I need some advice...

R

russell1

New member
Hello there!

I need some advice...

I'm 35 years old who up to 3 years ago was very active i.e. since childhood. I played football 3 times a week, went to the gym 3/4 times a week and was very fit and weighed approximately 12/12.5 st. I am 6ft in height. Now having not worked out for a number of years, I now weigh 14.5 st, medium build.

I recently joined a gym (2 weeks ago) and have been going 4 times per week. I combine this time - 45 mins weights (free and machines) and 30 mins swimming.

My calorie intake during the 2 week period has been on average 1300 per day.

My goal is to bring my weight back down to 12.5 st, along with fitness.

Am I going about this in the right way? Do I need to up my weights/excerise time, increase/decrease calories to lose weight and gain fitness?

Any help would be much appreciated.

Russ
 
Hey Russ!
Congrats on the great work you've done so far.
The calorie amount you're taking in is too low. If you don't get enough fuel, your body will go to your fat and muscle stores to make new energy.
Unfortunately, muscle breaks down much faster than fat. Instead, you need to eat enough to preserve your muscle and bring fat out of storage to feed that muscle.
Additionally, if you don't eat enough, you'll be fatigued and it could cause you to binge at some point.
I calculated your basal energy needs to be around 1800 calories. So you don't want to go any lower than that. You are a tall guy and doing a lot of activity, you should aim for at least 2000 calories a day.
I don't promote quick weight loss, because that is dangerous and can lead to some serious health conditions. You want to aim for 1/2 pound to 2 pounds a week.
If you stick with this amount, it should be something that you can easily sustain and perhaps make into a lifestyle instead of dieting.
Be sure to eat lots of vegetables with your meals, these are loaded with water and fiber to keep you full, but don't forget about protein and carbs too. A balanced meal is best in order to provide your body with all of the vitamins and minerals it needs.
Good Luck!!!!
 
Hi Mandy

Some great advice! Thank you so much.

I did not realise you had to eat enough to save muscle i.e. bring out fat from storage to feed that muscle. I will aim to take in 2000 calories each day along with regular exercise.

Just to let you know in 2 weeks since I started training, playing football, eating less, I have lost 3Ibs and I can already see the benefits. Good times ahead!

I will keep you posted on my development.

Russ
 
AAlso make sure you are getting enough protein in your diet. Sounds like you got a good thing going but I have found if I don't eat enough protein I get pretty tired. It's also important to have a lot of protein to help maintain and build muscle if that's part of your goal to build a bit of muscle. Either way you can't go wrong with protein :)
 
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