Am I on the right track? Opinions needed.

Surviver88

Hello,

So I’m having some issues and i hope some of you might be able to help.

Basically I think I know in my head what i have to do and i’m looking for validation/clarification/recommendations.



Details:

So i’m Female, 28 and 130 pounds. I would like to lose about 10 pounds but ultimately I just want to have a flat stomach and I know that once i’m within a healthy range that I shouldn’t concern myself too much with the scales and rather look into a mirror and see how clothes fit. I know everyone carries weight differently and 130lbs doesnt seem bad but I dont carry it well in my opinion...

Current Situation (Eating and Training):

I’ve arsed about lifting weights 2x a week for the last 3 or so months. I’m sick of not seeing progress & i’m losing motivation.

Current routine is:
Cardio 40 minutes x3 a week
Weights x2 for 20 minutes - No structure - whatever machine is free 3 sets x 10 reps
Eating:
Whatever I feel like tbh.

My situation is that i’m afraid of spinning my wheels. I’ve been wanting to sort myself out for a few months now and I run into the same problem every skinny fat person runs into.


The Problem:

Do I cut? Do I bulk? Do I eat at maintenance?



Basically having researched I have found varying opinions.

Bulking:
I’m sure you can understand that as a woman I would find it very hard to increase my calories and see the number go up on the scales and for my clothes to get tighter.
I also don’t understand the need to up my calories and gain weight If i already have a belly hanging out over my jeans that i wanna lose

Eating at Maintenance
I’ve read up about this and apparently I would look no different if I lifted weights more (3-4x a week) and my activity levels and calories remained the same leading me to be running around in circles. Thoughts?

Cutting:
This is what I plan to do. I’m hoping that even though the past few months the weights I was lifting weren’t too heavy that I’ve built up some muscle that will show when I cut. I know this will be a longish journey as i’m not overweight but i feel 1lb a week should be ok.


The plan:

I am going to be at the gym 5/6 times a week
I will weight train 4 x a week:
Basically I’m going to do the plan out of the book “thinner, leaner, stronger” 4 times a week (Every weights session I do generally last about 30 minutes - tested it today & yesterday)

I will do light cardio 4 x a week after the weight training for 20-30 minutes to burn 200ish calories.
I will do either HIIT or a jog on treadmill for 30 minutes 1 or 2 days a week.


I wear an activity monitor so an estimated calorie burn for me varies between 2100-2200.

So by cutting I will be eating about 1500-1600 calories a day.
I’m keeping my protein at 100g as I struggle to eat more than that and currently i’m only getting about 40 - 50G
I’m not too concerned about my carbs and fats once I stay within my calorie goal (I know you may think this is bad and I’m open to opinions but I think I just need to burn more than I eat to drop fat)



(Note 1: I know some say cardio is pointless but I find that it relaxes me and If it means i can eat a few more calories to make the cut a little easier I’m happy doing it)

(Note 2: Before anyone says that 5/6 days is too much, I have plenty of time and it will help me keep focused also as note 1 says I don’t mind burning calories)



Questions:

Have you any opinion on this or recommendations on my plan?

When you are calculating your tdee would you count in weight lifting?
(I used a HRM yesterday and it said I only burned 140 calories lifting weights for 30 minutes so I didnt bother counting it)

I’m afraid I may not be lifting enough as I don’t have “DOMS” the next day - I mean I do feel it’s challenging when I’m actually lifting the weight but I’m always fine the next day, do you think I should lift heavier?

Is 30 minutes weight training enough? I can’t see how I could do much more as by the time i’m finished cardio I’ve been in the gym an hour. Anymore time for me seems like an overkill.



Thanks everyone

I know this is long but I want to be sure i’m on the right path. I’m not looking to lose a stone in a week or have rock hard abs for my wedding in 2 weeks or anything. I know this is a process but once I know i’m doing the right thing there will be no stopping me!

Mellor

I'm not sure why you are considering bulking as an option. It's complete counterproductive to your goals.

You need to cut. Problem 1 solved.

Surviver88 wrote: »

Weights x2 for 20 minutes - No structure - whatever machine is free 3 sets x 10 reps

Having no structure is a bit of a problem, but sounds like you have it covered. Or at least are attempting to start a structured program - but I've no idea what the “thinner, leaner, stronger”.

Eating:
Whatever I feel like tbh.

This is massive problem. Completely the area you need to fix. Sounds like you've glossed over it in favour of looking at your exercise plan. 1500-1600 calories, with at least 100g of protein is good plan. But you've said nothing about how you are going to put it into action.

Questions:

1. Have you any opinion on this or recommendations on my plan?
   
2. When you are calculating your tdee would you count in weight lifting?
   (I used a HRM yesterday and it said I only burned 140 calories lifting weights for 30 minutes so I didnt bother counting it)
   
3. I’m afraid I may not be lifting enough as I don’t have “DOMS” the next day - I mean I do feel it’s challenging when I’m actually lifting the weight but I’m always fine the next day, do you think I should lift heavier?
   
4. Is 30 minutes weight training enough? I can’t see how I could do much more as by the time i’m finished cardio I’ve been in the gym an hour. Anymore time for me seems like an overkill.

1. You haven't really given us your full plan. It's more like a plan to make a plan. What will your cardio be, what is your weight lifting. Write it down, be as detailed as possible. It's much easier to stick to a plan that's detailed a week in advance.
   And most importantly how will you achieve 1500-1600 cals perday?
2. You don't need to calculate your daily TDEE. 140 cals sounds about right for lifting weights. But you shouldn't add this on to your daily cals. You are working off a 2100 avg. That's all you need right now, adjust the 1600 calorid goal as needed.
3. Doms aren't a measure of anything. Be glad you don't have them. But aim to progress your weights too. If you complete all reps, up the weight nest time.
4. 30mins weights + 30mins cardio sounds. Results will be decided by how hard you push yourself, not the minutes you spend.

caviardreams

What is your height if you don't mind me asking? 130lbs at 5" would be different to 130 lbs at 5"8 for example in terms of how much body fat you need to lose. Sometimes our own perceptions can be a little biased/skewed

Would agree with the advice above about planning everything out in detail - you seem to be getting on top of it now though. Definitely the unstructured approach of doing whatever you feel like/is free in the gym is an very inefficient way to get to your goals.

Don't feel you "have" to do cardio at the end of a workout for it to "count". I used to feel like this back in the day You could always ramp up a couple of your weights days into longer sessions (I am not sure if the program you are doing would allow to combine them into 3 longer sessions a week for example, this may not work though), and drop the cardio those days? 5/6 days a week of cardio seems unnecessary for somebody who does not seem to have a lot of weight to lose (again depends on your height, if you are only 2" 7 probably ignore this :D). I would think 2/3 times a week would be loads if you are being smart about it. You could even incorporate it in to a brisk lunchtime walk etc. if time is an issue in the gym.

If you need any help with exercise form etc. I find Molly Galbraith and Jen Sinkler are really good and have a lot of good videos etc. on their websites. It's amazing how what seems a simple exercise like a one arm row, can be executed badly in so many ways without the right form.

Surviver88

Thanks guys!

Well…


I work 8-5 mon-fri in an office
So I'm very sedentary
If I cut out the cardio my tdee is like 1600/1700 minus 500 that would be 1100/1200 calories and I simply couldn't survive on that (I’ve tried before )


With regards to diet I've downloaded my fitness pal I used it before Christmas and dropped a few pounds by being rigorous with it so I believe I can do it again.
I generally have porridge for breakfast with a protein shake

Lunch is generally a chicken salad sandwich

The biggest change is that usually for dinner I'd have a big bowl of cereal and toast or noodles or some other crappy food
But for the last week I've been implementing a Dinner with some kind of lean meat (chicken breast or turkey burger) with like 50-60g of pasta or half an uncle bens rice bag or 3 small baby potatoes
Then for veg it's generally broccoli as I'm not fond of too much veg (ps I've started taking a greens supplement today)
Snacks: baby bel cheese, banana, protein bar like to have a biscuit or something under 100 cals to keep me sane after a long day


The nutrition probably still isn’t great but small improvements mean more in the long run plus i’m measuring everything so obviously the quantity of the breakfast lunch and dinner and amount of snacks per day vary depending on how my calories are during the day.




Thinner leaner stronger is a Book by Michael Matthews can't post links
But it's a 4 day split:

DAY1
CHEST & TRICEPS & CALVES
DAY2
BACK & BUTT & BICEPS & ABS
DAY3
SHOULDERS & CALVES
DAY4
LEGS & BUTT & ABS


I’m 5 foot 3 and I totally get that weight looks different depending on height and people carry weight differently but I just don’t carry 130lbs well.
Now I say I want to lose 10 pounds but maybe I’ll be happy with what I look like at 125 or maybe I’d look better dropping 12 pounds or just going by how I feel and look and my clothes. It’s just a number, a goal to look at really.

ThinkProgress

Forget cutting and bulking etc... It's bodybuilding terminology that somehow has seeped into the general fitness industry. It's not always applicable to everyone.

The first thing I would advise you to do re your nutrition, is to compile your own food list of healthy foods you enjoy. Start categorizing them into their macro food groups (ie carbs/protein/fat - some will crossover obviously), then create different meals and snacks with those foods. Be creative - use your imagination, google is your friend here!

One of the biggest problems with consistently eating healthy can be boredom, as many people are inclined to stick with a very narrow group of foods. (this is okay to do now and then, but long term it's not good)

After that, your goal should be to form the habit of eating high quality meals and snacks that are nutritionally balanced. (macro nutrient ratios) Eat slowly... taste and enjoy your food. Eat until you feel satisfied, but not stuffed. Drink lots of water before, during & after you eat.

You can track your calories if you wish, but I've seen quite a number of individuals successfully lose weight by doing the above... of course it can take time to adjust your behavior with food and learn to stop eating BEFORE you feel too full. But over time you can condition yourself to do this.

Re your workouts - Don't cut out the cardio! It's great for you. There are people who hate cardio, so naturally those people will convince themselves and others that it's pointless... but it's definitely NOT pointless!

Experiment with different types of cardio workouts. People tend to see cardio in a very narrow one-dimensional manner. Here's a video I was watching recently that can illustrate what I'm talking about.

Bear with me here... there is an important point to this. :pac:

It's about kung fu training. (ignore the title - i'm not promoting veganism) I'm not suggesting you have to take up kung fu training btw... well you could if you wish & veganism too lol... it's more just to expand your perception of the benefits of cardiovascular fitness.

This is an example of high level full body cardio fitness. (among many other things) Some people might not consider these kind of things when they think about cardio - but that's exactly what this is.

Cardio can take the form of practically anything. And as you can see, those kids are very strong, fast, lean, agile etc... And there are obviously many benefits that you can't see on the inside too.

Bottom line: Embrace cardio in it's many diverse forms, don't believe the propaganda. It can be the key to great health and fitness.

And be patient... VERY patient. Fitness and weight loss results are not linear... progress will come when you fully commit to the lifestyle and make lifelong habits. It will sometimes be frustrating, but our bodies can be stubborn... we need to be just as stubborn in response.

This is not always the answer people want... but it's my honest experience!