Tips for fat loss and gym confidence - Female

[pocahuntas]

Hi everyone im new here and was hoping I could get some feedback on my fat loss journey. I am a 22 year old female, 5'8 and weigh 182pds. I started my journey June 1st starting at 189 pds, so 7 pounds down! Anyways I wanted to really maximize my progress and a friend suggested counting macros, which I have been doing daily for the past two weeks. The first week I dropped a pound and this past week I actually gained a pound. That was a little disappointing but I know to consider water weight and muscle. Anyways I am following the macro recommendations from Katy Hearn's website which has me at 1949 calories a day, 153 g protein, 191 carb, 63 fat. I have been hitting this and just want to know if this sounds about accurate. I really want to keep seeing the weight loss progress but am a little confused because so many different macro calculators give me different information. Also I realized at the beginning of my journey i was doing too much cardio (running about 45 min-1 hour per day) and have since cut it down to 20 minutes of high intensity cardio (incline treadmill at 4.0, stairmaster at 8.0 speed, etc) I spend about 45 minutes on the machines do as heavy as i can go. I know that people have been saying here that machines arent as effective as free weights but I haven't worked up the courage to go to that area of the gym yet. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated thank you!

Also I have been taking progress pictures and although the weight change isnt much, I randomly woke up last monday and my stomach felt extremely squishy. In the pictures my stomach has gone down and from reading online apparently the bloating im experiencing is a part of the fat loss from water weight but its been a little discouraging because my stomach is so soft although i know its means im losing fat.


Also a little about my diet, I've been eating REALLY clean. Ive also incorporated intermittent fasting which really works with my schedule, my meals consist of any of the following items: 5-6 egg whites, lean turkey bacon, avocados, pepita seeds, tofu, black beans, grilled salmon, quinoa, brown rice, steamed broccoli, bell peppers, vegan cheese, kombucha, whey protein, almond milk, berries, oatmeal, almond butter

[BS57]

If you're not losing after 2-3 weeks, cut a couple hundred more cals. Monitor another 2-3 weeks and go from there. Online calculators are merely a starting point, not to be meant as actual/accurate numbers.

[mavd]

Hire a trainer for 2-3 sessions to guide you through the major lifts on the free weights (squats, straight leg and conventional deadlifts, bench and overhead press, rows) if you're afraid to go it alone.

[Tommy W.]

If you're taking in north of 1,900 calories that is most likely too much. Couple that number with underestimating the calories in some foods and you won't lose. if you're maintaining you need to drop quite a few calories. Go with around 1,600 a day and review your progress in 3 weeks. People tiptoe around a deficit that is way too small or even non existent and then question why they can't lose.

[4percentfat]

I would agree that you are probably worried too much about the exact macro-nutrient breakdown at this stage. What is more important is to make sure your caloric deficit is sufficient - at 1900 I would say it's probably a tad too high, given the gains (well, losses) you are making at your current weight. I would try going down to around 1500 (as someone else said), but you need to measure your progress daily. If after some time, your weight loss is stalling at that deficit, you are probably suffering from your metabolism slowing too much, so you may need to do a short period of reverse dieting - i.e. boost your calories (cleanly) to give your metabolism a bit of a jump start, and continue again. High intensity training is definitely the right move from long, slow cardio. I would recommend you do lift some weights as muscles help you to burn more calories. But sure, you can add this when you have some more confidence.

Bottom line is, you're giving this a go, and the most important thing is not to give up. Don't let yourself get discouraged, and don't ever fall into the trap of rewarding yourself with bad foods for having exercised, or lost some weight. the only time you should have more is when you need to reverse diet. Consistency is key. One bad meal can undo an entire week of hard work.

Good luck

[Tommy W.]

, you are probably suffering from your metabolism slowing too much, so you may need to do a short period of reverse dieting - i.e. boost your calories (cleanly) to give your metabolism a bit of a jump start,

Eating more will not assist fat loss. Metabolism isn't really affected or damaged. Lower calories can reduce NEAT burn and that's about it. Not losing after a few weeks is too many weekly calories.

Reversing can be beneficial for someone with very low body fat however OP is not in this category.

[pocahuntas]

I would agree that you are probably worried too much about the exact macro-nutrient breakdown at this stage. What is more important is to make sure your caloric deficit is sufficient - at 1900 I would say it's probably a tad too high, given the gains (well, losses) you are making at your current weight. I would try going down to around 1500 (as someone else said), but you need to measure your progress daily. If after some time, your weight loss is stalling at that deficit, you are probably suffering from your metabolism slowing too much, so you may need to do a short period of reverse dieting - i.e. boost your calories (cleanly) to give your metabolism a bit of a jump start, and continue again. High intensity training is definitely the right move from long, slow cardio. I would recommend you do lift some weights as muscles help you to burn more calories. But sure, you can add this when you have some more confidence.

Bottom line is, you're giving this a go, and the most important thing is not to give up. Don't let yourself get discouraged, and don't ever fall into the trap of rewarding yourself with bad foods for having exercised, or lost some weight. the only time you should have more is when you need to reverse diet. Consistency is key. One bad meal can undo an entire week of hard work.

Good luck

Thanks for the feedback and i forgot to mention i am using my fitness pal to track calories and macros but i think i will cut it down to less calories and see how that goes for a week thanks !

[Tommy W.]

Thanks for the feedback and i forgot to mention i am using my fitness pal to track calories and macros but i think i will cut it down to less calories and see how that goes for a week thanks !

It takes more than a week to access progress when lowering calories. MFP can be off also.

[BS57]

i think i will cut it down to less calories and see how that goes for a week thanks !

You may want to go back and re-read the other posts. It would appear you've failed to do so as "a week" isn't sufficient time prior to making adjustments.

ETA: Damn 2 finger typing Tommy.........lol

[crupiea]

Look at it like it is a 2 part process.

1- losing weight

2- working out.

Its really two different things and you can do with one without the other.

If you really want to lose weight then address than first. By that I mean, do not workouts at all, just focus on your diet. Once you have that right and are losing weight which should just be a week or two,. Then add in workouts and slightly adjust your diet if you feel you need to to address the nutritional issues of it.

Ding this seems counterproductive but in reality it takes out a huge variable that could be hindering your actual progress. You can always add that variable back in once you get a handle on the diet.

[4percentfat]

Thanks for the feedback and i forgot to mention i am using my fitness pal to track calories and macros but i think i will cut it down to less calories and see how that goes for a week thanks !

as others have said, a week isn't really long enough to be making changes based on that. definitely measure progress at least weekly (I would measure daily, but don't flip out if you go up on one day) - but make sure you measure at the same time / conditions (first thing in the morning after using the bathroom usually keeps things consistent). But don't be switching things every week because there are a lot of variables at play. But if after 2 weeks if you aren't seeing things improve enough, you might want to tweak. for your goals, if you aren't coming down over a 2 week window, something ain't right.

And please, don't ever lie to yourself about what you are putting in your mouth. "I've been really good this week, so this brownie won't hurt" - is how 90% of people failed to reach their weight loss goals (I made up the 90%, but you get my drift - you have to record that brownie if you do eat it, and once you do record it, you will see just how expensive a brownie actually is for your calorie budget)

Stay strong

[Tommy W.]

If you really want to lose weight then address than first. By that I mean, do not workouts at all, just focus on your diet. Once you have that right and are losing weight which should just be a week or two,. Then add in workouts and slightly adjust your diet if you feel you need to to address the nutritional issues of it.

.

I'm not exactly sure why you always post this. Training is integral with TDEE and TDEE will set the bar for calories to be consumed for fatloss or gain. Training calories are generally a small portion of calories burned. WAAAAYY below BMR and NEAT.

[missladyj]

Hi everyone im new here and was hoping I could get some feedback on my fat loss journey. I am a 22 year old female, 5'8 and weigh 182pds. I started my journey June 1st starting at 189 pds, so 7 pounds down! Anyways I wanted to really maximize my progress and a friend suggested counting macros, which I have been doing daily for the past two weeks. The first week I dropped a pound and this past week I actually gained a pound. That was a little disappointing but I know to consider water weight and muscle. Anyways I am following the macro recommendations from Katy Hearn's website which has me at 1949 calories a day, 153 g protein, 191 carb, 63 fat.

Others have said 1900 calories is too high but given your height and weight, you would likely have a nice slow loss with those calories for a while. I'm a little smaller than you and I can lose weight on 2000 calories and I'm relatively sedentary. Most people underestimate how much women can lose weight on, especially with you being 5'8 (I'm 5'6).

The sweet spot for weight loss is a 20% deficit. Don't go by a universal 500 calories or whatever number. It's best to go relative to your own maintenance calories. 20% less is what is found to allow you to lose fat without losing strength in the gym, or even gaining strength.

Since you are new to lifting it is very likely you will gain muscle while losing fat. This is going to do funny things with the scale so you really can't rely on it to be anything but a small picture of what is going on. If you aren't on birth control and have a normal menstrual cycle, you also have to deal with weekly water fluctuations from the natural eb and flow of female hormones. It's fairer to track your weight at the same point in your cycle each month than to go by week to week. Contrary to popular belief, we don't only bloat just before our periods.

For your progress rely on pictures, tape measurements, and how your clothes fit. An example of why the scale can be a poor assessment in an of itself: If you lose 4lbs of fat and gain 5lbs of muscle, the scale shows you have gained 1lbs. If you focus on the 1lbs gain it seems progress is going backward, yet 4 lbs loss and 5lbs muscle gain is going to result in a better looking physique. Is the goal to weigh less or to look better?

Your macros are fine, honestly. I would stick with them. If you go 2-3 weeks at any point without any change in measurements, photos, clothes fitting, you can reduce by 200 calories and assess your progress over the next 2-3 weeks. It is normal to have to slightly lower calories as you go because a smaller you = less calories needed for maintenance.

Note - a *true stall* is at least 3 weeks of no change whatsoever. It is normal to go a couple weeks without changes and suddenly have a "whoosh" in fat loss. So, don't panic if you have a couple weeks where you seem stuck.

As for using machines, that's fine! Start where you are comfortable, at least you are getting in there. The more you go the more you will work yourself up to experimenting with being over in the free weight section. For me, I had to do a lot of self-talk. For instance, it isn't fair to assume everyone is looking at us and judging. We're not mind readers or fortune tellers. Most people are too absorbed in their own workouts to pay attention to us. Most people aren't even doing exercises correctly, themselves. lol!

One of the most effective ways I blocked out the anxiety was wearing a hat (helps block your vision and narrows the field of view), headphones turned up with good music, and tunnel-visioned on the equipment I was using. The first step is the hardest, but you get more comfortable over time. It's definitely worth getting past the fear, and working past it is just going to make you a stronger person, overall.

/enddiary

Hope that helps!