New here... need some help!

Hi,
I'm new to this forum and was hoping I could get some help in the "getting in shape" department (especially nutrition/diet).
I'm 21, 5'0, 110. My goal is to loose some body fat.
Can you guys help me figure out what my nutrition/diet and fitness plan should look like?

Thank you
Katia

What is your current exercise/diet like?

Exercise: I do 3-4 days of cardio (usually step or kickboxing videos), 1 day total body weights day (usually endurance type) and 1 day circuit (alternating weights with 3-5 min of cardio). I mostly workout to advanced workout videos. However I have excess to the gym and can go there about 2 times a week.

Diet: oh... this is embarasing... my diet is out of control! I've heard so many different things on this topic that I'm completely lost. I go for about 2 to 3 days eating OK (4-5 meals a day, totaling to about 1100 cals--I think that's what I need for fat loss, but then again I'm totally confused), followed by about 3 days of binging (2 to 3 meals going up to 2500 cals a day... usually craving a lot of carbs and sugar).

As you can see I'm very lost.

As far as your excercise I feel that you may be doing an excess of cardio and if you are not upping the intensity then you have reached a plateau and your body is no longer responding in the same manner(fat burning)

What should my exerseze be like?

What about diet?

Heya hun! WElcome to MC! Its good to see other girls here!

And as of what youre saying about the bingeing, I very much can relate to you on that one! You can send me a PM about that stuff if you like cus I know it can be kinda hard to talk about but I'm all ears and would love to chat anytime. HEck, maybe we could help eachother!

Ok, heres my advice: if youre bingeing every few days, it means that youre not eating enough on the other days, OR that youre not eating the right things and your body is craving something youre not giving it.

To lose body fat, diet IS the most important thing to keep clean so its a good idea to get a good handle on what you should be eating.

A lot of people say that low carb eating helps with fat loss, and it does, but its pretty drastic and I dont recommend it for someone whose already having trouble with the bingeing cycle. So you can try a kind of looser low carb "diet" which involves eat things like: fish, chicken, nuts and seeds, veggies (obviously!), certain fruits (such as berries, apples, oranges), oatmeal, that kinda stuff.

If you can eat that stuff at about 5 smaller meals a day, you cant really go wrong for now. You can worry about tweaking it later when you get the bf down to a certain level but for now just concentrate on keeping a generally clean diet.

Try and maybe work some more weight training into your workout and youll see results for sure!

Any questions, I'm here!

I would suggest a full body workout(weights) 3 x per week with cardio on the other 3 days. If you weigh 110lbs then your maintainace calories should be @ 1500-1600 cals/per day. at 1100 day you are starving yourself and this leads to the binge eating.

Suggestion:

150g/day protein= 600 cal
150g/day complex carbs=600cal
45-50 day/fats(olive oil, flaxseed oil)= 400-500 cals

When cutting cals I would not drop lower then @ 1300 day-That is already a 20% reduction.

Welcome to MC !! You'll get some great advice here !!

T82... I PMed you.

Choke03.. Thanks for the welcome!

BLEED GREEN... Is it OK to do endurance type weight work (lighter weights higher reps) 3 times a week, or do I need to be doing heavy weights one for one of those? Some tell me I'll bulk up with heavy weights and will look bigger (not what I'm going for) others tell me that I need heavy work to loose bf. What's your take on this?

Any time anyone says to you that if youre lifting heavy weights youll bulk up, laugh in their face! :laugh:

Thats simply not true hun. For a woman to actually "bulk up" it takes way more than some werious weights at the gym.

This is the complete opposite of true, in fact. You need to challenge your body and your muscles. Lifting heavier weights will make you stronger and will actually make your body smaller and tighter! More muscle means burning more calories, even at rest.

And I sentcha a PM back hun, check it out!

TB2.. check your PM again lol

katia7 said:

BLEED GREEN... Is it OK to do endurance type weight work (lighter weights higher reps) 3 times a week, or do I need to be doing heavy weights one for one of those? Some tell me I'll bulk up with heavy weights and will look bigger (not what I'm going for) others tell me that I need heavy work to loose bf. What's your take on this?

Click to expand...

You will NOT bulk up from heavy weights unless you are a genetic freak-lol

I would suggest medium weights-rep range of 8-12, 3 sets per exercise.

I just posted the same question on the General board, but thought I should ask you too....
What exersizes should I be doing at the gym and how much weight should I be using with each (I've never done really heavy weight work)? Also, would 1 dayof heavy work, 2 endurance days and 3 cardio days be good?

Thank you

I suggest 3 medium weight days, 3 days cardio.

As far as excercises what does your current weight workout consist of?

hello and welcome, Katia7!

I do workou videos so i do whatever exersizes are in the video... here's a copy of one that I do the most (it's an endurance workout)...
EXERSIZE - TIME in min
warm - up 5:02
Leg Press #1 2:35
Barbell Squats 3:00
Deadlifts 2:03
Rows 2:39
Deadrow/Clean & Press 2:11
Bicep Curls 3:35
Leg Press #2 2:04
Lunges 4:39
Chest 3:30
medicine ball 1:02
Pushups 0:59
Dips 0:52
Tricep Kickbacks 1:28
Overhead Triceps 1:33
Leg Press #3 2:13
Glute Raises 2:57
Shoulders 1:07
Front/side Raises 0:50
rear delt raises 1:04
lateral raises 1:30
Abs9:32

I posted my advice in the gen forum.

So when it says chest 3:30 that means you do a chest exercise for that amount of time? At what weight?

welcome and hope the info works for you.

yes, 3:30 is the time in minutes. Here's the weight I use...
Leg Press #1 2:35--10lb
Barbell Squats 3:00--16 lb
Deadlifts 2:03--16lb
Rows 2:39--start w/ 10lb and then lower to 8lb
Deadrow/Clean & Press 2:11--two 8lb dumbells
Bicep Curls 3:35--two 8 lb dumbells and then go down to 5lb db
Leg Press #2 2:04 10lb
Lunges 4:39 --16lb and then go down to 10lb
Chest 3:30--two #5 dumbells
medicine ball 1:02 --5lb
Pushups 0:59
Dips 0:52
Tricep Kickbacks 1:28--two #3 dumbells
Overhead Triceps 1:33 --8lb
Leg Press #3 2:13 --10 lb
Glute Raises 2:57
Shoulders 1:07 -- two 8lb dumbells and then go down to two 5 lb
Front/side Raises 0:50 --two 3lb dumbells
rear delt raises 1:0--two 3lb dumbells
lateral raises 1:30--two 3lb dumbells
Abs9:32