Surplus? Maintenance? Or Deficit?

tula1980

I've been pointed here as somewhere sensible to ask for help.

Quick stats: 5'1 & 112lb, not worried about scale weight, just health, strength and how I feel about myself.

So my priorities are to increase my bone density (low when scanned) and get my strength back after a life event and I'm about to undertake a lifting program (going with Stronglifts 5x5) to help achieve that. Having stated thus I do have fatty/flabby areas I didn't have before and I'm keen not to increase them purely for vanity reasons. I'm currently eating for maintenance based on my weight/activity level that's ~1800 calories and I'm slowing dropping a small amount of weight, so I'm either over estimating my food or under estimating my activity levels.

How should I be eating? Hold where I am and see what happens? Increase slightly/moderately to help put on condition? Or should I be aiming to get rid of the body fat first?

SideSteel

Tagging

DatMurse

I've been pointed here as somewhere sensible to ask for help.

Quick stats: 5'1 & 112lb, not worried about scale weight, just health, strength and how I feel about myself.

So my priorities are to increase my bone density (low when scanned) and get my strength back after a life event and I'm about to undertake a lifting program (going with Stronglifts 5x5) to help achieve that. Having stated thus I do have fatty/flabby areas I didn't have before and I'm keen not to increase them purely for vanity reasons. I'm currently eating for maintenance based on my weight/activity level that's ~1800 calories and I'm slowing dropping a small amount of weight, so I'm either over estimating my food or under estimating my activity levels.

How should I be eating? Hold where I am and see what happens? Increase slightly/moderately to help put on condition? Or should I be aiming to get rid of the body fat first?

1800 sounds fine to me.

you are losing weight over what period of time?

Make sure you get essential amino acids such as lysine, This is highly overlooked in regards to increasing bone density,
Get out in the sun, eat egg yolks, you need vitamin D. Calcium helps obviously, but the other 2 need quite a bit of focus on.

Casein shakes can help cover both the calcium and lysine needed to increase bone density or you can always drink milk which is fine all together for bone density.


When you start training be especially cautious of lifting lighter weight when you start to help the accessory muscles build. Many new beginners risk injury due to improper form or their supplementary muscles are not strong enough.

Sarauk2sf

Re intake advice, can you complete the questions from here:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/910257-the-new-and-improved-asking-questions-about-your-intake

tula1980

Wow Sarauk2sf - that is a huge amount of information on that link. Thanks. I don't think it's worth me filling out the questionnaire or your time reading it because I've shifted most of the weight, and I'm still losing despite eating at maintenance. I also log everything on Cron-o-meter rather than MFP because I have IBD, and therefore 'miss list' of 'trigger' foods I can't eat so I use it to help me track micros as well as macros.

DatMurse - thank you! I can't have meat, dairy, whey or casein as protein sources, nor can I have beans, grains or legumes. I've been supplementing with various vegan proteins which are giving me (according to Cron-o-meter) 2870mg lysine per day, which is about twice what a 'normal' person my size should need. Enough or should I consider adding in more? I can tolerate some eggs, up to about 4-6 per week so I always have my quota on eggs, they are a good source of Lysine too? I have had vitamin D injections, I take a vitamin D supplement (about 2000% RDA) and I also spend an awful lot of time outside, without sun cream where practical. It's just the case (I hope) now of motivating my body to build up the lean mass.

I've lost 1.2lb in the last 4 weeks despite eating at what I thought would be maintenance, so we are taking a small amount of weight. I'm pretty accurate with logging/weighing so perhaps I am just a bit more active than I thought I was. I'm looking to add in lifting so my activity level will increase slightly so I think I'm going to hold onto 1800 calories for now and up them if I need to. Like everyone else on the planet I'd like to swap fat for muscle, I know it doesn't work like that, especially in a female with my stats, so I'm going to have to be patient and just be careful about losing too much to quickly.

My starting weight is 5-20lb depending on the move, and I'm going to spend the first few weeks in front of a mirror focusing on form before I consider upping the weights.