new to stronglifts/diet question

aclockworkblonde

Hello ladies!

I have been sort of bouncing around experimenting with strength training for a couple of months while trying to lose some weight (fat) and haven't stuck to a program. I did some research and chose stronglifts 5x5 and started Friday- the summary thread here, form videos, and app make it so convenient and easy for me to understand compared to other programs!

I was just curious about using this program while trying to lose weight. I am not far off from my goal weight (about 8-10 lb) and want to lower by body fat percentage from 30% to at least 25%, with a dream goal of 21-22% by summer. I am eating in a relatively small deficit to minimize muscle loss- I burn between 2100-2300 on workout days and between1800-2000 on my rest days according to my bodymedia armband and I try not to eat more than a 500 cal deficit a day.

I desperately want to lower my body fat and shed some pounds. If it turns out I burn more fat but my weight only goes down a few pounds I certainly wouldn't complain. But I was sad to find out how high my bf was after my health evaluation and am really working hard to make my body into something I can feel good about. I am 26, just under about 5'2 1/2, 125 pounds trying to get down into the teens. My macros right now are 40/35/25 for carbs/protein/fat and I am extremely careful with measuring and now use a food scale.

Just looking for some tips and advice from those of you who lost weight/fat successfully with this program and am happy to answer any follow up questions or give details I haven't provided. I find some of the success stories on this site so inspirational and would love to be one of them! Thanks so much

jstout365

First off, welcome!!

As for your goals, yes, you can lose fat on this program. I'm just about where you are right now with the goal to get down to 25-ish% BF. I am also 5'2". I am closer to 140 and about 29-31% BF so my goal with just fat loss puts me closer to 128-130lbs. I had dropped closer to 20% last year around this time, but I am horrible with maintaining and got far off track while traveling for work. Anywho, I have been back on a 500 or so deficit since mid-January and have seen the BF% reading steadily going down as well as the measurement on my waist.

Just for the sake of comment, most BF% measurements are not very accurate. Depending on the reading type, you could be +-5%. I use the BF% reading on my scale and do my best to use it in the most consistent way I can. I know the reading is not the "truth" in terms of my actual BF%, but I use it for following a trend. So many factors can come into play with the reading that the only real value is in watching for a trend. That all being said, if you did a bioimpedance test (the one that you either hold in your hands or stand on with bare feet), you will need to do the follow-up testing as close to the original circumstances as possible. This will provide you with a more consistent reading for you. Not necessarily more accurate, but it is about a series of data points, not a single point in time.

As for diet, I think my macros are going anywhere from 33/33/33 to 40/30/30 c/f/p. I do a little bit of a flexible macros thing where I aim to hit 120 g protein a day and let the rest fall where it falls. I aim for 1600 calories a day and usually come within +- 50 of that target. I do SL only twice a week right now. I started taking a boxing class in January that is 3 nights a week. The class gives me some cardio because of the drills, but we also do some conditioning work that involves strength training. I had a BMF armband last year, but stopped wearing it once I got used to what my TDEE was averaging.

At this point, my starting reading from the scale was 31% BF and as of this past Monday was 29.5%. I had a good increase in water weight 2 weeks ago after a carb and sodium binge so I anticipate my readings to level back out a bit.

Here is the chart that I keep the data in:

Date: Weight(lb) BF% BF(lbs) LBM(lbs)
1/27/2014 141.8 31.00% 43.958 97.842
2/4/2014 140.4 30.90% 43.3836 97.0164
2/10/2014 139.6 30.50% 42.578 97.022
2/17/2014 143 29.70% 42.471 100.529 - high sodium week = increase in water weight
2/24/2014 141.8 29.50% 41.831 99.969

My reasoning for this breakdown is to give me a clearer idea of what the BF% reading means in relation to the weight. What I can see is a few things even with just this limited number of readings. 1) My weight gain that one week was directly related to an increase in LBM, which includes water weight. 2) I am seeing a steady decrease in the BF-lbs number while I'm mostly retaining LBM (minus the balancing out of water weight). 3) The readings support the loss of about in inch in my waist measurements.

So can you lose fat while maintaining LBM doing strong lifts? Yes. I was extremely successful last year when I switched from a cardio dominant regime to a strength training program (iso lifts at first, then SL). I would say that my current regime is more strength training dominant even with the added cardio from boxing class.

I have a set of progress photos in my profile from last year that has me at my lowest. Even at ~140 right now, I look better than I did the last time I looked 140. Feel free to creep my photos and send a FR if you would like.

And sorry if that bounced around a bit....I'm a little tired tonight:laugh:

Happy lifting :drinker:

aclockworkblonde

Thank you so much for your reply! That makes me feel more motivated to know other people have had success with the program. I was originally 138 lb, got down to 108 in about 7 months by walking and eating 1500 cal a day. I wasn't necessarily toned but I had lost so much that I looked and felt so small and absolutely loved it! Then last year I gained it all back through a cycle of drinking, eating 600 calories a day with a job that had me constantly walking, and then binge eating on the weekends. By the time september rolled around I was 129 and could hardly fit in any of my clothes.

I had been so depressed over it until recently. Even though I know my struggles are pretty small compared to others' weight loss journeys I have become so singularly obsessed with losing weight and how I have been unable to. Recently I took steps to really commit, the first was that I joined this site, the second being that I started actually counting accurately and not making excuses (I was seriously miscalculating and logging poorly), and the third is to stick to a solid strength training program. I also love doing research on nutrition and exercise and reading the forum topics.

I am in a much better place now than I was even a month ago. Although the scale and measurements have not changed yet, I know I have to be patient. It's only really been two weeks that I started accurately following my deficit, I am minimizing the cardio, and looking forward to working my tush off with the weights. Internally I am very healthy according to my bloodwork so now I just want an outside to match!

I like how you are tracking your weight/body fat/lbm breakdown and I think I might have to steal that one from you I have mfp for tracking food but I think I should start a journal where I log all trends and track things like bloating, digestive problems, high and low energy, strength, and of course body composition.