein while being in a deficit, thanks though bro. The reason you can preserve plenty of muscle mass on a low protein diet is probably because you have high levels of body fat at 230 pounds. Go back to the misc?

[th3pwn3r]

vitamins can't replace the real thing...
there's absolutely nothing wrong with fruits, if u don't like them that's fine, but don't go around spewing this nonsense that they're bad to have if you are cutting.
fruits, vegetables, natural fats and lean meat... there is no better diet than that because it is the most natural diet one can have.
u lost plenty of muscle mass probably because u ate like ****/lost way too much weight way too fast/didn't work out hard enough
there is not a single study out there that proves eating more than .5 to .8 grams of protein per lb of body weight is beneficial
stop buying into the hype machine, this "high protein" crap was created BY SUPPLEMENT COMPANIES TRYING TO SCAM U INTO BUYING 10 LB PROTEIN BAGS EVERY 2 MONTHS, it's not based on an ounce of real science

What exactly is the real thing and why can't vitamins replace them? Where did I say fruits were bad if you are cutting? Oh wait, I didn't. I don't need to buy into the "hype machine" I'll go with the masses and the experience of many when it comes to protein intake intake recommendations. Do you know what nutrient spares muscle the most? That's right.

[FleurDeLis]

OK well.....for sure you need more PROTEIN. yes. At least 1g per LBM. (Your bodyweight minus fat).

I actually also have hypothyroidism and am currently losing weight on roughly 1500 calories per day, but you need to decide how many calories work for YOU. You are going to have to play around with it for a while because everyone is very different. When you do find the level of calories that works for you, stick with it. If you are getting results, that is what matters.

It took me a while to figure it out, but I do not lose weight on a "balanced" diet. I can only maintain. AKA- Fruit, Grains, Protein, fat....etc.. HOWEVER, I am doing very well on a Cyclical Ketogenic Diet ( 65% calories from fat, 30% protein, 5% carbs) plus a short refeed every 7-10 days. (yes losing fat by eating fat). Yeah I might get slammed about how "as long as you are in a deficit, you WILL lose weight" BUT not everyone understands that when you throw in a Fuked up thyroid into the equation, the rules of the game change...

BTW: It doesn't matter how many times a day you are eating. Just get in the calories you are aiming for.

I would also recommend lifting weights. (I am not sure if that is what you meant by "exercises"). It increases metabolism and burns more calories than cardio (if done intensely), which is ESPECIALLY what you are looking for considering you have a thyroid problem.

I am just giving suggestions based on experience, you don't have to listen to me. You can do all the cardio/exercises and eat however you like as long as it makes you happy. I am simply giving you my input.

[pauskocak]

so if I eating protein on weight loss, it basically maintained my muscle mass?

[clairefl]

It took me a while to figure it out, but I do not lose weight on a "balanced" diet. I can only maintain. AKA- Fruit, Grains, Protein, fat....etc.. HOWEVER, I am doing very well on a Cyclical Ketogenic Diet ( 65% calories from fat, 30% protein, 5% carbs) plus a short refeed every 7-10 days. (yes losing fat by eating fat). Yeah I might get slammed about how "as long as you are in a deficit, you WILL lose weight" BUT not everyone understands that when you throw in a Fuked up thyroid into the equation, the rules of the game change...

I would also recommend lifting weights. (I am not sure if that is what you meant by "exercises"). It increases metabolism and burns more calories than cardio (if done intensely), which is ESPECIALLY what you are looking for considering you have a thyroid problem.

I am finding it difficult too trying to lose fat while trying to maintain the balanced diet thing. When I first started reading the Nutrition section of the forum, I saw a lot of people mentioning the keto diet. But, when I started reading more about I was getting confused... so I think I'll go back and start reading more about it and consider that. If you could direct me to more info about it, that would be great too.

I'm glad to hear that it is working for you, esp. with hypothyroidism.

To answer your question in regard to lifting weights; Yes, that is what I meant by exercises. It's a combination of resistance training, free weights, machines, and body-weight type exercises.

I really appreciate your input. Thanks so much!

[th3pwn3r]

Yeah I might get slammed about how "as long as you are in a deficit, you WILL lose weight" BUT not everyone understands that when you throw in a Fuked up thyroid into the equation, the rules of the game change...

BTW: It doesn't matter how many times a day you are eating. Just get in the calories you are aiming for.

I would also recommend lifting weights. (I am not sure if that is what you meant by "exercises"). It increases metabolism and burns more calories than cardio (if done intensely), which is ESPECIALLY what you are looking for considering you have a thyroid problem.

I'm sorry but having hypothyroidism will not stop the effects of a caloric deficit and those effects are losses in mass, whatever combination of muscle and fat that may be.

I am finding it difficult too trying to lose fat while trying to maintain the balanced diet thing. When I first started reading the Nutrition section of the forum, I saw a lot of people mentioning the keto diet. But, when I started reading more about I was getting confused... so I think I'll go back and start reading more about it and consider that. If you could direct me to more info about it, that would be great too.

I'm glad to hear that it is working for you, esp. with hypothyroidism.

You don't need to do keto or any specific diet. Any caloric deficit will work to reduce mass, even with thyroid issues. I'm going to guess that many people on "balanced diets" calculate calories wrong when measuring things out so their "deficit" doesn't work. Their deficit doesn't work because they never created one in the first place or are doing a poor job of tracking the progress they're making.

[Nutshell20]

I am finding it difficult too trying to lose fat while trying to maintain the balanced diet thing. When I first started reading the Nutrition section of the forum, I saw a lot of people mentioning the keto diet. But, when I started reading more about I was getting confused... so I think I'll go back and start reading more about it and consider that. If you could direct me to more info about it, that would be great too.

I'm glad to hear that it is working for you, esp. with hypothyroidism.

To answer your question in regard to lifting weights; Yes, that is what I meant by exercises. It's a combination of resistance training, free weights, machines, and body-weight type exercises.

I really appreciate your input. Thanks so much!

You say "balanced diet" yet your a vegan...not really balanced. Very tough in my opinion to get the protein you need without consuming lean meats. Stock up on whey protein and consume 1 gram per pound of lean body mass. Not trying to be a dikk but why would you follow a vegan diet, I'm curious.

[th3pwn3r]

You say "balanced diet" yet your a vegan...not really balanced. Very tough in my opinion to get the protein you need without consuming lean meats. Stock up on whey protein and consume 1 gram per pound of lean body mass. Not trying to be a dikk but why would you follow a vegan diet, I'm curious.

I'm not sure whey would fit into the OPs eating "religion" lol. That's why I mentioned soy protein.

[yeahfairly]

I'm not sure whey would fit into the OPs eating "religion" lol. That's why I mentioned soy protein.

Soy isn't a complete protein. OP, I understand you don't eat meats, but are you a true vegan? I know some Veg. folks who drink milk and use butter, although they come from animals they are not meat. I highly recommend "WHEY" protein for the majority of your protein if you aren't a meat eater! The majority of veggies don't contain complete proteins and need to be consumed with other BCAAs for them to do their job!

[clairefl]

OP, I understand you don't eat meats, but are you a true vegan?

No, I'm not a "true" vegan. I'm vegan around 85% of the time (nothing from animal), and vegetarian 15% of the time (usually milk byproducts and cheese). The main reason I'm vegan/vegetarian is that 1) I'm allergic to pure milk, 2) I don't like how weighed down I feel when I consume meat, and 3) I got sick to my stomach after watching those "go vegan" promotional videos of animal cruelty. haha

Should I incorporate egg whites and cheese into my diet? I don't know the macronutrients of those of the top of my head.

[pauskocak]

can someone answer my question :S

[th3pwn3r]

Soy isn't a complete protein. OP, I understand you don't eat meats, but are you a true vegan? I know some Veg. folks who drink milk and use butter, although they come from animals they are not meat. I highly recommend "WHEY" protein for the majority of your protein if you aren't a meat eater! The majority of veggies don't contain complete proteins and need to be consumed with other BCAAs for them to do their job!

The fact that soy isn't a complete protein doesn't matter because I never said for the OP to only consume soy.

[th3pwn3r]

can someone answer my question :S

No, make your own thread. There, I answered one of your questions.