Can't net less than 2000-2100

tjthegreatone

Your diet seems pretty healthy to me, as do your weight and body fat! I'd be happy with that BMI and body fat percentage! However if you're not happy with any 'squishy' bits, apart from accepting your genetics, I think you'd struggle to get away from some heavy lifting, sadly. Underwater exercises sound good but I can't really comment on them.

Cardio creates more of a deficit which in theory allows you to eat more of what you want, but some people claim that they lose muscle mass and get 'skinny fat' when they only do cardio. However, you are not eating at a deficit so that is probably not applicable to you.

DrMAvDPhD

At 5'7" and 129#, I would recommend trying a bulk cycle then "cutting" if you are still skinny fat. You don't really need to lose any more weight, so if you aren't happy with your body you need to try to build more muscle!

haroon_awan

Understandably, it's difficult for some people to stay under their calorie goals. Looking at your diary your macros setting look good and you get enough fruit and veggies every day. Generally these too things are the best way to keep your appetite in check. After that it starts to get a little tricky.

How much water are you drinking? Normal rule of thumb is 1L for every 50lbs as a minimum.
Your fibre intake could be a little higher if you eat a bit more green, cruciferous vegetables,eg broccoli, cauliflower, spinach.
Add spices to your food.

If these do not help, then it may be an issue of just setting a higher calorie limit as your maintenance might be higher than what the calculators suggest.

mamasmaltz3

I would check with you dr on the whether lifting is bad or not. I agree that heavy lifting would really help you. Sounds like you don't need to lose just recomp. Lifting is by far the best way to achieve that. I have read several articles that weight training is beneficial to arthritis patients. Basically, by strengthening the muscle around the joints you relieve tension off of them.

mamasmaltz3

Btw, lucky you with the great metabolism!

astronomicals

Id say lift heavier (on a well known program... pick your poison) and eat at maintenance for the rest of summer... you should see a nice improvement in body composition... id bulk after summer and gain 1-2 pounds a month for a while... then cut it down... if you refuse to gain weight or do a recomp then i'd just suggest you eat a lot more vegetables and hit your calorie goals.... i eat massive plates of vegetables when im losing weight... for me its carrots, sweet potatoes, beets, celery, broccoli, and zucchini.. i make huge stirfrys with minimal oil and eat it for a few days with every meal... also lots of steamed vegetables with just a bit of seasoned salt or something...

anemoneprose

I"m only on briefly and will have to jump off in a sec, but, just wanted to express my thanks for everyone's thoughtful advice, it's really appreciated. Will read/reread in the next days and take it in properly. Thank you!