Need advice from Fitness trainers and Bodybuilders please

fitness_faeiry

Hi, Im a 33 years old female. And I am at the end of a three month training plan (Jamie Eason) where I have been eating clean and strength training, with a combination of HIIT and cardio 4-5 times a week. The plan is split into bulking for 4 weeks (cal suplus) and just concentrating on strength training with no cardio at all. Then the 2nd and 3rd Phase introduces HIIT and steady state cardio, to increase fat loss with a heavier concentration on Macros and a calorie deficit (carb cycling for 8 weeks)

I have made some steady progress and seen some positive changes in my body, and my weight has fluctuated from 57.5kg to 55kg, and now gone back up to 56kg (Sorry I deal in kg not lb's - I'm from the UK btw). I have measured my progress and have lost inches on my body - including 2 inches around my thigh, and 1.5 inches around my stomach area. I have gained better definition in my arms - shoulders and biceps are really showing some nice definition now. I am around 20% BF I think, (hard to do it accurately without callipers but this is my guess).

However I'm still stuck with that annoying layer of fat which covers my belly-button and lower stomach (its always been there!) But its the one area I wanted to drastically change! It is the area that seems to hang onto the fat, as I am generally pretty lean, and have always been around the same sort of weight. I get most of my protein from fish and vegetarin sources like Tofu and Soy. (I dont eat anything with legs!!) I have been eating around 170g of protein a day! with carbs being under 100g and fat around 50g. On my high days I have increases carbs to 190-220g,
So in essense, I'm a little stuck on what I need to do next. Eat at a greater deficit or go back to bulking to gain more muscle first? I am currently eating at around 1480 cals (my maintenance is around 1850). Does it sound like I have hit a plateau? My body responds well, but perhaps I need to change my routine a bit, and shock my body?? HELP please. Any advice from fitness pros would be greatly appreciated

hwoeltjen

I am going to say try intermittent fasting.

That last bit of fat is difficult to burn off. How did you estimate the 20% body fat?

It's a matter of dropping your body fat % low enough to rid yourself of that last bit of excess fat.

I don't know that going on a bulk would be your best bet. After the bulk you will be left with more body fat to get rid of. That's not really the direction you want to go. I think you may want to maintain a deficit or try IF.

but......let's see what everybody else thinks.

neanderthin

Continue doing what your doing if it's working. Reducing inches means something is working. I suspect your consuming more calories than you think. As far as what you eat and when, that is really preference and if what your doing now is easy then keep doing it.

psuLemon

Sounds like you just need to give it more time. Also, do you own a food scale?

ironanimal

The pooch is a primary storage location for lots and lots of people, so it's not unusual for that to be the last to go. Also note some people's will never be flat cos organs.

I would suggest a small deficit coupled with continued weight training, being sure to incorporate some core exercise if it's lacking - by which I mean deadlifts, OHP, cleans and not crunches

It'll just take time. If you increase your deficit you risk undoing all your hard work on the bulk.

TavistockToad

That bit of fat on your stomach is generally the last to go... you have had results so far, so just keep doing what you're doing.

fitness_faeiry

Yes I do measure my foods as well as I can. I eat and prepare pretty much 99% of my foods so it is easy, and I strangely enjoy being meticulous about it

I think I do just need to give it more time - I'm just wondering if there's anything that I could change. Its a bit of trial and error process really, and I'm terrible for trying to jump to different diet techniques. I have changed up my macros a few times, as I kept getting different results from calculators.

fitness_faeiry

I estimated by BF from my digital weighingscales which give me a (rough) idea. They give a breakdown of Muscle mass and BF percentage - yeah fancy huh? Whether they're accurate or not is another thing!

psuLemon

BTW, how tall are you?

BTW, bioimpedence machines are not that accurate.

MstngSammy

Bmp

lorenzovonmatterhorn7549

Continue doing what your doing if it's working. Reducing inches means something is working. I suspect your consuming more calories than you think. As far as what you eat and when, that is really preference and if what your doing now is easy then keep doing it.

^ Ding, ding, ding, ding.....

Yanicka1

Patience. The stubborn fat is very hard to get rid of because you have to find the perfect balance between a deficit large enough to lower bf% but small enough to keep lean mass.

fitness_faeiry

I'm 166cm, so 5ft 6.

Thanks for all the responses so far everyone

hwoeltjen

The digital bodyfat scales are not accurate at all. You could be off by a few percent. Doesn't really matter.

As I said in my previous post....you can either maintain the deficit or try something different like IF.

I recommend IF because for some.....the change in your diet helps lose the final few % points of fat.

In the end....the "continue doing what your doing" advice is probably your best bet. You seem to be getting good results as is.

Just realize, as other posters have stated, that last bit of fat is going to be more difficult to lose. So don't get discouraged when it takes a little more time to get there.

fitness_faeiry

The digital bodyfat scales are not accurate at all. You could be off by a few percent. Doesn't really matter.

As I said in my previous post....you can either maintain the deficit or try something different like IF.

I recommend IF because for some.....the change in your diet helps lose the final few % points of fat.

In the end....the "continue doing what your doing" advice is probably your best bet. You seem to be getting good results as is.

Just realize, as other posters have stated, that last bit of fat is going to be more difficult to lose. So don't get discouraged when it takes a little more time to get there.

Thanks Yes I have considered IF, as I have done some reading on it and it seems to work really well for some people..what would your recommendation be for the minimum fasting period? 16 hours or more? Also, do most people do the same fasting every day, or do they alternate on 'normal' days?

psuLemon

I'm 166cm, so 5ft 6.

Thanks for all the responses so far everyone

And I am glad I ask that. Since you are fairly close to a being underweight, I suspect you are struggling due to your composition. I would think a few more bulk/cut cycles will benefit you the most or at least eating at maintenance to do body recomposition.

fitness_faeiry

Thanks for the advice - I am going to look at body recomposition. Can I ask what you recommend for time period when bulking/cutting? How long? Also, would I still be doing zigzag cycles with high or low days?

psuLemon

Thanks for the advice - I am going to look at body recomposition. Can I ask what you recommend for time period when bulking/cutting? How long? Also, would I still be doing zigzag cycles with high or low days?

It depends on the person.... but usually around an 8 week bulk followed by a 4 -6 week cut. I would suggest spending some time in the gaining weight section here. Tons of good information and you can adapt it to your needs.