Wt loss vs. muscle gain

dkforman · Post by **dkforman** » Sun May 10, 2009 12:09 pm

Hello! I am new to this site also and this is first post. On Jan 10, I weighed 193.4# and today I weigh 160#. I am 5'3. I lost most of weight mainly by counting calories, eating every 3-4 hours and making better food choices. I allow 200 cal for breakfast,300 for lunch, 400 for dinner and healthy snacks in between. I often eat Healthy Choice, Lean Cuisine and Smart Ones by Weight Watchers and though these are not ideal, they are convenient and it allows for calorie control. I do eat extra fruit and veggies as snacks and am a little concerned about the sodium content of these meals. I drink 2-3 bottles of water each day.
In the beginning, I spent 1 hour a day, 3 days a week on the treadmill. After first 18#, I got lazy and figured out that I could lose weight without exercising. I have lost a total of 20 inches overall and pant size is 6 sizes smaller which thrills me but I cannot lose the rest of gut or flabby thighs! Since initial 10# loss, I have consistently lost 1-2 pounds a week. This past week I joined the gym and I am terrified that I will stop losing weight because I will gain muscle mass. I am a nurse and know that is not altogether true but am still very worried. I joined the gym on Wednesday and met with a fitness trainer on Thursday. Overall, she said diet is fine but that I need to add a protein shake after working out. She said that I can do cardio 6 times a week and weight training every other day. I also started a yoga class. I am addicted to this website and have learned so much in a short time. For example, I have learned that I need to increase calories on the days I work out plus add more protein. I have been eating 1000-1200 cal/day for a very long time. I added an extra protein snack after exercise this week because I was starving. Obviously, I need to listen to body:)
I don't think that it is realistic for me to expect to be at the gym 6 days a week but want to go 3-4 days a week. I work 11A-11P every weekend and those will have to be days off. On Wed, I spent 30 min on the treadmill at a 4.5 incline, 3.2 mph. I spent 10 min on the bike, about 30 min on the weight machines and an hour in Yoga. And yes, I could still move on Thursday. Thursday, I just did cardio and Friday, I did cardio for 30 min and weights for 30 min.
I want to lose 20 more pounds and I want overall toning paying special attention to gut and legs. I really don't know what I need to do to get there. Any suggestions will be much appreciated. Thank you!
Kathy

Boss Man · Post by **Boss Man** » Sun May 10, 2009 3:48 pm

Bascially at the least do 3 days at the Gym, and increase calories to about 2,100.

What kind of food do you eat? What times?

bigboy5491 · Post by **bigboy5491** » Sun May 10, 2009 6:51 pm

dkforman wrote: I allow 200 cal for breakfast,300 for lunch, 400 for dinner

I think you should consider staggering your calories in the opposite order. I mean eating more calories in the morning and less at night. Most people burn more calories during the day so your biggest meal doesn't need to be at night.

dkforman · Post by **dkforman** » Sun May 10, 2009 11:10 pm

Staggering calories never occured to me! It makes perfect sense though, thanks for your input:)

dkforman · Post by **dkforman** » Sun May 10, 2009 11:55 pm

basic diet is as follows:
As soon as i get up ( I am a night owl) usually 10AM-Breakfast- banana & coffee. I know that I need to start eating protein with breakfast and will be starting that in the morning. I sometimes have oatmeal or special K cereal. I have never been fond of breakfast but know that I have to eat something!
Snack- approx 2 hours after breakfast: Examples-Granola bar, fresh veggies or fruit, cereal
Lunch-1 or 2 PM- a healthy choice meal (300 cal)
Alternate lunch- chicken sandwich on 1 slice of whole wheat bread, an apple of orange, 1/2 c low fat cottage cheese
Alternate- tuna salad (1 can of tuna) made with fat free mayo and pickle relish, 4-6 crackers, sugar free applesauce or, 6" Subway club & apple slices
4-5PM-Snack
7-8 PM-Dinner- healthy choice meal or if husband is home, I will make dinner: chicken, lean ground beef or pork and a fresh or frozen vegetable side and salad
If we go out, I order a 6 oz steak, steamed veggies and salad(with fat free dressing) and have one dinner roll
10-11PM-Night time Snack because I can't sleep if I go to bed hungry! I go to bed usually between midnight and 2 AM.

I drink 2-3 bottles of water, 1-2 cups of coffee and maybe 1-2 diet sodas daily. I don't feel like I deprive myself of anything but choose food carefully. I try to avoid white bread and potatoes and grill or bake most meals. If we go to a movie, I do have popcorn in moderation, without butter. If I am out and stop for food at McDs or BK, I have a hamburger and apple slices. When I initially began to change the way I eat, I kept a food diary of all of intake and activity and found that I was consistently burning double what I ate. At that point, i was doing cardio 2-3 days/week.

2100 calories is almost double what I eat and that scares me to death but I will do it even though body will be really confused:)
Thanks you so much for your help!

Boss Man · Post by **Boss Man** » Mon May 11, 2009 5:05 pm

dkforman wrote:As soon as i get up ( I am a night owl) usually 10AM-Breakfast- banana & coffee. I know that I need to start eating protein with breakfast and will be starting that in the morning. I sometimes have oatmeal or special K cereal. I have never been fond of breakfast but know that I have to eat something!

(I would also let the Banana have time to better digest, so don't eat anything else for about 10-15 minutes afterfwards.)

Snack- approx 2 hours after breakfast: Examples-Granola bar, fresh veggies or fruit, cereal

(Again you need Protein, so obviously things like Chicken, Turkey, Lean Ham, Low Fat Cheese etc etc.)

Lunch-1 or 2 PM- a healthy choice meal (300 cal)
Alternate lunch- chicken sandwich on 1 slice of whole wheat bread, an apple of orange, 1/2 c low fat cottage cheese
Alternate- tuna salad (1 can of tuna) made with fat free mayo and pickle relish, 4-6 crackers, sugar free applesauce or, 6" Subway club & apple slices

(Good that you're not having the Tuna daily, as the Mercury you do eat from Tuna, should hopefully get out of your system, when eating it infrequently.

Fruit same advice as earlier.)

4-5PM-Snack

(Not sure what that is.)

7-8 PM-Dinner- healthy choice meal or if husband is home, I will make dinner: chicken, lean ground beef or pork and a fresh or frozen vegetable side and salad
If we go out, I order a 6 oz steak, steamed veggies and salad(with fat free dressing) and have one dinner roll

(Seems fine.)

10-11PM-Night time Snack because I can't sleep if I go to bed hungry! I go to bed usually between midnight and 2 AM.

(Not sure what that is.)

dkforman · Post by **dkforman** » Mon May 11, 2009 6:23 pm

Thanks Boss:) The snacks are always the same type of foods: fruit, veggies, granola, nuts.
Do I need to eat 2100 cal every day or just workout days?

Boss Man · Post by **Boss Man** » Tue May 12, 2009 10:50 am

Could have a little less on non-workout days, but I wouldn't be bothered about it. Keeping the same routine every day for food, would be beneficial in terms of focus and discipline with it.

dkforman · Post by **dkforman** » Tue May 12, 2009 12:39 pm

Thank you:)

dkforman · Post by **dkforman** » Tue May 12, 2009 10:46 pm

I have to tell you, it is very difficult for me to eat 2100 cal a day! Today I had 1600 and couldn't eat another bite if I had to. This was a non- exercise day. Yesterday was a work out day and I made it to almost 1800 cal. I am stuffed at the end of the day. Any suggestions? I went to GNC today and bought protein shake mix so that will be an extra 280 cal on work out days. Help please:)

swanso5 · Post by **swanso5** » Wed May 13, 2009 1:50 am

work up to it...add 50cal's/day every 3 - 5 days and you'll be there in a month comfortably

www.uponlinetraining.com

dkforman · Post by **dkforman** » Fri May 15, 2009 1:57 pm

Thank you!

sawhaler · Post by **sawhaler** » Fri May 15, 2009 2:47 pm

Make sure you moniter the sodium and sugar amounts your getting from Healthy Choice and other packaged foods.

dkforman · Post by **dkforman** » Fri May 15, 2009 11:33 pm

Thank you! The sugar is OK but there is quite a lot of sodium in them. I try to eat those only at work on the weekends now and only for one meal. I also try to drink more water after I have one. Most of them have a decent amount of protein though.

dkforman · Post by **dkforman** » Sun Jul 05, 2009 3:05 pm

I have not posted in quite awhile so here is a recap:
I lost 33 pounds before joining the gym in May. I stopped losing once I joined the gym and am back to losing about a pound a week. I want to join the biggest loser at gym to help me take off another 11 pounds.
I don't know how to lose the rest of weight without losing the muscle I've gained. I do not want to decrease calories because I've recently had to increase them to support new found muscles! I have again changed the way I eat to include more protein and less fat. I don't eat the healthy choice meals much anymore because it is just as easy to have lean meat, whole wheat bread, fruits & veggies, healthy fats and yogurt.
I am consistently going to the gym 3 days a week and do full body + 20-30 min intense cardio. I started at 193 and am now at 155 but goal is 145 & leaner legs and abs. I am much, much leaner than I was in May but still have work to do. I am so close but yet so far and it really is true that the last 10 pounds are the hardest. Any suggestions would be much appreciated.
Thanks for your thoughts:)
Kathy

Wt loss vs. muscle gain

Wt loss vs. muscle gain

Re: Wt loss vs. muscle gain

Help please!