Should I focus on losing just fat or recomping?

florent_ven
florent_ven Posts: 18 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi everyone,

Stats:
Age: 21 (22 in 2.5 weeks)
Gender: Male
Weight: 82kg
Body fat: 26.3%
Height: 174cm

On January 25th, my body fat was 27.2% and on March 25th, 26.3%. This is not even a 1% difference and I’ve been doing the following:

•Eating in a 500 calorie defecit
• eating more than 180g protein/day
•walking almost everyday roughly 10,000 steps a day
•lifting 3-5x a week/ upper and lower body splits
• HIIT on treadmill for 10 min (30 sec on/ 30 sec off) for 1/2 times a week
• I took a 2 week diet break in February FYI

My weight loss has plateaued since I started in September 2020, where my body fat was 31.5% and my weight was 98kg.

I have been trying to lose fat and maintain my muscle but my body fat hasn’t shifted and it’s really demotivating. I also feel like i dont see any differences in my before/after pics taken in January, February and March. I really want to get down to a lower body fat percentagr, get rid of the body fat whilst maintain as much muscle as I can as I want to look toned. I’m just not sure why it isn’t working. It’s so frustrating and I’m not sure what to do.

Replies

  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,055 Member
    First converting for the non-metric among us:

    Height = 5' 8.5"
    CW = 181 pounds
    SW = 216 pounds

    So, you've lost 35 pounds at a time when the average person is GAINING two pounds per month - way to go!

    Part of your frustration could be how you are measuring body fat. For example, bio-impedance scales are notoriously inaccurate. What method are you using?

    Please also post your pictures from Jan, Feb, and Mar (and September if you have that.) We had a recent thread where the OP could not see any difference in his latest pictures, while everyone else could.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,432 MFP Moderator
    At your current stats, fat loss should be prioritized. If you aren't losing fat, I'd ask are you using a food scale and logging daily?
  • springlering62
    springlering62 Posts: 8,912 Member
    January 25 to March 25 is only nine weeks. Two of those were a diet break.

    My brain immediately thinks, hmmmmmm...diet break.

    If it was a genuine diet break, you were eating at maintenance and I wouldn’t expect to see much of a change. Definitely not if you were going over maintenance.

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