PLEASE HELP SO CONFUSED

[Clara23]

Hey everyone,
I’m new here and thought I would give this forum a try
I started my journey back in February and I motivated more than ever to get to my goal.
I weigh 165, my height is 5 ft 1, I’m 22 and female and my goal weight is 130. I don’t know what my body fat percentage is but I do know it’s definitely way way higher then any percentage of muscle that I have. I know my goal is to go down to 130 but it really also mainly is to decrease my body fat percentage (I have a lot surrounding my abdomen area, arms, thighs a little and glutes)
A medical condition I have is thalassemia, but thankfully it doesn’t effect my health. The only thing about it is that I can get low iron from time to time and as a result high intensity workouts like running, I’ll get short of breath easy. Will this affect my goal and me trying to reach it? Also, I have high levels of TROPONIN AND CK so I’m not really sure how to continue to exercise and get to my goal (whether I should keep going or not with my routine). The doctor said I can continue to exercise but she said it could be from not eating enough protein or drinking water. I still feel like maybe I should tailor my workouts due to this!???!
I started to strength train 3 times a week. For two days I’ll do a leg work out 3 sets of 15 (lunges, leg press, leg extensions, inner and our hip abduction machine) and once a week I will workout my arms 3 sets of 15 ( tricep rope, lat pull down, seated cable row, bicep curls). Before I warm up 15 mins on the elliptical moderate intensity.
My food intake is a bit crazy I have a sweet tooth and try my best not to indulge but I find it challenging
I’ll eat a half of a banana before workout with water and then after work out for breakfast I’ll have whole wheat toast with peanut butter with an apple and then for lunch I’ll have a lentil or quinoa salad and then for supper I’ll have whole wheat rice with a meat stew or something.
The thing is I don’t count calories and I haven’t noticed weight loss results since I started, (only some muscle in my arm and thighs a little) and I don’t like weighing myself because I start to obsess over it.

I’m still a newbie at the gym and I don’t know any other workout but the one above as I don’t know what I should target or whether or not I should increase cardio (whether or not it needs to be high intensity to effectively lose weight). Also could it be that I’m not seeing results that I do a lot of machine workouts and not body weight? I’ve only recently incorporated it

As for food I don’t know if I should count my calories? As I’m not sure if I’m exceeding it or not.
And any idea how long it could take to lose the fat/weight. Particularly my abdomen fat I have been trying for years

Bottom line is I would really appreciate it if someone helped me out together a solid food and workout plan (or anything online that could help) for a beginner (it can be at the gym or home workout doesn’t matter).

Thank you!

[squeakyvalkyrie]

Welcome to the rebellion! 

 

The general fitness section of the forum may be a good place to start with advice for mealplans and workouts.

https://rebellion.nerdfitness.com/index.php?/forum/297-general-fitness/

 

When I started out, I started with the beginner bodyweight workout

https://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/beginner-body-weight-workout-burn-fat-build-muscle/

 

Here is a good place to start with healthy eating

https://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/healthy-eating/

 

I hope that helps, let me know if you've got other questions.

[Guzzi]

Hey, welcome on board!  I’ve tried to answer some of your questions below. 

 

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The only thing about it is that I can get low iron from time to time and as a result high intensity workouts like running, I’ll get short of breath easy. Will this affect my goal and me trying to reach it?

 

No.  You might need to take longer breaks to get your breath back but there’s no reason why it would interfere in you reaching your goals.  The big fallacy about exercise  is the number of extra calories you can burn whilst doing it.  

 

You will often see claims that an exercise routine will burn 800kcals or something ridiculous, but that doesn’t take into account the fact that your body would have burnt the majority of those calories even if you had done something fairly light, like going for a walk.  The reality is that your body uses most of its calories just keeping you alive (pumping blood, brain activity, digesting, repairing etc) and the “extra calories we burn during exercise is a lot less than most people realise. That’s not to say you shouldn’t exercise, but rather if your goal is to burn more calories then you don’t need to kill yourself doing high impact exercise.  Low impact exercise over a longer period of time will be just as effective. 

 

Strength training is different, because when you train your muscles your body needs to actively repair the damage and build more muscle, requiring even more calories.  So you burn calories whilst you exercise but then also burn more calories than normal for 1-2 days afterwards while your body repairs.  Obviously this happens to an extent with all exercise but it’s much more noticeable with strength training (of any sort).

 

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Also, I have high levels of TROPONIN AND CK so I’m not really sure how to continue to exercise and get to my goal (whether I should keep going or not with my routine). The doctor said I can continue to exercise but she said it could be from not eating enough protein or drinking water. I still feel like maybe I should tailor my workouts due to this!???!

 

I don’t know what either of those are but I’d suggest you follow your doctor’s advice first, as that seems like an easy way to find out.  If you increase protein and water over a couple of weeks but nothing changes then you can consider changing your workouts (assuming that there is even a reason to do so?)

 

Ok, so I googled that and found out that it can be a sign of having had a heart attack.  My advice, speak to your doctor and ask for an ECG or other tests.  I know that there are tests that can show if there is ANY damage to the heart muscle, I’m just not sure what they are.  I’d still suggest following her advice about protein and water to see if that changes your levels, but honestly, your doc is the person to speak to. 

 

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The thing is I don’t count calories and I haven’t noticed weight loss results since I started, (only some muscle in my arm and thighs a little) and I don’t like weighing myself because I start to obsess over it.

 

You won’t.  

 

At least not until there is a massive difference, but even then you will be like “I think I’ve lost a little weight....”.  At least that’s how it works for me, lol!  Progress pictures and measurements are your friend here.  Take a pic in the same outfit (preferably a bikini or underwear) once a month, but be prepared for the fact that you will probably struggle to see the difference in pics too, simply because you are looking at your self.  Ask someone objective to look at them and tell you what they think.  The other thing to consider is only weighing yourself once a month, or get the doc to weigh you.  The problem with using weight as a metric is that muscle weighs much more than fat, our bodies retain more fluid at different points of our cycle than others, and even DOMS (the muscle soreness from exercising) can add 2kgs to the number on the scale.  It’s fine to use as part of your measurements, but not as the only one. (Check out Stacy’s Success story if you haven’t already)

 

If you tend to obsess over your weight then I would advise against counting calories anyway, as that can become obsessive too.  Far better is to try and simply eat well.  You mentioned your sweet tooth, although I notice you didn’t include any examples of what sweet things you like in your description of what you eat.   (I’m only teasing).  This is probably going to be your biggest hurdle as sugar is seriously addictive and the more you eat, the more you want.  If you google “sugar addiction” or “sugar withdrawal” you will find lots of information but if you can spare the time I’d suggest watching this video....

 

 

 

it’s an hour and a half long (sorry!) but it explains how our bodies actually process the different forms of sugar and the effects they have on us.  It’s enlightening and might help you to break your habit. 

 

When it comes to cutting calories (but not counting them) it can be very, very hard to know if you’re eating too little, enough, or too much but if you try to focus on eating unprocessed foods then you are likely to eat fewer calories by default.  A calorie is not always a calorie, you can absorb all the calories from a glass of apple juice, but if you were to eat the same number of calories as raw apples then you wouldn’t be able to access all of the calories because the sugars are bound up in fibre.  High fibre foods are your friends for this reason, as well as the fact that they fill you up, and are vital for the health of your digestive track. 

 

Another thing to consider is Intermittent Fasting.  This allows you to eat normally during you eating window while still reducing your overall calorie count.  I find 5:2 fasting works for me and is really easy but a lot of people find 16:8 more manageable.  I find that once I set my mind to the fact that I’m only going to fast for a day it’s easy to stick to, but I think I’d struggle with skipping breakfast every single day. 

 

Quote

I’m still a newbie at the gym and I don’t know any other workout but the one above as I don’t know what I should target or whether or not I should increase cardio (whether or not it needs to be high intensity to effectively lose weight). Also could it be that I’m not seeing results that I do a lot of machine workouts and not body weight? I’ve only recently incorporated it

 

No.  When it comes to burning calories or building muscle it doesn’t matter how you work your muscles (bodyweight, free weights, fixed machines).  The issue with fixed machines is that they only work through one range of motion meaning that you don’t have to engage the muscles that help to stabilise your joints or core to work them.  

 

As I (hopefully) explained earlier, you do not need to do cardio to lose weight.  That’s not to say that you shouldn’t do any cardio, just that the old myth that “cardio burns fat and weight training makes you bulky” is utter garbage!  Do whatever exercise you enjoy doing, whether that’s yoga, ballroom dancing, ice skating, long distance running, powerlifting or playing with the kids in the garden.  

 

Quote

As for food I don’t know if I should count my calories? As I’m not sure if I’m exceeding it or not.
And any idea how long it could take to lose the fat/weight. Particularly my abdomen fat I have been trying for years

Bottom line is I would really appreciate it if someone helped me out together a solid food and workout plan (or anything online that could help) for a beginner (it can be at the gym or home workout doesn’t matter).

Thank you!

 

What you are doing looks ok, but if you want some more variety (the spice of life!) then you could check out the NF Bodyweight Routine or the NF Kettlebell Routine.  I know there is a lot of talk out there about which workout/program gets the best results, but for the majority of us, we don’t need “the best program” we just need to do something because it all works.  It’s only once you get further down the road that you need to start tailoring your workouts, just now I’d say just do what you enjoy and try to move more throughout the day, all those little movements can really add up.  

 

Have you you seen that there’s a new challenge starting on Monday?  I find the challenges a really useful way of reaching my goals, and it keeps you motivated and engaged with the community.