Recomposition: Maintaining weight while losing fat
Replies
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ppsuemon, I weigh 116 (+/-), am 5'3", and body fat is @ 23% (want to get down to abt 21%. Don't want to go too low; doesn't look good on older women. Been tracking for about year and half or so; missed a few days here & there but have been pretty consistent. Question is how much protein should I be eating (and possibly cut back on the carbs)? Many thanks.
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griffinca2 wrote: »ppsuemon, I weigh 116 (+/-), am 5'3", and body fat is @ 23% (want to get down to abt 21%. Don't want to go too low; doesn't look good on older women. Been tracking for about year and half or so; missed a few days here & there but have been pretty consistent. Question is how much protein should I be eating (and possibly cut back on the carbs)? Many thanks.
If 1460 is your maintenance then 25% protein will hit 90g which is 1g. I would aim for 25 to 30% as it puts you in the 1.5 to 2.2g per kg of weight.0 -
middlehaitch wrote: »Hee hee @DebSozo, thank you.
You may think different when you see the 'official' (non nude or undies) pic. Good base to work from though.
Got to say, being so small, I find recomp draining. I am thinking of defecting to a bulk. Light enough, and been doing resistance work long enough, that I think I may get better results. Adding 10lbs would be hard but probably good for me.
@griffinca2, I didn't know that. When I got in the car 'I am the walrus' was playing, hence the thought transition.
The start for improvements......
Cheers, h.
You look INCREDIBLE!1 -
ppsuemon, Many thanks! I'll change the macros. Have a great weekend! 0
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griffinca2 wrote: »ppsuemon, Many thanks! I'll change the macros. Have a great weekend!
No problem. And close on that name
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Oops; sorry abt that (one too many ps). Do better next time. 0
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Bumping0
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A question for the people on here with experience with recomp!
I am almost at goalweight, and I am actually considering to stop maybe a bit (1 lbs?) above that. With my current deficit, I lose about 1-1.5 lbs every 5 weeks, so reeeeaaally slow, almost eating at maintainance. I am about 3 lbs away from my original goalweight.
I'd like to tone my legs, back and upper arms a bit more. I train them and they are fairly muscled, but to see more toning you have to lose bodyfat % right? But on the other hand: There isn't so much left to lose in some places, my chest is starting to look bonier than I'd like. So maybe it would be better to continue to eat in a slight deficit (or maintain?) focus on more chest exercises and try to pack on muscle on top of the ribcage there? I know spotreducing isn't a thing, but I'd still like to hear your opinion about the best way to tone up while avoiding a bony chest..
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@Mariekegetsfit
You can feel where the upper margins of your pectoral muscles are quite clearly - is your "bonier than you would like" part of your chest are above that margin? Typically upper ribs and clavicle area.
Obviously you can target (or emphasise more) certain muscles - incline bench press for example to hit the middle/upper part of your pecs.
As for calories, being in such a tiny deficit or actually maintaining isn't going to make a huge difference to your training results.
In the end there may have to be a compromise between what you want and what your body will allow you to do. Pesky genetics!4 -
Mariekegetsfit wrote: »A question for the people on here with experience with recomp!
I am almost at goalweight, and I am actually considering to stop maybe a bit (1 lbs?) above that. With my current deficit, I lose about 1-1.5 lbs every 5 weeks, so reeeeaaally slow, almost eating at maintainance. I am about 3 lbs away from my original goalweight.
I'd like to tone my legs, back and upper arms a bit more. I train them and they are fairly muscled, but to see more toning you have to lose bodyfat % right? But on the other hand: There isn't so much left to lose in some places, my chest is starting to look bonier than I'd like. So maybe it would be better to continue to eat in a slight deficit (or maintain?) focus on more chest exercises and try to pack on muscle on top of the ribcage there? I know spotreducing isn't a thing, but I'd still like to hear your opinion about the best way to tone up while avoiding a bony chest..
I just wanna put my view for only the bony chest part... And please correct me if I'm wrong!
If you're talking about losing volume over that "bony area" while you're also losing weight/ having measurement changes over time, chances are you're losing fat over there and there's no way to control it (I knew this cuz sadly it happened on me too...). Now you can certainly start to train your pec major and increase the volume by doing so, but those are muscles, not the same fat that used to be there (or around the area). That means it's not just gonna be harder for us females to increase the volume (cuz it's muscle...), it's also gonna look different than before...
I am in a similar process as you now (close to my goal weight and still have some areas that I'm not satisfied yet). My upper chest (clavicles to 1st-2nd rib area) is always bony though even when I was 20 lb heavier, but now it's literally like all bones covered by skin. This is all determined by our genes, so I'd say pick one and go for it. Either stay like where you are now or focus on muscle training and keep going...
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Thank you both for your replies!!
You can feel where the upper margins of your pectoral muscles are quite clearly - is your "bonier than you would like" part of your chest are above that margin? Typically upper ribs and clavicle area.
Obviously you can target (or emphasise more) certain muscles - incline bench press for example to hit the middle/upper part of your pecs.
I don't mind my clavicles sticking out, but yes it's my upper ribs that are showing through as well now that I lost fat. There was never much in that area to begin with either... But if I go with your description and look at pictures of the pectoral muscles, I guess *some* improvement could be made with training them.
Based on your advice, I think that for now I will continue with my tiny deficit until goalweight and focus more of my training on the chest-area. If this doesn't help, I can always veryyy easily decide to gain a bit back (and hope that this will be the area that fills up..)
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Question regarding maintenance calories and fueling our workouts and recovery in recomp.
I am using MFP'S numbers for maintenance and fitbit for exercise adjustments. MFP says 1790 for me: 41 female, lightly active, 5'5", 135lbs, 23-25%BF (macros set for 40c, 30p, 30f). I am currently doing week 10 of Strong Curves beginner program on Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday and Fridays (with 15-20minutes cardio after). Mondays are my rest day, Wednesday and Saturday I usually have long walks (with short sprints) of 4-5k along with about 30minutes of cardio (dance). Typically, with my adjustment I'm getting a calorie goal of 1950-2400 depending on the day.
I workout at night. Best time to fit it into my schedule is the window between my daughter getting ready for bed and actual lights out. So between 8pm and 930pm. I'll usually have a small snack and protein shake after my workout and before I go to bed.
My question is, should I be eating slightly more the next day after a workout where my workouts are so late? Currently I'm eating more the day of because that's how my fitbit adjustments work. Should I ignore the adjustment the day of a workout and count it towards the next day instead?0 -
@capaul42, it gets very confusing adjusting everyday.
Personally I take my average fitbit HR over a few weeks. My long term weekly average calorie burn is 22500, so divide that by 7 and that gives me my daily burn, so I aim to eat a little more than that for a slow bulk.1 -
Question regarding maintenance calories and fueling our workouts and recovery in recomp.
I am using MFP'S numbers for maintenance and fitbit for exercise adjustments. MFP says 1790 for me: 41 female, lightly active, 5'5", 135lbs, 23-25%BF (macros set for 40c, 30p, 30f). I am currently doing week 10 of Strong Curves beginner program on Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday and Fridays (with 15-20minutes cardio after). Mondays are my rest day, Wednesday and Saturday I usually have long walks (with short sprints) of 4-5k along with about 30minutes of cardio (dance). Typically, with my adjustment I'm getting a calorie goal of 1950-2400 depending on the day.
I workout at night. Best time to fit it into my schedule is the window between my daughter getting ready for bed and actual lights out. So between 8pm and 930pm. I'll usually have a small snack and protein shake after my workout and before I go to bed.
My question is, should I be eating slightly more the next day after a workout where my workouts are so late? Currently I'm eating more the day of because that's how my fitbit adjustments work. Should I ignore the adjustment the day of a workout and count it towards the next day instead?
I personally eat more on my lift days so I have more protien in my system and I have more energy to do the workouts, especially for the lifting0 -
@capaul42 - if you can keep it straight there's nothing wrong with flowing one days needs into the next day.
On hard lifting workouts that actually can makes sense because the repair is the next 24-48 hrs.
But - it can get confusing if you don't have good method - and inadvertently start causing a deficit when you really don't desire it.
That's when the weekly avg TDEE method mentioned above works well.
Or you create a food called Make-up calories, with a serving being negative 100 calories.
At end of one day you see how much you were short, and right then go log on the next day however many servings makes that number of calories.
That increases the daily goal so you don't have to do the math later.
I still have a negative calorie food - so hoping they still allow you to make it. I made the macros of the food match what I desired, easily make it match 40/30/30.5 -
@capaul42 - if you can keep it straight there's nothing wrong with flowing one days needs into the next day.
On hard lifting workouts that actually can makes sense because the repair is the next 24-48 hrs.
But - it can get confusing if you don't have good method - and inadvertently start causing a deficit when you really don't desire it.
That's when the weekly avg TDEE method mentioned above works well.
Or you create a food called Make-up calories, with a serving being negative 100 calories.
At end of one day you see how much you were short, and right then go log on the next day however many servings makes that number of calories.
That increases the daily goal so you don't have to do the math later.
I still have a negative calorie food - so hoping they still allow you to make it. I made the macros of the food match what I desired, easily make it match 40/30/30.
Thank you! That is perfect. It was the repair window I was worried about since I do workout late at night. I will try the negative calorie food, hopefully it still works.0 -
I had to go and look to remember.
I made an adjustment food that has positive calories, perhaps because that's all I could do.
But then made a Meal out of that food with negative serving size.
So I can go to Meals and select it and there's the block I needed for a refeed day.
So just make adjustment food of 100 cal and other stats.
Then when you log it - use negative servings.
287 cal short for the day, then log -2.87 servings for next day.
Bam, daily goal goes up along with carb/prot/fat goals.2 -
Or you can make a fake exercise and call it something like "Surplus calories exercise".
I have a food called "deficit calories not eaten" that I can use when I set my calories on maintenance but want to eat at a deficit for a certain day.4 -
scale is actually up about 2lbs from the left middle picture at 10m. Can't complain about results I am seeing so it is more of just keep trucking along.17 -
@sunflowerhippi Nicely done! Awesome abs!1
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^^^i agree! Amazing work!1
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@sunflowerhippi clearly gaining two pounds was a positive thing in your case. The new muscle that has formed over your lower ribs is easy to see in your last photo. Great job.0
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Insanely impressive, sunflowerhippi!0
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Yeah now if only i can get my thighs to lean out. I really don't want to cut more as my upper is lean already for my body fat being 21%0
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There's a lot of talk about recomposition through the boards, so I wanted to have a place where we can compile research on it and experiences with it.
When is recomp appropriate? When you are at a decent weight for your height, but your body fat is still at a level that is undesirable to you recomposition is probably a good option. It's a way to maintain your weight, eat well and still lose fat. This is a slow process and can feel like spinning your wheels, but it can be less mentally stressful than bulk and cut cycles.
The keys to recomposition are:
1. At the end of the week you have eaten at about your TDEE. You may choose to cycle calories or eat at a flat rate every day, this should fit your personal preference. If you have a consistent workout schedule using a TDEE calculator should place your goal fairly close to your actual maintenance. The only way to know for sure is to monitor your weight and calories over time while adjusting calories when you have an up or down trend.
2. Getting adequate protein. Protein is a building block of muscle. The goal of recomposition is to build muscle and lose fat at the same time. Protein, carbohydrates and fats play different roles in the muscle building process, so make sure that you keep to a macronutrient set up that works for you. This may need to be adjusted over time.
3. Lift! Following a good lifting program is the key to the entire process. It's where the magic happens. Pick a program that you will enjoy and that is going to challenge you. Continue to focus on improving.
4. Take pictures and measure. It's a slow process and you may feel you are making no progress. Your measurements will help you see that you are making progress.
Feel free to share stories of recomposition and any research you have seen on it. Ask questions if you have any.
Thank you for starting this thread. Until MFP I was not familiar with recomp. I started tentatively trying it out a couple months ago and have slowly seen changes in body composition. I've noticed my arms and legs feel "harder", meaning the fat layer has gone down. Also my muscles in my legs are starting to show through more than before as I walk up stairs, etc., and my stomach is flatter. Also the slight back fat under the bra line has smoothed down. My body shape looks better, and the waist is nipped in more also. Thank you so much.4 -
@sunflowerhippi you look fantastic.. great recomp progress right there!0
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OK, need some answers! I'm trying to figure out calories; per the calculator on Bodybuilding.com I have 89-90% lean body mass. What does that mean and how can I use that # to figure out my calories. I'm 60+, do full-body workouts 3 X a week (no pink dumbbells) and eat close to 1500 cals a day (usually more on the days I workout) and am having trouble staying at 116/117 (have gone down to 113--which in my books is too skinny for a 60+ female). Some sites have me eating close to 2000 and some calculate me at 1350--nuts. I don't eat "sparkling clean," but do my best to eat whole (real) food. Any advice would be appreciated. 0
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Oops; I meant activity level; there are so many definitions out there not sure if I should be "sedentary," lightly active." or somewhere in between.0
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10% BF?
Not impossible - but rather low for female.
Try this to get estimate using workout and daily activity levels based on what you actually do.
Just TDEE Please spreadsheet - better than rough 5 level TDEE charts.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1G7FgNzPq3v5WMjDtH0n93LXSMRY_hjmzNTMJb3aZSxM/edit?usp=sharing
Just follow the instructions in upper right to make your own copy, log measurements down below.
Because the rough 5 level charts only speak to exercise - not your daily activity.
Because a mailman and and desk jockey doing 4 hrs of lifting per week all other stats being equal - obviously don't have the same TDEE.
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I'm guessing that was lbs and not %. I'm in the 90-92lbs of lean mass, according to hydro fat test & Bodpod.0
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