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: 38,427 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 :)

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