Relatively light people trying to get leaner
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You could also help them build muscle, thereby speeding their metabolism, increasing lean body mass, and reducing body fat % even if maintaining their current weight...
I'm 125lbs and maintain easily on 2200 calories with 30min workouts 5x/week. Muscle for the win.1 -
When adding some cardio in to increase TDEE (either to help create a deficit, or just to allow you to eat more yummy food when you are a small person), what is a reasonable amount? (Currently I'm trying to hit 4 days of week lifting, 2 days cardio--usually running about 3-4 miles--and one rest day. Sometimes I add a 30 min. walk or some HIIT cardio (15 mins or so)to the lifting days, but lifting is first priority). Does that sound right?
I think that sounds totally reasonable. As you increase endurance, you might want to add a little more. You'll get a little faster and be able to run a little farther in the same time. You'll also build your tolerance to running and could add another mile or another day if you wanted. It's nice to have the extra calories!
I've been jogging for quite a while, and nowdays I run 3-4 miles 5 or 6 days a week (sometimes an extra mile or so on pretty, sunny days) and find that quite easy. I also lift weights 3 days a week.0 -
Bump!0
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When adding some cardio in to increase TDEE (either to help create a deficit, or just to allow you to eat more yummy food when you are a small person), what is a reasonable amount? (Currently I'm trying to hit 4 days of week lifting, 2 days cardio--usually running about 3-4 miles--and one rest day. Sometimes I add a 30 min. walk or some HIIT cardio (15 mins or so)to the lifting days, but lifting is first priority). Does that sound right?
Sounds about right to me in general terms. Though I'll say that mileage varies from person to person. I'd try and rid yourself of there being some optimal amount and adopt the self-experimentation mindset where you're simply trying stuff out. That's loss in a lot of today's fitness information since everyone's trying to sell you The Way... but I've coached over 500 people in my career and I can say, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that embracing experimentation and learning to "fail forward" are some of the biggest cornerstones.0 -
Whew, this is a long but interesting thread!
I'm almost 5'9" and had gotten to a too-low weight a few years ago, around 122lb, bodyfat measured at 20%, was 33-28-35 with 18" thighs. Looked pretty good, I like being skinny, and was lean and aerobically fit but felt like this too light for health, I have a mental line of 125lb, as that was the healthy weight I reached as a young woman after overcoming disordered eating, and I stayed that weight for a loooong time, except when pregnant, and briefly when bigger (almost 150) after the last baby, but it settled back down to the 125 with some exercise, so that is my ideal sustainable skinny but healthy weight.
So..I made an effort to gain some muscle and more fitness in general. Did jogging and yoga instead of lighter aerobics, and this worked, my legs and butt got bigger, my arms and back got muscle, I can do pull-ups and push-ups, am unquestionably stronger, but overshot my weight goal of 130. Now at 136lb, body is 35-29-37 with 21" thighs - I know my proportions are better (though the increase in bust measurement is mostly lats, of course, not boobs) but that inch more in the waist drives me crazy. I still measure at 20% bodyfat, which I think is healthy, and am not looking to be an hourglass - never was in the first place - just would like to have the same measurement around the middle as when I was skinny!
I feel really like it's a vain thing to want more than what I have when I'm so close to the body I'd choose, and it's a small difference but d*mmit, if I could have a 28" waist when I was skinny, why can't I have it when I am carrying more muscle? I know that waist increase is probably the fat, not muscle, and it makes it harder to fit in my clothes!
So - does anyone know - how much fat on a body is the right amount? Is it really a %, as it's usually measured? Or is it a healthy number of pounds of bodyfat for a given height, regardless of lean mass? If I wanted to get real serious about it, would it be healthy to lose the 2 or 3 pounds of fat which I am sure went to the middle of me when gaining the mostly-muscle? Or do I need those fat pounds now, because I have that extra muscle?
In practice, please note I do not live like this sounds. I eat healthy and moderately and work out in a healthy and moderate way and let it fall out how it does, and am pretty happy with how I am built. But this question - can I have the skinny waist measurement along with the increased mass in other places - has been bugging me for months now. It seems to be an impossible goal. Is it an impossible goal?
Phew, I'm happy you added that last paragraph! Up until that point I was readying my guns to shoot a bunch of common sense at you about not worrying about your proportions to the exact inch.
I'll keep it really simple. Obviously we don't pick and choose where our body stores fat. And anytime you go adding weight, even if you're doing everything correctly, some of it is going to be fat. Which is why for the diehards who are truly trying to optimize their physiques... they go through phases of losing fat while doing their best to preserve as much muscle as possible followed by phases of building muscle while trying to minimize as much fat gain as possible.
That's where you are right now.
And if you wanted to continue the trend, you'd simply move back into the next fat loss phase while trying to maximize muscle preservation. Only this time the base of muscle you're striving to maintain is larger than the last fat loss phase.
Make sense?
Or you can just say screw it, embrace how you are right now - especially if you're happy and feel good - and dedicate all this energy to other things that are important to you in your life. And I say that with as little judgment as possible... I just want to make sure it's seen as a clear and logical option as well.1 -
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I'm just going to leave this here as something tells me there is a lot of people who visit this thread who can stand hearing this message.
http://body-improvements.com/2016/05/01/so-youve-been-counting-calories-for-1600-days-huh/1 -
Great post. I'm marking to link0
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sunnybeaches105 wrote: »Great post. I'm marking to link
Thanks! I appreciate you checking it out.0 -
Trying to get a new MFP community off the ground. I received a lot of support in this thread so figured I'd post it here to see if anyone was interested in joining. Thanks for the consideration!
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/114508-my-best-me2 -
Bump to read later
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"Personally, I don't ever weigh. I own a gym that has 3 scales in sight and I step on one of them maybe 5 times per year. I just don't care what I weigh. I care what I can do (big on mountaineering) and how I look. But I train for performance and how I look follows suit."
I quoted you because, like you, I don't ever use a scale and have never even owned one. I've always felt, at a very young age, that people obsess way too much about their weight, and constantly weighing oneself is counter-productive to the mind. The only time I've ever stepped on a scale was at a doctor's appointment or to prove someone wrong (that I actually weigh more than they believe me to weigh). Some people have said I don't need to because I'm not, nor really have been overweight; however, I reply that just because "my weight isn't hitting the roof, doesn't mean I feel OK in my body".
A little history about me ... I am on the leaner side and lbs aren't as important to me than my BMI. At present it is 28.5 % with my weight @ 136 lbs. I'm wanting to bring my BMI down to at least 23%. My thought process is this ... my main goal for fitness is to reduce stress and carry a healthy body. For me, the "body molding" is a plus that comes along with being physically active. With the BMI in mind, the other goal is toning. Just because my weight is ideal (I'm 5' 7 1/2"), I can see the lack of muscle tone and it bothers me tremendously.
Currently I am participating in a 6-week xfit challenge with 6 other beginners (started on 10/17/16). Our coach is teaching us as if each one is a true beginner, which I like, because I am 51 and want to learn proper form of lifting, etc. I also don't have a car at the moment (gave mine to my daughter) so I take buses to/from work and ride my bike Mon, Wed, Fri for xfit (which totals approximately 5-6 mi on those days).
Eating is where I'm most frustrated, because my nature is to eat when I'm hungry. Most times when I am hungry I'm not in the position to eat or don't have food available. By the time I can eat, I'm no longer hungry (plus, I don't have a sweet-tooth). And so the vicious cycle goes. Basically in a nut shell ... eating for me is simply survival. My coach wants us to eat 5 small meals per day keeping nutrients in mind. As a specific instruction to me, he says I should eat more fat. UGH!!! This eating process (calories, macro nutrients, etc.) is driving me crazy!!!
Now, as far as my question (or maybe even questions) to you. What would you suggest food wise (PLEASE make it simple), xfit, weight lifting, etc., so I can attain my goal of lowering my BMI and toning my body to be what it should for my body frame?
Thanks for your time,
Cyndy
P.S. Is there any way we could communicate outside this forum should you be willing to mentor me somewhat?0 -
MelaniaTrump wrote: »Why is this being answered 6 years later?
Sometimes even when we know, we need to be reminded.
Your user name is unfortunate because I come on MFP to get away from all that noise and crap.***sigh***
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"Personally, I don't ever weigh. I own a gym that has 3 scales in sight and I step on one of them maybe 5 times per year. I just don't care what I weigh. I care what I can do (big on mountaineering) and how I look. But I train for performance and how I look follows suit."
I quoted you because, like you, I don't ever use a scale and have never even owned one. I've always felt, at a very young age, that people obsess way too much about their weight, and constantly weighing oneself is counter-productive to the mind. The only time I've ever stepped on a scale was at a doctor's appointment or to prove someone wrong (that I actually weigh more than they believe me to weigh). Some people have said I don't need to because I'm not, nor really have been overweight; however, I reply that just because "my weight isn't hitting the roof, doesn't mean I feel OK in my body".
A little history about me ... I am on the leaner side and lbs aren't as important to me than my BMI. At present it is 28.5 % with my weight @ 136 lbs. I'm wanting to bring my BMI down to at least 23%. My thought process is this ... my main goal for fitness is to reduce stress and carry a healthy body. For me, the "body molding" is a plus that comes along with being physically active. With the BMI in mind, the other goal is toning. Just because my weight is ideal (I'm 5' 7 1/2"), I can see the lack of muscle tone and it bothers me tremendously.
Currently I am participating in a 6-week xfit challenge with 6 other beginners (started on 10/17/16). Our coach is teaching us as if each one is a true beginner, which I like, because I am 51 and want to learn proper form of lifting, etc. I also don't have a car at the moment (gave mine to my daughter) so I take buses to/from work and ride my bike Mon, Wed, Fri for xfit (which totals approximately 5-6 mi on those days).
Eating is where I'm most frustrated, because my nature is to eat when I'm hungry. Most times when I am hungry I'm not in the position to eat or don't have food available. By the time I can eat, I'm no longer hungry (plus, I don't have a sweet-tooth). And so the vicious cycle goes. Basically in a nut shell ... eating for me is simply survival. My coach wants us to eat 5 small meals per day keeping nutrients in mind. As a specific instruction to me, he says I should eat more fat. UGH!!! This eating process (calories, macro nutrients, etc.) is driving me crazy!!!
Now, as far as my question (or maybe even questions) to you. What would you suggest food wise (PLEASE make it simple), xfit, weight lifting, etc., so I can attain my goal of lowering my BMI and toning my body to be what it should for my body frame?
Thanks for your time,
Cyndy
P.S. Is there any way we could communicate outside this forum should you be willing to mentor me somewhat?
A few random thoughts:
1. BMI can be somewhat misleading when applying it to active people who are carrying meaningful muscle mass. I wouldn't hold it out as the be all end all metric that defines health. I'm overweight per BMI standards. I'm also pretty damn healthy and fit.
2. You're right... your lack of muscle tone likely has more to do with your body fat levels than it does your muscle mass. That said, it's nice to hear that you're doing some lifting. That'll only help matters - on the physique front and the health front.
3. What makes it that you're not in a position to eat when your'e hungry? Better yet... what could you do to improve your ability to honor your hunger when it arises?
4. How do you lower your BMI through nutrition? That's a huge question that doesn't really have a blanket answer that I can put in a neat little box. I wrote an all-encompassing article about nutrition fundamentals that you can find here: www.body-improvements.com/eat. You can give that a look and if you have any specific questions, let me know.
5. Outside of the forum I do coaching, which you can learn more about on my bio.
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I'm a "relatively light" person trying to get a bit leaner. Thanks for bumping this, I have some reading to do. 3
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lbs aren't as important to me than my BMI. At present it is 28.5 % with my weight @ 136 lbs. I'm wanting to bring my BMI down to at least 23%. My thought process is this ... my main goal for fitness is to reduce stress and carry a healthy body. For me, the "body molding" is a plus that comes along with being physically active. With the BMI in mind, the other goal is toning. Just because my weight is ideal (I'm 5' 7 1/2"), I can see the lack of muscle tone and it bothers me tremendously.
BMI is just weight divided by height, do you mean body fat, body composition?
I feel like we are probably built similarly; I'm 5'9" and don't get fat or heavy, but have at times gotten dumpy, misshapen due to being, well, out of shape. Skinnyfat.
ANYTHING you do, exercise-wise, should work fine. Just work out more often. Did the 6-week challenge get you back on board?
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What qualifies as 'relatively light?!' LOL!0
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