Body recomp to former lean physique after unhealthy, detrain phase - timeframe for results? advice?

beanstalkmagic

Gender: Female
Age: 23
Height: 167cm/5'6
Current weight: 56.5kg (weighed in at 57.5kg at 15:00 today - probably inaccurate as it wasn't first thing, post-*morning poop*)
Former waist circumference: 24.5-25"
Current waist circumference: 26.5-27"

Background: I have been very (sustainably) lean before (June 2021) roughly weighing 53-55kg (I have never really used weight as a tool to measure success, but rather how I fit into clothes and how lean I look), eating enough protein and going to the gym 4x/week strength training + 10k daily steps. Either way, I have gained weight, namely fat, and certainly lost muscle over a 2-month (July/August) period in which I rarely went to the gym, ordered a lot of takeaways, drank a lot of alcohol, slept inconsistently (partying a stupid amount)... you get the idea...

Goal: to get back to my former physique

It has been 5 weeks since starting my plan to reach my goal. This is based on things that has previously worked, in hope that I can 'bounce back' - though weighing above 55kg (which I have never) is a new factor in all of this.

What I have been doing:
> 2 upper body, 2 lower body strength sessions (progressive overload, solid range of compound, free weight, machine exercises)
> 8k steps on average
> I also initially started doing HIIT, however I stopped because it was too strenuous on my joints (typical trying to do too much at once and it backfired)
> diet wise: barely any sweet treats (maybe a cheat meal once a fortnight); no alcohol; 100-120g protein per day; 1,800-2,000 calories per day

Results so far:
> improvements in strength; very minimal muscle definition, mostly in my upper body; slightly bulky looking (probably due to muscle growth + no change to body fat)

Questions:
1. Should I try calorie cycling? Already this week, I've decided to lower my calorie intake on rest days, while maintaining 100g protein intake... the calorie/deficit thing confuses me so much!! Note, because I live with parents, I can only control my calorie intake up until dinner (which is always very healthy and I estimate at 800-900 calories). I don't struggle much with calories, as I am well accustomed to volume eating, however I'm not sure how low to go considering I still need to get in enough protein.
2. Am I being impatient expecting my body to bounce back quicker as a 'detrainee'?
3. Following from Q2, should I expect that fat to drop off later (e.g. at 12 weeks)?
4. What I find confusing is the fact I've gained so much strength (all done with proper form, increasing up to 12 reps then lowering etc etc, probably because muscle memory has helped), however it hasn't (yet?) translated into a faster metabolism? Is my metabolism that screwed from my unhealthy, detrained phase? Or is it playing catch up?
5. Should I add in 2 short (15 minute) HIIT sessions to my workouts? At this point, I feel I could easily incorporate this, as I have gained strength all over.

Any advice would be so greatly appreciated. Feeling pretty at loss right now, even though I'm sure I am doing all the right things...

Anyone else experienced this?

sijomial

+ no change to body fat
How are you measuring that? If with BIA scales then take then numbers with a lot of suspicion.

Questions:
Should I try calorie cycling? Already this week, I've decided to lower my calorie intake on rest days, while maintaining 100g protein intake... the calorie/deficit thing confuses me so much!! Note, because I live with parents, I can only control my calorie intake up until dinner (which is always very healthy and I estimate at 800-900 calories). I don't struggle much with calories, as I am well accustomed to volume eating, however I'm not sure how low to go considering I still need to get in enough protein.
Using MFP as designed is a form of calorie cycling as you eat more when you exercise. Doubt it will make any significant difference compared to a same every day goal for you.
"the calorie/deficit thing confuses me so much!"
You need to expand on that as it's not clear what you understand/don't understand.
The lower you go in calories the quicker you are going to lose fat but it will also impact your training, recovery and any chance of building muscle if you go too low.

Am I being impatient expecting my body to bounce back quicker as a 'detrainee'?
That's a reasonable expectation as typically returning to a previous level is quicker than getting there for the first time. But yes you are being impatient, 5 weeks isn't a long time frame for seeing results beyond getting stronger. What you are getting is what you should really be expecting at this point.

Following from Q2, should I expect that fat to drop off later (e.g. at 12 weeks)?
That's not how it works, if you are in a calorie deficit you are making up the shortfall from your energy reserves (predominantly fat) right now. You might not notice the difference visually though until muscle definition starts to show.

What I find confusing is the fact I've gained so much strength (all done with proper form, increasing up to 12 reps then lowering etc etc, probably because muscle memory has helped), however it hasn't (yet?) translated into a faster metabolism? Is my metabolism that screwed from my unhealthy, detrained phase? Or is it playing catch up?
That's normal. When you resume training the initial rapid regain in strength is from using your existing muscles better. Neuromuscular adaptation - your nervous system waking up, recruiting more of the existing muscle fibres as you exercise and firing harder to create a better contraction.
No your metabolism isn't screwed.
How would you know your metabolism is faster?
Got a feeling you are misusing the term. Even if you had managed to add any new muscle that would have a tiny and indetectable effect counterbalanced if you are losing weight. (Smaller bodies need less energy.)

Should I add in 2 short (15 minute) HIIT sessions to my workouts? At this point, I feel I could easily incorporate this, as I have gained strength all over.
Very much doubt that is a sensible addition unless you have specific cardio goals that require trying to boost your VO2 max. BTW - HIIT is maximal or close to maximal effort cardio intervals - if you mean something else than please describe what you are suggesting. Exercise should be chosen to match your goals and I'm not seeing the match for you.

Any advice would be so greatly appreciated. Feeling pretty at loss right now, even though I'm sure I am doing all the right things...
Five weeks is very little time in dieting and body composition timescales. You need to rein back your impatience.

Anyone else experienced this?
Yes unreasonable expectations are extremely common and often fed by silly fitness industry hype promising the unobtainable in ridiculous timescales.

beanstalkmagic

Hey, thank you for your reply! I appreciate you taking the time out greatly. You're right in that I don't have a proper measure for body fat, other than the fact: I weigh more, my whole body is bigger/I don't fit into some of my clothes like I used to, I have more rolls/skin that can be pinched than when I was lean, my abs aren't visible like they used to be (I more or less had a six pack). What type of diet (or deficit) would you recommend (if you can/from your point of view)?

You mentioned that what I'm getting is what I should be expecting at this point. Ok, my impatience is definitely not helping (mentally). Do you have an idea as to what would be a realistic timeframe to get back to my former physique/recomp?

The only reason I worry over the speed of my 'metabolism' (even if I've used the term incorrectly/misunderstood it) is because previously (when I was lean) I did not count calories nor protein (most likely consumed less protein than I do now) and pretty much ate what I wanted to (healthy food 80% time), so I assumed that my lean physique was attributed to having a fast metabolism from a decent level of muscle mass, maintaining a lean figure without restriction.

Is there anything you would do differently? Or is it purely a case for me to be patient with the process and train/eat consistently as I have done over the past 5 weeks?

sijomial

Within the first few weeks of returning to training you will have far more soreness/inflammation of your muscles and that results in water weight. Your total bodyweight in that time isn't a reliable guide to whether you are actually in a calorie deficit (losing fat) or not.
After five weeks if your post training soreness is receding your weight trend will start to get clearer.

The effect of having more muscle on your overall metabolism/energy needs is often massively over-stated.
The biggest impact on your energy needs is actually using your muscles for exercise and general daily movement.
Think of a skinny professional cyclist, little muscle mass but huge calorie needs as an extreme example.

Timescales are very individual, people train differently and respond to that training differently. Unless you have been round this loop before it's a case of doing the right things and seeing what happens. Your routine looks fine - a sensble training pattern (which is working if your weights are steadily going up) and those 10,000 steps will help give you a higher activity setting / more to eat.
If you have sporting or cardio fitness goals then adding some low to moderate intensity cardio of a type you enjoy could be a good addition.

For your calorie goal simply use the goal set up here (or on an average TDEE site if you want a same daily goal) and pick a sensible rate of weight loss. Then it's a case of adjusting based on results over time.

Progress pictures and tracking body measurements can be a helpful motivator - often we don't see changes in the mirror, we see what we expect to see and often focus on our problem areas and miss the good news.