Losing inches, not weight

AlliSteff

So I started in August 2013 trying to be healthier and wanting to slim down for my sister's wedding in July 2014.

In 2013, I had been diagnosed with Lupus and spent about 5-6 months just having zero energy. The meds finally kicked in, and I started heading to the gym to get back into shape. I was REALLY out of shape!

8 months later, my body fat percentage has dropped 5%....and my weight stays the same. I am really focusing now on adjusting my diet in order to get my body fat percentage down another 7-8%...ideally losing 12ish pounds.
I saw a friend this week that I had not seen since September 2013, and the first thing she said was "you look so skinny!". That felt great, but I know I want to get my body fat down and am looking for any bit of guidance.

I just calculated TDEE last week and am moving forward with that- this past Saturday was a junk day for me (an all day birthday party with mucho craft beer and walking around Brooklyn), but other than that I am feeling ok about my food choices. I am now working out 5-6 days a week (mix of kickboxing, spinning, bootcamp, weights, resistance training- TRX, kettlebells, medicine ball).

The biggest pain for me is that I also have type 1 diabetes (insulin dependent for 27 years, so any diary entry for Peeps, orange juice, or glucose tablets is to counter a dropping blood glucose level- not too much I can do about that)

My profile has not the best pictures, but they are all I have- on vacation in Ireland in July 2013 and on vacation in Iceland (hard to find a photo not in a down coat!) in March 2014.


Any input or guidance? I am really serious about dropping some more fat/ weight in the next 10-12 weeks!

SezxyStef

Not sure if you have a food scale...can't really tell by your entries..if you do...use it consistently with all solids..if not buy one.

For exercise I would try a progressive load lifting program with compound movements such as Strong lifts 5x5.

As for the sugar dropping I cannot say I totally understand except for the fact I have watched my brothers drop so drastically he had no choice as well...it was awful to watch, scary....

I do lift and have dropped almost 5% BF since I have started (about 1% a month) so I know it works...

morgo20

Losing inches is good! Infact better than losing weight.. because all your fat is turning into muscle and eventaully you are going to see some great definition. By the looks of your profile pic you have deff lost inches. You are looking great. I say take it one day at a time. If you mess up one day, get up the next morning, and start all over again. Its when we do like day binges that we feel the worst about ourselves. So you went out and had a great time saturday awesome! Eat a good breakfast every morning, and eat small meals 200-300 calories, if you really want to lose weight, make that 150-200 per small meal, and for breakfast lunch and supper make it around 250-300 cals. And dont eat for atleast 2.5 hours before bed time, that it the biggest one.. that is when your slows down and actuaklly when you are sleeping cleans out your system, and repairs your cells, skin, etc.... you can do it.. slow and steady, that way you will actually keeep the weight offf.

Wetcoaster

Losing inches is good! Infact better than losing weight.. because all your fat is turning into muscle and eventaully you are going to see some great definition. By the looks of your profile pic you have deff lost inches. You are looking great. I say take it one day at a time. If you mess up one day, get up the next morning, and start all over again. Its when we do like day binges that we feel the worst about ourselves. So you went out and had a great time saturday awesome! Eat a good breakfast every morning, and eat small meals 200-300 calories, if you really want to lose weight, make that 150-200 per small meal, and for breakfast lunch and supper make it around 250-300 cals. And dont eat for atleast 2.5 hours before bed time, that it the biggest one.. that is when your slows down and actuaklly when you are sleeping cleans out your system, and repairs your cells, skin, etc.... you can do it.. slow and steady, that way you will actually keeep the weight offf.

None of what you said is true.

AlliSteff

I have a food scale....I am not the best at using it anymore, but started with it when I went on my insulin pump. Since you need to calculate carbs (you take x amount of insulin per x carbs), I got pretty good at figuring portions, etc out..

I do measure my lunch when I pack it....not the best at dinner because by the time I get home from work (usually at the office by 8:30 AM, out in time for my first class at the gym- so I usually leave around 6:30 and head straight to the gym) and the gym at 8:30-9 PM, I just want to have my shake, shower, and grab something from the fridge.

Work seems to usually be so busy, I kind of forget to eat- so I try to get my macros/calories into 3 meals plus maybe 1 snack

MariaChele85

Losing inches is good! Infact better than losing weight.. because all your fat is turning into muscle and eventaully you are going to see some great definition. By the looks of your profile pic you have deff lost inches. You are looking great. I say take it one day at a time. If you mess up one day, get up the next morning, and start all over again. Its when we do like day binges that we feel the worst about ourselves. So you went out and had a great time saturday awesome! Eat a good breakfast every morning, and eat small meals 200-300 calories, if you really want to lose weight, make that 150-200 per small meal, and for breakfast lunch and supper make it around 250-300 cals. And dont eat for atleast 2.5 hours before bed time, that it the biggest one.. that is when your slows down and actuaklly when you are sleeping cleans out your system, and repairs your cells, skin, etc.... you can do it.. slow and steady, that way you will actually keeep the weight offf.

fat does not turn into muscle

lindsey1979

What is your bf %? Because in that second picture, you're looking pretty good -- it doesn't look like you need to drop any body fat at all.

And people's weight can very so much based on muscle/fat proportion. If you haven't seen it already, there is a great website (http://www.mybodygallery.com/) which shows the difference in sizes versus weight. You can search size or height and see pics of real women. The weight variation is astounding to me. I'm 5'9", and the difference in a size 6 at that height is literally over a 20 lbs difference -- I was pretty shocked.

AlliSteff

Sadly I am still hovering around 30% and I jsut don't know what else to do except lift more/heavier...and add protein

lindsey1979

Wow. I certainly would not have guessed 30% bf. I would have guessed something more like 25% based on that picture. The only two things I can think of to help with that, you already mentioned -- lifting heavy and making sure you get enough protein. I like the 3X5 program and aim for 0.7 g of protein per lb body weight. You could also throw in a weekly or semi-weekly HIIT session like hill sprints. Recomp takes time...

AlliSteff

Yeah, my sister's trainer had also guessed 25%. Le sigh.

aplhabetacheesecake

Hey! Fellow type 1 diabetic here on a pump as well! 29 yrs with diabetes and goin strong!!

Diabetes places some extra stress on balancing carb intake with insulin doses and then planning for exercise on top.

THERE IS DANGER- to be warned. If you exercise to the point of depleting your glycogen stores (a form of energy stores in the liver) they can take 24 hours to rebuild their stores.***what does this mean?*** when you have type 1 diabetes, the glycogen that is stored in your liver sometimes helps you out when your blood sugar drops below normal levels. If you exercise, those effects can be seen on your blood sugar levels for up to 24 hours after, so you may go low during your sleep at night. If you have depleted your glycogen stores this could be a disaster if you do not wake up to treat your low!!

So- always test your blood sugar before and after exercise

You may want to consider starting a temp basal rate on your pump for 2-3 hours before or after your exercise
Keep a log of your blood glucose and its response to exercise
and make sure you have a source of fast acting carbohydrate with you.

Repeated episodes of low blood sugar will cause you to have to take in extra calories worth of carb-that could undo a days worth of healthy eating, so choose your low blood sugar treatment wisely- dex 4 tabs are fast acting and low cal. (better choice than peeps or OJ)

as for the inches and weightloss- unfortunately with diabetes it seems to be a slower process, but it can be done, so hang in there, make sure you are following up with a diabetes education centre and if possible speak to a dietitian who is a certified diabetes educator to help you in reaching your goals!
Cheers!

AlliSteff

Hahah, the dietician is a joke at my endo.

I test 13-18 times a day...so I hope to god that is enough! The problem with the temp basal (I have done it before) is that there have been enough instances where I plan to work out, then get stuck at work, then am scrambling to give MORE insulin since I am not working out and it turns into a super mess.

I have actually only experienced liver dump 7 times in my life! And have never needed glucagon...so when I treat, I am typically in the 50/60 range and am trying to stave off going lower.

I ran out of Dex4 last week and just haven't gotten to CVS...hence the Peeps that were floating around my office.

I do also log any treatment in my food log and adjust accordingly.