Recomp/heavy lifting - general advice!
snazzyjazzy21
Posts: 1,298 Member
Uh hello SideSteel, Sarauk2sf, and everyone else :laugh:
So I've almost reached my goal weight and have found myself at the 'skinny fat' stage. I doubt losing another 2 lbs will change that so I've decided to try and work on recomp/muscle gain (I'm not sure what you're supposed to call it? But I want the dreaded muscle 'tone') and could use some guidance. I've searched through the group but couldn't quite find the answers I was looking for, so apologies if I did missed something and am wasting your time
NB: 5x5 takes me around 30 minutes to complete atm as I'm just starting, and I'd like to keep up with my cardio routine as much as possible because I find it helps control my anxiety disorder and depression.
Gender: Female
Height: 5'8
Weight: 132lbs
What's your current gross intake of calories, on average? 2200 using TDEE
What's your current average intake of protein, carbs, and fats, in grams? 120g ,260g, 60g-I'm aware I need to bump up my protein, it's a work in progress xD
Do you use a food scale and measure everything? Yes
Do you track all of your intake, daily? Yes
Do you take cheat days or days off? Recently took two weeks off during school holidays (my diary it still full because I use pactapp...) but my weight didn't change, and other than that all days/meals are logged
How much weight have you lost so far and over what time period? 57lbs in about 2 years? Although I've only been logging and exercising for the last year.
Describe your activity (exercise and non exercise) and did you change that activity withing the last couple of months?
Mon: T25 x2
Tues: 5x5 + T25
Wed: Rest
Thurs: 5x5 + T25
Fri: Light cardio
Sat: 5x5 + T25
Sun: Cardio/HIIT
I subbed my HIIT and cardio workouts for 5x5, within the last month. All together, I do between 5-6 hours of exercise a week. I get around 10,000 steps a day but other than that I'm rather inactive due to the fact I'm currently studying IT so I have little choice but to sit on my *kitten* all day.
How long have you been stalled and if it is not a complete stall please be very specific as to how much you have lost over the stalled period.
No stall, but loss has been at a snails pace for the last few months.
Are you breastfeeding? Nope
Do you have thyroid issues/risks or PCOS? No, although I haven’t had my period in 4 months. Seen a Dr, blood tests came back fine and they don’t believe my exercise/diet is to blame. Told to come back in 2 months if nothing changes (is that TMI? Sorry!)
When I put my info into scooby, I get a maintenance of around 2500, which is a little terrifying. Should I drop the hours I say I do, since lifting doesn't have the same calorie burn as cardio? I'm a little apprehensive because I don't want to gain back the fat I've managed to lose by overestimating anything, but I also want to build some muscle which I know I can't do if I'm not eating enough.
Admittedly I feel a little run down in general, low on energy, and quite hungry (to the point I bumped up my cals because I suddenly found I couldn't get through my 'usual' workouts). The only thing that's changed recently in my workouts is I've subbed my HIIT and cardio for 5x5 so I'm not sure if that could be the cause?
Apologies for the rambles, I wasn't sure how much info would be helpful. Thanks guys! :drinker:
ETA: The recipes in my diary are calculated and cooked by me
So I've almost reached my goal weight and have found myself at the 'skinny fat' stage. I doubt losing another 2 lbs will change that so I've decided to try and work on recomp/muscle gain (I'm not sure what you're supposed to call it? But I want the dreaded muscle 'tone') and could use some guidance. I've searched through the group but couldn't quite find the answers I was looking for, so apologies if I did missed something and am wasting your time
NB: 5x5 takes me around 30 minutes to complete atm as I'm just starting, and I'd like to keep up with my cardio routine as much as possible because I find it helps control my anxiety disorder and depression.
Gender: Female
Height: 5'8
Weight: 132lbs
What's your current gross intake of calories, on average? 2200 using TDEE
What's your current average intake of protein, carbs, and fats, in grams? 120g ,260g, 60g-I'm aware I need to bump up my protein, it's a work in progress xD
Do you use a food scale and measure everything? Yes
Do you track all of your intake, daily? Yes
Do you take cheat days or days off? Recently took two weeks off during school holidays (my diary it still full because I use pactapp...) but my weight didn't change, and other than that all days/meals are logged
How much weight have you lost so far and over what time period? 57lbs in about 2 years? Although I've only been logging and exercising for the last year.
Describe your activity (exercise and non exercise) and did you change that activity withing the last couple of months?
Mon: T25 x2
Tues: 5x5 + T25
Wed: Rest
Thurs: 5x5 + T25
Fri: Light cardio
Sat: 5x5 + T25
Sun: Cardio/HIIT
I subbed my HIIT and cardio workouts for 5x5, within the last month. All together, I do between 5-6 hours of exercise a week. I get around 10,000 steps a day but other than that I'm rather inactive due to the fact I'm currently studying IT so I have little choice but to sit on my *kitten* all day.
How long have you been stalled and if it is not a complete stall please be very specific as to how much you have lost over the stalled period.
No stall, but loss has been at a snails pace for the last few months.
Are you breastfeeding? Nope
Do you have thyroid issues/risks or PCOS? No, although I haven’t had my period in 4 months. Seen a Dr, blood tests came back fine and they don’t believe my exercise/diet is to blame. Told to come back in 2 months if nothing changes (is that TMI? Sorry!)
When I put my info into scooby, I get a maintenance of around 2500, which is a little terrifying. Should I drop the hours I say I do, since lifting doesn't have the same calorie burn as cardio? I'm a little apprehensive because I don't want to gain back the fat I've managed to lose by overestimating anything, but I also want to build some muscle which I know I can't do if I'm not eating enough.
Admittedly I feel a little run down in general, low on energy, and quite hungry (to the point I bumped up my cals because I suddenly found I couldn't get through my 'usual' workouts). The only thing that's changed recently in my workouts is I've subbed my HIIT and cardio for 5x5 so I'm not sure if that could be the cause?
Apologies for the rambles, I wasn't sure how much info would be helpful. Thanks guys! :drinker:
ETA: The recipes in my diary are calculated and cooked by me
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Replies
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What has your body-weight done in the past month?0
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It rose a little when I started 5x5, but as of my weigh in this morning, it's down to 131.8.0
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How has your sleep been in the past week or two in terms of duration and quality?
It's possible that your sleep is related to the general fatigue issue and it's also possible that you're just doing too much. You may want to consider dropping a couple of the T25 sessions out of your week entirely and see if that makes anything better.
Your intake doesn't seem unreasonable in that you're maintaining weight on a healthy intake.
Macros look reasonable.0 -
Sleep's good, averaging about 7 hours? You're probably right about doing too much, I do tend to push myself a bit when it comes to my exercise routine. If I drop some T25, do you think my intake will be enough to gain some muscle? I can't quite figure out if eating at maintenance is technically enough, or if I'd need to be a bit above to make any progress in that regard.0
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Sleep's good, averaging about 7 hours? You're probably right about doing too much, I do tend to push myself a bit when it comes to my exercise routine. If I drop some T25, do you think my intake will be enough to gain some muscle? I can't quite figure out if eating at maintenance is technically enough, or if I'd need to be a bit above to make any progress in that regard.
I would leave your intake as is, reduce some activity, and see how you feel over the next two weeks. You just started on 5x5 and assuming you are new to heavy(er) lifting you are going to make progress.0 -
Sounds like a good plan, thanks so much! :drinker:0
