I have 20-ish lbs left to reach my goal weight -- Would like advice on my routine

[bbgrimes]

Hi all, I apologize if everyone is sick of seeing these kinds of posts. I'm a little bit clueless and have searched for answers on what would be best for me, but I'm feeling stumped. I would greatly appreciate it if someone can give me a sense on direction, because I don't which exercise approach would be most ideal for me.

4'11", 146lbs, 29 year old female | Hw: 186 - CW: 146lbs - GW: 120lbs

Some history:
Lost a total of 33lbs from March 2020 - August 2020 with Keto; I've incorporated exercise since June 2020-now.

I'm now at ~146lbs and would like to reach 120lbs, and I would also love to build some muscle. This week, I've started to do 30mins of cardio and 30mins of weight training with dumbells... But I have no idea I should switch back to 1hr of cardio to lose fat? In July I worked out 5x a week with an hour cardio, and felt hungry constantly with a 1200 calorie deficit; oftentimes, I went past it and hit 1,400-,800 calories, but still lost inches without the scale moving much.

I eat atleast 100+g protein a day, and my caloric deficit is 1200. Right now I'm experimenting with the carnivore WOE for 30 days, and will resume back to keto after.

TLDR: Switch to 1hr of cardio for fat loss 5x week, or is it okay to do 30mins cardio & 30 mins weight training 5x week for fat loss + gaining strength/building muscle?

TYIA, and again, I apologize if this question may sound stupid.

Edit: Ultimately, I want to be less fat and have a nicer body + build muscle lol

[TheUnderdog83]

Weight loss is all about burning more calories than you consume. Are you counting all your calories?

[faithbrah]

TLDR: Switch to 1hr of cardio for fat loss 5x week, or is it okay to do 30mins cardio & 30 mins weight training 5x week for fat loss + gaining strength/building muscle?

cardio doesn't burn fat, it's just a healthy tool to control your caloric deficit. i'd focus on weight training maybe 3-4 times a week and do cardio as "extra" exercise

weight loss = losing fat and muscle (this is what happens without resistance training)
fat loss = losing fat and minimal muscle (resistance training helps you retain muscle when losing weight)

[Junsuiakai]

You have amazing genetics and you already look beautiful but when you get to your goal, you are going to turn heads for sure. The most important thing is your health though, the aesthetics are just the cherry on top. Check this thread I made, might help a bit! https://forum.bodybuilding.com/showt...hp?t=178966771

[bbgrimes]

Weight loss is all about burning more calories than you consume. Are you counting all your calories?

Yes and yes!

cardio doesn't burn fat, it's just a healthy tool to control your caloric deficit. i'd focus on weight training maybe 3-4 times a week and do cardio as "extra" exercise

weight loss = losing fat and muscle (this is what happens without resistance training)
fat loss = losing fat and minimal muscle (resistance training helps you retain muscle when losing weight)

I see, I was afraid of doing too much cardio again because I found myself hungry AF when I did an hr of it 5x a week in July.

Thanks for the clarification! I'm a little bit confused though, because a friend back then pointed out that the bigger guys who gain muscle still look a little chub because they didn't lose the excess weight first? Not sure how else to explain. I wasn't sure if the best route for me was to do a weight loss of 20lbs (or however much I'm happy with), and then build muscle from there. I'll certainly do the weight training moreso than cardio, though! I appreciate your comment.

You have amazing genetics and you already look beautiful but when you get to your goal, you are going to turn heads for sure. The most important thing is your health though, the aesthetics are just the cherry on top. Check this thread I made, might help a bit!

Thank you, will check it out!

[faithbrah]

I'm a little bit confused though, because a friend back then pointed out that the bigger guys who gain muscle still look a little chub because they didn't lose the excess weight first?

nobody's going to look "a little chub" from building muscle unless they're already fat and eating in a caloric surplus

you'll be in a caloric deficit while hopefully lifting weights, and as a beginner you'll probably build some muscle while losing fat = win-win for you