Losing body fat

angelzbabe100

So I'm F 25 yr, small framed and 112lbs and 5'3''. I had my bf measured at the doctors and it is at 24%. I want to go down to either 17-18% or down back to my size 1's (before I gained weight). I cycle my calories between 1200-1500 calories a day depending on how active I am. I run 3-4 days a week and strength train (some what) 2-4 days a week, full body. Now I do not use 'heavy' weights. I have 5, 8, 10, 15 lb dumbbells and those were gifts. I also do some bodyweight exercises. I do not have access to a gym. I used to use the old neighbor's weight set that he had in the garage and realized I get too 'bulky' especially in my arms when I lift heavy..even in a calorie deficit. So yeah people say women won't get too muscularly, but some women just like some men will put on muscle faster or show it more than others. I don't want that look. I also gain weight on calories over 1600 even if I am exercising ( I ate between 1500-2100 for 4 weeks because people said oh you need to eat more and I gained 6 lbs of mostly fat..so instead of my size 3 jeans being loose like they were, they were super tight and almost had to go to the 5's....I gain fat and muscle easily). So besides the whole heavy lifting, eating a lot of calories, how to lose body fat?

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

Do you use a scale to weigh your food and log everything?

How long have you been eating at your current calorie level and what have your results been with that so far?

kdiamond

I was 100 pounds and still skinny fat...started lifting and eating, gained 10 pounds and I look lean muscular, not bulky at all. I lost 3-4% body fat though I gained 10 pounds, go figure.

angelzbabe100

I use the scale at home but since I have been going to the doctor's once a month for issues related to my throat and tonsilectemy a few yrs back, I often use the scale they have as been more accurate than the weird one we have here. I went from 188-108lbs in 1 1/2 back in 2008-2010. Then I got hurt in 2010 in a bad car accident (was just a passenger) and was sidelined from any physical activity for a year. So in 2011, I was up to 130lbs from stress eating and no exercise. When I was cleared for activity in late 2011, I tried but being gone for so long made it hard to do anything. I was winded and weasing all the time and I hated it. I dieted alone for 6 months to drop some of the initial weight. Then added in exercise. Walking, then walk/jog, then jog/run and now run. I have been zig zagging my calories since 2012. 1-2 times every 2-3 weeks I will have a 1800-1900 calorie day. Even trying to gain more lean muscle by eating more meant that I would still hold on to fat and the way my genetics/body carries weight is annoying. My face/feet/chest thin out before anything else. I count calories, fat/carbs/protein everyday. I log in (not on this site but on a spread sheet I created) the days I exercise, the intensity (how I felt it was) and the amount of time. I lost the weight the first time (188 to 109 lbs) simply by eating about the same amount of calories everyday (1300's). When I packed on the weight, after the injury, it was pretty much all fat with very little muscle.

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

I mean do you use a food scale to weigh out your portions.

angelzbabe100

Don't own one and probably won't own one for a while. I am broke until I find a job which at this rate won't be for months (it's been over a year now). It's also the reason I don't buy fresh produce and breads because they go bad too quickly and we cannot manage to shop for foods that will perish. We buy things that last weeks or months without spoiling. So I have to make do with the current situations until things change.

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

I'm assuming too then that you don't have access to a gym. In that case I'd recommend a body weight routine like You Are Your Own Gym coupled with a moderate calorie goal. You really shouldn't be going for more than half a pound per week loss considering how small you already are.

You can't really gain muscle (past newbie gains) and lose fat at the same time. Eating a surplus to gain muscle means you're going to gain fat too. Eating at a deficit to lose fat means you're going to lose some muscle too, although that can be avoided with resistance training and eating enough protein (I'd go for 1 gram per pound of lean body mass). If you felt like you were getting bigger muscles there can be a couple of things at play. One is optical illusion. Sometimes when you start uncovering muscle it can look like they're getting bigger because you're seeing definition. Another possibility is that you're storing water/glycogen for muscle repair, which will make you appear "swole" but is not actually muscle mass. Finally if you're eating at a surplus unintentionally due to inaccurate logging (because of lack of food scale) you can put on muscle/fat even if you don't think you should be. And some people are genetic outliers in regard to muscle growth, but it's really a small minority.

All that said, don't be afraid to weight train. The best thing IMO is to eat at a slight deficit while doing strength training to maintain your muscle and ensure that you're losing fat and not a combination of fat and muscle.

What has your weight done for the past 4 weeks?

j6o4

So I'm F 25 yr, small framed and 112lbs and 5'3''. I had my bf measured at the doctors and it is at 24%. I want to go down to either 17-18% or down back to my size 1's (before I gained weight). I cycle my calories between 1200-1500 calories a day depending on how active I am. I run 3-4 days a week and strength train (some what) 2-4 days a week, full body. Now I do not use 'heavy' weights. I have 5, 8, 10, 15 lb dumbbells and those were gifts. I also do some bodyweight exercises. I do not have access to a gym. I used to use the old neighbor's weight set that he had in the garage and realized I get too 'bulky' especially in my arms when I lift heavy..even in a calorie deficit. So yeah people say women won't get too muscularly, but some women just like some men will put on muscle faster or show it more than others. I don't want that look. I also gain weight on calories over 1600 even if I am exercising ( I ate between 1500-2100 for 4 weeks because people said oh you need to eat more and I gained 6 lbs of mostly fat..so instead of my size 3 jeans being loose like they were, they were super tight and almost had to go to the 5's....I gain fat and muscle easily). So besides the whole heavy lifting, eating a lot of calories, how to lose body fat?

I doubt you gain muscle easily on a caloric deficit. Getting bulky from doing heavy weights, you're probably getting the pump where blood flows into your muscle and that 100% goes away. If you want to lower your bodyfat by restricting calories, you're going to have to minimize muscle lose while losing weight. Strength training is perfect to keep what muscle you actually have. You're going to have to eat enough to feed for muscle but still be in a caloric deficit to lose fat.

DavPul

So I'm F 25 yr, small framed and 112lbs and 5'3''. I had my bf measured at the doctors and it is at 24%. I want to go down to either 17-18% [or down back to my size 1's (before I gained weight). I cycle my calories between 1200-1500 calories a day depending on how active I am. I run 3-4 days a week and strength train (some what) 2-4 days a week, full body. Now I do not use 'heavy' weights. I have 5, 8, 10, 15 lb dumbbells and those were gifts. I also do some bodyweight exercises. I do not have access to a gym. I used to use the old neighbor's weight set that he had in the garage and realized I get too 'bulky' especially in my arms when I lift heavy..even in a calorie deficit. So yeah people say women won't get too muscularly, but some women just like some men will put on muscle faster or show it more than others. I don't want that look. I also gain weight on calories over 1600 even if I am exercising ( I ate between 1500-2100 for 4 weeks because people said oh you need to eat more and I gained 6 lbs of mostly fat..so instead of my size 3 jeans being loose like they were, they were super tight and almost had to go to the 5's....I gain fat and muscle easily). So besides the whole heavy lifting, eating a lot of calories, how to lose body fat?

So you want to get down into the teens of bodyfat percentage but don't want to see the slightest hint of muscularity, and besides for the fat loss advice (lift heavy+eat enough to preserve LBM) that has worked for women from time immemorial, you're asking what else we got?

I got nothin. Does not compute. You can't want a low BF% and not want to see muscle tone at the same time. Stay in the 20-25% range if that's the look you're shooting for. It's a perfectly healthy range if that what you like, so be it.

My biggest suggestion is that you re-calibrate your ideal body goals. Trying to be sub-100 pounds and a size 1 isn't realistic for everyone. Maintaining one's high school weight and body isn't a goal many people can achieve. Or need to.

Lillith23

I feel like I gain muscle really fast when I lift as well and I look bulky for the first two weeks, but after the two weeks, I start slimming down. I think this is because by then the newish muscle is already starting to burn fat. And the water retention goes away too. This has been true the several times in the last 8 years that I have started a lifting regimen.

I suggest instead of arm lifting, try doing core exercises, like planks and such. It will cinch in the waist. Or focus on excersises that build lean muscle, like pilates or yoga. I love renting workout dvds at my local library, and most places will even get special ones you request. Also, theres tons of free workout videos online!

angelzbabe100

I was 105lbs and 18-19% body fat and wore a size 0-1. No real muscle definition except for my abs and back. My arms (biceps) weren't showing signs of muscle and my legs were slim. I didn't lift weight for my arms then. After listening to people after I gained the weight to lift and to lift weight on all muscles (including arms), I noticed my biceps were becoming more defined which isn't what I wanted. So I am thinking about not lifting for my arms much, if at all, and focusing on the other body parts. I just don't like the whole muscle-y arms and legs look. I like slender with maybe a slight hint of muscle but that it isn't noticeable. My friend lifts crazy heavy at the gym and she has the body she wants (like a fitness model who is looking to compete or something), but I don't want it. I guess I will stick with what I am doing and give it a few weeks. I just don't eat that much in the first place anymore like I did years ago and I am pretty close to being a vegetarian (very little meat consumption). I will eat a protein bar here and there to get within my calorie range. Just hoping that arms won't keep looking like the Madonna arms. Gosh that lady has some scary muscularly arms for a female.