We are pleased to announce that as of March 4, 2025, an updated Rich Text Editor has been introduced in the MyFitnessPal Community. To learn more about the changes, please click here. We look forward to sharing this new feature with you!

Goal to lose body fat

Happyness4me2
Happyness4me2 Posts: 37 Member
in Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building

Hello, I need to restart my fitness journey/life. Back in 2017 I lost about 25 pounds and starting weight training for the first time in my life. I looked really good! I however failed at maintenance after about a year and half. Life got really busy, I stopped working out regularly, and I started eating whatever I felt like. So now over the last 2.5 years I've gained about 16 pounds back but my body still looks better than it originally did. I have also only lifted weights sporadically, not following a program or any real progression. I want to get back into weight training regularly but I'm not sure I want to lose any weight. Is it possible to drop some body fat without losing weight given my weight training history? I plan to follow a program with progressive overload and to eat a nutrient and protein dense diet. Are my goals possible or is this a pipe dream?

Replies

  • JBanx256
    JBanx256 Posts: 1,479 Member
    Sounds like you're wanting to recomp. While yes, you can gain muscle while losing fat, muscle gain, especially as a female, is very slow. Allow yourself some flexibility with the number on the scale - it's probably going to bounce around a good bit at first anyway when you reintroduce your lifting due to water retention etc.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,439 MFP Moderator
    Happyness4me2 wrote: »
    Hello, I need to restart my fitness journey/life. Back in 2017 I lost about 25 pounds and starting weight training for the first time in my life. I looked really good! I however failed at maintenance after about a year and half. Life got really busy, I stopped working out regularly, and I started eating whatever I felt like. So now over the last 2.5 years I've gained about 16 pounds back but my body still looks better than it originally did. I have also only lifted weights sporadically, not following a program or any real progression. I want to get back into weight training regularly but I'm not sure I want to lose any weight. Is it possible to drop some body fat without losing weight given my weight training history? I plan to follow a program with progressive overload and to eat a nutrient and protein dense diet. Are my goals possible or is this a pipe dream?

    Following a structure lifting program will definitely benefit you. But from a goal perspective, you need to figure out what is most important. If anything, a small deficit (10% to 15% less the tdee will be a good start to get lean. I'd also aim for .8-1g/lb of protein for your goal weight. So if you had a goal weight of 120, then 96-120g of protein.
  • Happyness4me2
    Happyness4me2 Posts: 37 Member
    Thank you both. I think what I will do is over the next 4 weeks I will focus on tracking all of my intake and making sure to get all of my workouts in. Then once I've established that habit I will add in a small deficit. I appreciate your advice!
  • JBanx256
    JBanx256 Posts: 1,479 Member
    Happyness4me2 wrote: »
    Thank you both. I think what I will do is over the next 4 weeks I will focus on tracking all of my intake and making sure to get all of my workouts in. Then once I've established that habit I will add in a small deficit. I appreciate your advice!

    I sent you a friend request, looking forward to seeing your progress :)

Categories