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zacattack
zacattack g Zach Dowdell
10 Post(s)
10 Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Gain Muscle Date Joined: February 2, 2017
Posted

So my girlfriend is trying to lose weight. She used to be overweight but after I got her into fitness and helped her out she lost 20 pounds (which is huge at her height). She is extremely small at 5 feet tall and is trying to lose about 5-10 more pounds to be deeper into the "normal range" (she doesn't have much extra muscle at all so BMI is a solid indicator in her case) and cut out just the last little bit of fat she doesn't like. But she can't seem to lose weight. She is eating roughly 1200 calories a day. I helped her figure out her TDEE, BMR, macros etc. But even at 1200 calories a day she isn't losing much despite it being lower than her BMR. I'm really not sure how to help because even if the BMR was way off she can't exactly go much lower without being absolutely miserable. I recommended less carbs and more protein/fat to help with satiety but even then I doubt she'd be able to handle going much lower. She drinks nearly a gallon of water a day. Appetite suppresants such as caffeine or ephedrine are a strong no since she is extremely sensitive to stimulants and I'm not a fan of EC and after the little she read she isn't either. I even considered recommending diet soda since the carboantion might help fill her up. Any advice? I'm at the end of my rope here since all the common stuff that is more than enough for me isn't quite enough for her.

Scott_Herman
Scott_Herman a Scott Herman
7.1K Post(s)
7.1K Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Bodybuilding Date Joined: August 8, 2008
Posted
Posted By: zacattack

So my girlfriend is trying to lose weight. She used to be overweight but after I got her into fitness and helped her out she lost 20 pounds (which is huge at her height). She is extremely small at 5 feet tall and is trying to lose about 5-10 more pounds to be deeper into the "normal range" (she doesn't have much extra muscle at all so BMI is a solid indicator in her case) and cut out just the last little bit of fat she doesn't like. But she can't seem to lose weight. She is eating roughly 1200 calories a day. I helped her figure out her TDEE, BMR, macros etc. But even at 1200 calories a day she isn't losing much despite it being lower than her BMR. I'm really not sure how to help because even if the BMR was way off she can't exactly go much lower without being absolutely miserable. I recommended less carbs and more protein/fat to help with satiety but even then I doubt she'd be able to handle going much lower. She drinks nearly a gallon of water a day. Appetite suppresants such as caffeine or ephedrine are a strong no since she is extremely sensitive to stimulants and I'm not a fan of EC and after the little she read she isn't either. I even considered recommending diet soda since the carboantion might help fill her up. Any advice? I'm at the end of my rope here since all the common stuff that is more than enough for me isn't quite enough for her.

@zacattack What are her current macros to hit 1200 calories?

 

And how much cardio is she doing / what kind of cardio?

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zacattack
zacattack g Zach Dowdell
10 Post(s)
10 Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Gain Muscle Date Joined: February 2, 2017
Posted

Off the top of my head its roughly 110g protein, 120g carbs, 35g fat for 1235 total. Cardio is "lite" HIIT normally 20 minutes jogging a minute of faster running sprinkled in here and there on a treadmill after our workout 3x a week. I say lite because its not full on HIIT and not as regimented.

Scott_Herman
Scott_Herman a Scott Herman
7.1K Post(s)
7.1K Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Bodybuilding Date Joined: August 8, 2008
Posted
Posted By: zacattack

Off the top of my head its roughly 110g protein, 120g carbs, 35g fat for 1235 total. Cardio is "lite" HIIT normally 20 minutes jogging a minute of faster running sprinkled in here and there on a treadmill after our workout 3x a week. I say lite because its not full on HIIT and not as regimented.

@zacattack Try chaning the macros. Keep the carbs to 100g or less. A max of 100g on workout days, and closer to 50g on rest days. It will suck.. but it might be what she needs to help get rid of that stubborn few pounds that are left.

 

You could try adding a 4th day of HIIT for more calorie burning. Or just make it every other day. Maybe alternate between what is being done now (the "lite" HIIT) and full HIIT where it's running for 1 minute, walking for 1 minute, for a full 20 minutes. Or even 30 seconds of running and 1 minute of walking for 20 minutes to start with if needed.

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BernzTheWord
BernzTheWord g Berni Martinez Carey
1 Post(s)
1 Post(s) Gender: Female Goal: Gain Muscle Date Joined: December 12, 2018
Posted

Is it OK to stop weighing yourself/Myself and just measuring with the tape?

zacattack
zacattack g Zach Dowdell
10 Post(s)
10 Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Gain Muscle Date Joined: February 2, 2017
Posted

Thanks Scott! I'll tell her to give that a try.

 

And Bernz I don't see why not, typically I go by the mirror, I only use the scale to make sure I'm on the right track since I'm not going to notice a one pound difference when I start a cut a week in and it lets me know whether I cut calories too much or not enough based on my activity level.

Scott_Herman
Scott_Herman a Scott Herman
7.1K Post(s)
7.1K Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Bodybuilding Date Joined: August 8, 2008
Posted
Posted By: BernzTheWord

Is it OK to stop weighing yourself/Myself and just measuring with the tape?

@BernzTheWord Yes that's OK! You don't need to weight yourself because at the end of the day, some people aren't worried about the number on the scale - it's more about how you look and feel!

 

If you are weighing yourself, keep it to just once a week, on the same day and under the same circumstances if you can. But using a measuring tape is also a good idea! You probably only need to do that once every week or two weeks as well.

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Scott_Herman
Scott_Herman a Scott Herman
7.1K Post(s)
7.1K Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Bodybuilding Date Joined: August 8, 2008
Posted
Posted By: zacattack

Thanks Scott! I'll tell her to give that a try.

 

And Bernz I don't see why not, typically I go by the mirror, I only use the scale to make sure I'm on the right track since I'm not going to notice a one pound difference when I start a cut a week in and it lets me know whether I cut calories too much or not enough based on my activity level.

@zacattack Hope it helps Zach!

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