Seriously over fat... Recomp, fat loss or muscle gain?

kikichewie

Hello, I'm new so please be gentle. I'd like some feedback regarding whether my approach is correct, or if my situation requires something different.

I'm 41, female, 5'8", about 156 pounds and ... 37% body fat.... Until age 35 I was comfortably 125-130 pounds and at 20% BF or slightly lower, which I understand is very thin. However, I never had a disordered relationship with food, and I was active w lifting weights and running. Sedentary lifestyle and work stress kicked in, fertility hormones, pregnancy w bed rest, followed by dropping from 160 (prepregnancy and out of shape) to 140 via a VLCD and appetite suppressants. Not fun. Not healthy, not sustainable, obviously.

So now I'm basically following IIFYM at a 40/30/30 ratio. My daily calories are 1500, and I eat back some of my cardio calories. I use a scale pretty religiously. I fit treats in regularly, and yesterday had a blow out date night.

I'm doing a full body weights ABA BAB schedule similar to StrongLifts. On weights days I usually do 20 minutes of run walk intervals afterwards. Four times a week, I do a second low impact cardio workout. In total I work out 6-7 days a week, 1-2 times per day. This is simply because I bring my toddler to the gym daycare twice Mon-Thurs and once Fri-Sun so she has the opportunity to play. Otherwise I would do less cardio and take more days off. I'm also switching two workouts a week from cardio to yoga.

Anyway, if you got through all that, thanks. I obviously need to reduce my body fat and maintain as much muscle as possible. My goal weight is currently 130 (or whenever I fit back into my clothes). Is there anything I should be doing differently? Will I gain muscle if I add weights progressively, or is that hopeless at a deficit? Should I set a more aggressive weight loss schedule (2 pounds) since I'm so overfat, or stick with 1 pound per week since I'm a normal weight? The only thing I can't and won't consider at this point is not going to the gym as often. I am working hard not to overtrain, as far as not taxing my connective tissues, etc. by running too hard too frequently. I also try to give as much recovery time as I can after I lift. I lift as heavy as I can, but my lower body is seriously weak and imbalanced.

Is there something about a recomposition strategy that would be significantly different? I know this is goi g to take a long time, but I do want to be as efficient as possible with my efforts! (Although it's hard not to want to see the scale drop like the VLCD.) Oh and my home BF scale is calibrated w the one from the doctor's office, so I'm fairly certain it's accurate.

maxit

Sounds like you are on track to me.

lemurcat12

It's important to keep a moderate deficit to avoid losing muscle (you probably won't be able to gain muscle at a deficit, but can make progress and gain strength). IMO, if you have a good bit of fat to lose recomping is hard--I'm trying it now but may go back to a more fat loss focused program because it's SO slow and hard to see the progress (I'm giving it at least another month, though). It sounds like what you are doing now is reasonable.

There's a good group called Eat, Train, Progress that you might want to check out--they are great at giving advice for questions like yours. http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/10118-eat-train-progress

Also, depending on how you got the body fat estimate it could very well be wrong. Unless you did a DEXA or dunk test or something like that I wouldn't assume it's accurate, especially given your other stats.

h7463

Hi! As long as you are happy with your workout schedule, and you feel that you can keep doing this for a long period of time, it's all good, IMO. Slow progress is still progress.
However, I second the opinion of the previous poster. Get a better body fat scan. I've got a bathroom scale that's driving me nuts by measuring BF, bouncing up and down 15% in the same week. I rarely ever use it now.

cheshirecatastrophe

How are you measuring your body fat percentage? If it's an at-home scale, the measurement is basically junk. At 5'8 and 155 you are not "overfat." You might not be happy with your body, but you're comfortably in your healthy weight range and it sounds like you're in pretty awesome shape.

If you try to lose weight at a faster rate (there is NO reason you should be aiming for 2 lbs a week; that's for people with like 50+ pounds to lose), chances are that more of it is going to come from muscle. Fat loss is, unfortunately, slow loss.

kikichewie

The home scale I'm using shows the same results as the one at the doctor's office and does not show significant fluctuations daily at all. It also showed a downward trend that matched the doctor's scale when I was on the VLCD, which showed at the time when some lean muscle mass was lost and when initial weight loss drops were water weight, etc. So I really have no reason to doubt it's accuracy at least to the point of saying that my body fat is approximately double what it was, and it is not healthy. Actually it was the BF that convinced my doctor at the time to qualify me for the diet, not my normal, healthy weight, but we chose to stop it when I hit 140 even though my body fat was still higher than the top of the healthy range. As my doctor put it (describing her similar fat situation before she started getting healthy), I'm like veal right now.....

As for being in shape. Nope. I've been in really great shape before, and this is not it.

Skinny or a particular weight does not equal being strong, agile, having any endurance or being less susceptible to injury, which are my definitions of healthy. I can see improvements in just the last three weeks (not visually, but that's okay), but I have a long way to go. I really just want to get it done the right way and minimize the risk of injuries. (My IT band has freaked out in the past and I have some imbalances already because of my knee-hip alignment.) I'd be fine with my current weight if my BF was in the fit range. And I may get back up to a higher weight by building muscle after I get the extra fat off. But first things first is the fat. I'd definitely like to be more muscular than I was at my lowest weight, so I know I'll be adjusting my current goal weight and/or it will no longer be relevant.

I had a dexa scan several years ago for bone density purposes. It was promoted by my employer at the time and was free, but they wouldn't give me my BF results. Actually they didn't give me any results, so I'm not sure what the point was. Argh.

Thanks for the feedback, in any case. I know my case is weird, but I look forward to checking out the link provided! And thanks for the reassurance I don't need to drop my calories.