Summer Cut: 5'3/140--130 Ladies Group Chat

@twinmama Also 27/F/5'3"/135lbs. and aiming for 125. I run 5 days a week (30ish mpw), have another cardio crosstraining day, and lift 2-3 days a week (working on consistency with the lifting).

My biggest issue is fuel intake and unnecessary eating while sitting at a desk job. Still trying to figure out caloric needs since I feel like a bunch of the TDEE calculators are crap because they are based on # of days you exercise per week but it doesn't take into account duration or intensity. Waiting on my TDEE spreadsheet to be a bit more accurate since it has my TDEE at 2400 right now. As of this week, I figured it'd be solid to aim for 1700-1800 kcals/day and see how that goes.
 
@fbabers lots of people recommend healthy snacks, but that doesn't work for me. I'm the type that once I eat I want to EAT. So I don't allow myself snacks at work. I have breakfast when I come in, and then lunch. In between is gum, coffee or water no matter how "hungry" I feel.
 
@twinmama I'm the same way. If I let myself snack, that healthy apple turns into 4 apples and it's no longer really healthy. Days when I use your strategy I feel surprisingly good, so maybe just eliminating having snack options will help. Thanks! :)
 
@twinmama 31/5'6"/155lbs. Trying to cut to 135, ideally, but I have a pretty curvy frame (hello, child-bearing hips and 32 G's) and I'm pretty muscular naturally.

Right now, I spin 3-4 times a week for 45 minutes, take 1-2 barre classes, and do yoga once a week. Some big hikes on the weekends, if I can manage to get out (13-15 miles).

Currently eating ~1600 calories a day, but I'm having a hard time finding my sweet spot for a cut. I have a sedentary desk job, so my calories for a cut should be only ~1300 technically, but I absolutely cannot manage that with the amount I spin; tried a week at 1200 calories, and felt so lightheaded and tired, I couldn't maintain that much of a deficit. Hopefully, eating ~1600 calories will cut some weight, while not leaving me lightheaded and hangry.
 
@tilian my work is 95% desk job, only the rare day am I walking around the lab all day. I've found over time with my new fitness my TDEE (THANK GOD) is around 2100 so I can cut at 1700 and do a gradual loss. Like you I can't function on 1200.
 
@twinmama Using IIFYM's TDEE calculator, with 6 work-outs/week in the moderate/difficult range, they calculate a TDEE of ~2000. So at that level, 1600 seems reasonable for a cut? If the calculator is reasonably accurate?

I'm new to cutting while getting exercise during the week, so I'm learning my calorie ranges as I go.
 
@tilian Seems reasonable yep.

We all need to adjust as time goes. If you drop too fast or are too hungry you up the 1600, if it isn't helping you drop then you may need to lower it a bit. You'll find the good range.
 
@twinmama 5'3", currently 59kg (130 lbs), goal weight of 54kg (119 lbs). I'm averaging 1200 a day, which seems to be working for me so far -- I'm losing just a bit more than 500g a week, and I'm not hungry.
*ETA: Scratch that! I was a total marshmallow at kickboxing tonight. I need to bump my calories up a notch!

I'm currently doing bootcamp/kickboxing 1x/week, yoga 1x/wk, zumba 1x/wk (although that will be stopping soon), and lots of hiking + conservation work (basically, sawing off saplings, digging ponds, etc). I've also started doing the Move Phase 1 bodyweight routine from the r/bodyweightfitness sub, trying to fit it in with everything else. Goal: recover enough shoulder mobility and strength to perform a handstand, in a couple of years time, and maybe go back to archery.
 
@crr We have the same stats! It's been a while since you posted so I want to ask how it's been going for you. I'm trying to cut to 1200 just with food but I think it's not working out, I'm having trouble with my lifts and finding that I get dizzy if I stand up too fast. Wondering if it's just my body adjusting or if I should increase my limit to 1300-1400.
I hope it's gone well for you and you've seen some progress!
 
@crr I think we all do the food cals similar in theory.

My TDEE sedentary is ~1700. With my fitness, it's ~2100. So take away 500 and you end up with 1600, but I give myself 16-1700 for sanity sake.
 
@twinmama 21/5'9.5/133lbs I am aiming to cut to 125.
I lift 5-6 days a week at 1500 cal. Cardio maybe 2 days a week of just jogging etc. My TDEE spreadsheet says that I'm at 1860 ish Cal so idk :/
Good luck ladies :)
 
@twinmama 32/F/5'2/132lbs - cutting at 1800 calories. I lift 5 days a week and am aiming to do cardio 3 days a week. I'd like my end weight to be 115 - 118lbs. I will adjust as I get closer.

Last summer I did a cut before a beach vacation and landed right at 122. Since then, I've been continuing to lift and can't wait to see how my physique looks as I shred this weight.

We got this!
 
@carolinealive37 Same stats! I lift 3 days a week, do LISS 1 day a week and HIIT 2 days. I'm trying to play around with my deficit and am looking for where to start. Can I ask how you ended up at 1800?
 
@poenah Hi! I did a cut last year and had a good idea of what my TDEE was. I’ve actually just reduced my calories to 1550 now. I was starting to stall at 1800. If you’re unsure where to start, try picking a number and seeing how your weight fluctuates over 2 weeks. If it’s not going down quick enough, you can decrease calories.
 
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