new, excited, confused, hopeful!

[mosesface]

well this is exciting! i have been lurking around this board for a couple of weeks now trying to get on the learning curve. i know i may frustrate some of you by not including enough information or by missing some of the info already posted on this site, so please forgive me...i will do the best i can and if i'm missing something just let me know.

i am 24, 5'11", 220 pounds, at roughly 34% bf, and female.
8 months ago i quit drinking dr.pepper (knocking about 1800 calories/day out of my diet) and joined curves, working out 3x week (30min circuit training). since then, i have dropped 50 pounds and quit smoking.

i am looking to drop 40 more pounds. i would love some help with my nutrition planning and weight training as i've just joined the big kid's gym and can't afford a trainer to walk me through everything.

i am excited and committed, but a little confused. i have read through so much on this site and done my best to structure my eating and training with what i've learned, but i still feel lost. any help would be greatly appreciated.

nutrition:
of course, the weight melted off at first, but slowed to a good 1-2 pound a week loss until about a month ago when everything just stopped. i took a good look at my nutrition (i've kept a good food journal) did some research and jumped on fitday.

here's what my research tells me (please correct me if i'm wrong):
i am burning roughly 3200 calories per day (bmr+amr)
i am consuming roughly 2300 calories per day (and that's HARD)
i need to shrink my deficit to about 500 calories per day

i have been slowly upping my intake (working toward that 40 40 20...and hopefully 50 30 20), but still have a hard time getting so much food into my body! i am eating 5 or 6 meals per day, making my big meals bookend my workouts. i would be happy to post my daily "menu" if anyone would like to help me with it.

i am considering adding whey protein to round things out.

exercise:
MWF circuit training 30 minutes. pilates (video), 20 min.
on these strength training days i do my best to hit the weights hard and pull back on the cardio. but with the hydraulic resistance machines, i can't really track my progress and i'm not getting nearly the workout i need/want. i enjoy doing the pilates at home for a good ab workout that i can feel.

TTS jog/walk 30 minutes/2.5 miles 3x week. hatha yoga 45 minutes.
on these cardio days i pay attention to keep my hr around 65%, though sometimes i get excited and run too long.

today i quit curves and headed to the big gym!! i now have access to absolutely everything 24/7! however, i don't have the $ for a personal trainer so i'm sort of winging it. i have looked around here and found some excellent links to sites with instructions that i plan to study closely. however, i would like some help with a routine. also, as the weather heats up (and here in central texas is will certainly heat up) i would like to move cardio indoors as well.

so, there it is. if anyone could help me, i would be SO GRATEFUL. i am feeling great in my body and want to keep taking care of it. so far i have seen so many intelligent and helpful people on this site and hope to someday become one of them!!

[fit21]

It sounds like you're doing great!! Let us know how many days a wk you plan on training and how you're training (split,circuit,etc.).I'm sure you'll get plenty of help here.Muscle&Fitness Hers magazine puts out a great training guide for females.You might want to check that out on their website.Really good guide for the beginner.Looking forward to hearing more from you.

[cursor]

Serious congratulations are in order — not only for you weight loss, but for the method that you chose (activity + food control). I'm glad that you understand the need to move beyond the Curves style of exercise.

Right off the bat, I'm not sure that losing another 40-lbs would be the best thing, considering your height. Time will tell. Rather than focusing on "losing pounds," focus on muscle development (through a program of resistance training and nutritional control). The scale weight will take care of itself and you'll end up where your body feels comfortable.

So, you'll be new to resistance training (... beyond the hydraulic nonsense, that is)? Have you used free-weights before?

[mosesface]

thanks for the encouragement and kind welcome!

yes, i am brand spankin' new to resistance training and free-weights. i'm a late night person (bed at 4am, day starts at 1pm) so i took advantage of my first day at the gym to run the track and look at all the weights, machines, etc. there's no one there that time of night, so i felt comfortable inspecting everything and figuring out what the heck everything is. it was really exciting.

i looked through some of the links to beginner routines (body for life, fortified iron, etc.) and they make basic sense to me and i think i can follow the instructions. however, i'm not convinced about where and how to get started.

losing 50 pounds and feeling so much stronger, i am totally committed to getting my body in shape and i am fortunate enough to be at a place in my life where i can make it a priority. i am happy to do whatever it takes to be healthy, strong, and balanced.

[cursor]

Originally Posted by mosesface

i am 24, 5'11", 220 pounds, at roughly 34% bf, and female.

By the way, what method are you using to determine your body fat percentage? Note that if you're evaluation is correct, then you currently have 145-lbs of lean body mass (non-fat stuff). In losing another 40-lbs of scale weight, you'll want to make sure that you don't cut into that lean mass.

If you were to reduce your body fat from 34% to 20%, then:

c u r r e n t
220 – scale weight
34% – body fat %
075 – body fat (in pounds)
145 – lean body mass (in pounds)

t a r g e t
181 – scale weight
20% – body fat %
036 – body fat (in pounds)
145 – lean body mass (in pounds)

In this scenario, you'd be losing 39-lbs of fat, while maintaining all of your lean body mass. That's a good thing.

Posting what you're currently eating (and/or think you should eat), would be a good thing.

[Lady C]

I would just pick a routine. Start with one someone else has laid out and modify as necessary (body-for-life is a good point to start). There are some exercises you will find are too hard for you to do and so don't do them until you are stronger.

Welcome and good luck!

[mosesface]

alright...i am so encouraged...and also very, very late for bed.

the bf% is from one of those hand held devices...you enter your height, weight, etc and then squeeze. i've had it checked with every monthly weigh and measure. i will post my eating details and routine i have decided to start with later this afternoon.

again, thanks for the welcome and all the help! i am so grateful you guys are here and willing to share!

[mosesface]

here's a general look at what i'm eating. i'm basically eating the same things daily (or weekly) just in different combinations. in general, i eat for convenience and i spend a LOT of time at coffee shops (i am a youth minister). so, my double skim latte and zucchini bread meal happens pretty much every day.

egg beaters x3
0 3 18 90
boca sausage x2
5 10 14 120
pine-orange banana juice
0 29 0 120

double skim latte
1 24 17 172
zucchini bread
7 19 2 151

turkey
3 4 18 120
wheat& soy bread
4 18 14 120
reduced fat mayo
2 2 0 25
cottage cheese
2 6 28 120
1 cup skim milk
1 12 8 86

balance energy bar
7 22 15 210
1 cup skim milk
0 12 8 86

workout

chicken breast
4 8 26 175
broccoli
0 5 3 25
pasta primavera
3 59 10 310
1 cup skim milk
0 12 8 86

cottage cheese
2 6 28 120
boca burger
1 6 13 80
wheat & soy bread
2 9 7 60

41f 254c 227p 2244

generally, i have a hard time fitting much more than this in.
also, at least once a week i'll have a roast beef sandwich from subway as my post workout meal (because it's right between the gym and youth group).

i would like to have much better pre and post workout meals (especially now that i've graduated to real weight training). i've experimented a little with the pre-workout and discovered that the balance energy bar no more than 30 minutes prior to my workout gives me excellent energy. i feel like i could go for days when i have one before cardio.

[mosesface]

on my way to my second weight training session at the new gym (first was friday...worked triceps, back, and chest). picked up the body for life split, thought since i'm still learning the machines and exercises so while i'm working the prescribed muscles, i'm not necessarily using the prescribed exercises yet. my arms have been REALLY sore over the weekend. but they feel good enough to work biceps and forearms tonight...

i'm really enjoying this.

any suggestions about diet would be greatly appreciated. i went ahead and got some ON whey and it's not awful. i've searched through the board and learned that i should have a shake right after a workout, made with water not milk, and then a good post workout meal (like chicken, broccoli, brown rice) about an hour and half later.

question about cardio days....what kind of shake should i have after a cardio workout? should my pre/post workout meals be any different than on a training day?

also, should my elbows hurt?

[rrouleau]

I would just like to say that you are doing so great, keep up the great work. I do about the same thing for my post work routine. Once i get home i have a protein shake and then i start cooking up my meal and i also cook my meals for the next day. All the cooking rounds out to about an hour or so. Then i start eating. I have chicken and broc. and brown rice for my post workout meals also.

Since your new to the free weights, your going to be sore thats for sure, but dont push yourself to were your goign to injure yourself.

Keep everything going and im glad you made such great progress!!!

[mosesface]

thank you so much, rrouleau!

[mosesface]

alright...

i'm two weeks into my weight training (body for life style) and i have some questions.

1. since i have the time and energy, would it be alright to double up and do my full body three days a week? i tried it last night because i was feeling so good and i got through it in about an hour and twenty minutes and was able to maintain intensity (able to lift my planned weights). if the BFL pyramid isn't ideal for full body, do you have any recommendations?

2. i have noticed that my left bicep and right tricep are unusually tight. they're not sore until i stretch them, but they cannot stretch as well as their compliment. i've also noticed that that muscle is weaker than the other. how can help the weaker muscle? am i damaging it by working it as hard as the other?

thanks so much for your help!!

[mosesface]

any help at all??

[Lady C]

Yes, you can do a full body 3X per week but make sure you have a day of aerobics or rest in between. Listen to your body. If it doesn't feel ready to be worked again then take another day off in between.

[mosesface]

thanks!

i'm really enjoying my workout. thanks for all the encouragement, everyone!