What's an actual realistic goal? Pictures and current routine included

[sf3612]

@randy321 Are you sure you didn't underestimate the calories consumed or had several incompletely tracked days (not tracking a day at all is fine, but only tracking part of a day regularly will throw the algorithm off). If MacroFactor was recommending you 1200kcal/day you must have logged somewhat close to that without losing weight as quickly as you put as a goal or you maybe you ate significantly more, but the weight change was also significantly off from the goal.

Maybe if you were only using it for a short time it was thrown off by weight fluctuations, but those should have evened out with time. MF will give you TDEE estimates after only 7 days and for people without a cycle comparing week averages of weight is fine, but if you have a cycle fluctuations due to that will mask meaningful weight changes over such short terms.

At the end of the day, the way the algorithm works is „If the weight change is larger than your goal weight change, eat less, if it is lower, eat more.“ Maybe it's not exactly correct in how much less or more, but the direction should be correct, except for weight fluctuations not due to tissue gain or loss.

 

[randy321]

@sf3612 I used it for about 4-5 months. I didn't really have a time frame, I kinda let it pick for me so the app set my goal as a few months. I was only trying to lose 15 lbs and at first it gave me ~1600 calories/day. I would only log full days and I was weighing everything and logging everything. Every single cookie, every candy, even the glass of wine. I cook a lot of my own food so there may have been discrepancies there but maybe only 20-30 calories. It kept decreasing my calories with no change in weight. I was exhausted all the time. When it tried to set it at 1200 calories, I quit. There was no way I could do that amount.

 

[sf3612]

@randy321 Thanks for sharing. It's interesting hearing other people's experiences with this and to get a bit more of a feeling of what is normal.

Where did your TDEE estimate end up? 1200 was the target for losing weight, right?

My interpretation of this is that calorie tracking is only a tool out of many for weight change. It has it's limitations and it's not suitable or necessary for everyone. Still I feel like MacroFactor does calorie tracking best.

 

[motherofone]

@sf3612 Second checking out MacroFactor - was huge game changer for me when I started lifting in July. I’m 34, 5’4, 126 lbs and eat about 2100 a day lifting 3x a week and walking about 15-20 miles per week. I also do really low impact yoga for flexibility etc. anyway, I’ve been able to maintain and their calculations have been so helpful in guiding my eating. I think if I didn’t have it I’d instinctively be under eating by accident! Math is not my strong suit nor is Excel but I’m sure you could set up all the formulas and algorithms in a way to also get a fairly accurate calculation without paying for an app but

 

[rev_mikeh]

@patrick226 Fellow short waist. 27F and just started lifting this year. I went from overweight at 172 down to 147 currently. I just started following a Team Soul Powerlifting/building program about a month ago and i am getting some nice definition, PR’d twice now on all my lifts. 185 squat, 110 bench and 230 deadlift.
I started with some lifting but mostly cardio in my weight loss. I ate at a deficit…around 1000 calories a day…and upped my protein. I was pretty strict with this.
Now I eat around 1200-1400 calories and 82-110g of protein (planning to up again once I hit my goal weight), lift 5 days a week with cardio sprinkled in.
Edit: I’m 5’3”
Edit: I guess my advice is to go at whatever pace feels best for you but keep going! Find what works for you and stick with it. Everyone is different. But as long as you keep lifting and eating a low fat/high protein healthy and consistent diet….you’ll get to where you want to be, just might take longer than say the aggressive route I took.

 

[dawn16]

@patrick226 I think your goals are very realistic. I think maybe genetics are probably the main reason that your body doesn’t look exactly how you would think it would look or want it to look with 10 years of heavy lifting??

For the calorie part…
Here’s how I was able to do it.

So my calorie “ limit “ was 1700 but I aimed for 1500 as much as I could, and in my head I also knew that I could still lose weight even if I ate up to 2000.

So basically. I consistently aimed for lower than my limit but gave myself a lot of wiggle room for error.

Even if I had a day that I ate 2k or more I’d still keep trecking on, I wouldn’t even count it as messing up which I think is important for the mental part. Each day aiming to track as little as 1500 cals (potentially to make up for any days I went over or for any underestimating).
Weighed myself once a week and I always thought of my calories in weekly terms. So, no single day could mess up the whole week as long as I stayed strong. Consistently lost a pound or two each week. Some weeks it stayed the same or even went up but I didn’t sweat it as I was still on track for my weightloss goal.

I was able to keep this up for about 8 months and I lost 30 pounds. ( I’m also a heavy lifter & runner for 5 about years. )

 

[motherofone]

@dawn16 Second genetics here, too. I have similar stats to you and can only sumo deadlift 110, yet I do have some visible ab when I am not bloated (lol) - I am a pear shape and have always had a naturally slim waist so any “gain” becomes more easily visible. Now, um… I am genetically jealous of your glute gains lmao, my hips/butt (where all my weight goes) will never look like that!

 

[doctrine]

@patrick226 Time to reverse diet, increase those calories, and build yourself an unstoppable metabolism! Get yourself to around 2400-2600 calories and lift hard and heavy. When it’s time to cut, you’ll be able to do so at around 1800 calories which is way more sustainable.

 

[dawn16]

@doctrine This is the way

 

[brookrbunch]

@patrick226 I can't recommend Renaissance Woman by RP Strength enough. It breaks down cutting, bulking and maintenance in a way that really clicked for me. Exercise and training had never been my issue. It was nutrition and this book really helped. I've cycled through a cut and bulk with maintenance and am very pleased with my progress.

And it might be worth getting a BF% test if that's available to you. Not totally necessary but I did a hydrostatic test and it put some things in perspective for me.

 

[katew]

@patrick226 The fact that you’ve been lifting for 10 years and your compound movements are fairly low for your weight tells me you need a coach. Nothing will get you results like working with an experienced barbell coach who can tailor your program to you.

1400 calories is too low for someone who is lifting. I think your restriction is limiting your workouts and progress.

 

[bibletruths]

@katew Agree that 1400 calories is too low for a heavy lifting 5'4" woman. I am 5'4" and cannot track my calories anymore because I am in long-term recovery from an eating disorder and the holidays/my own numbers get very triggering for me. Last I checked the scale my weight was around 130-135, but I have visible muscle definition all over -- so I may have higher fat %, but I know I've built a heckin' lot of muscle since going into ED recovery last fall and eating more.

For me, I tend to prioritize protein in my meals and snacks and don't worry about anything else. I personally think OP should eat at LEAST at TDEE (1800 calories) but I'd try 2000 per day, if you'd like to track. Aim for over 100 grams of protein, around 125, and bump up your intake. You will find you have a lot more energy, you'll feel more satisfied, and you should start to see slow muscle build.

 

[patrick226]

@katew I thought my lifts were lack luster considering how long I have been at it for. I thought following a training program by Meg Squats would give me the boost but you might be right that I need someone there to push me and tailor a program to my needs. I had a personal trainer for the first couple years of my journey but wasn't eating enough and I think that zapped a lot of the gaines I could have had.

 

[bibletruths]

@patrick226 Eating properly will make a phenomenal difference. Maybe my story is an extreme, but I was restricting and suffering from my eating disorder for 10 years and lifted weights for that entire time. I looked frail and skinny, but I was lifting comparatively heavy. I couldn't understand why I wasn't building the muscle...

And, yeah, it was obviously my diet (or lack thereof). If you're anything like me it'll really give you the boost you need.

 

[patrick226]

@bibletruths Thank you for sharing. That must have been mentally and physically exhausting to be lifting and struggling with an eating disorder at the same time. I’m realizing the huge impact nutrition has for the outcome of lifting from this post. I always knew it played a role but I thought it was more related to body fat.

 

[bibletruths]

@patrick226 That's what I had thought, too. But no, I saw drastic changes in my body (and, you know, how I felt overall, because I hadn't realized just how much I was destroying myself with my ED) when I started eating more and pumping up the protein.

There is a part of me that isn't totally happy with the amount of body fat I can see on myself, but I'm trying to let go of all aesthetic expectations because it isn't healthy for me, personally. My husband has also hidden the scale and I have no idea where it is, so I can't fall back on my numbers obsession.

I hope you're able to achieve your goals with these adjustments, and hey, getting to eat more than you thought is a nice thing, right?

 

[dmm]

@patrick226 I had pretty similar stats as you for a long time, and i got WAY stronger through GZCLP. if you check out r/gzcl you can find a lot of good info. i have a writeup of my experience in this sub. the linear progression taught me a lot about actual RIR, failure, etc. Now i'm running SBTD and i think i can make good progress because i maxed out my linear gains. and yes, you should definitely aim for over 1400 calories. if you're walking 10K+ steps, sometimes, running and lifting 4x a week you'll need more. also, in order to build and retain muscle then eating at maintenance or spending time in a small bulk would help. muscle is metabolically costly and if you're always eating at a deficit you'll struggle to look like you lift heavy.

 

[patrick226]

@dmm Thank you for the info. I'll take a look at your post and r/gzcl. It seems that I have been sabotaging my own efforts by trying to eat at a deficit while lifting and expecting to build muscle. I think I'm going to try eating at maintenance and push myself more in lifting. Thank you again for sharing your experience.

 

[deadpool]

@patrick226 I definitely think nutrition is the bigger factor here. I've made pretty good progress on my lifts following Meg's program, but even when cutting I don't eat below 1500. When bulking I'm often eating around 2100 (and I'm 5'0", so you'd probably need to eat more than that).

 

[selene03]

@patrick226 Do you struggle with hunger cues, food cravings, or both when you try sticking to 1400?