Am I doing everything correctly to my path of wellness?

mariesp423

For the past 3 years, I have been working out 3 to 6 times a week. I normally alternate between strength and cardio. At the beginning, I was 120 lbs at 5'3" wearing a size 0. I am able to maintain my weight at 150ish, and am no longer able to wear my pants anymore. I took measurements and it seems as though I am now a size 10. Along with all of this, my shirts (size small) do not fit in the arms anymore either, and the mediums are too big in the chest. I cater to a Paleo based diet and drink plenty of water. My goal is to become a little stronger (though not too bulky) and healthier because my family has a history of heart problems. With all of this, am I doing things correctly? I am open to any suggestions and opinions.

KrissFlavored

Are you happy? Cause that's really all that matters, if the doctor has no problems, then that should be enough

mariesp423

No I am happy with the results except for the clothes part. Around October/November i noticed my work clothes were getting tight and hoped that it would stop after a while. I am wondering if this is normal when you are strength training and why is it happening now instead of a year or 2 ago.

KrissFlavored

Building muscle takes a long time and a lot of work.. its not after a few cardio workouts like people think

NorthCascades

If you want your pants to fit again, that probably means losing weight, which means eating fewer calories than your burn. It's good to eat healthy for all kinds of reasons, but healthy isn't what drives weight loss.

hipari

You say you are happy, and your goals are becoming stronger and healthier, not thinner. Buy bigger clothes that fit you and keep on rocking those fitness goals.

If you do want to lose weight while working on those goals, I'd suggest a *very* moderate deficit for slow weight loss.

mmapags

Just as a data point, you are an overweight BMI at 26.6. You may want to consider dropping 8 or 10 lbs. Losing 10 lbs would bring down into the normal range. You sound like you are fit and healthy overall but something to consider.