To all MODS: New Member, Need help with diet.

[Dana731]

I am twenty-one and have been pretty active my entire life. As a college student, I have plenty of time to work out, but I don't always have the motivation to do so. Since high school, I have been trying (off and on) to get and maintain a flat stomach but more importantly just to have a overall low body fat percentage. I go through ups and downs. I currently weigh around 150 and I want to weigh around 130. Last year I was able to get to 134 which made me happy, but I never saw the physical results that I desired. I need help developing a work out and diet plan that will shed fat (especially in my lower abs). Stats: 5'9'', medium-small frame, 150lbs, 24% BF. Goal: 130lbs or less, 15% BF. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

 

[B-MF82]

BUMP

Hello dana Welcome to elite fitness. I dont have much of advise for you but I will BUMP this message to the top.

 

[spatts]

Ahem...

Oh, I mean "Hola."

 

[velvett]

OLA!



What would be helpful is to share what your current diet is like and what sort of exercise routine you have.


Also, check out the Diet forum and try a few searches for items such as:

cutting diet
diet
Spatts cutting diet

weed through that for a while and see if you can find some info.


Oh and Welcome!

 

[JJFigure]

Yep - need more info. What and how often do you eat? What types of diets have you been on in the past, and have they worked or not? How do you workout, and how often? By how, I mean do you do the high rep thing or do you really lift? Do you do cardio? If so, what type?

 

[Dana731]

More Info

I don't really like to follow detailed diets. I just try to eat low-calorie, low-fat, and I try to avoid carbs. I have recently started taking Xenedrine RFA (which I have taken in the past). I liked the results, but I am looking for long-term results without the use of supplements. I don't usually eat breakfast (I have never been a big breakfast eater). When I do, I drink slimfast or eat granola bars. For lunch: Lean Pockets or other lean frozen dinners. For dinner: Chicken, Soup, Tuna (basically, this is the one meal that I cook, so it is diverse). I have tried the "3-day diet," which worked ok, but I realize it focuses on losing water weight. I basically don't follow diet plans, I just try to eat light. I would be more than willing to follow any suggestions you may have. As far as working out, I try to do 30min-1hour of cardio about 5 times a week. I walk mostly but I try to jog for at least 10 minutes. I enjoy lifting, but I don't do it that often. I perfer reps over weight, simply because I want to look lean. I basically have no structure in my dieting and working out. Please help me devise a plan. Thank you!

 

[JJFigure]

Whew! Where to start?

First, let's talk about exercise. To look lean, you need to have muscle. To get muscle, you need to lift. If you're a woman, you're not going to get big. Simple as that. I could preach more on this subject, and will, if you need more convincing. Cardio - it burns fewer kcals than you may think, and you'd be better off adding more muscle to your frame and increasing your metabolism. Increase the lifting - maybe try 3 sessions a week, and try to keep the cardio limited to 30 minute sessions 3-4 times a week. Keep your reps in the 8-12 rep range (although I personally prefer the 3-5 rep range - just didn't want to scare you too much) and hit the free weights. If you don't know how to lift with free weights, enlist the help of a trainer for a couple sessions to teach you how. Trust me, weight training will make a big difference with your physique!

On to diet. You need to eat breakfast - as a matter of fact, you should be eating 5-6 small meals a day. Skipping breakfast really isn't an option if you want to lose body fat. You also need to quit eating so much processed food. Eat oatmeal or an omelette instead of the granola bar. Eat some protein! You're only eating protein once a day! Most of us eat at least 1 gram/protein per pound of bodyweight. Check out Spatt's cutting diet - it give you a good idea how/when/what you should be eating.

Why 130 lbs? I'm 5'10 with a medium frame and weigh 145 lbs. at around 12% bodyfat. 130 lbs. is too light for a tall woman - unless you like the bony, anorexic look. I would quit thinking about weight and just focus on the mirror. It's good to have goals, but I think your goals should be a little more realistic. Maybe focus on a 5-10 lb. weight loss and see how you look.

 

[Dana731]

Spatts

My boyfriend and I registered at the same computer and almost the same time that's why we have the same IP address...he replied to my message hoping it would get some attention.

 

[Dana731]

JJ Figure

Thanks for the advise. I am familiar with free weights, so I will start lifting. I started lifting weights when I was involved in organized athletics through school; I started sports when I was 10, so I have accumulated muscle mass over the years. In a previous post, I mentioned that I had gotten to a weight of 134. I did this by lifting and doing cardio almost everyday. I would just alternate upper and lower body each day. Even at this weight, I did not look lanky, and I had more body fat than I wanted. Will lifting and eating more protein lower my body fat? I will look into Spatts diet.

 

[JJFigure]

Will lifting and eating more protein lower my body fat?

Definitely! You can't build muscle if you don't eat enough protein -trust me. The first couple years I lifted, I mainly ate carbs - I wish I could re-do those years! And lifting is the only way you can actually transform your body - it's amazing what you can do with your physique! In high school, I used to borderline starve myself to lose weight - my upper body would get really body and my lower body would still look heavy. Now, I can actually say I have a pretty balanced physique. I still hold more bodyfat in my thighs (pretty common to most women, actually), but my upper body balances it out nicely now - no more of that pear shape for me!

Here's a post I did a while back about setting reasonable, maintainable body fat goals (my scale was off at the time I posted it, so I thought I was 10 lbs. lighter than I really am - so when I say 130 lbs. in the post, translate that to 140 lbs.).
http://boards.elitefitness.com/forum/showthread.php?threadid=193221