Looking for complete overhaul

[ahanson12318]

I am 285lbs, Female, 5'5, 32yo.

I have been exercising and eating healthier for about a month now. I have seen little to no weight loss.

When I say exercising, I am going to the gym Monday - Friday. I have been doing 30 minutes cardio (switch between walking on treadmill and stationary bike). It was light cardio, but I work up a sweat the whole time. Just last week I started some intervals on the bike, doing 30 seconds of fast pedaling with low resistance to 30 seconds of high resistance slow pedaling for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes of cardio I go and do strength training on weight machines. I alternate between arms, legs, and back/abs each day. I started with 20 reps and 4 sets. I read on here about 15 reps and 3 sets of as much weight you can manage in 15 reps, so I have switched to that.

I have been focusing on lower carbs for my diet,and eating small amounts every 2.5 hours. typical day looks like:

7:30am - premier protein drink
10a - greek yogurt
1230p - low carb frozen meal (usually in the range of 200-300 calories)
3p - 2 cracker barrel cheese sticks or 2 hard boiled eggs
530p - Dinner - this varies for what I eat just been trying to watch portions of carb heavy things like rice. I have not been eating out. I have not been doing any fried foods.
8p - either fresh fruit or fresh veggies with ranch portion cup.

I thought for sure I would see results with this routine. I am obviously just beginning, but I have been mostly consistent for the whole month. I am looking to make a lifestyle change and am ready to commit to these changes, I just need advice on what I should be doing.

I do not have a lot of experience with free weights, which is why I have been stick to machines. I figured they'd be a good start with the amount of weight I have to lose.

I am open to all opinions on exercise and diet. Let me know if any more information is needed, I will do my best to provide.

TIA

[faithbrah]

one question: how many calories are you eating per day?

[ahanson12318]

1800-2000 on average

[Tommy W.]

1800-2000 on average

You're at maintenance calories. Drop 500 per day. When someone says 1,800-2,000 its usually 2,200-2,800

[ahanson12318]

I’m confused because when I calculate my TDEE it comes to like 2983 calories a day. To do a calorie deficit diet it says I should do 2483 calories a day. I’ve been doing 2000 calories a day, because 2400 seemed way too high, and you’re saying I should cut more and only eat 1500 calories a day? While working out 60 minutes a day/5 days a week?

[CommitmentRulz]

I’m confused because when I calculate my TDEE it comes to like 2983 calories a day. To do a calorie deficit diet it says I should do 2483 calories a day. I’ve been doing 2000 calories a day, because 2400 seemed way too high, and you’re saying I should cut more and only eat 1500 calories a day? While working out 60 minutes a day/5 days a week?

You can use all the calculators you can find. The actual FACT is that whatever you are eating now is your REAL WORLD TDEE.

You need to cut calories from there if you want to lose weight. (Most people underestimate the number of calories they are eating.) Are you WEIGHING EVERYTHING that you eat or drink?

[Tommy W.]

I’m confused because when I calculate my TDEE it comes to like 2983 calories a day. To do a calorie deficit diet it says I should do 2483 calories a day. I’ve been doing 2000 calories a day, because 2400 seemed way too high, and you’re saying I should cut more and only eat 1500 calories a day? While working out 60 minutes a day/5 days a week?

You are taking in more weekly calories that you think plus exercise only accounts for around 10% of your overall calorie burn. You have a Lot of fat to lose so you need to get serious. Calculators don't mean sh*t, in fact they're one of the reasons people don't lose fat.

[xsquid99]

If you're not using a food scale to weigh everything out to the gram thats one of the biggest reasons people fail. People tend to just estimate (very poorly) what an actual portion size is.

Do you have an iphone or other smartphone that tracks steps? Working out doesn't burn as many calories as people think. Even if you're really pushing it you could spend an hour in the gym and may only burn a couple hundred calories. Its important to know that your activity level OUTSIDE the gym will play an even bigger part in this, so try to get in a least 8-10K steps per day in addition to your gym time.

[sunsean]

I’m confused because when I calculate my TDEE it comes to like 2983 calories a day. To do a calorie deficit diet it says I should do 2483 calories a day. I’ve been doing 2000 calories a day, because 2400 seemed way too high, and you’re saying I should cut more and only eat 1500 calories a day? While working out 60 minutes a day/5 days a week?

You’d be surprised how little you have to eat to see results. I’m a relatively fit 5’9” male and when I cut, I usually eat around 1800-2k calories. Don’t let your current weight throw you, as a 5’5” female with little muscle you don’t need a ton of calories.

As others said - if your weight has been steady for a month, you are eating roughly your maintenance calories. Start logging all food and invest in a food scale from Amazon, you can get one for $20 or less. Don’t eyeball portions or guesstimate calories.