Hello everyone. I have been lurking for a few days now, maybe longer and finally got the courage to post. I see how dedicated everyone here is and I hope to get some advice...

I am 29 and I quit smoking In Feb. :claplow: and I joined the gym the same week I quit, and have been going at least 4 times a week since. I am doing something wrong, b/c I'm not seeing the changes I expected to see. Actually, I have gained weight, my measurements are the same and my clothes are actually tighter. BF started at 25% on the electronic ones, a month into it was 22% on the electronic ones, but Thursday it was back at 25%!!

For the first month I was on the machines, b/c I didn’t know any better, and I though it was unusual that I was NEVER sore. I mean, up until 3 months ago my idea of exercise was turning the key in the ignition to drive to the store for some smokes. So I decided to get the advice of a personal trainer there, who immediately switched me to free weights.

Well, it’s been since Feb., and I still use the same trainer, except I go to the group training for an hour and a half (there are about 4 of us) now instead of one on one, on Monday and Thursday and cardio for an hour on Tues., Wed., Fri., and Sat. Sometimes I do a class instead on my cardio days to keep it interesting. After lurking around I have realized the problem must be mostly my diet. I have been doing the mini meals, staying away from fast food (have had none since Feb.) and drinking lots of water....but I had no idea about the 40/40/20 thing, and admittedly, my mini meals may not have been mini enough. It’s really hard to teach yourself what a real portion is...

Here is what I need help with....

Do I work out enough for the 40/40/20 split?

What should my caloric intake be? (ive been trying 1400)

I am 5'4 and 140. My BF is 25% with the electronic one that you hold. My measurements are as follows (these are by memory from Thursday since I forgot to write them down to take home):
Chest 36
Arms 11
Waist 28
Hips 36.5
Thigh 22 (she has me doing allot of weighted squats and lunges)
Calves 14


I'm sorry if I rambled too much and I know that my work out schedule does not compare to some of the things I have read here, but everyday that I am at the gym I am giving it 110%.

So I don't necessarily have answers to your questions. But I wanted to say welcome to the forum.

Weight training 2 times a week and cardio 4 times a week sounds like enough exercise to me. I would add another day of weight lifting and do one less day of cardio.

For the total number of calories, have you used any of the formulas available? There is one in the sticky at the top of the fat loss forum. They involve plugging in lots of numbers and stats, so its best to do it yourself, to make sure of no mistakes.

In terms of what types of food and what not, you can check out the link in my sig on fat loss. I tried to collect all advice I have on the subject there.

Good luck!

Oh, and happy mothers day.

So I don't necessarily have answers to your questions. But I wanted to say welcome to the forum.

Weight training 2 times a week and cardio 4 times a week sounds like enough exercise to me. I would add another day of weight lifting and do one less day of cardio.

For the total number of calories, have you used any of the formulas available? There is one in the sticky at the top of the fat loss forum. They involve plugging in lots of numbers and stats, so its best to do it yourself, to make sure of no mistakes.

In terms of what types of food and what not, you can check out the link in my sig on fat loss. I tried to collect all advice I have on the subject there.

Good luck!

Oh, and happy mothers day.


Thanks for the reply and the warm welcome!!! I have not tried any of the calculators....i guess i should do that :o . And i will check out your sticky.

Thanks for the mothers day wish :)

Do not depend on electric BF% and weighing scales to tell you if you're losing weight. For example, this week I was 77kg on Monday, 78kg on Tuesday etc and this morning I was 76kg. Weight fluctuates wildly. Electric pulse BF% machines are unreliable. If you really wanna know you are losing weight, use calipers. At 140lbs, i'd recommend 1g of protein per lb of bodyweight. So, that's 140g of protein. Then, at least 20% of your total calorie intake must be fats. If you're aiming for 1400 calories,280kcal or 31g of fat are fine. Try and fluctuate your calorie intake everyday. Vary between 1400-1600 for example.

And the most important lesson, patience. It really takes time.

Do not depend on electric BF% and weighing scales to tell you if you're losing weight. For example, this week I was 77kg on Monday, 78kg on Tuesday etc and this morning I was 76kg. Weight fluctuates wildly. Electric pulse BF% machines are unreliable. If you really wanna know you are losing weight, use calipers. At 140lbs, i'd recommend 1g of protein per lb of bodyweight. So, that's 140g of protein. Then, at least 20% of your total calorie intake must be fats. If you're aiming for 1400 calories,280kcal or 31g of fat are fine. Try and fluctuate your calorie intake everyday. Vary between 1400-1600 for example.

And the most important lesson, patience. It really takes time.


Thank you so much for your reply. There is so much information out there that I started to feel a little overwhelmed. I am really excited about the changes i am making. I was the girl who just succumbed to being lazy and never ever imagined myself an active person. Now if I’m on the couch too long I feel like a snail. I very guilty snail. It’s AWESOME!!! I took my 5 year old daughter and her friend out biking on a trail here in Tampa and it was so awesome to be out in the world instead of in front of the TV...

Any advice on my working out? I have been reading up on HIIT. I was noticing allot of the stats for that...10.0mph for a minute. Wow! I tried my own version and I start to feel like i am going to fly off at 6 mp. :spaz: Is it more about perceived effort?? I feel like such a wuss compared to what I see around here. :o

Patience is not a strong point for me....just ask my daughter :o :p

Heather

Welcome to the forum. I am sure you will get lots of answers to your post but here is my 2 cents. 10x your weight is a good start on a cutting diet, so 1400 calories probably pretty good but you might try going above that and then using cardio to burn more calories. For instance eat 1700 calories and then 300 calories burned on cardio would give you a net 1400 calories per day. You may not be eating enough (as weird as that sounds for weight loss). I know this is the way I did it and had good results, but I am not sure if this holds water for women as well.

As far as 40/40/20, make sure the foods you are getting are the right types of foods and get as close to 40/40/20 as you can. For instance I am sure you could get a 40/40/20 ratio from a McDonalds menu somehow, but that wouldn'e be too good for you. Maybe you can let us know what you are eating right now, give us a meal plan.

Information is key, you are doing the right thing you just need to inform yourself like you are doing. Good job!

Welcome to the forum. I am sure you will get lots of answers to your post but here is my 2 cents. 10x your weight is a good start on a cutting diet, so 1400 calories probably pretty good but you might try going above that and then using cardio to burn more calories. For instance eat 1700 calories and then 300 calories burned on cardio would give you a net 1400 calories per day. You may not be eating enough (as weird as that sounds for weight loss). I know this is the way I did it and had good results, but I am not sure if this holds water for women as well.

As far as 40/40/20, make sure the foods you are getting are the right types of foods and get as close to 40/40/20 as you can. For instance I am sure you could get a 40/40/20 ratio from a McDonalds menu somehow, but that wouldn'e be too good for you. Maybe you can let us know what you are eating right now, give us a meal plan.

Information is key, you are doing the right thing you just need to inform yourself like you are doing. Good job!


THaks for the encouragement. Its very nice to feel like i can talk to someone without getting the "omg, you are so obsessed" look :p

Here is what i had yesterday....it was ALMOST typical....

Breakfast 8:30 am
1c egg beater garden veggie
2 pieces Pepperidge farm light style 7 grain bread
2 teaspoons All fruit

Snack 11:45 am
V8 100% Veggie Juice

I then took my daughter and her friend on a 3 hour bike ride on the trail, I was jogging/walking. I was mostly walking at a good pace. Since they are still on training wheels it would have been pointless to bring my bike. Soooooo, here is the disappointment of the day…

3pm :o
1 McDonalds hamburger one chicken nugget and a diet coke (it was my first taste of fast food since Feb.)

6pm
1 boneless skinless chicken breast (the kind you buy in the bag…so I’m not sure how big. Maybe 6 oz?)
½ c Green giant frozen roasted garlic and herb potatoes

9:30 pm (this is the time that gets me in trouble, its when I used to sit in front of the computer and smoke….now I eat instead…)

1 c Low fat Cottage Cheese
6 oz tuna with Walden Farms No calorie, No fat, No Carb (makes you wonder) creamy bacon dressing
5 Triscuts
½ cup Healthy Choice Carmel Fudge Ice cream

1361 cal
43/39/18

FYI, it seems like I am always checking the clock for my next scheduled meal….id like to feel fuller between meals…

This is about normal for the exception of the McDonalds. During the week I usually have a yogurt or some cottage cheese for breakfast, and usually for lunch I have left overs from the night before (some chicken and veggies) or a turkey or chicken breast sandwich with some spicy mustard , NO cheese, and a yogurt. Oh, and of course, water all day long with a few diet sodas thrown in the mix.


Ok guys, Let me have it!

Heather :D

Hey, you're doing great! Glad you decided to de-lurk.

Just a few suggestions... don't compare your level of effort to what others are doing here. A lot of people getting into the swing of a diet see the diets that are tossed around here and think that they need to follow that to get results. Just giving up smoking like you've done, drinking lots of water and no regular sodas like you're doing, those are all great things that take A LOT of effort at first. So don't be discouraged if you see some diets or workout routines here that make you feel like you're not doing enough. Once you try to do more than your can do on a regular basis, you're on a path to failure. Honestly, your the rare new poster that's actually started crunching the numbers and tracking what they're eating, so you're ahead of the game, IMO.

You mentioned that you want to feel fuller after your meals. The easiest way to do this is to find the foods that have the highest volume to calorie ratio. Green veggies are excellent for this... you can have a big bowl of mixed greens (green beans, spinach, broccoli, etc) for very, very few calories. The end result is that you feel full when you actually haven't consumed so many calories. They make an excellent addition to many meals, even if you eat just a half cup, they will affect how satisfied your hunger is after you're finished eating.

Finally, to me, the most important thing to do is to make a list of short term goals that are attainable in within a reasonable amount of time. These are things like "I'm not going to have soda or sweets for a week" or "I'm going to lose five pounds". It's important to have long term goals, too, but the short term ones will make you feel like you are accomplishing something on a regular basis.

Good luck! I think you're off to a great start, can't wait to see your future progress! :tucool:

Hey, you're doing great! Glad you decided to de-lurk.

Just a few suggestions... don't compare your level of effort to what others are doing here. A lot of people getting into the swing of a diet see the diets that are tossed around here and think that they need to follow that to get results. Just giving up smoking like you've done, drinking lots of water and no regular sodas like you're doing, those are all great things that take A LOT of effort at first. So don't be discouraged if you see some diets or workout routines here that make you feel like you're not doing enough. Once you try to do more than your can do on a regular basis, you're on a path to failure. Honestly, your the rare new poster that's actually started crunching the numbers and tracking what they're eating, so you're ahead of the game, IMO.

You mentioned that you want to feel fuller after your meals. The easiest way to do this is to find the foods that have the highest volume to calorie ratio. Green veggies are excellent for this... you can have a big bowl of mixed greens (green beans, spinach, broccoli, etc) for very, very few calories. The end result is that you feel full when you actually haven't consumed so many calories. They make an excellent addition to many meals, even if you eat just a half cup, they will affect how satisfied your hunger is after you're finished eating.

Finally, to me, the most important thing to do is to make a list of short term goals that are attainable in within a reasonable amount of time. These are things like "I'm not going to have soda or sweets for a week" or "I'm going to lose five pounds". It's important to have long term goals, too, but the short term ones will make you feel like you are accomplishing something on a regular basis.

Good luck! I think you're off to a great start, can't wait to see your future progress! :tucool:


Thanks for all your input slush. It’s hard not to compare…I tend to have a slight competitive bone…..ok, maybe a bit more then slight. It’s the good clean fun kind though….

I'm trying not to concern myself with the numbers on the scale (though it is hard) so i am still unsure what a realistic goal is, long or short, for my body fat, but my long term goal is to keep up the mini meals and try not to eat too much late at night. :eat: That is the toughest for me.

My conscience and Nazi of a personal trainer doesn’t let me get away with much at the gym. I dont think i will ever get "is that tummy tight" out of my head. :db:

I want to post some before pictures....but I am nervous....I want to be honestly critiqued but of course I’m fearful of what ill hear….I know that I need to at least take them for my own personal knowledge so I can compare....

Heather

I didn't want to post before pictures either. Monthly updates of my progress have now become the most motivating tool I have. A picture can say a thousand words so to speak.

...and try not to eat too much late at night. :eat: That is the toughest for me.

I want to post some before pictures....but I am nervous....I want to be honestly critiqued but of course I’m fearful of what ill hear….I know that I need to at least take them for my own personal knowledge so I can compare....I agree, the last night part is the toughest time for me, too.

BTW, no need to post before pictures. What you want to do is take them now, so that in ??? months when you feel like you've made awesome progress, you can post the new pictures and the old ones for comparison so that people can immediately see how much you've really accomplished.