The Fat Loss TroubleshootThis is your place to troubleshoot your fat loss problems from nutrition to training. This section is led by Leigh Peele, author of "The Fat Loss Troubleshoot," the ultimate fat loss manual. If your results have slowed or stalled this is the place to come for advice for all your fat loss needs.
Okay... I've been lifting weights for a bit and it seems like I would be pretty tone/cut by now. I'm happy with my body all except for the stomach... abdominals .. if you want to call them that...
I THINK im eating pretty good but it just doesn't seem to work!
I just need someone to tell me
WHEN TO EAT
WHAT TO EAT
HOW TO EAT
Are you certain about how much you're taking in (how many calories you're consuming)?
Are you sure that you're burning what you think you're burning?
How active are you when you aren't working out?
Those are the things that can impact weight loss efforts the most.
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"Do you choose to simply know the path, or do you choose to walk it?"
Your body keeps an accurate journal regardless of what you write down...
Ive tried up-ing my cals cause i lift so much and I've tired lowering them cause I wanna lose more fat. It is just all so confusing.
I lift and I do cardio.
So I need protien but I don't wanna eat TO MUCH.
I'm only 5'2'' - so I would think that my body doesn't need as much calories. But what about protien?
I would like to say I'm pretty active when I DON'T work out.
WEIGH and MEASURE your food and TRACK, TRACK, TRACK!! You need to be in a deficit to lose fat. And, since you aren't tracking, you have no idea how many calories a day you are actually eating.
Diet is 90% plus of this equation, and until you dial in on your diet, you're apt to keep spinning your wheels.
I read somewhere yesterday that you can do 1lb of Carb per 1lb of weight. But that sounds like a bit much for me who is a small person and it trying to fix the tummy flab problem.
But there comes the problem.
I find myself eating to many cals to get all that protein in!
My husband can do it cause he is much bigger/taller then I am. But I just feel like I'm eating to much.
You need to know what you actually eating - with numbers for calories, protein, fat, carbohydrates. Do you know that?
How long have you been eating at that level?
How do you know that is what you are eating - are you logging everyday? Are you measuring or estimating? Are you weighing or using volume measures?
What does "do cardio" mean? What kind, for how long, how often, how intense?
What does "lift" mean? What kind of workouts (example), how long, how often, how intense?
Do you know what your BMR is? (lots of online calculators to find out).
What do you do the other 23 hours a day that you are not working out?
I know I'm confusing....
how would I then maintain my muscle but lose the fat?
since my calories are going down.
Or am I just gonna have to deal with it.
You can maintain muscle while losing fat by taking in adequate protein (.8-1 gram/lb is what usually recommended) and lifting weights. Naturally when you are in a calorie deficit you often cant lift as heavy as when eating more food. But providing you have a well rounded lifting program that hits the major muscles groups you should be fine. Deficits are not the time to be doing crazy long or intense workouts with either cardio or weights.
Just as an example - and I am NOT saying you should do what I do because our bodies aren't the same - I'm 5'2" and just under 140# (and going down!). I aim for an overall weekly deficit of 3500 cals (1 pound), but don't get the exact same cals daily.
I get at least 140g protein daily, sometimes more than that. I get at least 45g fat daily, sometimes more. And whatever's left is carbs (85-125 grams, on average).
To do this, and to get the scale moving, you MUST weigh every little bite. I spend 10-15 minutes every evening planning what I'll eat the next day so that I don't have to juggle to "fix" it later. I only eat out once/week at most (on a higher-calorie day). Everything else is prepared by me. And it SUCKS sometimes, especially because I can't eat what my kids eat, even what my H eats... and I'm hungry a lot. But it's working. And I will do it until I get to my goal, and then I can go towards maintenance and maybe lighten up at least a little.
I quit intense cardio - I do a little bit of intervals once/week but no HIIT. I lift 2/week instead of 3, and I do high weights with low reps to keep my overall volume low. Frankly, on a deficit, I don't have the energy to do more other than keep moving (NEAT). Some people can work out harder on less calories, some have to cut back in order to avoid appetite spikes that lead to unplanned eating.
You said you'd done both NROL and NROL4W as of January. What have you been doing since then? What about the nutrition guidelines in those books, which is no different from what you've been told here?
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