Group: Beginners to Exercise

Created: 2012/01/01, Members: 970, Messages: 18927

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How long did it take everyone....

harvest_moon321
harvest_moon321
Posts: 85
Joined: 2004/09/17
United Kingdom
2004/11/06, 06:06 PM
I'm wondering how long did it take for everyone to get lean? Is there anyone here who was a bit chubby and is now really lean? Because I’m getting a bit disheartened, I’ve been weight training for about 3 months and doing 40 minutes of cardio 3 or 4 times a week and haven't really seen much results in terms of losing my baby fat on my tummy and the dreaded love handles.
DX14AG
DX14AG
Posts: 1,055
Joined: 2004/07/22
United States
2004/11/06, 07:33 PM
I used to be chubby. I weighed 210 pounds, and now I weigh about 150. I did it all over 6 months. It took lots of hard work and dedication. Results will show, just keep doing what your doing and hang in there. Goodluck!

DX14AG
slippery_chimp
slippery_chimp
Posts: 58
Joined: 2004/10/21
United Kingdom
2004/11/06, 08:14 PM
I agree with DX, if you are not losing weight fast enough try cutting maybe 100-200 extra calories a day from your diet (assuming you are already cutting back), it's amazing how they add up over the course of a month or two. Apart from that I wish you all the success, if you stick with it you will reach your goals but like anything worth having your aims will take time to achieve... good luck!

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howdiekat
howdiekat
Posts: 1,345
Joined: 2003/05/22
United States
2004/11/06, 08:29 PM
be careful cutting calories - if you drop below the minimum required for your body to function, your body will hang on to the fat instead of burning it.

it took me around 9 months to really start leaning out. i lost 20lbs really quickly, but the last 10 i lost came slower. of course while losing the last 10 i was also adding muscle, so my weight would rise and fall based on whether i was in a cutting or bulking cycle. adding the muscle is what has enabled me to stay lean, and i've been able to maintain this shape for 8 months now.

if you're doing that much cardio and you're not getting the number of calories your body needs, you're not going to lose that fat on your stomach and sides - you're going to hang on to it. you should incorporate hiit (high intensity interval training) to your cardio regimen and optimally do your cardio on non-lifting days. also give your body the fuel it needs to sustain itself and to maintain your muscles and you'll see better results.

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i wish you ill, ice-t.

margarine is a liar who announces, "i am butter!"
harvest_moon321
harvest_moon321
Posts: 85
Joined: 2004/09/17
United Kingdom
2004/11/06, 09:04 PM
That's the thing, I can't drop my calorie intake at all because my BMI is already low, so dieting isn't an option for me. I'm hoping that if I keep weight training and doing cardio then my body fat will burn away and hopefully I’ll gain more muscle. I am getting heavier but the flab is taking ages to burn.

My daily diet looks like this

Porridge 270kcal, Protein 10g, Carbs 45g, Fat 5g

Chicken Sandwich 300 kcal, protein 20g, carbs 32g, fat 5g

Cottage Cheese 100kcal, protein 10g, carbs 7g, fat 1g

Tuna 100kcal, protein 20g, fat1g

Cheese 100kcal, protein 10g, carbs 7g, fat 1g

Chicken 390, protein 50g, fat 12g

Cheese 100kcal, protein 10g, carbs 7g, fat 1g

Beans 165kcal, protein 9g, carbs 27g, fat 0.5g

Carrots 50 kcal, carbs 14g, fat 0.4g

Glass of milk 102kcal, protein 9,g carbs 15g, fat0.5g

Low fat natural yoghurt 60kcal, protein 5g, carbs 5g, fat 1.1g

Total
kcal 1800
Fat 30g
Protein 150g
Carbs 170g
deadheadted
deadheadted
Posts: 123
Joined: 2004/05/31
United States
2004/11/06, 11:37 PM
1800 calories isn't terribly low for a female with a low BMI - first thing I would do is change your macros around slightly and increase your protein and decrease you carbs. You might benefit from zig-zagging your daily caloric intake too.

Also, what's your weight training like? Be sure you're lifting heavy and intense.

princesslodgey
princesslodgey
Posts: 1,748
Joined: 2004/02/21
United Kingdom
2004/11/07, 08:19 AM
If your BMI is low, maybe you should concentrate on building muscle for a while before stripping off some fat.

Could you add a protein shake after your weights workouts?
harvest_moon321
harvest_moon321
Posts: 85
Joined: 2004/09/17
United Kingdom
2004/11/07, 09:03 AM
What do you mean by "1800 calories isn't terribly low for a female with a low BMI" You think I should go lower than 1800 calories! The average woman has 2000 calories and I used to be underweight which is the whole reason why I put my calories up again. I'm only 17, 133 pounds and tall for a woman. If I drop my calories I’ll start to lose fat yes, but from the places I don't want to and I will lose muscle.
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Quoting from deadheadted:

1800 calories isn't terribly low for a female with a low BMI - first thing I would do is change your macros around slightly and increase your protein and decrease you carbs. You might benefit from zig-zagging your daily caloric intake too.

Also, what's your weight training like? Be sure you're lifting heavy and intense.


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bigandrew
bigandrew
Posts: 5,146
Joined: 2002/10/21
United States
2004/11/07, 12:44 PM
how many meals is this over?

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harvest_moon321
harvest_moon321
Posts: 85
Joined: 2004/09/17
United Kingdom
2004/11/07, 02:17 PM
About 3 main meals and the rest is just snacks inbetween.