A little background on me.....

I'm 25, 5'7, 135 lbs. BMI od 21.1. Body fat % of 26!!! I've created 2 beautiful children. My son is 5 and my daughter is 1. In March of 2007, I weighed 177 lbs. I was 3 months postpartum and has let myself go. My husband and best friend of 6 years, cheated on me. I was very upset and lost my appetite. I lost 10 lbs in 3 weeks. After that, I started to get very happy! Just so dang happy to be single! What women in their right mind picks out their life partner at 18? I had simply out grown my husband, and eventhough he betrayed me, he did me a favor. Because now, the possibilities are endless!

After losing the initial 10 lbs by way of crash dieting, I lost the remaining 34 in a very slow and healthy way. I hula hooped at first, then I ran, did squats, climbed stairs, etc... I must say... I did not work out very much. I ate well and enough, and just lost VERY slowly by diet alone. The last 10 lbs I lost took months! Not having my husband around caused me to lose weight. He was the type that could eat whatever he wanted and never gain and was a bad influence. And I couldn't turn down what he brought into the house.

For the last 3 weeks, I've been weight training every other day and drinking a protein shake after each session. Eventhough I was eating more then usual I lost those last 3 lbs I wanted to, when diet and running would just not do it for weeks.

So here I am at my goal weight but with a HUGE amount of body fat! 26% yuck!!

Welcome to the forum. Way to go making the positives out of your situation. Im sure you will suceed admirably and be a rolemodel to your kids. Use them as your inspiration and your motivation.

Anyway welcome to the forum.

P.s. Your username is familiar been a member of any other forums?

Each day I get:

5 bread circles (80 calories each)
8 protein circles (60 calories each)
4 fruit circles (70 calories each)
unlimited veggies, not starchy veggies
8 water circles (or more)
3 or 4 fat circles (30 calories each)
3 milk circles (80 calories each)

That's a total of 1450 - 1500 calories. Is that too much or too little?? (I am trying to lose body fat, while gaining muscle, without gaining weight. I want to stay at 135! I know muscle is heavy, but I really want to stay at 135. I was to lose weight in fat and replace that weight in muscle.

When I was losing weight (43 lbs of it) .... I would eat 4 bread circles, 6 proteins circles, 3 fruit circles, 3 fats circles, and 3 milk circles.)
So I was eating 1200 - 1300 calories per day. Although I usually took a few days off every week and ate more. That would trigger my body to lose more, later.... especially when I hit a plateau.

Is this okay... for my goal in mind?

nbs... thank you Nope, this is the only fitness site I've been on.

welcome to the forum.

Keep doing what you are doing.

the eyes are on you. keep logging and we will pitch in.

AND-- keep it fun-- hoola hoops, stairs, and all that oh my!!

FF

If what you're doing is working, then keep doing it.

I wouldnt shoot for less then 1500calories if progress slows though.

And congratulations on losing the excess baggage (in more ways then 1!)

Tony, thanks for the input!

Okay.. I've done some calculations..
My...
Body weight - 135 lbs
Lean body mass - 100 lbs
BMI - 21.1
Body fat % - 26%
Calories burned in 1 day - 1500
Calories eaten in 1 day - 1500

Question 1 -
My calculations say I burn 1500 calories when exercising 3-5 times per week. Yet for 6 weeks in August, I took a break from weight loss, had been eating 1700 or even 1800 calories per day, exercising only 1-2 per week and did not gain or lose a single lb. So I wonder if eating 1500 calories per day would be a deficit for me? (I want to build muscle and lower fat %, not lose any more weight)
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Questions 2-
I am confused. I know it's best to lost body fat by way of a deficit of calories, and then build muscle through a surplus of calories.

I know that it's possible for a beginner to lose fat AND build muscle, although the results come slower when done at the same time. Logic tells me this is done by eating an amount of calories that fall between what your deficit and surplus would be. Is this correct? I burn 1500 calories per day. So how much should I eat?

****But, I think many confused losing fat with losing weight. I do not want to lose weight. I want to stay at 135. I have been on a deficit diet for almost 9 months while doing cardio 2 times per week. My body fat is still very high. I REALLY DON'T KNOW HOW TO LOWER IT!****

If I do more cardio, then I worry that I will burn more calories then I eat (1500) and therefore will not build muscle. (I weight train 3-4 times per week)

I am so confused! I read this thread...http://training.fitness.com/womens-w...cit-28856.html which was helpful. But still didn't answer my question....

"What if I've already been on a deficit for months, cardio 2 times per week, and my weight has dropped to where I want it to be, but my body fat has barely lowered!??"


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Yesterday I did. (and I sure hope I'm not making a huge mistake)

10 minute cardio warm up. (jogging) followed by....
2 sets of 24 reps (48 reps total) of the following....

-squats with 15lb weight
-lunges with 15lb weight on right side
-lunges with 15lb weight on left side
-push ups
-push ups up against wall
-crunches with 15lb weight on chest
-crunches with 15lb weight to the right
-crunches with 15lb weight to the left
-not sure what to call this (left my book at my mom's house) but,
laying on back, lifting 15lb weight weight over my head.
- again not sure what to call it... but laying on my stomach on an exercise ball and lifting body legs up behind me and down again.


Questions 3 -
How long can I use the 15 lb weight before increasing? I read I should increase weight instead of increasing reps... correct? Would using my 45 son as a weight be too much too soon and somehow... screw things up? I can easily do 24 squats with him on my shoulders. It feels like work, but is not going to hurt me.

One thing to remember is your base metabolism rate can, and will change. Your body wants to maintain the status quo to some degree and will increase and decrease your BMR to accomadate some changes in diet and activity level to try keep your weight around the same. That is why most individuals who go on a diet loose 10 pounds quickly and then stop loosing, their body has adjusted to the new calorie level and wants to maintain, that is prevent them from wasting away from starvation. It is theorized this comes from our distant past when humans were hunter gatherers and had to go long periods when food was scarce, until they made the next big kill or found another berry patch.

You should definately try to increase the weights gradually over time, until increasing them any more results in not beng able to perform the desired reps. Weight training is sometimes called progressive resistance exercise, since it looses its effectiveness as your strength and fitness level increase if you do not keep progressing to higher weights. You need to continue to challenge yourself to do more, in intensity, not volume. If you do you should continue to gradually increase muscle and decrease fat.

Welcome to the forum. Doing something is nearly always better than doing nothing. Looking at your workout, how'd you come up with the number of sets and reps? You can consider 3x15, 4x10, 5x5, 8x3 etc - just that 2x24 seems an unusual number. What book are you using?

I try to add weight each workout, generally 10lbs to lower body exercises and 5lbs (each dumbbell) for upper body exercises per workout. You might want to invest in some dumbbells and/or be creative with what you have on hand to create some resistance tools you can work with.

Am I reading that correctly? Your son?