Advice on lowering body fat percentage

lifeofagymbunny
lifeofagymbunny Posts: 8 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi everyone, I am new here. I am 5'4 and 134 lbs. I have been weightlifting for just over a year, training 4-5 times a week (deadlift max 85kg, squat max 67.5kg). Last few months, my diet has been bad so I have gained fat. I tend not to use the scales and go by what I see in the mirror but I do think that I should weight around 120lbs. I worked out my BMR to be 1440 but I think it should be more since I am very active (walk my dog, walk/cycle everywhere, heavy lifting, cardio, yoga).

I have been exercising a lot lately (heavy lifting and cardio to minimise muscle loss and lose body fat) and eating very clean with intermittent fasting (eggs, spinach, chicken, rice, green veg, drink only water and green tea), however I have only lost 4lbs in 3 weeks. Is it unrealistic to want to lose weight at a faster rate? Because I am quite a petite girl, does this mean it is harder for me to lose fat? I exercise a lot but don't seem to be losing much body fat.

Any advice would be appreciated! :)

Replies

  • stt43
    stt43 Posts: 487
    4lb in three weeks is good. If you lose too much too quickly you may sacrifice strength and muscle.
    You could either eat at maintenance and let your body recomposition slowly, or eat at a 250-500 daily calorie deficit to lose 0.5lb-1lb per week without too much effect on your strength/muscle. Working out how much you burn a day to create this deficit will be the difficult part however.
  • Walter__
    Walter__ Posts: 518 Member
    You're doing fine. 4lbs in 3 weeks is normal. Most people trying to conserve muscle mass while dieting down normally aim to lose 1-2lbs max a week.
  • lioooba
    lioooba Posts: 105 Member
    Try to eat your carbs when you need them so for breakfast, before and after a workout.
    To conserve muscle mass its important to get enough protein 1g per lbs.
    Thats what works for me :)

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