Newbie -

[famefit]

Hey Everyone.. a girlfriend of mine recommended I check out this site. Ive spent a couple days reading different threads and you ladies are all so knowledgeable I was hoping you could shed some light to my problem and possible give me a few answers

I'm 22 5'5 142lbs.. I started out back in september at 159 and by Dec I was down to 141. Since the holidays i have been stuck in a bounce back and forth between 140 and 145.. I thought i was doing everything right but apparently NOT.

Goal - 128.. Im trying for May 12th just under 2 months but Im not so much stuck on the weight number as I am on the inches. I want leaaan tight Muscle as oppose to a chubby 128.

right now my eating habits are a little to much on the extremely LOW carb sid ehigh protein. typically im eating 1g of protein per body weight and day and trying to stay under 50 g of carbs. I havent quite mastered the macros technique.

typical day
730am 6 egg whites. oatmeal or half whole wheat english muffin 2 slices turkey bacon half a slice of cheese
930am protein shake -
1130 am can of tuna or chicken w. 3 cups of spinach
130pm yogurt or almonds rice cake w. pb
330pm turkey burger plain 3 cups of spinach
530pm chicken or sole
after workout shake
1 gallon of water and jusst added green tea.. 3 days in a row now.. how many cups should i be having ??

sometimes me protein is hitting the roof @ like 193 grams that was my count for 2 days ago.. another problem i am facing is calories. it feels like i am always eating but my calories are never adding up.. im barely pushing 1000 most days and my workouts im burning 400 cals min just in my half hour cardio. I know i need to have @ least 1200..... and i think that is why i cant seem to push outt of this plateau

Another problem im facing is my workouts.. I hear so many things from so many people. do more cardio !do less cardio !yourdoing too much cardio! lift weights !lift heavy! lifr higher reps less weight! im sooooo confused. i thought i had it right but i was doing a hour of cardio 5 times a week..

ive recently changed it to 30 mins a day... either crosstrainer or running.. my concern with running is a) if i want nice lean tight looking legs.. will running kill the muscle? b) i heard running is the quickest way to loose stomache fat and lean out? is this true?

my next question.. do i lift heavy? do i lift light higher reps? what body part should i be working out together??

Hopefully I havent rambled on too much Im finding myself in a really tough stop trying and trying to see improvement but keeping @ a standstill.
any help would be greatly appreciated
Thank U
K

 

[superqt4u2nv]

Welcome to elite and congrats on your progress thus far.

Are you looking to do a true keto diet? If so you need your carbs under 20 grams basically what you would get from just green veggies and a little nuts. Keeping your carbs at 50gm everday is not helping you as it is not low enough to really get into keto. You might want to try a carb cycle tones of diffrent ways to do it but something like day 1 150g day 2 100g day 3 50g repeat I have done with success keeping the focus on vegges and low gi carbs like yams. Your calories are to low as well they should be at about 10x bodywieght having them to low will actually slow your progress. Are you having any kind of cheat meals? I am a big advocate of one per week or once every two weeks but make it a meal not a day and eat tell you full not like it is the last super.

As for lifting what are you doing now and what have you been doing to get to where you are how much cardio etc?

 

[Tatyana]

Hi and welcome,

Just to make sure I have this straight, you are 140 lbs and eating 1000 kcals/day plus training?

 

[Thandie]

Hi and welcome!

Why are you having 50g of carbs. Carbs will give you energy and will speed up your metabolism. Good carbs that is! 1000c is very low, even for cutting.

 

[famefit]

Thanks for the welcome ladies. I really appreciate the help. I could definitely use any information you have to help me push through this.

True Keto Diet... - how effective is it? would it be something you suggest for quicker results? Carbs are definitely my weakness ... the less I eat the better I feel... Should you cycle on and off of the 20 g of carbs per day? Ive heard carb cycling works really well... Ive never tried but Im definitely looking for CHANGE ...

LIfting - i dont really have a set up routine which is why im not getting anywhere.. I kind of just pick a body part and then go with it but im not keeping track of progess and such. Rough numbers ....leg press 270lbs 6-8 reps biceps im using 5 to 10 lbs dumbells triceps - singles i use 8lbs - back - pulldown. 40lbs cable row - 40lbs
Cardio - 30 mins of crosstrainer or treadmill.. i was walking at incline of 5 for 2 mins then pushing it up to 10 for 3mins x6..


Typical day is between 950 and 1200 cals... training typical 5 times a week.. 30 mins cardio and some weights.

Another Question... Supplements.. currently im on a fat burner. Lipo6X also taking a multi-vitamin... is there anything else i could or should be taking?

 

[famefit]

Hi and welcome!

Why are you having 50g of carbs. Carbs will give you energy and will speed up your metabolism. Good carbs that is! 1000c is very low, even for cutting.

Orginally I had thought cutting my carbs out would help me see fast results.. which I did see however now Im not seeing those results anymore. i was under the illusion that carbs were bad ... however it was just my choice in carbs that were bad - breads pasta's etc.

 

[Tatyana]

Your calories are far too low for all that training.

Your body thinks it is starving to death and hanging onto all the fat it can.

I suspect you are not even eating enough for some of the basic funtions day to day, for example, when I weigh around 140 lbs, my body needs 1450 kcals a day just for nerve transmission, digestion, to keep my heart beating, to maintain my body temperature, or the basal metabolic rate.

Severe calorie restriction works when you have a lot of extra body fat, but it will grind fat loss to a strop at some point.

There is no magical combination of macronutrients, so while some love the low carb diet as they have a fat burner metabolism, others will find that the low carb diet will suppress their thyroid gland, which slows your metabolism, halting any fat loss.

You may want to try a keto diet, entirely up to you, however I would get your calories to a level that is going to support your training and fat loss first.


No carbs are not bad. For most of the 80s and 90s, fats were bad, it is all just nutrient nazi propaganda and misinformed diet gurus.

 

[Thandie]

Orginally I had thought cutting my carbs out would help me see fast results.. which I did see however now Im not seeing those results anymore. i was under the illusion that carbs were bad ... however it was just my choice in carbs that were bad - breads pasta's etc.

Yes, that's correct! cutting carbs will initially help you see results, however in the long run your metabolism will slow down and if you do it for too long, it will affect your thyroid as Tat mentioned. Perhaps not everyone, but I've seen that happened more then I cared to.
Yes, simple carbs are not a great source of carbs.
I'd start with 120g of carbs and 30g of fat. This will help you lose body fat as opposed to muscles. It will be a slow process, but healthier. This approach is more a lifestyle change, not a quick fix where you'll end up gaining the weight back.

Here are some choices
.

Protein:
Boneless chicken
Tuna (water)
Fish (Salmom, halibut, seabass)
Extra lean beef
Venison
Buffalo
OstrichProtein powder
Egg whites or whole


Slow burning carbs:
Oatmeal (one of my favorite)
Sweet potato (yams)
Beans (pinto, black, kidney)
Grape nuts
Brown rice
Cream of buckwheat

Fibrous carbs:
Green leafy lettuce
Broccoli
Asparagus (natural diuretic)
String beans
Okra
Spinach
Cauliflower
Cabbage
Celery
Cucumber
Eggplant....

Healthy fats:
NaturalPeanut butter.
Flaxseed oil
Nuts
Fish oil
Olive oil
Safflower oil.
Coconut oil.

Drink 3/4 to 1 gallon of water and green tea. That will keep you hydrated and the green tea is an antioxidant.

 

[needtogetaas]

Great to have you on the site. Welcome to the family.

 

[slat1]

Since everyone else seems to have covered all the good stuff I will cover whats left. Two cups a day will do it when it comes to green tee.
If you boil the water let it sit for 3 minutes before you put the tea in it. If you don't you will destroy all the positive attributes.
Also, make sure it is not decaffinated. The process it goes through removes all the bene's too!
Best of luck!