lose fat or gain muscles? NEED A NEW PLAN!

Okay so I started out 255 pounds and am now 196 pounds and a size 12.  My body is very well proportioned and muscular and I'm often told i look smaller than I actually weigh.

Anyways at first i wasnt following a plan because pretty much anything I did was working.  I ate less and worked out (including cardio and light weights).  Now I feel like I might need to start an actual plan to get where I want to be.  Do I focus on fat loss first, or continue to do weights or both.  I feel like when I do fat loss and weights I kind of even it out and it doesn't do anything.

HELP!  I eat between 1200-1600 calories a day depending on my expenditure.  Im eating (roughly!  because it is hard!) 30/30/40 protein/fat/carb.

Should I just focus on fat loss for now and then tone up when the fat is gone?  I have 10 months til Maui and I am FAR from bikini ready! 

I don't think toning up and losing weight are mutually exclusive.   If you're physically active  it makes losing weight easier because your body burns fat just a little quicker.  Keeping your muscles in good shape also helps boost your metabolism.  What you're really aiming for, of course,  is not just to be wearing a bikini in Maui but to be a healthy weight and in good physicial condition for life......  so treat it that way.   Keep your diet interesting and varied and your exercises similar.  Eat foods you enjoy, watch the portion-sizes and find activities you like doing.  Then you'll be slim long after the sun-tan has faded.

A plan is important as your weight comes down because you need to be a little more conscientious about calories in and calories out.  When you're very overweight there's more margin for error than when you're slimmer.   1200 cals sounds too low for someone 196lbs, btw..... If you exercise regularly your metabolism will never be that of a 'sedentary' person, not even on your days off.    Crash diet and you risk stalling your weight-loss and then it becomes a very hard grind... no fun at all.    Stick with a steady 1600-1700 from now on, do a recalculation when you get to 170lbs and I think you'll have more energy and lose weight just as quickly. 

I have been trying to eat more lately and have upped my wieght training.  It's hard for me to eat that many calories because I have been trying to eat a lot of fruits, veggies and protein.  But i need to add in more protein and more grains and fat  i think.  So basically just keep being healthy and it should all fall into place. 

I just don't know how often to do cardio or how often to work on muscles. 

You need to add grains into your diet. Your body needs them ... especially the wholegrains.  Fruit is good to eat but, because of its (naturally) sugary nature, it's not the most satisfying food.  Wholegrains, on the other hand, will fill you up just a little longer.  If you include a small amount at each meal you'll find it makes a difference and it'll help you top up those missing calories.  Fats are also essential for your body to work properly... and they also make meals more satisfying.  You don't need to add much to your diet.  A teaspoon of olive here and there... some oily fish like salmon from time to time.  Aim for 50- 60% carbohydrate, 15-25% lean protein (animal or vegetable), and 25-30% fats...  that's a fairly good working definition of a balanced diet. 

But do get the 1600-1700.... There are so many posts on this board you can read where people have aimed too low, cut their calories too dramatically and are now confused as to why they've stopped losing weight...  I'd hate that to happen to you.

If you're active for at least half an hour each day and alternate between cardiovascular and strengthening exercises.  Both burn fat so you'll get the best of all worlds   Rather than being too prescriptive or rigid, go with things you enjoy doing and try different activities rather than getting stuck in a rut.  That way you'll keep it up for much longer and you won't get bored.

Here Here with gi-jane.  The basic question of lose fat or gain muscle - you absolutely have to do both.  I struggled for a long time not lifting weights for various reason so I only focused on intensive cardio, you can lose the weight that way, but your body will still be flabby (especially if you have a lot of weight to lose - I did, 120 lbs).  By incorporating weight training, you not only tone your body, but you gain lean muscle mass that helps burn calories all the time.  People get fixated on the scale, because muscle weighs more than fat if you lose 2 lbs of fat but gain 2 lbs of muscle you are the same weight but you look 2 lbs thinner (because you are - as muscle though it weighs more is still more dense). 

You are not eating enough either at 1200-1400 cals.  You shouldn't ever dip below 1200 and your body needs a specific number of calories just to operate/function, going below a certain level will put your body in starvation mode and also stall weight loss. When we have a lot of weight to lose this concept is less visible, but as you lose weight if you continue to eat too little you will stall and then when you do start to eat at a healthy level your body will hold onto every morsel of food (as if it was still starving).  This is a really hard concept especially for those of us who have struggled with our weight for a long time.  To think of food as our friend, not enemy.  I still struggle to eat enough calories everyday.  So like gi-jane suggested - reevaluate your daily caloric need.  Remember if the calculators say you need 1700 calories to maintain your weight with both diet and excersize if you consume 1700 calories but in your excersize you consistenly burn 500 calories and then in your eating you cut out 200 cal.  that is a 700 calorie deficit (still above the 1200 cal limit) which means that you will lose 1.5 lbs every week (this is very healthy)...it takes 3500 calories to gain/lose a pound of fat.  The 700 lb defecit means you lose 1 lb every 5 days.  You will look fabulous by Maui time at that rate!  Good luck.

It is even harder to eat more calories than to cut them!  I don't count calories anymore I just eat healthy things until I am not hungry anymore whenever I am hungry.  But I tried logging them a few times lately and it does still say too few.  So my new goal is to eat MORE and to keep working out as I am now!  It shouldnt be hard to eat more food, but it is if I dont think about it.

I totally agree that it can be a challenge to eat more calories.  I am the type of person that I get busy and just don't eat and it doesn't bother me.  I can ignore food for long periods of time and that is why my struggle has been eating too little and putting my body in a starvation mode and then I don't want to eat more because I feared gaining more weight so I'd work out harder at the gym which means my body requires more food and I was giving it less so it would fight me even harder and hold onto everything.  I mean, I could just look at someone else's food and gain weight.   So I totally am there with you that I have to really make it a priority to eat the calories I should so that I lose the weight I want.  Good luck to you.

Quick and easy ways to add a few calories while still eating healthy:

Stir fry veggies in 1-2 tsp. oil per person (as a replacement for steamed vegetables - or drizzle a little oil over the steamed veggies - or roast the veggies in the oil); adds 40-80 cals and some healthy fats

Sprinkle some granola over your yogurt (or oatmeal or . . .); adds about 25 cals per tablespoon of granola

Put a slice of cheese between your whole grain toast and your scrambled eggs; adds 30-40 cals and some calcium

You can't gain muscle and burn fat at the same time.  To build muscle, you need to be in a calorie surplus, an anabolic state.  To burn fat, you must have a calorie deficit, a catabolic state.

The main reason to do strength training exercises (weight lifting, etc) while in a catabolic state is to prevent the loss of muscle with the fat.  Calorie deficit plus no strength training means you are losing muscle with your fat, which you don't want to do :)  Thats why body builders do a "bulk" stage, where they eat in a calorie surplus and lift to gain muscle, then do a "cut" stage, while they eat in a calorie deficit and lift to keep the muscle gained and to burn off any extra fat that was gained while in the "bulk" stage.

I highly recomend Tom Venuto's book "Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle" as he really helps explain everything with fat loss and muscle building.  Nice guy too.

I am making the same choices now . . .and opted to do both. 

I am a little "older" and I am afraid that loosing without strength training, big time would result in muscle loss, reduced bone density, and well looking like I am in big sisters skin LOL.  Gravity is working against me ... know what I mean?

Strength training keeps me a little firmer, and even without loosing too much I look and feel way better.