hi. i'm new :)

[kerriheffel]

not sure really where to start. i'm 23 years old, 5'8, 175 pounds, and the last time i checked by BF% it was mid to high 20's.

i'm looking to burn fat, and get super lean. i weighed appox. 187 the end of dec.

i try work out 3-5 days a week...40 minutes of lifting/circuit training (alternating body parts each day), and 40 minutes of cardio.

i would LOVE for someone to critique my daily diet...i try to keep my calorie intake between 1000-1300. (i've been told that my calorie intake is too low....) i use fitday.com to keep track.

breakfast (0800) myo-plex light, made with soy milk...(usually split this w/ my mum so i'm only getting half.)

snack (1100) apple

lunch (1400) salad w/ lean protein ( 3oz. tuna, turkey, or chicken), and light dressing.

dinner (1800) baked chicken breast (4 oz.), brown rice (.5 cup), and steamed veggies (1 cup)

sometimes i'll have a snack after dinner, but i feel guilty eating so close to bedtime.

Any thoughts or comments would be so appreciated. Thanks so much xx

 

[Mass Insanity]

I your looking to burn fat.. less lifting and more cardio.. Make sure if your lifting to use light wieghts with high reps or your muscle will grow making you look heavier. Increase your cardio. Infact if you really wanted to burn some major pounds do 45min to an hr of cardio in the morning before you eat. You will burn fat faster by doing so. And then 45 min of cardio at night, cutting out the wieghts.

 

[OneBreath]

not sure really where to start. i'm 23 years old, 5'8, 175 pounds, and the last time i checked by BF% it was mid to high 20's.

i'm looking to burn fat, and get super lean. i weighed appox. 187 the end of dec.

i try work out 3-5 days a week...40 minutes of lifting/circuit training (alternating body parts each day), and 40 minutes of cardio.

i would LOVE for someone to critique my daily diet...i try to keep my calorie intake between 1000-1300. (i've been told that my calorie intake is too low....) i use fitday.com to keep track.

breakfast (0800) myo-plex light, made with soy milk...(usually split this w/ my mum so i'm only getting half.)

snack (1100) apple

lunch (1400) salad w/ lean protein ( 3oz. tuna, turkey, or chicken), and light dressing.

dinner (1800) baked chicken breast (4 oz.), brown rice (.5 cup), and steamed veggies (1 cup)

sometimes i'll have a snack after dinner, but i feel guilty eating so close to bedtime.

Any thoughts or comments would be so appreciated. Thanks so much xx

Yeah those calories are a little low lol. I'm not an expert on diets for females but just wanted to welcome you to EF!

You have come to the right place. There are many knowledgeable females here to help you. For diet specifics, look for posts by thandie.

I just gifted you a 7 day platinum membership so you can use the search function on this board.

Good luck!

 

[kerriheffel]

ok...i guess i'm confused by your post big sye. i carry a lot of muscle naturally, and i dont want to lose that muscle by not lifting. and i thought lifting burned a good amount of calories, and that more muscle mass you carry, the faster your metabolism, and more calories burned all around.

please explain if you can...THANK YOU

 

[needtogetaas]

not sure really where to start. i'm 23 years old, 5'8, 175 pounds, and the last time i checked by BF% it was mid to high 20's.

i'm looking to burn fat, and get super lean. i weighed appox. 187 the end of dec.

i try work out 3-5 days a week...40 minutes of lifting/circuit training (alternating body parts each day), and 40 minutes of cardio.

i would LOVE for someone to critique my daily diet...i try to keep my calorie intake between 1000-1300. (i've been told that my calorie intake is too low....) i use fitday.com to keep track.

breakfast (0800) myo-plex light, made with soy milk...(usually split this w/ my mum so i'm only getting half.)

snack (1100) apple

lunch (1400) salad w/ lean protein ( 3oz. tuna, turkey, or chicken), and light dressing.

dinner (1800) baked chicken breast (4 oz.), brown rice (.5 cup), and steamed veggies (1 cup)

sometimes i'll have a snack after dinner, but i feel guilty eating so close to bedtime.

Any thoughts or comments would be so appreciated. Thanks so much xx

Yes your cals are to low.. You do eat pretty healthy but you do need to eat more. I would take in more protein.

Also I would like to know exactly what you're work outs look like.

40 minutes of lifting/circuit training and
40 minutes of cardio

that is 120mins of working out.. If this is all high volume high set training combine that with the low cals and low amount of protein you are really killing yourself. You will end up loosing a lot of muscle and that is not good.

We really need to know a lot more about your training and yourself to help.

 

[Mass Insanity]

ok...i guess i'm confused by your post big sye. i carry a lot of muscle naturally, and i dont want to lose that muscle by not lifting. and i thought lifting burned a good amount of calories, and that more muscle mass you carry, the faster your metabolism, and more calories burned all around.

please explain if you can...THANK YOU

Sorry.. I mis-read your post wrong. Didn't know that you wanted to retian your muscle and grow.. Feeling a little retarded..hah hah. My explanation is.. I gave you bad advice for what you wanna do.. sorry about that.. I'll smack myself..

 

[slat1]

i thought lifting burned a good amount of calories, and that more muscle mass you carry, the faster your metabolism, and more calories burned all around.

You are correct. Lifting will help you lean out.

 

[kerriheffel]

ok well to elaborate more on my work out:

my cardio usually is 40 minutes on the EFX machine, with a good amount of tension OR walking uphill @ like 4.0 w/ sprints @ 7.0 every so often on the treadmill.

approx. weight (lbs.) i'm lifting for each part:

bicep curls machine: 45-50

seated tricep machine: 35

seated shoulder press: 45-50

chest press: 75-80

seated leg press: 220

leg extensions: 60

hamstring curls: 60

i do 3 sets of 12...after the 3 set i'm def. feeling it.

those are just the basics. i do a lot more machines and use free weights. i do abs everyday i'm at the gym.

i hope this gives you guys a better idea of what i'm doing. THANKS!

 

[ironwings]

Welcome girl! Read through a few of your posts - looking good. As everyone has said your cals are too low. How in the world do you have energy to last the day? LOL

Anyway, onebreath is right. Thandie has great diet advice and from what you posted you are getting there. A few things I know she will advise you on is eating more often, more food, and no carbs (or very little) for dinner and on. Right off your breakfast needs to be more substantial like egg whites and oatmeal or another clean carb source. For lunch you could simply add a little more protein and a carb like sweet potatoes. More chicken at dinner or any protein and no rice The shakes should be used as supplemental or pre-post workout. Try to get away from using those as a meal. You'll want to eat 4 or 5 of these meals a day.

Try to search for localgirls journal. Thandie guided her through some great advice as she was starting out. I'm sure she'll jump on your thread and help out too!


How many days are you working out? Are you doing full body routines? Your weight actually looks pretty good. And yes, you MUST lift. Get a little cardio in after lifting and heavier doses on days you don't lift.

Your on a good track. Glad to see you posting!

 

[RADAR]

I Just stopped By To welcome you to Elite, we have alot of great members,plus a great mentor/mod team to assist you.


Again Welcome.
RADAR

 

[superqt4u2nv]

Welcome to elite Just one comment I haven`t seen covered yet do not work abs every day like any other muscle they need time to rest and recover.

 

[needtogetaas]

Welcome to elite Just one comment I haven`t seen covered yet do not work abs every day like any other muscle they need time to rest and recover.

First of all, it's important to know that the abdominals are just like any other muscle in your body. So when you strength train them to fatigue, they need a break. But let's be clear here. Fatigue is the key word. When you strength train to fatigue, that means you do enough reps that you cannot possibly do another one in good form. It should also be noted that the ab muscles (for most people ) are pretty hard to fatigue..

I remember I when I was in the army I got to a point where i could do sit ups for hours and My abs would never get fatigued.

Many many people with amazing abs work there abs every day. They just do not work them to fatigue. Its all in how you work them.

 

[ironwings]

First of all, it's important to know that the abdominals are just like any other muscle in your body. So when you strength train them to fatigue, they need a break. But let's be clear here. Fatigue is the key word. When you strength train to fatigue, that means you do enough reps that you cannot possibly do another one in good form. It should also be noted that the ab muscles (for most people ) are pretty hard to fatigue..

I remember I when I was in the army I got to a point where i could do sit ups for hours and My abs would never get fatigued.

Many many people with amazing abs work there abs every day. They just do not work them to fatigue. Its all in how you work them.

+1 Absolutely.

 

[musclemom]

For calories you should be hitting 10 to 12x your body weight to lose fat. At the calories you're eating, you're burning up your muscle faster than you can build it and holding onto your fat, your body thinks your in a famine situation.

At your height/age and current weight you should NEVER eat less than your BMR (basal metabolic rate) of 1630. With the activity your getting, to lose weight you can comfortably eat your BMR plus 500 calories.

At your height you don't need to lose much weight. If you want to lean out, you'll only lean out by feeding your body and exercising, never through starving yourself.

 

[ironwings]

For calories you should be hitting 10 to 12x your body weight to lose fat. At the calories you're eating, you're burning up your muscle faster than you can build it and holding onto your fat, your body thinks your in a famine situation.

At your height/age and current weight you should NEVER eat less than your BMR (basal metabolic rate) of 1630. With the activity your getting, to lose weight you can comfortably eat your BMR plus 500 calories.

At your height you don't need to lose much weight. If you want to lean out, you'll only lean out by feeding your body and exercising, never through starving yourself.

+1 - here is a good article to help understand the impact:

Figure Athlete - Down With Dumb Dieting!

 

[kerriheffel]

thank you everyone for the tips.

since i first posted, i've increased my calories during the day. but i'm stuck in the habit of the protein shake in the morning, and i hate eggs....weird i know. i've always had a hard time getting enough protein first thing in the morning, since i don't eat eggs. i guess i just felt like a protein shake was a good substitution...any other suggestions?

how does my workout sound? like you guys mentioned it takes A LOT for my abs to get fatigued. I just try to switch up what exercises i do...

should i be strength training as much as i am? like today i did an hour of cardio, with no strength training....


YOU GUYS ARE SO HELPFUL...THANK YOU SO MUCH!! when i get confident enough, i'll post a pic

 

[nefertiti]

ok...i guess i'm confused by your post big sye. i carry a lot of muscle naturally, and i dont want to lose that muscle by not lifting. and i thought lifting burned a good amount of calories, and that more muscle mass you carry, the faster your metabolism, and more calories burned all around.

please explain if you can...THANK YOU

It does. I absolutely disagree with his post. At the height of my training I was small and very lean, but also very strong. I got there by moving heavy weights and doing almost no cardio other than HIIT three times a week. I am by no means an expert, but I developed my training from the advice of women who I WOULD consider brilliant about training.

Check out tatyana's stickied thread at the top regarding weight training information. it's a long read, but it is full of everything you would need including debunking myths about "adding bulk."

here's one good passage:

2. If you want to be lean, sexy, and hard, you should train HEAVY.

Yeah, I know what they told you, lighten the load and go for the burn... hogwash. To comprehend why this is indeed nonsense, we have to understand a few things about muscle tone in general. There are two types of muscle tone; myogenic and neurogenic. Don’t get thrown off by the sciency words; the first simply refers to your muscle tone at rest. It is affected by the density of your muscles; the greater the density of your muscles, the harder and firmer you will appear. Heavy training increases your myogenic tone through the hypertrophy (growth) of the contractile proteins myosin and actin (myosin and actin are by far the most dense components of skeletal muscle).

Training in higher rep ranges promotes more sarcoplasmic (fluid) hypertrophy, which in turn yields a "softer" pumped look. If you want to be hard, firm, tight, etc, the latter is certainly not the way to go. The second aspect of a muscles' tone is neurogenic tone, or the tone that is expressed when movements or contractions occur. Again, lower rep training comes out on top as training with heavy loads will increase the sensitivity of alpha and gamma motor neurons, thus increasing neurogenic tone when conducting even the simplest of movements (i.e. walking, extending your arm to point, etc).

Finally, as alluded to in point number one, training with heavy loads and low volume (sets x reps) is the best way to get hard and strong, but not big. Muscular hypertrophy is generally a response to a high volume work output; therefore, by keeping the sets and reps low with heavy training, you wont have to fear getting overly big (this really isn't even an issue due to the physiological reasons mentioned earlier).

Why then is it commonly recommended that women train with lighter loads? Well, there are a couple reasons. First, there is the typical stereotype that women are weak, fragile creatures who can't handle anything more than pushups on their knees and bicep curls with pink dumbbells. Try telling that to 123 lb Mary Jeffrey who bench presses a world record 275 lbs and you'll likely get smacked upside the head with a 45 lb plate. Give me a break. Secondly, the belief that high-rep training increases muscle tone is 100% myth.

Strength training guru and Muscle Media contributor Pavel Tsatsouline explains this quite nicely, "Your muscle fibers are like mouse traps... they go off by themselves, but need energy to be reset to contract again. A dead body is out of ATP, the energy compound that relaxes the muscles... A high rep workout exhausts ATP in your muscle and leads to temporary hardness... The only way to make such 'tone' last is by killing yourself." Hmmm, sounds like fun to me. Pavel goes on to note, "You better get on a first name basis with heavy dead[lift]s if you are after a hard butt!" This brings us to our third and final point.

This is from post seven of that thread, btw.

 

[bw1]

i thought lifting burned a good amount of calories, and that more muscle mass you carry, the faster your metabolism, and more calories burned all around.

+10000000

Exactly right. Train and eat to build muscle, the fat will go away. Makes me nuts when I hear, "Don't lift to much weights you'll build to much muscle" "Do more cardio, lift less weight" BULLSHIT!

 

[slat1]

thank you everyone for the tips.

since i first posted, i've increased my calories during the day. but i'm stuck in the habit of the protein shake in the morning, and i hate eggs....weird i know. i've always had a hard time getting enough protein first thing in the morning, since i don't eat eggs. i guess i just felt like a protein shake was a good substitution...any other suggestions?

how does my workout sound? like you guys mentioned it takes A LOT for my abs to get fatigued. I just try to switch up what exercises i do...

should i be strength training as much as i am? like today i did an hour of cardio, with no strength training....


YOU GUYS ARE SO HELPFUL...THANK YOU SO MUCH!! when i get confident enough, i'll post a pic

I don't have a lot of time in the morning. I am also not a "morning person". Breakfast is so important but I only have a short amount of time for something. That said I generally wind up making a shake in a blender with water and oatmeal. So I still get a good amount of protein and I also get some complex carbs.
I would like nothing else but to make whole foods in the morning but you have to do what you have to do in life sometimes.

 

[Thandie]

Hi, I'm jumping in here. Sorry, I've been away for a week.

Can you post what you eat and drink through the day. Before I can give you any suggestions, I want to see how far off or close you are.
Welcome!

 

[ironwings]

Hey you - you are doing so well. Post up that nutrition and Thandie will give you lots of good stuff. Just remember to keep it simple.

Are you still looking for advice on your workouts? I think they could be tweaked a bit. Remind me how long you have been lifting weights?

 

[kerriheffel]

not sure really where to start. i'm 23 years old, 5'8, 175 pounds, and the last time i checked by BF% it was mid to high 20's.

i'm looking to burn fat, and get super lean. i weighed appox. 187 the end of dec.

i try work out 3-5 days a week...40 minutes of lifting/circuit training (alternating body parts each day), and 40 minutes of cardio.

i would LOVE for someone to critique my daily diet...i try to keep my calorie intake between 1000-1300. (i've been told that my calorie intake is too low....) i use fitday.com to keep track.

breakfast (0800) myo-plex light, made with soy milk...(usually split this w/ my mum so i'm only getting half.)

snack (1100) apple

lunch (1400) salad w/ lean protein ( 3oz. tuna, turkey, or chicken), and light dressing.

dinner (1800) baked chicken breast (4 oz.), brown rice (.5 cup), and steamed veggies (1 cup)

sometimes i'll have a snack after dinner, but i feel guilty eating so close to bedtime.

Any thoughts or comments would be so appreciated. Thanks so much xx

since my first post, i've increased my calories throughout the day (more protein), and taken about the carbs at dinner. but for the most part, everything is the same. drinking A LOT of water during the day (75 oz. or more) and maybe skim milk in a decaf coffee twice a week.

 

[Thandie]

since my first post, i've increased my calories throughout the day (more protein), and taken about the carbs at dinner. but for the most part, everything is the same. drinking A LOT of water during the day (75 oz. or more) and maybe skim milk in a decaf coffee twice a week.

I'd keep the brown rice for the early part of the day. I see you're not getting enough carbs, perhaps protein as well. I don't have a complete schedule of your meals. Believe me, everything counts.
I suggest about 5 to 6 small meals a day (providing your schedule), consisting of starch carbs, grains, leafy vegetables and lean proteins. You're drinking lots of water, which is good. If you can replace the coffee for green tea would be more beneficial.

 

[kerriheffel]

iron wings, i'd love more advice on my workouts..i'll take all the advice i can get from you guys. i've been lifting for a while, i mean i was in a gym when i was 16, obv. working out more seriously as i get older. i feel like it takes a lot for me to get that 'sore' anymore after a workout. (btw i love that sore feeling LOL) i try to switch up my exercises, machines, and weight, but still can't get there....

thandie, i can do the 5 to 6 small meals. how many calories should small meals be each? 300? and how late is too late to eat my last small meal? a couple hours before bed?

someone posted earlier that i don't have that much weight to lose, what about my BMI being 'overweight'? a 'healthy' range for someone my height is 127-164. i feel like if i was at the lower end of that range, i'd look awfully hungry...

THANK YOU GUYS!!

 

[stilleto]

welcome to EF kerri!

don't be a slave to the scale. everyone carries weight differently.

 

[Thandie]

iron wings, i'd love more advice on my workouts..i'll take all the advice i can get from you guys. i've been lifting for a while, i mean i was in a gym when i was 16, obv. working out more seriously as i get older. i feel like it takes a lot for me to get that 'sore' anymore after a workout. (btw i love that sore feeling LOL) i try to switch up my exercises, machines, and weight, but still can't get there....

thandie, i can do the 5 to 6 small meals. how many calories should small meals be each? 300? and how late is too late to eat my last small meal? a couple hours before bed?

someone posted earlier that i don't have that much weight to lose, what about my BMI being 'overweight'? a 'healthy' range for someone my height is 127-164. i feel like if i was at the lower end of that range, i'd look awfully hungry...

THANK YOU GUYS!!

Hi,
Around 300 calories is pretty good. Remember, however to eat protein and carbs together. Have around 135 g of protein, 130 carbs and 40 fat for now. You determine what your goals are and how you want to look. That will determine how much weight you'll need to lose.
What are your goals again?

 

[musclemom]

someone posted earlier that i don't have that much weight to lose, what about my BMI being 'overweight'? a 'healthy' range for someone my height is 127-164. i feel like if i was at the lower end of that range, i'd look awfully hungry...

THANK YOU GUYS!!

BMI is virtually useless for gauging your weight if your height and frame size is outside of the range of norm for your gender. Doubly so if you are serious about lifting.

Without knowing your frame size I'm going to guess you probably shouldn't even think about going under 150 something. 120 for a 5'8" woman is what those anorexic skinny fat supermodels weigh.

For a way to gauge your frame size look here:

Body frame size? Small frame, medium frame, large frame?.

Little caveat here, though check BOTH your wrist and your elbows. If the measurements give you both the same results then that's your frame, but if you have, say, small frame wrists and large frame elbows, then you probably have a large frame (this is particularly true if you have wide shoulders).

 

[kerriheffel]

my goals...this is where i'm never sure how to answer. maybe feeling 100% comfortable in a bikini. weight wise, i've always felt that 140-145 was a good goal to shoot for, but i know the number doesn't mean anything....so i guess i'm not really sure what my goals are. just be as confident as i can be. i mean, in my head i have an picture of what i'd like to shoot for....i always thought that brooke hogan was a good goal for me. we share similar body structures.

Brook hogan image by mctammy on Photobucket

frame size...no surprises here. LARGE. wrist and elbows. is going below 150 a bad idea? **shovels green beans in mouth**

 

[musclemom]

my goals...this is where i'm never sure how to answer. maybe feeling 100% comfortable in a bikini. weight wise, i've always felt that 140-145 was a good goal to shoot for, but i know the number doesn't mean anything....so i guess i'm not really sure what my goals are. just be as confident as i can be. i mean, in my head i have an picture of what i'd like to shoot for....i always thought that brooke hogan was a good goal for me. we share similar body structures.

Brook hogan image by mctammy on Photobucket

frame size...no surprises here. LARGE. wrist and elbows. is going below 150 a bad idea? **shovels green beans in mouth**

Shoot for 150, take naked pictures of yourself from front, side, back, make the decision from there.

Large frame, 5'8" with muscle, don't be surprised with what you can maintain comfortably. Remember, fat is fluffy

 

[kerriheffel]

what about supplements/vitamins?

 

[slat1]

BMI and the scale do not do justice to people who work out.
My BMI puts me a clinicly obese!