Am I doing right with my lifting/diet ( with photo showing where I'm at )

VickiLogan11

Hi there
Bit of background.
I lost a couple of stone doing cardio and low cal diet last year. I wasn't over weight to start with and ended up tiny. Then I switched to strong curves with less cardio for 12 weeks. I'm currently doing stronglifts since July but my diet has really slipped and I stopped logging. I was happy with my achievement and just wanted to maintain. I've put on some weight but have now found my willpower again and have started doing 1500 cals a day along with my programme. Is this ok ? Thanks in advance

hill8570

Is that a recent picture? If so, stop eating at a deficit -- eat a couple of hundred calories a day over maintenance, stick with stronglifts, and put on some muscle.

VickiLogan11

Thankyou. The photo is before strong curves and stronglifts. I have much more definition now but am roughly 5lbs heavier than I was in the photo.

VickiLogan11

VickiLogan11

That's me now.

jemhh

VickiLogan11 wrote: »

Thankyou. The photo is before strong curves and stronglifts. I have much more definition now but am roughly 5lbs heavier than I was in the photo.

5 lbs doesn't really mean anything. What are your height/weight?

VickiLogan11

In 5"9 & weigh 9 stone 11llbs.

AliceDark

jemhh wrote: »

VickiLogan11 wrote: »

Thankyou. The photo is before strong curves and stronglifts. I have much more definition now but am roughly 5lbs heavier than I was in the photo.

5 lbs doesn't really mean anything. What are your height/weight?

This. 1500 calories sounds low for maintenance, especially if you're lifting.

jemhh

137 lbs at 5'9".

You do not need to lose weight. Eat at maintenance and lift for now. After a month or so you might decide to eat a bit more but it doesn't sound like you're ready for that. Plus, it's not necessarily required for good results. Bret Contreras wrote a good article on whether or not bulking/cutting is required or if eating at maintenance may be better for some people. Look it up and read it.

VickiLogan11

When I stopped logging and put on some weight it was mainly top of legs. It's the wobble I'm trying to sort out with the calorie deficit lol. Thanks for the replies.

VickiLogan11

Thanks jemhh will have a read

hill8570

Comparing the first and current picture, I'd say at least half of that 5 lbs was lean muscle -- that second picture shows some excellent progress. Personally, I'd say you should eat at maintenance and put some more muscle under that so-called wobble.

VickiLogan11

Thankyou hill8570 but the muscle under the wobble just isn't happening for me lol. That's the only reason I've tightened up the diet as I didn't have that problem at my lower weight. I'm happy with other areas and want my legs back to their best but if I'm honest I don't have a clue hence asking for advice

jemhh

Losing weight doesn't guarantee that it is going to be fat loss from your legs. I think you'd be much better served by focusing on building muscle in your legs. Remember, spot fat loss isn't possible. Targeted muscle building is.

VickiLogan11

Any suggestions for this please jemhh ? I'm currently doing stronglifts. What should I add in ? Thankyou

hill8570

@VickiLogan11 - what are your current working weights for squat and deadlift? While women generally don't bulk up on SL, your arm/back shot looks like you put on muscle relatively easily...I'd expect to see a similar training response on your quads / hamstrings / glutes if you were lifting heavy with good form. Might want to post some form check videos of your squats and deadlifts, either here or over in the Eat/Train/Progress group.

DaddieCat

Are you following stronglifts as written? Have you stalled at all? Are you able to continue the progressive overload? If you eat at or slightly below maintenance while keeping your protein intake adequate, you can work on a slow recomp which will build the muscle underneath your "wobble" and slowly allow you to adjust your overall bodyfat percentage... but you're looking awesome. I'd work on building your legs to build your overall symmetry. Adding some mass/muscle to your legs will change your proportions enough that it may accomplish what you are after.

cafeaulait7

Your diet slipping ended up in a very nice little bulk, I think!

Are you wanting to put on muscle right now or are you more interested in losing that little bit of added fat? I really think I'd do a recomp (at maintenance) instead of dieting if I were you, but that does take longer to see the fat loss. It's up to you.

VickiLogan11

Thanks for all your helpful replies. Don't laugh but im doing SL with 22.5kg & that's all the weights I have so have not been progressing with weight. I do just want to maintain and lose the wobble lol but don't understand all the recomp stuff at all. Overall I'm happy just need to improve this area & like someone mentioned I would be happy to build muscle in this area. I've always needed to raise my heels on a plank with squats otherwise I can't do them as I dip forward and I always feel it's more quads than glutes doing the work. Thanks again

hill8570

@VickiLogan11 - is a gym an option for you? With a bit of form coaching, some flexibility work for for your ankles (which you can do at home), and access to a better selection of barbells I think you would be able to sculpt a rockin' lower body in short order. But you're not going to do that with the weights you currently have access to.

jemhh

VickiLogan11 wrote: »

Thanks for all your helpful replies. Don't laugh but im doing SL with 22.5kg & that's all the weights I have so have not been progressing with weight. I do just want to maintain and lose the wobble lol but don't understand all the recomp stuff at all. Overall I'm happy just need to improve this area & like someone mentioned I would be happy to build muscle in this area. I've always needed to raise my heels on a plank with squats otherwise I can't do them as I dip forward and I always feel it's more quads than glutes doing the work. Thanks again

You need more weight to progress with a weightlifting program. Keep working on the mobility thing. If you're serious about continuing to lift you could get lifting shoes that are slightly elevated in the back.

Squats are a compound lift but quads are a major muscle that's worked with them. If you want more work on glutes, do hip thrusts and/or glute bridges or some of the other stuff you learned doing Strong Curves.

You can't maintain while eating 1500 calories. You need to eat at maintenance to maintain. Recomping is eating at maintenance and lifting heavy to burn fat and build muscle. It's a long term project--think 6, 9, 12+ months.

RobynLB83

VickiLogan11 wrote: »

That's me now.

Comparing the first and current picture, I'd say at least half of that 5 lbs was lean muscle -- that second picture shows some excellent progress. Personally, I'd say you should eat at maintenance and put some more muscle under that so-called wobble.[/quote]

This.

ar9179

Not an expert, so take anything I say with a grain of salt. You are at the lower end of weight for your height, you eat at the lowest end for calories, and you've started strength training. Is that the gist?

Figure out your maintenance range. You aren't eating at that since I'm 5'3" and eating the same calories, while losing weight. There aren't any medals, or muscle, from eating too little for your goals.

Once you are fueling your body properly, you'll be able to lift more. This will benefit you with fat loss and a gradual muscle building. Yes, your weight may increase. However, your size will remain consistent or reduce. At your starting point, I wouldn't even track weight unless my torso area was expanding. That isn't likely to happen if you are following a program while in maintenance.

I've done SL 2x/week since Feb. The inches lost are phenomenal and the strength gains top it. Life is too short to focus on one metric (weight). Eat adequately, lift more weight, get smaller. The wobble will go away but you have to progress with difficulty/lifting. Look into nerd fitness.com for progressive bodyweight exercises if you aren't able to do SL as prescribed.

VickiLogan11

Thanks for all your replies I really appreciate all your advise. Loads to think about now. Seems I should eat more. I like the sound of adding in hip thrusts, should they be done on same day as SL ? I'm also gona look at Nerd fitness. The gym is not an option for me right now.

sijomial

Buy some more and bigger weights for your barbell.
You can't really follow the programs you are on if you haven't got enough weights to give you progression.

VickiLogan11

I not in a position to buy more weights at the minute unfortunately

sijomial

VickiLogan11 wrote: »

I not in a position to buy more weights at the minute unfortunately

@VickiLogan11
That's a shame. To be honest a program that relies on progression by increasing weight on the big barbell lifts isn't going to work for you if you can't add more.
Adding volume or fatigue work (supersets or drop sets for example) are other options and they are free.
I'm not a fan of isolation lifts but if you only have light weights then they become more valid choices.
Bodyweight exercises are another free option - for example you would get more out of doing a set of push ups that you find hard than a barbell chest press with a weight you find easy.

cwolfman13

VickiLogan11 wrote: »

Any suggestions for this please jemhh ? I'm currently doing stronglifts. What should I add in ? Thankyou

patience...a fitness body is derived from living that kind of lifestyle...it takes time and really, you'll forever be working on something.

VickiLogan11

Btw I've only been eating 1500 cals for a week. Before that I wasn't logging at all and would think I was eating over maintenance for a good few months. I lost 2llb this week. I've had a re think and I am gona make it happen that I can get more weights. Sounds like everyone thinks that's the best plan for me. Also just to mention even though I've been stuck with the same weight for a while I wouldn't say I found stronglifts easy. I must admit that I don't eat enough protein and have no idea how much I should be eating. Thanks again.

cafeaulait7

If you don't have weights for the hip thrusts, a lot of very slow one-legged glute bridges works best, imho. I didn't have a barbell for the longest time

ecjim

Vicki - you have had some good suggestions - eat a little more & lift heavy - if you cant afford heavier weights get some thing heavy and lift it, carry it or put over your head. you can use a sand bag, concrete block, or a bag of concrete mix. use your imagination. Pick it up carry it as far as you can, then carry it back, pick it up and put it down for reps you get the idea. Eastcoast Jim