Exercise Sabatoging Weight Loss?
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Try and get your BF% re-tested with a caliper, your gym probably has people that can do that.
I personally know my BF% and I find this calculator to give the closest reading http://www.fat2fittools.com/tools/cbbf/
Good luck0 -
shadow2soul wrote: »chanellecherington wrote: »shadow2soul wrote: »chanellecherington wrote: »I am 5'6" and 165. My goal weight is 135 with a body fat percentage in the low 20s. I am pear shaped and have a super high fat percentage (39%) because of severly restricting calories in the past to lose weight. I have been exercising hard 6 days a week alternating strength and cardio days. I have been eating at 1350 calories and eating back some to all of my exercise calories. I started at 170 (2.5 months ago) with a 42% body fat. My gym has a machine that breaks down body composition and I have put on a pound of muscle, lost 7 pounds of fat, and gained a pound of water on the last weigh in compared to original stats.
Obviously I'm doing something right in terms of exercise, but right now my goal is to lose this fat and then I can bulk up. I am thinking I need to cut calories more to step up the fat loss, but I'm freaking hungry. I use a HRM and burn roughly 300-500 calories per workout.
Bottom line, I want to lose more fat and I don't think I can keep up with working out 6 days a week for an hour plus stretching with life. Do you think cutting my exercise down to 4 days a week and cutting calories to 1200+exercise is a good choice? I feel like exercise is sabatoging my weight loss.
I think maybe you should focus less on what the scale says and more on measurements.
Would it really be a bad thing if you weighed in the 140's, but your BF% was were you wanted it to be?
No, not at all. Id be fine with that. But to get to the 140s Id have to lose 25 pounds of fat and right now that's not happening. The goal is to be at a healthy weight and a healthy body fat percentage.
That's a great goal. But you need to keep in mind that those scales aren't all that accurate. From what I've read, they can be off by 8-9%.
You're right. I still worry about my BF % though. Even if the scale is off by 9% that still puts me at 30% and that's way too high to be healthy.0 -
Try and get your BF% re-tested with a caliper, your gym probably has people that can do that.
I personally know my BF% and I find this calculator to give the closest reading http://www.fat2fittools.com/tools/cbbf/
Good luck
Oh this is the one that I used. It puts me at mid thirties for BF %. I did hear calipers or a dexa scan is the best way to do it. Honestly, regardless of the error margin I think it's safe to say my percentage is just too high, period. That, coupled with my BMI being in the overweight range tells me I have to lose weight, 20-30 pounds of it. I will consider having a more accurate test done once I am closer to goal so I can determine if I need to change composition or whatever. I just reeeally would love to see changes somewhere for all of my efforts since I'm not seeing it on the scale.
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chanellecherington wrote: »Try and get your BF% re-tested with a caliper, your gym probably has people that can do that.
I personally know my BF% and I find this calculator to give the closest reading http://www.fat2fittools.com/tools/cbbf/
Good luck
Oh this is the one that I used. It puts me at mid thirties for BF %. I did hear calipers or a dexa scan is the best way to do it. Honestly, regardless of the error margin I think it's safe to say my percentage is just too high, period. That, coupled with my BMI being in the overweight range tells me I have to lose weight, 20-30 pounds of it. I will consider having a more accurate test done once I am closer to goal so I can determine if I need to change composition or whatever. I just reeeally would love to see changes somewhere for all of my efforts since I'm not seeing it on the scale.
Look to your diary. Bottom line is if you're not losing, you're eating too much. If the exercise is making you hungry, and you're eating more than you burn-perhaps you can do less cardio. If you're not weighing all your food on a food scale, do that.0 -
Big deficits + big workouts => burning up lean body mass.
Be careful.
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arditarose wrote: »chanellecherington wrote: »Try and get your BF% re-tested with a caliper, your gym probably has people that can do that.
I personally know my BF% and I find this calculator to give the closest reading http://www.fat2fittools.com/tools/cbbf/
Good luck
Oh this is the one that I used. It puts me at mid thirties for BF %. I did hear calipers or a dexa scan is the best way to do it. Honestly, regardless of the error margin I think it's safe to say my percentage is just too high, period. That, coupled with my BMI being in the overweight range tells me I have to lose weight, 20-30 pounds of it. I will consider having a more accurate test done once I am closer to goal so I can determine if I need to change composition or whatever. I just reeeally would love to see changes somewhere for all of my efforts since I'm not seeing it on the scale.
Look to your diary. Bottom line is if you're not losing, you're eating too much. If the exercise is making you hungry, and you're eating more than you burn-perhaps you can do less cardio. If you're not weighing all your food on a food scale, do that.
So you think I should stick to 1350 plus exercise calories as a daily goal and cut back on cardio to see if my hunger is managed better? Is strength 3 days a week plus 1 day of cardio enough exercise?0 -
chanellecherington wrote: »arditarose wrote: »chanellecherington wrote: »Try and get your BF% re-tested with a caliper, your gym probably has people that can do that.
I personally know my BF% and I find this calculator to give the closest reading http://www.fat2fittools.com/tools/cbbf/
Good luck
Oh this is the one that I used. It puts me at mid thirties for BF %. I did hear calipers or a dexa scan is the best way to do it. Honestly, regardless of the error margin I think it's safe to say my percentage is just too high, period. That, coupled with my BMI being in the overweight range tells me I have to lose weight, 20-30 pounds of it. I will consider having a more accurate test done once I am closer to goal so I can determine if I need to change composition or whatever. I just reeeally would love to see changes somewhere for all of my efforts since I'm not seeing it on the scale.
Look to your diary. Bottom line is if you're not losing, you're eating too much. If the exercise is making you hungry, and you're eating more than you burn-perhaps you can do less cardio. If you're not weighing all your food on a food scale, do that.
So you think I should stick to 1350 plus exercise calories as a daily goal and cut back on cardio to see if my hunger is managed better? Is strength 3 days a week plus 1 day of cardio enough exercise?
Sure. I don't like to tell people what to do with their calories or exercise because I'm not an expert but I always suggest trying something new and jiggling calories/exercise around if you're not meeting your goals. Doing a little bit of cardio on your lifting days won't hurt either.0 -
HI Chanell,chanellecherington wrote: »I am 5'6" and 165. My goal weight is 135 with a body fat percentage in the low 20s. I am pear shaped and have a super high fat percentage (39%) because of severly restricting calories in the past to lose weight. I have been exercising hard 6 days a week alternating strength and cardio days. I have been eating at 1350 calories and eating back some to all of my exercise calories. I started at 170 (2.5 months ago) with a 42% body fat. My gym has a machine that breaks down body composition and I have put on a pound of muscle, lost 7 pounds of fat, and gained a pound of water on the last weigh in compared to original stats.
Obviously I'm doing something right in terms of exercise, but right now my goal is to lose this fat and then I can bulk up. I am thinking I need to cut calories more to step up the fat loss, but I'm freaking hungry. I use a HRM and burn roughly 300-500 calories per workout.
Bottom line, I want to lose more fat and I don't think I can keep up with working out 6 days a week for an hour plus stretching with life. Do you think cutting my exercise down to 4 days a week and cutting calories to 1200+exercise is a good choice? I feel like exercise is sabatoging my weight loss.
I'm questioning that high percentage of body fat, because it just doesn't sound right for someone of your height and weight. 165 a 5 ft 6 is not so overweight that you would be 39% body fat. Even 42% body fat at 170 seems high.
Also, if you are at a calorie deficit, you won't put on a pound of muscle. Muscle is very difficult to grow and, unless you are obese, which you're not, you will not gain much, except for small newbie gains.
If you're losing weight, there is no reason to cut back further. With only 31 pounds to lose, you might want to set your goals to lose 1 pound a week, then when you have 25 pounds left, set your goals to lose .5 pounds a week.
If you like to exercise, there is no reason to stop doing it, and there is no reason to cut your calories back either. You can easily lose weight on more than just 1360 calories.
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What about tweaking your macros? Instead of eating fewer calories, try a different combination. More lean protein, healthy fat and fiber to keep you fuller.
I drink Isopure protein (0 carb) when I work out. It has electrolytes as well as protein and keeps me from wanting to chew my arm off, esp. when lifting. When I run outside, I drink it after, on the drive home. (I run right after work at work so I avoid most of the rush hour traffic.)
If you can change your nutrients to suit your activity level, you might not have to cut calories or exercise.0 -
Okay, what? You are grossing 1320 calories right now, and you're 5'6? I'm 5'7 and lost eating 2100 - I'd be dying if I had to eat that little. I think you could eat more than that.
There was a good video here the other day about metabolic adaptation, but damn, I can't find it with regular search. (I did not have whiskey, I had a schwack of wine and girly drinks.) Basically the idea is that fat (and fat %) increase with regain once you start eating a normal amount is likely after a very low calorie diet, for a bunch of reasons (the video went into a lot of detail about fat cells etc.) I don't know that much about the theory of it, but if someone else here can help re that ( @Mr_Knight ?) that would be nice.
Re cardio - what kind of stuff are you doing? Some people actually find cardio actually reduces their appetite. (Who responds how to what is variable - e.g. vigorous & short like HIIT, vs long and steady; gender, age, who knows what else.) But honestly, if it were me, pretty much any activity would have me either crying or lunging for cheeseburgers on 1320.
ok i remember the phrase "reverse dieting", maybe that will help
aha. here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHHzie6XRGk&list=PLnPAPdT4m_g8cZtYQW3JNbFwK9Fix-gFC
NOW I don't know how or when it makes sense to do this in your particular weight loss experience but I am hoping someone else will be able to speak to that.0 -
Agreed that you should look at your macros and what you're eating. I've discovered recently that while eating at a deficit I have a hard time eating bread. It's not filling, and I'm starving again 5 seconds after I've eaten it. I eat brown rice and quinoa instead with my lean proteins, and I find it amazingly filling. I pick veggies that have a lot of fiber so they're filling. I also started using higher fat dairy for smoothies- the additional 20 - 30 calories makes all the difference for me in feeling full or not. I also eat a lot of almonds and KIND bars, once again for healthy and filling fats.0
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The straight up: you probably aren't gaining muscle since you're in a calorie deficit. You're using an unreliable way to measure lean mass and fat %.
Best way to gauge if you're losing body fat is looking in the mirror and seeing if there's more definition to you muscles. Also if your clothes are getting looser, then obviously mass is coming off.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
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Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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Don't eat your exercise calories back! I have been using mfp for a while now and have been eating my calories back and have not seen a difference on the scales so I stopped eating the exercise calories back and saw results almost immediately. If you are hungry after a work out then have a piece of fruit.0
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chanellecherington wrote: »You're right. I still worry about my BF % though. Even if the scale is off by 9% that still puts me at 30% and that's way too high to be healthy.
http://www.humankinetics.com/excerpts/excerpts/normal-ranges-of-body-weight-and-body-fat
24-30 Aceptable
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ladyfreeburn wrote: »Don't eat your exercise calories back! I have been using mfp for a while now and have been eating my calories back and have not seen a difference on the scales so I stopped eating the exercise calories back and saw results almost immediately. If you are hungry after a work out then have a piece of fruit.
This is not good advice for someone who is eating low, exercising hard, and already concerned about her lean muscle mass.
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At 5'4" I eat more than 1320 cals and still lose weight so obviously you are eating more cals which you have admitted. You can't gain muscle on a cal deficit apart from some newbie gains. I really think you are heavily relying on those machines which are known to be inaccurate. I would guage by taking measurements and progress pics.
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